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.

What a week! We started out on Sunday with gorgeous weather. It was sunny and nearly 60 degrees. We grabbed our walking shoes and headed out. We were so fortunate to get outside to exercise on Monday, as well. But then...

Winter returned...Anyway, I'll take a nice day to go outside whenever I can get it. And when the weather turns cold and nasty, thankfully I have a cozy place to sit and read! Here's what I've been reading this week:



Classic Literature

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

I'm still working on reading the books that are stacked in all the nooks and crannies of my house. Purchased at a book sale or garage sale many years ago, I reread this fun Jane Austen romance. This romance takes readers to the town of Bath, England during the early nineteenth century. Catherine Moreland has accompanied an older couple there as a way to get away from home and enjoy the social scene. Miss Moreland has read too many gothic novels and has a wild imagination. So when she meets a wealthy young gentleman and is invited to spend more time at Northanger Abbey, she can't resist the romance and excitement of it. This has all of the style of Austen's other novels and I had a lovely time curled up by the fireplace with it.

Picture Books

Swim Swim Sink by Jenn Harvey

All is going well with this cute rhyming picture book that shows little baby ducklings hatching and then going for a swim. Until it's apparent that one of them is unable to swim, the duckling sinks instead. The duckling works hard until finally a solution is found and the rhyme is edited to fit. This would be a good way to talk about conflict and resolution in literature. It also would be a good book to have on the shelf to promote a growth mindset.

Tomorrow I'll Be Kind by Jessica Hische 

It seems like we live in an age in which so many people have a tough time interacting positively with each other. When so many of us are isolated and glued to our phones, young people have a tough time finding positive role models of living in community with others. This sweet picture books highlights seven positive behavior traits and uses simple rhyming text to show a little bunny that is trying very hard to do the right thing every day. When the day is done, even if one has fallen short, there's hope that tomorrow will be a better day. This would be a good book to share at the end of a busy day as a way to reflect on the good things that happened. It would also be a good way to plan ways to exhibit these positive traits the next day.

The President of the Jungle by André Rodrigues, Larissa Ribeiro, Paula Desgualdo, Pedro Markun

During this presidential election year, there are lots of opportunities for kids to learn about democracy, specifically about how we vote for our leaders. This fun, colorful picture book would definitely be a good tool to present to young readers the basic concepts around choosing candidates to run for office, campaigns, and voting. The animals of the jungle are dissatisfied with their king, a greedy Lion who thinks only of himself. They decide to hold an election for a new president. The story takes young readers through the process and there is a page at the end that defines some of the vocabulary terms used. This would be a good one to have on the shelf as we draw closer to election time.

Noodlephant by Jacob Kramer, K-Fai Steele (Illustrator)

This cute picture book definitely made me hungry for pasta! Noodlephant is an elephant who makes great pasta and throws terrific pasta parties. When the unfair laws in her community prohibit her and her friends from eating noodles, the animals have to come up with a way to get the mean kangaroos to change their minds. There are some good opportunities to talk about conflict and resolution in literature.

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator)

This gorgeous adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale tells young readers the story of young duckling who isn't accepted by his family, his peers, or his neighbors. He hatches out of an egg that isn't anything like the others. He doesn't look like his brothers and sisters at all. He's teased mercilessly for being "ugly" and chased and bullied by the others in the pond. He decides to run away from home. After spending a year surviving on his own during the harsh winter, he and the rest of the pond discover that he's finally become his true self. This traditional tale is fresh with this adaption and this book could be used to start a great discussion about tolerance, privilege, and self-acceptance.