It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6.15.2020

This weekly post comes from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts

 and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.  

It's a great source to find new books to use with your students.

Last Week's Adventures

A book about identity and answering THAT questions.  Click here for the post and giveaway!

Animal month continues on my Wednesday Nonfiction Picture Book posts!

Chapter Book Summer series on #road2reading - black and brown girl main characters


Picture Books


What About Worms!?
by Ryan T. Higgins
Have you ever had a fear that felt so real but maybe by having that fear, you missed out on something?  That happens to Tiger - he has a fear of worms!  And just when he starts to enjoy something, he begins to think about worms, and then it's ruined.  And what about the worms?  How do you think they feel?
A good book to use to talk about perspective and how someone else feels.  And it's funny!


Sorry (Really Sorry)
written by Joanna Cotler
illustrated by Harry Bliss
I like this book, but I think it's definitely one to read with kids and then talk about it.
A chain of events is started when cow is mad because her hooves are in the mud.  When Duck comes along, Cow takes out her upset feelings on Duck by flinging mud onto Duck.  Then Duck is mad and ends up calling Frog a name.  The insult gets worse because when Duck tells Frog "sorry", she didn't really sound sorry.
There are a couple of things to talk about.  When you are feeling upset or mad or frustrated, sometimes our reactions are not what we mean them to be.  How can we control that?  And you can talk about how the word "sorry" is used.  And you can talk about making up for your mistakes.


Freedom Soup
written by Tami Charles
illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara
I book that pays homage to the independence Haitians won from France in the Haitian Revolution, originally celebrated on January 1, 1804.  Every Jan. 1, Haitians celebrate Haitian Independence Day and a common food item is Freedom Soup.  
In this story, young Belle is learning about the history of that day while preparing the soup with her Ti Gran.  Later, the extended family comes together to celebrate.  
Haiti is known for bright colors - in their homes and apparel - and this is shown in the vibrant illustrations.  After reading this story, you'll want to try some Freedom Soup yourself - and you can because the author includes a recipe in the back of the book!


The Seed of Compassion
written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
illustrated by Bao Luu
This one was not a favorite for me.  The premise of it is neat - it is written by the Dalai Lama and instead of it being a biography, it is supposed to be lessons and teachings for kids by the Dalai Lama.  But it ended up being a really long story and while it talked about compassion, I'm not sure it ever really got to the point.  In my opinion....


When the Babies Came to Stay
written by Christine McDonnell
illustrated by Jeanette Bradley
This is a quirky book, but it works!  Four infants are brought to an island with notes on them for the people to please care for them.  The librarian ends up taking all of them to live with her.  She names them in an orderly way, alphabetizing their names Agatha, Bram, Charles and Dorothy and gives them the last name Book.  The four young children grow up together and when they are asked "where are they from", the librarian tells them the story and it's then we learn how she fits into the names of everyone.  It's a heartwarming end to the story and really makes you love it.  The whimsical illustrations fit so well with the island setting.

Middle Grade


When You Trap a Tiger
by Tae Keller
Fair warning:  this book requires tissues.
This book beautifully blends magical realism and realistic fiction.  It's sometimes easy to remember the fantasy and magical parts aren't a part of the story's reality.
Lily, her mom, and sister, Sam, are moving states in order to move in with her grandmother, Halmoni.  Her halmoni is ill but it's not until later in the story do we discover how ill.  On the way to Halmoni's house, Lily sees a Tiger in the road.  And this sets off the story where the mystical tigers from Korean folktales mixes in with story about a girl trying to save her family and protect her grandmother.
Don't say I didn't warn you.

Currently Reading


Parachutes
by Kelly Yang
I'm about half-way through this book and it is powerful. 


I fell behind in some reading this week.  Hoping to make up for it!  Hope you have a good reading week!

#road2reading Challenge - Chapter Book Summer series - books that feature black and brown girl characters - 6.11.2020

This summer I'll be sharing chapter books that are perfect for a range of readers.  

Stop by every Thursday and find a round up of books you'll want to use with your readers!

