Our Week of Reading

Another week; another wonderful stack of books!

(Particular favorites are marked with an asterisk!)

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, by Deborah Hopkinson
A simply told account of a young girl's journey from slavery to the Underground Railroad.

Sleeping Beauty, illustrated. K. Y. Craft *
The illustrations in this book are exquisite. Painted in a pre-raphaelite style, the pictures are a veritable treasure trove of hidden nuggets and foreshadowing.

A Beetle Is Shy, by Dianna Hutts Aston
We LOVE Aston's books! They are quite simply some of the most beautiful non-fiction picture books we have read.

Press Here, by Hervé Tullet *
This fast became a firm favorite! Clever and funny, all three of mine declared this their favorite book of the year (high praise indeed!)

The Book With No Pictures, by B. J. Novak *

Like Press Here (noted above), this book is clever and very very funny. We read this one multiple times over the course of a few days, and it reduced all three of my kiddos to puddles of giggles every single time.

Boxes for Katje, by Candace Fleming *

I adored this book. The illustrations are so vibrant, and the story is delightful, inspiring and fully satisfying. (Make sure you have tissues at hand; this book had me in tears).

Annie and Helen, by Deborah Hopkinson
Another pick from Deborah Hopkinson this week! This is a biographical account of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. A wonderful introduction to the life of Keller, plus sign language and braille. Fascinating!

Mole Music, by David McPhail

This book is a short read, and a seemingly simple tale of a mole who learns to play the violin. This is a perfect example of the illustrations helping to tell the real depths of this story.

A Tower of Giraffes, by Anna Wright *

An ostentation of peacocks, a pod of whales, a gaggle of geese! This non-fiction book is beautiful, with delightful fabric cut pictures, but with lovely gems of information as well. Another firm favorite!

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?, by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Lovely! The perfect bedtime book for those young ones who may be a wee bit reluctant about bedtime *ahem*

The Rag Coat, by Lauren Mills

Sweet illustrations, and a lovely story about a young girl in the Appalachia area.

The Day The Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt

By this stage, you may be seeing a bit of a theme! We were definitely in the mood for silly, funny reads this week! And here is another one; a box of crayons goes on strike and leaves notes of complaint to their owner. My seven year old loved this one, but my four year twins did not quite get the subtlety of this book.

Where's the Elephant, by Barroux *

A book of few words, a simple concept, but a huge social message. I won't ruin the surprise, but this is a hide and seek book with a twist for the preschoolers. I loved this one.

Presenting Tanya the Ugly Duckling, by Patricia Lee Gauch

We recently read Hans Christian Andersen's original Ugly Duckling, so this book really captured the imagination of my three kiddos. I really appreciated the realistic visual portrayals the young dancer.

Every Day Birds, by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

A wonderful verse book for preschoolers; the illustrations are striking!

Roxaboxen, by Alice McLerran

Oh my goodness! How did I make to adulthood, and through nearly a decade of teaching, without reading this book? It is sublime! My children were mesmerized by this one, and played Roxaboxen for days afterwards. An added bonus? The wonderful illustrations from Barbara Cooney. Probably my favorite book of the week!

What have you been reading?

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to leave a comment with your favorite books this week!