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.

Even though summer is my favorite season of the year, I have to say that I have been thoroughly enjoying the fall weather. It makes me sad that cold, nasty weather is on it's way. But, the last several days have been sunny and the fall colors are always just so beautiful. It is chilly. I have made my first pot of vegetable soup. I have lit the first fire in the fireplace. I have curled up on the sofa with hot tea and my books. Here's what I've been reading these past few weeks:



Middle Grade Fiction

The 12th Candle by Kim Tomsic

I had the opportunity to read and share with my #BookRelays Twitter Group an Advanced Copy of this middle grade magical realism novel in exchange for a review. I really enjoyed the author’s debut novel, The 11:11 Wish, so I was very excited to get a chance to read this book.

Like the first novel, this book tells the story of magical wishes that start out exciting and wonderful, but then start going wrong. Sage Sassafras experiences many of the ups and downs of life in seventh grade, but she believes she is the victim of a generations-old curse that began with her mother when she was the same age. Sage’s mother and Priscilla Petty’s mother were best friends until pink lightning struck them, and they were hit with the curse that made them enemies. Sage blames all of her family’s misfortunes on this curse – her father’s incarceration for bank robbery, her mother’s inability to handle the family’s finances, and her own feud with Priscilla Petty.

On Sage’s twelfth birthday, she receives a magical birthday candle that allows her to make special wishes. However, there are important rules that govern the wish-making and Sage doesn’t pay close attention to those. So, when the wishes start getting out of control, Sage needs all the help she can find to get her life back to normal again.

This is a fun book for middle grade students. I like that it has some good lessons for kids in this age group without being too preachy. Sage winds up learning how to be a true friend and that kindness can go a long way in working its own magic. This will be a popular book for fans of magical realism novels.

Picture Books

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins, Sara Palacios (Illustrations)

This heartwarming story gives young readers a glimpse of some of the difficulties for families of immigrants who are separated from beloved family members. Maria and her little brother, Juan, are visiting their grandmother at the Mexican border for Las Posadas, a holiday that celebrates Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. They have only a short time to visit, with a fence separating them. It is against the rules to pass gifts through the fence and Juan's drawing is too large to fit through the holes anyway. With some encouragement from the other visiting families, Maria figures out a way to share Juan's gift after all.

Nya's Long Walk: A Step at a Time by Linda Sue Park, Brian Pinkney (Illustrations)

This important picture book gives young readers a glimpse into the lives of children a world away, who face hardships that are very difficult for people in our culture to imagine. This story of love and perseverance has Africa's newest country, South Sudan, as its setting. South Sudan was formed in 2011 after decades of civil war, but still faces conflict among the country's two major tribes. So many people, like Nya and her family, face poverty, food insecurity, a lack of education and health care, and extreme violence. This companion picture book to Park's middle grade novel, A Long Walk to Water, tells the story of Nya and her little sister, Akeer. Nya must walk half a day to get water from a hole and the other half of the day carrying the heavy container back home. Nya's village doesn't have clean water nearby. When her little sister becomes seriously ill on one of these water trips, Nya must summon all of her strength to carry her sister and the water back home to the village.

The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry, Eric Fan (Illustrator), Terry Fan (Illustrator)

This beautiful picture book shares a sweet story about kindness and friendship with young readers. With gorgeous artwork and gentle rhyming text, children will be pulled into the wheat field where an old scarecrow has stood throughout the seasons for a long time. The local animals don't have anything to do with the scarecrow and the scarecrow has never known a friend. But being excluded from community doesn't stop the scarecrow from showing kindness to a vulnerable baby crow who appears to be injured and homeless. And as the scarecrow cares for the baby bird, the bird returns to renew the relationship that has formed and a family develops, changing everything for the lonely scarecrow. This would be a terrific book to help begin a conversation about being kind to our neighbors in need and sharing love with those that are marinalized in our communities. We shouldn't make assumptions about people without engaging them.

Hum and Swish by Matt Myers

This book is a gorgeous trip to the beach, perfect those like me who are already having summertime withdrawal. The little girl in this picture book is enjoying her time by the ocean just letting her creative juices flow - listening to the hum and swish of the water and building different pieces from sand and debris found nearby. Mostly well-meaning folks stop and ask her questions about what she's making and she's beginning to grow a bit frustrated that she can't be left alone to just enjoy the day and whatever comes of it. Finally a kindred spirit comes along - an artist who sits and paints instead of asking questions. This would be a good book to share with young readers who also enjoy getting in touch with their artistic sides

This book is a gorgeous trip to the beach, perfect for those like me who are already having summertime withdrawal. The little girl in this picture book is enjoying her time by the ocean just letting her creative juices flow - listening to the hum and swish of the water and building different pieces from sand and debris found nearby. Mostly well-meaning folks stop and ask her questions about what she's making and she's beginning to grow a bit frustrated that she can't be left alone to just enjoy the day and whatever comes of it. Finally a kindred spirit comes along - an artist who sits and paints instead of asking questions. This would be a good book to share with young readers who also enjoy getting in touch with their artistic side.

Field Trip to the Moon by John L. Hare

This clever wordless picture book lets young readers imagine a field trip that isn't any ordinary excursion. The children are visiting the moon, but when one of them accidently gets left behind, readers get to see how curious moon creatures have a fantastic time with a pack of crayons. This could inspire young writers to imagine their own field trip adventures.

Lucy and Company by Marianne Dubuc 

The sweet short stories in this lovely picture book show young readers the fun of sharing, helping, encouraging, and helping friends. Lucy and her friends, a sweet group of woodland creatures, enjoy snacks together, welcome a newcomer, search for buried treasure, and experience the joy of hatching new life into the world.

The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubuc 

This fun picture book begs to be read through several times to catch everything that is going on during this curious bus ride. Clara is riding the bus alone for the first time, on her way to visit her grandmother. She won't be bored as she encounters a variety of animals with whom she passes the time by sharing cookies, enjoying a flower from a goat, scaring away a would-be pickpocket, and wondering about the other characters on the bus.

A Child's Garden; a Story of Hope by Michael Foreman 

I really like the hopeful message this book leaves with young readers - so many people, especially young people, live in desperate circumstances due to war, injustice, and violence. In the midst of this young boy's life behind barbed wire in a refugee camp during a time of war, a growing vine presents an opportunity, not only for some shade and color, but for shelter for animals and insects. It also becomes a place where the camp community can come together and enjoy themselves for a moment. But even when soldiers from the other side come and rip the lush vine out by the roots, the seeds and roots of that hopeful plant come back to life, restoring hope to these children. This book would be great to share with kids as a way to talk about the circumstances that lead to children living in refugee camps.

The Toy Brother by William Steig 

This fun picture book tells the story of an experiment gone wrong and of a brother who promises to protect his older sibling forever. Yorick is the older son of a medieval alchemist and considers his younger brother, Charles, to be quite annoying. When Yorick sneaks into his father's lab and accidently shrinks himself to the size of a small toy, at first Charles is excited to be able to play with his "little" older brother. But when efforts to bring Yorick back to his original size fail, the whole family begins to plan all of the ways they can help him. This would be a fun story to talk about problem and solution in narratives and it also might inspire young writers to write their own stories about failed experiments that bring about crazy changes.