It’s Monday! What are you Reading?
Join Jen and Kellee in their weekly meme and share all of your reading from picture books to young adult reads! Such a fantastic way to learn about “new to you” titles by exploring all of the bloggers who link their Monday reads posts 🙂
I read many picture books this week but forced myself to narrow it down to my favourite ten to share here. In no particular order . . .
Big Wolf & Little Wolf written by Nadine Brun-Cosme and illustrated by Olivier Tallec I have been waiting years to experience this book. I have seen it celebrated on blogs and book lists but had yet to lay my hands on it. I bought it finally, never having read it because I just knew that this book was meant for me. I was not disappointed. In fact I was just in awe. The colours in many of these pages are so beautiful. I love the blue ground under the tree at night, the red red of the tree bark in the full light of day and the fiery leaves of autumn. Friendship. Connection. Longing. So lovely!
The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School written by Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrated by Ard Hoyt This book has pretty much everything anyone could want – a real individuality, great energy, a definite sense of humour and absolutely fantastic hair. Hair that is so much more than gorgeous! Love that this book so cleverly celebrates the creative spirit of a little girl and her determination to be herself.
One Gorilla: A Counting Book by Anthony Browne I am not sure that Anthony Browne can make a book that I will not adore. This book is certainly NOT that book. Because . . . wow! A simple counting book with the most wonderful of primates. The colours? Whoa . . . And each number is so much more because it is attached to a jaw dropping illustration of a group of primates. 6 gibbons. Sigh. 8 macaques. Wit and wisdom. 10 lemurs. Pure joy.
The Boys, an almost wordless book by Jeff Newman Okay, book, where have you been while I’ve been happily amassing amazing wordless titles? First published in 2010 but my pretty finely tuned wordless radar missed it! A lovely little story of finding a way to belong. With some pretty fantastic persuasion delivered by the cool old guys who hang out on the park bench. So absolutely delightful!
The Little Yellow Leaf written and illustrated by Carin Berger This book magically captures the colours of fall. Those golden changing colours that seem to be pure magic against bleak autumn skies. But this book also tells a story of perseverance, anxiety around change and finding the way with the little help from someone else. I could just flip through the pages over and over and marvel at the illustrations. Gorgeous.
Azad’s Camel by Erika Pal A story infused with magic about child camel jockeys in the Middle East. Lots of room to infer. Pictures are stunning. Would be great to use in a unit on children’s rights – to discuss child labour, etc More information about camel racing at the back of the book. Definitely a book that needs an adult to help navigate the theme and the story.
Courage of the Blue Boy by Robert Neubecker My class just completed some amazing art inspired by Neubecker’s Wow! City! So I was very pleased to find this little book in our school library. Travelling through various one coloured pages and on a green sea, the reader follows our little blue hero as he experiences and questions diversity, identity and belonging.
Goldilocks and Just the One Bear written and illustrated by Leigh Hodgkinson Fractured Fairy tales are either very clever or very not! This is a fun little twist on the classic Goldilocks story with whimsical, endearing illustrations. Much fun to be had in exploring this book. My son couldn’t stop giggling when the bear sat on the cat and claimed that the “chair” was too noisy. Silly humour with big appeal.
Wolf Won’t Bite by Emily Gravett So what happens when we fully bury ourselves in trust with a wolf? Well . . . read on 🙂
Again by Emily Gravett A unique example of impatience gone wrong involving bedtime stories, eager listeners and tired parent readers. And little dragon impatience is pretty powerful! If you don’t believe me . . . check out the back of this book! I must admit, “Again!” is my favourite response when I read a picture book! 🙂
In other reading . . .
I finished Endangered by Eliot Schrefer but I am not so sure it is finished with me. This book won’t leave my head. It was that powerful. Endangered is about many things. But mostly – love. It tangled itself around me just like those precious hugs between Sophie and Otto, the little bonobo who needs her desperately. An unthinkable story of survival and connection. Unforgettable. I often recommend books that I love. Sometimes quite adamantly. This book though . . . I will go as far as to insist it is a must read.
What’s next/on the go?
I am currently flying through A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff. Our new family read aloud is Scumble by Ingrid Law.
Many magical connections ironically between Scumble and Graff’s novel and as they both sit on my bedside table, I have noticed that they are completely colour coordinated! Don’t you agree?
