It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA - 4/1/19

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kid lit focus. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kid lit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Some weeks are just super busy and I find myself hunkering down with a stack of picture books as a way of refueling. This week’s stack has some new releases and some older titles from 2018.

Here is what jumped out of the stack…

Superheroes are Everywhere by Kamala Harris, Illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe (Philomel Books, January 2019) - I have been curious about this one since Harris is a senator from my state and also running for president. The book focuses on those family members and friends that were “superheroes” in her life.

Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote by Kirsten Gillibrand, Illustrated by Maira Kalman (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2018) - Gillibrand, another presidential candidate, released this book late in 2018. It is a nice collection of tributes to women who were instrumental in the fight for women’s right to vote.

My Papî Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, Illustrated by Zeke Peña (Kokila Books, May 14, 2019) - I saw this briefly a couple of weeks ago and finally got to spend some time with the book. Mark your calendars - this book comes out in May.

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, Illustrated by Vashti Harrison (Kokila Books, May 14, 2019) - A celebration of a dad and his daughter and finding just the right hair style. This one comes out in May as well.

Because by Mo Willems, Illustrated by Amber Ren (Hyperion Books for Young Readers, March 5, 2019) - This is a different kind of book from some of Willems other books. It is beautiful in both message and illustrations.

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow, Illustrated by Steven Salerno (HMH Books for Young Readers, March 19, 2019) - I have never thought about who invented crayons and this was informational and fun.

Narwhal’s Otter Friend (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #4) by Ben Clayton (Tundra Books, February 5, 2019) - Yay for Narwhal and Jelly and their new friend Otter. I love this series.

See Pip Flap (The Adventures of Otto) by David Milgrim (Simon Spotlight, 2018) - There are so many different early readers and some get it right and others struggle to find their mark. The Adventures of Otto series gets it right.

Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor (Balzer & Bray, 2018) - I so understand why this one won a Geisel Award. it is fantastic. I just love this early reader.

Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri (First Second, 2018) - Love the twist on the typical monster under the bed stories.

Currently reading with my ears…

Circe by Madeline Miller (Little, Brown Books, 2018) - In December, I asked friends what was their favorite adult book from 2018 and this one came highly recommended. I just started the audiobook. The narrator, Perdita Weeks has an amazing voice. I think I could listen to her read a phone book. However, there are a lot of characters in this story based on Greek Mythology.

In case you missed it…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Yogi The Life, Loves and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra

Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face - Guest Post by Author Larissa Thuele

So, what are you reading?

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Blog Tour: Yogi The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra

Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra
by Barb Rosenstock, Illustrated by Terry Widner
Calkins Creek (February 5, 2019)
Nonfiction * Biographical * Sports
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat
Educator’s Guide

Description from GoodReads: The life and famous words, such as "it ain't over till it's over," of Major League Baseball player and New York Yankee Lawrence "Yogi" Berra are celebrated in this nonfiction picture book.

Yogi Berra loved his family, his neighborhood, his friends, and, most of all, baseball. He was crazy for it, ever since he was a young kid playing with friends in an abandoned dump. But baseball didn't love him back--at least not at first. Yogi was different. He didn't have the right look. When he finally made it to the major leagues, Yogi faced pranks and harassment from players, sportswriters, and fans. Their words hurt, but they made Yogi determined to show all that he could do. This book looks at the talents, loves, and inspirational words of this celebrated New York Yankee and American icon, who earned a World Series ring for each finger and made baseball love him back.

Check out the Official Book Trailer:

Quick thoughts on the book:
Have you noticed that there are dozens of baseball picture books? Many are picture book biographies. A few years ago, I did a blog post of my favorite baseball picture books. In following years, I updated those lists. Along the way, it dawned on my me to ask where were the football or basketball or soccer picture books? After a search, I discovered that there was definitely a preponderance of baseball books. And frankly, that is okay with me. One of the latest baseball picture book biographies puts the spotlight on Yogi Berra.

As a child, I grew up with equal parts Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. My father was (still is) a Red Sox fan. I was a Yankees fan. During those years, I knew of Berra more as a coach than a player. He was almost a cartoonish character with his short thick stature and Yogi-isms. And for as much as I knew of him, I knew little about him.

Rosenstock’s picture book biography on Yogi Berra filled in lots of the gaps for me and gave me a new appreciation for the man and the baseball player. As I read the book, I found myself getting emotional. Emotional over how Berra was treated, and how hard he had to work to realize his dreams. Somewhere along the line, I found my admiration of Berra growing. Widener’s illustrations paired beautifully with Rosenstock’s text and made this a a complete package. If you are a fan of baseball and picture book biographies, you will want to add this to your collection.

Rosenstock includes an author’s note, bibliography, career statistics and information on his “Yogi-isms”. Also there is an Educator’s Guide on the Boyds Mills Press website (link above). Pick up a copy of this book at your local indie bookstore or community library.

