July #bookaday wrap-up

Why does July always pass by so quickly?!   After a trip to the library, I continued reading some of the books that are nominated for this year's NC Children's Book Award.   The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet is on the picture book list.   I decided to listen to the audio book (it's on EPIC!) because Carmen Agra Deedy narrates it herself.   Anyone who has heard her telling of her book Martina the Beautiful Cockroach knows that she is an amazing storyteller.  (If you haven't heard it, what are you waiting for?   It's the best!)   I am looking forward to reading this book with my classes and bringing her marvelous voice back into our library.    I had also checked out Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.  This one is on the NC Junior Book Award list.  This is an really nice collection of rather simplified biographical sketches.  It gives just enough of each woman's story to make a reader want to seek out more information.  The illustrations are ... well... sweet.  And I mean that in the nicest of ways.   Our girls will be drawn to this book.

After reading Little Leaders, I had to read its sister book Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World.  Oh, this one was good, too!  The one page/ one illustration format for each woman was the same as in Little Leaders.  The women were from all over the world -- going back for centuries. 

I've also started reading the books I will use when our students join in once again for the Global Read Aloud.  This year, the picture book Global Read Aloud is centered around an author study of Yuyi Morales.  I had read her book Dreamers earlier this summer, so I picked up Viva Frida on my most recent library visit.  As I read through this artistically bilingual book, I had a feeling I had met Frida before.   Ah, I had!  This is a tribute to Frida Kahlo, an artist I had read about in Little Dreamers.  Well, I needed to learn more, so I found another biography in the library about her:  Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos.  I think our students are going to enjoy learning about her and her art.

I read a couple of other books by Yuyi Morales.   Nino Wrestles the World is one we already have in our library.  It has been popular.  Students will be excited to see that it is one we will read for the Global Read Aloud.  I also read Rudas: Nino's Horrendous Hermanitas.  This one is not on the scheduled reading list, but I'm pretty sure it'll be another popular one when we add it.

July was the month of our family vacation.   Our destination this year was San Francisco, so I found some ebooks on our NC WiseOwl ebook collection about San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.   I finished up The Season of Styx Malone while we were traveling. 

Two of my favorite books I read this month are Alma and How She Got Her Name and The Remember Balloons.   Oh, these books!   If I start writing about my love for these books, I'll go on for pages.  Maybe another day.   Just read them.   They're so good.

And the rest of the books I read this month:

It has been a good month of #bookaday reading!   Looking for more reading days in August. 

Catching up with #bookaday! June 22-July 2

I have some catching-up to do on my #bookaday posts!  Since my last post, I have been reading, so I'll catch you up on what I've done.

First, I've been reading (or re-reading) the books that are nominated for this year's NC Children's Book Award.  My K-3 classes will read these sometime during the year before next March so the students can vote for their favorite.  I try to read these books and connect with the Positivity Project character strengths as we learn about them.  So far, I've read the following:

• The Very Impatient Caterpillar (Burach) -- Most of my classes read this in the spring before I knew it would be on this year's list.  We loved it, so I can't wait to re-visit it. The obvious tie-in here is with self-control, but it could also work with curiosity.  
• Potato Pants (Keller) -- What another fun book! This one will tie in with courage/bravery, forgiveness and some other character strengths that we learn about.
• Mixed: A Colorful Story (Chung) -- A great tie in with art, of course, but also a good book to talk about open-mindedness.
• Because (Willems) -- Okay, it is no secret that Mo Willems is one of my heroes!  What a beautiful book this one is.   I'll probably tie it to gratitude, but it could also work with the broader connection/purpose theme. 
• Misunderstood Shark: Starring Shark! (Dyckman) -- Oops! I just realized that the wrong one is in the picture.  (I read that one, too!)  I enjoyed Misunderstood Shark: Starring Shark!  I think our students will enjoy the facts they learn and will want to learn more about sharks after reading this book.  
• Can I Be Your Dog? (Cummings) -- What a sweet book!  This may be a good one when we learn about love, kindness, or even perseverance.  
• The Crayon Man (Biebow) -- (not pictured) -- This one tells the story of Edwin Binney and the process he went through to invent Crayola crayons.  

