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
Tuesday: Authors Who Are Highly Represented in Our Libraries
Wednesday: Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner Announcement
Friday: Bloomsbury Picture Books
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Last Week’s Journeys
Kellee: This week, with going back to work, I found myself having less time to read; however, I did make sure I gave myself at least a little bit of time each day, so I was able to finish 2 books. First, I read Sisters by Raina Telgemeier, and I cannot wait to get it for my classroom because it is going to be a big hit! Anyone with siblings (or a family for that matter) is going to connect with it. I just love Raina’s ease in telling a story, and her realistic, yet fun, comic style. I also got to read Boys of Blur this week and am working on my review of it right now. I will say, I was surprised by this book. I do not read reviews or blurbs or summaries before I read a book, so I had no idea what this one is about and it was not what I’d assumed.
With Trent, I continued reading Mo Willems books I already loved: I Am Going!, Watch Me Throw the Ball, Knuffle Bunny Too, Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, and The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?. I also read Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct for the first time, and thought it was pretty cute. Though, did it remind anyone else of Danny and the Dinosaur? And I recently got his Pigeon board book The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! I love that he made a Pigeon book for younger kids!
Ricki: This week, I read Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. It was incredibly compelling. I didn’t expect it to be in the horror genre, and I was drawn to the odd, twisted, interconnected stories. After I finished the book, I couldn’t help but recognize what an incredible writer Marcus Sedgwick is. The concepts of the stories were unlike any that I have read.
Henry and I read a few picture books this week. Our favorite was The Blessing Cup by Patricia Polacco, a biography set in WWII Russia. This book teaches the power of family—and as Polacco highlights, if we have our family, we can never be poor.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee: This week I am reading brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson in preparation for our review on Thursday. I also have the new Captain Underpants and Amulet to read, so I will start them when I finish brown girl dreaming.
With Trent, I hope to be able to keep up with our #bookaday now that I am back at work. So far I have just made it part of the “Mommy got home” routine. 🙂
Ricki: Kellee and I are both reading brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. I am pretty excited for our review. So far, the book is absolutely beautiful. I also want to finish Just Call my Name by Holly Goldberg Sloan in preparation for its release this week. So far, I like it even more than the first book (I’ll Be There).
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Books We’d Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Historical Fiction
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 have brown girl dreaming on my stack right now. I may read it since I do like the fact other people might be reading it at the same time as me!
Definitely read it with us! Then we can see what each other thinks 🙂 It’ll be fun!
I also love the idea that others are reading a book at the same time as me. I got giddy when I read your comment. 🙂
Lots of good ones for you both this week. Kellee, Margaret Simon of Reflections on the Teche says that they really do race the fires in the sugar cane… Still need to get to Midwinterblood, Ricki. It does sound good. I can’t wait to read Brown Girl Dreaming. Lots of good talk around it! Have a happy week!
Do they really? That is a part of Florida I do not know. Fascinating!
Linda, I want you to read it, so I can hear what you think! It seems that people either love it or hate it. I LOVED it.
Boys of blur is one that I’m really curious about, shall look forward to reading review… LOVE The Blessing Cup- one of the few books I brought back to Hong Kong from US… Gift from my mom. Will be keeping an eye on reviews of a few books coming up- brown girl dreaming and Just Call My Name! Happy reading week you two! 🙂
We’ll not tell you much about Boy of Blur because it is a surprising little book. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts if you read it.
The Blessing Cup is a wonderful gift from a mother. I am still thinking about it, days later. It will stick with me.
The books you both listed are wonderful but the mommy got home and reading to Henry and Trent are the lovely parts of todays’s post.
“Mommy got home” is definitely my new favorite time of the day!
When the school semester starts, I think I need to adopt a “Mommy got home” time. Thanks, Kellee! 🙂
You guys have some great reading in your piles! I can’t wait for brown girl dreaming! I’m interested in seeing your review, Kellee, for Boys of Blur. I liked it, it was really good, but there were some parts I was bored on, it felt slow. Like there would be really quick action, then all of a sudden, nothing. Ricki, you read it too I think? It’s a good one to talk about, though! Hope routines get settled into and you have a great week!
