It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/27/17

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:

Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinkerby Shelly Johannes

I had the great privilege of reading an ARC of Beatrice this past July and fell in love with her and her way of looking at the world!  I host literacy lunch bunches with students where we enjoy our food and talk about books.  There are 3 second grade students who are obsessed with Junie B. Jones and have pretty much read all the books in the series.  So of course, I knew which book to recommend for our next read-Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker!

It isn’t easy being an upside down thinker in the right side up Zinker family.  Beatrice has always been different and focused on the MAYBEs, WHAT-IFS,  and COULD-BES.  Luckily, Beatrice’s best friend, Lenny is ready and willing to join her in Operation Upside by wearing her matching black ninja suit to school on the first day of third grade.

But when an imposter Lenny walks into Mrs. Tamarack’s classroom, Beatrice cannot believe her eyes.  Why is Lenny wearing a skirt and a sparkly pink sweater instead of all black?  Where are her green glasses?  And to make matters worst, Lenny gets to sit next to her new friend Chloe in class while Beatrice’s desk is right under her teacher’s nose.  Suddenly, Beatrice realizes her friendship is in trouble and she needs to think and act quickly to save Operation Upside.

I cannot wait to meet with my students and talk about Beatrice.  She teaches us great lessons about having the courage to be yourself- true friends will always appreciate your uniqueness!

Shark Nate-O by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie  Illustrated by Daniel Duncan

Nate LOVES sharks!  Because Nate knows lots of cool facts about sharks, his nickname is Shark Nate-O. But Nate has a one slight problem-he can’t swim.  How can he really be a  shark if he can’t swim?

Luckily, Nate has a plan-swimming lessons!  At first, swimming does not come easy to Nate, and he needs a lot of support and rescuing from Coach Debra.  But Nate reminds himself that sharks are fearless and he does not give up.  Soon Nate is ripping through the water like a speedy mako shark.  While Nate is proud that he can swim on his own,  his ultimate goal is to become a member of the Amity Sharks swim team like his brother, Alex.  Can Nate live up to his nickname Shark Nate-O?

An added bonus is Nate shares some of his shark facts at the end of the book, which will definitely encourage readers to research sharks on their own.  A very special thanks to Tara Luebbe for sending an advance copy of Shark Nate-O to Beagles and Books, which I have shared with my #bookexcursion group. Preorder now, for Shark Nate-O will be published in April 2018.

To read my full review, please click here.

The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman

Fish and Snail are friends.  Every day, Fish comes home with a new story to share with Snail.  But this time is different.  Fish wants to show, not tell Snail the new book.  Snail is not adventurous like Fish and wishes to stay put.  An argument ensues and Fish decides to jump out of the current book for the new story.

Snail realizes that their book cannot be The Story of Fish and Snail with no Fish.  So Snail has a difficult decision to make.  Can Snail leave its comfort zone and take a leap of faith with Fish?

The Fish and the Snail is a true story of friendship.  Friends don’t always agree and disagreements do occur.  But real friends find a common ground and are willing to compromise.

Freedman’s illustrations are absolutely gorgeous using a mix of both color and black and white. She perfectly captures the emotions of each character.  As a reader, you truly feel a part of Fish and Snail’s story because as their conflict heightens, the illustrations become larger.  After my first read, I found myself revisiting each page to enjoy the illustrations once more.

Our Featured Dog Selection of the Week:

Penny & Jelly: The School Show by Maria Gianferrari Illustrated by Thyra Heder

Wanting to spread the dog love, Beagles and Books has a new weekly feature by highlighting a literary selection with a canine main character.

Peabody Elementary is hosting a talent show and everyone is ready to perform except Penny.  While her classmates plan on singing, dancing or both,  Penny is not sure of her talent.  With the support of her best fur friend, Jelly, Penny makes a list of possible talents, but unfortunately, none of them seem to be the right fit.  She continues to brainstorm and try out other ideas.  Will Penny find her true talent in time for the show?

I absolutely love the friendship between Penny and Jelly; the illustrations truly capture their love for one another.  Penny teaches young readers perseverance because she does not give up and learns that her talent was always there; she just had to find it with Jelly’s help of course!  Now, next on my to be read list is Penny and Jelly Under the Stars. Looking forward to their next continued adventures together!

Etta, Bella, and I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books.  Have a great week!