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 novels. Follow the links to read about all of the amazing books the #IMWAYR community has read. One of the very best ways to discover what to read next!
My favourite picture books (both fiction and nonfiction) reads of the week:
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Again, Sweet just slays me. Everything she does is vivid colours and spectacular details. This fascinating biography of artist Horace Pippin is an inspirational tale of an artist with everything stacked against him who makes art despite it all. Loved the back story of how Bryant and Sweet collaborated on the research to create this book.
The Invisible Boy written by Trudy Ludwig and illustrated by Patrice Barton
This is such an important book with themes of exclusion, kindness and friendship. I shared what this book was like as a read aloud experience in my classroom in this post.
Dream Boats written by Dan Bar-el and illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin
Lyrical text. Illustrations full of folklore, magic and dreams. Fall asleep and ride through dreams and history on a dream boat. A title that must be read, reread, examined and explored. It sails you through many legends and cultures around the world.
Lost Cat by C. Roger Mader
Come and see the world from the perspective of a little lost cat, left behind when her owner moved. I shared my students’ reviews here.
The Very Brave Bear by Nick Bland
Bear and Buffalo square off in a battle of bravery. I am completely charmed by the silly antics revealed in the illustrations. Not sure how much of the text I even paid attention to – the pictures are hilarious!
Noisy Poems for a Busy Day written by Robert Heidbreder and illustrated by Lori Joy Smith
Busy, bustling poems perfect for the preschool set. Full of sounds, fun to say and lots of silly . . .
Twisty-Twiggle.
Jump-up jiggle.
Undies backward!
Wiggle-giggle.
Hee! Hee!
Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs Grew to Rule the World by Lita Judge
I learned an incredible amount about dinosaurs in this nonfiction title and thoroughly enjoyed all of the details and comparisons to modern day creatures. Amazing illustrations.
I read some other fabulous nonfiction picture books which I shared in my Nonfiction Wednesday Post: Animal Stories
I also read:
Forgive me, Leonard Peacock written by Matthew Quick
A perfect book to sit down with when you don’t have to get up for hours. I found myself pulled quickly into the world of Leonard Peacock and not wanting to put the book down and abandon him for even a moment. Raw. Vulnerable. Hurting. What a character. This is the story of a teenage boy who begins his last day on Earth because by day’s end, he’s planning to be dead. How did he get to this place? He will tell you, unravelling details of his history and his pain. This was one of my #MustReadin2014 titles – the second Matthew Quick title I have read this month. Definitely YA.
Next up? I am reading The Living by Matt de la Pena and then plan to read Marie Lu‘s The Champion to finish the trilogy.
Reading Goal updates:
2014 Chapter Book Challenge: 6/100 novels complete
Goodeads Challenge: 61/650 books read
#MustReadin2014: 4/30 complete
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 24/65 complete
Happy Reading to all!
There's a Book for That 
A Splash of Read and The Invisible Boy are MUST-HAVES for me! Also, thanks for reminding me about Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. I’ve seen it a couple of weeks ago but forgot about it. I’ve just finished Sally Gardner’s Maggot Moon. This sounds like a great follow-up to such an intense read! Cheers to books with memorable characters! =)
Oh sigh. Maggot Moon was absolutely an intense read. What a book! I hope you enjoy Forgive Me . . . Happy Reading this week!
So much to love, Carrie. I’ve read some as you know, but must find The Invisible Boy, & love the look of the Noisy Poem book-on my list! Thank you!
You will love The Invisible Boy – but as I shared on my other post – this title is especially powerful shared with students. Wow.
All of these books sound excellent. I do not read as many picture books as others, but will definitely look for a few of these titles. I also loved Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. I was so taken with the way the protagonist viewed his world. I love that the teacher is a hero for this kid. Enjoy Champion. It is a really nice finish to the trilogy.
I look forward to Champion – was pleasantly surprised by this series. Absolutely gripping. I hope you got some picture book inspiration!
So excited for A Splash of Red – Schneider and Sibert Honor Awards!! And I love how Melissa Sweet can change up her style of illustrations depending on the book. Such talent! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Michele – A Splash of Red is so good. I was excited that it received the Sibert Honor in addition to my committee giving it the Schneider. Sweet is very talented but I do love the work she does with Jen Bryant.
I loved reading about how Sweet and Bryant worked on researching Pippin’s life and history together.
