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: 2015 Releases We Meant to Get to But Didn’t
Wednesday: From Kellee’s (Huge) Library Pile Part Nine: More Nonfiction 2015 Titles
Thursday: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Friday: Dewey Bob by Judy Schachner
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Last Week’s Journeys
Kellee: I finished both of the books I planned on reading this week–yay! Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton was everything that Carrie promised me that it would be. It is a story about identity and friendship and differences and prejudice and family and customs and changes. So well done. I also finished Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys which did not disappoint. First, did you know that it was a companion to Between Shades of Gray?!?!?! I didn’t! And I’m not going to give away how they are 🙂 Ruta Sepetys continued doing what she does best–giving voices, faces, and story to history. Trent and I also read Pug in a Truck this week which was the first story in a 5-minute story collection with stories all featuring vehicles. I can see Trent really liking this story in the future because it teaches trucker vocabulary.
Ricki: This week, I finished Rules by Cynthia Lord. This is a wonderful book, and I am so glad so many people still reference it, years after its publication. My son and I also enjoyed Counting Lions: Portraits from the Wild by Katie Cotton. The drawings are stunning! We also enjoyed a few commonly banned books in preparation for my banned books lesson: Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron and In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee: I am SO excited to start Rescued by Eliot Schrefer!!! After Rescued, I have a nonfiction biography anthology about athletes called Kid Athletes by David Stabler to read then Kiki and Jacques by Susan Ross. After those, I think I’ll tackle another book on my #mustread list.
Ricki: I just started Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. It is fabulous. I am really enjoying reading it. After it is finished, I am excited to start The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. I saw it in the library and couldn’t say no!
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Early 2016 Releases we’re excited for
Wednesday: From Kellee’s (Huge) Library Pile Part Ten: 2015 Fiction Titles
Thursday: The House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle
Friday: Bella’s Best of All by Jamie Harper
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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I have yet to read a Ruta Sepetys novel – I feel so behind! Full Cicada Moon sounds gorgeous.
Read Between Shades of Gray. Brilliant. Then Salt to the Sea because the connection is fun. It is also brilliant. Out of the Easy is different and not connected, but also brilliant. Ruta Sepetys is just… brilliant 🙂
Full Cicada Moon was! I am so glad Carrie recommended it to me 🙂
I am SO EXCITED about Salt to the Sea!!!!! And now you say it is a companion novel to Between Shades of Gray – I can’t wait! In fact, you just inspired me – I just used my Amazon gift card from Christmas to pre-order 2 copies – one for me, and one for my 17-year old cousin who loves Sepetys as much as I do 🙂
I like Eliot Schrefer – I read Endangered and now have Threatened on my shelf waiting.
I liked Rules, too, and of course, anything by Maurice Sendak – why on earth would In the Night Kitchen be banned? We had an audio cassette (!) when the kids were little of a bunch of Sendak books – excellent on audio.
Enjoy your books this week –
Sue
Book By Book
It is so good Sue!!! I was so shocked to find the companion aspects that I even stopped reading to email Ricki! So exciting 🙂 I hope you both like it.
Threatened is very, very good, and I am sure Rescued will be too–I’ll let you know 🙂
Night Kitchen was banned because of boy gets naked when he is dreaming. It is an excellent book, but people take it too seriously.
I like that Full Cicada Moon seems to be getting passed along. I enjoyed Counting Lions. I like the diversity of the books you guys are reading!
Thank you, Earl! Diversity in literature is so important 🙂
Salt to the Sea is a companion to Between Shades of Gray? Now I want to read it even more!
I thought Rules was a special book when I first read it, too. I’m glad it’s still perking through readers’ hands and hearts.
Yes! So exciting! 🙂
Kellee: Full Cicada Moon is on my MustReadin2016 list this year. If I didn’t have one of these huge piles of books from the library, I would want to start it right now! I loved Between Shades of Grey and am hoping to get to Salt to the Sea this year some time. (it is also on my mustreadin2016 list)Have you read Dance of the Banished by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch? It’s been winning awards. Here is my review of it. http://dickenslibrary.blogspot.ca/2015/02/dance-of-banished-by-marsha-forchuk.html
I haven’t read any of Eliot Schrefer’s series, but it is on my list!
Rickie: In the Night Kitchen was one of my son’s favorite books when he was a kid. At the age of 33 he still remembers it fondly! The Thing About Jellyfish is sitting on my desk staring at me. There are just so many books to read!
Looking forward to hearing what you think about Full Cicada Moon and Salt to the Sea–both were wonderful! A great reading week 🙂
Eliot Schrefer is a must read. If you don’t get to him this year, add him to #mustreadin2017 🙂
Lots of great books this week!
No! I did not know StoS was a companion novel!! I can’t wait to get to it.
Full Cicada Moon is my January #mustread book. I’ll get to that one soon.
Ricki, can’t wait to hear what you think about Jellyfish!
I didn’t either! I don’t think they are promoting it as one, but it is as much a companion as Revolution/Countdown are.
Looking forward to chatting with you about Full Cicada Moon!
OMG. I didn’t realized Salt to the Sea was a companion to Between Shades of Gray (as you might have noticed, I’m not that far into it).
Everything, Everything is so good! Such a page-turner.
Tweet/text/email me when you get the connection 🙂
You two have read such good stuff this week! Many of my fifth graders read RULES every year for our EMPATHY unit. I love everything Cynthia Lord writes! I haven’t read Full Cicada Moon yet. It’s on my list. Do you know I’ve never read Between Shades of Gray?! Ugh. Now I need to read it before I read Salt to the Sea! And I’m so excited Eliot Schrefer has a new book coming out! Oh my – the 2016 TBR pile is growing!