It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teacher Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Picture Books

Suki's Kimono by Chieri Uegaki and illustrated by Stephane Jorisch. This first day of school story features first grader Suki who is determined to wear her new blue kimono to school, despite her older sisters' protests. Suki learns the value in being yourself and in not being afraid to tell your story. (H/T Mum-Mum's the Word.)

War is a difficult topic at any age. This week I posted a series of suggested Picture Books that Deal with Modern Wars as a way of gently introducing students to the topic. You can read the full review here.

A Bucket of Blessings by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal and illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong. This lovely picture book retells an Indian myth as monkey seeks out peacock for his aid in bringing back the rain. A tale of perseverance and the benefits of doing something to help others.Adorable block-print illustrations too.

Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. After my recent post on Picture Books about Japanese Internment, I received several recommendations to check out this book (H/T Linda at Teacher Dance and Kellee at Unleashing Readers). This is the true story of Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura, a Japanese-American baseball player who was sent to an internment camp. At the camp, Zeni strove to build his own baseball field and inspire hope in a difficult situation. Publisher Abrams Books has a curriculum guide available here.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. This one showed up a TON during #pb10for10, but I saw it first from Megan at Fourth Grade Literacy Lovers. This is the immediately engaging collection of letters from Duncan's crayons as they each share their grievances about his recent coloring. I really look forward to sharing this one with my students when we talk about perspective and point-of-view in our writing, as each crayon has a distinct voice. May also try to plan a collaboration with the art teacher here too.

Nonfiction

Parrots over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore. This lavish picture book of cut-paper and fabric collage tells the story of the decline and revitalization of the parrots of Puerto Rico. The vertical format might make it a little awkward for reading aloud, but the historical story and the modern day events will keep students captivated. There is also an extensive Afterward with photographs of the actual parrots and the parrot recovery program. A great resource that I look forward to sharing with my students when we study the Caribbean. (H/T Debbie at The Styling Librarian.)

Poetry

Part three in my three-part series on haiku features Picture Books Told in Haiku. This post includes two different types of books: stories that are told entirely in haiku and books of haiku poems. Click here to read more about these books, or read the rest of the series, Do You Haiku? and Picture Books about Haiku.

Middle Grade

 

Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen (Newbery Winner, 1956). Found this in the "Award Winning Book" section of our local library book sale and had to pick it up. (Taking this as a sign that I should join Mr. Schu's #nerdbery Challenge.) This turned out to be a very sweet story about Marly and her family's move out to her grandmother's farm on Maple Hill and their adjustments as they learn about the farm, the seasons, and as her father finds relief from the impacts that the War had on him. Would be a great book for a student who is interested in nature, seasons, and farming, as well as realistic fiction about families.

Happy Reading!