It’s Monday! What are you reading?
Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult reads! The #IMWAYR crowd always has so many fantastic titles to share.
I read some beautiful picture books this week and some very amusing Toon comics:
My absolute swoon book was . . .
The Man with the Violin written by Kathy Stinson and illustrated by Dusan Petricic with a postscript by Joshua Bell
This book is such an important experience that I want to say next to nothing yet I want to say almost everything. I LOVE, love, love and then love this book some more. It quickly shot to the top of my favourite lists for 2013. WOW! The first page spread is divine. It was a 5/5 book just because of those two sentences and the illustration. And then it just continued to get better. Read and treasure this title. Go, now! Find this book. Seriously.
I also enjoyed . .
Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts by Emily Gravett
Little Mouse has edited a book of Beasts by Emily Gravett to make it less intimidating because you know, lions and rhinos and bears . . . oh, my! And snakes, crocodiles and wasps . . . the poison, the teeth, the stings! Terrible! Little Mouse has rewritten a book that is large on ingenuity. I know this will be an instant favourite in my room. There are lift the flaps, peer through holes in the pages, wadded up newspaper (really!) – so much fun!
Ten Things I Loved about You by Daniel Kirk
An adorable book about kindness and friendship but it has possibilities beyond just these themes. This title really explores finding the best in a friend and thinking about the positive qualities that are dear. Would be a great prompt for a writing activity.
Bully by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
I found this title simple but yet, powerful – Seeger trademarks. So much is told with limited text and accurate expressions of various feelings. Explores questions such as . . . What prompts mean/bully behaviour? How do we feel when we are called on our actions? What is the cause and effect relationship of bully dynamics?
Yellow Moon, Apple Moon written by Pamela Porter and illustrated by Matt James
Simple lyrical language. A beautifully illustrated bedtime poem. Translation of a New Mexican lullaby included in the back pages.
Count the Monkeys written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Kevin Cornell
LOVE the interactive aspect of this story. Barnett is a master at this (think Chloe and the Lion) I read it to myself and must admit was tempted to leap out of my chair a few times! I cannot even imagine the mad rumpus that will ensue when I share this with my class! Fun, more fun, and then even more!
Barry’s Best Buddy by Renee French
A cute little story line about what we do for our friends. Love the intrigue that the marching ants carrying all kinds of puzzling things inspires – just what are they up to?
A Day in the Office of Doctor Bugspit by Elise Gravel
Wonderfully odd. Doctor Bugspit works in a medical clinic in outer space. Quickly readers will suspect that his medical training might have come from some strange location where standards are not quite up to our Earthly expectations. Many strange ailments come into the clinic and the Doctor’s suggestions are even stranger!
With two presentations this week on top of teaching, I unfortunately missed out on big chunks of reading time so I am only half way through the novel I have been reading – Jinx by Sage Blackwood. Finding it a fascinating read so far!
With our student book club we have started The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone. Check out our discussion here.
Next up, after I finish Jinx, I plan to read The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes and The Boy in the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson.
What are you reading? Happy reading to all!
There's a Book for That 
I don’t think that I have ever seen you give a stronger recommendation for a book than the one you just gave to the Man With the Violin. I’m ordering it. Thanks, Carrie.
And I can’t even tell you all the reasons why because I don’t want to spoil anything. I will say it speaks to something very important in all of our lives and it is so beautifully done.
Oh my goodness – so many lovely picture books here! I am trying to compile a list of picture books that I could thematically arrange for my teacher-students. The Man with the Violin sounds like a truly amazing book – unfortunately we don’t have the title yet in our library. I’m sure it’d be there in a few months’ time. This is the first I’ve seen of Emily Gravett’s new book – have you also read her Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears? That one is hands-down gorgeous and hilarious too. This beastly book sounds perfect for our current bimonthly theme – but again, we still don’t have it in our libraries unfortunately. Will pin your titles here.
Hi Myra! I have seen Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears – I was on the lookout for that title actually when I found this one. I have a student who loves Gravett and I am trying to make sure we have more of her titles in our classroom collection. These first two books I just purchased actually at a Teacher Appreciation Back to School book sale and luckily with some donated funds. My book obsession otherwise takes my wallet to many many places – all of them good – just not financially sound!
I’m bummed my library doesn’t have a copy of The Man with the Violin. I need to see if I can do an interlibrary loan. You make it so hard to resist! I also need to find Yellow Moon, Apple Moon.
It is hard to resist. And I didn’t . . . Bought my own copy! Hope you love it as much as me when you get to read it!
Wow, love the variety, can’t wait to read The Man with the Violin! 🙂
Thanks Debbie. Such a special book.
Once again I am filling my hold shelf with your recommendations. Thanks Carrie!
So pleased that you found some titles that you like!
I have an Emily Gravett book on my list this week too! Really love her work. She has a lot of books I haven’t read yet too, which is always exciting! Unfortunately, I’m in the same boat with Myra–library doesn’t have most of her titles that I’m looking for. I may end up purchasing and then donating. I never feel guilty about buying books when I donate them to the library after I read them! I am reading The Year of Billy Miller out loud to my kids right now. We’re about 50 pages in and so far I am very meh on it, and so are they. I was definitely not expecting to feel meh about it (both because it’s Kevin Henkes and because I’ve seen some raves online). Hoping it picks up and improves for me.
Oh no, really – meh?!? I want connections. Not meh! Hope it picks up! Yes, Gravett titles are amazing. Thinking I need to buy all of her books for my class – but one purchase at a time. They are favourites.
Oooh! So excited to find a copy of The Man with the Violin now! That’s a great and intriguing cover. And so many picture books to check out. I read and loved Henkes Junonia, but haven’t read his other chapter books, so I’m looking forward to your thoughts on it.
Just read The Man with the Violin to my two and then we listened to the recommended music in the back. A great experience!
I cannot WAIT to read THE MAN WITH THE VIOLIN. Such an intriguing premise for a story. I actually sought out the original Washington Post article that was the inspiration for this story and I couldn’t believe that pretty much no one stopped to listen. I am impatiently waiting for that one to come in at my library.
BARRY’S BEST BUDDY looks really cute. I’m going to have to check that one out.
What a story this is based on, I know! I just loved this book and what it says about us as a society – well actually, I don’t love that – but rather the questions it raises.
Man! All of these picture books sound so good! Thank you for sharing some new picture books with me 🙂
Happy reading this week! 🙂
I hope some look particularly intriguing to you! I shared Bully with my class today – wow! Such powerful responses from this title.
Man with the Violin looks like one I will enjoy and I always like having audio connections. Emily Gravett is one of my favorite picture book creators. I didn’t know about this one. Thanks! Count the Monkeys is another one I want to get my hands on quickly. Have a great week!
I felt so pleased to discover this Gravett title. Even funnier when one of my students asked, “Does it have flip flap pages?” So cute! Man with the Violin is . . . just a must read!
OK, seeing as I trust your recommendations like no other, I will be ordering Man with the Violin as well. No libraries in my state have it yet! P.S. After sharing your 20 on 20 post I got some nice feedback from other staff members. Thank you for writing that for yourself and for us 🙂
Probably because it is Canadian author/illustrator? You will love this book! Some kind of magic! Thank you so much for this feedback about my 20 years post. It really does mean a lot to me that others found things in it that resonated. But yes, you are very wise – part of the reason I wrote it was for me. So important to know who we are and what we stand for in this profession. And sure makes me happy to know that after 2 decades, I still love this so much!