It's Still Quarantine? More Books For Survival

     My husband and I were talking about Anne Frank's quarantine situation the other evening. Cramped quarters, the constant fear of discovery, and no Facetime, Zoom, trips to the grocery store––it was a good perspective shift for me. 

   

    I keep reminding myself of all the tenacious people throughout history who rose above difficult circumstances. I want to read about the '"overcomers" and achievers more than ever. So, here's a list of books with historical fiction and biographies included for every age group.  

PICTURE BOOKS

The Meet the Artist series (books on Henri Mattise, Pablo Picasso, Leondard Da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, to name a few). These are some of the COOLEST non-fiction books I've ever read to my kids. 

Each page is unique, featuring flaps, cutouts, and pulls tabs to engage kids of all ages as they read about each artist's life and career. I glean so many good tidbits from each artist's story. Truly, this series is reinventing art history!

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, the dynamic duo. This book has such a sweet message at the end. It's a feel good story that is poetically told. I'm always a big fan of when this author/illustrator come together. 

Song of the River by Joy Cowley. I found this one browsing the online library database and could just tell it was going to be a good one. A beautiful story about how rivers connect to the sea, and how we are all connected to nature.  

A Good Night Walk by Elisha Cooper. This one speaks to me right now as we return to the simple things of life, like greeting the neighbors on the porch, walking the dog (or in our case, saying hi to them. Shout out to Deputy and Jasmine, our local favorites), and the ritual of seeing the same things day in and day out... A sweet bedtime read. 

SPANISH/BILINGUAL BOOKS

El cocodrilo al que no le gustaba el agua by Gemma Merino. I love the surprise ending. My daughter wants to read it over and over and over... that's always a good sign. 

Mi Papá ¡Antes era Genial! by Keith Negley. The colorful illustrations help keep littles engaged, even if Spanish isn't their first language. I love the page where the dad is vacuuming. Talk about the great achievers of life. 

CHAPTER BOOKS/ GRAPHIC NOVELS

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series.  Graphic novels about history? Yes, please!!  These books tell the thrilling stories of America's past, while keeping young readers engaged. 

I read every Dear America, American Girls, and Ann Rinaldi book I could get my hand on as a kid, so it makes me excited to see my son take an interest in historical fiction, too. 

True Tales of Childhood series (Series includes: Kid Authors, Activists, Artists, Scientists, Superstars, etc.). We LOVE this series!! Every great adult starts as a kid, right? These books tell the most entertaining,  interesting, and inspiring of legends from their earliest days. I learn as much as my son when we sit down to read it. Now that he's reading more independently, he keeps trying to read ahead. But I'm into these too, kid! 

The I Survived series (including the sinking of the Titanic, September 11th, and other scary moments in history). We haven't started this series yet but it came recommended to us and I'm ordering a few as I type this. 

BOOKS FOR US 

My husband didn't want to share what he's reading because it was too nerdy and he wants to keep his street cred. But he did tell me to recommend Mike Tyson's Undisputed Truth to you. 

And I'm enjoying Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone , which I picked up because The Nightingale is one of my all-time favorite books ever. They are both great reads about survival in difficult times. 

What about you, what are you digging into these days?