It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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.

It's been several weeks since I've had a chance to post. It's been a pretty busy time at church (All Shepherds Lutheran in Lewis Center, Ohio) with Vacation Bible School. This year we had over 90 kids blast off To Mars And Beyond. It took some time to turn the place into a spaceship and then we all had a terrific time learning about God and His love for us while playing fun games, learning cool songs, and making neat crafts. It's one of our favorite weeks at church for sure. In the meantime, here are some of the books I've been reading these past few weeks:

Middle Grade Fiction

Bad Order by Barb Bentler Ullman 

Science fiction fans will enjoy this suspenseful story of a group of kids facing the danger of saving the planet from an interdimensional catastrophe. Mary Day just wants to enjoy the rest of her winter break with her best friend, Brit, and her little brother, Albie. She wakes up to a snowy morning and the excitement of playing outside in the cold weather. Her little brother is unable to speak, however, this highly intelligent little boy is able to communicate telepathically with Mary through psychic memos. When the three children come into contact with local wildlife acting strangely aggressive and their neighbor becomes inexcplicably angry and threatening towards them, they realize something strange is happening. When the see an eerie red mist in the woods and start having horrible thoughts themselves, they know they are in big trouble. Brit's older brother, Lars, joins this trio, along with three odd extraterrestrials to stop the evil thoughts from spreading and ruining the world. This book is kind of like A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle meets Bird Box, the 2018 Netflix movie. There is a great deal of suspense as the kids race against time and the evil red mist to save the world, but there is also a bit of scary violence, including a suicide brought on by the horribly negative thoughts created by the red mist. Readers that are sensitive to this type of imagery should avoid this book. I would say that this book would be best suited for kids in grades six and up.

Picture Books

Let's Scare Bear by Yūko Katakawa 

A group of animals are sitting around snacking on manju cakes when Bear comes along and makes a big racket. They decide that it would be awesome to scare Bear, since he's so big and strong and noisy. All of their efforts only make Bear laugh. Then Bear tells them that the only thing that frightens him is manju cakes. According to the author's note at the back of the book, this story is based on a "classical rakugo story 'Manju Kowai,' which means 'Scared of Buns.' Rakugo is a traditional entertainment performed onstage by a storyteller. Manju is a steamed bun that typically has a sweet filling, such as red bean paste." This is a fun trickster-tale and might be good to use with a collection of folk tales.

Truman by Jean Reidy, Lucy Ruth Cummins (Contributor)

This adorable picture book would be terrific to share with young readers getting ready to go to school, especially those starting school for the first time. The book shares the story of Truman, a little tortoise who loves his Sarah so much, because she seems to be an awful lot like him - quiet and pensive (there's a word for young readers to learn). Everything is just fine in the nice, peaceful apartment. But when Sarah leaves Truman behind with extra food and disappears onto the city bus down below, the little tortoise becomes worried. Young readers will enjoy seeing how Truman summons his courage and uses some conveniently placed rocks to start his adventure to go find Sarah. The engaging narrative text, along with the awesome illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins A Hungry Lion, or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals make this one of my favorite Back To School picture books.

Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! by Cori Doerrfeld 

This heartwarming picture books will resonate with young readers who are beginning to experience life's hellos and goodbyes. Oftentimes we get caught up in the grief of a goodbye to a lovely time or a family pet or a good friend. But with time, we come to realize that sad times pass and lead to happy times again. This book uses the same gentle language and comforting illustrtations that made The Rabbit Listened such a popular book.

The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Illustrator)

Starting kindergarten is so exciting for everyone - kids, parents, teachers! This awesome picture book is a great celebration of the first day of school with gorgeous illustrations and warm, comforting text that employs authentic language that most children will be able to recognize from their own families. This is definitely a must-read for the first days of school, especially for those with special kindergartners around!

The New Kitten by Joyce Carol Oates, David Mottram (Contributor)

Learning how to share a home and a family can be tough if you've been the center of attention for a long time. Cherie has been the only cat in the Smith family for as long as she can remember. But when Cleopatra, a new kitten arrives, everything changes. Suddenly everyone is paying attention to her and admiring her and letting her do naughty things that Cherie is never allowed to do. This adorable picture book would be a good one to share with young readers who may be experiencing similar changes in their own homes. It might inspire good conversations about how there really is enough love and attention for everyone in the family.

