Monday Reading Shared - New! New! New!

         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! 

       I hope you are having a nice long weekend despite the weather. It looks as if Mother Nature is letting us know she is still here! 

Thrill Seekers is the first book
in the new Women of Power series: 
Bold Books to inspire Bold Moves

         I am fortunate to have been connected with Ann McCallum Staats through a friend and received an e-arc of this book coming March 2nd, very soon! You can visit Ann on her web page HERE to view all her books. I haven't read many, but enjoyed Women Heroes of the US Army, one that celebrates women of that part of our history.

         This newest book by Ann celebrates women today as you can see from the title. They are making history right now! I was amazed and constantly in awe as I read through Ann's stories of each of these women. I've ordered a copy for myself so I can pass it on to my granddaughters who are both athletic and will love reading of girls who've grown to women as they achieve in sports what few others have done.

          Ann divides the fifteen into five parts: "Maximum Sky", "Extreme Ocean", "Radical Rides", Epic Ice and Snow", and "Adrenaline Earth". Each one digs deep into the lives, from first childhood adventuring through discovering their passion (and talent) which lies in the path of achievement through hard work and persistence. Each time I also enjoyed seeing the help given along the journey from family, friends, and coaches. 

          It's not easy to explain just how much Ann has included in these stories. Within each one, there is the focus on the one woman, the 'thrill-seeker', but along with the sport that woman is learning about and practicing and achieving, Ann also includes the facts "behind" it. For example, Melanie Curtis started with skydiving. She was familiar with it because her father ran a drop zone ("a designated place where divers land"), yet she hadn't really decided to do a first jump until she was eighteen. In this piece, added to Melanie's journey to one of the women who gathered other women to break the world record for the largest female VES formation, are facts about safety, a piece about "Parachuting Pioneers", "How a Parachute Works", and "Different Dives". The combination of each woman's history and of the sport itself creates a fascinating story every time! 

           Notes I made as I read: There is good advice in every chapter, like "Competition is as much a mental game as it was about performing well physically." from Julia Marino in "The Art of Snowboarding". In Lizzie Armanto's experience of snowboarding, she shows how to push away negative thoughts when thinking about a challenge: "Am I making it bigger and harder than it is?" 

           Ann inspires with her own words in the Introduction: "What do you long to do? Three, two, one! Go for it!"

          You will find an Afterword, Acknowledgments, and Endnotes at the back.

Need more inspiration? HERE is a video of Ann herself skydiving!

           This will be great to read aloud at least some of the chapters to show the excitement in every sport, the challenges and the rewards! After conversations, let the kids read more themselves. If you have a class, you'll need more than one copy!

            Thank you, Ann, for this special new book!

         It was snowy and very cold over the weekend so I read and read. Lucky me! Don't miss this 3rd book in Gary Schmidt's trilogy! Set in 1968, the thread of Vietnam war protests escalates as Meryl Lee Kowalski loses her best friend and is sent to the coast of Maine to an elite girls' school to begin 8th grade, held in what she calls "the blank" of grief. She faces snobby girls and teachers who cling to what's always been. As I read the beginning, I felt terrible for her, alone, parents seeming unable to help so send her away. At the same time, I met Matt Coffin, same age, but on the run in a frightening way as it is revealed, he had been caught up in a group led by the criminal Leonidas Shug, whose gang had killed Matt's sweet best friend, Georgie. He's escaping, maybe.

         Setting up the alternate stories that bring good people helping into the story creates an emotional read as both Meryl and Matt need to escape again and again: Meryl questioning teachers then getting in trouble, Matt learning that there really isn't any place permanently called home. Literature keeps its thread, too, as Schmidt always does, this time The Wizard of Oz and Oliver Twist are part of the weft added so beautifully in this story. Beloved characters we meet also add to the weaving from the wise Dr. MacKnockater to the lobster boat Captain Hurd and Athletic Coach Rowlandson, plus those who help Matt on the run, and all those girls who reveal some traits that I suspect they didn't know they had! There is an added bonus of those political times, a visit from Vice-President Agnew that turns into some furor and fun in the midst of the story.

