It's Monday! What are you reading?

Do you ever want to read just to clear your mind, to escape from the world for a little bit?

I was getting ready for bed last night, and didn't feel like diving back into either of the chapter books I'm still trying to finish.  I picked two picture books to read instead.

The title echoes my feelings about this past break--It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown, by "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz.  My uncle inscribed his gift to me in 1970, the same year it was published.  I was only four at the time, so I'm not sure if I was able to read by myself then.  I laughed as I read it last night, since it opens with Charlie Brown and Linus working on the classic back-to-school essay assignment--answering the question "What did you do this past summer?".  Summer camp didn't go the way Charlie Brown would have liked it to, so he was hesitant to write down the details that Linus was more than ready to pen.  

The second book I chose is one I bought for my own children from a used book store.

The Sea-Breeze Hotel, written by Marcia Vaughan and illustrated by Patricia Mullins, is a beautifully illustrated story about turning a problem into an opportunity.  The Sea-Breeze Hotel is a lovely place to stay--if one can stand the winds that buffet the locale eleven months a year.  Sam decides to take advantage of the wind by building and flying a kite, and soon the near-empty hotel turns into a destination spot for kite fliers of all ages.

I drifted off to dreamland with images of Snoopy and beautiful kites flying in the wind.  What books did you read before going to sleep last night?