It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/4/18

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.

Our Reads This Week:

The Haunted Serpent by Dora Mitchell

Spaulding Merriweather lives with his Aunt Gwen, a mystery writer because his paranormal investigator parents are busy with their TV show. After being homeschooled for most of his life, Spaulding is ready to attend regular school and make some friends his age.    He quickly discovers making friends is harder than he thought especially when you mention seeing an undead man in the woods.  Things get a little creepier for Spaulding when he sees a gigantic snake on his neighbor’s roof and then meets his undead neighbor Mr. Radzinsky.  Yikes! Add smoke puffing out of the abandoned Slecht-Tech factory, and Spaulding has a case perfect for his parents’ TV show, Peering into the Darkness.  If only they would believe him.  Spaulding is determined to prove that paranormal activity is alive (or undead) in Thedgeroot. Spaulding sets out to investigate on his own and to his surprise, gains the help of three other kids, Mr. Radinsky, and his pet snake David Boa (how cool is that?)

Author illustrator Dora Mitchell has written a eerily hilarious story which I will immediately recommend to students.  Young readers will love both the characters (both alive and undead) and the plot as well as the black and white illustrations from Spaulding’s notebook which provide humor and details that are integral to the story.

A very special thanks to Dora Mitchell for providing an ARC of The Haunted Serpent to my #bookexcursion group.  Already pre-ordered so I can put it into kids’ hands before school ends.  It will celebrate its book birthday tomorrow on June 5, 2018.

The Mortification of Fovea Munson by Mary Winn Heider

It’s not easy being Fovea Hippocrates Munson.   Your first name in medical lingo means “eyeballs.”  Your surgeon parents own a cadaver lab.  Your summer camp is closed due to a snake infestation which means you are stuck working as the receptionist at the lab.  And there’s more.  Your parents think you want to follow in their footsteps as a Future Doctor of America, and your best friend has traded you in for a more sportier and cooler model.   There’s no way things can get worse, right? Except things can and they do when at the lab, three disembodied heads not only start talking to Fovea but also ask her for a favor.  To read my full review and enter a giveaway, please click here.

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.

Operation Rescue Dog  by Maria Gianferrari Illustrated by Louisa Uribe

Missing her mami who is stationed in Iraq, Alma and her abuela decide to welcome a rescue dog into the family.  The story goes back and forth sharing Alma and her abuela’s preparations and trip to the Operation Rescue Dog truck as well as rescue pup Lulu’s journey to meet her new family.  While Alma is eagerly anticipating meeting Lulu, Lulu is apprehensive with her tail tucked between her back legs.  Both Alma and Lulu experience some bumps along the road, but once they meet, they both know they are home.

Maria Gianferrari’s words are sheer poetry.  She conveys Alma’s longing for her mom saying “Alma wears Mami’s scarf like a hug.”  But a few pages later states “Can a dog feel like a hug?” while Alma rubs Mami’s scarf on her cheek.  Luisa Uribe’s illustrations are warm and evoke a sense of calm even in the midst of uncertainty.

Being a dog mom of two rescue beagles,  this book has my whole heart.  Even more so because my husband and I met Etta as rescue transporters.  Like Lulu, Etta was transported from the south to the north although she was rescued due to hoarding situation.  We met Etta in Maryland at one of the stops and immediately knew she was meant to become part of our family.  After contacting her rescue and getting approved, we drove up to New Jersey to adopt Etta and bring her home.  7 years later, the same rescue shared a photo of Bella on social media, and our family grew by four more paws.

I love that Maria dedicated the book to her rescue dog, Becca and tells Becca’s story in the author’s note.  She also shares how readers can support pet rescue and how a portion of the book’s proceeds will benefit Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah.  Operation Rescue Dog is a beautiful story that will continue to give back by raising awareness to animals in need.

A very special thank you to Maria Gianferrari for sharing an ARC of Operation Rescue Dog with my #book excursion group.  Pre-order now like me, for it releases in September 2018.

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