It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/12/25 – Beagles & Books

#IMWAYR is a community of bloggers who link up to share what they are reading.  Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers and Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give it a #kidlit focus and encourage everyone who participates to visit at least 3 of the other #kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.        

Grateful to Feedspot for recognizing Beagles & Books as one of the Top 100 Children’s Book Blogs.

Spelling it Out by Margaret Finnegan

When sixth grader Ben Bellini places twelfth in the Southern California Regional Spelling Bee, he shouldn’t be upset. He won his class and school competition easily without studying so why would he have done anything differently? Ben was convinced his competitive spelling days were behind him until his.grandmother Nan offered him a unique opportunity-spend the summer in San Francisco with her and be coached by a former Scripps National Spelling Bee winner.  

Convincing his parents took time; however, with the surprisingly help of his sister, Ben got his wish with conditions like don’t go anywhere without Nan, listen to her, and do what she asks. So when Nan sends Ben to the local deli, he goes alone keeping 2/3 of his promise. After waiting for Nan, Ben has to ride the bus alone to the bookshop where the owner Roger Nott will train him. His tardiness did not make a good first impression. Seeking hydration,  Ben visits the public library where he meets Asha Krishnakumar who has not spelled competitively yet has already proclaimed herself as the next Scripps winner. 

I love the way Finnegan chose to have Ben navigate both relationships-one with a peer and one with an adult. He learns to persist from Asha and to walk away from Roger. While the signs were there from the beginning, Ben finally realizes that Nan is suffering from dementia and bravely reaches out to his mom for help. 

Set in 1985 and written as a memoir from Ben’s perspective as an adult, Spelling It Out is a story that will resonate with readers as they witness Ben personally grow over that summer in San Francisco. At first, perfecting his spelling was his main goal. Once Ben understood that Nan was in trouble, he took charge of the situation getting her the support she needed.  Ben learned that while persistence is important, believing in yourself, and having others believe in you is crucial. Take special note of the chapter titles and the afterword. And grateful to Finnegan for adding new words to my repertoire like clodpoll, perambulate, and cacodemonomania. 

Thanks to Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Media for sharing an early copy. Spelling It Out celebrates its book birthday tomorrow on May 13, 2025. 

Kitty Camp by Drew Brockington

An ecstatic young girl wearing a cat t-shirt boards the bus to summer camp and quickly realizes she is headed to the wrong camp. Instead of being upset, the heart eyed girl is elated to be going to Kitty Camp. While there was a lot of yarn at Arts and Crafts, it was used for play not projects. The feline campers would rather nap than hike, have no guilt stealing a tuna sandwich during lunch, and express no interest in the pool.

Kitty Camp is not as fun as one would think until the girl spies cats popping off their own little boxes prompting her to build a superfort of many boxes which the cats quickly gravitate towards. As a result, the cats trust the girl hanging out to read, fish or sing by the campfire. On the bus ride home, five cats are sleeping and purring near or on the girl. On the next day, the girl gets on the bus with a new camper (from Puppy Bus) thinking she is going back to Kitty Camp; however, they did not pay attention to the name-Sloth Bus! A new adventure awaits!

Brockington’s follow up to Puppy Bus is paw-somely perfect. I love how the main character experiences some struggles and then realizes she has to appeal to the cats’ comforts. While her t-shirt and backpack show her love of cats, Brockington’s illustration of the girl’s bedroom solidifies her admiration. Given the ending, I am hopeful that another bus adventure is in the future.

Thanks to Abrams for sharing a copy. Kitty Bus recently published on April 29, 2025.

Odder: An Otter’s Story by Katherine Applegate Illustrated by Charles Santoso.

Adapted from her acclaimed middle grade novel, Applegate collaborates with illustrator Santoso in a picture book format to tell the story of Odder named for her energy and curiosity.. After waves unravel the kelp wrapper that her mother lovingly looped around her, Odder lands on the beach where she is rescued by humans. At the aquarium, they feed and teach her and when Odder is ready, she is released back to the ocean. 

Odder joins a romp of otters who school her in finding mussels and floating together as well as dub her the Queen of Play.  Her new family also warns her to stay safe but Odder dismisses them. As a result of her carefree nature, she suffers a wound courtesy of a shark. Luckily, Odder is rescued again and survives; however, the aquarium is now her permanent home. Once healed, Odder learns she has a new purpose-teaching other rescued otter pups all she knows especially the power of play. 

Applegate’s melodic text and Santoso’s gorgeous artwork will warm both your heart and soul.  The beautiful imagery in Applegate’s words are perfectly complemented by Santoso’s illustrations full of emotion and energy. I love how Odder teaches us we all have talents to share. In the book blurb, readers learn Applegate drew inspiration from two otters cared for by Monterey Bay Aquarium. Included in my review copy was their website where readers can view otters on their live cam.

Thanks to Macmillan for sharing a copy. Odder recently released on April 29, 2025. 

Published by lauramossa

I am an elementary reading specialist in Baltimore County. My goal is to build a community of readers at my school with both teachers and students.
I am also privileged to be a member of #bookexcursion, a group of 12 educators from all across the country who read, share, review, and promote new #kidlit releases.

Beagles and Books was created because in addition to books, I love my sweet beagles. Etta, a rescue from North Carolina joined our family in July 2010 and crossed the Rainbow Bridge in February 2020. Bella, a rescue from South Carolina became part of the family in October 2017.
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