Welcome to week 2 of Chapter Book Summer!  I'm sharing a new roundup of chapter books, usually perfect for readers in grades 1-5, each week.

Today I am celebrating books that have black and brown girl main characters!



The Dragon Thief
written by Zetta Elliott
illustrated by Geneva B
Last week I reviewed Dragons in a Bag, and today I have the sequel.  While Jaxson still narrates some chapters, we also get to hear from Kavita, who is the character that takes one of the dragons at the end of Dragons in a Bag.  Kavita quickly learns that she is no way ready to take care of a dragon.  Good thing she has Aunty living with her who seems to surprisingly know just what to do.  
We're not quite done with the fantasy world just yet!  We get to go with Kavita and Jax and Vik as they meet even more fantastical characters and help bridge the world between reality and fantasy again.  While a third book in the series has not been announced, there is certainly an opening for more books in the series!


Jada Jones: Dancing Queen
written by Kelly Starling Lyons
illustrated by Nneka Myers
I've written about this series many times, but I just have to celebrate this next one!
Jada and the Council Crew are getting ready to celebrate Caring Week and are culminating it with a dance party.  Amongst other things they are collecting gently used coats and collecting donations to buy more coats.
Jada is so excited to be helping people, but one thing is making her very nervous.  She can't dance.  Everyone tries to help but it's with another fellow non-dancer does she meet a new friend and a co-sympathizer!
Another wonderful addition to this series.  You'll want to own all of the books in this series and read at least one of them outloud to your students.


Ruby and the Booker Boys: Brand-new School, Brave New Ruby
written by Derrick Barnes
illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
Before there was the award winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut there was Ruby and the Booker Boys.  This transitional chapter book series introduces us to the youngest and only girl sibling in the family, Ruby.  She is always in the shadows of her older brothers and now she'll even be attending the same school as them.  But never fear, Ruby has enough spunk to put her brothers in their place and find a way to stand out all on her own!
I wish Jada Jones and Ruby Booker would be in a book together.  They would be unstoppable!  
Look for Ruby and her brothers in this four book series.


Ways to Make Sunshine
written by Renée Watson
illustrated by Nina Mata
I adored this book by Renée Watson!  She can write at any age and it will be amazing!  
Meet Ryan.  Her name means "king" and she tries to be the leader her name intends her to be.  However, that doesn't mean she has a few things to figure out.  Ryan and her family - mom, dad, and older brother, Ray - are moving into a new house.  A house that Ryan calls the new 'old' house, since it's smaller and older than their previous house.  Her dad has a new job, one that isn't paying as much, and it's time to watch their money.  But that doesn't mean they have to watch their love.  We see how much Ryan's parents care for her and her brother, although Ryan and Ray certainly have an up and down, typical brother-sister relationship.  Ryan gets to stay at her same school, which is good because one of her best friends goes there as well.  Her other best friend has moved, but they remain close.
The real life circumstances and relationships with her parents and friends are what will make readers love meeting Ryan.  She's not perfect and readers will love watching her make mistakes and then fix them.
It's a book about real life.  No huge plot, just lots of things that go together that make up life.  I can't wait to read more about Ryan!


Juana and Lucas: Big Problemas
by Juana Medina
I hope you've read the adorable Juana and Lucas, because then you'll be ready for this follow-up!  Loosely based on her experiences growing up in Bogotá, Columbia, Juana writes about when her mother got remarried.  This is a reality for many young readers, and how wonderful to see it portrayed in a chapter book.  While Juana has some worries - she doesn't want to share her mother, she loves where she lives and doesn't want to have to move, and she really doesn't want to be a flower girl - she ends up being pleasantly surprised and finds more good things that come out of the new changes.  
I liked that this was an overall positive experience, but the story also explored the natural concerns that a child would have when they are getting a new step-parent.
I also like the way Medina uses Spanish vocabulary throughout the book.  It doesn't directly explain the word in English like you often see with a different language word, but a reader can use contextual cues to figure out what the word means.
Another brightly illustrated book from Medina!

