Monday Reading-Giveaway Winner

           Every Monday, it's a pleasure to link up with a group that reviews books they want to share with others. Come discover new books!

          Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up.   

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It's time to announce the giveaway posted last week for a prize pack of Journey and Quest by Aaron Becker, thanks to Candlewick Press. 

THE WINNER CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER IS RICKI GINSBERG

Ricki, I'll contact you to get your address so the books can be mailed.

Congratulations!

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This is the third time I've mentioned this book below, but I had to share one more time. It's so good!

          There are sad books for middle grades, and I've read and loved many of them, sympathized with the hurt of children, wishing they could grow a little more before facing loss. But this book teaches! It shows teachers why they must listen and watch their students so carefully, knowing that hiding true things is what they do, just like Ms. Bixby knows. And it shows friends-Steve, Brand and Topher-uncommonly loyal, something to remember to be, something to learn to be! I was teary through quite a lot of the story. John Anderson tells a story that satisfies, surprises, and makes me want to shout out to the world: READ THIS BOOK! So I am!

           Pairing this new book by Kobi Yamada with his earlier What Do You Do With An Idea? will create a wealth of ideas for a classroom community, books as part of the group experience learning how to approach both ideas and problems. One can refer to the thoughts and reasoning again and again. A young boy fears being swallowed up by a problem, so bad that it is shown by Mae Besom's illustrations as a terrible storm. The detail in the illustrations, including many of the boy's belongings, is amazing, swirling around the boy, personal parts of his life. And then there's the problem, which he soon realizes that he must face. He thinks: "Maybe I was making the problem bigger and scarier than it actually was. After all, my problem hadn't really swallowed me up or attacked me." The resolution makes sense, something even adults can embrace. It's a terrific book. 

          I haven't been reviewing many books for the very youngest children, but I found this at the library and it looked so cute. Little Madison, like other little ones, just needs one more hug, and drink, and blanket. The colorful illustrations are simple as is the text, just right for young children who will understand about this mouse's bedtime, so like their own. There is a funny surprise at the end.

        Others have mentioned this book, and I managed to find it at my library. I assume it's considered fiction because it begins with a boy in a wheelchair who, on a beach, wishes he could fly. He's watching a flock of godwits arriving. The sub heading of the title says "In its lifetime a godwits will usually fly farther than the distance from the earth to the moon."

          Jeannie Baker, an author/illustrator from Australia, tells the story of this amazing traveler, living in Australia and New Zealand in the warmer times, but traveling more than 7,000 miles to their northern home in Alaska. In wonderful collaged paintings, Baker takes us with the godwits on its journey, following the curve of the earth, sometimes finding no place to stop to feed because of new development. Each one returns in Alaska to its one special spot, to a courtship and a raising of the young. Soon the journey begins again toward the south. There is an author's note and a world map at the back, with a list of other migrating creatures added to the illustrations throughout. I enjoyed the beauty of the pages, but would have liked added information, even about those extra creatures. 

       From Colombian illustrator José Sanabria, a thoughtful story in three parts that shows change and the way people in need can come together to make a community. The endpapers and the illustrations are special to see. 

Now Reading: Still A Work in Progress by Jo Knowles, will be out August 2nd!

Up Next: The World From Up Here by Cecilia Gallant