Geoffrey, Maggie, Beekle, Duck and Goose and Jonathan Auxier too!

Monday! What are you Reading is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers and have become a regular linked up blog. Thanks #PLN

My son took me to a very delayed and very wonderful Mother's Day lunch and afterwards, we headed to Barnes and Noble to spend some quality time checking on all the wonderful new releases. After a quick check of the YA, I headed right for the kid's section. Here are some of the titles I read in store.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

Anytime Dan Santat creates a book,it automatically has my seal of approval. Certain artists have a distinct style in the way of Steven Kellogg, Mercer Mayer, and Eric Carle. We take one look and recognize thatspecific style...that's a Dan Santat book.

Beekle is a sweet story of seeking friendship (aren't the best stories about friends?. Beekle is an imaginary friend waiting for his chance to be claimed by a real child but he is overlooked and decides to take matters into in own hands. He ventures out to the big city and searches high and low until he discovers his absolutely perfect match and of course they live happily ever after.

Duck & Goose Go to the Beach by Tad Hills

Duck and Goose. Goose and Duck! It's another adventure for this feathered friendship as they take off on an adventure to the beach leaving their beloved meadow behind. Crashing, splashing waves and not so friendly creatures enhance the beach experience but they two friends come to the conclusion that although the beach is a great adventure, there is no place like home.




Oh Dear Geoffrey! by Gemma O'Neill

I saw Oh Dear Geoffrey! up high out of my reach at Barnes and Noble but I certainly didn't let it stop me from scaling the shelves to pull it off the shelf. The cover illustrations caught my eye and I knew immediately that it would be worth getting in trouble with store staff.

Geoffrey is a very tall, clumsy yet adorable giraffe who stumbles and bumbles his way through the day attempting to make friends. Although a bit on the long side for a read aloud, I think Geoffrey makes for a pretty decent read aloud for story-time. Lots of kids are going through clumsy stages  and know the difficulties of trying to make friends while feeling a bit awkward themselves. It would be easy to come up with a good story craft activity and finger-play or poem for this story.


Middle grade book: The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern


I have had trouble staying awake long enough to read before bedtime this week but the few minutes I can manage to stay awake have been dedicated to reading The Meaning of Maggie. I find it to be heart touching and humorous at the same time. My favorite parts are the footnotes at the bottom on each page. I am doing a lot of laughing while reading. I think you will too.




I saw a tweet Jonathan Auxier sent out about his favorite kid books. I was most impressed that he was man enough to admit Little Women was one of his favorites. Two of his books are on our upcoming #virtualbookclub chats. I have The Night Gardener on my bedside table ready to read. I predict the Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes and Night Gardener chat will be one of our best chats ever.

Here's a list of all the titles: http://t.co/FOAVNlaE7X @JuleeMurphy @abramskids
— Jonathan Auxier (@JonathanAuxier) May 22, 2014

Jonathan Auxier's favorite children's books shared on his Children's Book Week Champion video:
http://www.thescop.com/2014/05/a-childrens-book-week-challenge/