Monday Reading - New Year Beginnings

      

        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 NEW YEAR!

        I may not be sharing much in the next few weeks as I am a Round Two Cybils judge, so I will be reading, re-reading, taking notes, and discussing the finalists in order to choose the winners! If you want to check out ALL the finalists, they'll be announced on January 1st-- today! You can find the site here! I imagine your stack will grow just as it does here every week!

 

          This wonderful book written and illustrated by Jane Mount brims with book love, a story of a young shy girl, Lotti, who keeps herself hidden "behind a book". That's the easy way to show how hard it feels for her to make friends, even to interact with her brother, a budding artist. Readers will look over and over at the pages filled with books, including brief reviews of a few, as Lotti talks about her life with books and what they bring to her, slowly, slowly, friends! The cover gives a peek of the extraordinary number books included inside in stacks and stacks. I imagine every reader seeing favorites and making lists of what they'd love to read next! It's a special book! There is an author's note, too, along with a page of Jane's favorite books, plus Lotti's recipe of her "friend-making cookies". 

           I know of Ursula Nordstrom and know that she was the editor for many favorite children's authors and their books, but Beth Kephart brings more of Ursula's life to readers in this picture book biography with tidbits of stories of some interactions with authors, along with her journey from childhood to great success. I imagine everyone will enjoy the conversation with Maurice Sendak about ending one of his books and her willingness to be honest with another when she knew she'd made a mistake. Chloe Bristol's illustrations support well the historical details, like the double-page spread showing Ursula in front of the New York Public Library, referring to her conversations with "librarians, teachers, parents about her favorite books of all– good books for bad children"  There is an author's note and a source list for those who want to know more. 

          First published in Korea, then by Owlkids Books in the U.S. Nearly wordless, there is that crow in its corner. As it fills the corner with "things", readers will become more and more curious as to "What's next?" You need to see it to discover the answer!

       A friend sent this to me and it is great, full of fun for sharing with students or your own children. Eric Ode shares sixty of his favorite poems and adds his own illustrations on each double page. Each one brings a laugh and often a thought! What would happen to that elephant in your bathtub, and for eleven days? Wrinkles, of course! 

 

        It's another amazing book by Joanna Ho that brings those with names that are not necessarily familiar, this time six young people are highlighted, giving their names and their heritage in beautifully descriptive and celebratory words. There is a pronunciation guide and added information in paragraphs at the back. Khoa Le illustrated with wonderful portraits of the children, swirling their heritage around them, connecting the years of history that came before to now! It could be a great book to share in the new year!

       I've never stopped loving Sergio Ruzzier's stories and this new one, too, is so much fun. Oh, no, Cat comes home to find the cookie jar broken in pieces on the floor. How Mouse explains what happened, several times. . . will make readers giggle and giggle again. Expressions carry out the tale, but the ending is another surprise. It's terrific! 

Now reading! I am continuing James McBride's The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, along with all those Cybils books!

       Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year filled with books that entertain, educate, and simply delight!