Picture Books – Beagles & Books

Beagles and Books is excited to share another edition of 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.

It’s a snow day for me which means a day of reading and snuggling with my book beagles! I truly love my job but a snow day helps this educator have an opportunity to read and recharge which is always appreciated! Yesterday Bella and I enjoyed a walk in the snow while Etta snoozed in the warm house. Priorities!

Our Recent Reads:

The Hunt for the Mad Wolf’s Daughter by Diane Magras

As a reader, I love sequels but there is always that slight worry before opening the first page. Will I still love the character? Will the plot be as engaging?

Oh yes! And even better than I could have ever anticipated! Thank you Diane Magras!

In the first book, The Mad Wolf’s Daughter, Drest’s main goal was to save her imprisoned family which she bravely accomplished. She was also struggling to figure out her own identity. Can a warrior be brave and kind?

The Hunt for Mad Wolf’s Daughter picks up immediately after the first book ended. Readers quickly learn that Emmerick’s disloyal uncle has spread false rumors that Drest is responsible for the young lord’s death. As a result, Drest has a substantial price of her head. While her family lauds Drest’s courage in rescuing them, she is once again relegated to the sidelines by her father Mad Wolf. To no surprise, this does not sit well with Drest. She remains steadfast in her determination to keep Emmerick safe disobeying her father’s orders and risking her own life to ensure Emmerick reclaims his rightful title.

The Hunt for Mad Wolf’s Daughter is a fast paced and thrilling ride that keeps you on the edge of your seats chapter after chapter. In creating Drest, Diane Magras has created a truly amazing character and role model for readers of all ages. Drest truly inspires me with her genuine compassion toward others as well as her determination to carve her own path & define who she is, not who others want her to be. While it may be true that you can’t control our own legend, Drest learns it is possible to change your legend with the help of grateful and loyal friends. It is my hope that Drest’s adventures do not end with The Hunt for Mad Wolf’s Daughter; I know I can learn so such more from this kind and brave wee lass!

A very special thanks to Diane Magras for providing our #bookexcursion group with an ARC of The Hunt for Mad Wolf’s Daughter. Pre-order now for Drest’s latest adventure publishes in March. To read my review of The Mad Wolf’s Daughter, click here.

First Snow by Nancy Viau Illustrated by Talitha Shipman

First Snow is a delightful picture book that celebrates the joy of the first snow of the season. A brother and his little sister look out the window to see snow falling. The children waste no time putting on their snow gear and head outside to join their neighborhood friends to play in the wintry wonderland. Their beagle (yes beagle!) follows along to frolic in the snow! To read my full review and enter a giveaway for your own copy, click here.

Etta’s & 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.

Rags Hero Dog of WWI: A True Story by Morgan Theis Raven Illustrated by Petra Brown

This nonfiction narrative introduced me to two heroic war veterans. Found by Private James Donovan on the streets of Paris, a shaggy mutt becomes his good luck charm when the soldier forgets his pass to be out in the city and is stopped by the French police. From that day forward, the pup now named Rags is Donovan’s constant companion on base and in the trenches. Rags quickly learns how to be a soldier warning his men of incoming shells, helping Donovan locate breaks in the lines, and running messages with the simple command “Go find!”

Author Morgan Theis Raven continues to share both Donovan’s and Rags’ amazingly heroic story which is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. The muted brown and grey illustrations complement the story well depicting the realities of war for an elementary age audience.

Etta, Bella, and I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books. Have a great week!

Happy New Year! Beagles and Books is excited to share another edition of 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:

Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Delsie lives on Cape Cod with her game showing watching Grammy who has loved and cared for her all her life. Recently, Delsie is feeling especially vulnerable wondering why her mother is not in her life and why her summer best friend Brandy has outgrown her.

I am a big fan of Mullaly Hunt’s novels because she creates such dynamic characters like Delsie. Written from her point of view, Delsie reveals her insecurities and struggles which makes her journey from feeling abandoned to recognizing how much she is truly loved so bittersweet. In time Delsie realizes that loyal friends Aimee, Michael, and newcomer Ronan, wonderful neighbors Henry, Esme, and Olive and most importantly her dear devoted Grammy will be there to help her weather any storm.

