It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/31/23

Sparrow Being Sparrow by Gail Donavan Illustrated by Elysia Case

9 year old Sparrow has a zest for life; however, at times, her excitement has unintended consequences. For example, dancing with her neighbor after seeing a butterfly resulted in Mrs. LaRose accidentally falling and breaking her hip. With Mrs. LaRose in the hospital, who will take care of her seven cats? Sparrow, of course! On her first day at her new school, her enthusiasm strikes again when she fibs telling some of her classmates the seven cats are hers. As a result, Sparrow loses the trust of her new best friend, Paloma. To make matters worse, Mrs. LaRose is moving to assisted living and can only take one cat with her. Can Sparrow’s energetic spirit help all the cats find homes and convince her parents one of the homes is theirs?

At 192 pages with short chapters, Sparrow Being Sparrow is a great novel for readers transitioning to middle grade. The themes in the story are also age appropriate novels for young readers In second and third grade. Kids will be relate to Donovan’s Sparrow in some way, for she is coping with a lot of change-new house, new school, new friendship, new baby coming, and new responsibilities. While she makes mistakes, Sparrow learns and grows from them. Case’s detailed black and white illustrations have a nostalgic feel and complement the text further supporting readers. Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for sharing a copy. Sparrow Being Sparrow recently released on June 25, 2023.

Our Pool by Lucy Ruth Cummins

A child recounts a trip to the city pool.  Excitement is evident in the text, for the child tries hard not to run.  Once at the pool, a swimsuit and sunblock go on before jumping in.  While in the pool, the child shares all the sights observing the diversity of the swimmers and the different ways people enjoy the pool.  When a dark cloud appears, the pool goers boo and hiss but fortunately, the cloud moves along.  Right before leaving, the child does a cannonball (with permission from mom) and the duo enjoy ice cream on the walk home.  Once in bed, the child sweetly dreams of the pool.

I am a big fan of Cummins’ writing and illustrating.  Her lively, vibrant artwork captures the eye and her playful text pleases the ear. Cummins uses rich vocabulary that allows kids to visualize the sights and sounds of the day. While Cummins chose to tell the story from a child’s point of view, her illustrations do not identify the narrator. I love this decision for kids may feel they are part of the story. Our Pool is a perfect mentor text for a small moment narrative. Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for sharing a copy. Our Pool published on June 13, 2023. 

A farmer is awaken by loud mooing; however, the culprit is not a cow. It is an owl who mistakenly utters MOO MOO.  What follows are riddles to solve.  Kids will think that rhyming words will provide the answers.  That would be too easy and not as much fun although the author does keep readers on their toes with one rhyme that does work.  At the end of the story, how all the details are connected is revealed which will incite smiles and laughter.

Gehl’s ingenious plot and Stojsic’s humorous illustrations are a winning combination for kids and the adults who may be reading the story again and again. Thanks to Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Media and Capstone for sharing a copy.  Who Made This Mess? celebrates its book birthday tomorrow on August 1, 2023. 

The Wishing Flower by A.J. Irving Illustrated by Kip Alizadeh

Birdie always made the same wish when she blew on a wishing flower. When a new girl, Sunny, joined her class, Birdie face lit up.  Could her wish come true?  Besides making a wish, Birdie knew she had to find her courage and ask Sunny to play.  Once Birdie trusted herself, she found a friend.  

The Wishing Flower is an inclusive story about bravery, acceptance, and friendship.  Irving’s heartwarming narrative and Alizadeh’s gentle, expressive artwork evoke a sense of hope and belonging.  Thanks to the author for sharing a copy with my #bookexcursion group. The Wishing Flower published on May 30, 2023. 

As a reading specialist, I adore the See the Cat series for students just learning to read.  In the third book of the series, Max the dog and Babycakes the cat are joined by invisible characters-a ghost, the wind, and a fairy. 

Since they cannot be seen, Wohnoutka only draws speech bubbles for the ghost, a whoosh speech bubble for wind, and dotted squiggly lines for the fairy. What I love is LaRochelle masterly writes a story accessible to kids using repetition and sight words while also creating strong characters and an intriguing plot.  See the Ghost recently released on July 25, 2023.