It's Monday! Reads for All!

 Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and 

  

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 

          

    My #MustReadin2022 can be found above and I posted it with Leigh Anne yesterday here. 

                In this world of discontent, let us remember the goodness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today and follow his path!

      All Bryan Collier needed for inspiration were the words to"We Shall Overcome" the gospel song that later became the protest song for Civil Rights. Here is his priceless book to share on this special day, our celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday every third Monday in January. His real birthday is January 15th. The young girl in the yellow dress moves along through a day as Collier's breathtaking illustrations take her through the past and present movements, protests, and demonstrations of the twentieth century. There is the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, the bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, Rosa Parks, too; Little Rock Central High School, where people tried to block nine black students from entering. And, there is the Black Lives Matter mural on the street. The young girl takes a part in working for peace through all the story. There is more to see and remember, with more explained in the back if needed. It is really a beautiful book, one to read in every classroom, every home.

           How can it be? One "WaaaAAH!" from Baby Izzie and one by one, the whole building's inhabitants awaken and create their own unique racket, piling on. As the soothing begins, softer sounds help everyone back.to.sleep! Anne Wynter's cumulative tale which includes hilarious sounds with Oge Mora's exquisite collage work makes a delightful book, to admire page by page, or read with a group! 

           There are countless stories of the brave people who helped Jewish people hide and/or escape the Natzis during World War II and this time, Amalia Hoffman tells of Gino Bartali, a weak child, who managed first to ride his father's bicycle though it was too big. He lived in Florence and later took a job as a sixth-grader and managed to save enough for an old, rusty bike of his own. Then, working for a bicycle repair shop, he learned more about how to fix bikes, and in the meantime, he became stronger. There is the first part of his winning the Tour de France in 1938, then being contacted by a friend who was a Cardinal during the war who asked Gino to begin delivering forged papers from forger to printer, on to those in need. It's exciting and inspiring while imagining the danger as he rode that route of 110 miles although Gino did not stop this help. After the war in 1944, he began training again, and again won the Tour de France, at age 34, an "old man" according to those who knew the race. Chiara Fedele's realistic illustrations show the persistence and courage from boy to man of this cyclist who used his power for more than winning races. Hoffman adds information at the back with a great photo of Bartali. Here's a quote from the book's beginning by Bartali: "If you're good at a sport, they attach the medals to your shirts and then they shine in some museum. That which is earned by doing good deeds is attached to the soul and shines elsewhere." 

       (Note: A person contacted me on Goodreads bringing up controversy about this story. I have done some research and there are some who claim his work in Italy has not been proven.) I was unsure whether to share, yet thought it was a lesson that sometimes our own research is needed at least to be able to share other opinions.

       In this Skunk & Badger book # two, there are more adventures, more rock vocabulary because Badger still wishes to do "important rock work", and more cooking because Skunk is the cook. Chickens, especially one named Augusta, continue to be a big part as well. Amy Timberlake manages to make me smile, become anxious, yes, for Skunk & Badger's safety, yet even a bear comes through, along with a clam moving company. Yes, hard to believe some of this tale, but it is another filled with adventure and kindness, also a baby dinosaur! I wrote in the review of the first one that you will grow to love these two characters and learn quite a lot about geology and chickens and maybe yourself! And, Jon Klassen adds his special muted and sentimental illustrations. It all holds true again! It is a delight!

What's Next: I am nearly finished with Cloud Cuckoo Land and am in awe of what Doerr has created with such disparate parts, coming into a whole. And, still reading for the Cybils poetry. I have Gary Paulsen's final novel, Northwind, am anxious to read it!