Whatcha Readin' Wednesday

I had the delight to receive and read an Advance Reading Copy of Weekends With Max and His Dad by Linda Urban this week! It is what I call an "early chapter book," recommended for ages 6-9. The story dives right into Max staying with his dad in his dad's new apartment. The focus of the book is not on Max's feelings about his parents' recent separation or the issue of his dad's new home, but simply what happens in the weekends Max spends with his dad. In the first weekend, Max and his dad are spies figuring out what's going on in the neighborhood. Only when testing out whether a stuffed walrus can keep secrets does Max tell his dad the secret that he doesn't like football curtains and helmet lamps, like the ones his dad picked out for Max's bedroom. Dad smiles at this secret and makes sure there is nothing else that Max, aka Agent Cheese, needs to relay to him. In realistic moments like these, we see the close relationship between Max and his dad. There are a few bumps along the way, but after a few weekends with Dad, Max begins to see the apartment as his home too.

This book will be published on April 5, 2016, with another one in the series coming in Spring of 2017. I can't wait to share this title with my students!