It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.
The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.
Happy reading!
Tuesday: Lettuce Get in Trouble by Linda Kuo, illustrated by Mariana Rio
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
- Tricked, Switched, & Wished (Fairy Tale Reform School #3, 4, & 5) by Jen Calonita: Still really enjoying this fractured fairy tale series. Fans of Whatever After and Land of Stories are going to love it–make sure you grab it for your fairy tale fans! I’m excited to get to the finale.
- Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind (Gamer Squad #2) by Kim Harrington: Trent and I are listening to this series, and I really liked the first one, but I loved the second one. Smart how Harrington twisted up the storyline, and now that we know the characters, we are even more invested. Onto the last one!
- The Cobalt Prince, The Red Maze, and The Amber Anthem (5 Worlds #2, 3, & 4) by Mark Siegel & Alexis Seigel, illustrated by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, & Boya Sun: I am so glad that Trent talked me into rereading the first three books in this series and finishing up the whole thing. It is so epic! If you do not have this series yet for your graphic novel and fantasy fans, I highly recommend it!
I also went on a picture book read streak, so I have quite a few to share!
- My Pet Feet by Josh Funk, illustrated by Billy Yong: Josh Funk is just so darn clever, and this picture book is unlike any by him or anyone else. I love it so much, and I cannot wait for everyone to have fun with this book!
- There’s a Unicorn in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Greg Abbott: We have other books in this series, so Trent was so excited to see this new one. Fletcher and Abbott do a good job at keeping the series similar yet adding in little twists to make each book unique.
- Only One by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Chuck Groenink: A beautiful message about our beautiful Earth. (Ricki’s review)
- The Path by Bob Staake: This book is lyrically beautiful, the illustrations are so calm yet expressive, and it is in 2nd person! It also is a wonderful introduction to to extended metaphors (path = life).
- Just Like Jesse Owen by Andrew Young & Paula Young Shelton, illustrated by Gordon C. James: I loved this transfer of oral history from father to daughter to us. It is meant to be read out loud and Gordon C. James brought the history to life through his (as always) brilliancy.
- I’m Growing Great by Mechal Renee Roe: Illustrations 5 stars! I LOVE THEM! The text was so positive though it just didn’t flow as well as I’d like, and I was annoyed by the lower case “i” throughout. It will definitely will be as popular as Happy Hair and Cool Cuts.
- Blast Off: How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America into Space by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Sally W. Comport: It makes me both sad and excited when I learn about a new marginalized person from history that changed our world yet has not had the opportunity to be known. Mary Sherman was the first female rocket scientist and changed the history of her profession. I am so glad I got to learn about her in this beautiful book.
- Build! by Red Nose Studio: Oh man, construction loving young kids are going to LOVE this book! And the found object illustrations are so great!
- Once Upon a Forest by Pam Fong: I can see why Ricki had to review this book. This wordless picture book is so cute, uses color so purposefully, and has a wonderful message. (Ricki’s review)
- Sunflower Sisters by Monika Singh Gangotra, illustrated by Michaela Dias-Hayes: What beautiful illustrations and message!
- Time Capsule by Lauren Redniss: Great back matter to add onto the sparse text around a time capsule. Use as a read aloud and guide to making a time capsule!
- A Blue Kind of Day by Rachel Tomlinson, illustrated by Tori-Jay Mordey: This book 💙 I was a child with depression (and now an adult with depression), and this book is something I wish had existed so many years ago because I would have found myself in it. I think this book is going to change lives.
- Not Enough Lollipops by Megan Maynor, illustrated Micah Player: A great lesson in cooperation and generosity using items that students will understand.
- Darryl’s Dream by Darryl DMC McDaniels, illustrated by Tristan Tait: I loved reading DMC’s story. It is about passion and following what you love to succeed. And it is told in a fun way with colorful illustrations that fit the book perfectly!
- Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, illustrated Daniel Minter: What. A. Beautiful. Book! I didn’t know I needed a history of a color, but I am so glad it exists! And the back matter is just an awesome addition.
