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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

   

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: First, I want to thank you all for the congratulations on the arrival of Trent. I am so in love with my little man! I will say, though, as expected, my reading has dropped in priority really quickly; however, I have vowed to do #bookaday with my little one for as long as I can, and we started on day 3. We have read some really fantastic picture books so far. I am so in awe of how much books already keep Trent’s attention. Here’s what we have read so far:

• The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey and Don Wood (This was our first book because it was my husband’s, brother’s, and best friend’s favorite book as a kid.)
• Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss (This was our second book because it was the first book I ever “read”.)
• Oh the Thinks you can Think by Dr. Seuss (Dr. Seuss is so inspiring!)
• On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman (Um… why didn’t anyone warn me that I’d be crying by the end of page 1?!?!)
• Cinderella Penguin by Janet Perlman (In honor of Read a Fairy Tale Day; read to him by his G’ma.)
• Forever by Emma Dodd (Another tear jerker. Also, a great book for young children because there are shiny pages that really caught Trent’s attention.)
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (He was PASSED OUT for this one, so I will definitely have to reread.) 
• Paul Meets Bernadette by Rosy Lamb (The artwork in this one was beautiful and the colors of many pages fascinated Trent.)
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Read in honor of our newborn photos where Trent was dressed up as the very hungry caterpillar.)
• Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman (We’d actually listened to the You Tube video of this book while feeding as well, but we also read the board book.)
• Chicago Cubs ABC by Brad Epstein (It is BASEBALL SEASON!!! I have to prepare Trent :D)

Ricki: How can I top that awesome post by Kellee? Henry and I took another trip to the library, where we checked out some new, exciting books. My husband is from Boston, and his favorite children’s author is Robert McCloskey, so we read Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal. Both were excellent. I also read a newer children’s book called Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman. It was a very inspirational read that has great themes for kids about resilience. Lastly, I finished Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit, my professional development read of the week. I didn’t agree with everything in the book, but I found it to be extremely thought-provoking in a very healthy way. I would love to discuss this book in a classroom setting.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am not sure when my reading will happen again, but we will see because the book I was reading (The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider) was getting really good! Trent’s Year One #bookaday will continue if nothing else. I’ll keep you updated 🙂

Ricki: My next professional development read is Michael Apple’s Ideology and Curriculum. So far, it is highly political and makes me a bit sleepy. Has anyone had luck with it? I will read the whole book, but I am curious what others think. I suspect it will teach me some interesting educational aspects, and the author seems to be very bright. I have seen Apple in a lot of educational papers, so I am keeping a very open mind! I am also deep into Threatened by Eliot Schrefer. I LOVE it. It is my middle-of-the-night-feeding, stay-awake read, so I am savoring it. On another note, my younger sister (who is brilliant, in my humble opinion) doesn’t love reading fiction. I gave her Endangered by Eliot Schrefer several months ago, and she just called me to tell me how much she loves it. WIN!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 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!

  and

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

   

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Ricki here. I am so excited to announce that Kellee had her baby! Trent was born this Thursday. Both Mama and baby are doing very well! His very first book was The Little Mouse, The Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood because it was his dad’s favorite book. Because Kellee is busy with baby-related things, she will give her reading update next week. I am sure you understand. 🙂

Ricki: This week, I started several books, and because of that, I didn’t finish any of them! Whoops. Henry and I are continuing to scavenge the local libraries to get our hands on every book in Jane Yolen’s Dinosaur series. We read How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? and his dad read a bunch of books to him. Next week, I promise to be better! 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am sure Kellee has broken into her children’s book collection, and she will update you all next week!

Ricki: I plan to finish Lisa Delpit’s Other People’s Children this week. It is excellent. I like the controversy behind it, and it is really make me think deeply about the beliefs I hold. I also started Threatened by Eliot Schrefer, which I am really enjoying.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

   

 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!

  and

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

  

 

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I finished Far, Far Away!!! I am excited because I finished it, but also because I ended up really, really liking it. I will be honest and say that because of the unique narrator and the unique story, it takes a while to get into it, but once you do it sucks you in. The last 150 pages just flew by!

