Sunday, March 5, 2017

Monday Reading, Plus SOLC 6/31

SOLC #6/31 - 
      I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community for Day Six of Thirty-One of the Slice of Life Challenge in March.  Thank you, Stacey, Beth, Deb, Betsy, Lanny, Kathleen, Lisa, and Melanie.  
           On Mondays, I connect with a group that reviews books they want to share. I love learning about others' favorite books, adding to my own TBR list. I discover books I wouldn't otherwise on this day.

          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.  #IMWAYR

          Three beautiful books, three books showing how different people live. In my teaching life, and my personal reading life, I make connections and wanted my students to make them too. Sometimes they don't realize that book stories contain universal themes, topics and ideas that bind humans together. Here are three books that can help make those connections.

         by Deborah Freedman - New this year, and it’s a marvelous one. It’s just right for showing what a home is, starting with “this door was once a colossal oak tree/about three hugs around/and as high as the blue”. There is more about the source of the stone, the bricks, and the roof until a sweet cat and a young child reading under the stairs inhabit “This House”. It’s a beautifully wrought invitation that asks about one’s own house, too. Illustrations explore the words in soft colors that move through the seasons until spring, declaring that the house remembers, too.
         I remember houses in my growing up, and those I lived in with my husband, what we did to make them special for us. Here is one. We bought a house lakeside once, that had started out as a small cabin, that "inner room with a fireplace." The part I know about this house, ONCE was that the people who built it used stones from the lake's edge to build the floor to ceiling fireplace. It was gorgeous. By the time we moved there, the inner part was surrounded by bedrooms and baths, two porches and a kitchen. We added a deck and a new dock for our boat. Lake living was our home, once.


by Kate Hoefler and Jonathan Bean
          A picture book illustrated by Jonathan Bean’s interesting colorful cut-outs and collages is always entertaining, and this time Kate Hoefler defines cowboys (who can also be cowgirls) in the most loving of ways. They are strong, patient, kind. They sing to calm the cattle, and keep away the loneliness. It’s a tough job to be away from home so long and to take constant care of the herd. I think there might be acres of conversation when reading this book to a class. I loved that the story shows so many layers of a cowboy’s life. And I wonder if there is a short YouTube that might add to the realism this book implies.
          
by Tomson Highway & Julie Flett
           This is a book that is an unexpected story about a family that lives far in the north, written and illustrated by award-winning artists who are Canadian. The unexpected is that it is told in both English and Cree, the family's language. There is only this family who live in a tent on different lakes during the summer. While the parents fish, two brothers play. They create their own toys like dolls from sticks and imagine stories with them. A number of animals become their pets as the babies grow up--loons, squirrels, even baby eagles are included as some of their play. But the biggest fun is when they tie tiny threads to the bodies of dragonflies and run with them as kites. As a part of the magic, the book ends with the boys' dreams, flying high off the ground with those "dragonfly kites". Illustrations amaze with the creation of simple cut-outs that show the beauty of the outdoors and the boys' play.


Still Reading: A long adult book for my book club.
Next: I have several arcs that are soon due to publish, so must read them first, then Emerson's Last Day on Mars. 

38 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing two will definitely go on my list.

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  2. I will be sure to check these titles out!
    Thanks for sharing!
    https://tammysreadinglife.wordpress.com/

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  3. I love how you tucked your own lake house into your review of This house, once. This book tugs at me the most. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Each one is good in its own way, Julieanne, but if I had a classroom still, I know that This House, Once would be a wonderful mentor text for writing. Hope you like it, too. Thanks!

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  4. This House, Once keeps showing up all over the place and it looks amazing! Thanks for sharing your review and personal connection to the book. I can't wait to read it!

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    1. I was glad to find it at my library, Sarah. Sometimes there are so many holds for a new and talked-about book that it's hard to get. Hope you enjoy it as I did.

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  5. Such beautiful covers. Thanks for sharing. I will definitely add these to my TBR list.

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  6. All such beautiful books, with real elegance and heart radiating from each one.

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  7. Linda, I always look forward to your book posts because they give me titles for my non-diminishing list of books to read. One can never have too many. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You're welcome, Bob. These three are each wonderful in unique ways. Enjoy!

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  8. Isn't Dragonfly Kites just stunning? Have you see the first edition? I've added both of these other picture books to my must read pile. I adore Jonathan Bean's art!

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    1. I have only seen the cover of the first edition of Dragonfly Kites, Cheriee. I'll try to research it to see if I can glimpse more. Enjoy the other two!

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  9. I loved reading about your house by the lake and how the fireplace was constructed with nearby stones - Such a beautiful image. Can't wait to share this text set with teachers - Such powerful stories.

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    1. Each one will be an asset in the classroom, I'm sure. Glad you liked the story. It was a wonderful home.

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  10. Like so many others, loved how you wrote your review for This House, once. I loved that book too.
    There are always so many books to read, aren't there?? I want to get to the MARS book too.

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    1. I am always behind, Michele, but do try to plug a long, reading what I think will be good for me and good to share. I am so excited to start that Mars book!

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  11. Deborah Freedman just has books I want to settle in with on a cold, dreary day like the one we're having here today. It looks beautiful!
    Love the line, "Lake living was our home, once."

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    1. Yes, she does, Karen. Each one is always my latest favorite! Enjoy it when you get it!

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  12. I didn't know of any of these! Thank you for sharing :)

    Happy reading this week!

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    1. Thanks, Kellee, glad to share some new ones to you.

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  13. These are all new to me! This House Once sounds especially interesting and beautiful.

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    1. It is lovely, Lisa, and so are the others. I liked the poetic story of Cowboys a lot. Thanks!

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  14. It continues to amaze me that you always introduce me to new picture books! But now that I know you work in a bookstore, it makes more sense. I must get the book Dragonfly Kites...it looks spectacular. We are doing units on flight and found objects - what a fun, magical combination! Thanks, Linda!

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    1. I find new books by reading others' blogs and at my library, Maureen, not necessarily at the bookstore, but sometimes I find older ones there. Enjoy Dragonfly Kites with your students. They will love it (I hope)! Thanks!

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  15. I really want to see the new Freeman book. You always have such great books to highlight.

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    1. Hope you find it soon, Elsie. It's a beauty!

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  16. Dragonfly Kites sounds particularly lovely - thanks for always bringing wonderful new books my way, Linda!

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    1. And thank you for the book you shared today, Tara! Enjoy the reading!

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  17. Off to request all three titles. My picture book basket is overflowing. Loved the memories you shared of your lake house. No wonder your family enjoys vacations near the water.

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    1. We left the lake to move to Colorado, & it was a long time before we realized how lovely that time was on the lake. Yes, wish I was near water again, or right next to it! Enjoy the picture books, Ramona. Thanks!

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  18. These all sound wonderful, but I'm especially drawn to the Deborah Freedman book. She lives in CT, and I've been lucky enough to meet her. She's as lovely as you would expect after reading her books. Thanks for sharing, Linda!

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    1. How wonderful that you've met Deborah Freedman, Catherine.Her books are great! Thanks, Catherine.

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  19. I've always been fascinated with portrayals of houses/homes in literature, and I am intrigued by the Deborah Freedman title. I am also putting the Canadian book in my to-be-read list.

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