Here is a list of other books that feature black or brown main characters that are girls.  I've covered these books in previous posts.

The Amazing Life of Azaleah Lane by Nikki Shannon Smith
Stella Díaz series by Angela Dominguez
Lola Levine series by Monica Brown
The Magnificent Mya Tibbs series by Crystal Allen
Ana and Andrew series by Christine Platt
Yasmin series by Saadia Faruqi
Farah Rocks Fifth Grade by Susan Muaddi Darraj
Nina Soni series by Kashmira Sheth - look for this book in next week's roundup!


There are other books that feature black/brown girl main characters, however the authors are not black/brown.  I think it's important to amplify the voices of the black and brown community at this point.


In case you missed it, here's the link to last week's post - chapter books that feature black and brown boy main characters.

All journeys have a starting place.

This is a weekly place to find books and tools

that you may use with readers 

at the start of their independent reading journey.

Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - June is for animal books, post 2 - 6.10.2020

Wednesdays I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other

#kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.

The intention of today's blog post is to give professionals that work in the
education field new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use 

with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.

I love summer and being outside.  While maybe not everything in nature is my favorite (looking at you wasps and mosquitos...) there is a lot to explore!  Check out these animal books.



Amphibian Acrobats
written by Leslie Bulion
illustrated by Robert Meganck
If you aren't familiar with this poetry series, look them up now!  
Bulion focuses on amphibians found across the world in this book.  Where in the world are they?  Don't miss the world map in the backmatter to find each species and where they live!  Each 2-page layout features an amphibian, a poem that focuses in on something special about the amphibian, and some additional nonfiction information to give you more details.  Want to know more about the poem?  Check out the backmatter to find Bulion's additional notes!
Bulion finds what makes each creature unique and integrates it into her poems.  I love the varied formats of each one.  By having poetry and nonfiction information, this book can be read in multiple ways - just read the poems, read it cover to cover, or flip through and find your favorite amphibian!  I'll be sharing more about the North American Wood Frog, native to our area.  Who knew it was a deep-freeze artist?!


Run, Sea Turtle, Run: A Hatchling's Journey
written by Stephen R. Swinburne
photographs by Guillaume Feuillet
Sea Turtle Scientist is one of my favorite nonfiction books.  Sea turtles are my favorite animals and I find them fascinating.  Those that make it to adulthood are true survivalists and their journey is so interesting to track.
I love that Swinburne has written more about these creatures and written it for readers who are becoming independent readers.  With more decodable vocabulary and shorter sentences, this book will captivate young readers and encourage them to read on their own.


If You Take Away the Otter
written by Susannah Buhrman-Deever
illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Great cause-effect storyline, the book explores what happened when sea otters were hunted along the Pacific coastline and the devastation it had on the undersea kelp forest.
Gorgeous illustrations accompany this story.


Don't miss last week's post, which featured more amazing animals.  Find it here.

Lulu the One and Only review and giveaway - 6.09.2020

Lulu the One and Only

written by Lynnette Mawhinney

illustrated by Jennie Poh

published by Magination Press

June 9, 2020

* thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for the review copy! *

A new picture book is published today and it is so important right now.  The racial tensions in our nation is at a high.  However, we're seeing a lot of peaceful protests, and we're seeing a lot of the younger generation come out and use their voice.  Working with today's youth, this is the time that we need to make sure Black voices are heard.  We need to amplify voices so there is equal representation of BIPOC characters and creators in the stories we share with young readers.

Today's book, Lulu the One and Only, seeks to do this.  The story features a mixed race main character who is grappling with questions about her family and the big question - "what are you?"  In a very straight forward voice, Lulu lets young readers know that questions like these are frustrating and hurtful.  She wonders, "the question is not what I am, but who I am."  Lulu talks about her frustrations with her older brother who tells her he has a power phrase he uses to answer that question.

Lulu thinks about the many words and characteristics that make up who she is to come up with her own power phrase.  And it's perfect timing because the very next day she is asked that question, but this time she has an answer for it.

