Monday Reading Wrap

         Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up.   

            Remember that the winners in all the Cybils' categories will be announced next Sunday,  Feb. 14th, Valentine's Day. All the finalists are here.





Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain

              It's a dense book, full of much information about older and more recent research surrounding introverts and extroverts, how the brains work in each, and sometimes how they do things mixed from both temperaments. Personalities can be formed from nature or nurture, and each person does not fit into a precise mode. Susan Cain focuses on introversion, how those who feel they're introverts often remain quiet, and sometimes are not "heard" because of their preferred ways of thinking and presentation. They think first, act second, and that is sometimes looked upon as too late. If you have a feeling that you often don't fit into the social whirl of enthusiastic, "out there" people who take up all the space, this is a book you will enjoy. And it is a book that might help you feel you have more control over your life.

How The Sun Got To Coco’s House - written and illustrated by Bob Graham

         Bob Graham’s illustrations are filled with joy as the sun moves through his landscape of different people in the world, furry animals, and interesting streets. Finally it gets to Coco’s house and wakes him. He runs to wake the sleepy parents, and a day of play begins, with the sun as one of their companions. Those little things illuminated in Graham’s story make you smile with each page.

 
The Wolf-Birds - written and illustrated by Willow Dawson

         Based on a scientific concept that occurs in nature, Willow Dawson tells the story of the relationship between ravens and wolves, some believe has happened for thousands of years. Ravens go hungry in winter because snow covers much of their food, and often they depend on wolves to first make a kill so the ravens can eat the exposed flesh. Ravens are not strong enough to tear through a hide. On the other hand, ravens can oversee the land from above, and some have observe them cawing near prey, a kind of notice to the wolves, or even other hunters. Ravens also steal from the wolves, called klepto-parasitism, but sometimes it is a mutual help, which is mutualism. Dawson uses spare words and illustrations to show stark winter and the utter need for food by these and other animals, along with the help each give the other. It’s painted in acrylic, with soft outlining, in a graphic style. There is additional information and a detailed bibliography at the back, and beautiful endpapers depicting a forest.

  

Bug in a Vacuum - written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

         In this imaginative tale of a bug being whooshed into a vacuum, Watt takes us through the five stages of grief. There can be grief for more than death, some losses to children can be just as serious. Two animals are involved, a dog who lost his favorite toy, and the bug in the vacuum.  Perhaps this book will be helpful to different ages, or for all of us reading to try to understand what’s happening in someone’s life. The illustrations are somber, filled with all kinds of objects and a cloudy mess inside the vacuum, details and speech bubbles help understand the feelings going on.

STILL READING: Rooftoppers by Deborah Rundell, finally caught up with this, and am enjoying it thoroughly. Thanks to everyone who kept recommending it. 

NEXT: Also by Deborah Rundell, The Wolf Wilder!