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.

We're over a month into our Stay Home order due to the coronavirus. On my daily walk the other day, I saw this goose that REALLY wants to get into the local beauty salon. She must need a haircut! 

Anyway, I guess we've settled into our "new normal" pretty well. With the spring weather, I've been walking quite a bit. I logged 13.7 miles last week! And I've also been working on my pile of picture books from the library. Here's what I've been reading this past week:

Like the Moon Loves the Sky by Hena Khan, Saffa Khan (Illustrations)

This lovely picture book celebrates the love a mother has for her child and all of the wonderful wishes she has. This book is based on teachings from the Quran, the Muslim holy book. This would be a great book to share for Mother’s Day, and a great way to explore the values that so many different people share, no matter what their faith background is.

I Dream of a Journey by Akiko Miyakoshi 

We're over a month into our social-distancing Stay Home orders, and I'm pretty sure lots of readers will be able to relate to hotelkeeper's dreams of traveling to distant lands and meeting new and interesting people. The hotel receives guests from all over the world, and the hotelkeeper hears all of his guests stories. He longs to get on an airplane and visit his friends across the globe. This could inspire young writers to share their own dreams of travel and visiting new places.

The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Lorraine Hubbard, Oge Mora (Illustrator)

While it's tough to imagine how difficult it would be to go through life without being able to read, this inspirational picture book biography of Mary Walker tells the story of a woman born into slavery, who worked hard her entire life to take of her family, and finally at the age of 116 learned to read. Through the years, Mary Walker longed to be able to read her Bible, but was always so busy working to make ends meet. Engaging narrative text and beautifully rendered illustrations will draw in young readers and help them realize that one is never too old to accomplish their dreams. This could definitely be an uplifting book to share during the tough times of this coronavirus pandemic. And it also could be a good starting point for further research into the topics of slavery, adult literacy programs, and learning programs for senior citizens.

Helen’s Birds by Sara Cassidy, Sophie Casson (Illustrations)

This wordless picture book will definitely tug at the heartstrings of readers who have ever experienced a close friendship and the grief of losing that person. Saanvi moves into a neighborhood and becomes friends with an elderly neighbor, Helen. Through the seasons they visit, play cards, garden, and care for the birds that make Helen's yard their home. But then everything changes when Helen passes away. Readers are taken through the journey of grief and change and the hope that the birds bring to Saanvi. This would definitely be a good book to share during this time of unprecedented loss and change in the world around us. It could inspire young writers to make their own graphic novels or other way of capturing their own narratives of this time of isolation and stress.

My Footprints by Bao Phi, Basia Tran (Illustrator)

Many young readers will appreciate the pain of being bullied, and the beautiful picture book will resonate with them. Thuy, a Vietnamese American, deals with the stress of bullying by using her imagination to become strong, powerful creatures with huge footprints. This book could generate a lot of important conversations about bullying and tolerance and how we treat others in our communities.