I completely agree Michele! I am trying to figure out how to word it for my review. It had ebbs and flows.
It is definitely one I would love to talk to others about!
I loved Boys of Blur, but I do agree that there were slow parts. I think I am most surprised to find it on so many “reluctant reader” lists. I would absolutely recommend it, but I don’t think it is most noteworthy for its status as a reluctant reader text.
I can’t wait to read Brown Girl Dreaming. I was hoping to get an ARC before it comes out but, alas, I think I will have to wait till the pub date. I requested an eARC on Edelweiss but I don’t seem to have luck getting approved on that site. I get approved all the time on NetGalley, but Edelweiss just doesn’t like me for some reason.
I was lucky enough to get one lended to me–I wasn’t lucky enough to get one myself either.
You will love it Beth! Get your hands on one as soon as you can 🙂
Beth, I don’t know what the standards for Edelweiss are, but I never get approved either! I read somewhere that it is really for librarians. I try not to be too sad when I am denied.
I’m hoping to get to Boys of Blur this week. I also haven’t read any reviews or blurbs and have no idea what it’s about. Looking forward to being surprised! I think a big part of making read-aloud part of each day is having that designated time and expectation within the routine. Reading a book as part of the “mommy got home” routine is a wonderful idea! We do that during the school year–kids come home from school and my husband reads to them while they have a snack. It’s a good way to sneak a little extra reading in. I think my older son and I have skipped a grand total of one bedtime read-aloud in three years! It’s more important than brushing teeth at our house!
You’ll definitely be surprised–it is not what Ricki or I thought it was going to be about. It is a definite “Don’t judge a book by its cover” moment.
Love that reading is that important in your home! I am going to make it so it is in my house as well. Nighttime is just not a great time to read to Trent yet (he is fussy and sometimes falls asleep while I read to him), so reading to him when I get home is working out perfectly. It is one of the highlights of my day!
I love learning more and more about your family! 🙂
Elisabeth, you seem like such a wonderful mom. I love the idea of reading during snacktime. I am going to steal this idea from you when my little one is old enough to be in school–if you don’t mind! Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading this week!
Wow! Brown Girl Dreaming and the new Raina Telegmeier book. What an awesome reading week. Both of those are books I can’t wait to read. Enjoy reading time with your kiddos. I miss that with my daughter. As a teen, she much prefers to read to herself, but on the plus side, we have lots of good discussion about the books we both read!
I know, right?! Am on a good book streak!
You will definitely like both of them 🙂
Yes, reading definitely changes when your kid is a teen, but the discussions are probably amazing!
Kay, I definitely see the bright side of both situations. I would love to read and discuss YA books with my son, but alas, he is a bit young. ::smiles::
brown girl dreaming was apparently hard to get! The publishers seem to release very few copies through Edelweiss. I’ll look forward to the review, but I don’t buy any books for my library before I read them!
brown girl dreaming is definitely one you will want to read and purchase. Beautiful.
Ms. Yingling, I need to adopt your approach. I do that with my picture books (don’t buy them until I read them), but I don’t seem to do that with YA. I’ve been trying not to buy any YA books because I get so many at conferences and such, but I still end up at the bookstore…Alas. The troubles of a reader. 🙂
Brown Girl Dreaming – I am another impatient reader – only have heard the best things. Lots of Mo Willems Kellee! So much fun to read aloud. Love, as always, to hear about the reading you are both doing with your boys.
And everything you have heard is probably true. Loving it so far.
Mo Willems is so much fun! It is amazing how he can be so brilliant and entertaining in so many different books, and sometimes in the simplest ways!
Carrie, thanks for stopping by! I loved all of the great books on your blog this week. 🙂 So far, I am enjoying brown girl dreaming. We look forward to sharing our review this week!
I can’t wait to read Sisters! My kids loved Smile (of course) but then Drama was too old for them. Hoping this will work for 4th graders!
And yes, oh yes, motherhood is amazing 🙂