#IMWAYR - May 2, 2016

A huge thanks to Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers for hosting us for the kidlit version of #IMWAYR!!

Dumplin'

I was recently listening to a podcast Penny Kittle did with Donalyn Miller. I love to hear Donalyn talk about books she loves, so when Penny asked in this podcast what Donalyn has read and would recommend, she immediately shared about Dumplin', a book by Julie Murphy.

Donalyn shared many reasons to read this book in the podcast - Texas beauty pageants, friendship, can the big girl get the cute guy, tiaras, quirky characters, just to name a few. She was spot on. It was a delightful romp - at times funny, at times poignant, at times infuriating. But at the center of it all was Willowdean, known as Dumplin' to her mom, a former beauty pageant winner.

I took a personal day this past Thursday, so knowing that I could sleep in a bit more than usual, I went to the library to pick up the copy of Dumplin' I had reserved Wednesday night, I began it after dinner, and I didn't put it down until about 1:30 AM when I finished it. What a lovely evening that was!


Audacity Jones to the Rescue

I love Kirby Larson's writing, and her fascination with embedding history in what she writes. The period she focuses on in this book is when President Taft lived in the White House.

I like the character of Audacity because she is spunky, willing to take on challenges, and has a never give up attitude, which must be difficult at times because she is an orphan.

Part of this reminded me of a female version of The False Prince - an orphan taken to help a bad person trick others for their own personal gain. And like Sage in The False Prince, once the plot is discovered, Audacity does her best (with the help of some friends) to rectify the situation.

This was a fun, fast-paced read, and the last line leads me to believe there will be more fun from Audacity in the future!



Have a Look, Says Book

This fun picture book written by Richard Jackson and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes is a playful look at how a read aloud time with a dad and his daughter leads into a journey inside a book. Great describing adjectives accompany each sentence.

What a fun way to play with words and adjectives as the dad/daughter pair make their way through the book. A wonderful opportunity to enrich vocabulary with children and appeal to their tactile sense.