It's Monday! Books To Know!

  

            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! 

       David Almond always gives us a story to enjoy, one that is thought-filled beneath all the action. That "brand new boy" whose name is George arrives at school one day, with a companion who sits in the back of the room, taking notes and helping him talk when needed. It's a complete mystery who this new student is, and before they realize it, Miss Crystal says it's enough for the first day and takes him away. Daniel and Maxie are buddies, but along with them come Billy and Louise, entering an adventure they will remember for all their lives. If you want to read about loving kindness and what being a boy (or girl) really means in the great adventure called 'life', this is the read. Daniel tells the story, and Almond layers it with school friends, teachers and administrators, an understanding and loving mom, recess monitors, and even kindergarten fairies! You'll see, all the school you know is there. A few illustrations by Marta Altes are fun!
                  Out in 2020 in the UK, thanks to Candlewick Press for the copy.

 

      Max wrote such a thought-filled review of this book by Akwaeke Emezi, that I was convinced I had to read it. How did I miss it? I don't know, but I was mesmerized from the beginning when young teen Jam pulled a monster from her mother, Bitter's painting. This monster is on the hunt although Jam's town, Lucille, thinks it eradicated all of them years ago. It has not. Jam's courage shows how much young people can do despite the many times adults do not believe that teens are capable. She pushes through her fright and does the unthinkable to help a friend and save a child. 

       I know many things about the ocean but until this amazing book by Elaine Alexander, I have never heard about anglerfish! Alexander tells about this "Seadevil of the Deep" that lives at about 13,000 feet down, known as the "midnight zone". There is no light, so few inhabitants that can feed this creature that when it encounters another creature, it swallows it whole! A protuberance in the top of its head glows via bioluminescence, helping to lure the next meal. Fiona Fogg creates the darkest atmosphere in her illustrations, helping readers imagine this little-known creature of the deep. There is added information in the backmatter that aids in the understanding of new, but well-hidden, life in the deep! 

                  Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

          It is intriguing to think about children reading this picture book by Carlie Sorosiak because many know that goats eat everything/anything. Leopold, a goat, now owns Leopold's Bookshop. He now loves and collects books and warm sweaters, but first, he had to learn not to eat them! He shares several things that he loves about them, being "inside" them and going to so many places, like ice-skating. However, his favorite thing is choosing for others. He chooses so carefully, like an adventure tale for the girl in rain boots! One day, a surprise happens. A goat comes in which is very rare. And the challenge this time, you guessed it, is to teach this customer that "Books Aren't For Eating"! Manu Montoya's graphic illustrations 

fill out the details of the story as it evolves from Leopold's adventures in sharing books, instead of eating them!

                                      Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

  

       I also finished this book, The Maid by Nita Prose, for adults and young adults. 

        I didn't realize this was a mystery that would have me very worried about the main character, a lovable young woman, so lonely after her only family, a grandma, had died. She's a maid in a fancy hotel and doesn't always understand subtle messages. We are all the same in different ways shows the message well as she tries so hard to please, thinks friends are friends as they betray while we readers watch and want to save her from the coming heartbreak and really to her, terror. Nita Prose's whodunit is a different kind of mystery that kept me worried constantly about this young maid, dear Molly Gray!

Reading now: Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi and a book chronicling events of 9/11, The Only Plane In The Sky by Garrett Graff. I'll return to some new middle-grade books soon.