Shouting at the Rain is a truly heartprint story because it celebrates non traditional families by reminding us all that “family isn’t really about having blood and having the same last name. It’s made by the people who love you, who worry about you, and champion you.”

Special thanks to Nancy Paulsen and Penguin Kids for sending an ARC to my #bookexcursion group. Pre-order this touching story about family and friendship now, for Shouting at the Rain releases in May 2019.

The Bookshop Girl by Sylvia Bishop Illustrated by Poly Bernatene

The Bookshop Girl is a story about Property Jones and her adopted family who own a small bookshop in England. Property has been given her unique name because she was left in the bookshop when she was 5 years old and placed in the lost property cupboard by her now brother Michael.

Fast forward six years later, the Jones family enters and wins a contest to become the new owners of the Great Montgomery Book Emporium, which is every book lover’s dream. The world’s first and only mechanical bookshop; just pull a lever and a themed book room awaits readers from the Room of Knights and Castles to the Room of Ocean Tales. Not long after taking over the infamous bookstore, Property and Michael uncover the truth behind why owner, Albert H. Montgomery gave the Book Emporium away. In a race against time, Property must stop the villainous Eliot Pink and expose his duplicity. While Property herself is harboring a secret of her own, her astute observational skills and determination help her ultimately saves the bookshop for her family and discover how strong she really is.

With a fast paced plot and only 125 pages long, The Bookshop Girl is a charming and enchanting mystery that readers will devour quickly. Bishop’s unique and quirky characters and whimsical setting are brought to life by the black and white illustrations by Poly Bernatene.

It’s Not Hansel and Gretel by Josh Funk Illustrated by Edwardian Taylor

An omniscient narrator attempts to tell the traditional tale of Hansel and Gretel but is quickly interrupted by the characters who have their own idea of their story. For example, Gretel rebuts the notion that her parents wanted to get rid of her and her brother; rather, they are just taking a leisurely afternoon walk in the woods. When the siblings meet the witch, Gretel dismisses this label and refers to her as a sweet old lady. What makes my heart happy is Gretel’s championing of women’s rights with her insistence in changing the title to Gretel and Hansel and arguing about why her brother gets candy and she is stuck doing chores. “Get with the times-this is the fifteenth century,” she retorts!

Fed up with Gretel’s & Hansel’s (you’re welcome, Gretel) antics, the narrator turns the storytelling over to them which allows the duo to get creative growing mustaches, getting a pet unicorn named Fluffybottom, and opening up a bakery serving delicious sweets to their fellow fairy tale friends.

For fans of It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk, It’s Not Hansel and Gretel is a hilarious and worthy follow up that will leave you wanting more fractured fairy tales from the amazing collaborative team of Josh Funk and Edwardian Taylor. Funk’s witty writing is pure joy to read aloud and honestly I find it difficult to not laugh myself. Taylor’s illustrations are so entertaining and chocked full of details that I reread the story just to view his comical digital art. Please tell me there are more twisted tales to come!

Special thanks to Two Lions/Amazon Publishing and Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Media for sending a F & G copy of It’s Not Hansel and Gretel to my #bookexcursion group. Pre-order now so you can share this laugh out loud story with kids, for it publishes on February 1, 2019.

Etta’s & 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.

Bow-Wow-Meow by Blanca Lacasa Illustrated by Gomez

Bow-Wow-Meow is a charming story about being loved and accepted for who you really are. Fabio is a small hound that doesn’t enjoy acting like a dog. His family including young Max continually try to coax him to bark, fetch, chase or roll over but Fabio is not persuaded. When Max notices Fabio is not curled up in his usual spot at night, he stays awake and follows Fabio. To Max’s surprise, he discovers that Fabio joins a group of cats nightly because he would much rather chase mice, play with yarn and bow-wow-meow with his feline friends. Max sees how happy Fabio so once back at home, he shows his understanding by giving Fabio a dish of milk. Finally, Fabio’s tail wags with excitement which makes my heart full.

Etta, Bella, and I thank you for visiting Beagles and Books. Have a great week!