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 a few weeks since I've posted anything new, but we've been busy relaxing and enjoying time with friends. We had an early Oktoberfest celebration and had a good time getting caught up with friends from Sweden. I also have been helping out at church - the beginning of September has the start-up of Sunday School along with a rummage sale! Plus the weather has just been fabulous for walking! I'm trying to get in as many miles as I can before the snow flies! At any rate, I have been trying to keep up on the picture books that have been piling up on my coffee table. Here's what I've been reading the past few weeks:

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle, Rafael Laopez (Contributor)

This awesome picture book biography tells the inspiring story of Teresa Carreno, a little girl who fled war-torn Venezuela with her family to become a famous piano player during the nineteenth century. Music was the centerpiece of Carreno's life, and when the family was forced to move to New York where everything was so different and lonely for them, music helped them cope. Eventually word spread about this little girl's talent and she was asked to come to the White House to play for President Abraham Lincoln. Gorgeous illustrations and a compelling narrative style will make this a good nonfiction resource to have on the shelf.

Llama Llama Mess Mess Mess by Anna Dewdney, Reed Duncan

With comfortable rhyming text and awesome illustrations this fun picture book in the Llama Llama series shows young readers the importance of helping to keep our areas neat and clean. Mama Llama is calling for Llama Llama to come and help clean up the house, but he would rather play. Mama imagines what life would be like if SHE decided to play all the time instead of clean. In the end, Llama Llama realizes that home is much more comfortable and fun when everyone helps to keep it neat and clean. This is good book to share with young children to teach the importance of everyone helping out.

The Boring Book by Shinsuke Yoshitake 

Young readers will definitely be able to relate to the problem of being bored! As a kid, I remember that I didn't dare tell a parent that I was bored because they would surely find something for me to do, usually a household chore or yardwork! This fun picture book takes a closer look at boredom to help readers understand what it is and possibly come up with ways to alleviate the problem. Ultimately it's up to each person to be creative and make their own fun in this world. The clever illustrations help the exploration of this topic.

You Are My Friend: The Story of Mister Rogers and His Neighborhood by Aimee Reid, Matt Phelan (Illustrations)

I grew up watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and was mesmerized by the adventures in the Land of Make Believe. I love that there seems to be so many books and films being made celebrating the life of the man who believed that everyone is special. The lovely illustrations and straightforward, readable text will make this a great nonfiction biography resource to have on the shelf. With a more detailed biographical note and author's note, this also would be a good starting point for further research.

Give Me Back My Bones! by Kim Norman, Bob Kolar (Illustrations)

Young readers will have a fun time practicing their pirate voices and learning about the different bones of the human body with this clever picture book. A pirate ghost's skeleton has been scattered across the ocean floor by a storm and with rollicking, rhyming text reader's are implored to help the pirate collect his bones. This would be a good book to have in a collection of Halloween books. It also might be a great mentor text for young writers trying to think of fun rhymes to describe a health or science topic.

Look Out! A Storm! (The Adventures of Otto) by David Milgrim 

Sometimes managing a bad mood can be difficult, and when one unfortunate misunderstanding snowballs, soon everyone is angry. Otto, a friendly little robot, doesn't realize that Olly is in a bad mood. When he startles her and makes her angry, soon the chase is on. But when a storm comes unexpectedly, Olly and Otto and their friends realize that it's time to put away the negativity and help each other out. With easy-to-read text for beginning readers and awesome illustrations, this book might be a good way to talk about how to help our friends when they're in bad moods.

Puppy Truck by Brian Pinkney 

This is an awesome picture book that celebrates imagination and making the best of things. Carter wants a puppy, but gets a toy truck instead. That doesn't stop Carter from having the kind of fun he wants to have - he puts a leash on the truck and walks it to the park where they have all kinds of fun chasing squirrels and digging in the sand. This could be a terrific mentor text for young writers to imagine one thing is another.