At the end of the book is an author's note that is important for educators and parents to read.  Talking about race with kids and all of the complexities that make up families is empowering for young readers.  Speaking from her own background of being a biracial child, this #ownvoices authored picture book may give readers more to think about if they are asked about their identity.  While the book is straight to the point, it may be what a young child needs to hear and understand and process.  Lulu received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, saying “All children will benefit from this pitch-perfect discussion of race, identity, complexity, and beauty.”

Be sure to check out and share the book trailer for Lulu the One and Only.

More about the author, and don't miss the curriculum guide in the bio!
Lynnette Mawhinney, PhD, is associate professor in the department of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago helping to prepare future urban teachers for the classroom. She's written several academic books and articles. LULU THE ONE AND ONLY is her first children's book. Dr. Mawhinney is biracial, like her character Lulu, and an expert on teaching diverse populations and in urban environments. She lives in Chicago. To learn more, and to download a curriculum guide, visit her website: https://www.lynnettemawhinney.com/for-children.


Would you like to own a copy of Lulu the One and Only for your library?  Publisher Magination Press is generously giving away one copy (U.S. addresses only please).  Please enter using the Google form below.  Winner will be selected Tuesday, June 16th!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6.08.2020

This weekly post comes from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts

 and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.  

It's a great source to find new books to use with your students.

Last Week's Adventures

Chapter Book Summer series on the #road2reading Challenge - chapter books featuring black and brown boy main characters.

Check out these nonfiction picture books about animals!


Picture Books


Can I Play Too?
by Samantha Cotterill
Part of the "little senses" series, this book features two young boys who are putting a train set together.  One little boy clearly has a vision (seen in a thought bubble) of how he wants the train to be set up.  He takes over the creation, even taking parts of the set out of the other boy's hands.  The other boy gets upset and leaves the play area.  A teacher comes over and uses a story and cue cards to help the boy understand the verbal and nonverbal cues so he understood what was good about their play, and why the other boy got mad.
Without using any labels for either character, Cotterill draws young readers into a familiar situation and gives ideas of how to solve a problem.
Important to note this is an #ownvoices book.


A New Kind of Wild
by Zara González Hoang
A book about moving that helps you look at things from a new perspective.  I love the vibrant colors that are used!


Plenty of Hugs
written by Fran Manushkin
illustrated by Kate Alizadeh
Happy Pride Month!  I'm always on the lookout for books that feature all kinds of families without it being a book about being a non-traditional family.  This is that book.  It celebrates the love of a family as they go through the day, enjoying all there is around them.


Equality's Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America
written by Deborah Diesen
illustrated by Magdalena Mora
I know many people really liked this book and the message.
It's written in rhyming text, which for me, in order for the rhymes to work, I feel like the information stayed too general.  I'm not sure readers will really understand the plight of people who had to fight for their right to vote.  Again, it's a general overview so it doesn't have the page space to go into too much detail, but I thought it missed some.
Would be a good book to perhaps use when introducing voting rights and before digging deeper into certain fights to vote.


The Three Billy Goats Buenos
written by Susan Middleton Elya
illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez
A fun retelling of a familiar fable, I think readers will enjoy the twist in the end of the book.  
I liked that the Spanish vocabulary words were listed at the front of the book, instead of the back.
It's a fun book for kids who have control over the English vocabulary to read because there are words like mission, lush, chompers, rumor, bitter, frolicked, that ELL readers may have trouble understanding and there is not always picture clues or more text that help with the English vocabulary.  It's going to be easier for an English language user to try and figure out the Spanish vocabulary.