       Oh, it is a marvelous book that offers a range of emotions, a tension on the loom that never loosens, but there is always hope, too. 

            Bringing a wonderful story to children helps them understand part of the Bidens' history in the White House, a bit of the past at home in Delaware, then serving as Vice-President with President Obama, finally home to the White House as President and First Lady. Champ is a long-time pet, then along came Major as a pup, adopted from a local shelter. Sheyda Abvabi Best's illustrations help tell this happy story with colorful pictures always centering around the dogs. In few words, Joy Mccullough offers some historical background while centering on some lively stories of Champ, whose job is "to make sure his dad (President Biden) doesn't work all the time." Sheyda shows the President snoozing in an armchair with Champ at his feet. Then Major comes along and had to be shown a few things, but "Mayor doesn't need lessons on how to be a good friend." Readers see him bringing a gift of a bone to Champ! Added are an author's note, more information about adopting from a shelter, and a marvelous timeline of many past Presidents and their pets. One had a cow! It's an entertaining book to add to your collection about U.S. history. Remember others in the past have published books about their pets, like Barbara Bush in Millie's Book that gives a tour of the White House. In my search, I also saw a number of books when I searched for Presidential Pets. There are a lot!

       Thanks to Candlewick Press for the following three picture books. There is so much to enjoy in them!

        Not only does this have a marvelous cover, but the "inside" cover is totally new. When opened wide, there is a wide view of the fantastic activity that happens in one large tree of Whiskers Hollow. Much of the village depends on trees. There's a library, a general store, acorn storage (yes!), and an acorn ice cream shop, plus so much more! I imagine each character or group has a great story to tell. Because of it, I know you'll want to read on, then return to it and the inside cover map, again and again, looking for the characters you know from the story and meeting others.

        There may not be many words in this marvelous world created by Steve Light, but I found myself looking at each page for a long, long time after reading the story's words. Bear's old truck needs a new headlight, thus a road trip to Elephant's Old Junk Tree is called for. Rabbit hops in after being assured of snacks. Mouse is a bit apprehensive, yet also hops in because he knows it will be fun to be together. Finally, Donkey is asked to help, too, and he leads the way on his motorcycle. With his "Follow me, friends!" they're off! After a few worrisome snags including a very thorny tunnel, they arrive, they look, then look some more. What happens at that junkyard to friends helping when things don't go as planned and when they do will make you smile. It will also bring a conversation with a group about different ways of "thinking" but still being together is the best thing of all! The intricate details as mentioned above delighted me through all the story! 

        "Just grab a book from off the shelf.../and you're on your way." After a poetic journey from Allan Wolf, everyone will absolutely want to grab a book, or they may want to share about the book where they learned about kangaroos or how to make snow ice cream? Taking this journey with Allan and Brianne Farley's superb illustrations with detail after detail can enhance the excitement of opening a book or encourage the zest to find a new one that tells the "who", "what", "why", "when", "where", and "how". On one double-page spread, Brianne imagines a diverse group of kids outside, working on a rocket, looking up into space, with and without a telescope, as planet faces and our moon in their proper sizes, look down as if to help the introduction. A 'book train' hovers in the distance. They are ALL ABOARD with books! It's one more terrific book that celebrates reading, one you'll want to share with as many as you can gather!

             First published by Walker Books, UK, just published in the US by Candlewick Press.

        Hare sits with his friends overlooking their meadow and one by one each answers his question: "Is our meadow the best place in the world?" One by one, each answers, "yes", but with a special reason. Bear loves it because it has bees and he loves honey and sharing it with everyone. Duck agrees because he likes swimming in the stream. Hare answers everyone with similar words: bees are everywhere or streams are everywhere. Wise owl suggests that Hare discover the answer for himself by exploring all the world. And so he does. Horacek's mixed-media illustrations fill the pages with gorgeous pictures of that meadow, populated by a grand circle of friends, and on Hare's journey, all the world. There is an ending you "might" predict, but perhaps not. Be sure to read the book to discover that answer and share it with others to see if they are able to guess it! It is a beautiful book with a story that warms the heart!

 Next up: I managed to get a copy of Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca.