Monday Reading - New Books to Love
Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who post their favorites. Remember to post a #MustReadin2019 update this coming Thursday with Carrie Gelson at There's A Book for That!
If you are interested, I'm writing a poem a day for poetry month, posting a second post on the days that I share reviews.
Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup shares a roundup of all the Kidlitosphere's goals for poetry month, several that share wonderful ideas for the classroom!
Thanks to Candlewick Press for these next three books!
From England, first published in the U.S. this year, a fun illustrated chapter book for younger readers by Meg Rosoff. The Peachey family is in trouble. Mom has retired, yes, retired! She has tired of doing ALL the work and has begun to study yoga instead. And the father and three children are lost. The house is in shambles: clothes are not clean and sometimes not found, no one is cooking and frozen meals are their last resort. The youngest, Betty, decides that they need a dog. You might think that's not what they need, but sweet adopted dog McTavish saves the day with Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Readers will find some lessons about cooperation in the story, maybe even for the classroom, too.
From England, first published in the U.S. this year, a fun illustrated chapter book for younger readers by Meg Rosoff. The Peachey family is in trouble. Mom has retired, yes, retired! She has tired of doing ALL the work and has begun to study yoga instead. And the father and three children are lost. The house is in shambles: clothes are not clean and sometimes not found, no one is cooking and frozen meals are their last resort. The youngest, Betty, decides that they need a dog. You might think that's not what they need, but sweet adopted dog McTavish saves the day with Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Readers will find some lessons about cooperation in the story, maybe even for the classroom, too. 
Filled with so much poetry and facts about our universe, I understand why Allan Wolf's head exploded! Black and starry sky illustrations by Anna Raff stay in the background, showing other places (and things) as comical, amusing, oh so expressive creatures in the universe. Allan begins with the sun, "The simple truth may come as a surprise:/the closest star is right before your eyes." and carries us through a trip throughout our universe learning about the planets, their moons, comets and black holes, explains AU (astronomical units), offers a nod to space history, like Sputnik, eclipses, a page of early rockets, plus the long title poem of why and how the universe exploded Allan's head! Poems vary, with free verse and rhyme, some for two and three voices, brief shouts and longer ones that explain in clever wordsmithing about the topics. One favorite, "For Those Who Light The Candle" for the astronauts and cosmonauts who have given their lives to travel into space. ends with
"For all who dare escape this ball of clay.
these brave ascending angels light the way."
Endnotes include additional notes on the poems, a glossary of selected space terms, internet resources, and acknowledgments. The book holds an incredible amount of space knowledge in clever, non-fiction poems.
