It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 3/26/18

Etta, Bella, and I are excited to share our reads for another edition of 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:

Every Shiny Thing by Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison

Every Shiny Thing is a uniquely structured novel told in alternating points of view.  Told in prose, Lauren comes from an affluent family and is struggling with her parents’ decision to send her brother to her residential school for autistic teens.  Told in verse, Sierra is the foster child of Lauren’s neighbors as well as her new classmate.  In the novel, Lauren embarks on a project to help autistic children from less affluent families and enlists Sierra to help her. While well intentioned, Lauren becomes consumed with raising money at any cost which begins to negatively affect her friendship with Sierra.  Sierra is also fighting her own battle of always taking care of everyone but herself.  I absolutely adored this beautifully written novel on so many levels.  To read my full review, click here.

Special thanks to Laurie Morrison for sending an advance reading copy of Every Shiny Thing to our #bookexcursion group.  It will be published soon in April 2018.

Big Foot Little Foot by Ellen Potter Illustrated by Felicita Sala

Hugo is a young Sasquatch who yearns for adventure in the Big Wide World but exploring beyond the North Woods is off limits.  Why?  Because the most important Sasquatch rule is never be seen by a human. During a class lesson on Hide and Go Sneak, Hugo accidentally laughs at the sight of a real human while observing a boy (whose name is Boone) blowing a dandelion.  Sent home with a note from his furious teacher and punished by his parents, Hugo makes his own wish for adventure by sending his toy boat down a stream in his room.  Hugo is amazed when his boat comes back with a plastic toy human from Boone. Perhaps this is the start of not only an adventure but also a new friendship!

Like Ellen Potter’s Piper Green and the Fairy Tree series, Big Foot, Little Foot is sure to be a hit with transitional readers and their teachers.  Young readers will easily relate to Hugo and his curiosity.  Hugo and Boone also teach an important lesson about making assumptions before getting to know someone.   The ending definitely leaves readers wanting more adventures with Hugo and Boone.

Special thanks to Ellen Potter for sending an advance reading copy to our #bookexcursion group.  Look for Big Foot Little Foot’s release soon in April 2018.

Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort by Will Taylor

Missing her best friend Abby who has been away at Camp Cantaloupe for six weeks,  Maggie builds a pillow fort in her living room.  When Abby returns, Maggie is excited to spend time with Abby, but her best friend seems different. Wanting to expand their circle, Abby is eager to start their own summer camp and invite more kids to join in their games.

After Maggie builds a cabin-fort in her own house, the girls are shocked to discover that their forts are not only mysteriously linked to one another but also to other pillow forts around the world.  But these links are not available unless Maggie and Abby perform a good deed and become full members of NAFAFA (The North American Founding and Allied Fort Alliance).  Gaining entry to this exclusive club is further complicated because of a power struggle among the NAFAFA council members as well as Maggie’s and Abby’s differing opinions on how to gain entry into the organization.

A blend of fantasy, mystery, and realistic fiction, Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort will appeal to a wide variety of readers.  Reading about the history and inner workings of NAFAFA made me wonder and laugh out loud.  Maggie and Abby’s changing friendship tugged at my heart strings.  The novel ends on a cliffhanger so I am so excited that Book 2 is already in the works!

Special thanks to Will Taylor for sending an advance reading copy to our #bookexcursion group.  Get ready because Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort will be published shortly in April 2018.

Building Books by Megan Wagner Lloyd Illustrated by Brianne Farley

Katie loved building with blocks, and her brother Owen loved reading books. The siblings fought about which is better-building or reading.  The school librarian intervenes by giving Katie a stack of books to read while Owen receives a stack of books to shelve. Not interested in reading, Katie decides to build a castle with the books stumbling upon a book about castle engineering.  Not interested in shelving, Owen begins balancing books on top of each other.  It does not take long for the siblings to respect each other’s interests and collaborate to create something together. Librarians must be pretty smart!

Etta’s and Bella’s Dog Read of the Week:

George the Hero Hound by Jeffrey Ebbeler

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

George was a good old hound dog.  He willingly helped Farmer Fritz with chores around the farm in exchange for an afternoon nap.  But then Farmer Fritz decides to move to the beach leaving the farm and George behind.  Not long after, the Gladstone family buys the farm.  Having moved from the city to the country, George quickly realizes that his new family needs a heap of help from fixing tractors to herding cows.  When daughter Olive goes missing, George saves the day and shows he is truly a hero hound.

George the Hero Hound is such a delightful and entertaining picture book.  I love how devoted George is to helping his new family adjust to farm life.  Author/illustrator Ebbeler’s drawings of George truly capture his personality.  And pay close attention to the illustrations especially all the cows’ antics!

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