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: The Blue Giant by Katie Cottle
Sunday: Student Voices: A Posivite Among Negatives: Pollution during COVID-19 by Zack L., 8th Grade
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
- Go with the Flow by Lily Williams & Karen Schneeman: A book about periods. And man, do I wish I had this book when I was a preteen/teen. The stigma around periods is just so ridiculous, and this book will help stop that.
- Being Toffee by Sarah Crossan: “After running away from an abusive home, Allison finds herself taking shelter in a shed behind an abandoned house. But the house isn’t empty after all; an elderly woman named Marla, who suffers from dementia, lives there. And rather than turn her away, Marla welcomes her – she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past named Toffee.”
- Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank “Big Black” Smith with Jared Renmuth, illustrated by Améziane: This mature teen/adult graphic novel is about 4 days at Attica prison when the prisoners rebelled in hopes of more humane conditions but instead found themselves massacred.
- Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Gurihiru: When the Lee family moves to downtown Metropolis from Chinatown, the KKK targets them. But with the help of their two teens and Superman, the Klan has no chance. Takes place in the 1940s. (I wish we had Superman around right now…)
- The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp, illustrated by Manuel Preitano: “After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed, Barbara Gordon enters the Arkham Center for Independence, where Gotham’s teens undergo physical and mental rehabilitation. Now using a wheelchair, Barbara must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Within these walls, strange sounds escape at night; patients go missing; and Barbara begins to put together pieces of what she believes to be a larger puzzle.”
- This was our Pact by Ryan Andrews: A friend of mine told me this was a must read when it first came out, and I am so happy that I finally got around to reading it. It was like a Miyazaki movie but in graphic novel format. It was adventurous and magical and a bit ridiculous but wonderful.
- Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick: “Things never seem to go as easily for thirteen-year-old Frankie as they do for her twin sister, Tess. Unlike Tess, Frankie is neurodiverse. In her case, that means she can’t stand to be touched, loud noises bother her, she’s easily distracted, she hates changes in her routine, and she has to go see a therapist while other kids get to hang out at the beach. It also means Frankie has trouble making friends. She did have one–Colette–but they’re not friends anymore. It’s complicated.”
- For Everyone by Jason Reynolds: A Jason Reynolds poem about dreams. Beautiful.
- All the Way to the Top by Annette Bay Pimental with Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, illustrated by Nabigal-Nayagam Haider Ali: “Jennifer Keelan was determined to make a change—even if she was just a kid. She never thought her wheelchair could slow her down, but the way the world around her was built made it hard to do even simple things. Like going to school, or eating lunch in the cafeteria. Jennifer knew that everyone deserves a voice! Then the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that would make public spaces much more accessible to people with disabilities, was proposed to Congress. And to make sure it passed, Jennifer went to the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC to convince them.”
- With Trent:
- Lyric picture books: With the edition of the LyricPop picture books in our home library, Trent found something he truly loves! They all have been read over and over. I also had three Bob Dylan lyric picture books, so I got those out also. These combine two of his favorite things: books and music.
- Here are the other picture books we read (I always want to pick favorites and only share those, but we are on a roll of really great picture books!):
- Our House is on Fire: Greta Thurnberg’s Call to Save the Planet by Jeanette Winter: An introduction to Greta Thurnberg and her passion for our environment. A call to action.
- Double Bass Blues by Andrea J. Loney, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez: Onomatopoeias and illustrations tell this story, but the message is clear: if you know your passion, your path is clear. And the acrylic painted illustrations are beautiful.
- Nya’s Long Walk to Water: A Step at a Time by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Brian Pinkney: A beautiful companion to A Long Walk to Water.
- Going Down Home with Daddy by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Daniel Minter: Such a wonderful story of family and finding your voice.
- The Space Walk by Brian Biggs: Trent loves Tinyville Town, so when he saw this one at the library he grabbed it. A fun story about what may actually be out there.
- Night Out by Daniel Miyares: A beautiful nearly wordless picture book about loneliness and adventure. The first spread made Trent and I so sad, but it got better!
