Cover Reveal: We Are (NOT) Friends by Anna Kang & Christopher Weyant

Ever since You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant came out in 2014, I have been a big fan of the book and each of the following companion books.

Recently, I learned that there would be a fourth book in the series. The latest book by the creative team of Kang and Weyant looks at changes in friendship. How do you introduce a new friend into the existing friendship pair. When you’re friends, sometimes three’s a crowd and sometime it is just right.

Two fuzzy friends are having a fun playdate when a new pal hops in. As the day continues, each friend feels left out at times. It isn’t so easy to figure out how to act when everything seems to change. With humor and heart, the beloved characters from Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner You Are (Not) Small navigate a friendship triangle as only they can.

I asked Anna and Christopher to share a quick thought about their latest book. Here is what they had to say:

“We are so excited to share the next installment in the lives of our fuzzy creatures! In WE ARE (NOT) FRIENDS, a third party enters the picture, suddenly shifting the balance, something all kids (and adults) experience in their friendships.” –Anna Kang & Christopher Weyant

So, are you ready for the cover…

I am excited to say that this may be one of my favorites of the series. I can really see young children connecting with our fuzzy friends and the challenge of welcoming in a new friend. I look forward to sharing more when we get closer to the release date.

Mark your calendar. We Are (NOT) Friends will be out on May 1, 2019.

About the creators: Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant are the creators of Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner You Are (Not) Small as well as series titles That’s (Not) Mine, I Am (Not) Scared, and We Are (Not) Friends. They also wrote and illustrated Eraser, Can I Tell You a Secret?, and Will You Help Me Fall Asleep? Christopher’s work can also be seen in The New Yorker, and his cartoons are syndicated worldwide. This husband-and-wife team lives in New Jersey with their two daughters and their rescue dog. Visit them at www.annakang.com and www.christopherweyant.com.

#Road2Reading Challenge: Toon Books for Early Readers

Sometimes I forget about Toon Books, and then something jogs my memory and I go in search of new releases that I missed. As I was putting together some literacy resources for the teachers I work with, I went in search of the Toon Books website and was reminded about all of the reasons I have loved Toon Books in the past.

Here are some new or newish titles that I am eager to check out…

3x4 by Ivan Brunetti (Toon Books, September 4, 2018) - Check out a few interior spreads from the book. I love the combination of art and math. I have always loved combining math and art as part of the school curriculum.

This is a title by the same author that came out last year…

Wordplay by Ivan Brunetti (Toon Books, May 2017) - Word play can be a lot of fun and from the interior pages (see below) I like how the text and illustrations work together.

And of course, I can’t leave out nonfiction…

Snails are Just My Speed! by Kevin McCloskey (Toon Books, April 2018) - Toon Books have a series of nonfiction Level 1 books (what they label as Level 1 may be appropriate for slightly more skilled readers due to the topic specific vocabular). I have enjoyed a number of them in the past and this one looks just as fun.

Toon Books provides a number of lesson plans for most of their books. You can find them here. Check out the Toon Books website to also see which titles are available in Spanish.

Look for these and other Toon Books at your local indie bookstore or community library.

All journeys have a starting place.
This is a weekly place to find books and tools
that you may use with readers at the start of their reading journey.
Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

Do you work with readers who are starting their journey on the road to reading?  Join Michele Knott from Mrs. Knott's Book Nook and myself every Thursday as we explore books and ideas to help readers have a successful start to independent picture book and chapter book reading. If you blog or have a Goodreads page, please link up with us!

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: A Nod to the Women of the Supreme Court

This is going to be a short post. I have to admit the last few weeks have been emotionally hard. The Supreme Court confirmation process has made me cry, scream, and get angry. I am going to get a little political for a moment. From where I sit, the current president and the Republican Senators have made a mockery of so many aspects of our democracy, most recently the Supreme Court. Their decision to ignore the voice of women and to plow forward with a nomination of a candidate with very low approval ratings and lots of red flags is disconcerting.

So, in honor of the women on the Supreme Court, I am going to celebrate two amazing women. Here are two recent picture book biographies.

No Truth Without Ruth: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Nancy Zhang (HarperCollins, 2018)

Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonia Sotomayor, Illustrated by Lulu Delacre (Philomel Books, 2018)

You can find these and other books about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor at your local indie bookstore and community library.

So, who is going to write the picture book biographies of Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor?

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Garbage Island (The Nearly Always Perilous Adventures of Archibald Shrew) Blog Tour & Giveaway

Garbage Island (The Nearly Always Perilous Adventures of Archibald Shrew)
by Fred Koehler
Boyds Mills Press (October 9, 2018)
Fiction * Action & Adventure * Survival Stories
Audience: Ages 8 to 12
Educator’s Guide
Indiebound | Worldcat

Description from GoodReads:
Mr. Popli, the mouse mayor of Garbage Island, is always at odds with Archibald Shrew, a brilliant but reckless inventor. When Garbage Island, their home in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, splits apart, they are trapped together in Mr. Popli's houseboat, desperate to find their way back home. At first, they only argue, but when they face a perilous thunderstorm and a series of predators, they begin to work together and recognize - in themselves and in each other - strengths they didn't know they had.