With my student book club, we have started The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. Such an ideal book to share with a book club!
There's a Book for That 
I am also starting A Tangle of Knots this week. I hear it is really good.good pairing with Scumble. I loved reading Savvy.
I loved Savvy as well! So much so that I read it twice more – once aloud to my children and then with my student book club. Finding that with Tangle, it almost reads itself. hard to put down!
I agree that Endangered is a recommended read. I also enjoyed Tangle of Knots – enough to make the lime pound cake http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2013/04/lime-pound-cake-from-tangle-of-knots.html The one that caught my eye here is Courage of the Blue Boy. I will try to find that one. Looks like it was a great week!
I have been thinking seriously about all of those cake recipes as I read through the book and must admit that the lime pound cake looked especially good! I love that you created an entire blog post about baking inspired by books! Yum!
You have been busy. Lots here to choose from. I adore Emily Gravett. Apple Pear Orange Bear was the book that convinced one of my students that reading was okay. Thanks for sharing!
The book is Orange Pear Apple Bear. (I guess I shouldn’t leave comments before coffe!)
I think that book is meant to have its title all mixed up! Makes it more fun 🙂
There are just soooo many things to love in this post Carrie! So many familiar titles (Emily Gravett is a favorite and I’ve read and reviewed both Again and Wolf Won’t Bite) and a lot of unfamiliar ones too – I think I will fall in love with Big Wolf and Little Wolf. Reminds me of how powerful I found Margaret Wild’s “Fox.” Pinning all of your titles now. 🙂
Yes – I loved Fox by Margaret Wild too! I also bought the second Big Wolf Little Wolf title but it hasn’t arrived yet. Can’t wait!
Glad you’re enjoying Tangle of Knots! And your fabulous list here just killed my TBR, in a good way! Lovely picture books. I enjoyed Zoe, too! Endangered sounds amazing! 🙂
Endangered is seriously amazing! Not one to read to your girls though. Some stuff that is too YA and upsetting. Almost finished with Tangle of Knots. And I do love it – thanks for the recent recommendation!
Yes, Endangered is on the YA to-read shelf, but thanks for the heads up. My oldest is so sensitive to animal welfare. She weeped hysterically over the state of a clearly diseased dying possum running across the road when she was little, and I’m still sure we can’t watch Free Willy yet. 😐
I will definitely look for Endangered, Carrie, & those great picture books too. I’m especially in love already with that counting book, one Gorilla. I loved Goldilocks and One Bear-would make a good mentor text for re-writing other fairy tales! Thank you for so many good ones!
I agree with you about Goldilocks – a whole other kind of inspiration with this book. One Gorilla is so beautiful! Would love to see it made into a large size board book and give it to every new parent! So lovely to share again and again. And, yes, please read Endangered!
I’ve had Scumble sitting on my shelf at both libraries but still haven’t read it!! A must. Endangered- heard that it is MS/HS, true? Really want to read based on a few reviews…
Endangered is a powerful read. I wouldn’t recommend it for younger than high school as it is set in a country at war and there are some very disturbing and violent scenes.
Thanks…
I respect your insistence and have just checked out Endangered. I cannot guarantee it will get read this week, but being in my house is progress. It’s been on my TBR for a while, thanks for the encouragement! Have a great reading week!
I hope you enjoy it. I found that I couldn’t put it down and keep telling everyone to read it!
all the books today are so wonderful – I know though I have not yet read them just by reading what you have to say.. and I know my little girl will love The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School… am adding all these to my Children’s Books Pinterest board..
So pleased you found some titles new to you! Zoe Fleefenbacher is some girl!
You are full of wonderful recommendations each week! I am so excited to check out some of the picture books you’ve recommended, especially Big Wolf & Little Wolf! I loved Endangered! It is one of the Maine Student Book Award titles for 2013-2014. Enjoy sharing Lions of Little Rock with your book group, what an excellent choice, so much to discuss.
I am so excited to share this book with my book club! Knew it would be a perfect selection as soon as I read Lions! Love, love, love this title. Yes, Endangered is simply amazing! Happy reading this week!
I love your book passion! What the students will think and discuss with texts like Lions is so important in terms of broadening their perspective of history and relationships, and gives them a chance to look within and ask themselves how they would act were they placed in those situations. I requested the first 4 books on your post. A little something to add to my week’s reading 🙂