The Knowing Book by Rebecca Kai Doltlich and Matthew Cordell

The Knowing Book

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Illustrated by Matthew Cordell

Expected Publication Feb. 23, 2016

Boyds Mills Press

Fiction

Picture Book Advanced Readers Copy

Provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

Inspiring and wise, this story begins and ends with the sky that is always above you. In between, a young rabbit travels through the wide world, experiencing joy and sorrow and all the wonder that the world has to offer. Along the way he chooses a path, explores the unknown, and ventures along trails on and off the map. And at the end of the journey, braver and more confident, he returns home, the place he can always count on and will always know. This beautiful celebration of life is the perfect gift to mark any milestone in a child’s life from birth to graduation. 

My Thoughts

Add this to your inspirational "Oh the Places You Will Go" type books. It is a reminder to be open to the magic in every day events as we travel through our days. The illustrations by Matthew Cordell are done with his signature whimsy and the little bunny is adorable.

Children and adults alike will enjoy this inspirational book. I will definitely be adding The Knowing Book to my classroom collection. It would also make a great gift for many occasions.  

See what others have to say about The Knowing Book.
Kirkus
Publishers Weekly

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday-A Place for Frogs by Melissa Stewart

My Friend Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy hosts a weekly link up to share Nonfiction Picture Books. Please visit her amazing website.

 

A Place For Frogs 

by Melissa Stewart

Illustrated by Higgins Bond

Expected release April1, 2016 

Peachtree Publishers

Nonfiction Picture Book

32 Pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Melissa Stewart and Higgins Bond team up once again, as they did in A Place for Butterflies and A Place for Birds,  to bring readers a book that will make them think about the impact humans have on animals and the environment and what we can do to change things.

Melissa Stewart is a master at writing nonfiction for children. 

Each page is set up with simpler text at the top of each page, many of them following a similar pattern, "When people ......., frogs can live and grow." This will help young readers make the connection of what we humans can do, rather than just sharing the factors that are endangering frogs. 

Within the illustrations below the text, there is an enlarged illustration and a text box giving more detailed information about the text above.  

Higgins Bond's illustration are incredibly detailed and realistic and work with the text perfectly to convey this important message.

At the end of the book there is a section listing ways children (and adults) can protect and help frogs such as leaving the frogs alone in their environment and not purchasing frogs from pet stores. 

The end papers include maps of the US and the shaded regions of different frog species. 

A Place for Frogs should have a place in every K-5 classroom and library.   

Possible Companion Texts

  

Read what others have to say about A Place for Frogs

There's A Book

Chris Bookarama

Jenn's Bookshelves

It's Monday,What Are You Reading? February 1, 2016

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Here is what I managed to read this week. 

 Yes, another wonderful (practically) wordless picture book from Bill Thomson. Coming in March 2016.

 

An interesting version of the classic fairy tale. 

Coming in April 2016.

Currently Reading 

This upcoming middle grade novel by Leslie Connor has me hooked! Coming in March.

My friend Paula Bourque has published this book on close writing aimed at helping educators to be able to help students read their writing more critically. Reading this one slowly to really digest it.

What are YOU reading friends?  

Little Elliot, Big Family by Mike Curato

Little Elliot, Big Family
by Mike Curato
Published 2015
Henry Holt and Co. 
Hardcover
40 pages
Review copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

When Mouse heads off to a family reunion, Little Elliot decides go for a walk. As he explores each busy street, he sees families in all shapes and sizes. In a city of millions, Little Elliot feels very much alone-until he finds he has a family of his own!

My Thoughts

I am so in love with Little Elliot! His good friend Mouse has gone to his family reunion and Little Elliot begins to feel lonely as he travels the streets of the "big city" alone and notices different families. He then learns that family does not need to include relatives, families just made up of people who love each other. 

It is a sweet, simple story with few words and big, beautiful illustrations. Each page is filled with color and the scenes of New York are very realistic. 

Little ones ages 2-7 will LOVE Little Elliot, Big Family. 

See what others have to say about this book:

Kirkus

Common Sense Media

Kidreads

Publishers Weekly

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday-January 27, 2016

My Friend Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy hosts a weekly link up to share Nonfiction Picture Books. Please visit her amazing website.

Two Friends:Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass
by Dean Robbins
Illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko
Published Jan. 5, 2016
Orchard Books
Nonfiction Picture Book
32 Pages
Review copy (F&G) provided by publisher.

Goodreads Summary
Two friends, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, get together for tea and conversation. They recount their similar stories fighting to win rights for women and African Americans. The premise of this particular exchange between the two is based on a statue in their hometown of Rochester, New York, which shows the two friends having tea.

