[Monday Reading] A 2-in-1 Pumphrey Brothers Special

Myra here.

It’s Monday, What are You Reading is a meme hosted by Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers (new host of Monday reading: Kathryn T at Book Date). 

Our July – September 2021 reading theme:

Binge-Read: Book Series Marathon

We are on the look-out for books that fit the following deliberately-nebulous criteria:

1. Books that are part of an ongoing series
2. Themed stories: books that are technically not part of a series, but fit a specific theme – e.g. intergenerational stories, nature-themed stories
3. Short story collections
4. Narratives of a similar genre 
5. Stories written by same author

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The Old Truck [Amazon | Book Depository]

Written and Illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey
Published by Norton Young Readers (2020)
ISBN: 9781324005193 (ISBN10: 132400519X) Literary Award: Ezra Jack Keats Book Award 2021. Borrowed from Overdrive. Book photos taken by me.

The Old Boat [Amazon | Book Depository]

Written and Illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey
Published by Norton Young Readers (2021)
ISBN: 9781324005179 (ISBN10: 1324005173). Borrowed from Overdrive. Book photos taken by me.

Published one year apart, the Pumphrey brothers are definitely on a roll. Told in an almost wordless narrative, these two narratives depict family, the passing of time, generations of love and caring, rootedness, and connections.

I appreciated the subversion of gender roles in both picturebooks – I love the grandma who fishes in The Old Boat and this young lady who drives the truck fearlessly in The Old Truck. 

There is also a vintage type of simplicity in the narratives, a quiet truth, and the full expectation of all hands pitching in to help – no idle hands in these stories. Both are lovely and would generate deeper conversations in the hands of a skilled teacher facilitator.

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#SurvivalStories2021 Update: 73-74 out of target 100