It is a fantastic title! I finished it and immediately passed it to my husband who is a high school art teacher. I think it would be great for him to share with his students!
The Invisible Boy seems to be one of those “must read” books – and so does A Splash of Red.
I was so moved by the impression this title had on my students. It is a powerful book. It really speaks to student choice in how we treat each other.
I am so pleased that you wrote about your read aloud experience with The Invisible Boy. I have pondered over this book because it is a difficult topic. The problem is not cut and dry. I wanted the boy to be able to make himself less invisible but also appreciated when Justin sought him out for inclusion. That takes a lot of courage when you are a new kid or a strong sense of what is right. It is a wonderful book for discussions and a great one to recommend to counselors.
It is an important read for sure. My children got a lot out of discussing story and writing their ideas/questions/reflections. It is interesting to think about how possible it really is for a “quiet” child to make themselves be “seen” – I loved that Brian had his art and was passionate about what he did and how he expressed himself. Also thought his writing the note to Justin about his lunch was a brave act.
I was disappointed with the ending of the Divergent trilogy, so it was with great trepidation that I began Champion. That lasted for about 2 seconds! Perfect ending to a strong series. I am behind on my Matthew Quick, but I did manage to get to Leonard Peacock. It’s a powerful one! Have you read Reality Boy by A.S. King? ~Megan
http://wp.me/pzUn5-1PS
I have read Reality Boy! I’ve read everything A.S. King! LOVE her. So glad to hear this about Champion! Can’t put The Living down so I should finish soon and move onto this last in The Legend Trilogy!
How great that you read A SPLASH OF RED this week with all the love it received at the ALA Youth Media Awards today. 🙂 I had to put it back on hold at my library because I read it a while ago and I remember really liking it, but I am ashamed to admit I don’t remember that much about it so I must remedy that.
I liked this title a lot. The message that a true passion never really leaves you is a beautiful one.
Okay, I’m just like my kids. I love a good dinosaur book. So I will be seeking this one out soon.
This is a GREAT dinosaur book! I learned so much – makes you realize too how much we are still discovering about dinosaurs!
A Splash of Red looks great! Invisible Boy – this is by far my favorite from Trudy Ludwig – and I think the illustrations enhance the story so much! Your students made such profound comments about this book! I love using Noisy Poems for visualizing! Then we write our own “sound poems”! Love Robert Heidbreder! Thanks for the great list, as always! : )
I love Robert Heidbreder too! I remember when he came to my class years ago – I was in awe of his energy and open nature. So much fun! You will LOVE A Splash of Red and it did beautifully with awards today!
Great books this week, Carrie! All of Trudy Ludwig’s books are so important to get kids talking about being kind. I will look for The Invisible Boy. Thank you for all of the recommendations.
Trudy Ludwig is such an essential author that just must be shared where there is time for rich and important discussions. Glad you saw some titles of interest this week!
I love Invisible Boy. Beautiful book and sweet story. And well you know what I think about A Splash of Red. 🙂
I do! Worth all the love it is getting. Invisible Boy was a very powerful read in my room. Took me days to write the blog post about it because I just felt emotional.
We love dinosaur books in our family, so I’ll definitely be getting this one. The Invisible Boy sounds like one I’d like to read and discuss with my Children’s Lit class. Isn’t A Splash of Red perfect? I was so excited when it got a Schneider and a Sibert. It’s one of my favorites of the year for sure. And Melissa Sweet is possibly my favorite illustrator. It’s hard to choose just one because I have so many favorites, but she is right up there at the top. Her work is amazing. I think we’re going to have a Melissa Sweet day in Children’s Lit too! I am still thinking about Leonard Peacock. I wasn’t sure how Quick was going to end the story, but I found it very satisfying. So glad I have more books by him to read. I am trying to finish Far, Far Away this week and read more on the 2nd Laini Taylor and I also started Maggot Moon last night. Because hey, why not read 10 books at once?!
I do love A Splash of Red! And I agree, Sweet is very talented. I think many books at once makes lots and lots of sense! What else can a book lover do? This dinosaur title is REALLY good – so much interesting information.
A Splash of Red got some great accolades yesterday, didn’t it?! 🙂 It’s a great book! I loved The Invisible Boy and really want to read Leonard Peacock! I picked up The Living at the library after the awards!
I am reading The Living through half closed eyes – it is intense! Loved all the love for A Splash of Red!