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
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Last Week’s Journeys
Kellee: I finished Far, Far Away!!! I am excited because I finished it, but also because I ended up really, really liking it. I will be honest and say that because of the unique narrator and the unique story, it takes a while to get into it, but once you do it sucks you in. The last 150 pages just flew by!
After the novel, I had a Leo Lionni readathon. My friend, Amanda, let me raid her picture books, and she had a bunch of Leo Lionni that I had never read: Fish is Fish, Cornelius, Frederick, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, Inch by Inch, and It’s Mine! My favorites are probably Cornelius and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse.
I then moved on to other picture books she let me borrow: Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson, Never Take a Shark to the Dentist by Judi Barrett, Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton, What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? by Steve Jenkins, and First Dog by J. Patrick Lewis. My favorites were definitely Never Take a Shark to the Dentist, Russell the Sheep, and, of course, What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? (because Steve Jenkins is brilliant).
Ricki: This week, I finished a professional development book called Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. I agreed with the idea of cultural literacy but found myself wanting to rip out the pages of several sections. Expect an angry blog post soon. 🙂 I also finished Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory. Wow. This is a powerful book. I am sure several of you have read this already, but if you haven’t I highly, highly recommend it. Henry and I read a few picture books together (and reread a few old ones). We read Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. We also read How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Read? by Jane Yolen. I loved this one and just wish it was longer. This dinosaur series is awesome.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee: I am still waiting on the baby to grace us with his presence. My plan is definitely all going to change if he comes, but right now I plan on starting The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. I also have more of Amanda’s picture books to read, as well as some from Candlewick and Bloomsbury that I want to get to.
Ricki: Next week, I plan to start Threatened by Eliot Schrefer. If you follow this blog, you know that Kellee and I are huge fans of this author! Of course, Henry and I will tackle some new picture books. We plan to go to the library this week. My next professional development book is Lisa Delpit’s Other People’s Children. I am pretty excited about this one. Has anyone read it?
Upcoming Week’s Posts
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 haven’t read any of Leo Lionni’s books, surprisingly, but, I think he’ll be one of my author reading challenges in 2015.Beatrix Potter is one of my authors for this year. Have a great reading week!
I love the hearts icon, Earl! I am going to enjoy diving into Beatrix Potter this year too. 🙂
He’d be a fun one for an author challenge 🙂
Happy reading this week 🙂
Best wishes Kellee! I just finished What To You Do When… too! And Ricki, looking forward to Threatened, loved Endangered. Looks like a good week!
Linda, we will have to compare notes, as always. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Have a great week!
Thank you Linda 🙂
Happy reading this week 🙂
Far, Far Away was definitely an interesting read even though it was quite unsettling. How fun to buzz through a pile of picture books. I have read Other People’s Children and found it helpful. It made me think about some teaching practices in different ways. I want to read it again and I would definitely recommend it.
That is good to know, Crystal. So far, I really enjoy it, but I am only about 15 pages in. 🙂
Very interesting. At THAT point halfway through it really changes the book, and it is almost like it becomes a different book than you were reading before. I ended up liking it, but was also baffled by it…
Yes! Everything shifts so drastically that it feels like a Twilight Zone episode.
GREAT comparison!
Hooray for Leo Lionni love AND How Do Dinosaurs… series celebration… 🙂 Ricki- enjoy Threatened, I just finished it, was lost for a while in the story… Interested in this Cultural Literacy review… read a few things on that in the past year… Teaching in Hong Kong certainly has opened my close-minded eyes where I didn’t know I was missing anything in the first place! Kellee, enjoy the next week, best wishes to you!! 🙂
Debbie, I would love to read more about teaching in Hong Kong. I bet it is fascinating! The Cultural Literacy book came out in the 80s, but I know it is still taught in a lot of doctoral classes because it is relevant. My review is a bit more of a rant.
Leo Lionni and Jane Yolen–both brilliant authors!
Thank you Debbie 🙂
Happy reading this week 🙂
Kellee – you read some great picture books this week! My youngest son used to LOVE Frederick and other Lionni books when he was little – I’d forgotten all about those. I reviewed Russel the Sheep for FamilyFun magazine when it was first released – another great book that I’d forgotten about – my whole family liked that one. Thanks for the reminders of good book memories!
Ah, Ricki, I just love the Beatrix Potter books – who doesn’t? And my son liked the Dinosaur series when he was little – great books.
Enjoy your books this week –
Sue
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The Beatrix Potter books are quite fun. My friend got us a collection of 8-10 of them, so I am savoring them slowly. 🙂
I can see why Leo Lionni would be a hit with kids–his illustrations are fascinating and his stories are entrancing.
I’ll have to look up your Russell the Sheep review. I loved it, and need to put it on my PB want list so I remember to get it at some point.
Happy reading this week 🙂
Kellee – wishing you all the best as the arrival of your little guy comes closer. When my children were little we read Alexander and the Windup Mouse over and over and over again. We bought them each little windup mice that rolled about everywhere. Love Lionni! Can’t wait to read Threatened. I am also a huge fan of Eliot Schrefer!