It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/8/21

Bella and I are excited to share our latest 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.

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Our Recent Reads:

Batpig: When Pigs Fly by Ron Harrell

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s….Batpig!

Gary was just an ordinary pig until he plays a prank on his sleepy bat friend Brooklyn and she bites his nose when she awakes.  The next day, Gary feels odd and discovers he has super strength, the ability to float, and move things with his brain. Gary can now identify with his favorite comic book superhero, The Crimson Swine.  Because their fish friend, Carl, cannot keep a secret, Gary and Brooklyn withhold Gary’s new powers and superhero alter ego, Batpig.  As a result of being out of the loop, Carl becomes angry and unintentionally turns his pet lizard into a supervillain with a potty mouth.  Thankfully, the friends collectively put the lizard back in its place, but now Carl has to stay mum about Gary which is tough for the fish.  The quiet doesn’t last long because a butcher who enjoys pig puns and wants to control the world challenges Batpig.  Can Gary, Brooklyn, and Carl save the town again? 

Batpig is pure fun! I laughed from the first page to the last and I know kids will be do the same.   Amid all the giggles, the friendship between the trio was the core of the story. My heart kind of hurt for Carl when he was excluded but I soon understood Gary’s and Brooklyn’s decision.  Carl is a loudmouth but he did redeem himself in the story.  I can’t wait for the adventure to continue with the second book, Too Pig To Fall which publishes in June 2022. Thanks to Penguin Random House for sharing with #bookexcursion.  When Pigs Fly celebrates its book birthday tomorrow. 

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A Hundred Thousand Welcomes by Mary Lee Donovan Illustrated by Lian Cho

Written in verse, this beautiful picture book inspires us all to be inclusive.  Donovan’s soulful, rhyming text includes 13 translations for the English word, welcome. Embedded into Cho’s soft and warm artwork is the pronunciation of the word, welcome, to support the reader.  The expressive illustrations convey how the act of accepting others brings joy, for people are smiling or laughing all across the world as they welcome one another.  What I love is at the end of the book there is a fold page where all the people featured in the artwork are gathered together at a very long table (that is the width of of the double page spread) sharing food, conversation, and each other’s company.  

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes celebrates diversity as well as acknowledges our connectedness. Back matter includes notes from the author and illustrator, information about pronunciation, selected sources, and further reading.  Thanks to SparkPoint Studio and Harper Collins Publishers for sharing a copy.  A Hundred Thousand Welcomes recently published October 12, 2021.  

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A Sari for Ammi by Mamta Nainy Illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat

With themes of family, kindness, cooperation, and problem solving, A Sari for Ammi is a touching story that all children can relate to.  What I love most is kids learn more about the culture and traditions of a rural Indian Muslim family and their lifestyle.  Nainy seamlessly weaves Indian words into the text which are defined in a glossary and shares background about the history of making saris in Kaithoon, the Rajasthan town where the story takes place.  The love that the sisters not only for their ammi but also for their whole family was evident in Nainy’s engaging plot and Prabhat’s bright and lively illustrations.  I adored the way they collaborated to earn enough money to buy a sari.  Their good deed will make readers want to pay it forward and show kindness to a loved one.  Highly recommend A Sari for Ammi for home libraries, classroom libraries, school libraries, and public libraries!  

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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.

I Am Tucker, Detection Expert (A Dog Day’s 6) by Catherine Stier Illustrated by Francesca Rosa

A Dog’s Day is an engaging early chapter book series about working dogs.  In the sixth book, a beagle named Tucker describes his job as detector dog at the airport.  Narrated by Tucker, he shares his journey to becoming a member of the Beagle Brigade, for “the tale of his life has a few bumps along the way.”

When Tucker was a puppy, he was adopted by Edward.  First, Edward trained Tucker to compete in dog shows, but his beagle nose made it difficult to concentrate when Tucker smelled food.  Then Tucker became a therapy dog greeting air travelers to ease their stress  When Edward falls ill and can no longer care for Tucker, his niece Melissa gets the idea to apply for Tucker to become a detection dog to keep his mind and body busy.   

AROO! Tucker is accepted into the Beagle Brigade and Stier does an fabulous job of explaining the training and the responsibilities of detection dogs so that kids can understand. Since the story is written from Tucker’s viewpoint, he gets to share his feelings with readers.  Tucker recalls even when he made mistakes, Edward still loved him.  Throughout his detection training, mistakes happen which worry Tucker.  Can he trust his nose stay focused and out of trouble?

As a reading specialist, I appreciate all the supports this series provides young readers transitioning into chapter books. The actual story is written in 85 pages with 10 short chapters and Rosa’s engaging black and white illustrations appear every few pages.  At the end of the book, Stier includes more information about detector dogs which provides even more facts about these incredible working dogs Thanks to the author and Albert Whitman & Company for sharing a copy. For more information about A Dog’s Day series, click here.

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Bella and I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books!