It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!
It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!
Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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: Top Ten Books About Friendship
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Last Week’s Journeys
Kellee: Well, when it came to novel reading this week, I didn’t do as well as I would have liked. I did finish Coyote Summer by J.S. Kapchinske, which was a surprisingly good coming-of-age story dealing with grief and identity. I look forward to sharing it. I really struggled with my other novel, though, and I found myself avoiding reading because I didn’t want to read the book. Yesterday, I decided to put it aside, and I picked up a new one. Hopefully it’ll be more successful. I did read two amazing picture books though: The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig and The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock. Both were amazing, and I cannot wait to blog about them for you.
Trent and I had a great picture book week and read some amazing ones!
- Hunwick’s Egg by Mem Fox (This book was recommended to me by Carrie, and though it took me a bit to fall in love with it, in the end I loved it as much as Hunwick loved his egg.)
- Crankenstein by Samantha Berger (SO FUNNY! Some fun stuff to look forward too. I am trying to read as many Dan Santat books that I can :D)
- Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds (Another Dan Santat illustrated book. This one reminded me of Bruce and the other sharks in “Finding Nemo”, and is just as funny.)
- Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard (I really like Jeremy Tankard. This is the second book of his that I’ve read, and it is just as entertaining as the first one we read, Me Hungry! I’m going to have to find more of his books.)
- Baby Animals by Eric Carle (This was Trent’s first book with buttons that make sound, and he really liked the elephant sound.)
- Owl Babies by Martin Waddell (Actually a kind of sad book, but in the end teaches a lesson that is important for children to know.)
- Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (The final “Little” book. I just love the reverse psychology!)
Ricki: I read some great books this week. I just finished Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos. This is such an important book. Roskos does an incredible job capturing the feelings of hopelessness that come with depression. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. I also enjoyed Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, Nuts by Paula Gerritsen, and 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle. All three were wonderful picture books.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee: After hearing Ricki talk about it, I picked up Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets. I do not know much about it, but I trust her judgment. Next to that, I do not know my plans for the week! It is a bit of a stressful one as my husband goes back to work, so this is the first time since Trent was born that we both are working… 🙁
Ricki: Kellee, I am flattered that you trust my opinion! I hope you love it as much as I did. This week, I am continuing to read Reading for their Life: (Re)building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males by Alfred W. Tatum. Henry and I bought several Eric Carle picture books, so I am excited to dive into those. I think my next YA book will be I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora.
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Professional Books
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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Some wonderful books highlighted here! Just visited your review of Herman and Rosie, Kellee. LOVED that title. Thank you for saying that I “recommended” Hunwick’s Egg – my #booklove is a bit huge for this book as you might have noticed! I agree with Ricki that Sad Poets is fantastic. I think you will enjoy it! Glad you loved Stuck Ricki. Another title that is very adored in my classroom. Happy personal and Momma reading this week to you both!
Carrie, I would love for my son to be a student in your classroom. You are a children’s book genius. 🙂
Thank you Ricki – this comment means so much to me, especially today. Couldn’t be with my students – we were out on a rotating strike – would have preferred to be with them sharing reading and books!
Herman and Rosie is a special book. I am so glad that I read it and got to share it. I love the importance of music in it.
And thank YOU for helping me find the special in Hunwick. I just needed a reread, a new lens, and a bit of a push.
And I’m right there with Ricki. I would LOVE to have Trent in your class. Your posts about your classroom always warm my heart both as a mom and a fellow teacher.
Kellee. High, high compliments from both of you. I am very grateful!
Glad you enjoyed Herman and Rosie. Such a lovely, quirky story.
I haven’t read that one, but I want to get a copy of it. The cover is so neat!
What two great adjectives to describe it. It is a special one.
I will have to check out Dr. Bird’s advice for Sad Poets – I have been hearing so many great things about it!
The Eric Carle books are classics 🙂 My sons really liked Brown Bear, Brown Bear because of the repetition – they could “read” it when they were toddlers because they knew how the pattern went!
Enjoy your books this week –
Sue
Follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook
I agree, Sue. The patterns are so helpful to beginning readers. I can’t wait until he is a wee bit older and I can start teaching him to read! We read the Alphabet books, but I am not entirely sure he is absorbing anything. ::wink:: Have a great week!
I love Brown Bear, Brown Bear too. Such a fun book. 🙂
Will have to look for Dr. Byrd’s Advice… It does sound interesting, Ricki. And Kellee, I don’t know of Coyote Summer-will check it out too! Just read Eric Carle’s Rooster’s Off To See The World to my granddaughter who loved it-funny story! Have a good day today!
