Laura Resau | There's a Book for That

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

I have been sharing a reading photo of the week each week. Now that it is summer, I am not surrounded every day with little readers so . . . I am choosing moments from the year not previously shared. Who doesn’t love Piggie and Gerald? During buddy reading with the Ks they are often acted out!

Next week I look forward to having a photo from my current classroom! School begins tomorrow!

From the classroom 2014/2015 archives:

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.

On the blog:

For Top Ten Tuesday: Ten parent characters that made me protective

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: A starter Kit collection

Must Read in 2015: Fall Update

Celebration: Quiet Possibility

Sunday Reflections: How to Organize a Classroom Library – 20 points to consider

Books I read and loved:

The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes

I don’t know where to begin with this book. It’s lush and moody and at the same time sweet and hopeful. I had all kinds of wishes. I wanted to shrink down and wander about this little garden. I wanted the book to be quilted so I could gift it as a “stuffie” type treasure to little ones to snuggle with. I wanted each image, framed, to hang on my wall. This is a book to love.

Hope Springs written by Eric Walters and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Based on a true story of drought and water shortages in Kenya and what it takes to secure fresh water for a community. This book is about worry and fear. Kindness and forgiveness. In the back of the book are actual photos of the community and people that inspired the book.

A Thirst for Home: A story of Water Across the World written by Christine Ieronimo illustrated by Eric Velasquez

This book was written to tell the story of the author’s adopted daughter who first lived in Ethiopia. Because of water shortages and the struggle for food, Alemitu’s mother was forced to place her daughter in an orphanage in order to ensure she was cared for. Heartbreaking. I am studying water with my class this year – stories like this are stories of what lack of access to water really can mean.

Little Robot by Ben Hatke

This is an almost wordless graphic title that I know will be quickly shared throughout my classroom. It’s a story of friendship and kindness that we get to explore between little girl and little robot. Pure delight.

The Queen of Water by Laura Resau and Maria Virginia Farinango

Thank you to Kellee and Ricki for recommending this book to me. It is a fictionalized novel based on the actual experiences of Virginia as a young indigenous girl growing up in Ecuador. As it happens in many poor indigenous families, Virginia is basically given away to “work” for a wealthier family. It is a stolen childhood full of many hardships and much cruelty. Virginia’s spirit is incredible. I don’t want to give story elements away but will say that culture, family and identity are beautifully explored.