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Monday, April 19, 2021

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...

Bindu's Bindis by Supriya Kelkar and illustrated by Parvati Pillai 

Bindu loves wearing the bindis that her nani sends her from India. When Nani visits, Bindu witnesses xenophobic behavior at the airport and later feels hesitant about getting on stage for a show at her school. Nani helps Bindu to rebuild her confidence. Both the story and colorful illustrations are beautiful.

Doggo and Pupper by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Charlie Alder 

Doggo's life is the same every day, but he is happy enough. His humans think differently, so they bring home Pupper who, unlike Doggo, is full of energy and questions. Pupper learns to behave at charm school, but also helps Doggo realize the importance of having fun. This is an amusing and charming early reader book.

Too Small Tola by Atinuke and illustrated by Onyinye Iwu

This is a delightful chapter book that is the start of a new series. Tola is an endearing character who is small, but determined and kind. The writing is wonderful, with lots of figurative language, pulling the reader into Tola's life in a large city in Nigeria. I'm looking forward to reading more about Tola. Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

Bea is For Blended by Lindsey Stoddard

I have loved every one of Lindsey Stoddard's books and this one is no exception. Bea is adjusting to her new life as part of a blended family now that her mother has married. In addition, she has formed a girls' soccer team and is dealing with unfair treatment from a coach who favors the boys' team. This is a heart-warming story about family, friendship, and fighting for what's right with lots of soccer action. Thanks to the author and publisher for providing my book review group, #BookExcursion, with a review copy. The book publishes in May.

Adult Reading Recommendation

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny

My school is on break this week, which means I can spend a little bit more time reading. This was the first of my vacation reads. It was a quick read and really sweet and poignant. I thought it was going to be a love story, and although it was, it was also much more. It is the story of a woman (who happens to be a second grade teacher) and the extraordinariness of living what, is in many ways, a normal, ordinary life. I loved so much about it including the fantastic writing, the quirky characters, and the small-town setting. 

7 comments:

  1. I liked Too Small Tola, too, & just read about Bea Is For Blended, know I will like it, too, Lisa. Thanks for the recommendation for Early Morning Riser & have a great break week!

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  2. What a great set of books! Bindu's Bindis sounds wonderful, as does Too Small Tola! Bea is for Blended sounds like an excellent novel, and Early Morning Riser is intriguing as well. Thanks so much for the great post, and enjoy your break!

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  3. I did like Bea in for Blended. It was a bit more upbeat than her other titles. I love the title and premise of Early Morning Riser, but I don't care much for romances any more!

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  4. My son has asked me about chapter books to read with his four year old. I'm wondering if Too Small Tola might work.

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  5. I have all of those books in my stack... I'm so woefully behind in my reading. For every book I read, I add 10 more to my stacks! But at least it looks like I have some good reading ahead!

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  6. Looking forward to reading Bea. I just finished Doggo and Pupper and will share my review on my blog. Early Morning Riser sounds like a great adult summer read.

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  7. Looks like some great books last week. Early Morning Riser sound good!

    Hope you have been enjoying your books this week, too -

    Sue

    Book By Book

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