It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey as a way to share what you have read and/or reviewed in the past week. It's also a terrific way to find out what other people are reading.
Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers have given this meme a children's literature focus: picture books, middle grade novels, etc. They "encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting the other bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.
What a strange week it's been in central Ohio. We've had record-breaking high temperatures. The weather felt like spring, and the kids had a great time playing outside at recess. Then the storms rolled in at the end of the week, and now we're back to winter temperatures again. The extended forecast suggests that the temperatures are going back up and then down and then up, etc. It's hard to know how to dress for this weather! Anyway, here is the round-up of picture books that I managed to read this week:
This
is a beautiful collaborative book that takes the stunning photography
of Joel Sartore and puts it together with the poetry of Kwame Alexander
to make a celebration of all animals in our world. Sartore took great
care to make sure that all the animals were photographed so that they
all looked equally impressive; small animals were captured close-up so
that they looked big, and all animals' were shown in all their
fascinating detail. The hope was to present a work that would inspire
all readers to take steps to save the endangered species in our world. I
know that this book will be very popular in all schools and libraries.
This
is an adorable picture book from the author of Bear Is Not Tired. Bear
learns that jam tastes wonderful, and it becomes one of his favorite
things. He eats jam all of the time to the exclusion of everything else.
Mama Duck firmly tells him that he'll get no more jam until he balances
his diet with vegetables. Picky eaters will definitely appreciate
Bear's problem, and caregivers might learn some fun ways to get kids to
eat their vegetables. Warm, friendly illustrations rendered in
watercolor, will draw young readers in, and make this a favorite read
aloud.
This
is a great book to have around as folks star planning and planting
their gardens. This rhyming picture book looks at all the different
types of seeds that grow into backyard trees and plants. The beautifully
painted illustrations draw the reader in to the beauty of a garden and
stretches the fun with fold-out pages.
This
is a cute picture book about a hibernating dormouse who spends his
winter snoring and dreaming about playing with his friend in the spring.
The rhyming text, along with the adorable illustrations, make this a
great book to share at bedtime.
This
beautifully illustrated picture book biography tells readers the
inspirational story of Mickey Mantle's life in baseball. An unhealthy
child growing up, Mantle overcame his physical barriers to become a
phenomenal baseball player. Although he had to work very hard, and
sometimes was far from perfect, he learned to power through adversity.
This book has a great message of perseverance to pass on to young
readers.
This
is kind of a fun story about a magician's rabbit who's fed up with
being pulled out of a hat by his ears. After sitting down and thinking
through his options, he answers an ad to be Sophie's pet and best
friend. The choice is clear, and the reader learns that sometimes it's
best to make a change in life when your current situation isn't working
for you. Cut paper collage illustrations help make this a cute picture
book.
A
little bird is learning to fly, and asks her mother in which direction
should she go - north, south, east or west. When she visits north,
south, and west, she comes to the conclusion that her home is in the
east and she wants to go back where she belongs. This heartwarming book
by classic children's author, Margaret Wise Brown, has awesome digital
illustrations by Greg Pizzoli.
This
picture book would be terrific to share with young readers who are
still figuring out how to get along together and play in a way that
makes everyone happy. Pip wants to play with Nico, and suggests all
sorts of fun ideas. Nico isn't interested in any of Pip's ideas, because
he just wants to play his cello. This book could generate some good
discussions, as kids read to find out how they can play together. The
watercolor and ink illustrations are very sweet and cheerful, and help
make this a great book for a primary bookshelf.
This
sweet picture book has a great message for young readers. Henri is a
little caterpillar that longs to see the world. Adventuring beyond the
walls of his garden seems to be impossible. But with persistence and
help from his friends, Henri ventures out and chases his dream of
flying. Uplifting text along with lovely illustrations make this a great
book to share with young children.
This
nearly wordless picture book tells the story of a baby bird faced with
the terror of making its first flight from the nest. The baby looks down
from the nest and imagines all of the horrible things that could happen
if he falls. The mother practices some tough love to get the young one
to take flight. It would be interesting to share this book with young
readers to see what they infer from the awesome illustrations. It also
could serve as great inspiration to anyone who's afraid to try something
new.
This
is the time of year when many kids (and teachers) get sick. This is a
silly picture book with bright, funny illustrations that would be great
to share with a young reader that isn't feeling well. The author reaches
back into some of his own difficult experiences of attempting to bring
comfort and cheer to friends and loved ones who were recovering from
health setbacks. Sometimes readers just need something that can bring
some laughs and relaxation.
