It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/13/17

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR is a community of bloggers who link up to share what they are reading. Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers and Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give it a #kidlit focus and encourage everyone who participates to visit at least 3 of the other #kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Our Reads This Week:

Hoot & Olive by Jonathan Voss

Reminiscent of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, Hoot & Olive is a heartwarming story about best friends. While Olive only likes adventures in books,  Hoot, a stuffed animal owl, enjoys real life adventures such as a hot air balloon ride and a boat ride down a river.

The great thing about having a best friend is that you support each other in times of need.  When Olive expresses fear during their adventures, Hoot tells Olive that he can be brave enough for both of them. In turn, when Hoot is not feeling well, Olive takes over and gets them safely home.

Voss’ illustrations are absolutely breathtaking and beautifully convey the warm, tender friendship between Hoot and Olive. I sincerely hope that there are more Hoot & Olive adventures to come.

Special thanks to author illustrator Jonathan Voss and Christian Trimmer at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers for sending an ARC of Hoot & Olive to our #bookexcursion group. Publication is set for August 2018; therefore, I feel privileged and honored to have had an advanced opportunity to read this enchanting and captivating picture book.

Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard

Thanks to her mechanic Grandpa, Robinson Hart can pretty much fix any car.  What is harder though to fix is her temper.  Robinson a.k.a. Robbie wants to act more like her name sake professional baseball player Jackie Robinson, but someone has to put bully Alex Carter in his place especially since he makes fun of her name and her family.

Family is a touchy subject for Robbie who has to create a family tree for a class assignment.  Grandpa has raised her since she was an infant and is not willing to tell her much about her mom.  On top of all this, Grandpa is getting more forgetful, which adds more worry.

To help with her anger, the guidance counselor, Ms. Gloria includes Robbie in a guidance group which also includes Alex.  Little does Robbie know that this group will make her realize that she is not the only one with family struggles.

Just Like Jackie is a bittersweet story that reminds us that family is not about blood but rather “family is the people who push you to be the best version of yourself and love you no matter what.”  What a wonderful message to share with readers most especially those who may relate to Robbie’s unconventional and loving family.

Special thanks to Lindsey Stoddard for providing our #bookexcursion group with an ARC of Just Like Jackie, which will be released in January 2018.

Read the Book, Lemmings by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Zachariah OHora

While reading the book, Everything About Lemmings, Foxy learns that lemmings don’t jump off cliffs. Apparently, the lemmings are not privy to this valuable information because every time they hear the word JUMP, the lemmings immediately jump off the boat while shouting GERONIMO!

Foxy soon concludes that lemmings not only cannot swim but also cannot read.  He promises to teach them and finally, the lemmings learn that they don’t jump off cliffs, right?  You’ll have to read to find out!

Whenever Ame and Zachariah collaborate, fun is an absolute guarantee! Like the lemmings, I am jumping at the chance to share this hilarious and adorably illustrated read aloud with students!   As a teacher, I also love the fact that students can also research the behavior of these cute and sweet lemmings!

Etta, Bella & I️ thank you for visiting Beagles & Books. Happy Reading!