My Thoughts

I love reading books where I learn something new. While I knew a bit about each of these two important Americans, I did not realize they were friends and worked to help each other. The text contains a bit written on present tense as the friends sit down for tea and some information written in past tense about their childhoods and what they wanted to change. I did wish the book included more specific information about each person as it seemed a bit brief. 

The illustrations are wonderful. The two illustrators included actual quotes in collage form. which I thought worked very well. 

I would recommend Two Friends for Grades 1-4. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Photo taken of the F&G

Possible Companion Text

Here is a very short video showing the sculpture of the Two friends having tea. 

See what others have to say about Two Friends.

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

Raymie Nightingale
by Kate DiCamillo
Expected Release Date April 12, 2016 
Candlewick Press 
Middle Grade Fiction
272 Pages
Review copy provided by publisher

I was beyond thrilled to receive this advanced copy of Raymie Nightingale and started reading it right away. I am not ordinarily a fast reader, but I devoured it. Not only that, but after I finished, I started reading it again. This never happens. I needed to spend more time with these incredible characters and within Kate DiCamillo's words. While I want to share my thoughts with others here, I have been, and expect to be, thinking about Raymie, Louisiana, and Beverly for quite some time.  

Raymie has a plan, a plan to get her father to come back home. Her mother and father have recently separated since Raymie's father "left town two days ago with a dental hygienist." She plans to enter and win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975 competition. She feels that when her father sees her picture in the newspaper as the winner, then he will want to come home. 

Raymie has been told that she should learn to twirl a baton for the talent portion of the competition, so the story opens with Raymie at baton twirling lessons with two other characters, Beverly Tapinski and Louisiana Elefante. Each girl has a goal connected to the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition. While Raymie wants to bring her father home, Louisiana wants to win the prize money so she and her grandmother can afford to buy food for her cat Archie, who they had to give up to a shelter recently. And Beverly wants to sabotage the entire competition so it never happens. 

The three girls could not be more different from one another, but through a series of interesting events, they slowly become friends. I loved each of them and the three of them so much! Raymie is desperate and determined, yet unsure of herself and very aware of what makes "her soul" expand or shrink. Beverly, the daughter of a NYC police officer is rougher around the edges, but has the sweetest soft side at just the right times. And Louisiana is innocent, naive, and optimistic to the extreme.

This story is filled with characters, each as interesting and real as the next. There is the quirky, unorthodox neighbor, Mrs. Borkowski who offers advice. Mrs. Sylvester is the motherly secretary at Raymie's father's insurance office who offers candy corn and gives assurances that "Most things work out right in the end." Then there is Louisiana's grandmother who is feisty and eccentric and Ida Nee, the former baton twirling champion who doesn't want to leave her glory days behind. Whether the character is present throughout the book or says three words in a brief encounter, DiCamillo made me care about each one. She masterfully circles them back throughout the book as though to remind us why each one was important. In the end the reader learns how each event and person was connected. 

Kate DiCamillo is well-known for her use of descriptive language. I was continually struck by her creative choice of words. There is a notable phrase or sentence worth quoting on nearly every page. 
I could honestly go on and on about this book. It would make a fabulous read aloud or independent read for middle graders.
Raymie Nightingale is simply the best book I have read in recent memory and has taken a spot among my very favorite books. It is certain to become a beloved favorite with many readers. 

See what others have to say about Ramie Nightingale.
Publishers Weekly
Kirkus
Huffington Post

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? January 25, 2016

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Hello friends, I have been very fortunate to read several ARC's of books to be released this spring recently. There is much to look forward to. Please click on the covers to go to the book's page on Goodreads. 

 Fiction Picture Books

 

A wonderful new bedtime story coming in April!  

 A sweet story of finding one's own voice. 

Coming in March.

 

A second book by Boats for Papa author Jessixa Bagley.  Loved it! February release.

 

A must-have new beginning of the school year book! 

Coming in June. 

 Humorous story that recognizes and celebrates the "little guy". Coming in June.

 A remarkable wordless picture book.

Due to be released in April.

 

A smart, humorous book that kids will want to hear over and over again. Coming on Feb. 2!  

Nonfiction 

Using close up photos and factual clues, readers guess which animal's eye is shown. Released Jan. 30.

 

Young readers learn about birds through poetry. 

February 23rd released date. 

Middle Grade 

 

It will be difficult for many to wait until April for this book. I am planning a full review for tomorrow, but in short, it is perfection. It was so good that I reread it right after finishing it. Kate DiCamillo has a remarkable gift.

Currently Reading 

 I love Leslie Connor's books and this one is great so far!

Just received this in the mail over the weekend. Excited to really get into it this week. 

What Are YOU Reading Friends?