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.

I love walking on the trails in our neighborhood. I never know what I'm going to see. A few days ago, I seemed to hit the woods during "napping time" for deer. I was surprised that they stood so still for me to take pictures. That's one of my favorite things about the summer time months - warm weather to get outside and exercise. I also had some time to get some reading in as well. Here's what I've been reading this past week:

Middle Grade Fiction

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

This middle grade novel has been on my To Read list for some time and I’m not sure why I never got to it. But now that I have, I’m mad at myself for waiting so long. This is a terrific story with a great message about acceptance, healing, and reaching out to our friends and neighbors who have spent so much time living in the margins of our communities.

Aven Green, 13, was born without arms. And while she was raised by her adoptive parents to believe that she is capable of achieving anything, the rest of the world stares at her curiously or acts like she is invisible. When her parents move to an Arizona desert community to take jobs managing Stagecoach Pass, a rundown theme park, she has to leave her friends behind and start all over again trying to gain acceptance at a new school.

While trying to find a place to eat her lunch without people staring at her, she meets Connor and Zion. Connor and Zion also know about the lonely isolation that comes from living life in the fringes. Connor has Tourette’s Syndrome, and his loud tics make others shun him and Zion struggles with obesity and doesn’t want the other kids shaming him for his food choices at lunch.

I love that when Aven meets these new friends, she realizes that everyone struggles to fit in and feel “normal”. But rather than allowing these new friends to accept the loneliness of invisibility, she inspires them and helps restore them to community. Readers will be changed by Aven, too. Hopefully, young people will learn to recognize the worth of everyone in their schools and neighborhoods, even those who don’t easily fit into the mainstream. They’ll learn to look at others and think about what they need.

Picture Books

Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival

Young people today have lots to worry about and so many kids are dealing with high levels of anxiety. This awesome picture book comes out in September and it reminds me a lot of What Do You Do With a Problem? by Koby Yamada.The illustrations and the simple text describe what happens when a small worry is ignored; it grows bigger and bigger until it's overwhelming. I like that the book has a hopeful tone for kids and helps them realize that everyone has worries and sharing them with a friend or trusted grownup can help make it go away.

Stop! Bot! by James Yang (Illustrations)

Those that enjoy playing with drones might appreciate this funny story of a Bot that flies out of control. A little boy stops to show his Bot to the doorman of an apartment building, but then loses control and the Bot gets away. The doorman and all the tenants in each of the windows of the tall building do their best to get ahold of it, until there's a bit of a surprise ending. The humorous illustrations and the awesome characters will make this a favorite on the bookshelf.

One Shoe Two Shoes by Caryl Hart, Edward Underwood (Illustrator)

This fun picture book uses simple number and color concepts, bouncy rhyming text, and humorous illustrations to tell the story of a dog's surprise to find mice living in and amongst the shoes. This would be a good one to share with young children to practice these concepts. But, I have to admit, as someone who is terrified of mice, I'm going up to my shoe closet with a little bit of trepidation!

Bunny in the Middle by Anika Aldamuy Denise, Christopher Denise (Illustrator)

This adorable picture book uses comforting text and lovely illustrations to celebrate the joys of being a middle child. There's someone bigger who helps you, and someone smaller that needs you. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow, and sometimes you go your own way. This is definitely one to share with young children, especially those that aren't the oldest child or the youngest child in their families.

Rosie the Dragon and Charlie Make Waves by Lauren H. Kerstein, Nate Wragg (Illustrator)

This fun book will definitely have young readers giggling as Charlie and his pet dragon, Rosie, head to the pool. All sorts of crazy things happen when the dragon arrives for a swimming lesson. Blowing bubbles is a big, wet mess for everyone. When she practices her flutter kicks, everyone runs for cover. This is a good book to share with kids during the warm weather months.

We Are Better Together: Best Friends by Roger Priddy 

The beginning of the school year is a time for building community in classrooms and developing relationships. This board book might be a good one to share to highlight the concept of working together to become something bigger and better than each individual. This awesomely illustrated board book gives great examples of different things that come together to make something new, and even better. Flour, sugar, eggs, and butter come together to make a delicious cake. A guitar, tambourine, triangle, maraca, and drum come together to make wonderful music. This book could be a springboard for kids to come up with the elements that could come together to make a great classroom community, or a wonderful day at school.

Young people today have lots to worry about and so many kids are dealing with high levels of anxiety. This awesome picture book comes out in September and it reminds me a lot of What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada. The illustrations and the simple text describe what happens when a small worry is ignored; it grows bigger and bigger until it's overwhelming. I like that the book has a hopeful tone for kids and helps them realize that everyone has worries and sharing them with a friend or trusted grownup can help make it go away.