It's Monday - Celebrating Brand New 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.  Your TBR lists will grow! Happy Reading!
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   I finished Emily St. John Mandel's new adult book, The Glass Hotel. You can read my Goodreads review here.


             I hope all of you are doing well and staying safe as you are able. I seem to have more to do or I'm wasting more time than I used to, getting less reading done it seems, but I have enjoyed what I did finish. Including loving Emily St. John Mandel's older Station Eleven, I have adored the following new picture books by favorite authors of so many other marvelous books!

          I expect you know Laura Purdie Salas' previous special poetry like Water Can Be, A Rock Can Be, and the more recent Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle or In The Middle of The Night. There are many others. Her newest book just came out at the end of April and I've already seen numerous reviews that show how special the book is. Now, I'm sharing to urge you to add it to your non-fiction poetry collection, a perfect way to enjoy learning about animals, this time, the life of a loon, from hatching to flying! The exceptional photographs are by Chuck Dayton, a nature photographer, and the book was published by the Minnesota Historical Society. 
         Laura uses quatrains to tell the story of chick to grown-up, including its learning, patient parents, the dangers, and the push to learn how to fly. They are brief, yet packed with information in a strong poetic voice. I can imagine reading this aloud to a group who will learn as they enjoy the story, eager to know what's next? I love the way the photographs bleed into one another in double-page spreads, carrying the story's progress beautifully. Here's one example:

           There is extra information at the back, also interesting. I always knew that loons struggle and flap wildly in order to get off the water, but did not know it's because they have solid, heavy bones. According to the information, that helps them dive deeply. It would be great for students to study a favorite animal and create their own book with Laura's poems as mentors. A favorite line: "“Every secret Moon needs, / she carries inside.” which refers to the learning from parents and that mystery still unsolved as to how birds know where to migrate when they go to warmer climates and when they return to their original places. What a great book to add to favorite poetry and science books.

         I was so excited to read that Akiko Miyakoshi had written and illustrated another book. Remember The Way Home In The Night and The Tea Party In The Woods? And more! This time, an innkeeper who appears to love his work. He helps his guest and tells about his village. But then he dreams of traveling to some of those places he has only learned about. By plane or bicycle or car, he goes to the beach, visits with former guests in a picnic, and views a beautiful rainbow. He says he will remember, but then he wakes and finds himself "still here". The dreams are in color while his life remains in black and white, all beautifully rendered and textured. The end is not quite "the end", leaving readers guessing. It's a poignant story, one time showing this innkeeper viewing a wall filled with cards from former guests, a melancholy story. It feels as if it could be viewed in various ways, always great for a discussion, right?

             How could I miss purchasing Lauren Castillo's new early chapter book with stories that include a favorite animal, a hedgehog? I could not! I have previously loved Imagine and It's Not Time for Sleeping which she illustrated and Nana In The City, which won the Caldecott. This time, readers have the pleasure of meeting new characters in Our Friend, Hedgehog, The Story of Us. It centers on Hedgehog who lives on an island in the middle of a river with her friend, Mutty. They love each other, have fun together, but Hedgehog does admit, she is sometimes lonely. After a horrific storm that whisks Mutty away to we don't know where, Hedgehog has to gather all her courage to search. She must swim across the river to the forest, quite daunting, but she is a good swimmer, loving the backstroke! Thus begins this journey of bravery and kindness, helpful hands and so much gratitude. Each part begins carefully setting the stage for readers. Before the title page, there is an introduction of the characters, and each character or group is introduced with what appears to be a polaroid photo. (That's explained later.) At each chapter, there is also a hint that connects to the content of the next part. The endpapers even show a detailed map in full color! Lauren's illustrations please with their black outlining and strong colors. The details are fun to linger over. I imagine everyone will love Mole's cozy den and her knick-knacks on the walls. There is tension, too, in finding Mutty; Beaver is rather cranky, and Owl is a good leader! Annika, the young girl needs friends, too. You'll see that it's a perfect book for this time of loneliness in our children's worlds. 

                      Some fun things when ordering from Castillo's bookstore!

Now reading:

I started the sequel to Malamander, which is #1 in the series Eyrie on the Sea by Thomas Taylor. This time #2 is Gargantis. I'm trying to decide what makes me loved reading these, but I know this one is going to be a great adventure, too. Perhaps it's being reacquainted with the main characters? Perhaps the mystical and magical things that happen? I am enjoying Taylor's story-telling again very much.