Monday Reading - A Range of Wonderful Books

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

Yesterday I celebrated Grandparents Day with five wonderful picture books. When you have time, be sure to check them out HERE!

As brutal and terrifying as the original, perhaps more so with the images already there by Renee Nault. It is a message needed, for daughters and granddaughters, the future. It does include less narrative information so if you haven't read the original, you may miss some important points.

Thanks to Candlewick Press for the advanced copy of these next three!

         Randy Cecil has written another brief chapter book (with four Acts) for early readers, this time about a little mouse named Douglas and a young girl names Iris Espinosa. Iris loves going to movies, buys popcorn each time from a vendor before the movie, but this time didn't expect to bring a mouse home in her sweater's pocket. It's easy to hear giggles as sweet Iris is thrilled to find the mouse, not alarmed at all. Loving adventure movies, she names him after her favorite actor, Douglas Fairbanks. I think kids may need to look that name up, but it is cute to see that not only does she give him a name, but a vest from one of her dolls. How the adventure continues makes an imaginative story that moves quickly, including a woman from the theater, Iris' older sister and boyfriend, and a cat with six toes. The hijinks, scary escapes and, thank goodness, satisfying ending along with Cecil's detailed illustrations that fill most of the page will be fun for beginning readers. 

         There are many things in our world that need healing. This story is not only about a dog that lost his bark, but a boy who lost hope, too. Eoin Colfer's story is told by both the dog, who became Ox and about the boy whose name is Patrick. After some first owners who held no good feelings about how a new puppy might be treated, who went so far as to leave him in a dump, this dog stopped barking. After all, that's what caused the terrible anger, wasn't it? Patrick and his mother are going to the city to visit Granddad, a music teacher. Actually, all the family are musicians and the father is off on his band's gig to Australia, never sure when he might be home. Stories of both Oz and Patrick intersect, both needing a lot of love and understanding, told beautifully by Colfer with illustrations sketched in pencil that add to the sweetness or alarm of every important moment. It's written for younger readers who may need to hear about loving someone or something until it 'barks'! You'll understand when you read this heartwarming book.

 

        This is a beautiful book, just perfect for a conversation with young readers about all kinds of creatures sleeping, and to talk about their own sleeping habits, too! From bats to chickens, ants to horses, there is bound to be a favorite animal to know more about. Kate Prendergast gives one fact in the brief text, then adds more information at the back. Her gorgeous and realistic illustrations show those slumbering animals as you see from the tiger cover, and surprise happens on one fun page when sharing about sloths that sleep upside down. The page is upside down, too! The question at the end keeps the sleepytime mood as it asks if readers wonder if animals dream. That's another fun conversation!

I finished The Overstory by Richard Powers, an amazing book! You can find my Goodreads review here.

Now reading: Fourth Dimension by Eric Walters (the last of the Rule of Three series)