It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/4/18

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Teaching Tuesday: Kellee’s Lunch Book Club

Wednesday: My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing by Nick Ortner and Allison Taylor

Thursday: Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

Friday: Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim

Sunday: Author Guest Post with Teaching Tools!: “Talking to Kids about World War II” by Diane C. Taylor, Author of World War II: From the Rise of the Nazi Party to the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

I wanted to just take a bit to apologize in advanced for the upcoming weeks (through mid-July) where I may or may not be able to post or visit your posts. I’m about to go to the International Competition with my Future Problem Solvers club again followed by some family time, teachers’ guide creation time, ALA Annual, and a conference for Jim. I do hope to keep posting and stopping by your blogs, but I wanted to apologize now just in case 🙂 Now, without further adieu, my last couple of weeks of reading:

  

• The President Has Been Shot by James L. Swanson is the last middle grade/young adult nonfiction book by him (I think?), and just like the others I was fascinated by it! It is sad how little I learned about history while in school; thank goodness for authors and books like this!
• A Possibility of Whales by Karen Rivers is a coming of age story mixed with a look at gender identity, family, friendship, and whales–I look forward to reviewing it soon!
• Illegal by Eoin Colfer is so powerful! It tells the story of Ebo who is a refugee hoping to make his way to Europe and freedom. Told in a then/now format, the story builds in suspense and worry as we learn more about the perilous journey he is on and where he came from.
• HiLo is one of my, and my students, favorite graphic novel series! I didn’t know that book 4 had come out, so when I saw it at the book store, I bought it immediately! And it did not disappoint. If you loved the first ones, this one is a must get.

 

• Sandra Markle continues to write nonfiction that is so important and well done. This one looks at trying to rescued the Southern White Rhino species in Africa while they are being threatened by poachers. It goes into the history behind their poaching, the different species of rhinos, the law surrounding rhinos, and what we can do to help.
• Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers is a picture book that I can’t believe I haven’t read yet. It is a perfect picture book for younger readers to learn about the Statue of Liberty and older students to delve deeper into.
• Meet Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi is a must get for any early elementary teacher! Yasmin has a huge imagination, is a great problem solver, has so much ambition, is creative, and is just someone you’d want your kid to hang out with (or at least be in the same class with!). Yasmin also will fill the role of a window or a mirror! She is Pakistani-American and has a multi-generational family who she lives with. Students will either finally see someone like themselves in an early reader or be exposed to a culture that may be new.
• I was so excited to find Gabi’s If/Then Garden by Caroline Karanja because not only is it a perfect companion to Josh Funk’s How to Code a Sandcastle, it is also another book that is going to inspire young kids, girls especially, into looking at how to code thus expanding interest in STEAM.

    

• I cannot believe that I didn’t know that Square had come out! Triangle is a BIG favorite of ours, so as soon as I found out (2 weeks ago during IMWAYR), I got us a copy of Square. Through a very different story than Triangle, Barnett and Klassen expand the shape universe and introduce us to Circle who is a very special character indeed!
• The rest of these titles are rereads that Trent and I read and listened to in the car using read-along e-books!

 Ricki

You Choose by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart is our family’s favorite book. We read it every night together (all four of us), and we each pick our homes, jobs, foods, etc. It brings so many good laughs. I LOVE this book.

Nocturnals: The Slithery Shakedown by Tracey Hecht is great. My son really enjoyed learning about the nocturnal animals in this fun tale. In fact, he’s currently rereading it in his bed (when he is supposed to be sleeping).

My son has recently gotten very into Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series. Above are five of the eight or so books that we read this week. These ones stand out to me. 🙂 My favorite so far is Can I Play, Too? because it is so funny!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

  

• I know, I know! I can’t believe I haven’t finished it either, but I just have had most of my reading time not at home, so the books I have on my phone have been getting more reading. I will finish Harbor Me this week though!
• Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro is a multi-tiered special novel that I’m surprised isn’t getting more hype! I am glad someone (who were you?!?!) recommended it to me!
• I’m very excited for What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers and illustrated by the same illustrator as Her Right Foot, Shawn Harris, and Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, the companion to Raymie Nightingale!
• I also have a pile of books I brought home from school, a pile of books next to my couch, a pile of books by my computer, and a ton of books on my phone that I want to read 🙂

Ricki

I am listening to (AND LOVING) Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. This book is definitely worth the hype.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: BOOK TRAILER PREMIERE!: Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast: Mission Defrostable by Josh Funk

Wednesday: Startalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson: Young Readers Edition

Thursday:  Nocturnals: The Slithery Shakedown by Tracey Hecht

Friday: Teaching Rescued by Eliot Schrefer in a Middle School Reading Classroom

Sunday:  Author Guest Post with Teaching Tools!: “How can we tell we’re living in a global village?” by Carla Mooney, Author of Globalization: Why We Care About Faraway Events

 So, what are you reading?

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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