Quick thoughts about the book:
As I read through the various blog posts written by other blogger about Garbage Island, I decided to take a slightly different direction. First, Koehler’s first middle grade novel is well done. The book is filled with a wonderful cast of characters, an unique setting, and an adventure full of action that will have readers turning the pages and fully engaged in the outcome. As I started the book, I had the same feelings of reader happiness as I had when I started the REDWALL series by Brian Jacques years ago.

As I continued to read, and given that I knew the book was influenced by the concern of trash in the ocean, I couldn’t help but wonder if students would see the story differently if they understood something about the real issues facing marine life and birds and other creatures. Yes, yes, I think reading should be for fun and Garbage Island is an enjoyable read on it’s own. However, I also, am not opposed to sharing other books and encouraging student to read and make their own connections.

As regular readers of my blog know, I am a big fan of nonfiction. The spark of an idea for this book grew out of a very real problem. Koehler references “a vortext of floating trash swirls in the Pacific Ocean” in his author’s note. I would love to see students explore the issue of trash in our oceans and there are a number of amazing nonfiction titles to spur on young readers.

Consider pairing (making available) Garbage Island with the following nonfiction titles:

Plastic Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Patricia Newman, and photographs by Annie Crawley (Millbrook Press)

Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns (HMH Books for Young Readers)

All That Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem With Stuff by Meaghan McCarthy (Simon & Schuster)

Don’t miss the Ocean Cleanup Website as well.

Look for Garbage Island at your local indie bookstore or check out a copy at your community library.

About the author: Fred Koehler won a Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Award for his illustrations for One Day, The End. He is the author-illustrator of How To Cheer Up Dad, which received three starred reviews, and he is the illustrator of This Book Is Not About Dragons and Puppy, Puppy, Puppy. He lives with his children in Lakeland, Florida. Visit ilikefred.com

Check out the other blog stops below:

Mon 10/1 Always in the Middle

Tue 10/2 Miss Marple’s Musings

Wed 10/3 Inkygirl

Thu 10/4 Storymamas

Fri 10/5 Teen Librarian Toolbox

Mon 10/8 Librarian in Cute Shoes

Tue 10/9 KidLit Frenzy

Wed 10/10 Middle Grade Book Village

Thu 10/11 Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook

Fri 10/12 Middle Grade Minded

Sat 10/12 Unleashing Readers

Giveaway: I am giving away one copy of Garbage Island to a lucky reader. Participants must be 13 years old or older and have a U.S. mailing address. Please complete the rafflecopter below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Recent, New, and Upcoming Releases

I just realized that I haven’t done a new release post in forever. Since I haven’t done one in awhile, I am going to do my best to get us caught up and highlight a number of great new books. Hope you find lots of new titles to celebrate. 

Check out the previous posts: January | February | March | April | July

Here are a number of recent releases and upcoming releases:

When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana by Michael James Mahin, Illustrated by Jose Ramirez (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, September 4, 2018)

Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World by Gary Golio, Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez (Henry Holt & Co., September 4, 2018)

The Science Comics: Solar System: Our Place in Space by Rosemary Mosco; Illustrated by Jon Chad (First Second, September 18, 2018)

The Unwanted! Stories of Syrian Refugees by Don Brown (HMH Books for Young Readers, September 18, 2018)

Bugs Don’t Hug: Six Legged Parents and Their Kids by Heather L. Montgomery, Illustrated by Stephen Stone (Charlesbridge, September 18, 2018)

An Inconvenient Alphabet: Ben Franklin & Noah Webster’s Spelling Revolution by Beth Anderson, Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddedly (Paula Wiseman Books, September 25, 2018)

Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s World War II Story by Marc Tyler Nobleman, Illustrated by Melissa Iwai

Pope Francis: Builder of Bridges by Emma Otheguy, Illustrated by Oliver Dominguez (Bloomsbury Children’s Book, September 25, 2018)

Sylvia’s Bookshop: The Story of Paris’s Beloved Bookstore and Its Founder by Robert Burleigh, Illustrated by Katy Wu (Simon & Schuster, September 25, 2018)

When You Grow Up to Vote: How Our Government Works for You by Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Markel, Illustrated by Grace Lin (Roaring Brook Press, September 25, 2018)

So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom by Gary D. Schmidt, Illustrated by Daniel Minter (Roaring Brook Press, September 25, 2018)

Sun! One in a Billion by Stacy McAnulty, Illustrated by Stevie Lewis (Henry Holt & Co., October23, 2018)

Fakers: An Insider’s Guide to Cons, Hoaxes, and Scams by H.P. Wood, Illustrated by David Clark (Charlesbridge, October 2, 2018)

Stretch to the Sun: From a Tiny Sprout to the Tallest Tree on Earth by Carrie A. Pearson, Illustrated by Susan Swan (Charlesbridge, October 9, 2018)

Science Comics: The Brain: The Ultimate Thinking Machine by Tory Woollcott, Illustrated by Alex Graudins (First Second, October 16, 2018)

ZigZag Zoo Born! Zoo Baby Colors and Patterns by Andrew Bleiman, Illustrated by Chris Eastland (Beach Lane Books, October 17, 2018)

Backyard Bears: Conservation Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife by Amy Cherrix (HMH Books for Young Readers, October 23, 2018)

Look for these titles at your local indie bookstore or community public library. Happy Reading!

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…