- How to Hear the Universe: Gaby González and the Search for Einstein’s Ripples in Space-Time by Patricia Valdez, illustrated by Sara Palacios: The math and science within this book is so deep; however, I loved learning about the connection between Einstein and González and modern technology. Another amazing female scientist that hopefully more people will know about now!
- People are Wild by Margaux Meganck: I am a huge fan of this twist on perspective. Great mentor text to talk about point of view and perspective.
- More Than Peach by Bellen Woodard, illustrated by Fanny Liem: I loved learning about the first Crayon activist!
- Where’s My Cat? by Seymour Chwast: This book seems simple, but it is so much more than meets the eye, specifically if used in an art class. And it is silly—kids will love it!
- I’d Like to Be the Window for a Wise Old Dog by Philip C. Stead: I’m a fan of this Stead book! It’ll be an amazing mentor text to imitate the poetic style and also to get students thinking creatively. And always with beautiful illustrations.
- With Lots of Love by Jenny Torres Sanchez, illustrated by Andres Ceolin: What a beautiful story about a love between a granddaughter and her grandmother! Readers will also connect with Rocio’s moving and finding home.
- This is the Tree We Planted by Kate McMullan, illustrated by Alison Friend: Play on The House That Jack Built & would be a good mentor text for students to make their own. I do wish there had been back matter to take it all to the next level.
- My Shadow is Purple by Scott Stuart: Yes! Challenge those gender roles/norms/stereotypes!!!! I love this book for now!
- Elefantastic!: A Story of Magic in 5 Acts: Light Verse on a Heavy Subject by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Brett Helquist: I love Jane Yolen’s writing, and this one has great word play that I can admire; however, I am very anti adopting wild animals and although this book ends with the elephant going to a sanctuary, I think it misses the mark of what it could be when it comes to a lesson about wild animals and sanctuaries and habitats. There just needed to be more.
To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
These three recent/upcoming releases are all fantastic.
Sabina Hahn’s Pineapple Princess is about a girl who demands to be princess over her kingdom. She makes a pineapple hat, but her subjects (the flies) are NOT cooperating or listening to her.
School Is Wherever I Am by Ellie Peterson reinforces the important message that school is everywhere—not just inside a building with “school” on the sign. I liked this book a lot, and it is a great message to children (and adults!).
Blue Baboon Finds Her Tune is the newest publication by the duo who wrote Snatchabook (Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty). It’s about a baboon who is eager to play with friends, but a monsoon threatens to ruin her fun. There are great rhymes in this book, and it is a great read aloud!
Kellee
- Reading: Drifters by Kevin Emerson & 5 Worlds: The Emerald Gate by Mark Siegel & Alexis Seigel
- Listening to: Cursed by Jen Calonita & (with Trent) Gamer Squad: App of the Living Dead by Kim Harrington
Ricki
I am almost done listening to All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir.
I have 50 pages left of Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall. I can’t bring myself to finish it because then it will be over. So it travels with me around the house, and I read a couple of pages at a time. Does anyone else do this with books that are really, really good?
Tuesday: All the Places we Call Home by Patrice Gopo, Illustrated by Jenin Mohammed
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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Wow, lots to love here from both of you. Have another good week!
Kellee, you have been blasting through books—I absolutely love it! I just pulled up my library catalog and requested A Blue Kind of Day—there’s so little representation of kids with mental health conditions that I think people forget kids even have them (and I know from personal experience with OCD that they do!), so I would love to see this one bringing representation to so many kids, like you mention. And I’ve made note of several others—Blue, Sunflower Sisters, Blast Off, and Once Upon a Forest! (Actually, I just requested Once Upon a Forest—I’m scared of how many requests I’ll have by the end of reading posts!)
Ricki, all the books you’ve been reading look amazing too—I made note of Pineapple Princess and School Is Wherever I Am! Thank you both so much for the great post!