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!
Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Building Empathy” by Kim Taylor, Author of A Flag for Juneteenth
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
**Click on any image or title to view the book’s Goodreads page!**
- Gamechanger by Neal Shusterman: Neal Shusterman just has a way of coming up with concepts no one else thinks of then executing them in a way you could never imagine! He’d shared the concept for this book when he visited our school, but the short summary cannot even capture the depth of this book. It is about more than a football player jumping into different dimensions, it is about finally realizing the privilege the main character had. There is a lot of criticism about Ash’s shifts of identity, including questioning the need to address so many issues, but it seems that Shusterman wanted to emulate true life which has so many issues. I think that the problems many have are with Ash, the MC, but it is because he is the epitome of white, cis, middle class which is frustrating in real life…
- Reign (American Royals #4) by Katharine McGee: I LOVE this series! I am a bit fascinated with pop culture and probably read just a little too much gossip (yes, I know the problems behind paparazzi, but I also get sucked in!), this series has a gossip vibe, and I just wanted to know everything about all of the characters! I gobbled up all 4 of the books in this series, and I highly recommend them for some drama reads. This finale is perfection too, so you will not be disappointed.
- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera: This is a reread for me because I wanted to read the prequel. I know that this book is either loved or hated by readers, but I am on the love side. With this book, you know the destination, but the journey is full of so many emotions. I love all of the characters in the book (so much hate for Mateo!), and I loved going on their journey with them.
- Troublemaker by John Cho with Sarah Suk: This is the first book I’ve read that took place during the protests and riots after the Rodney King verdict in 1992, which brought back such emotions while reading it as it was probably my first introduction, at 10 years old, of the racial injustices in our nation. Troublemaker isn’t exactly about the upheaval, but instead is about a young Korean American boy who is trying to prove to his father that he is not just a troublemaker by bringing him a gun to protect their store (which I have opinions about being included, but John Cho explains his choice in the author’s note). Everything about the book made it an engaging read: great pacing, characters you can connect with, and an important lesson.
- Glitch by Laura Martin: This is on the grades 3-5 Florida list for next year, so I listened to it with Trent, and I think many kids are going to have this one be a favorite. The action/adventure, historical, and sci-fi elements all make the book one that is hard to put down, and I loved that within a sci-fi, action/adventure book, you get to learn about history because there is time travel! Also, with the polar opposite main characters, there will definitely be one that readers connect to (and probably one that annoys them).
- Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister: I was reading on the bus home from a field trip, and a PE teacher and I started chatting about books. She shared this one with me, and her elevator pitch of it (a mom witnesses her son murder someone, he’s arrested, they go to bed to go back to the precinct in the morning, and she wakes up the day before the murder!) made me want to read it immediately, and luckily my library had it! And MAN, the book just sucked me in and had so many twist and turns. Also, it did not go where I was expected; I always love being surprised by a book. I’ve been talking about this one to all of my adult books reading friends because I think so many will enjoy it!
- Mega-Predators of the Past by Melissa Stewart, Illustrated by Howard Gray: Melissa Stewart just knows how to craft an engaging and informative nonfiction book! Mega-Predators is so fascinating–it includes some prehistoric creatures I knew (Megalodon & Blue Whale) but so many I didn’t (giant scorpion, griffenfly, short-faced bears, deinosuchus, Sander’s seabird, archelon, terror birds, and titanoboa). Each predator includes some informative text, a comparison graphic, mega fact file, as well as the continuation of the Mega-Predator text. Everyone who grabs this book will learn something and will quickly become interested in these creatures!
- Dear Mr. G by Christine Evans, Illustrated by Gracey Zhang: Oh man, this book was touching! Told in letters back and forth between a young boy and his neighbor who exchange their letters until Mr. G can no longer take part. The letters include lessons learned, lessons taught, current life stories, past life stories, and is just a joy to read (though it pulls at your heartstrings!).
- The Together Tree by Aisha Saeed, Illustrated by LeUyen Pham: Aisha Saeed and LeUyen Pham together?! Yes, it is as good as you’re guessing it is! There can never be too many picture books about kindness. Being kind in the face of meanness is so tough for kids, so more stories they read about ways to face those bullies and spread kindness are always welcome. The Together Tree is about a new student at a school, Rumi, who quickly finds his unique fashion sense being made fun of and the boy, Han, who helps Rumi know that there are kids who find his interests and creativity to be wonderful.
- Boop! by Bea Birdsong, Illustrated by Linzie Hunter: Oh man, oh man, oh man! This truly endearing book will get so many awwwws and boooops out of its readers because every dog in this book is adorable, it has an interactive aspect, and just is such a fun book that will be one that kids will want to read over and over again. I also loved that it had a little bit of an allusion to Go Dog Go so gives a great contemporary book to read along with that classic. I do also want to give a shout out to the author for the intro at the beginning that reminds the reader not to just boop any dog’s nose without permission and making sure it is safe.
- Line Up!: Animals in Remarkable Rows by Susan Stockdale: This text is a nice introduction to animals that like to line up in nature, such as turtles that line on a log and shrews that hold onto tails as they go on adventures. The text itself is easy to read aloud and is fun and then there is extra info in the back matter about each of the creatures.
- Bioblitz! Counting Critters by Susan Edward Richmond, Illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman: What a fun introduction to bioblitz for young kids! It also includes so many different animals that readers are going to want to learn more about, even more than what is shared in the back matter. I think this will be a great book to incorporate in science to introduce different types of creatures and the idea of bioblitz.
- Wombat Says Come In by Carmen Agra Deedy, Illustrated by Brian Lies: Based on the idea that wombats in Australia opened their homes to other animals to help them stay safe during wildfires. I have mixed feelings about the animals in the book being so unkind to wombat’s home, and I wonder if it is tied to the truth (if it is, I wish that had been included), but it made me sad that wombat is so welcoming, even after the fact, but the other animals are not great guests. But I can see this being used in the classroom to talk about hospitality and being a good guest–it definitely would be easy for readers to understand this lesson with this book. Oh, and I cannot talk about this book without giving a shout out to the beautiful illustrations–Lie’s acrylic and pencil artwork is stunning!
To learn more about any of these books, check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
See you next week for my update!
Kellee
Reading: The Getaway by Lamar Giles
Listening to: The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Listening with Trent: Better with Butter by Victoria Piontek
Tuesday: Teacher Guide for Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Serio Ruzzier
Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Using Fiction to Tell Your Truth” by Kaz Windness, Author of Bitsy Bat, School Star
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 think Troublemaker would have checked out more if one of my students hadn’t had it overdue for five months!
I added more than one title to my list, Kellee, like the new Shusterman, Glitch, & Troublemaker. Thanks, & wishing you a nice end of the year!
Kellee, it looks like you’ve been racing through books lately! Wrong Place Wrong Time sounds like a thrilling read, and it’s really fun that you connected with a fellow teacher and learned about it that way. I also made note of The Together Tree and Dear Mr. G, both of which I’ve been seeing praise for! Thanks so much for the wonderful post, and enjoy your reading this week!
It’s great to see such a range of books and your insightful comments on each one. Thanks for this post!
Can’t wait to read The Together Tree.