It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

These are memes started by Teach Mentor Texts and Book Journey, and I'm excited to participate, along with many other bloggers, in reviewing books I read the previous week. I'll be reviewing picture books through adult books.

 

 

 

PICTURE BOOKS

 

 

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell

 

2013-book, allusion, alphabet-or-counting-book, animals, bookaday2013, great-read-aloud, humor, picture-book, surprise-ending   You can't beat the experience of hearing this book read aloud by Mac Barnett himself! What a treat! I loved the reaction of the kids at the Joseph-Beth Bookseller's story time. They loved it. Barnett is hilarious in his books AND real life! The colorful, humorous illustrations fit Barnett's counting book perfectly. Bravo, Barnett and Cornell, for creating what promises to be a classroom library favorite!  I enjoyed hearing Mac talk to the kids about writing.  He told them he reads way more than he writes, and that he gets ideas from what he reads, watches on t.v., movies, and from his friends and even enemies!  He also talked about how important it is for kids to write and make books out of their stories.  He mentioned two great writing programs for kids, Word Play in Cincinnati and 826 National: Don't Forget to Write. Here are some pictures and video of the event:   The Cincinnati Zoo brought a baby alligator, Augustine, to introduce Count the Monkeys! This picture makes me laugh because it was taken by someone at Joseph-Beth, and that's my big head in the foreground.  Ha!     I had to have Mac sign Extra Yarn, his 2013 Caldecott Honor winner!     The kids LOVED Mac and his books!     Video of Mac reading Count the Monkeys.  The audience of kids cracked me up (so did the book)!       The Mighty Lalouche by Matthew Olshan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall   2013-book, bookaday2013, character-traits, historical-fiction, hyperbole, mock-caldecott-2014, picture-book, sports     Sophie Blackwell is the illustrator of the beloved Ivy & Bean series.  I loved spending some time on her blog and looking at her YouTube videos.     Lalouche is a fictional (I clarify this because it reads like a true biography) postman who lived many years ago in France. He loved walking around his neighborhood along the Seine, delivering mail. His little apartment, unfortunately, did NOT have a view of the river. Alas, one day he lost his job because the postal service bought a fleet of electric autocars. In order to survive, Lalouche became a sparring partner for the Bastille Boxing Club. Everyone laughed at his puny size, but he surprised them all! Even though he was the best in the boxing ring, he longed to go back to his old job, and since he made plenty of money, he could afford an apartment overlooking the beautiful Seine. The Author's Note contains some interesting history about French boxing. I loved the illustrations! Kids will love all the boxer cards on the endpapers.     Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarinski   #6 in the Award Winning Books Challenge   2012-book, animals, award-winner, award-winning-books-challenge-2013, bookaday2013, cats, character-traits, curiosity, dogs, picture-book   GORGEOUS illustrations grace the pages of this sweet story about a little girl who can't fall asleep. In the beginning you see that she is active and creative, and she's just not sleepy! Her calm and majestic parents tell her she still has to get ready for bed, but all those preparations don't do the trick. The little girl asks about whether or not everything in the world goes to sleep. They explain that everything does sleep, including their own dog (who's sleeping on the couch even though he's not supposed to) and cat. The illustrations in the second half of the book incorporate her imagination with the way all the animals sleep, and finally she falls fast asleep, just like the tiger. This would have been a favorite of my girls when they were little!   MIDDLE GRADE     Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurttliff   2013-book, bookaday2013, character-development, fairy-tale, great-read-aloud, intermediate-kids-book, journey, mock-caldecott-2014     This is a delightful story about Rumpelstiltskin, how he got his name, and what it means. I think kids will love it, and it will make a fun read aloud. Poor Rumpelstiltskin's mother died shortly after giving birth to him, and because she could only say part of his name before she died, he has had to live with the humiliating name of Rump. He is bullied, poor, and directionless. However, when he finds his mother's spinning wheel, his destiny seems to take shape. Acting against his grandmother's w...more This is a delightful story about Rumpelstiltskin, how he got his name, and what it means. I think kids will love it, and it will make a fun read aloud. Poor Rumpelstiltskin's mother died shortly after giving birth to him, and because she could only say part of his name before she died, he has had to live with the humiliating name of Rump. He is bullied, poor, and directionless. However, when he finds his mother's spinning wheel, his destiny seems to take shape. Acting against his grandmother's warnings, he discovers that he can spin straw into gold! He befriends another kid with an unusual name, Red, and she and HER grandmother warn him to be careful, too. But magic has its own plans, and soon Rump is embroiled in a heap of trouble. He must find out what is full name is in order to stop what has been set in motion. I'd love to use this book in a unit that pairs extended traditional literature with the original stories.   ADULT FICTION     A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving   adult-fiction, allusion, book-club, bookaday2013, character-traits, character-who-reads, character-who-writes, coming-of-age, flashbacks, foreshadowing, friendship, gifted-character, symbolism, war, young-adult-book     I'm very glad this is our book club book this month because I definitely want to talk about it! I chose this novel because I've had it on my shelf for years and hadn't read it, and it was mentioned as one of the books Will Schwalbe read with his mother in The End of Your Life Book Club. I'm ashamed to say I've never read John Irving - I've only seen the movies made out of his books. I didn't know what to expect from this story - all the covers of its various editions intrigued me - the red picku...more I'm very glad this is our book club book this month because I definitely want to talk about it! I chose this novel because I've had it on my shelf for years and hadn't read it, and it was mentioned as one of the books Will Schwalbe read with his mother in The End of Your Life Book Club. I'm ashamed to say I've never read John Irving - I've only seen the movies made out of his books. I didn't know what to expect from this story - all the covers of its various editions intrigued me - the red pickup truck, the armadillo, the headless/armless mannequin, and baseball player. Now they all make sense! Irving masterfully weaves all the experiences of John and his best friend, Owen, a tiny, shrill-voiced anomaly, into an incredible conclusion, one that kept me anxious for most of the book. I'm wondering why this book isn't used more in high school English classes. There is SO much there for teens to discuss, and I think they'd really like it. CURRENTLY READING CURRENTLY LISTENING TO I've been featuring what my family is reading, also.  My 17-year-old is reading: My 20-year-old is still in Ecuador! My husband is reading (Can you tell he doesn't mind the YA titles I recommend to him?): My mom is reading:     My mom and I are going to attend the Debbie Macomber Fan Retreat in Nashville in August! My dad is reading:    What are YOU reading this week? If you enjoy reading my blog, I'd love for you to join it or subscribe by e-mail!  Just scroll down to the bottom right sidebar, and you will find ways to do both/either.  It would make my day!  Happy reading this week!