After the novel, I had a Leo Lionni readathon. My friend, Amanda, let me raid her picture books, and she had a bunch of Leo Lionni that I had never read: Fish is Fish, Cornelius, Frederick, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, Inch by Inch, and It’s Mine! My favorites are probably Cornelius and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse.

I then moved on to other picture books she let me borrow: Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson, Never Take a Shark to the Dentist by Judi Barrett, Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton, What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? by Steve Jenkins, and First Dog by J. Patrick Lewis. My favorites were definitely Never Take a Shark to the Dentist, Russell the Sheep, and, of course, What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? (because Steve Jenkins is brilliant).

Ricki: This week, I finished a professional development book called Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. I agreed with the idea of cultural literacy but found myself wanting to rip out the pages of several sections. Expect an angry blog post soon. 🙂 I also finished Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory. Wow. This is a powerful book. I am sure several of you have read this already, but if you haven’t I highly, highly recommend it. Henry and I read a few picture books together (and reread a few old ones). We read Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. We also read How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Read? by Jane Yolen. I loved this one and just wish it was longer. This dinosaur series is awesome.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am still waiting on the baby to grace us with his presence. My plan is definitely all going to change if he comes, but right now I plan on starting The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. I also have more of Amanda’s picture books to read, as well as some from Candlewick and Bloomsbury that I want to get to.

Ricki: Next week, I plan to start Threatened by Eliot Schrefer. If you follow this blog, you know that Kellee and I are huge fans of this author! Of course, Henry and I will tackle some new picture books. We plan to go to the library this week. My next professional development book is Lisa Delpit’s Other People’s Children. I am pretty excited about this one. Has anyone read it?

Upcoming Week’s Posts

  

 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!

  and

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

   

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I have decided that since I am having trouble reading for a long period of time, I decided to boost up my reading confidence by reading a bunch of really phenomenal picture books: Flying Solo by Julie Cummins, Plastic, Ahoy! by Patricia Newman, The Tree Lady by Joseph H. Hopkins, Marvin Makes Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Who Says Woman Can’t Be Doctors? by Kathleen Krull, Little Red Writing by Joan Holub, Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon, Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliot, Parrots over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth, Nelson Madela by Kadir Nelson, and Locomotive by Brian Floca. All really, really, really good books! I did read more of Far Far Away by Tom McNeal and am getting into it, but it is still going slowly. I’ll finish soon though!!

Ricki: This week, I read Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education by Nel Noddings. I have always heard of Nel Noddings (a major educational theorist), so I wanted to try reading one of her books. It definitely made me look at caring in a different way. She helps the reader interpret different situations. For example, if I set out bird feeders, it means I care about the birds. But if my neighbor declaws her cat, does she care more? (I simplified this idea a bit from her text, but I wanted to give viewers a taste of the book without making this post too long!) I also read a wonderful nonfiction picture book to my son called Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliot. It made me look at weeds in a different way. I am sorry for swearing at you, crabgrass between my bricks! 🙂

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I still have lots of picture books to read and I cannot wait! I’ll also keep reading Far Far Away and hope to get even further into it (maybe even finish it!). I am just happy to have reading in my routine again even if it is just in small spurts. [We’ll see how long that lasts, though. I am due in 11 days!!! AH!!!]

Ricki: This week, I definitely plan to finish The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. My schoolwork has gotten a bit in the way. I only read it during my baby’s night feedings, which are getting shorter and less frequent. Horray! I am also starting Cultural Literacy: What Every America Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch. It is another professional development/theory book that will (hopefully) give me another perspective on teaching!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 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!

  and

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

   

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This, as a reading week, was quite a failure. I read Far, Far Away a bit when I was at the doctor’s office on Tuesday, but that is it. I am finding that once again, like at the beginning of pregnancy, these final weeks take a lot of sleeping (though it is not great sleeping, 10 hours of not great sleeping is what I need I guess). I wanted to get a lot of reading done in these final weeks before Baby Boy Moye graces us with his presence (I am on the countdown! Due date is 2/21 or 2/22/14), but it is not going that way. Hopefully this week will be better, but no promises!