I haven’t read Rooster’s Off to See the World! The title is so fun! I need to get it! Thank you for sharing about this one!
It is an independently published book, and it deserves to be read by more. A grief-filled coming of age story.
I don’t know that Eric Carle–will have to find it.
Just finished Annika Riz, love that series so far… 🙂 Ricki- hooray for Jeffers books, loved Stuck, other ones are fabulous as well… can’t get enough of him. Kellee – absolutely thrilled you loved The Invisible Boy, so fantastic… Enjoyed Noisy Paint Box as well… It is hard at first to both be working… especially the first few weeks, oh those memories…
Debbie, I am definitely with you. Jeffers is incredible. I would love to meet him. He is so clever and creative. I hope you have a great reading week!
Yes, I am quite anxious about us both working! Luckily my mom is here, and it is only for 9 work days then summer. Then August we have to do this again…. 🙁 but not going to think that far ahead right now!
They are both such great picture books. I am glad I read them all this week since I had a bit of a downer YA week 🙂
And I agree with you all. Jeffers is wonderful. Lost and Found is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year.
One of the very first kidlit classes I took was from the great Floyd Dickman, and he gave me a board book copy of Owl Babies that someone had sent him. I would read it to my children before I would head off to classes; we really wore it out! They were big fans of Eric Carle, too. We have a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in German that we got from a friend.
It is so neat that you have a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in German! It makes me want to find some of my favorite books in different languages. Thanks for sharing this fun tidbit! 🙂
I think Owl Babies will be used to talk to Trent about us going to work or on trips. It really does teach a good lesson.
And Eric Carle is classic–I enjoy everything of his that I encounter.
I tweeted about I Kill the Mockingbird yesterday at work because of the recent controversy about To Kill the Mockingbird. Looks interesting. I should check out Owl Babies since people do love to buy that and I want to see why for myself. Trudy read at our store during Storytime Day and she was just wonderful!
I am a big To Kill a Mockingbird fan, so I am excited (and a bit worried, I suppose) to read this one. I should probably go on twitter more–I would have seen your tweet! I hope you have a great week!
Owl Babies is actually not a very happy book, but I can see why people would like to share it with their kids.
That is so great! I would have loved to hear her read and speak about The Invisible Boy.
I definitely have Dr. Bird’s Advice on my TBR list and your recommendation of it makes me want to read it sooner rather than later. I Kill The Mockingbird is getting some buzz lately. I will have to add it to the list. I am enjoying the long lists of picture books to add to my TBR as well. Have a great reading week!
Andrea, I am glad I inspired you to move it up your pile. I promise it is worth it. I am very excited about I Kill the Mockingbird. The cover just sucks me in. Hope you have a great week, too!
100 pages in, and it is very good. Hope you enjoy it when you get to it as well.
Dr Bird’s Advice is in my pile–looking forward to getting to it in the next couple of weeks, I hope. I bought Invisible Boy on Carrie’s recommendation and loved sharing it with my Children’s Lit class–definitely a book that makes an impact and leads to good discussion. I was fascinated by The Noisy Paintbox. I’ve been meaning to go back and reread some of the Mem Fox titles. I really love Wilfred Gordon etc (can’t remember whole title!). Think I’ll start with Hunwick’s Egg, which I know I’ve read but barely remember!
Elisabeth, be sure to let me know what you think when you finish. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Fascinated is a great way to describe how I felt about The Noisy Paintbox too. I’ve known about Kandinsky, but didn’t know this about him. So wonderful to learn.
And Carrie does know her picture books doesn’t she?! 🙂
I will watch for Coyote Summer. I hadn’t heard of it before. Thanks and I hope you both have great weeks of reading.
Thanks, Crystal! I hope you have a great week, too!
It is an independently published book I believe, but I am so glad that I got to read it!
I loved Dr. Bird’s Advice. Ricki I am glad you liked it and Kellee I hope you like it.
And Kellee – How many days left in the school year till you can be with Trent again?
It was such a great book. I know I really liked a book when I make several phone calls to recommend it to others. 🙂
100 pages in already. Very intriguing. First book I’ve read that really captured and shares how it feels to be depressed and be conscious of it but not be able to change it.
9 days left!!!! My mom is here watching Trent while we’re working, so he is in good hands 🙂
I agree. Roskos does an incredible job. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock also does an excellent job capturing depression.
That is very nice of your mom!!!
I’ll read Peacock next 🙂