A Bunch of Fun - Monday Reading

       Thanks to Sheila at Book Journeys It's Monday! What are you Reading? was started. For adult and children's books, check out Sheila's blog posts and links!               

         Later, Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Ricki and Kellee at Unleashing Readers started another group with a children's focus.  

                                                                  Visit all the links for reading ideas!

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            I loved all the books I finished this week, and have some wonderful new books from the library waiting. Although I'm so busy, I have been reading...

            Winter Bees, and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen

was reviewed on Poetry Friday, here.  It's gorgeous non-fiction poetry, with side pieces of extra info!

A Bird On Water Street – by Elizabeth O. Dulemba

                  A historical fiction novel about Jack, a thirteen year old destined to follow his father, and grandfather into the copper mines in Coppertown, but all he really wants is to see the green of trees, and to hear the birds sing. It’s a rather low-key book considering the serious theme, the dangers to the environment and to humans from the pollution of mining. It chronicles life in a real-life town in this industrial mining town in Tennessee, and the everyday adventures of these young adults. There are photographs of the way a real town looks during the mining, absolutely no vegetation, no birds, insects or other living creatures. Even fish in the streams are gone.  Life is spare, but the characters come to life in everyday happenings, music Fridays, Sunday church, and boys going sledding on cardboard. I found it a little slow, but compelling in that I wanted to find out what was going to happen when Jack’s father and other miners went on strike. There is that story, and further true information in the author’s note.

         Thanks to my wonderful book buddy at school, I had the pleasure of reading these next three! I wish she would begin blogging. She knows so-o-o much about books for young students.

Coming Home – written and illustrated by Greg Ruth

           With only a few words and some important capturing of mood in paintings, Greg Ruth has managed to tell an important  and exciting story that happens to children all over the U.S., their parent comes home from combat.

Grandma – written and illustrated by Jessica Shepherd

            This is a sweet book that shows a little boy having a good time with his grandma, even when she needs to enter a nursing home because of dementia. Slowly it shows change, and sometimes not happy change. The story is shared well, and has good, supportive back matter that gives further information, especially for parents of young children. Because my grandchildren experienced this with their grandfather, I know firsthand that it is not an easy change, but one young granddaughter just thought her grandfather was in a hospital (she was three and four those years), and enjoyed visiting and playing with him as well as the other residents.

Zero Is The Leaves On The Tree – written by Betsy Franco and illustrated by Shino

Arihara

              It’s a fun book showing all kinds of daily things that mean zero, like “the balls in the bin at recess time. 0 balls.”  And, “the kites in the sky once the wind stops blowing. 0 kites.”

It’s repetitive and will be a good read aloud for young children.

Still reading: What The Moon Saw, by Laura Resau. So far, I'm enjoying it very much.

Next: I may have to skim/read some books to find some new ones for book groups. If you have favorites for middle school advanced readers, please recommend them! These students can read mid-level books, but also read adult classics, too.