It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/13/18

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 family returned home on Thursday after a week in western North Carolina. Etta and Bella enjoyed exploring the area and seeing the sights.  They visited a dog friendly used book store in downtown Asheville and hiked with us on the Craggy Garden Trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Our Reads This Week: 

Worth a Thousand Words by Brigit Young

Tillie and her father were involved in a car accident and since then, their family dynamic has changed.  Her mom worries about Tillie overexerting herself and her dad  has become withdrawn blaming himself for Tillie’s lasting leg injuries.  Not being able to do normal kid activities like ride bikes, Tillie decided it was easier to manage things alone and observe life through the lenses of her camera.  And ever since Diana Farr lost her diamond bracelet and Tillie found it as a result of a picture she took, she is known as “Lost and Found” happily finding lost items for the students at her middle school. Life is quiet but safe.

But when classmate Jake Hausmann begs for her help to find his missing father, Tillie is unsure of whether to help him.  She finds items, not people.  Besides she has a painful recollection of Jake making fun of her in elementary school.  Tillie begrudgingly agrees to help Jake and while still using her camera to search for clues, she is forced to step out from behind the lens during this search.  Not only does Tillie discover the truth about Jake’s dad’s disappearance, but Tillie also begins to find what she has been looking for-acceptance, friendship, and hope.

Worth a Thousand Words is a middle grade mystery with heart and soul.  All the characters show their insecurities and imperfections which makes them real and believable.  Forgiveness is a core theme throughout the story and interacting with characters who demonstrate the positive effects of forgiveness for yourself and those you care about can be eye opening.

A very special thanks to author Brigit Young for sending an ARC to my #bookexcursion group.  Worth a Thousand Words celebrates its book birthday tomorrow on August 14, 2018.

Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson

Boo! Sir Simon is a professional super scarer who has been transferred to a new haunt-a house!  And apparently haunting a house involves many more ghost chores than his previous gigs such as a forest, a boat, and a bus stop. But that’s ok because grandparents are moving to the house  and there are at the top of the haunting pyramid.  Why? Grandparents sleep more and don’t normally see ghosts which means Simon can slack off on his chores.

But Simon can’t celebrate too long.  It turns out that a kid named Chester is living in the house with his grandparents.  On the haunting pyramid, kids are a lot of work!  They can see ghosts and are very curious.  Hmmm.  Perhaps, Simon can use enthusiastic Chester who wants to be a ghost to his advantage.  Yes! Chester can do all Simon’s ghost chores.  Problem solved!  Well, not exactly. Chester is not very good at being a ghost and Simon begins to feel a little guilty about his dishonesty.  What is a “ghostest with the mostest” to do?

Sir Simon Super Scarer is an engaging and humorous story about how an unlikely friendship develops between a snarky ghost and an inquisitive boy.  While I laughed out loud at Simon’s snide comments, his repentant actions towards Chester warmed my heart.  As in his other texts, Cale Atkinson’s warm and charming illustrations are full of such amazing details that re-reads are essential just to view his artwork. Can’t wait to share with students for #classroombookaday! A very special thanks to Tundra Books for sending an F & G copy to my #bookexcursion group.  Look for Simon’s release soon on September 4, 2018.

Bear’s Scare by Jacob Grant

Bear likes two things.  Keeping his house tidy and spending time with his stuffed friend,  Ursa.  So when Bear begins to find cobwebs in his clean house, he is not particularly happy.  Bear decides that he must find his messy guest but as he attempts to locate the sneaky spider, one of Ursa’s arms is accidentally hurt.  Sad Bear rushes for his first aid kit. When he returns he sees Ursa’s arm reattached.  Who does he have to thank for this kind gesture?

Bear’s Scare is a sweet story about how an surprise friendship blossoms between Bear and the spider.  Complementing the story are large and warm illustrations that span the spread.  I especially loved the spider with his cute button beret and am certain that kids will love spotting the spider on each page, for Bear does not see him until close to the end of the story.  A very special thanks to Bloomsbury Kids for sending a copy of Bear’s Scare to my #bookexcursion group.  It published recently in June 2018.

Beautiful, Wonderful Strong Little Me by Hannah Carmona Dias Illustrated by Dolly Georgieva-Gode

In Beautiful, Wonderful, Strong Little Me, a young girl named Lily shares that while celebrates and loves her unique physical features,  her outside traits do not define her.  In fact, she is so much more than her appearance and would rather be known for positive inside traits such as being smart, kind, courageous, and resilient.  This picture book is a good resource for promoting self-acceptance and a positive attitude!

A very special thanks to Penny Eifrig of Eifrig Publishing for providing an advance copy to my #bookexcursion group.  Beautiful, Wonderful, Strong Little Me! publishes in September 14,  2018.

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.

Shark Dog and the School Trip Rescue by Ged Adamson

Shark Dog is back with another adventure accompanying the little girl, her explorer dad, her teacher and classmates on a field trip to a forest.  The woods is a new habitat for Shark Dog to explore and his excitement is apparent jumping into a frog filled pond and rolling in mud after a rain.  Once the students paired up to explore the woods, Shark Dog does some of his own and discovers footprints.  Using his dog nose, Shark Dog follows the scent to a small bear in trouble and everyone works together to help it.  There is no doubt that having Shark Dog on a field trip makes for a memorable experience!  Shark Dog always brings a smile to my face.  I love author/illustrator Ged Adamson’s illustrations because Shark Dog shows a range of emotions throughout the story from curiosity to excitement to worry.

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