by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
I found this picture book at the SLJ (School Library Journal) Summit held two weeks ago in Seattle. It's the story of the National Memorial African Bookstore, founded in Harlem by Lewis Michaux. Told from Lewis' son's perspective, this is the story of Lewis Michaux's passion for books, education, and the belief that knowledge is power and can change lives. Inspiring quotes are shared throughout the story.
by Lauren Alderfer
As the story begins, Monkey is not so mindful. His Monkey Mind constantly jumps from one thing to another, but he encounters a mysterious and playful friend in Happy Panda. Panda helps Monkey recognize the simple joy of doing what you're doing while you're doing it. Thanks to QAE's amazing counselor and Mindful Morning teacher, Julietta Skoog, for showing me this book. It is available for check out in QAE's SEL library in the entryway of the brick building.
(All ages)
This is the second book in the Little Elliot series, and it is every bit as good as the first one. Little Elliot is an elephant who, in the first book, discovers a new friend, Mouse. In this book, Mouse leaves for the day to go to his family reunion. Little Elliot spends the day alone, and no matter where he goes, he sees different families spending time together. He feels lonely and family-less. The retro-style illustrations pulled me in to share the range of emotions Elliot felt in his loneliest moments and then his joy at the end, as he is embraced by Mouse's huge extended family.
Ranger in Time: Danger in Ancient Rome by Kate Messner
(Grades 3-5)
Ranger in Time is a new series that reminds me a lot of the Magic Tree House books--only the main character is a dog instead of Jack and Annie, and instead of a Magic Tree House, there is a magic first aid kit serving as the portal to different time periods in history. Ranger is a Golden Retriever who trained as a search and rescue dog. In this series, kids can learn about specific periods in history as Ranger travels back in time to help those in need.
(Grades 4 and up)
This is an appealing new graphic novel series geared towards kids interested in coding. The main characters are students in a creepy looking school that clearly has a mystery to be solved involving binary numbers/coding. A cliff hanger at the end leaves the reader wanting the next book in the series--so hopefully it will be out soon.
I am currently reading and loving We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen. Next up is Gary D. Schmidt's Orbiting Jupiter--released last week. I've been waiting since last March when I heard about the awesomeness of this book at nErDcampbham.
Have a great week everyone. As always, I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone is reading.
Laura