Monday Reading - Great Week

           On Mondays, we are lucky to link up to share books we've read that are for children and teens with Jen at TeachMentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders. Others link to share adult books with Sheila at Book Journeys who started the meme a long time ago. You'll discover so many great books.  Come visit, and tweet at #IMWAYR. Thanks to Jen, Kellee, and Ricki for hosting!

           It's a long post today, so much fun reading this week!

         These first two books are from my MustReadIn2015 list. Hurrah!

 Reading books in the Raven cycle by Maggie Stiefvater feels sometimes like that old "Whack-A-Mole" game. Just when you feel that you can relax because something is solved, or at least all right at that moment, another, sometimes more alarming, thing pops up. In this book, the plot indeed thickens, and the characters show more of themselves in all their goodness and only a bit of evil. It's hard to choose a favorite character. I don't know if you have one, but I find even those who appear who are dead have authenticity. If that isn't enough to pique your interest, you'll need to read the first two books, then suspend all belief in this one, because magic and frightening things from the mind are apparent in every character. Those Raven Boys keep at it with a lot of help from my favorite girl character, Blue, and more than a little help from Mr. Grey. Adam stars in this story, and we see the real goodness come into play from both Ronin and Gansey. It was a pleasure to read Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and I now anticipate number four, due next February. More moles peeked out at the end of Blue Lily, Lily Blue. 

 Cynthia Lord takes us well under the skin of her characters, and in this one, I imagine both kids and parents (spouses) can relate when one of the family, this time the father, keeps them moving. Lucy, twelve, has already moved three times in her life. Just three years ago, they were in Vermont, then Boston, and now in a rather lifeless house on a lake in New Hampshire. She lets us know how she feels often, the uneasiness of whether to wave and smile at the kids she sees at the house next door, her constant worry if she’s saying the right thing. It’s hard growing up, and even harder when one has to keep starting over with friends. Lucy’s father is a successful nature photographer, is gone on adventures often, and Lucy misses him too. This particular summer, he’s off the day after their move, and Lucy and her mother are left behind to settle in and make new friends. Nate, a boy next door, is a summer visitor, so Lucy knows that he’ll be gone by fall, yet she is immediately included in the “loon watch”, where they kayak across the lake to check on a pair of loons nesting. A second story that actually helps the friendship is Nate’s grandmother, Grandma Lilah, a loon watcher, too, whose cabin it is, but who also is falling into dementia. Through a photography contest (that will be judged by her father), Lucy stepping out to see if she can please him, but anonymously; Nate helping, and unknowing, their lives become quite tangled and conflicted. Lord allows Lucy to tell the story as it builds the tension of the dilemmas of a twelve year old trying to navigate her life. There is more than one life lesson here. The book would be a good read aloud or be great to read with a small group.


            Published in 2009, I somehow missed this lovely story by Patricia Polacco. It's good to see another LBGT book for younger kids that shows changes from the expected, but so many things that are the same within the happy and loving families. Polacco's exuberant illustrations always make me smile.

It's a counting book, it's a celebration of families, all kinds, and it's wonderful to see and determine just what is being counted on each page. Love seeing the diversity here, and I can't wait to share it with younger children. George Shannon's story, and Blanca Comez' illustrations make a great combination.

      Gorgeous illustrations by Stephanie Graegin for each poem/sentence along with sweet little poems by Annette LeBox show numerous ways of gathering peace. Here are some favorite lines: "So offer a cookie. Walk away from a fight. Comfort a friend/Through the long, dark night." Each page shows a scene with children, sometimes with a parent. It's a calming book, one to read with a big sigh.











       I discovered this at my local bookstore, a lovely book for pre-schoolers at bedtime. The illustrations just invite kids to look and look, then touch. It's a nice introduction to how wonderful books can be and a great sleepy time book, too.










       Remember that last week I shared Rachel Isadora's beautiful There Was A Tree? Well, this time at the library, there sat this book, a new book to another old song, that Woman Who Swallowed the Fly. This time it is a gorgeous-to-see creation story, somewhat based on the discovery in 1879 of Spain's Altamira cave paintings by a nine year old girl! It's by Teri Sloat and illustrated by Stefano Vitale. Sloat takes one through the creation more and more as Vitale adds her imaginative paintings. As you can see from the cover, the art is gorgeous.






Finally, I couldn't leave this one out! Carrie Gelson of There's a Book For That sent me a recommendation for this book the same day I checked it out from the library. I think I requested it from her review! It is a fabulous book, to read the words, to see what happens, and to enjoy the surprises. I won't say more!

Still Reading:

With #CyberPd

And just started Anthony Doerr's All The Light We Cannot See, about time!