It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/17/19

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 Textsdecided 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 Current Reads:

Listen by Holly McGee Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre

A young girl takes off her shoes to experience the natural world using all of her senses.  She listens to sounds, looks at the sun, breathes the air, tastes sunflower seeds, and feels the raw earth.  On each page, a small red bird carrying a tiny leaf is her companion.  The girl realizes that while her senses connect her with the world, it is most important to listen with her heart, for the heart are our ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and hands. 

Lyrically written with concise language, Holly McGee inspires readers to be empathetic through understanding not only our own story but each other’s stories. Pascal Lemaitre’s warm, gorgeous illustrations evoke a sense of calm and peacefulness.  Special thanks to author Holly McGee for sharing an Advanced Reader’s Edition  (ARE) with my #bookexcursion group. Listen publishes in September 2019.

Moon’s First Friends: One Giant Leap for Friendship by Susanna Leonard Hill Illustrated by Elisa Paganelli

All her life, the Moon has been anxiously awaiting visitors. As she looks down at Earth from the sky, she sees dinosaurs, pyramids, and all modes of transportation but no one is tempted to make the journey into space to be her guest. A glimmer of hope surfaces when the Mercury capsule is launched with a chimpanzee but to the Moon’s dismay, he does not call on her. Finally, the Moon gets her wish with the Apollo 11 voyage having her first visitors.

With the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, I have been reading a lot of picture books about the moon. What I love about Moon’s First Friends is that Leonard Hill chronicles the history of the moon in a kid friendly way.  When I read it aloud to a my adopted second grade class for #classroombookaday, the students were so attentive and after reading, they had tons of questions.  Paganelli’s illustrations of the Moon with her rosy cheeks and sweet smile are so charming and makes me want to be friends with the Moon too!

The picture book also includes back matter about NASA, the Apollo 11 Voyage, and the stages of the Saturn V rocket.  An added bonus are QR codes on the end pages that can be scanned to hear the countdown to Apollo’s liftoff and Neil Armstrong’s first words on the Moon.  Special thanks to author Susanna Leonard Hill for sharing a copy with my #bookexcursion group. Moon’s First Friends recently published on June 4, 2019.

Juniper Kai: Super Spy by Laura Gehl Illustrated by Alexandra Neonakis

Super spy Juniper Kai is the only kid on her street.  Her parents are usually always willing to play with her but suddenly her mom is too tired and her dad is too busy. And they keep whispering to each other.  Using her keen detective skills and cool spy gadgets, Juniper is determined to uncover her parent’s secret.  Clues include mom’s phone conversation with grandma about a big change, dad putting together a piece of furniture in the guest room, and a note full of names.  Will Juniper solve the case?

Juniper Kai: Super Spy is a story with a lot of kid appeal.  Young readers will enjoy piecing the clues together to solve the mystery.  Kids will also love all of Juniper’s neat spy tools. The expressive illustrations of Juniper show her range of feelings from curiousity, resolve, concern, and at the end, excitement.  Special thanks to author Laura Gehl for sharing a copy with my #bookexcursion group. Look for Juniper Kai in September 2019.

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.

The Peculiar Pig by Joy Steuerwald

It is pretty clear that Penny, one of Mama Pig’s babies is not a piglet, but in fact, a dachshund puppy.  While Mama Pig loves all her babies equally and consistently reassures Penny her differences don’t matter, her siblings think Penny is peculiar.  She does not look like them, has a weird oink, and prefers using her paws to dig than her snout.  But when a snake threatens the litter, Penny’s peculiar growl scares the creature away.  The piglets realizes that being peculiar is pretty positive trait! 

The Peculiar Pig is a sweet story that celebrates differences.  Steuerwald’s illustrations are absolutely adorable and will captivate young readers. Special thanks to Penguin Kids for sharing a copy with my #bookexcursion group. The Peculiar Pig celebrates its book birthday tomorrow on June 18, 2019.

Etta, Bella & I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books. Happy Reading!