Dragons from Mars Go to School by Deborah Aronson, Colin Jack (Illustrations)

This fun picture book with bouncy, rhyming text would be fun to share with young readers who are just starting back to school. Nathaniel is super excited for his dragon friends, Molly and Fred, to go back to school with him because no one has ever seen these huge Martian creatures. When they get there, their enormous size causes problems. At first the other kids at school make fun of Molly and Fred, but then when they see all the wonderful things they can do, they accept them as friends. This could be a good way to talk about how to make all friends feel welcome in our communities, especially during the first days of school when classmates are building relationships.

Hannah Sparkles: Hooray for the First Day of School! by Robin Mellom, Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Illustrations)

The beginning of the school year is an exciting time and it's important that kids are ready to make new friends. This charming picture book helps young readers learn to strike a balance; it's possible to be TOO eager to make friends. Hannah is so excited to start school and make friends, but she spends so much time telling everyone about herself and showing everyone what she can do that she doesn't give others a chance to share themselves. The lessons to listen and watch are good ones for kids of all ages.

Big Boys Cry by Jonty Howley 

There are lots of emotions when someone starts school, especially for new students. Oftentimes young boys are discouraged from crying, being told that "Big boys don't cry." When Levi hears this admonition from his father, he pulls himself together and walks himself to school. Along the way, he sees lots of grown men in tears over many different situations. Thus, the young man learns that big boys do indeed cry. When he shares this with his father at the end of the day, the two become closer in their relationship. This book might be a good one to have on the shelf in a collection of back-to-school books. It might spark some good conversations about times when older people cry.

A Normal Pig by K-Fai Steele 

It's easy to let other people's opinions influence the way we feel about ourselves and how self-confident we are. Pip, the pig in this lovely picture book, is a happy little pig at school, participating in art, recesss, and lunch with no problem. Until someone new comes along and starts pointing out how different her lunch is from everyone else's, criticizing her artwork, and making her feel embarrassed about her family. Obviously this is very upsetting to Pip, who feels like she's not good enough unless she does everything the same way as everyone else. Her parents take her on a trip to the city, where she sees that the world is full of all kinds of folks, and everyone of them is "normal" in their own way. I like the message about self-acceptance in this story and think it would be a great book to share with young readers during the beginning of the school year, while classroom communities and relationships are being built.

Grandpa's Stories by Joseph Coelho, Allison Colpoys (Illustrations)

I had to say good-bye to my 98-year-old grandmother this past year, and it's never easy to deal with the grief of losing someone that has been so dear to us. This beautifully written and illustrated picture book shows a young girl relating her memories of her grandfather to the seasons that she shared with him. This would definitely be a comforting book to anyone who has experienced a painful loss.

Wish by Matthew Cordell 

This beautifully written and illustrated picture book is a great way to talk to young children about what makes a family special. The simple and poetic text helps young readers understand that not everyone who wants to have a baby can easily do so and that can make people very sad and discouraged. The book maintains a hopeful tone for kids and can even help them get their minds around the concept of patience.

Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door (Those Darn Squirrels) by Adam Rubin, Daniel Salmieri (Illustrator)

Sometimes we have to team up and work together to solve problems, and sometimes we have to collaborate with those that we don't necessarily get along with or even like. Mr. Fookwire is a grumpy fellow that lives alone. He loves summer and hates winter because he likes to spend as much time with his backyard birds as possible. He feeds them, paints pictures of them, and enjoys watching them. The squirrels in is yard are a different story. Mr. Fookwire is completely annoyed by their antics. However, when Mrs. Hu and her mean cat, Muffins, move in next door, everyone is terrorized by the new animal. It takes some strategizing on the part of the squirrels to solve the problem, and that's when Mr. Fookwire realizes that when we live in community, everyone can come together to help out. This would be a good way to start a discussion with young readers about how we can help each other in our neighborhoods and communities.