IMWAYR – Lunch in a Book Store and New Picture Books

It’s Monday and I’m happy to be participating in a weekly event with a community of bloggers who post reviews of books that they have read the previous week. Check out more IMWAYR posts here: Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers

Earlier this week, my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.  Yesterday, we spent the day in Fort Langley – a lovely little town about 40 minutes drive away from our home in Vancouver.  It’s a delightful place to spend an afternoon mooching around in the bakeries, books stores and gift stores.  My favorite place to visit there is Wendel’s Book Store and Cafe.  Delicious fresh food and a wonderful collection of books, cards and stationary.  It’s always crowded, but while you wait for your food… you can do a little book browsing (and sniffing!)  What fun!  I highly recommend a visit!

Wendel’s Books and Cafe – Fort Langley, BC

We also visited a great local winery called Chaberton Estates.  After some wine tasting, we sat outside in the sunshine and toasted our anniversary with some delicious Sauvignon Blanc.  Yum!

I found my way to the children’s section (in the book store – not the winery!), parked my adult largeness in the smallness of a tiny blue wooden chair with a pile of brand new 2018 picture books. And here they are….

                           The New LiBEARian – Alison Donald

A celebration of libraries and reading – and oh, I love this book!  Adorable picture book about a library where the characters refuse to stay in their books and a librarian who has mysteriously disappeared!   The pictures perfectly capture the magic of libraries and stories and would be great for a library story time or as an anchor for fractured fairy tales.

Dear Girl, – Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Paris Rosenthal

Dear Girl,
This book is for you.
Wonderful, smart, beautiful you.
If you ever need a reminder, just turn to any page in this book and know that you are special and you are loved.
—Amy and Paris

I must admit I got a bit teary when I saw this book, co-written by the late, great Amy Krouse Rosenthal and her daughter, Paris.  Each page of this book is filled with tenderness and goodness. Each page is a celebration of daughters of every kind and an encouragement to young girls to find their own way in discovering what makes them wonderful, smart, and beautiful.  This is a must have book and the perfect birthday or graduation present.  Amy’s gift and legacy lives on.

What Do You Do With A Chance? – Kobi Yamada

Follow-up to the award winning What Do You With A Problem? and What Do You Do With an Idea?, Kobi Yamada has given readers another charming book in the series.  This one is an empowering, inspirational story about not letting fear hold you back and the possibilities that await you if you are brave enough to take a chance.  Another great gift for graduation (How can you tell I have a son who will soon be graduating???)  Lovely pencil and watercolor illustrations.

Lola Dutch – Kenneth and Sarah Jane Wright

Lola Dutch is a spunky, sassy gal bursting with creative ideas, imagination and joy.  I love how passionate Lola is about making everyday things fancy and extravagant.  Delightful book with rhyming text and colorful, playful illustrations.  Perfect to inspire creativity and imagination!  So be like Lola – put that Ipad down and grab some glitter and glue!   This would be a great book to inspire some Maker Space projects!

                                         My Pillow Keeps Moving!  – Laura Gehl

I laughed out loud when I read this adorable book by Laura Gehl.  A lonely man tries to buy a pillow . . . and ends up with a new best friend.  Doggy impersonates everything the lonely man needs–a pillow, a footstool, a jacket. But in the end, just being her sweet self is what the man needs most.  This a perfect book for teaching inferring to your primary students – few words and delightful, story-telling illustrations.  Lots of belly laughs with this one!

                                       The Boy and the Blue Moon – Sara O’Leary

Shhhhhh….. there is magic between these pages.  Start with a little boy and a cat on a nighttime adventure…Sprinkle a little touch of Where the Wild Things Are, Owl Moon, and The Little Prince... weave together some facts about phases of the moon, the solar system and dreams.  Oh… and don’t forget some spectacular illustrations.  What can I say?  Sara O’Leary (A Family is a Family is a Family, This is Sadie) continues to create these whimsical, magical books that beg to be shared.  And this one just might be my favorite.

Marigold and Daisy – Andrea Zuill

Hilarious new sibling book and a great one for helping young children with the sometimes challenging transition of welcoming a new baby into the family.  Easy read-aloud with simple text and a cute twist.

Reading Beauty – Kimberly Long Cockroft

WOW!  So SO LOVE this whimsical, creative twisted fairy tale with its message that even the most reluctant reader can find a book that will capture them!  Friends Ellie and Gabe are imaginative and creative but they do NOT like to read. During Library-time at their school, they hide under a potted plant and chew gum instead of reading.  “Reading is boring,” Ellie tells the librarian Ms. Molly.  But book-loving Ms. Molly is no ordinary librarian and she casts a spell on Ellie, putting her into a “deep read”.  Deeper and deeper Ellie falls under the enchanted spell of books.  How good is this book?  Can you stand it?  This is one of those books that makes me think, “Why didn’t I write this?”

Cheers to great book stores, new picture books and drinking wine in the sunshine!

                                                            Thanks for stopping by!