Timothy Basil Ering | There's a Book for That

It’s Monday! What are you reading? Link up to Jen and Kellee’s meme and share what you have been reading from picture books to young adult selections!

It was back to school this week which has meant more reading to others and less time for my own quiet reading. Which is just fine! I am so happy to be reading to students again!

I just posted (here) my first read alouds. Humour helps to ease the first week’s anxiety so these books bring plenty of smiles and giggles! We shared Chloe and the Lion, You’re Finally Here and Bink and Gollie: Two for One.

Other books I read aloud:

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds It is International Dot Day on September 15th. (Read more here) I shared this book with my class and we spent the next half hour getting creative and sharing our dots! Low stress. High engagement.

This Plus That written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace. I find that when this book is read aloud, everyone gets kind of quiet and reflective. Thinking about connections and how things relate. I love the effect.

Other picture books I’ve enjoyed this week:

A Poke in the I, a collection of poems selected by Paul B Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka I would pick this book up just because Raschka is one of my favourite illustrators, but this book is worth exploring for many reasons. I love the variety of ways words and poems are presented. What inspiration for students!

Necks out for Adventure written and illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering I am a big fan of Ering’s Frog Belly Rat Bone so when I saw this book on a Monday reads list, I was intrigued. A few weeks later I was searching through a box of donated books and I found this book! It is quirky and odd in the best of ways. Can’t wait to share it as a read aloud.

Delicious (A Pumpkin Soup Story) by Helen Cooper I love books that have another sub-plot going on somewhere else on the page via the illustrations (think Phoebe Gilman’s brilliant Something from Nothing). While persnickety duck keeps rejecting soup flavours, the industrious bugs invent ways to capture the rejected flavours. As a parent, I certainly connected to the picky eater aspect of this story!

I only finished one novel:

The Apothecary written by Maile Meloy. I don’t want to say much about this book because it has so many mysterious twists, I’d hate to give anything away. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Part fantasy, part mystery, part historical fiction, many parts adventure . . . You can’t really go wrong with his title.

I just picked up Kristin Cashore’s Bitterblue from the library (have had it on hold for months!) so that is the book I delve into next!

Division 5 is participating in the Growing Chefs program and learning all about growing plants, urban agriculture and the wonder of vegetables! Our windowsills are full of seedlings and we are indulging in many garden themed read alouds to learn more about the magic of gardens, growing and green. The following is a list of books that will be part of our reading:

The Bumblebee Queen by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne

An informative information story book that details the lifecycle of the Queen bee. Touches on hive life, pollination and human behaviour towards bees.

Deborah Hodge‘s Watch me Grow and Up we Grow (photographs by Brian Harris)

These books have special meaning as Deborah Hodge gifted them to our class when she visited in the fall! These books immerse us in the world of gardening and growing! One focuses on life on a small farm and the other looks at growing food in the city.

The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone by Timothy Basil Ering

In Cement Land, the promise of a packet of seeds is huge admist the gray drab world. Highlights the magic of watching seeds transform into plants!

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and illustrated by David Small

Can a package of flower seeds bring happiness and beauty to a family during the Great Depression?

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

Liam lives in the city and nurtures a struggling garden into a majestic green world. The power of a garden to invade (in the best of ways) stark city life.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

We each need to do something to make the world a more beautiful place. Miss Rumphius spreads lupine seeds throughout the countryside and the resulting flowers have a transformative effect on everyone who stumbles upon them.

Westlandia written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Wesley creates Weslandia, his own civilization using the plants he grows from some mysterious seeds and the products he makes from them.

A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long

Poetic text and beautifully detailed illustrations introduce us to the wonder of both familiar and unfamiliar seeds.

The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen and illustrated by Irene Luxbacher

When Theodora’s Grandfather must leave his beloved garden when he moves to an apartment, granddaughter and grandfather create a beautiful garden from seed to flower through the power of art and love.