It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/21/18

Beagles and Books is excited to share 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.

Rosetownby Cynthia Rylant

Told over the course of one year, Rosetown is the story of nine-year-old Flora Smallwood who lives in fictional Rosetown, Indiana.  For a young girl that does not like change, Nora is having to learn to make adjustments.  Her beloved dog recently passed away, and her parents have separated.  Fourth grade is also more difficult than third grade. While Flora is not eager to embrace change, she finds comfort spending time with her best friend, Nessy, who she has known since she was five and her new friend, Yurie, who recently moved to Rosetown from the Ukraine.

Reading Rosetown was nostalgic for me.  Like Nora, I loved to read as a child. Nora frequents Wings and a Chair Used Books where her mother works part-time.  My mother took my brother and me to Middle River Public Library weekly where Mrs. Johnson always had a stack of books waiting for me.  I also took piano lessons and just like Nora, I was tolerable but it never developed into a true passion.  One of my favorite parts of Rosetown was Nora sharing her excitement for Encyclopedia Hour.  Once a week, Nora and her classmates had the opportunity to explore the 22 volumes of the World Book Encyclopedia. Encyclopedias were my internet.  If I needed to do research and just wanted to discover facts, I always reached for an encyclopedia.  We actually had a set of Rand McNally Encyclopedias at home, but nothing compared to the full color World Book!

Rosetown is a quiet and comforting read which takes a reader back to a simpler time. Thanks to Simon and Schuster for providing an ARC of Rosetown to my #bookexcursion group.  Rosetown recently published on May 8, 2018.

Right Now by Jessica Olien

Right Now is an affirming picture book that celebrates being present.  The book begins with “You are right now. What are you?”  On each page, Olien shares a vivid and colorful digital illustration of a child caught in a “moment.”  Sometimes the moments are happy whether it be laying in the grass with a pet, belly laughing, riding a tricycle or eating a piece of cake.  Sad moments are also depicted such as making a mistake, feeling lonely or upset. At the end of the book, Olien shares a tender message to young readers. “No matter what you do.  Not matter where you live. Or what you look like. You are you. And that is perfect.”   A perfect book to share with students for #classroombookaday to teach them about self-acceptance.

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

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

Help Find Frank by Anne Bollman

Oh no! A french bulldog named Frank is lost! Can you help in the search to find him?  Labeled as exhibits, the narrator offers key information about Frank such as his love for playing fetch, his favorite animal is a squirrel, and beware of his stinky toots so under no circumstances, feed him cheese.   Pay close attention to these facts, for they will be crucial to locating Frank.  Interviews follow with notes that provides more clues and the reader is asked to make inferences based on some of the previously shared exhibits.  Embedded within the story are double page spreads of the park, the baseball field, and the pool where the reader is asked to find objects and of course, finally Frank!

Author illustrator Anne Bollman’s highly interactive picture book is quite original.  As a teacher, I love that young readers will have to use text evidence from exhibits, interviews, and hints to locate Frank.  The seek and find maps provide an opportunity to revisit the book again for a different purpose.  As summer approaches, I can see Help Me Find Frank as a great book to engage young readers in the car during travel or inside when it’s too hot outside to play.

For a sneak peek, click below and check out the book trailer!

Etta, Bella, and I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books!  Happy reading!