Monday Reading - More Books Loved

        Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and 

  

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! Happy Reading! 

       

           How much can I tell of a book that ends a series, is an advanced copy, won't be there until May? Like the first two, there is plenty to love about the growth and strength of Anaya, Petra, and Seth and Oppel's ability to create complexity in both old and new characters immediately. You will enjoy those new characters and the return of others. The edginess of nearly every scene, like in the first two books, will keep you nervous, wanting to read on, yet worried about what that might mean. You might need to walk around a little bit before you read on! I enjoyed it very much, am sad to see The Overthrow end. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

           I just got this book from my library, then discovered that Kate Messner is reading it aloud here on YouTube! Enjoy! 

            Mama Sloth is so sweetly patient, offering small bits of advice to dear Sloth as they move slowly (and quietly) to bedtime. Listening to trees go "Shush - rush, Shush - rush" helps, but wrapping up worries and sending them away makes a very sleepy Sloth. Valentina Toro's fully illustrated "night-time" pages also help create a relaxed and soothing atmosphere. I love this Mama and her child at bedtime.

            

          And, after many holds, I finally have Carole Lindstrom's Caldecott-winning We Are Water Protectors. And I found Carole reading this aloud here! The sadness of the text, but the call for all of us to become Water Protectors is strong, and with the extraordinary beauty of Michaela Goade's illustrations, it's easy to see why it earned the highest honor of a Caldecott. There is added information about the background of water protectors, a glossary, and an illustrator's note at the back. Both these notes from the creators will add to the story, will invite your return to the book to understand more from Lindstrom's words and Goade's art.

            Simran Jeet Singh writes that this now-famous man didn't walk until he was five. He didn't get to go to school because his legs were too weak to walk the many miles to get there, so he taught himself to farm. He married and had children, who grew up and, at least some, moved to England. At 81, he left his home country and moved to be with them, but was sad and lonely, until he saw people running on television, and they were happy, smiling people! Thus begins this amazing and inspirational story of Fauja Singh, a true one of the oldest person ever to run a marathon. Illustrations by Baljinder Kaur center on this man, first as a child longing to run and play, then as a weak child, teased because of skinny legs. The background of his life feels so bright and happy, no matter the challenges. Ideas and beliefs of the Sikh religion, which Fauja Singh is, are incorporated into the story. His beliefs make a continuing thread throughout the story: "You know yourselves and what you're capable of. Today is a chance to do your best." He is still living at 108! There is a forward letter from him and added information at the back with a list of all his world records. What a special book this would be to read to children to both support and inspire them to follow Singh's words: "believe in yourself", "never give up", "always hold onto hope". 

         I now know why I had to wait so long to get this from the library. It's a special story of someone new and different showing up and being questioned, someone with a mysterious suitcase that couldn't possibly hold all that he said it held. There is a problem that caused sadness, even shame but it was fixed, thank goodness, with extra thoughtfulness. You truly need to see this one and then share it widely! With the simplest of words, Naylor-Ballesteros creates illustrations that do most of the talking as pages turn and curiosity grows and grows. 

What's Next: Beginning Gary Schmidt's Just Like That!