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: Odd Birds: Meet Nature’s Weirdest Flock by Laura Gehl, Illustrated by Gareth Lucas
Thursday: Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers edited by Rose Brock
Saturday: Guest Post: Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
As always, you can see what I am reading by checking out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads. I’ll be back next week for a long update 🙂
Ricki
I was absolutely blown away by this book. It is an absolutely gut-wrenching story, and it parallels the stories that many children in our country would tell. In this story, ICE comes to take 16-year-old Mateo and 7-year-old Sophie’s mom and dad. They’ve lived in the country for decades, and they are put in a detention center. If you haven’t read this book, I recommend it highly. Every time I put the book down, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mateo and Sophie.
In this Frankenstein-inspired YA graphic novel, M is for Monster by Talia Dutton, a scientist tries to bring her sister back to life. What she brings back looks like her sister but is an entirely different person inside. As a side note, I liked how this book (similar to the book above) had LGBTQ+ characters but didn’t primarily focus on the fact that the characters were LGBTQ+.
My youngest son picked out Glad, Glad Bear! by Kimberly Gee from the library. In this picture book, it’s Bear’s first dance class, and he is so nervous! He puts on his leggings and tutu but feels shy. When the music starts, he remembers why he is there and ready to dance!
This is one of the best picture books I’ve read about depression. In A Blue Kind of Day by Rachel Tomlinson, Coen is not having a good day. His family tries hard to help him emotionally, but nothing seems to help. They realize that they must be patient. I really liked how realistic this book was, and it allowed me to talk with my children about depression in a frank way that was understandable for them.
In Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, four Mahu travel with gifts of healing and science and sail from Tahiti to Hawaii. This is a stunning, powerful picture book about honoring our ancestors.
My 5-year-old son loved Don’t Worry, Murray by David Ezra Stein. It was perfect for him because he is also a worrier! Murray is afraid of trying new things because he worries about them. But he learns that he has to work on his worries if he wants to go on adventures.
The World Belonged to Us is Jacqueline Woodson’s newest text, and just like her others, it is masterful. Every teacher is going to want to read this on the last day of school! I love how it captures the wonder of childhood and beauty of Brooklyn.
Ricki
I am listening to Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan next!
Tuesday: Review & Giveaway!: Pink is Not a Color by Lindsay Ward
Thursday: Pigeon & Cat by Edward Hemingway
Saturday: Guest Review: The Worrysaurus by Rachel Bright, illustrated by Chris Chatterton
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
Kellee, enjoy your week off! Ricki, Indivisible and M is for Monster both look so compelling, and I am waiting to read A Blue Kind of Day, which is waiting on my shelves. I also want to try to get to The World Belonged to Us. Thank you both so much for the great post!