It’s Monday! What are you reading?
My favourite reading photo of the week is this picture of two girls buddy reading together at the carpet. I loved watching them take turns reading pages and making predictions about the story.
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. It’s the best way to discover what to read next.
Warning: This post contains a lot of picture books! I tried to only feature my favourites of the week. I had a lot of favourites! I will try to be very brief in my commentary.
Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
Picture book perfection. LOVE this title and everything it says about home and family.
Blizzard by John Rocco
A title full of different things for different readers – nostalgia for a different, simpler time, adventure imagined, celebration of family and neighbourhood and just plain wow of winter and weather. Rocco is fast becoming one of my very favourite book creators.
Lion vs Rabbit by Alex Latimer
Just saying, this is one clever rabbit. And he is more than he seems. Lots of layers to this story.
Songs of the Water Boatman written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beckie Prange
Come to the pond and experience it like you have never imagined through vivid images, fascinating facts and gorgeous illustrations.
The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Illustrations to get lost in, absolutely stunning. Fascinating to have a glimpse into the thinking and passions of Roget. Inspires list making of many kinds. Looking forward to sharing this with my students.
The next four picture books were donated to Seymour School by author Hiromi Goto – I was able to take them home to read before they become part of our collection in January. Thank you Hiromi!
Wow Wow and Haw Haw George written by George Murray and illustrated by Michael Pittman
An adaptation of a Celtic legend. Enjoyed the colour palette, the connection to nature and the pacing of the story. I know this will be a hugely engaging read aloud.
Skydiver: Saving the Fastest Bird in the World by Celia Godkin
I am a big fan of Godkin’s information story books. I always learn many new things and this book was no exception.
The Tweedles Go Electric written by Monica Kulling and illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Lots of fun with the energetic and charismatic Tweedles and their choices that were very much ahead of their time. History. “Green” priorities. Charming energy to this one!
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress written by Christine Baldacchino and illustrated by Isabelle Malefant
A title about diversity and gender stereotypes. Perfect title to spark discussions about acceptance, individuality and classroom community.
Duck in the Fridge by Jeff Mack
Never expected a bed time story about the joy of the read aloud to begin with a duck in the fridge and end with a household full of animals and the power of a story!
A Piece of Cake by LeUyen Pham
On route to visit his friend, mouse trades away all of the pieces of cake he was planning to deliver. No worries, some more trades can happen to find some ingredients to bake a new cake! Loved how the “offerings” on route back to make a cake were not the ones you would have suspected. Clever.
this ORQ (he cave boy) written by David Elliot and illustrated by Lori Nichols
A “child wants pet” “parent says no” story from “cave people time” Absolutely adorable.
The Flat Rabbit by Bárður Oskarsson
You know, I like this book – almost gave it a higher rating but thought intended audiences – children- might not know what to do with this title. Is that because we protect them from such subjects (death)? Not sure. There is something honest and real about this book. And the end, though abrupt on first read, is then somehow full of our fragility. Not many picture books allow the characters to just not really know. And leave it there . . .
Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands by Katherine Roy
Incredible. Sharks are probably the most terrifying of all creatures to me and yet I found myself fascinated and full of questions reading this book.
In other reading:
Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman
Ideal to read and discuss a chapter at a time. Eastern philosophy bound up for the very young.
Super Lexi is not a Fan of Christmas by Emma Lesko
This series featuring Lexi by Emma Lesko is an important addition to our school and classroom libraries. Lexi reminds us that kids are unique, we can support them with flexibility and that we all have something to teach each other. I like how this story gives kids permission to find the holiday “hoopla” varying degrees of overwhelming! Realistic school setting and nice job with friendship dynamics.
The Wild Book by Margarita Engle
I have discovered so many beautiful novels in verse as of late. This title, by Engle, inspired by her Grandmother is full of courage, family and a rich history.
The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye
I finally picked this book up after weeks of setting it aside and enjoyed its conclusion. Quiet pace and some beautiful images – a story of a young boy and his strong connection to his grandfather.
The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney Illustrated by Shane W. Evans
A truly beautiful and important book. Highly recommended. Another novel in verse – heavy in loss and anguish, light in hope and dreams of new possibilities.
Next up? I am reading A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray I have a huge list beyond this! Likely after this I will be balancing thin with thick novels in my TBR pile trying to reach my goal of 100 novels by 2015! Hopelessly ambitious, that’s me!
