A Fabulous Reading Week

              Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to discover books you'll love! Thanks to Jen, Kellee and Ricki who share so much from their own reading lives and support this meme, too.

                                

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           I've read lots of picture books this week, will share a few favorites. I'm still reading Evicted, have started a book for a coming book club, and completed one arc I enjoyed.

      Thanks to Candlewick Press, I have had the pleasure of reading M. T. Anderson’s most recent story, a scathing commentary that’s wildly sci-fi but attacks the real ways of society today.  The VUVV have arrived on earth and many welcome it, believing that their advanced knowledge of technology will save everyone. And the teen artist, Adam, believes it, too. But most lose their jobs to this new tech, and with no money coming in, people on earth begin to live without things they used to think were always going to be there, like clean water and good food. The VUVV can make anything (think 3-d printers) but it costs a lot more, and slowly Adam begins to realize that he must do something to save himself and his family.

       Each chapter centers around a painting Adam does, and some is high-tech, holograms, etc., but as the chapters progress, Adam’s paintings reveal what is important to Adam. Despite the continuing gloom in the story, it does end with hope. The book will be a favorite of older teens who love Anderson’s witty comments on our own lives as they did with Feed.

          No matter which picture book below you choose, it seems that most are about people helping others, having fun, taking care to celebrate life and our world. Each one can be a celebration!

       I love the illustrations showing lots of feelings, and foremost, patience and love from the dad.  Jabari’s face when he is feeling the surprise and when he comes “up” with a splash makes one smile just like Jabari. For anyone who has a child with some fear, this is a book to have. For anyone with a class in which it’s a good goal to discuss doing scary things, this is the book to have.

       I discovered this at my library because I noticed it was by Nicola Davies, whose picture books please me every time I read them. I am happy I grabbed it because it’s a poignant story of a young boy, unhappy and lonely in the Welsh countryside, a country new to him, until he meets an elderly man who raises and races carrier pigeons. There he finds something to hold on to and a new friend. They both hold high hopes for one pigeon in a race across Europe. The illustrations by Laura Carlin in all their glory tell more of the story than Davies’ words through swirls and outlines, and I loved poring over them, finding tiny details as I read and re-read. Sweet, sweet story.

        Antoinette Portis takes a little girl on a journey that shows all her favorites and ends with an especially sweet one. Large, bright and colorful illustrations and poetic text make this book perfect for young children. And then they will want to share their own favorites!

       With simple “squiggly” marks on the page and a few letters, a young boy starts to write a story, just like his big sister, who helps in just the right way. He shares parts of the story during share time at school, gets a few more ideas, rejects some, uses others. He does things like all writers do, imagines and changes things, ends the story, and then, then he starts a new story. What a wonderful book to use with young “pre” readers and writers who know some letters, and are ready to begin their story creations. It’s clear this is a loving sibling relationship; the sister asks questions and explains just a little bit to keep her brother writing “his” story. He is in charge, like other writers.

        This is a “must-own” book for all ages.  My granddaughters and I were amazed at how many surprises it holds, all because of mistakes.  This is Corinna Luyken’s first book, and what a wonder it is! On the jacket flap: “A little spill could be a small mistake. . .or the start of a big idea.” I won’t tell more, too many pages are there to discover yourselves!

          Other reviews share that this is about a young girl imagining a lion walking her safely home because her father has left. It’s scary to make this walk alone, but she must. She picks up her baby brother at daycare and stops at the store, but their credit has been cut off. Imagining the lion offers her safety and warmth that’s shown beautifully through the wonderful illustrations by Rafael Yockteng, and they say goodbye at the end when mother arrives from her factory job. There is a picture of all the family at the end where the father resembles a lion. The front endpapers show the girl’s and the lion’s footprints; the back endpapers show large (the father’s?) and small ones. I read this to my granddaughters who thought perhaps the father had died or was away in the military.  The book flap only says the father is away and no one knows where. I think children will have much to discuss after reading this bittersweet story. First published in Mexico, and this is a translation.

         All kinds of celebrations happen on a rainy day with a few children who stomp and splash through the hours until the rain stops and there’s more to celebrate. With black and white illustrations and a touch of blue, then more color with the sun, this celebrates kids at play, inside and then outside with umbrellas. It’s fun and whimsical, will be great to talk to a group of kids about their own experiences inside and outside, in the rain and in the sun.

HAPPY READING!