It's Monday - Book Wonders Again

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. 

       
       If you are interested, I'm writing a poem a day for poetry month, posting a second post on the days that I share reviews.

       Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup shares a roundup of all the Kidlitosphere's goals for poetry month, several that share wonderful ideas for the classroom!

       It's easy to read the summary of this book, about new freshman Aubrey, still grieving the terrible death of her sister who died in a car wreck while Aubrey was the passenger and the death of her beloved grandmother, her main support. But until you read the book, you won't understand the tension Kate offers on page after page. Her mother is distant (facing her own struggles) and her father is away a lot on business. But when Aubrey falls over a dead body of a boy about her age and there is so, so much blood, and then she wakes with the same tattoo of a red flower on her arm that was on that boy's arm, I wanted to write Kate Coombs that the book was getting much, much scarier, that it was very hard to stop reading because I had no idea what might happen next, but then it became more tense and I had to stop, at least for a while. It's a great but a frightening, story based loosely on an old fairy tale that Kate shares at the end - for older middle readers and younger ya. You'll cheer for this 'young woman' and 'little brother' heroes.  

Thanks to Candlewick Press for the following three books!

       
         Young boy Noah "spied it coming from afar. It started with a cloud peeping over the hill like a curious ghost." "It's going to be a beauty," said Noah's father. Mother and little sister stack groceries and fill water jugs in the kitchen while Father got out his tools, ready to board up the windows. With John Rocco's beautifully-colored paintings, the story follows a calm family readying for a big storm. After noticing the small living creatures in his back yard and with a bit of magical realism, Noah himself takes apart his wagon, builds a roof and adds some tiny furniture and a muffin tin of food. He then whispers "Come" to the creatures. And they do! Noah must leave them to run inside as "the sun snapped off its light". The storm has arrived. Preparing ahead shows that it helps the frightening aspect of any storm. The family eats and plays by candlelight; the storm rages, but they are prepared and are safe. You'll need to read the rest to see what happens with Noah's ark! 

        Sometimes that are books that have long stories, some books are brief and poetic, like this one by Carme Lemniscates telling all about birds in opposites. The young girl on the cover seems to be thinking the words, musing about birds as she walks and bikes, sometimes sits with a friend. The poetic text offers observations that will invite added conversation. For example, "Some birds are really big." sits on a double-page spread of an eagle that appears almost bigger than life as it soars over a neighborhood. And "Others are tiny." shows a hummingbird in its glory as it flits around cherry blossoms. Numerous attributes are included, bird homes and songs and their life's journeys, near or far. Birds' importance in human lives is also shown, like "A bird's song is like the loving words of a friend." with a sweet illustration showing the girl and a young boy visiting while sitting under a tree as a  songbird near sings its song. There's a magical ending which all will love.
            

         First time published here in the U.S., we meet a cookie that shouts back from the pages, "close the book, "you nosy noodle!" It's from Laura Dockrill, a well-known spoken-word poet from the UK, with a story breaking the fourth wall about a very grumpy cookie. The cookie vents about its day, shouting all the time to readers to go away! His problems vary, but young readers will connect to no more strawberry toothpaste, an annoying friend, a bad haircut, and an ice cream shop that’s run out of its favorite sundae. In the end, the cookie realizes “why I’m so angry at the whole world. Because nobody listens to me. Nobody sticks around.” The reader is still there, showing that listening is an important way to support a friend having a bad day, and the cookie feels better! Childlike art by Maria Karipidou helps a fun story come alive in all its quirkiness. I imagine the young readers will adore it, and learn how to help a friend, too.

One marvelous new poetry book!

          Most of the time when I read any poetry books by Laura Purdie Salas, I want to return the fun with my own poem, showing how much I love the book(s). Yes, I do! 
          Who hasn't imagined things in their homes moving around in adventures while they sleep? Perhaps it's mostly children, but hasn't everyone, after waking, found at least one object in a different place from where they "thought" it was placed? In this book of varied kinds of poems, animal stuffies anxiously wait for "you to sleep, so we can play!" Angela Matteson's full-page illustrations add to the whimsey of Laura's imagined play, with bright colors, fun actions and varied emotions. For example, you'll see happy pencils gliding on their own paper airplanes and one sad marker leaning against a jar. Poor thing, amongst all the play, it cries, "I skip on paper/scratch and skid./I'm useless since/you lost my lid." 
         There are few things left that aren't having their nighttime fun as readers travel through the rooms. They'll grin when they hear from an empty pocket calling for things to hold, see the fun of a kleenex parachute taking a paperclip on a ride or toothpaste art in the bathroom sink, then laugh aloud at the sad toilet left "behind". And they will be surprised to see an aching basketball who sleeps in ice from all that dribbling. My favorite is a poem for two voices, the lament of flip-flops and winter boots who never get to experience the "other" season. Each poem will be terrific as a read aloud, but especially that one.
          I've offered only a few examples. There is more that will make you laugh and more that will inspire writers to imagine their own "creature playing at night".  Sunshine finds some tired souls ready to rest as humans begin their waking. 

      

Three More Lovely Picture Books!

        Oh my, this is a wonderful story, a 'turnaround' story. Bernard receives a letter from The Queen of Storybook Land inviting him to be in a book. The stress of imagining what he will have to do, as others have, ends with him deciding not to go. He imagines that sometimes bears (in books) have to float, but the practice fails. He knows that sometimes bears in books are messy, and again, he tries and cannot 'be' messy. His friend Gertie the goose is a helpful friend, convincing Bernard to go despite what he thinks of as failures.  Illustrator Saburi’s black outlining couple with cozy pink, blue, and brown fills, calm illustrations that give a cozy feel as we read this story with emotional ups and downs.  You will love the end, that the book is really about Bernard being brave, which he is, all through the book.

           For many who don't quite understand about wearing a hijab, and for those who do wear one, this is a marvelous book by Hena Khan showing all the different ways this young girls' family and one scout leader are creative in their choice of hijabs, in color and in style. Then in private places, each one reveals their personal choices, too, of long and short hair, hair in a bun, or flowing down the back, colored or not. Early adolescence is when girls do begin to wear the hijab if they choose, but the author's note at the back explains that some are no longer wearing one, per their personal interpretations of Islamic religious requirements. It's a glowing and colorful story illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel told by this one young girl, introducing her own examples.

       I know I've found my new favorite short chapter-book stories like Frog and Toad or Elephant & Piggie. They are Fox + Chick, two great friends who will explain when one is scared of something, who will show patience when trying to get to a hill to see a sunrise, and who will bring (and share) a chocolate cake so the other won't be sick. I'll leave it to you the reader to figure out who is who. The simple pictures don't miss a needed expression or a more-detailed setting. They are just perfect, like their friendship. 
   

Just Finished: An early copy from Candlewick Press of The Great Nijinsky-God of Dance by Lynn Curlee and New Kid by Jerry Craft  

I'm not sure what's next!     Happy Reading!