It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 10/7/24

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: The Light of Home: A Story of Family, Creativity, and Belonging by Diana Farid, Illustrated by Hoda Hadadi

Thursday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Tackling My Own Book’s Educators’ Guide” by Anna Olswanger, Author of A Visit to Moscow

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

Picture Books

• Lost by Bob Staake: Bob Staake is a genius when it comes to writing wordless picture books. His ability to use art to create narratives full of emotions is one of the best in the space. Lost is no different. In the story you will follow a young girl as she searches for her cat and deals with many different obstacles and feelings along the way. The book is just so smart and just a joy to read!
• I Worked Hard on That! by Robyn Wall & A.N. Kang: Wall and Kang’s book is a great introduction to the world of creative thinking, perseverance, and growth mindset. Through the spiders journey, readers will see that beautiful things happen if failure does not make you give up. (And shout out to orb spiders!)

Middle Grade

• • On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh:  This anthology from We Need Diverse Books is one of my favorites I’ve read yet. I loved the wide representation in the book, how it all took place in the apartment building, and the stories intertwine but can also stand alone. And no wonder it was amazing–look at that list of authors that contributed! (I’m lucky enough to have been asked to write the educators’ guide for it, so keep an eye out!)
  • Pearl by Sherri L. Smith, Illustrated by Christine Norrie: What a fascinating look at an experience during WWII that I had not truly thought about. Amy is a 13-year-old Japanese American girl growing up in Hawaii when she goes to Japan to visit her family and is unable to return because of the start of the US’s entrance to the war. The author and illustrator do a great job showing how Amy is torn between the two places and is truly stuck in a situation that no one could prepare for.
  • The Shadow Prince & The Longest Night in Egypt by David Anthony Durham: This adventurous duology is about Ash, a boy who is competing to become the protector of Egypt’s prince, who finds himself surrounded by competitors that seem to be stronger and better than him and facing situations filled with demons and evil gods that he doesn’t know if he is prepared for. This series was hard to stop listening to when I got where I was going, and I had to start book two as soon as I finished the first one.

Young Adult

• • Go Home by Terry Farish & Lochan Sharma: This book was a tough read for me because of the (very real) hatred that Samir and his family face in their New Hampshire town because of their immigration status. His family is refugees and looking to have a good life, but Gabe and other racists in the town do not want them there. Told in two points of view (one written by Farish and one by Sharma), we get to see how the hatred looks from Samir’s eyes and Gabe’s girlfriend’s eyes.
  • Shackled: How Two Corrupt Judges Defiled Justice, Made Millions, and Harmed Thousands of Children by Candy J. Cooper: WHOA! It is so hard to believe that something like this would happen but this very true story of two judges purposefully sending children to a for-profit juvenile center just to make money is a very real story. This is a great example of a book to show someone who doesn’t think nonfiction is a good read–I couldn’t put it down!
  • Huda F Cares? by Huda Fahmy: I love Huda (both the author and character)! This one also has an overlap for me because her family comes to visit Disney World, which I know pretty darn well. This second book about Huda is as funny and heartfelt as the first–these are must reads.
  • Sync by Ellen Hopkins: Ellen Hopkins is back with her raw stories that bring to light the lives of kids that are often not talked about. In Sync, we meet twins separated in the foster system who both face challenges that no child should have to face. The book was so tough to read at times, but like all of Hopkins’s books, it is done truthfully, respectfully, and beautifully.

 And you can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

This is my week off–see you next week!

Kellee

• • Reading: The Legend of the Last Library by Frank L. Cole
  • Will start listening to today: Chronically Dolores by Maya Van Wagenen

Tuesday: I, Too, Am Here by Morgan Christie, Illustrated by Marley Berot

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Young-Adult Fiction as a Means to Teach the Unteachable” by Ian X. Cho, Author of Aisle Nine

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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