It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how 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. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.
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: Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla, Illustrated by Tania de Regil
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
Summer is for reading!!! 📖💙
And since I haven’t posted an IMWAYR in 4 weeks, I have quite a few books to share!
Picture Books/All Ages
- The Quacken by Justin Colón, Illustrated by Pablo Pino: A silly, scary book of fun! It is a good introduction to spooky because it isn’t too scary and is definitely humorous. Kids are going to find this book laugh out loud funny during read alouds! (And make sure to spend time looking at the illustrations during the read aloud because it adds even more to the experience.) It would be even extra awesome to read on a camping trip!
- Somewhere In Between by Laan Cham: Sometimes two people you really love can not agree on something and are too stubborn to listen to each other and are too blinded by ignorance, so some even ground and common sense are needed to help them see the light. In Cham’s book, this is where Pink comes in. She loves Fireball and Snowball and their worlds, as will the reader, but it is Pinkland that saves the day. I loved how the author utilized this fun narrative to lead to conversations about conflict resolution and compromise; it will lead to some wonderful conversations! (IG: @laan.cham)
- Example of the colorful and fun illustrations:
- Example of the colorful and fun illustrations:
- My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition by Hayao Miyazaki: If you are a Totoro fan, then this is for you because it takes the movie stills and turned it into an all-in-one comic. Just as beautiful and wonderful as the movie.
Middle Grade
- The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo: I have been lucky enough to write educator/discussion guides for quite a few of Kate DiCamillo books, and I have loved them all, but The Hotel Balzaar is definitely a favorite. The way that Kate DiCamillo intertwines stories and fits them all into a puzzle was beautiful. I highly recommend this one, and it is going to make an awesome read aloud/class novel!
- Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7 (Raid of No Return), #8 (Lafayette!), #9 (Major Impossible), #10 (Blades of Freedom), and #11 (Cold War Correspondent) by Nathan Hale: One of my first teaching guides was for a bunch of graphic novels published by Abrams, including the Hazardous Tales series, and I have been a HUGE fan ever since I read them then, and I was lucky enough to be asked to continue the guide, so I reread #7-#11 to create the guide. Every time I read a Hazardous Tales book, I am blown away by how Nathan Hale balances the narrative, history, and humor. They are brilliant.
- Alterations by Ray Xu: I reviewed this a couple of weeks ago 🙂
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Peterson: After listening to Stuck by Jennifer Swender with Trent, he wanted to read the book that the main character had read, so we listened to Bridge to Terabithia next so he could experience what Austin did. Trent liked the book, but we both agreed that while it was well written and a good story, it is definitely a story of its time.
- You Are Here: Connecting Flights edited by Ellen Oh and written by Linda Sue Park, Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Traci Chee, Mike Chen, Meredith Ireland, Mike Jung, Minh Le, Ellen Oh, Randy Ribay, Christina Soontornvat, and Susan Tan: This book was not only a great collection of connected short stories that I truly enjoyed listening to, it is a commentary about the racism and bias that southeast Asians face, specifically since COVID.
- Cat’s Cradle #3: Suri’s Dragon by Jo Rioux: Suri’s adventure continues in book 3, and I have to say that this one may be my favorite. We learn more backstory, there is an awesome giant AND dragon, and still all the characters and action that you loved from books 1 & 2.
- Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla: I reviewed this last week 🙂
- Button Pusher by Tyler Page: What took me so long to read this book?!?!?!? What an almost perfect graphic novel. It is a great memoir looking at the middle grade years and the changes in friends, school, and life in general that kids face, AND it brilliantly includes nonfiction spreads about ADHD to help connect the story with what we know about ADHD and neurodivergency today.
- Marcus Makes a Movie by Kevin Hart with Geoff Rodkey: This book is HILARIOUS but also a great story (and the audiobook is narrated by Kevin Hart which makes it even better)! Trent and I laughed out loud multiple times while reading, but it is more than just a funny book–it is a story about grit and meeting a goal you set for yourself and overcoming a past traumatic event.
Young Adult
- Frankly in Love by David Yoon: I can definitely see why this book was compared to John Green’s books because it has the same wit, intelligence, and romance while also addressing a more complex issue, in this case parent/cultural expectations. It was a pleasure to read (though one part of the romance really made me mad!), and I recommend it to anyone who loves young adult romance.
- Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… by Jason Reynolds: Oh man, folks. You all have a Jason Reynolds romance in your future!!! He has told a story about two teens in love in a unique narrative format which allowed us all to experience the love of Neon and Aria.
- Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley: This book had so many layers and was so messed up and was suspenseful and horrific. If the premise sounds like something you’ll like, then you definitely will.
- Cinderella is Dead by Kaylynn Bayron: I was quite intrigued by this look at Cinderella’s world after her death and a look at the “true” Cinderella story. The evil in this book was palpable and the kick buttness of Sophia was exceptional. The book is about taking down the tyrannical patriarchy, in this case, a very evil king that is more devastating than he even seems at the beginning. And there are some twists and surprises along the way that kept me reading.
To learn more about any of these books, click on any title/image to go to the book’s Goodreads page or check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
This is my week off–see you next week!
Kellee
Other than two books I am reading for a teaching guide, I am currently focusing on reading books by authors who are coming to the ALAN 2024 workshop in November.
Tuesday: Cross-Curricular Discussion Guide for Above the Trenches by Nathan Hale
Thursday: Wagnificent by Bethanie Murguia
Friday: Student Voices: Opinion Editorials from Connor A., 7th grade, and Aditi S. & Leticia Z., 8th grade
Sunday: Author Guest Post & Giveaway!: “Crafting Multi-dimensional Characters” by A. Kidd, Author of Yasuko and the Dream Eater
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
It’s fun to read about the new Totoro comic & I bookmarked so many of these, Kellee. I really liked ‘You Are Here’ & each YA sounds great, too! Thanks & have a great week!
You have LOTS of good books on your lists! Hazardous Tales is a favorite series, and Marcus Makes a Movie was one of our “Battle of the Books” titles last year. I loved You are Here, and I cannot wait to read Twenty-Four Seconds…” by Jason Reynolds (it’s been too long for a Reynolds’ title!).
Have a great week!
Jennifer