Growing Bookworms Newsletter: November 16: #PictureBook Reviews, Reading Aloud, and @The_Pigeon

Today, I will be sending out a new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter has refocused recently, and now contains content from my blog focused on growing joyful learners, including bookworms, mathematicians, and learners of all types. The newsletter is sent out every two to three weeks.

Newsletter Update:  In this issue I have four picture book reviews, one post about The Pigeon invading our school's bus loop, and one sneaky parenting tip for getting your child to read aloud more. I also have two posts with links that I shared recently on Twitter and one more in-depth post on recent joy of learning-related articles. I do have more chapter book reviews coming up for next time. 

Reading Update: In the past two weeks I read one middle grade, two young adult, and two adult novels. I read/listened to: 

• Suzanne LaFleur: Beautiful Blue World. Wendy Lamb Books. Middle Grade Fiction. Completed November 2, 2016, print ARC. Review to come.
• Mary Hooper: Poppy in the Field. Bloomsbury. Young Adult. Completed November 12, 2016, on Kindle. While I was glad to see Poppy settled, I found this book a bit of a tough read. It felt at times like the author was more interested in sharing information about nursing during WWI than  in sharing Poppy's story. 
• Rachel Caine: Ink and Bone (The Great Library, Book 1). NAL. Young Adult Fantasy. Completed November 15, 2016, on MP3. This book definitely got into my head, and I look forward to listening to the next book. 
• Tana French: The Tresspasser (Dublin Murder Squad). Viking. Adult Mystery. Completed November 7, 2016, on MP3. Intriguing and deeply characterized (to the point of being occasionally painful), as are all of French's books. I hope she keeps writing. 
• Michael Connelly: The Wrong Side of Goodbye (Harry Bosch). Little, Brown. Adult Mystery. Completed November 11, 2016, on MP3. It's always a pleasure to spend some time with Harry.

I'm reading The Secrets of Hexbridge Castle by Gabrielle Kent and listening to Night School by Lee Child. The books my husband and I have been reading to our daughter in 2016 can be found here. My daughter is currently reading one of the A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy on her own. She's also working on a new story about a princess who happens to share her name. The new picture book that has pleased her the most lately has been The Princess and the Frogs, by Veronica Bartles and Sara Palacios (review to come).  

I'm continuing to share all of my longer reads, as well as highlights from my picture book reads with my daughter, via the #BookADay hashtag on Twitter. Thanks for reading the newsletter, and for growing bookworms. Wishing those of you in the US a Happy Thanksgiving.

© 2016 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.