It's Monday! What are you reading?

I was invited to visit with Mr. Vasek's second grade class (virtually, of course) last week.  Mr. Vasek asked for a read-aloud, and I gave the students two choices:  Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott (to tie into the beautiful full Flower Moon) or Lemony Snicket's The Dark.  The students voted for the latter.

I first reviewed The Dark back in April 2013.  At that time, it coincided with an adult book about a spiritual journey.  This time, I thought it might just relate to any fears the children might be having during this shelter-in-place.  The students enjoyed the story, but I don't think the lesson translated well via a virtual meeting.  The wisdom I glean from The Dark is about naming and confronting your fears, then realizing the value in them; my favorite line in this book is "...without the dark, everything would be light, and you would never know if you needed a lightbulb."  You don't have to took far these days to find an article about how life during COVID-19 is making us recognize what we really need and treasure.

I'm still working on The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and should be finishing that up in a couple of days.  I think Nightbooks by J.A. White will be my next kidlit read.

It's Monday--what are you reading now, and what will you read when you're done with it?