It’s Monday! What Are You Are Reading? 5/6/19

Beagles and Books is excited to share our current reads in 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:

Jaclyn Hyde by Annabeth Bonner-Stone and Connor White

Always striving for perfection, Jaclyn stumbles upon a finds a recipe for perfect potion. At first, Jaclyn thinks the potion will solve all her problems but she soon discovers that when things don’t go her way, she transforms into her ulter ego Jackie, who will stop at nothing to ensure Jaclyn’s victory.   How can she stop Jackie from ruining her life as well as the lives of her dear friends?

A humorous and heartwarming retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jaclyn Hyde is a story that teaches us that “growing up isn’t about hiding your mistakes. It is about learning from them.” As an adult reader, this message is as important to me as it is to middle grade readers.

Special thanks to author Annabeth Bonner Stone and Harper Collins Publishing for sending an ARC to my #bookexcursion group.  Jaclyn Hyde celebrates its book birthday tomorrow on May 7, 2019.

We Are (NOT) Friends We Are (NOT) Friends written by Anna Kang Illustrated by Christopher Weyant

I am a big fan of the Kang & Weyant’s You are Not Small series which features two fuzzy friends managing differences in size and perspective, sharing and their fears.  In their latest collaboration, We Are (Not) Friends,  the two friends tackle the age old question “If two is company, is three really a crowd?”  To read my full review and enter a giveaway for a copy of your own, click here.

The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli

The Book Hog is a heartwarming picture book that celebrates the power of reading.   It is about a pig who loves books but is harboring a big secret-he never learned how to read. On a search for more books, he stumbles upon the library and is invited to story time by the sweet librarian, Miss Olive.  Gradually with Miss Olive’s support and lots of practice, the Book Hog learns to read and appreciate books for not just how they looked, felt, and smelled, but for the stories they tell.  This line brought happy tears to my eyes.

Of course, the plot stole my heart but so did Greg Pizzoli’s illustrations.  I adore the salmon and mint green color palette and what I especially loved is that the titles of his books are not revealed until the Book Hog learned to read.

Etta 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.

Good Dog, McTavish by Meg Rosoff  Illustrated by Grace Easton

I am firm believer that dogs rescue people and in this charming first story in the series, shleter dog McTavish does just that for his newly adopted family, the quirky Peacheys.

Feeling unappreciated, Ma Peachey resigns from her job as mother and decides to devote her time to yoga leaving Pa Peachey and children Ava, Ollie, and Betty to fend for themselves.  Feeling lost, lonesome and lacking in love, Betty, the youngest and most sensible Peachey, decides that the solution to the family’s problems is to get a dog.  What the family doesn’t realize is that McTavish is actually adopting them, and with Betty’s help, McTavish slowly mends this broken family.

While I am big fan of dog books, it is always a treat to read books that truly “get” dogs.  Reading author Meg Rosoff’s description of McTavish settling into his dog bed digging around with his paws and turning around four times is stop on.  In our house, we call it “making the bed.”  With short chapters and totaling only 104 pages, Good Dog McTavish is a great novel for those students who are transitioning to chapter books or are in want of quick read.  Looking forward to more adventures with the Peacheys in the second book, McTavish in the Wild.

Thank you for visiting Beagles & Books! Happy reading!