- Just in Case You Want to Fly by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Christian Robinson: Christian Robinson has a fan–Trent sees his books and wants to read them! This was a nice message book about not giving up.
- I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown with Jason “Rachel” Brown, illustrated by Anoosha Syed: No matter who we are, how we look, how we identify, who we love, etc., we are perfectly designed. What a beautiful lesson to teach children.
- Cece Loves Science by Kimberly Derting and Shelli R. Johannes, illustrated by Vashti Harrison: Scientific inquiry around a truly fun character. I hope there more stories about Cece.
- When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita: “When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. His parents gave him a pretty name, his room looked like a girl’s room, and he wore clothes that other girls liked wearing. After he realized he was a trans boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of life that didn’t fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life. ” And now his parents are pregnant again and he is trying to do everything he can to make sure his new sibling will have a wonderful life, but he is so afraid to mess up, but we see that the most important thing about family is to love no matter what.
- The Bear At Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach: Read by Michelle and Barack Obama on PBS Kids. I love this story about point of view and unreliable narrators.
- Giraffe Problems by Jory John, illustrated by Lane Smith: Read by Michelle Obama on PBS Kids. A funny story looking at embracing yourslef for who you are.
- Hair Love by Matthew Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison: We now see what all the hype is about. And we watched the short too. Beautiful.
To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
This week, we read every Pigeon book in the series, including The Duckling Gets a Cookie by Mo Willems. My 3yo loves the Pigeon books (as do the other kids). We read them again and again, and we watch YouTube readings for the ones we don’t own that have long holds at the library.
The newest book in the series by Jory John and Pete Oswald explores what it means to be cool. My kids loved The Cool Bean, and it offers great fodder for conversations in the classroom.
We found a copy of Mo Willems’ The Story of Diva and Flea. This is a chapter book with pictures, and the kids had me read the entire book in one sitting. It’s set in Paris and explores aspects like setting and facing fears.
The kids enjoyed this early reader Babe Ruth Saves Baseball. It offered a lot of great information about Babe.
We loved reading Who Is Malala Yousafzai? It prompted some great family conversations. I recommend this one highly.
A Squiggly Story is a charming book that inspires creativity.
Who doesn’t love to count chickens? Chicken Break: A Counting Book by Cate Berry is quite charming.
My kids talk about Amelia Earhart almost daily. They enjoyed reading this board book to their baby brother.
Kellee
- Reading: Light it Up by Kekla Magoon
- Reading: The Runaway Princess by Johan Troïanowski
- Reading with Trent for one of his book clubs: Ada Twist and the Perilous Pants by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts
- Reading with Trent for one of his book clubs: The Magnificent Makers #1: How to Test a Friendship by Theanne Griffith, illustrated by Reggie Brown
Ricki
The Magnificent Makers #1: How to Test a Friendship by Theanne Griffith is fantastic. We are reading it for the same book club as Kellee and Trent, and we love it.
I have about four chapters left in Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.
I am rereading (listening to) The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. It is just as powerful as the last time I read it.
Tuesday: Osmo’s Genius Start Kit: Math, Spelling, Problem Solving, Creativity, and More!
Thursday: This Is My America by Kim Johnson
Sunday: Student Voices: Teen Experienes During Quarantine by Monika A., 8th Grade
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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So many great books here! This Was Our Pact is one of those books I’m pretty sure is going to be amazing (based on everything I’ve heard), but just haven’t gotten to yet. I really have to move it up on my list.
Hi ladies!
Glad you liked Magnificent Makers – it’s a new series I found this summer too.
Kellee – I can’t keep up with your reading! You’re putting me to shame! Where are you getting all of your books? Our libraries are open for holds only, and they haven’t ordered books since March, so I’m just about out of what I have left to read!
Ricki – so glad I preordered the copy of This is My America. It sounds like another one that will shed some perspective for me.
Kellee~ I can’t wait to read This was our Pact. And I adored the depth of Tornado Brain! So wonderful!
Ricki~ I’m glad to learn about Who Is Malala Yousafzai? I have her novel, but it will be great to talk about her with the younger children.