Middle Grade


Things Seen From Above
by Shelley Pearsall
I really enjoyed Pearsall's The Seventh Most Important Thing so I was eagerly awaiting this one.  While both books are realistic fiction, they both have this element of magic to them - not enough to call it magical realism - but this hint of the impossible.
In this book we meet April, she's trying to figure out how she fits in in the sixth-grade and who she is.  To avoid lunchroom drama, April volunteers in the fourth grade recess on the Buddy Bench.  It's her job to help the younger kids when things arise.  Instead, April makes two surprising discoveries.  One is finding a friend in fellow Buddy Bench volunteer, Veena.  Even if she is in fifth-grade, April learns that opening your mind to a new friend can be surprising!  The second is meeting fourth grader, Joey Byrd.  Joey seems to be a kid who is an outcast and someone who has definite strange tendencies, like shuffling your feet in the recess woodchips.  But Joey has some surprises up his sleeve that will leave everyone, especially April, in awe.

Adult Novels


The Henna Artist
by Alka Joshi
When my friend Kathy Burnette suggests a book, you know it's going to be a fantastic read.  And she was so right about this one.  A beautiful historical fiction novel set in India right after partition (when the British rule ended), we meet Lakshmi.  She is working hard to secure her own independent life as not only a henna artist, but someone who is sought out by high society ladies, and perhaps their husbands, to help with herbal remedies, henna and mandala creations for celebrations, and even marriage matchmaking.  However, her carefully crafted life is about to change when an unknown sister arrives at her doorstep.  
This story takes place during a time when old traditions and new beginnings are beginning to clash and Lakshmi must carefully balance the two while letting new people into her life.

Currently Reading


When You Trap a Tiger
written by Tae Keller
Looking forward to starting this one!


I have a pretty full week of blogging for you this week!  Looking forward to more sunny weather for some patio reading.  How about you?

#road2reading Challenge - Chapter Book Summer series - books that feature black and brown boy characters - 6.04.2020

This summer I'll be sharing chapter books that are perfect for a range of readers.  

Stop by every Thursday and find a round up of books you'll want to use with your readers!

Welcome to week one of Chapter Book Summer posts!  I started this last year because it seems like when I see teachers and parents asking about recommendations, it's often for chapter books.  Books that reach young readers who are looking for longer books, books that are for readers who are building reading stamina, and books for readers who aren't ready for the next step on the reading ladder - middle grade novels.  These books don't seem to get the same amount of "book blessing" on social media as their counterparts so I'm dedicating one day a week over the summer months to celebrate them.

When I planned these posts, this particular one was supposed to publish a few weeks from now.  However, these books, more than ever, need to be shouted from the rooftops... shared in every single classroom and every single library... book talked, blessed, and discussed.  If you don't have these books, buy them.  If you don't have the budget to buy them, check your school library and public library and make sure they have them.  Share this post with your colleagues and fellow parents.  Get them into all readers hands.

Today I am celebrating books with black and brown boy characters.

First up are some new to me series.



Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest series
Episode 1: The Quest for Screen Time
written by Marti Dumas
illustrated by Marie Muravski
I love the tagline on the back cover "Giant afro.  Even bigger brain."  Yes!!!  
Jaden Toussaint, or JT, is a five year old who isn't afraid to use the scientific method to prove his point!  JT gets a quick glimpse of all the things you can do on a device and now he wants more!  He thinks he has it all figured out - he can use his kindergarten homework of computer time to get himself some screen time, but as all kids figure out, it's not always that easy! 
This is the first book is what looks like a 5 book series.  Short, quick, illustrated chapters, with an easy to follow problem/solution format, this is a fun chapter book series!


STAT: Standing Tall and Talented series
Home Court
by Amar'e Stoudemire
Written by NBA All-Star, Amar'e Stoudemire, and based loosely on his life growing up, we meet young Amar'e and friends who are busy playing sports and going to school.  In this first book, Amar'e is trying to juggle all the sports he wants to play, and hanging with his friends, and continuing to get good grades.  He lives with his father and brother in Florida and sometimes helps his dad with his lawncare business.  
There are some new, older kids on their usual court, but instead of playing ball, Amar'e works on his skateboarding tricks, which are getting harder to do the taller he gets!  His friends get beat pretty badly without Amar'e's help and now the older kids are calling this court their home court.  Amar'e knows he needs to work together, not only with his friends, but all of his peers to get these bullies off their turf.  
I like that hard work and play is emphasized in this book.  Amar'e is starting to realize that basketball is his sport, but he loves playing other sports too.  In this world where competitive sports and specializing in one is important, the idea of play is a breath of fresh air!  
Amar'e and his friends have to face down bullies and they do it in a fair way with help from everyone.  A good message for young readers.
Also looks to be a 5 book series.


