MONDAY FUNDAY – June 12, 2017

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date, and adapted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts with a children’s/YA focus. The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. These weekly roundups are a great way to discover new blogs and bloggers, share some of the titles you’ve been enjoying, and add to your ever-growing to-read list.

It’s Monday! I start my new job tomorrow, so I’m a buzzing mixture of both excitement and nerves. It’s like the night before the first day of high school all over again….

But without further ado, here’s what I read last week!

I reviewed two beautiful picture books last week – Ruby’s Wish and Happy Dreamer – so please do check out the reviews!

Dinosaur Farm

As anyone who has ever met a toddler or preschooler can attest, dinosaurs are amazing. Being a bit of a life-long dinosaur nerd myself, I have to agree – dinosaurs are pretty darn amazing, and I’m always happy to share dinosaur books in my story times. Dinosaur Farm is sweet little picture book that follows a farmer through his day as he tends to his animals and takes care of his farm. The twist, of course, is that the farmer runs a dinosaur farm! The dinosaurs are never mentioned in the text, which reads just like any other farm book, adding a delightful bit of surreal humour to the story. And of course, there is a page with a giant mound of dinosaur poop, which had my audience rolling in the aisles. Dinosaurs and poop jokes? What more could a small child ask for in a picture book?

Two Little Monkeys

Two little monkeys playing near a tree, 

One named Cheeky, and one named Chee.

Another winner from picture book star Mem Fox, this rhyming tale features two adorable monkeys who have to escape a hungry leopard. There’s a great bit of suspense as the monkeys hear something prowling in the bushes but don’t know what it is. My audience, familiar with the song “five little monkeys”, was utterly convinced that the predator was a crocodile, so it was nice to surprise them with something a bit different! One teeny tiny element that didn’t quite line up for me was the ending, in which the monkeys have to make a giant leap from one tree to another to escape the leopard. How does changing trees save them from the leopard, which can in fact climb trees? Is there enough food in the second tree to allow them to simply wait the leopard out? I don’t understand!! The kids didn’t seem to mind this at all, though, and were simply relieved to see that the little monkeys were safe and sound.

I Heart You

 

Oh my goodness. This book. Oh, this book! Just the cover alone makes my heart all warm and gooey, and the insides are even more adorable. This is a beautiful, beautiful book that’s absolutely perfect for new parents. The simple text shows all the different ways that a caregiver shows their love for their child, and the soft watercolour illustrations will just steal your heart. The text isn’t my favourite, and some of the couplets don’t seem to work all that seamlessly to me, but the illustrations more than make up for any limitations in the text. I would honestly frame these pictures and hang them on my wall, they’re that beautiful. As I said, a wonderful gift for new parents, and a lovely book to share at babytime.

I also had the exact same hairstyle as the little girl for about the first 18 or so years of my life, so there’s that, too.

It’s Called Dyslexia

 

A little girl can’t wait to learn to read so that she can read all the dinosaur books, but she keeps getting all the words muddled up! All the other kids seems to learn to read so quickly, and the little girl keeps feeling more and more frustrated. Then one day the little girl’s teacher sets up a meeting with her parents to find out just why reading is such a struggle, and it turns out that she has dyslexia! The little girl soon realises that she isn’t “dumb”, her brain just works a bit differently, and with the right help and support, she not only learns to read, she discovers a hidden talent for writing poetry!

It’s Called Dyslexia takes a very positive approach to its subject, encouraging children to see their dyslexia not as a disability, but simply as part of what makes them unique and special. With the right tools and support, and with a bit of hard work, there’s no reason why children with dyslexia can’t be successful in school and in life! It’s especially great that the little girl ends up loving reading, and even discovers a passion for reading and writing poetry. For children who struggle with reading, books can sometimes feel like the enemy, but as It’s Called Dyslexia shows, this doesn’t have to be the case. Books can be friends for children with reading differences, too!

While the little girl in the story attends a special class for children with learning and processing differences, many children with dyslexia, at least in my area, are integrated into mainstream classes, often with learning support aides.

The informative text is a bit dry, but not unbearably so, but it’s more advanced than the average kindergartener’s reading level, even without the added challenge of dyslexia. It would perhaps best be used as a read-aloud, or as a source of inspiration for caregivers when talking to children about dyslexia. The illustrations are quite charming, with an endearing protagonist, but it would have been nice to have the main character be non-white, since the vast majority of books about people with disabilities and learning differences feature white protagonists, ignoring the fact that these conditions affect people of all backgrounds.

There’s also a helpful note for parents, as well as some suggested activities for children with dyslexia.  

Happy Monday, everyone! Be sure to check back in during the week for more book reviews!