Beagles and Books is back and thrilled 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 Recent Reads:
Santa’s Story by Will Hillenbrand
It is Christmas Eve and Santa is ready to begin his monumental sleigh ride but he has a problem. None of his reindeer can be found. To read my full review and to enter a giveaway, click here.
One Snowy Morning by Kevin Tseng Illustrated by Dana Wulfkotte
In this fun story, a chipmunk and a squirrel see a snowman but do not recognize it as one. Instead, they show readers their vivid imagination as they invent different uses for each item. For example, the coal eyes are lumpy kickballs, the scarf is a theater curtain, and the carrot is a rare dragon tooth. Feeling inspired, they decide to use the carrot to stir up a pot of dragon tooth soup, find new uses for each item, and invite their friends over for a party. After their party ends, the items are returned to the “giant pile of snow” so that others can enjoy them. What I love about One Snowy Morning is that the two woodland friends teach us to be out of the box thinkers. Readers will enjoy the humorous and creative plot and the warm and lively illustrations. Thanks to the publisher for sharing an early copy with my #bookexcursion group. One Snowy Morning recently published on November 5, 2019.
Snowy Race by April Jones Prince Illustrated by Christine Davenier
From the very first page, readers will feel the excitement of a little girl as she wakes up and says “Today’s the day! She’s on her way!” Behind her bed nailed to the wall is a calendar with many crossed out dates and only one date circled in red. Who is the little girl waiting for? The excitement grows as the little girl and her father eat breakfast and then board the snow plow headed for town. As the weather worsens, the rhyming text and energetic yet warm full page spread illustrations conveys the mood as the father and daughter brave the storm together. Finally, they reach their destination, a train station and readers finally see who the little girl was waiting for. Snowy Race is a heartwarming story about family. Thanks to the publisher for sharing an early copy of Snowy Race with my #bookexcursion group. It recently celebrated its book birthday on November 26, 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.
We Could Be Heroes by Margaret Finnegan
Fourth grader Hank is a compassionate kid with autism. He is largely overlooked by his classmates, but Hank is content spending time with his rock collection. After an incident at school which leads to a three day suspension, Hank gains the attention of high-spirited classmate Maisie. And coincidentally, her parents are geologists. Maisie invites Hank over to her house to see rocks but actually has an ulterior motive. She wants to find a new home for her neighbor’s dog, Booler. Booler suffers from seizures so in order to keep the dog safe, Booler lives outside tied to a tree. From Maisie’s perspective, Booler is being mistreated and needs to be rescued, but Maisie doesn’t know the whole story. Hank is eager to have a real friend, but experiences anxiety for Booler and his situation. Maisie though is so relentless that Hank refers to her as a barnacle, for she has latched on to a plan to save Booler and won’t it go. Reluctantly, Hank agrees to help Maisie and while their intentions are admirable, their actions do result in some negative consequences, but the silver lining is learning how to truly be a friend.
I read a lot of middle grade novels and many are written with older characters. I love that debut author Finnegan novel features two dynamic characters for a younger audience. Drawing from her own experiences as a parent of a child with autism, and epilepsy, , Finnegan also did a beautiful job creating authentic characters in Hank and Maisie. While the novel is under 250 pages, Finnegan slowly and skillfully reveals the plot which makes the book hard to put down. Readers do not learn until close to the end why Maisie is so steadfast in wanting to rescue Booler. I also love how the friendship between the children and Mr. Jorgensen gradually unfolds. With themes of family, friendship, and forgiveness, We Could Be Heroes is a must read. Pre-order now, for the novel publishes on February 25, 2020.
Etta, Bella & I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books. Happy Reading!
Enter a Giveaway!
Beagles & Books 