The Happy Book and other feelings is a great book to talk to kids about feelings. Happy camper and his BFF Clam struggle with some emotions, especially when they aren’t feeling the same way. Colors and emotions are matched up in this wonderfully illustrated picture book….red is angry, happy is yellow etc. I read this at story time and what I loved was that one little person said all the colors were happy. If only adults could have an attitude like that.
Things are so much different now than when I was a kid. We didn’t talk about our feelings, or things like diversity, trauma, hardship. Along comes Eve Eland who brings sadness to the front lines. What is sadness? Do you see it? Feel it? Does it want to sit quietly? Or does it wish to draw something fantastic? This new picture book is beautifully illustrated with crayons (or something else that looks like crayon) is a book that kids may relate to without actually being called sad. A great read aloud or a book to sit quietly with a little and talk about what is happening.
Lovely illustrations go along with the story about saying goodbye. Do goodbyes always have to be sad? Does it always mean something bad? In this picture book, you and your littles will discover that when a goodbye happens, a hello will soon follow.
I am appalled at myself for not having written about this series. Now, I know I have written about Roland Smith before but somehow I have missed talking about this series. In Peak, the adventure starts with Peak, yes that’s his name. A 14 year old who is a little bored, a little mischievous and a lot in trouble. Peak likes to climb, but, he lives in NYC. There are no mountains to climb in Manhattan so what does Peak do? He climbs a skyscraper and gets caught. He has a choice now. Spend time in juvie, or go live with the father he really doesn’t know, Joshua Wood. Joshua owns a climbing company and he himself loves to climb. Part of his job is to help other summit mountains all over the world. But could Joshua have something else in mind for his son? Will their relationship grow through this adventure?
I forever thought this would be a stand alone but much to my surprise, The Edge shows up about 8 years later. Peak has returned home and has become a non-skyscraper climbing 15 year old, who loves spending time with his younger twin sisters. He hasn’t climbed since Everest (ooops, could be a small spoiler:-) but when he is approached by some old climbing friends with a chance to become part of documentary he contemplates his choice of climbing again or staying with all feet on the ground.
Just when I couldn’t be any happier about a sequel, there’s a threequel (yes it’s a word, look it up:-) In Ascent, Peak visits a girl he has met. A girl he kind of likes. A girl who just happens to be the daughter of a French Ambassador. She also loves to climb. Sounds like a recipe for happiness. Peak has been invited to climb Hkakabo Razi, one of the most isolated mountains in the world, to determine the true elevation of this illusive mountain. Once again, filled with action, friendship and climbing this was the perfect ending to this series.
Ahhh, just kidding. Descent will be the final book of the series. But it doesn’t come out until the beginning of 2020!!! Well, it isn’t an 8 year wait!
If you aren’t in Oregon then hopefully students in your state will have some kind of reading competition they can participate in. OBOB is Oregon’s version of this competition. I am a coach for the 3rd-5th grade division as well as the 6th-8th grade division. There are 16 books on each list so I have a lot to keep me busy this summer.
Stef has become embarrassed of Tia Perla. She is unhappy when Tia Perla picks her up at school, and when Tia Perla shows up at soccer. It was not always that way though. Tia Perla really isn’t an auntie, but a food truck. An old food truck that Stef’s dad owns. Stef isn’t allowed to walk home alone yet, so how does she get picked up? The food truck.
This is a story of family, growing up and fighting for what’s right. This was the first book I read off the list (3rd-5th grade) and it was a great start.
What would you do? What do you do for your family and loved ones? What if you didn’t have enough money to pay for life saving medicine? Would you steal?
Timothy knows that his family has very limited money ever since his dad left. He also has a very sick brother. Opportunity and timing present itself to Timothy and he makes a decision that forever changes his life.
This is on the 6th-8th grade list for this year.. A read for everyone in your house.
It has been way too long since I have posted anything. I’ve been reading….lots, but other things in life happen as well and sometimes the things you love most take a backseat to whatever you have going on. I’m going to try my best to keep up but the only guarantee I can make is that I am absolutely reading something good…..
Red is a Dragon written by Roseanne Thong and illustrated by Grace Lin
is a delightfully rhythmic story of colors. Great illustrations and definitions in the back make this a fantastic choice for storytime.
The Ugly Dumpling written by Stephanie Campisi
and illustrated by Shahar Kober
tells the story an ugly dumpling who doesn’t get eaten and just can’t figure out why. Enter the cockroach and the story turns toward acceptance and friendship.
Last, and certainly not least, is Malala’s Magic Pencil. Malala Yousafzai has written a picture book about her childhood. Every night she wished for a magic pencil.. a magic pencil that didn’t arrive. Malala soon learned that using her voice was just as powerful as a magic pencil.
