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 it's been over a week since we all went into lockdown mode to slow down the spread of COVID-19, it seems like a lot longer. Through the anxiety and stress of social/physical distancing and making sure that we and our family, friends, and neighbors have the things they need, there's still a lot of down time. While I've been busy getting accustomed to our new normal - making sure we have enough food/supplies, listening to updates from the CDC and the Ohio Department of Health, and just trying to get outside to exercise a little, I have managed to do a little bit of reading. I'm sure I'll have more time to read in the coming days, now that it seems that the best thing to do is stay home and away from people. I hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy, too. Here's what I've been reading this past week:



Classic Literature

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Since we've been shut up in our home to stop the spread of the coronavirus, I've picked another book from the shelves in our basement! Somehow I managed to get through life without ever reading this Dickens classic. It's been a good escape from our stressful reality. I've also discovered that there are a number of miniseries of this book available on streaming services, so I'm looking forward to passing some time watching those!

Picture Books

Run, Sea Turtle, Run: A Hatchling's Journey by Stephen Swinburne 

Great close-up photography and simple, informative text come together to share with young readers the fascinating story of a leatherback sea turtle's young life - from hatching to its perilous journey back to the ocean. This book is a nice way to get up close and personal with these animals. More information in end notes, along with other resources, make this a nice nonfiction resource to have on the shelf.

Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor 

Sometimes it takes patience and help from friends in order to accomplish a goal. Snail is crossing a busy highway in order to get to a cabbage patch. Along the way, he has close-calls with trucks, waits out a rainstorm with some newfound friends, and avoids getting eaten by a bird. When he realizes that he's suffered a setback, his new friends save the day for him. This fun picture book has great lessons about helping our friends, kindness, and patience.

Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins 

As the cold wind and snow starts whipping up, and a winter holiday is fast approaching, Thomas is stressed out because he's misplaced his basket of dried fruit. Thomas was planning on making a wintercake for the holiday celebration and is just certain that the party won't be the same without it. His friend, Lucy, runs into the person who found the basket and makes the assumption that the person stole the dried fruit. But, as she follows him she realizes she's made a terrible mistake. This lovely picture book shares a lesson of humility, friendship, and forgiveness as Thomas and Lucy go to great lengths to show the stranger radical hospitality. This could start a great discussion with young readers about how we welcome strangers into community with us, how we build relationships with those that often are marginalized because they're different, and how we share with others rather than cling to a scarcity mentality.

Sweep by Louise Greig, Júlia Sardà (Illustrator)

Often when we're in a bad mood, we lash out at the very people we love and care about the most. When we walk around in a terrible mindset, it affects how we treat people and it starts a chain reaction of bad feelings and negativity. It can be tough for young people to manage emotions, but this picture book uses lovely digital illustrations and whimsical text to help readers see that there's a point when things will turn around for the better. I like that this book takes the a look at negativity but leaves readers on a hopeful note. This book kind of reminds me of What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada.