Sunday, November 4, 2018

It's Monday - Books I Loved



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

           Thanks to Candlewick Press for these first three books, recently published.



         I enjoyed Steve Light's Black Bird, Yellow Sun, and now here is another "flight of fancy" where two children run off to find their dad who's forgotten his lunch box. He works at a construction site, thus the reader meets the "Builders & Breakers", those two introduced at the beginning along with other parts as the story progresses into detailed and varied scenes from a construction site. Those two kids are there, searching, searching, and until the end, no luck. However, on the search, there are many things to see and some astound, especially in two vertical double-page spreads. The second one is when "Diggers dig down, down, down." showing how that excavation works with the help of workers and cranes, even showing hidden dinosaur bones. Many details invite slow poring over the pages.  There is an interesting letter from the author at the back explaining the need for both a builder and a breaker to achieve balance in construction. Endpapers are filled with examples of architectural drawings.


        For the youngest ones, but not a board book, and from Australia, out this past month from Candlewick in the US. Can you tell an animal by only seeing its behind? This is the game, a clever one with clear word clues paired with that so interesting tail! It even begins with the endpaper before the title page, a beautiful peacock's tail. John Carty's art is new to me, but his fifteen watercolored animals are realistic and gorgeous. The copyright page shares that the art is adapted from nineteenth-century artwork. I'm sure that it will be a popular guessing time for young readers and they may learn some new names in case they don't know them all.


an extraordinary gift for kids
         An idea from Jules Verne's Around The World In Eighty Days, there Phineas Foff makes his marvelous bet: that he can travel the circumference of the world in no more than eighty days. Perhaps you've read the book or perhaps you've seen the movie of years ago, but this time, kids can visit each double-page spread and take the challenge there. Most pages include hundreds of modes of travel, like hot air balloons, bicycles, and sailing ships. A few pages visit iconic places in the world, like the Eiffel Tower. On the pages, readers are asked to spot a certain thing or things. For example, on a page with buildings that show outside staircases, you're asked to choose the one building with staircases all the way to the roof. Aleksandra Artymowska fills each page with colorful intricate designs. There is one added challenge at the very back where answers are found. It's a terrific book that will bring lots of fun when taking on the challenges. 
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        This is a new book by a friend I met and worked with at Highlights, am glad to see her book out. It's a cute story about a huge conflict, between a bear and a ranger. Definitely, no one should feed bears in the wild, but this time, in an imaginative story, the bear doesn't like that he doesn't get treats and fights back. So does that ranger. Finally, in the end, they learn to compromise and share. The illustrations are bright, colorful and wild!


        Sometimes it's time to be noisy, but other times it is a very nice thing to be quiet, to watch and listen! Tomie dePaola takes this moment to show us in a brief and beautiful book about a walk with a grandfather, his grandchildren, and a dog.
          I had to wait a while for this beautiful book by Melanie Florence from my library. It is both heart-breaking and heart-warming. It begins with a little girl walking home from school with her grandfather, asking him how to say "grandfather" in Cree. This is the moment, one of the questions older adults hear and wish they didn't have to answer. This time, Grandfather tells of the time children were taken away and punished when they used their own language instead of English. Beautiful illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard show the happiness that comes when the girl brings a beginner's book to learn Cree for her grandfather, and both learn the words "Nimosôm" - grandfather and "Nôsisim" - granddaughter. The page showing those words flying, like blackbirds, out of the dictionary is gorgeous. 
             ADDED LATER! Please see Shaye's comment below and my answer. I did find the review she mentioned here. I know that I learned something from it, and wish I had an easy response other than I will be more careful when reviewing from my own viewpoint without experiences that underlay the book/story I've read.

       Finally finished, amazing story and research about the 1986 burning of the main Los Angeles library and so much more!


Reading: Finishing up one book that has lingered, and starting something new, haven't chosen yet!
Happy Reading!

19 comments:

  1. You have so many great books here this week! Heads and Tails sounds especially fun, I love picture books that have a bit of a guessing game element, they're so fun to share with little ones.

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    1. I hope you enjoy what feels good, Jane. Heads and Tails would be a lot of fun for young children. Thanks!

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  2. Quiet sounds beautiful. I am still on my library's wait list for The Library Book, but I think there are over fifty people ahead of me. Have a great week.

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    1. If you lived down the block, I'd loan you my copy of The Library Book, Lisa. Sorry for the long wait. I've been waiting a long time for a few, so understand. Enjoy Quiet!

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  3. So many interesting choices, I don't know where to comment! I love the idea of Heads and Tails, especially.

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  4. Heads and Tails is new to me and definitely going on my list. Looks super cute! Builders & Breakers will probably be a hit with my middle child. He LOVES construction work and is fascinated by it all. I REALLY enjoyed Stolen Words. Aaron (from Wriggling Bookworms) told me about an article on the American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL) blog about this book, so I hunted it down a couple weeks ago. I was surprised to see them not recommend this book. I found it so beautiful and meaningful (even if Melanie Florence didn't grow up in the native culture--as far as we know, her grandfather did). Anyway, I appreciate all these titles, Linda. Have a wonderful reading week!

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    1. Builders & Breakers had lots of details, just right for someone who loves construction work, Shaye. I want to thank you for sharing about the Native American response for Stolen Words. I found the review and learned something from it. It is challenging for us who did not have any of a experience to respond well. We can only use our own experiences.

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  5. I've requested The Library Book, but I'm far down on the holds list. Which is fine because I have six possible Newbery books selected by KCLS to read. I've finished three - Front Desk, The Science of Breakable Things and Harbor Me. Next up is Book of Boy. I'm meeting with students at lunch on Thursday to see if there's enough interest for our Mock Newbery group. Requesting Builders and Breakers and Quiet.

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    1. Thanks, Ramona. As I said to Lisa, wishing you lived near because I'd loan you my copy! I need to read those first two you mentioned, but have read Harbor Me and enjoyed it very much. Builders & Breakers is quite fun and filled with information.

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  6. Ohhhhhh! I love puzzles!!! Thanks for sharing this book with me. I am going to get it for my boys!

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    1. Terrific, it really does look like a lot of fun! Thanks, Ricki

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  7. We are very much into Bruce the Bear right now and he loves Bear and the Piano, so I need to find Don't Feed the Bear and see what Trent thinks :)

    Happy reading this week!

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    1. I love the Bruce books, & have my own 'bear' collection, Kellee. This is another to add. Enjoy! Thanks!

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  8. Bear books are usually welcome any time. This one looks quite funny. Thanks for sharing. I think I am adding Puzzles and Quiet to my list as well.

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  9. Generally I am onside with Debbie and respect her opinion, but I have mixed feelings about her criticism of Melanie Florence. I think the reality of what makes someone indigenous, is complicated and messy. For example, the children of my close friend, who left her home up north for good reasons, have never lived on a reserve and have not been raised to be aware of their culture. Yet they still have to deal with racism and the emotional scars their mother carries. Should they delve into their past in search of their own histories, like the thousands of other children scooped up from their reserves here in Canada, and start writing, who is anyone to say they aren't indigenous? I also question her dismissal of the dictionary. We have indigenous schools on reserve lands where the original languages are being taught again. It's not unlikely that a one could be found in that library.

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    1. Thanks for your perspective, too, Cheriee. I know that you have more background in indigenous literature than I do, and I am trying to look at it as honestly as I can from my own. It's challenging.

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  10. So many awesome picturebooks, Linda - none of which I have read yet, so I am so happy to read your detailed thoughts about them. Will try to look for them next time I visit the library. :)

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