About the author: Barb Rosenstock is best known for her many picture book biographies, including Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library, Ben Franklin's Big Splash, The Streak, Dorothea's Eyes, and Blue Grass Boy, all published by Calkins Creek. Her other recent titles include a picture book about Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent Can't Sleep, and a picture book about Vasily Kandinsky, The Noisy Paint Box, which won the 2015 Caldecott Honor Medal. She lives outside Chicago with her family. Visit her at barbrosenstock.com.

About the illustrator: Terry Widener is the award-winning illustrator of many picture books on athletes, including The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America's Hero, Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings, American Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle, and Lou Gehrig, The Luckiest Man. He is also the illustrator of The Kite That Bridged Two Nations by Alexis O'Neill. He lives in McKinney, Texas, with his wife and is the father of three grown children. Visit him at terrywidenerart.com.

Don’t miss the other stops on the blog tour:

Monday, 3/18 Mile High Reading

Tuesday, 3/19 Book Q&A’s with Deborah Kalb

Wednesday, 3/20 Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook

Thursday, 3/21 Behind the Scenes @BMP

Friday, 3/22 Anatomy of Nonfiction

Monday, 3/25 The Nonfiction Detectives

Wednesday, 3/27 KidLit Frenzy

Thursday, 3/28 Celebrate Picture Books

Friday, 3/29 Unleashing Readers

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews below….

Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face - Guest Post by Larrisa Theule

Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face
by Larissa Theule, Illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley
Abrams Books for Young Readers (March 12, 2019)
Fiction * History * Women’s History
Audience: Ages 6 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat

Thank you Larissa for stopping by the blog today to talk about your book Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face. and close out Women’s History Month.
___________________________________________

I first read about ‘bicycle face’ around the time my daughter was learning to ride a bike. Because learning to ride a bike is now a universal rite-of-passage, I was jolted to remember there was a time when most of society believed girls had no business on wheels.

During the bicycle craze of the 1890s, ‘bicycle face’ was a made-up medical affliction supposedly caused by the strain of balancing a bike. Allegedly, it affected women more than men because they were weaker, and its purported symptoms included permanently bulging eyes and a closed-up jaw. It was bad science, but a good example of the kind of silly threats issued women who dared to ride. With regard to single women in particular, the implication was this: ‘bicycle face’ makes one ugly, and if one is ugly, one will never marry.

But say the call of the open road was too much for a woman to resist. In that case, there were recommended rules and precautions. This list of “Bicycling Don’ts for Women” from New York World, 1896, is indicative of the tremendous constraints placed on women’s behavior generally, and their riding behavior specifically. “Don’t cultivate a ‘bicycle face’” appears near the beginning.

[List of “Bicycling Don’ts for Women” New York World, 1896]

This list seems ridiculous and regressive to us, and it probably seemed so to wheelwomen of the time, too. Early wheelwomen were some of the toughest dames around and they ignored most rules and precautions except the practical ones, and in the face of frequent harassment, fought back, sometimes with their fists.

[image: “Thrashed by a Lady Cyclist” The Illustrated Police News, July 1899]

This anecdote is one of my favorites. Such spirit! However, the degree of harassment faced by the “Bolton lady known for her athletic powers” was not the worst that wheelwomen faced. Wheelwomen were criticized for being unfeminine, for being bad mothers and wives, for going against nature and becoming like men. You have only to peruse old comics in Punch to comprehend the ridicule heaped upon them. Public objection was sometimes sinister.

The ‘New Woman’ was a term that took hold in the late 19th century; it defined a feminist ideal. A New Woman sought higher education, suffrage, some degree of financial independence, and, more than likely, she rode a bike. The bicycle came to symbolize women literally riding into traditionally male spheres of influence.

In 1897, male Cambridge University undergraduates protested the admission of female students by hanging an effigy of a ‘New Woman’ on a bicycle from a window.

[image: Effigy of ‘New Woman’ on bicycle, https://graphicarts.princeton.edu/2018/02/22/cambridge-boys-celebrate-when-women-are-refused-degrees/]

Later, to celebrate the ruling that women would be denied full degrees, the crowd tore the effigy apart. The ruling wasn’t reversed until 1947.

In Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face, I wanted to reclaim “bicycle face” and turn it into something strong and proud the way women have done with other words intended to disparage, such as “nevertheless, she persisted,” and the words that spurred on millions to march in pink pussy hats. I wanted to make a little space in male-dominated history for wheelwomen. But Born to Ride also captures the simple, timeless narrative of a child who learns to ride a bike and in doing so feels free—that feeling of being free is, after all, the whole point.

About the author: Larissa Theule holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of three forthcoming picture books. She lives in Pasadena, California, with her family.

