It’s Monday! (July 9th Edition)

Another week with Jen from Teach Mentor Texts to share our reading from this past week.

Mom is reading:

We can just skip right on over this section because, let’s face it, Mom has not had much time to read anything this week. I’ve been getting ready to head out on vacation.  Hopefully more to share next week.   So moving on…

Preschooler is reading:

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith (Roaring Brook Press, 2011)

My experience with Lane Smith has typically been with books that have humor slightly above my child’s head.  This book was a little bit mature for my 3yo as well, but in a different way.  It has a slightly more melancholy feel, but with the same creative illustrations one would expect.  I was reminded a little bit of The Giving Tree, in the sense that the garden is something that withstands time.  Not what I’m accustomed to from this author, but a really lovely book.

Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick Press, 2012)

This is another “must read”.  The bright, bold, detailed illustrations covering the pages are what first attracted me to the book.  The text, celebrating baseball, science, and a little boy’s determination is no less wonderful. We’ve read this one over and over and over again this week and I’ll be sad to see it returned to the library.

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Greenwillow Books, 2012)

We’re on a bit of an alphabet book kick over here, and I’d seen this particular book receive good reviews on several of my regular blog reads.  I wasn’t sure if Preschooler would “get” the humor behind the Moose who is so eager to be featured, and then irate when his spot is taken over by a mouse.  Not only did she get it, but after the first reading, she anticipated Moose’s reaction and started giggling before we even got to that part in the story.  Maybe not the best selection for very young children just learning their alphabet, but alot of fun for those who already have that foundation and are beginning to learn letter sounds.

I Spy: An Alphabet in Art selected by Lucy Micklethwait (Greenwillow Books, 1992)

Another alphabet book, this one illustrated for older readers, similar to Alphabet Everywhere.  Each letter of the alphabet is presented as a clue to an object in a famous piece of art. “I spy with my little eye something beginning with (letter).” The reader then scans the artwork for an object beginning with that letter. The artists featured range from Renoir to Picasso to Vermeer to Van Eyck.  Many of the paintings I recognized, many were completely new to me. While Preschooler is a little young to appreciate the art, we enjoyed reading this book as an I Spy.  An appendix in the back helped me when I could not determine what object I was looking for.  Also, we had trouble finding the turtles in the image of Savery’s The Animals Entering the Ark.  We’ve done several readings and I’m still looking.  It doesn’t bother me at all, of course. 

That’s all that’s new for us here. What have you been reading? What needs to go on our to-be-read list?  We’re off to the library this afternoon to pick up some new books to take on our vacation.