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What Are Mondays Good For, Anyway?
Who likes Mondays? Monday morning means the fun from the weekend is over, and it is time to return to school. Bennie hates Mondays and dreads them each week. This Monday starts off with stinky green socks coming out of his favorite cereal box. At first, Bennie is irritated, but a small smile creeps across his face as he sees the humor in the situation. As his day continues, all the things he thinks he dreads about the day end up offering a glimpse of amusement. Can Mondays actually be good for something?
What are Mondays good for, anyway? by Nicole Frankel is a humorous picture book that teaches children to find the positive in things. Each situation that Bennie encounters could have been a disaster and made him grumpy all day. Instead, he finds something to smile or laugh about with each situation and, by the end of the day, realizes he has actually enjoyed his Monday. This story is a good reminder that just because something unexpected happens, it is not automatically a bad thing. It helps teach children to see things in a different light and look closer at situations. For example, Bennie could have been mad when he fell but instead saw the smile the fallen cereal made. Finding the good in all circumstances is a skill set that children need to learn early in life to help them through the more challenging areas as they grow.
I feel that one of the most important messages in this picture book is that we need to find a reason to laugh every day. Laughter can be healing, and smiling is contagious. What are Mondays good for, anyway? Is a wonderful children’s book with children and adults laughing and relating to little Bennie. The reminder to find joy and laughter in situations will benefit readers, young and old.
Pages: 35 | ASIN : B0BVWL596S
The Decision to Kill
When a crime is committed, numerous questions are asked. But if that crime rips apart the very core of a family, the only question to ask is why? When everything about who you are and who you love is torn apart, what have you got left to stand for? And would you overcome all the pain and sorrow to see justice prevail? Would you fight for your family? Is blood thicker than water? And in the end, could you say that you still love after so long of feeling nothing but hate?
The Decision to Kill: A True Crime Story of a Teenage Killer and the Mother Who Loved Him is brought to us by Leslie Ghiglieri. It is a memoir and true crime book that documents the investigation and murder trial of Dwayne Weir, a 16-year-old boy accused of murdering his father. The author shares all the gruesome details surrounding the case but does so in as respectful a manner as she can. The story is told from the perspective of his mother, Cherie. She talks us through the whole story, their lives, the events leading up to the murder, and what happens after.
The author has included real courtroom accounts and expert testimony on not just the actual murder but the mental state of Dwayne. What I really enjoyed about it was the use of actual letters written by Dwayne. This really gave an insight into his mental state and showed how far he retreated into the dark corners of his mind. But this tale is as much about his mother if anything. Her quest for the truth and her battle to understand is almost too hard to bare. Her struggle to move forward and reconcile her feelings for her son after what he did is heartwrenching. This is a story no mother ever wants to be a part of.
The Decision to Kill is an emotionally charged biography and true crime story. This gripping story will engage readers as they follow the tragedy and follow along as the family searches for the answer to why. A must-read for any fans of true crime.
Pages: 340 | ASIN : B09ZNKF28B
LITERARY TITAN 