Bunny's Book Club Goes to School (Bunny's Book Club #2) by Annie Silvestro, Tatjana Mai-Wyss (Contributor)

Starting school for the first time can be a little scary, but if you have a group of friends like the adorable creatures in Bunny's Book Club backing you up, that can be a big help. This cute picture book is a nice follow-up to Bunny's Book Club. Bunny and his friends love hanging out at the library on Saturday. When their friend, Josie, tells them she's starting school the next day and that she's a bit nervous, Bunny decides to go along for support. As he goes along the way, the rest of the animals join him. While they're searching for Josie at the school, they all become distracted by all of the awesome things at school: gymnasium games, music, lunch, the art room, and of course, the library. This would be a fun book to share with young readers at the beginning of the school year when everyone could use a little encouragement.

Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed, Anoosha Syed (Illustrator)

My mouth watered as I read this fun picture book about a tasty Pakistani dish that takes time and patience to enjoy. Bilal's dad gets to work early on dinner, and when all his friends wonder what he's cooking they all get to come in and help get things started. But after it's all loaded in the crock pot, Bilal's dad sends everybody outside to play for the rest of the day. When it's finally time to eat, everyone wonders just what it will taste like. There's a recipe at the end of the book and I've copied it down to try! If you're sharing this book with a group of young readers, it might be fun to make a batch and bring it in for everyone to taste.

Unicorn Day by Diana Murray, Luke Flowers (Illustrator)

Unicorn books are very popular with young readers, and this cute one has bright and colorful illustrations along with bouncy, rhyming text to share and important message with young readers. This is a story of inclusivity and sharing in community. It's Unicorn Day and all of the unicorns have gotten together for a fun celebration that includes singing, dancing, sparkly butterflies, rainbow slides, hair braiding, cupcakes, and loads of other activities. As everyone is enjoying themselves, it becomes clear that one unicorn is not like the other - it's actually a horse with an artificial horn tied to its head. At first there's an awkward pause... And then everyone realizes that the horse is a fun friend, and nothing has really changed in their celebration. This would be a great book to share at the beginning of the school year as classrooms are starting to build relationships and community.

Your First Day of Circus School by Tara Lazar, Melissa Crowton (Illustrator)

The beginning of the school year is an exciting time, and kids of all ages can appreciate some back-to-school tips for a successful start. The kids in this school are going to circus school, and even though there are animals, tents, and clowns, many of the same rules apply. This book has cute illustrations and is jam-packed with humorous figurative language. This would definitely be fun to read during the first few days of school and a great way to help young readers learn to recognize and explain the meanings of many common idioms.

A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park by Ashley Benham Yazdani

This lovely nonfiction picture book uses gorgeously detailed illustrations and engaging narrative text to tell the story of how New York City's Central Park came to be. I've never been to New York City, but I graduated from The Ohio State University where Frederick Law Olmsted designed the campus and I have visited Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina where the gardens and grounds were also designed by Olmsted. So I have appreciated his work and also appreciate the many parks and green spaces in my own community. Young readers who enjoy playing outside will certainly appreciate the efforts communities make to preserve green space for everyone to enjoy. Author's notes at the end of the book include more information, including the fact that there are 22 squirrels hidden in the illustrations throughout the book. Of course, I had to look back through the book twice (I only found 21 on my first look-through)!

Unicorn books are very popular with young readers, and this cute one has bright and colorful illustrations along with bouncy, rhyming text to share and important message with young readers. This is a story of inclusivity and sharing in community. It's Unicorn Day and all of the unicorns have gotten together for a fun celebration that includes singing, dancing, sparkly butterflies, rainbow slides, hair braiding, cupcakes, and loads of other activities. As everyone is enjoying themselves, it becomes clear that one unicorn is not like the other - it's actually a horse with an artificial horn tied to its head. At first there's an awkward pause... And then everyone realizes that the horse is a fun friend, and nothing has really changed in their celebration. This would be a great book to share at the beginning of the school year as classrooms are starting to build relationships and community

Unicorn books are very popular with young readers, and this cute one has bright and colorful illustrations along with bouncy, rhyming text to share and important message with young readers. This is a story of inclusivity and sharing in community. It's Unicorn Day and all of the unicorns have gotten together for a fun celebration that includes singing, dancing, sparkly butterflies, rainbow slides, hair braiding, cupcakes, and loads of other activities. As everyone is enjoying themselves, it becomes clear that one unicorn is not like the other - it's actually a horse with an artificial horn tied to its head. At first there's an awkward pause... And then everyone realizes that the horse is a fun friend, and nothing has really changed in their celebration. This would be a great book to share at the beginning of the school year as classrooms are starting to build relationships and community