It's Monday! What are you reading?

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I've had the pleasure of reading four wonderful books this week!

Kate Messner's How to Read a Story, illustrated by Mark Siegel:

This was our first Round Rock ISD Armadillo book to read in our Book Nook this school year.  It's a perfect fit for September, as our littlest students are searching for books they'll enjoy and share with classmates and family members.  My favorite spread is where we are advised to change our voice to suit the characters; I reminded my second graders that this can happen mentally, too, as they venture into their chapter books.

A Child of Books is co-authored and co-illustrated by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston:

I have revisited this story several times since it arrived on my doorstep, finding something new in the illustrations and some nuance I missed during the previous read.  The concise text is a powerful call to feed our imagination and color our world by reading fiction.  Readers who pay attention to the teeny text in the pictures will be introduced to snippets of childhood classics that may spark further reading.

I Am a Story by Dan Yaccarino, chronicles the traditions of storytelling beginning with cave dwellers around a fire:

I've been a fan of Yaccarino's illustrative style since I read his Unlovable and Five Little Pumpkins to my own children.  His newest book is one I would share with students at all levels.  Yaccarino takes us from oral traditions and cave paintings, through hieroglyphics, the printing press, digital reading...and back to storytelling around a campfire.  It's a great way to spark a conversation about our own family stories.

Simon Sinek's latest book, Together is Better:  A Little Book of Inspiration, is a condensed version of his teachings in a picture book format:

Ethan M. Aldridge's illustrations are inked in black with red highlights,  and tell their own story to complement Sinek's text.  I would use this book with children by reading each page, then asking them how it is illustrated in the accompanying picture; the details are just as important as the text.  Adult fans of Sinek will appreciate the afternotes that further explain his message of leadership by service. 

It's been a great week to read picture books; what's on your reading list this week?