What's Coming in April?

 April showers bring May flowers, right? I do hope we get a bit more rain than we have during the last months. Right now, we're a bit behind on the rainfall, and as a farmer, that does not make me smile. But I'm keeping a positive attitude and have no doubt that those flowers will be blooming and basking in rain and sunshine this month. A bit like my reading pile...

This month, I'm looking at about half of the reads hitting the picture book area, which is wonderful since that makes the longer middle grade and young adult reads a little more spaced out (for me). Middle Grade appears to be all over the place on the genres, hitting contemporary to scifi to fantasy to nonfiction. As for young adults, these appear to be heading in a more serious direction this month with a little fantasy thrown in, at times. As for the picture books...well, that's always a smorgasbord of  surprises. Here's a peek at what I'll be hitting this month.

WOULD YOU DARE PUT A DIAPER ON A BEAR?

The second I saw this one, a smile popped up on my face. I can see kids getting a kick out of diaper-meets-animal imagination. It should be light-hearted and simply fun, which is a good mix when done right. Be ready to smile with me as I start the month out with this read

Picture Book

NO ESCAPE

I do enjoy snuggling up with a thrilling tale and get the adrenaline going. While it's my first time reading one of this author's works, I have heard great things about another one, Escape Room. I just never had a chance to pick it up. So, I'm excited to dive into this one on the 3rd, especially since it circles around a similar theme.

Young Adult Thriller

THE MINOR MIRACLE

Play that Mission Impossible theme because today's read should head in a undercover direction...sort of. Superpowers hit a 7th grade boy and he's hired by the CIA to join a special unit and hunt down a dangerous criminal. Somehow, his trombone playing friend and 'perfect' everything friend get involved, too. This could go anywhere, exciting as well as humorous directions. I'm just not sure which yet.

We're going undercover to see what the truth is about this one on the 6th.

Middle Grade Superhero...spy?

TUGGOAT

I'll admit that I don't really know anything about this book, yet, but I found the idea of a goat...maybe, pulling a boat?...interesting. Can a goat pull a boat? I do wonder what it will tug and am excited to see where this tale heads. Find out with me on the 9th.

Picture Book

TO LOOK UPON THE SUN

Ready for a little history? This read heads back to pre-WWII and takes a look at a 17-year-old, pregnant girl, who is taken into a camp to help strengthen the Aryan race...except the Nazis don't realize that the child inside her springs from a Jewish lineage. I'm hoping this one stays in the YA range and think it will, since it circles around her determination to handle the problems inside the camp and keep her secret hidden. Find out more with me on the 12th.

Young Adult Historical

NIGHT BLOOMING JASMINE

A gentle read to lead into the night and invite to dreams and more...at least, that's what I hope this book will be. I believe this one takes a peek at those flowers, which bloom during the cooler hours, which separate day from night. Plus, isn't that snuggly cat cute? I'm going to yawn and snuggle into this read on the 16th.

Picture Book

NOT IF YOU BREAK UP WITH ME FIRST

I did a double-take when first reading this title and bet it will be a humorous read. Of course, it's a romance and will probably hold all sorts of warming moments and butterfly-stomach-emotional-zings...for middle grade. Yep, that's right. It's a middle grade romance...and that isn't something I see everyday in the realm of middle grade genres. So, I'm curious to see what this one holds on the 19th. 

Middle Grade Romance

THE HAUNTING OF LAKE LUCY

While I'm always game for a good ghost story and a bit of mystery, this one caught my attention because it's also written in verse. Not that I'm a huge fan of this writing style, but it can be potent when done well. Still, I can't remember running across a haunting, horror story for this audience level written like this. So, I'm curious. See how this works out with me on the 21st.

Middle Grade Horror

SNOOPY'S BEAGLE SCOUT TALES

Obviously, I'm hitting this read with very high expectations. Snoopy and friends have been around much too long, are much too loved, and much too 'classic' not to generate a whole different level of thoughts on the reviewer end when diving into these types of books. While part of me knows Snoopy is awesome, another part realizes that these stories may or may not hit modern day audiences in the same way. So, I'll be dragging my kids in to help me with this review and see what their thoughts are, too. And that on the 26th.

Children's Fiction /  Graphic Novel

NOT NOTHING

When I saw the blurb on this one, I had to get my hands on a copy. It surrounds a troubled middle grader, who's had a rough home life and now lives with his aunt, who treats him as if he's nothing. He runs into some trouble at school and is forced to work at a nursing home. There he meets a resident, who is over 100 years old, and they open his eyes with their tales about surviving the holocaust. I'm expecting depth and food for thought to shine through on the 30th.

Middle Grade Contemporary

Each month, I have more books on my pile than there are days to post a review. I always have one or two 'last minute' reads or ones I just couldn't squeeze in yet, which I really hope to somehow get to. Thanks to the wild-ride the literary and publishing world always offer, I can usually find a way to fit in an extra read or two. On the top of my pile for this month is...

STUDENT'S LITERARY TOOLKIT  (WORKBOOK)

This one goes in a slightly different direction than the books I usually present on Bookworm for Kids, but it caught my attention because I homeschool my high school daughter, and we've already gone through The Most Dangerous Game. So, I'm curious to see how this workbook goes through different aspects, and I'll be using, at least, one of these with my own daughter to see how they go. I'm not sure when I'll get to this one, but I'm shooting for the end of April...if that works.

Young Adult Literary Workbook