Monday Reading - Old and 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!  I didn't have much reading time this week, but I do have a few books to share! Hope all have had a good start to September! Here comes fall!

        

            And, because you saw the cover, you know that I just finished reading Olivetti by Allie Millington. There is Ernest, the center of this story, a 12-year-old who prefers to read dictionaries instead of talking to his family of three other siblings, a mom and a dad. At least, this is the beginning, yet suddenly, they learn that mom has gone missing. And her beloved typewriter, an Olivetti Lettera 22, is missing, too. They spend the next hours and days putting up missing posters, talking with neighbors, filling up with anxiety. Until they arrive at a neighborhood pawn shop and see that same typewriter that they call Olivetti, they know little. The owner realizes something is very wrong, and his daughter, Quinn, enters into the search later, forcing herself into Ernest's world but only to help. 

            It's an extremely emotional story, despite the fact that a typewriter really is participating by telling its part in what may have happened to the mother. There is an underlying mystery that Ernest refers to as the "Everything that happened" earlier in the family's life. It's intriguing to imagine what an inanimate object that is connected to words, might know, and further, be able to communicate. This story which moves from past to present, alternating with the typewriter's story-telling,  still feels very real, showing a family, alternating falling apart and then holding each other up. Those outside the family, like Quinn, and a few others, add to the story with their compassion and willingness to step in with support. I know it's a cliche, but I must call this book an exceptional roller coaster ride, from the anticipatory rise when one begins to read,  to the breath-holding for many pages before one drops, and then, the satisfying feeling at the end. 

Thanks to Charlesbridge for this copy!

         Traci Sorell shows the delightful ways of gratitude that she so beautifully shared in her picture book, We Are Grateful. This time, she has brought parts from that original book to place in board books for each season. They have few words, centering on family and activities specific to each season, like swimming and  watching animals outside, playing in the snow, and also including festivals like the Great New Moon ceremony in the fall. They're just-right introductions to the seasons with colorful illustrations by Frane Lessac. 

It is an older book but one needed by many. It is a lesson in finding the good things in life every day! If you don't know it, find this one at your library! By Carol Chapman and illustrated by Arnold Lobel, one to savor!

           This feels as if it will bring great discussions of what "Purple People" are and how one can recognize them. Kristen Bells shares that they ask lots of questions, laugh a lot, use their voice when needed, and work very hard. There is a Step Five, but I'll let those who find the book discover that one! It's fun to read, will be nice to read aloud to a group, to show a way to give respect to ALL kinds of people, and in this book, kids! Daniel Wiseman's illustrations are funny and happy and full of many colors, not only purple! 

Next: A brief book that has started beautifully, The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass. And, I have a few mysteries to choose from!

Happy Reading!