Monday Reading

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. 
         







         After a special graduation celebration with my grandson and all the family, I'm ready to share more great books!


       It feels as if all of Lynda Mullaly Hunt's books not only offer wonderful stories to read but in addition, lessons for us adults as well as children to live by. "Shouting at the Rain" is a new book about a girl, Delsie, who lives on Cape Cod only with her Grammy, grew up also with Papa Joseph until he died. Her mother left her with them when she was a baby and left a big hole in Delsie's heart. The struggle this summer begins with long-time friend Brandy arriving for the summer but changed. She's more interested in having a mani-pedi than traveling the beach looking for rocks and shelves to use for building something as the pair did in past summers. Delsie's summer continues with less fun and more struggles as Brandy makes a new, not-so-nice-to-Delsie friend. And then there's that new boy Ronan, some say is "trouble". Mullaly Hunt lays the groundwork for the struggle, mixing in the neighbors Esme and Henry with their child, Ruby, along with grumpy Olive with a mysterious connection to the huge tree in her yard. The community's best places to eat, the garage sales and ocean creatures add to Delsie's world with memorable scenes showing that things do not always appear the same when hidden layers are revealed. The story's layers bit by bit show the realistic advice from the title and other maxims for living, many from Grammy. Delsie learns "It's not what you look at that counts, but what you see" and in a sweet author's note, Lynda Mullaly Hunt expands on that idea, too. It's another 'don't-miss' book. And, there is a fun surprise in the notes at the end.

         You will fall in love with this wolf, his voice and persistence to live no matter the hardship and loss. The language fills one up as Rosanne Parry takes us with him on his poignant journey. Its images made me smile: On a chipmunk meal: "They aren't worth the trouble of hunting. A mouthful of stripes and a squeak, that's all you get." And they showed feelings, yes, of a wolf, but kin to humans, too. "The sun makes its own walk across the sky, and my shadow is all the company I find." It is a beautiful journey to take. 
           The story is based on a real wolf. Parry adds much information about him, wolves, the other animals in the land he calls his home.

            Goodreads says that "On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be, and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families."  

            There are emotional highs and lows in this story of sixteen-year-old Bri whose dream is to be a great rapper, like her father who was gunned down when she was young. She wants to get out of her hood neighborhood, wants to help her brother and mom, all struggling to make enough for food and clothes and rent, the electricity bill, the heat bill. They want to be "on the come up".  As a person NOT knowing much about rap, that part was a learning experience, but as a lover of poetry, I began to love what Bri and the others whose words were given wrote and shared while grieving for her troubles and hoping for her dreams being met. It's long and I raced through it, wanting this new teen to make it! One concern was that the ending seemed to come together rather fast. But sometimes that is how life works, quick down, then quick up!

            

       Linda Sue Park teaches and entertains in every one of her books. This story of Gondra, a young dragon with an Eastern dragon dad and a Western dragon mom, celebrates the dragon she is, and is becoming, with parts of both parents to celebrate. She is happy to be a combination of both parents. It's a wonderful story of a family that show differences in looks and in opinions. Gorgeous illustrations enhance the story with dragon ideas of how they live and look, adding what seems to be a stuffie companion to Gondra plus a cat which adds to the warmth and humor. It's another 'dragon' book to cherish! Park adds some extra dragon history in her author's note.

         Fun rhymes by Katey Howes tell the story with pages filled with objects created by this boy and girl. They celebrate all along the pages--things for play, things to 'think', things to sell and drink, things to give. It is a message of creative fun that leads to becoming a maker of something for others. Elizabet Vukovic's illustrations will inspire everyone to get out that sketchbook, bring out the blocks and cardboard, the saws and boards and paints and more. "Be A Maker!" 

         Many older books are donated to the used bookstore where I work. I wanted to share these three books, all good stories from some years ago. They're all worth looking for at your libraries! 

Now reading: I found Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark McGinnis at my library, will start soon. And I'm continuing The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek, a tough read about racism and poverty in the Kentucky hills long ago.