Look for Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face at your local indie bookstore or community library.

It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA - 3/25/19

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kid lit focus. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kid lit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

After some crazy weeks at work, I am getting back into my reading routine. Love all of the F&G’s (advanced copies of picture books) that I have been fortunate to read. I have also been on an audiobook kick and have finished up a few.

Here is what jumped out of the stack…

The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Nancy Paulsen Books, July 2, 2019) - Perfect for the first day read aloud.

Circle (The Shape Trilogy #3) by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick, March 5, 2019) - I think I might like this the best out of the three shape books.

Hum and Swish by Matt Myers (Neal Porter Books, June 11, 2019) - Beautifully illustrated and captures the artistic process that is only done when it is ready to be done.

Saturday by Oge Mora (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, October 22, 2019) - A young girl learns that sometimes things change but it doesn’t have to ruin the day.

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali, Illustrated by Hatem Aly (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, October 22, 2019) - A much needed book for our current times.

A Big Bed for Little Snow by Grace Lin (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, October 15, 2019) - A companion novel to A Big Mooncake for Little Star.

Adult Titles…

Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon (Simon & Schuster, Audiobook, 2018)

In case you missed these reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Susan B. Anthony (The Making of America #4) by Teri Kanefield

Blog Tour: In the Middle of the Night Poems From a Wide-Awake House

Blog Tour: In the Middle of the Night Poems from a Wide-Awake House

In the Middle of the Night: Poems From a Wide-Awake Home
by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Angela Matteson
Wordsong (March 12, 2019)
Fiction * Poetry
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
Indiebound | Worldcat

Description from GoodReads:
Toys, food, and other everyday household objects have wild adventures at night, while the humans in the house sleep, in this imaginative collection of 26 poems.

What do the things in your home do when you're asleep? They play, of course! In this compendium of poems by Laura Purdie Salas, everything from stuffed animals to clothing to writing utensils comes to life under the cover of night. An overdue library book searches for the perfect place to hide. A paper clip skydives with a tissue parachute. A fruit snack unrolls to create a tricky racetrack for toy cars. A hose unwinds and rolls around the yard before curling back up just before dawn. Accompanied by Angela Matteson's beautiful acrylic-on-wood illustrations, this book will spark young readers' imaginations and is a perfect choice for bedtime reading.

Quick thoughts on the book:
Recently, I had a conversation about poetry with a colleague. She was prepping a professional development on poetry for the teachers we work with. As she was prepping, she read from some of the poetry her former students had written. It was simply beautiful. While we talked, I shared about my struggle with poetry and how I had avoided it for so many years. I finally decided that I needed to find and read some poetry for children and not just the work of Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky. My journey lead me to the work of so many incredible poets, including the work of Laura Purdie Salas.

I love how Laura’s poetry is so accessible. I am excited that so much of her work connects poetry to nonfiction. In one of her latest book (yes, she had three new titles), IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT: POEMS FROM A WIDE-AWAKE HOUSE, Laura brings to life the world of talented stuffed animals, markers without their lids, toothpaste and dental floss, a conversation between flip flops and winter boots, and more. I never really thought about all of the things that could come awake at night while the human occupants are fast asleep.

To match Purdie Salas’ delightful and entertaining poems, Angela Matteson uses color and playfulness in her illustrations that perfectly match the text and take it all one step further.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT is a humorous read aloud perfect for bedtime or for the classroom. Pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore just in time for National Poetry month.

About the author: Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 125 books for children, including If You Were the Moon, the award winning Can Be . . . series, and BookSpeak! Poems About Books, which was an NCTE Notable Book of Poetry and won the Nerdy Book Award for Poetry, among other honors. She lives with her family in Plymouth, Minnesota. Visit her at laurasalas.com.

About the illustrator: Angela Matteson is the illustrator of Grumbles from the Town by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich. She works as a Marketing Director and food packaging designer. She enjoys showing her paintings in galleries and lives in Columbus, Ohio. Visit her at angelamattesonart.com.

Don’t forget to check out the other stops in the blog tour:

Monday, 3/11 Mile High Reading

Tuesday, 3/12 Reflections on the Teche

Wednesday, 3/13 A Year of Reading

Thursday, 3/14 Check It Out

Friday, 3/15 Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme

Sunday, 3/17 Great Kid Books

Monday, 3/18 Simply 7 Interview/Jena Benton blog

Tuesday, 3/19 My Juicy Little Universe

Wednesday, 3/20 Live Your Poem

Thursday, 3/21 Reading to the Core

Friday, 3/22 KidLit Frenzy

Beyond Literacy Link

If sharing about the blog tour, please include the following Twitter handles: @boydsmillspress, Laura’s handle on Twitter is @LauraPSalas and Angela’s is @angelamatteson. The hashtag for the blog tour is #WideAwakePoems.