It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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 hot week here in central Ohio. And then, overnight, the temperature dropped over 40 degrees and it's starting to feel like fall. On our walk, we saw these snoozing ducks. I couldn't resist taking this picture as my husband cracked a joke about "getting our ducks in a row". Anyway, as the weather is starting to feel a little more chilly, it does feel more like reading weather. Here's what I've been reading this past week:

It's Me, Two (Catwad #2) by Jim Benton 

This fun graphic novel will be very popular among the elementary school crowd. With bold, colors and quick, silly stories, this book is perfect for the reader who just wants to relax and have a giggle. And while the two characters in these stories play pranks and tease each other constantly, it's not over-the-top with violence or anything hateful. It kind of reminds me of some of the silly cartoons I used to watch when I was young.

Five Minutes: (That's a Lot of Time) (No, It's Not) (Yes, It Is) by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon, Audrey Vernick (Contributor), Olivier Tallec (Contributor)

This awesome picture book shows young readers what older readers have known all along. How fast or how slow time goes, depends on what you're doing. We know the saying, "time flies when you're having fun". This book shows how five minutes can go by in a flash or it can seem like an eternity. Five minutes to get ready for school goes by so fast, but five minutes waiting on line at the dry cleaners lasts forever. This could start some great discussions about the passage of time, and might even encourage young writers to write their own stories about time.

My Tooth Is LOST! (Monkey & Cake #3) by Drew Daywalt, Olivier Tallec (Illustrations)

The back and forth in this fun picture book will have young readers scratching their heads at first, and then giggling, and then going back for more. This is definitely a book for readers who are looking for a stress-free experience with a story! Monkey and Cake are good friends, and Cake is trying to help Monkey make sense of his lost tooth and what to expect from the Tooth Fairy. And just when you think Monkey is never going to understand, there's a fun twist that everyone can enjoy.

Stormy: A Story About Finding a Forever Home by Guojing 

I absolutely loved this book, but be sure to have a box of tissues handy! This wordless picture book uses gorgeous artwork and the story of a homeless dog and a woman with a kind heart to yank on heart strings. Anyone that's ever taken in a stray pet, will definitely be able to relate to this book. It can also start a conversation about helping our neighbors and those in need.

Douglas by Randy Cecil 

This sweet adventure story about friendship and overcoming fears will have readers forgetting that mice are actually creepy and scary! Iris spends each Saturday afternoon at the movie theater eating popcorn and enjoying her favorite films. One Saturday, a cute little mouse sits next to her and she shares her popcorn. The mouse curls up and falls asleep inside the pocket of her cozy blue sweater. But when she wakes up, she's on her way home with Iris and about to start her big adventure trying to get back home to the movie theater. Along the way, she is chased with brooms, hunted by hungry cats, and forced to perform daring acrobatics in order to survive. Young readers will have a great time finding out if she makes it back to the movie theater and will definitely be ready to make predictions about what will happen next.

Snowmen at Halloween by Caralyn M Buehner, Mark E Buehner (Illustrations)

This fun Halloween picture book uses rollicking rhyming text and colorful illustrations to tell a story about snowmen out for a good time. Every now and then the weather is snowy on Halloween here in Ohio, and the kids in this story make snowmen before they head out for their fun evening. They dress up the snowmen in leftover Halloween costumes and go on their way. When their evening was over and they were on their way home, they wondered if the snowmen were about to have their own Halloween fun? No one can be sure exactly what happened, but the snowmen left a holiday message for the kids the next day. Their are also hidden pictures on every page, making the book even more fun. This would be a terrific book to have as part of a collection of Halloween books to have on the shelf during the month of October.

Superbuns! by Diane Kredensor 

This cute book shows young readers that it's awesome to be kind to people. Superbuns loves helping folks out, but her sister, Blossom isn't so sure. She's a know-it-all and loves to remind Superbuns that kindness is not a superpower. But when they encounter a little fox that had lost her way home, the sisters learned that being brave enough to see past the assumptions that people make about others pays off in the long run. This would be a good book to share with kids to start a discussion about how we help our neighbors.

The Runaway Bunny (Over the Moon #1) by Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illustrator)

In this awesome picture book classic, a little bunny tells his mother he wants to run away. Her response is that her love for him is so strong, that she will pursue him wherever he goes. If he becomes a fish, his mother will become a fisher. If he becomes a bird, she will become the tree that he will fly home to. If he joins the circus, his mother will become a tightrope walker. Eventually, the little bunny decides that there is no where he can go where he will not be loved and protected by his mother. This is great as a read aloud story for young children and it can also spark some great discussions about why the mother would follow the little bunny everywhere and how she loves him and wants what's best for him.