Ricki: I read a lot of great picture books with Henry this week. We went to the library for the first time! All of my books this week are picture books. We started with a children’s book of Walden (Henry’s namesake is Thoreau). This version was by Lowe. To be honest, I didn’t think the classic made for a great children’s book. Some of the books I LOVED this week were: How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? by Jane Yolen, and Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae. Other books I enjoyed reading were Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, You Be You by Linda Kranz, Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson, and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. The only book I didn’t enjoy very much was R. Robot Saves Lunch by Nicholas R. Kuszyk. I love robots, but this one left me with wanting more.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I hope to get to reading more of Far, Far Away. I really like the author’s style so far and the idea behind it is very clever. Also, I hope to get more of Courage Has No Color listened to. I also have a PILE of picture books I wanted to read and blog about before the baby comes–here’s hoping I can fit that in this week as well.  We’ll just have to see how it goes!!!

Ricki: This week, Henry and I will be heading back to the library for more books. Does anyone have any favorites you can suggest? It is a small library, but I hope to grab some good ones. I also want to finish Caring by Nel Noddings and The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. I am loving LHA’s book. It makes waking up in the middle of the night much more enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, I love feeding my little one, but I don’t think anything could make me want to wake up at 3am—even chocolate cake. 🙂

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 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!

  and

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

   

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Mostly this week I have been working on a graphic novel project and have reread a bunch of graphic novels (including a new reading of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad & Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood) and it has just reminded me how much I really enjoy graphic novels.  I also read Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan and was quite impressed with the format of this novel–very unique and clever.

Ricki: I had a great reading week! I divided them into categories below!

Professional Development: I finished Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. It was dense, but a historically important book that is still applicable today. I’ve always wanted to read Freire, so I was glad to get this one under my belt.
YA: I finished Winger by Andrew Smith. With each page, I loved this book more and more. By the end, I couldn’t put it down!
Children’s Books: I read two classics to my son: Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina and Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. My friend just sent me You Mean the World to Me by Bayne Gibby. I think every mother will appreciate this beautiful book. I read Billy Crystal’s I Already Know I Love You. I wasn’t in love with it, but it was a nice book. Lastly, I read an AWESOME book that many of you probably know about (and I missed!): Press Here by Hervé Tullet. My two-month-old cannot follow the instructions of this text (pressing, wiggling, shaking, etc.) but I cannot WAIT until he is old enough to play with this interactive text. What a gem! This is going to be my go-to book to give to friends who are having babies. 🙂

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am still listening to Courage Has No Color by Tanya Lee Stone. I didn’t get very much read as I car pooled a lot this week (and it was a short week), but I hope to finish this week as I am not car pooling 3 days. I also plan on reading Far Far Away by Tom McNeal which has received really wonderful reviews.

Ricki: This week, I want to read Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education by Nel Noddings, a professional development text I have heard referenced quite often. I also want to read The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. Of course, I will select some children’s books to read to my son, too!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 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!

  and

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

   

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I finished two books this week and they both were 5 star reads–I love weeks like that! First, I finished listening to Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I found this book to be more along the line of his Coraline and other children’s books than his adult books and I adored the magical world he made. I will also say that I am biased a bit, because I listened to the audiobook and I love listening to Gaiman (who narrated).  The other book I read I may have liked even more; I cannot stop raving about it–Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil. It is such a good book and I cannot believe that this book hasn’t been talked about more and that I hadn’t heard about it until recently.  I plan on reviewing it soon for you all.

Ricki: This week, I dipped into the classic children’s books. I read The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I enjoyed rereading these, as I haven’t read them since I was a child. I felt compelled to research Dr. Seuss’s life a bit more because I was so impressed by his language. I also read On the Night You Were Born  by Nancy Tillman and Where the Deep Ones Are by Kenneth Hite. Both were enjoyable, but I liked the classics more.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am quite excited about both of the books I am starting. First, I am going to start listening to Courage Has No Color this week. As always, since I am car pooling, it will take a bit to finish, but I know I am going to enjoy it. I also started Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan. If it is anywhere as good as the other books I’ve read of his, I know it is going to be fantastic.

Ricki: This week, I will definitely finish Winger by Andrew Smith. I am at a REALLY good part. It makes me look forward to my nursing sessions. I also hope to finish Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. This one is good, but very dense! Has anyone else read it?

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 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!

  and