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.

It's great to be back home after a wonderful trip to Iowa to visit my parents. We had a nice visit with my family, ate everything in site, and even got a taste of winter!

I'm looking forward to getting back on track with my reading. Here's what I've managed to reading lately:

Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler

This awesome historical fiction picture book takes readers to the Great Depression of the early 1930s when many families struggled to find work to make enough money to buy the basics - a home, food, clothing, etc. The author based this story on the experiences of her grandmother's family in northern Wisconsin. Without a home, Marvel's mother and her children moved into a small abandoned shack in the woods. Through the seasons, hard work and determination allowed this family to have everything they need to live comfortably. This would be a good book to share as part of a study of this time period. It also could be a good mentor text for young writers who wish to explore and share their own family narratives.

Snail and Worm All Day: Three Stories About Two Friends (Snail & Worm #3) by Tina Kugler

The fun short stories in this sweet picture books will have young readers giggling while also letting them enjoy a friendship that celebrates the good things in life. These stories remind me a bit of the Frog & Toad series by Arnold Lobel, they are simple enough for emerging readers to comprehend but have enough humor and positivity to engage everyone.

Mother Goose of Pudding Lane by Chris Raschka, Vladimir Radunsky (Illustrations)

Mother Goose rhymes and stories have been around for such a long time, many readers don't stop to think about where they began. Using interesting informational text along with some of the more famous rhymes and songs the authors of this fun picture book provide curious readers with a good starting point for further research. The illustrations are colorful and whimsical, many of which appear to be scribbled pencil lines that shouldn't be there. When I first opened the cover, I though someone had scribbled in this new library book!

Astro Girl by Ken Wilson-Max 

This sweet picture book shares a story that lets young readers enjoy a special relationship between a father and his daughter and also shares the message that everyone, including girls, can reach for the stars. Astrid dreams of one day being an astronaut. She spends her free time studying the stars and planets. Her father encourages her by imagining what meals in outer space would be like, moving around in zero-gravity, and sleeping among the stars. When it's time to go pick their mother up to come home, readers will see that Astrid wants to follow in her footsteps.

This sweet picture book shares a story that lets young readers enjoy a special relationship between a father and his daughter and also shares the message that everyone, including girls, can reach for the stars. Astrid dreams of one day being an astronaut. She spends her free time studying the stars and planets. Her father encourages her by imagining what meals in outer space would be like, moving around in zero-gravity, and sleeping among the stars. When it's time to go pick their mother up to come home, readers will see that Astrid wants to follow in her footsteps This sweet picture book shares a story that lets young readers enjoy a special relationship between a father and his daughter and also shares the message that everyone, including girls, can reach for the stars. Astrid dreams of one day being an astronaut. She spends her free time studying the stars and planets. Her father encourages her by imagining what meals in outer space would be like, moving around in zero-gravity, and sleeping among the stars. When it's time to go pick their mother up to come home, readers will see that Astrid wants to follow in her footsteps

This sweet picture book shares a story that lets young readers enjoy a special relationship between a father and his daughter and also shares the message that everyone, including girls, can reach for the stars. Astrid dreams of one day being an astronaut. She spends her free time studying the stars and planets. Her father encourages her by imagining what meals in outer space would be like, moving around in zero-gravity, and sleeping among the stars. When it's time to go pick their mother up to come home, readers will see that Astrid wants to follow in her footsteps

This sweet picture book shares a story that lets young readers enjoy a special relationship between a father and his daughter and also shares the message that everyone, including girls, can reach for the stars. Astrid dreams of one day being an astronaut. She spends her free time studying the stars and planets. Her father encourages her by imagining what meals in outer space would be like, moving around in zero-gravity, and sleeping among the stars. When it's time to go pick their mother up to come home, readers will see that Astrid wants to follow in her footsteps

A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel 

This picture book has young readers considering time and perspective with a lyrical description of a stone. With poetic text and gorgeous illustrations, the stone is huge and bumpy to some creatures, small and smooth to other creatures, dark, light, quiet, noisy, etc. This would be a good way to talk about perspective and descriptive writing to kids.

Vroom! by Barbara McClintock 

The young girl in this story takes readers on an amazing adventure in her race car. As she's staring out her bedroom window, the girl puts on her helmet and takes off across fields, over mountains, through the woods, and back home again - just in time for bed. This book kind of reminds me of the ride down the river a young girl takes in the book A River by Marc Martin. This could be a good mentor text for young writers who wish to describe an adventurous journey.

The Worst Book Ever by Elise Gravel

This book is fun because, while it's story is poorly written, the three characters that are the critics point all of that out. This would be a good way to start a discussion with young readers and writers about the problems in this story and how to avoid those in writing. It would be interesting to have kids rewrite the story to make it better.

I Will Race You Through This Book! by Jonathan Fenske 

This cute picture book is interactive and engaging as it challenges young readers to a race to the end of the book. The tricky rabbit that wants to race readers does his best to cheat, run ahead, and distract until the end of the book. This would make a fun read aloud.