I've read some other books, too, since my last post:

• Misunderstood Shark: Friends Don't Eat Friends (Dyckman):  Honestly, I like this one better than the first! There are some great facts in here that I didn't know, and it's quite funny.  
• Saving Fiona (Maynard):  This one is a nonfiction book from the NC Junior Book Award list.  
• Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (Clanton):  This one has been really popular in our library this year, so I had to give it a try for myself.  
• The Secret Life of Squirrels: Back to School (Rose):  My 13-year-old son made me read this one.  He picked it up while we were in the library and read it because... well... squirrels.  The pictures are great.  I especially appreciated them after reading the information at the end of the book explaining how she takes the photos.  

I think that's 11 books for 11 days!   And just like that, I'm all caught up on my #bookaday challenge!

The Undefeated #bookaday

Choosing this book was a no-brainer.  I will read anything that Kwame Alexander writes.  (In fact, I hope to read more of his books this summer!)  And Kadir Nelson's illustrations are always amazing.  What a powerful team!  And the word I'm left with after reading this book is, indeed, "powerful."  This book celebrates strength. The strength of each person is captured beautifully in each illustration.  What is amazing is how both the author and illustrator capture that strength of African Americans through history to the present and then give hope for the future. 

Dreamers #bookaday

My #bookaday book today is Dreamers by Yuyi Morales.   What a beautiful book!   This the the author's own story of coming to America.  Of course, it pulled at my heartstrings because of the home she found in the library and the delight she found in children's picture books.  Yuyi Morales shares a more detailed account of her story at the end of the book and even a list of the books that inspired (and continue to inspire) her.   I read it digitally.  (Thanks, NC Kids Digital Library!)   But this is one I want to hold in my hands and spend more time in the illustrations. 

Front Desk #bookaday

Today I finished reading Kelly Yang's Front Desk.  I am amazed at all the wonderful stories I have read in the last few years from the perspective of immigrants.  This is another good one.  Mia and her family have come to America from China.  She becomes best friend to Lupe whose family has immigrated from Mexico.  What I love, though, is what Kelly Yang says in her Author's Note about this book: "this book is about what happens when you include, when, despite all your suffering and your heartache, you still wake up every morning and look out at the world with fresh, curious eyes." 

#bookaday and NC Kids Digital Library

Today I read Shark Lady by Jess Keating and illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns for my #bookaday challenge.  I loved the beautiful illustrations in this book.   I also love my source for this book.   The NC Kids Digital Library is a fantastic source for reading material.   With your public library card, you can check out up to 5 ebooks at a time.   I can send most books to my Kindle app (or to my son's Kindle).  Some picture books, like this one, must be read in a browser.   I also love to download audiobooks from the NC Kids Digital Library for our family to listen to on car trips.  If you haven't used this great FREE resource, check it out!

#BookADay for the summer

This summer, I am challenging myself to join in on Donalyn Miller's Summer #Bookaday challenge.   This challenge is all about using the summer months for "revitalizing our reading lives."   Donalyn Miller's guidelines for this challenge can be found on the post linked in this paragraph.   The following guidelines are my own goals:

• My reading begins today (June 17) because it is the first weekday that I've not been at school.  (Yeah for summer!) and continues through August 19.
• I plan to read a book for every day of the summer.   Per Donalyn's challenge, it may be an average, so some days I may read more than one picture book to balance out the days where I'm reading a book that takes me several days to read.  
• I may not post every day, but I plan to list every book I read.  

So today I read my first book for this challenge:  Cool Crocheting for Kids by Alex Kuskowski.  I found it on Epic!  I chose this book because I really do want to learn how to crochet!   It must be a pretty good book because here is the progress I've made so far!

I'll be honest and admit that this is my second attempt.   My first one started out good, but kept getting smaller and smaller, so I had to try again.   Now I need to figure out how to make one of the projects in the book!   I'll need to do some re-reading for sure!