Celebrating 100th Blog Post with It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/20/18

Today Beagles and Books is celebrating a milestone with its 100th blog post! I am proud to share the latest 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.

Today also marks two days until teachers in my district return to school. I am fortunate to have 8 full days to prepare for students. I feel so blessed to have enjoyed a summer full of relaxation, rejuvenation and reading. I am excited to return to school and share new books with students and teachers.

Our Reads This Week: 

Eraser by Anna Kang Illustrated by Christopher Weyant

Eraser has a thankless job fixing Pencil’s mistakes. As a result, Pencil is celebrated for his creativity not Eraser. She is tired of being just the clean up crew and making him look good. Eraser yearns to be more. With the help of her friends Pencil Sharpener and Ruler, she leaves Desk behind for a fresh start but her trip abruptly ends when she lands in the wastebasket full of first drafts.

Meeting the first drafts, Eraser discovers that not only is she a rock star in their eyes but she is indeed creative. Why? Because Eraser creates second chances! Meanwhile back on Desk, Pencil is having a panic attack without Eraser making mistake after mistake. Will Pencil finally acknowledge and appreciate Eraser for her contributions?

Full of puns that will make kids laugh out loud, Anna Kang has written a sweet story that teaches students about the power of cooperation and how mistakes make us great. Thanks to Christopher Weyant’s adorable and eye-catching illustrations and Kang’s witty prose, I will view my school supplies a little differently and will now always hold my erasers in high regard.

Eraser is a must read aloud for #classroombookaday because it will support building a classroom community among students. I already plan on featuring Eraser in my book talks this first week back.

For a sneak peek, view the trailer below.

A very special thank you to Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Media for sharing a copy with my #bookexcursion group. Eraser publishes soon on September 1, 2018.

Potato Pants by Laurie Keller

Potato cannot contain his excitement! For one day only, Lance Vance’s Fancy Pants Store is selling POTATO PANTS! When they’re gone, they’re gone so Potato wakes up early determined to get a pair. But there is something (actually someone) standing between him and his precious potato pants. It’s an Eggplant wearing pineapple pants. (Apparently yesterday was Eggplant Pants Day.)

Why is Eggplant a threat? Well, the day before Eggplant ran by Potato and pushed him into a trash can. Feeling vulnerable, Potato does not want to step foot into the store but that means no potato pants. And to make matters worse, he was just informed there is only one pair left. What’s a spud to do? Conquering his fears, Potato bolts into the store knocking over Eggplant in his panic. Will Potato finally get his potato pants? Will Eggplant seek revenge? Read Potato Pants to uncover the truth!

Loaded with potato puns, Potato Pants will make readers of all ages engage in nonstop belly laughing!  It is an “a-peeling” story with an important message-Never judge an individual by one sole action. Keller’s use of mixed media to create the bold and vibrant illustrations make the characters and setting literally jump off the page. My verdict is Potato Pants is a “tater-tastic” addition to #classroombookaday read alouds!

Take a look at the “spud-tacular” book trailer!

A very special thanks to Mary Van Akin of Macmillan Children’s Publishing for sending a copy to my #bookexcursion group. Potato Pants will publish on October 2, 2018.

Who Eats Orange? By Diane White Illustrated by Robin Page

Who Eats Orange? is an engaging and lively informational picture book that teaches young readers about animal diets. To read my full review, 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 either a canine main character or a main character with a genuine love for dogs.

Rules of the Ruff by Heidi Lang

In the past, Jessie didn’t mind spending the summer with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, Ann.  But Ann’s egotistical best friend Loralee has strained her relationship with her cousin which prompts Jessie to focus on practicing her soccer skills at the park and convincing grumpy neighborhood dog walker, Wes to let her be his assistant, free of charge.  Jessie also thinks dog walking experience will persuade her dad to finally allow her to have a dog of her vert own.  Wes begrudgingly agrees to take on Jessie, but with one stipulation.  She must master the Rules of the Ruff, the code Wes lives his life by.

Although she has a rocky start, Jessie quickly begins to show promise in following the Rules of the Ruff.  Becoming more observant, Jessie soon uncovers that a new dog walker, Monique, is stealing many of Wes’ clients.  Desperate to help Wes win back his clients, Jessie concocts a scheme to sabotage Monique.  While her initial intentions may have been good, Jessie soon recognizes that her and Wes’ actions are actually hurtful and unprofessional.  Through dog walking, Jessie not only learns a lot of about dogs but she also learns valuable lessons about being growing up and being a honorable person.  Maturity means taking responsibility for your actions, learning from your mistakes, and realizing that dogs, like people, really do come into your life for a reason.  It seems that the Rules of the Ruff truly are a good code to live by.

A very special thanks to Heidi Lang for sending an ARC to my #bookexcursion group. Rules of the Ruff recently published on August 14, 2018.

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