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 starting the fourth week of social distancing. I'm so glad the weather is warmer now and we can at least get outside and walk. But our isolation ways make the outdoors somewhat odd. We do see our neighbors out and about, but we usually cross to the other side of the street in order to give each other safe space. Thankfully, waving and smiling and saying "hello" is still all right. I've done some reading, but once again, I have a hard time concentrating. I have included a few video resources for my selections to help those that are at home and looking for ways to engage kids in the reading. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! Here's what I've been reading:

Charlie & Mouse Outdoors (Charlie & Mouse #4) by Laurel Snyder, Emily Hughes (Contributor)

During these days of social distancing and warmer weather, many of my friends have posted social media photos of their family enjoying backyard camping. Families are making awesome memories of toasting marshmallows over fires, setting up tents and having fun together. This fourth Charlie & Mouse book has the two brothers enjoying a camping trip with their family. They tell stories to fight boredom during the car trip, use their imagination and fight off scary animals during a hike in the woods, and eat toasty marshmallows by the campfire. Young readers might enjoy reading this one and planning their own camping trip. They could write about it and have special experiences with their own families.

Click on the link above for a YouTube video of Laurel Snyder, the author, reading Charlie & Mouse Outdoors and sharing a writing/imagination activity for young writers.

Buen Shabat, Shabbat Shalom by Sarah Aroeste, Ayesha Lopez Rubio (Contributor)

This sweet board book uses simple text and sharp, colorful illustrations to share with young readers how a Sephardic Jewish family celebrates their sabbath.

Straw by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Scott Magoon (Illustrations)

Sadly, the author passed away in 2017, so every book that comes out is special. This cute picture book tells the story of straw, who likes to do everything fast and always be the first to finish. His attitude alienates the rest of his friends, until one day he's a little too fast. He learns that it's often best to slow down and savor life's experiences. As we have all had to slow down a bit during this coronavirus isolation period, this is good advice for all of us. It's important to enjoy the experiences we can have with friends and loved ones, even if it's from a distance. This might be a good way to inspire young writers to imagine the stories other inanimate objects might tell.

Packs: Strength in Numbers by Hannah Salyer 

It seems kind of odd to be reading a nonfiction picture book about animal groups, including humans, during this period of social distancing. We're better together, but at a distance of at least six feet. But we have to remember that in the natural world, animals travel together, hunt together, and protect each other. This book uses simple, informative text and lovely illustrations to highlight packs, herds, flocks, and many other animal groups. The book also includes an author's note with suggestions for protecting endangered animals, a list of books for further reading, and a numbered list with the names of the specific animals shown in this book. This would definitely be a good book to share with young readers as part of a science or biodiversity lesson. It also might be a good reference before or during a trip to the zoo (even if it's a virtual trip on the computer).

The Passover Mouse by Joy Nelkin Wieder, Shahar Kober (Contributor)

The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way so many people practice religion, and Passover this year will definitely be different. This charming picture book is a great way to share some of the traditions of this Jewish holiday with young readers. The clever story was based on a passage of the Talmud dealing with the religious rules about cleaning the house of unleavened bread before the holiday. After Rivka has spent a great deal of time getting her home ready, a little mouse steals some bread and spreads it all over town. It seems ironic that in this story a little mouse changes everything, and in our current situation it is a virus that is changing so much.

The Passover Mouse Book Trailer

Interview with Joy Nelkin Wieder, author of The Passover Mouse

Just in Case You Want to Fly by Julie Fogliano, Christian Robinson (Illustrations)

Sadly, with all of the stay-at-home orders in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, books and stories are now just about the only way to get out to someplace special. Young readers will appreciate the comforting, rhyming text and joyfully rendered illustrations that promise to whisk them away into the sky to fly.

From the creators of Just In Case You Want to Fly

Jump! by Scott M. Fischer 

This fun, rhyming picture book will have young readers giggling as a bug is eaten by a frog, the frog is eaten by a cat, the cat is eaten by a hound, an so on. Each animal is gobbled up by a bigger animal. Don't worry, though. It all turns out okay in the end. Children will begin to see a pattern emerge and this would be a fun way to have them make predictions about what will happen next. This could also inspire young writers to come up with their own predictable pattern stories.

It seems kind of odd to be reading a nonfiction picture book about animal groups, including humans, during this period of social distancing. We're better together, but at a distance of at least six feet. But we have to remember that in the natural world, animals travel together, hunt together, and protect each other. This book uses simple, informative text and lovely illustrations to highlight packs, herds, flocks, and many other animal groups. The book also includes an author's note with suggestions for protecting endangered animals, a list of books for further reading, and a numbered list with the names of the specific animals shown in this book. This would definitely be a good book to share with young readers as part of a science or biodiversity lesson. It also might be a good reference before or during a trip to the zoo (even if it's a virtual trip on the computer)