Reading Goal Updates:
2014 Chapter Book Challenge: 83/100 novels complete
Goodreads Challenge: 591/650 books read (41 books behind)
#MustReadin2014: 21/30 complete
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 136/65 complete
There's a Book for That 
What a lovely selection of picture books to check out. Thanks for the recommendations. 🙂
It was really wonderful to have the time to read such a great selection! I am making up for a very busy last few weeks of school!
All of these look so good! I’ve seen a couple of them reviewed, but many are new to me. Now I want to read them all!
So pleased! Happy reading! The holidays give us this gift of reading time.
Great selection of books. I’ve read some, but not all. I loved The Red Pencil and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Red Pencil was one of my very favourites of the year!
Lots of great books this week. The Turtle of Oman is next up on my audiobook TBR so I’m looking forward to that one. Have a wonderful Christmas break!
I hope you enjoy it. I wanted to be more attached to it than I was. Not sure if it will be beloved by young readers. I may be wrong.
Loads of good titles, Carrie. Still my favorite of the year is The Right Word, just wonderful. I like the look of Wow Wow and Haw Haw and Skydiver (love books about birds), so thank you for telling about them. I have The Red Pencil, will get to it soon. Merry Christmas!
I know you will be moved by The Red Pencil. Both Wow Wow and Haw Haw and Skydiver are excellent titles that I look forward to sharing with my class.
So many good picture books on this list! Nana, Sharks and Blizzard are some of my favorites. I have read Blizzard several times the past couple of weeks… maybe the more often I read it, the more it will keep snow away??
I didn’t realize Orq was illustrated by Lori Nichols! I love her work! I’ve been on hold for this book at the library for a couple of months now, but it has not been released yet 😦
Yes the illustrations in Orq are so sweet. This book just came in at our library and I snatched it up! Very cute story. Glad we have so many favourite titles in common! 2014 has certainly turned out some amazing books.
Wow, lots of books! The Tweedles I need to read more. I need to be more adventurous with my reading!
Adventurous reading! Like that! Happy reading season to you.
I have Nye’s book on order – missed getting a copy at NCTE – 😦 – and can’t wait to read it. Just reviewed the Red Pencil today, too – such a beautiful story, sad and unforgettable.
So true. Very sad and images that have woven themselves into my thinking. Can’t imagine being completely displaced from home. A truly important book.
Wow, what a week! Just picked up The Turtle of Oman for my winter break reading. Looking forward to this one.
Hope you enjoy it. The lovely adventures the grandfather takes his grandson on are a delight.
I’ve got Red Pencil on my shelf–didn’t realize it’s a verse novel. Filing that away in case I’m short on Dec 31 and need a couple of verse novels to pad my total! I am DETERMINED to get to 200!! So, so many PBs I want to read here–so many I haven’t even heard of. Love your Monday posts for just that reason. I really want to read Flat Rabbit. I like PBs that break with traditional expectations. (One reason why I often find older PBs so appealing–more open endings, more disturbing events, more weird than seems acceptable nowadays.) Planning to buy Bunjitsu Bunny for my Children’s Lit class. Know I’ll enjoy sharing and discussing there and pairing with Zen Shorts.
I will be curious to see what you think about Flat Rabbit I wrote about sharing picture books about death with my students in a previous post: https://thereisabookforthat.com/2011/04/22/why-are-we-reading-about-dead-things/ It’s interesting to ponder. I was quite delighted with the variety of picture books I read this week. All over the map!
I’m a fan of Engle’s Hurricane Dancers, so I would love to read more of her books.
As always, you have such a plethora of picture books that all intrigue me. Thank you forever for being my picture book guru.
Happy holidays, and happy reading this week! 🙂
Oh what a lovely title! I am happy to pass on the picture book love!
I agree with Kellee. We always talk about you and your expertise!
I have Bunjitsu Bunny on my shelf to read. I am intrigued, now that I read your comments! Nana in the City looks like a great birthday gift for my mom. Thank you for sharing all of these great titles. I hope you have a very happy holiday. 🙂 🙂
Thanks Ricki! Very kind. I love that you might get this book for your Mom! It is so delightful. I am a huge fan of Castillo! These illustrations are the sweetest.
I just borrowed The Turtle of Oman from the library and I am looking forward to getting lost in Nye’s prose. I wonder how it compares to her books of poetry. Fell in love with Margarita’s The Wild Book as well – was so lucky that she sent it to me the year it was published. I have yet to borrow The Red Pencil and I have a feeling I’d enjoy that. Lots of wonderful picturebooks shared here as well Carrie. I am pinning a few titles for me to remember and look out for to add to my reading list for my higher-degree course. 🙂
I didn’t love The Turtle of Oman as much as I had wanted to. But it has some lovely parts. The Wild Book was a beautiful surprise.