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.
This wordless picture book chronicles a young girl’s search for her cat as well as other pet owners with lost animals. Once she realizes her kitty is missing, the girl quickly creates LOST posters with a drawing of her red cat to hang all around town. As she attaches one to a mailbox, she meets a mail carrier who shows her a picture of his beloved green bird who left its cage and flew out the window. At the park, the girl befriends an older woman whose blue dog snuck under the front gate. At the supermarket, a man sees her taping posters and he shares his yellow giraffe just left his yard. Will the owners ever locate their precious pets?
No text necessary, for author/illustrator Staake’s energetic paneled artwork charmingly and comically share the story’s intriguing plot. Color or lack of color plays a crucial role in the narrative. All the illustrations have a retro vibe and are achromatic with the exception of the main characters’ faces, their pets, and the posters. When the girl buys a hot dog from a vendor, the smoke is blue. The smoke travels and lo and behold, the blue dog appears. Later, the green bird is perched on the mailbox. After the girl takes them home and creates FOUND posters for both, the trio notice a sound at the top of her backyard tree which is depicted with red squiggly lines. Fortunately, her beloved red kitty is rescued by the giraffe and in the end, all owners are reunited with their pets. Thanks to Blue Slip Media for sharing a copy. Lost celebrates its book birthday last week on October 1, 2024.
Mabel Wants a Friend by Ariel Bernstein Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
Mabel likes to get her way and generally does until one day she sees a ball, takes it, and surprisingly receives a thank you for finding it. As a result, Mabel gets an unexpected friend named Chester to play catch, seesaw, and tell jokes. But when she wants something, Mabel’s bad manners emerge. Chester corrects her behavior which Mabel does not appreciate making their friendship short lived. Being alone means Mabel can do what she wants: however, things now feel different without Chester. Perhaps a friend is what really she wants. How can she regain Chester’s friendship?
The theme of friendship is prevalent in picture books yet Bernstein’s characters and plot struck a new chord. I love how Mabel’s and Chester’s friendship is accidental. She actually was stealing his ball instead of retrieving it for him. Chester sees the good in Mabel before she does. When Mabel acts selfishly, Chester calls her out. Chester is a great role model for kids reminding them to use their big voice when a friend is being unkind. Chester helps Mabel realize that having a friend is more important than being first in line. Rosenthal’s warm and expressive artwork perfectly complements Bernstein’s narrative and including Mabel’s and Chester’s dialogue in the illustrations aids readers in truly getting to know the characters. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sharing a copy. Mabel Wants A Friend celebrates its book birthday lastl week on October 1, 2024.
Wanting to spread the dog love, Beagles and Books has a weekly feature of highlighting a literary selection with a canine character.
Dog Vs. Strawberry by Nelly Buchet Illustrated by Andrea Zuill
It’s a race between a dog and a strawberry. Dog starts strong but gets distracted by her tail. Strawberry remains focused. Sleep overcomes Dog and a wind from an open window propels Strawberry to gain the lead. Once Dog wakes up, she realizes she needs to step it up by climbing a chair. To her surprise, Strawberry is still in the lead! With an AWWWWOOO, Dog tries to overtake Strawberry. Before the winner is officially declared, a foot steps on Strawberry allowing Dog to casually walk to the finish line.
As a beagle mom, I am a huge fan of hounds. Hounds though are easily distracted so it makes sense that Strawberry was considered the frontrunner. Without human interference, Strawberry may have been victorious. Buchet’s peppy text and Zuill’s playful illustrations give readers the thrill of watching a slow NASCAR race. What I love is Dog thinks she is victorious based on her endurance; however, readers know she won by default. Dog Vs. Strawberry is a fun romp between two formidable opponents.
Bella and I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books!
#IMWAYR is dedicated to dear Etta, my original book beagle. Blessed that Etta is part of my story.
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