Monday Reading - Wow Books!

              Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who post their favorites.

                I have a second post today HERE, sharing a book giveaway as part of a blog tour! Come visit!

              In this busy month, I wish you joy with family and friends and cozy times with a good book, wherever you are, whatever you celebrate.

Thanks to Candlewick for these two beautiful Christmas books. 

        It is a story of a homeless boy who discovers he can have his own Christmas tree. What he does with it and then the community shows a generous child making his own cheer in a sad situation. The illustrations are lovely and nostalgic with many snowy city scenes.

       It's a beautiful lift-the-flap exploration of nature as little tree realizes it is not so alone as it thinks. Each page holds several flaps and the words tease readers to find what's being said by lifting the flaps. Some of nature's things are visible, but others hide, and in clever places, too. Where is the "brilliant goldfinch (that) sings?" and where is the field mouse "who needs a place to hide"? It's a great book to introduce come of the wonders of nature.

            In brief poetic text, Suzanne Slade's shows the vision of President John Kennedy's challenge to go to the moon, covering the facts, the dangers, the community effort to complete the missions. She explains that it became even more imperative to finish what was started after the assassination of President Kennedy. After each mission, there are pages that show the basic facts and a picture of each astronaut. I noted that few are still living today. Throughout, real photos are there, along with Thomas Gonzalez' paintings that capture the action, the people, the places that until these space flights, no one had ever seen them before. They are stunning depictions of this marvelous history. It is a book to read, to savor, to then look again, being sure not to miss a thing. The backmatter adds more information, author's and illustrator's notes, a bibliography, source list for quotations and photo credits.

          This is better left for everyone to read and be pleasantly surprised. It will be grand to read aloud to a group of young readers, to celebrate and love Pamela Zagarenski's fabulous illustrations and the way Randall de Sève takes a few words, building the suspense to see Zola's elephant. I enjoyed it very much. 

      I read a reference in one book about a story of the first strawberries, found this wonderful origin story by Joseph Bruchac and Anna Vojtech. The first woman and man quarrel and the woman leaves him. As she walks, the sun tries its best to help. The struggle and the happy ending are beautifully told and illustrated.

             It's a glorious, living story of a day in the life, this time with a fox, hungry and traveling through the woods to find what is possible, first a mouse, then, whew, a rabbit. It also becomes the hunted when encountering a wolverine. Jonathan London has written the story in brief, poetic text and each of Daniel Miyares's pages show the need, the capture, the danger and the silent, safe warmth of the fox's hole. "Little foxling, little fox,/safe in your hole – tomorrow/you will go back/out into the snow./But tonight, you can rest/in your halo of warmth./Good night, little fox."

     This is the latest in the adventures of Farmer Falgu by Chitra Soundar. There are three others. This one holds an underlying message, that even when one has missed out on a plan because of helping others, often things do work out. Perhaps they do, perhaps they don't, but I enjoyed reading the adventure of Farmer Falgu going to a festival, Kumbh Mela, that has certain rituals, and is help only every twelve years. It is good to learn of holidays that are important in other cultures. 

          Winter officially begins in ten days, but for some of you in different parts of the country, it has definitely begun. Here's a book from Kevin Henkes that celebrates the winter full of snow. I love the line, "The wind howls in every language and the windows rattle". It's quite a big storm pictured beautifully by Laura Drozek, all through some days with soft-black outlining the colors and lots of grays and blues--winter! There is a surprise at the end.

       I had to wait a while for this one, many holds at the library! It is worth the wait! In the Igbo language, 'Omu' means "queen", but Oge Mora explains in her author's note that to her it means 'Grandma'. In memory of her own grandmother's welcome to anyone who is ready for a meal, Oge tells this tale of an Omu so generous that she gives away all her delicious stew. It all turns out happily and you'll need to read it to discover how. The mixed-media illustrations are as delicious as the story! I loved every page.


Still reading:  How to Be A Good Creature by Sy Montgomery and have nearly finished Photographic by Isabel Quintero & Zeke Pena.