It's Monday - Books Enjoyed!

   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 all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and found some special time with family and friends, and with books! Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate.

Thanks to Candlewick Press 
for this copy!

          Could this be Katherine Paterson's last book? She muses about that in her Acknowledgements. She is in her eighties! She was raised by Christian missionaries and was born in China. She considered China her home and lived there until the Japanese invasion during World War II. Off and on through the years, she's known to introduce religious themes and tough ones like the death of a child. Perhaps her most famous was written years ago. Bridge to Terabithia stood out for its sadness and approach to tough things for a child.

               This special story by Katherine Paterson is about Birdie, a ten-year-old really named Elizabeth, but her Daddy called her Birdie. Paterson gives her the task of telling her story, the year her Daddy had to return to Iraq, which meant they had to move in with her Gran, his mother, and Birdie's stuck in what seems like a big closet, or so she tells. Like the verse novel I shared a week ago, this book shows how much a child thinks about things, is influenced by adults, and how many worries and tough events they will not tell! Even Birdie, who is religious, loves Jesus, lies to get out of "telling". This time she's made a bargain with God to keep her Daddy safe. When that "promise" Birdie has made is broken, quite a lot falls apart. It's a serious book that includes other bullies at the new school, a girl classmate bully with secrets of her own, and some really caring adults, thank goodness. It's not long and tense moments certainly kept me reading! 

Thanks to Candlewick Press
for this copy!

             This is the first US edition by Helen Peters and fortunately, Jasmine Green and her animal adoption talents (and love) are back. She and her friend Tom have discovered that Mr. Hudson, a neighbor, is leaving his home to move to an assisted living facility and has arranged for his beloved donkey Mistletoe to go to a shelter, but far away. Noone will see Mistletoe again! The argument is that she already has too many adoptees and it's too expensive to care for an old donkey. Jasmine won't quit wishing and the annual Christmas play just could be a big help. I've read a few in the past and they bring readers into some adventures, farm life, and kids who do get into trouble but are also kind and thoughtful, and often the trouble is brought by sheer enthusiasm for fun! Ellie Snowdon illustrates a few of the chapters. This, and others, are terrific chapter books for younger readers.

Thanks to Candlewick Press 
for this copy!

         As you can read from the cover, this is a retelling of the story, originally told by Hans Christian Andersen. It's going to be a challenge to share because Jason Jameson has made changes and I don't want to give them all away. That fir tree does yearn to see sights beyond his home in the forest, described to him by his friend, a robin. Later, he does get his wish, is taken away to become a Christmas tree! Soon after, sodden and done with the holiday, he finds himself in a shed, comforted by mice who released his limbs by gnawing through some rope. Jameson's illustrations are both realistic as he shows the forest animals and fantastical with his imaginative flair in detail, like adding extraordinary black and white parts along with the color. The story does include the wondering of why that fir tree does not remain grateful for all he has but also ends with hope and heart through help by his robin friend. It's a story one might wish to re-read and ponder more than once!

Thanks to Candlewick Press 
for this copy!

         I believe I have about five books of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, but until now, none illustrated by P.J. Lynch, remembered most recently for The Haunted Lake but he's illustrated many marvelous ones. As you might imagine, many of these double-page spreads are at night, like the cover. Don't you love those lamps at the front of the sleigh? Another spread I loved was even darker, showing those "not stirring" in a twiggy nest. The children and adults sleep in their rumpled covers, oblivious to what is about to awaken the father, nightcapped, too. The majestic feel of the reindeer moving the sleigh; the appearance, and the disappearance of Santa really feels magical, both smoky scenes. One painting, Santa opening his bag of so many toys shows how happy he is to fill those stockings! It's a book for viewing, searching for those tiny details that make this old, old story come to life again: shadows on the snow, a snowman that appears to be waving goodbye, and stockings full and waiting to be filled - every part a delight. It is a beautiful new presentation of this old Christmas rhyme.

One Old Favorite

           If you haven't read any stories by Rosemary Wells, find one or two. They are darling! This one is so funny about sibling rivalry.

Still going. . . Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo