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.
CONGRATULATIONS
Vi for winning our Two Truths and a Lie Giveaway!
&
Danielle for winning our Children of Exile Giveaway!
Well, our last posts posted.
Wednesday: If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur by Amy Newbold
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
Hello, friends! So nice to be back after a couple weeks off!
The novels I read were:
- This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills: I am so glad that Katie at Macmillan shared Emma Mills with me. Her books are such pleasurable reads that are written so well and are deep yet fun.
- Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen: I know this may be sacrilegious, but I may like Nielsen’s historical fiction even more than her fantasy. Resistance is action packed, emotional, and fact filled.
- Internment by Samira Ahmed: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Scary in the ways that is too full of a possible future. Whoa.
- Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills: Emma Mills does it again! If you haven’t read any of her novels, get started then read this one when it comes out!
- Odd One Out by Nic Stone: I am so glad that Nic Stone wrote this story for herself because she is not the only one out there that needs the story. A look at identity and friendship and family.
- #murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil: Another book that is futuristic but with our current state of things seems too close to reality mostly with reality shows and social media becoming so front and center to our lives.
- Searching for Lottie by Susan Ross: I am a fan of Susan Ross’s books. They are always a great middle grade introduction to some really tough subjects done in a gentle way yet without holding back anything. I also love that family is front and center in her stories.
- Beep and Bob: Too Much Space by Jonathan Roth: A chapter book that Trent and I read (my astronaut loving kiddo loved them!), and I will review them on here soon.
- Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro: Review coming closer to the publication date. Another great dark fantasy from Gregory Funaro.
The graphic novels I read were:
- Time Museum 2 by Matthew Loux: Have you read the first Time Museum graphic novel yet? If not, pick it up and then pick this one up because they are both so adventurous and funny!
- Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson: I can see why so many of my students love this story–it truly looks at what it means to be a middle schooler and struggling with finding your place.
- Edison Beaker, Creature Seeker: The Night Door by Frank Cammuso: A funny and smart introduction to a new middle grade graphic novel series!
- Monster Mayhem by Christopher Eliopoulos: I love Zoe. She is one of the smartest characters I have ever encountered in a book and the empathy she grows through the help of her robot and monster friends!
- Nico Bravo and the Hound of Hades by Mike Cavallaro: Mythology and graphic novel fans have a new series that they are going to love!
- The Singing Rock & Other Brand-New Fairy Tales by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer: I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings, and these new fairy tales are right on point.
- Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton: Yay Narwhal!!! I love these stories, and Otter adds a lovely new character!
The picture books I read were:
- The Lost Picnic by B.B. Cronin: A fun seek and find book!
- Cheerful Chick by Martha Brockenbrough: Chick is so cute! And a great message for the readers!
- Felipe and Claudette by Mark Teague: I love Mark Teague’s illustrations, and this story was so cute (I love Claudette!), and the ending was so heart warming!
- Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog by Lisa Papp: I loved the volunteering and literacy-loving aspect of this story!
- Cicada by Shaun Tan: Wow, Shaun Tan! He is so existential. And his illustrations are genius.
- Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman: A lovely story of Carl finding his identity.
- Maybe Tomorrow? by Charlotte Agell: Sometimes it is okay to not be dragging around all of the tough stuff in life and enjoy life instead.
- Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesday by Jon Stahl: But what do they eat on Wednesday? Read to find out and be ready to laugh!
- Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel: From love and joy to resistance and strength–all the reasons to put your hands up.
- I Need a Hug by Aaron Blabey: I love Blabey’s illustrations! They really add such humor to this story about finding someone to accept you.
- There’s a Hole in the Log in the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long: I love this song, and I am happy to have a fun book to read while singing it (and it has a twist ending!).
- Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayre: A look at all of what makes our amazing planet that we need to take better care of. Read for the message and view for the beautiful photographs.
- The Runaway Beignet by Connie Collins Morgan: A present from my Louisiana-based parents along with making beignets with Trent–yum! And a fun story that is retelling of the runaway gingerbread man.
Ricki
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes is incredibly powerful. I sobbed through the entire book.
Why, oh why, did it take me so long to read Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough? I read 3/4 of the book last semester and had to pause to finish some work. My pause is not representative of how incredibly amazing this book is.
- There’s a Hole in the Log in the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long: I never logged this one a couple of weeks ago, but I noticed it above in Kellee’s list. I love this book and read it often. It has such a great rhythm to it and is quite fun to read aloud.
- Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman: I also didn’t log this one! Deborah Freedman is a genius. She always impresses me. This book teaches about nature while also exploring identity.
- Here, George!, But Not the Armadillo, and Hey, Wake Up! by Sandra Boynton: I think I’ve read almost every Sandra Boynton book out there, but I read these three for the first time this weekend. My younger son loves everything she writes. He gets really excited when he finds her section of the bookstore. Here, George! was my favorite of the three. It describes what George, the dog, does when no one is home (spoiler: he dances!).
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm and The Wheels on the Bus by Nosy Crow: I got these two books for my younger son for the holidays. He absolutely loves this series. The sliders are really fun to push, and it adds a new twist to lift-the-flap books. They are very well-made.
- The Hat by Jan Brett: The illustrations of this book really shined.
Kellee
- Starting: Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes
- Listening: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (Yay! Hopefully I can finish it before the loan expires this time!!!)
Ricki
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka is next on my list! I saw it on a few Mock Printz lists, and I need to get to it NOW!
Tuesday: Kellee’s Five Star Reads of 2018
Wednesday: Ricki’s Favorite Reads of 2018
Thursday: Final Update of #MustReadin2018
Friday: #MustReadin2019
Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Curiousity, Ignorance, and the Big What If?” by Jeanne Moran, Author of The Path Divided
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!
and
Kellee~ I have Resistance on my #MustReadin2019 list and I’m very excited about it! And I agree on Odd One Out being important for some who will really need to see themselves in these characters. It has to be confusing to question your preferences at that age. I cannot wait to read Thank You, Earth after hearing so many great things! I really got into Property of the Rebel Librarian, so I hope you enjoy it!
Ricki~ Blood Water Paint was so gorgeous, even if it was difficult to stomach portions of it. I’m very glad I read that one! I’m starting on Hey, Kiddo this week, too. When my ILL came in, another librarian got her hands on it first. She seemed a bit sad when I came to pick it up barely a half hour after she emailed to tell me it had arrived. She said she’d started reading it and that it looked SO good. So I may have to pass it off to her before we send it back to its home library. LOL
I am so glad to hear that you liked BWP, too! I laughed about your story about the librarian. It sounds like she should definitely get it next. 🙂
There are so many great books on both your lists! The Time Museum is a graphic novel I haven’t read and forgot all about. It sounds like one that would be a great addition to my collection.
I keep forgetting I have Invisible Emmie because it is NEVER on the shelf! Students return it and have a friend who wants to check it out, so it’s never in the library. Maybe I need additional copies of both books.
So many wonderful books on the list! I did love Resistance very much and yes, time to read Hey! Kiddo! Have a great week!
I am looking forward to reading it!
I enjoyed Property of the Rebel Librarian; it’ll inspire a great list of books to read! Hope you enjoy it, too! Have a great week!
Wow! What amazing lists of books!
I am hoping to get to Odd One Out next week. I bawled my eyes out through Ghost Boys too. I have not yet read Hey, Kiddo, but based on all the positive reviews, purchased a copy for my daughter in law as a Christmas gift. (She loved it)
Thanks for the heads up about Emma Mills. I just put a hold on First & Then because it sounds like a perfect book to combat the darkness of January.
Hey, Kiddo is getting such rave reviews from everyone!
I loved Odd One Out so much. I thought it was an even stronger showing than Dear Martin even though I loved Dear Martin.
And OMG, Blood Water Paint is such a timely book despite the fact that it takes place in the 17th century.
YES. YES to all of this.
Oh em gee. So many new-to-me book covers here! I am dying to get my hands on Cicada – but that will have to wait til 2020, as we have a #WomenReadWomen2019 reading theme this year. 🙂