The Magnificent Makers series
How to Test a Friendship
written by Theanne Griffith
illustrated by Reggie Brown
A new maker series that features both black and brown characters and a Maker-Scientist that has a little Ms. Frizzle flair!  
Pablo and Violet have been best friends for a long time but in science class they meet someone new, Deepak.  He loves the sciences too, but will he also steal Violet's friendship away from Pablo?
Before the trio knows what is happening, they are whisked away to a magical makerspace where they have several makerspace challenges to solve before the time is up.
Full of science and friendship, this is definitely a new series to share!
This is the first book of a 3 book series.


Dragons in a Bag
written by Zetta Elliott
illustrated by Geneva B
Meet Jaxon, his mom has to go to the courthouse and someone needs to watch him so he gets put with Ma.  Jax was surprised to find out he had a grandmother, but even more surprised to find out that no, it's not his grandmother, but a witch!  And she has an important delivery to make.  She has 3 dragons that need to go back to another realm.  Jax agrees to accompany her and before he knows it he's in head over heels!  Jax learns to open up and meet and trust new people, and get some help from his actual friends.
I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and hoping there will be more to come!


Here is a list of other books that feature black and brown boy characters that I've covered in previous posts.  Don't miss them!


Planet Omar series by Zenib Mian
Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream series by Hena Khan
Mo Jackson series by David A. Adler (Swim, Mo, Swim!, Don't Throw It to Mo!)
Ana and Andrew series by Christine Platt
Sadiq series by Siman Nuurali


As most of you know, I am a big champion of chapter books.  These books are important stepping stones, or ladder rungs, for longer and more sophisticated middle grade books.  However, they mostly feature white characters, written by white authors.  I had to search far and wide for the titles included today.  Please support these books and show publishers we must have more BIPoC authors and illustrators and characters, especially in the chapter book format.

All journeys have a starting place.

This is a weekly place to find books and tools

that you may use with readers 

at the start of their independent reading journey.

Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - June is for animal books, post 1 - 6.03.2020

Wednesdays I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other

#kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.

The intention of today's blog post is to give professionals that work in the
education field new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use 

with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.

Welcome to the month of June.  I'll be celebrating the animals of the great outdoors this month.  Check out these incredible animals!



Clever Hans: The True Story of the Counting, Adding, and Time-Telling Horse
written by Kerri Kokias
illustrated by Mike Lowery
I feel like I've read about this horse before, but can't remember from where... can you think of another story about this intelligent horse?
Clever Hans was an actual horse that could do all sorts of math problems his owner, Mr. Wilhelm von Osten, gave him.  People from all over came to see him "answer" (tap his hoof the amount equal to the answer) these problems.  Scientists questioned how the horse could answer these problems correctly and one of the conclusions may surprise you!


Eat Your Rocks, Croc! Dr. Glider's Advice for Troubled Animals
written by Jess Keating
illustrated by Pete Oswald
Using a fictional voice of Dr. Glider, a sugar glider turned animal doctor, we learn about some ailments of different animals.  Each ailment has a very practical reason, as explained by Dr. Glider.  For example, from the title, Carl Crocodile has a horrible stomach ache.  However, as we learn from Dr. Glider, it's probably because he isn't eating enough rocks!  On the far right page of each double layout, there are separate boxes that gives the reader more scientific information about the animal's challenge.  So on this page, we learn that because crocodiles don't chew their food, they need rocks to help grind up the food so it can be digested.
Readers who enjoy Keating's The World of Weird Animals series will enjoy this one!


* Looking to find one of the books in this post?  Click on the book title and you will be taken to an online link for Brain Lair Books.  The books will stay on the link for approx. three weeks before making room for new reads.  Please support independent bookstores.*