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Monday, December 16, 2019

Recent Reads

Every Monday, I share books I have recently read. I also participate in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, a community of bloggers who link up to share what they are reading. To find out what other bloggers are reading, check out the host blogs, Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers, or follow on Twitter at #imwayr.

Recent Reads...

Humpty Dumpty Lived Near a Wall by Derek Hughes

In this twist on the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty lives in an empire where the King forbids anyone from dreaming. In spite of this, Humpty builds a ladder and sets out one night to make his dream of looking over the wall that surrounds the empire come true. This story is both dark and hopeful, but also thought-provoking. It's the type of book that needs more than one read. Although there is a connection to the popular nursery rhyme, which young readers may know, this book would be more appropriate for older children. The illustrations, done in black and white, are intricate and if readers look closely enough they'll recognize characters from other classic tales. Thanks to the publisher, Penguin Young Readers, for providing #BookExcursion with a review copy.

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City by Tara Lazar

Private I's detective skills are needed when all the other capital letters go missing. There is lots of word play and punctuation-related puns. Like the author's previous book, 7 Ate 9, this is an amusing detective story.

Smell My Foot! (Chick and Brain) by Cece Bell

Brain wants Chick to smell his foot, but Chick thinks Brain should be more polite. The two are involved in an amusing dialogue as Chick tells Brain what to do and Brain takes it literally. In the middle of their conversation, a dog appears and invites Chick to lunch. Savvy readers will know the dog's intentions and, luckily for Chick, Brain knows, as well. Kids will find the silliness and the graphic novel style of this early reader book very appealing.

4 comments:

  1. Smell My Foot! looks like a lot of fun. I love all of Cece Bell's books, so I'm looking forward to getting ahold of this one. Thanks for sharing and Happy Holidays!

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  2. These all look great for their own reasons. Humpty Dumpty Lives Near a Wall does look great for older kids.

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  3. I'm looking forward to Smell My Foot -- hope we get a copy soon. The cover art to Humpty Dumpty Lived Near a Wall looks quite curious. I'm going to have to check this one out when it's released. Thanks for the shares, Lisa!

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  4. I have read through the Humpty Dumpty book once and I agree, I'm holding off on reviewing it until I can get through a second read. Lots to unpack here.
    I'm wondering if Chick and Brain will get any Geisel love this January?

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