IMWAYR

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

  

  

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

 

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: My vacation was SO relaxing which led to lots of movies, lots of naps, but not as much reading as I’d planned. What I did read was amazing though! I’d brought a pile of nonfiction picture books with me to read, all which I’d heard about through Kid Lit Frenzy’s weekly meme, and they were all so good. The picture books I read were Imogene’s Last Stand by Candace Fleming, Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel, Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp, On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, and Jim Henson: The Guy Who Talked to Puppets by Kathleen Krull.  All of these were so good that I will definitely be sharing them on the blog very soon! I also read Battling Boy a new graphic novel by Paul Pope which is going to be a huge hit when it is published in October (and I’ll be reviewing it in September!).

 

Ricki: I had a bit of a crazy week, so unfortunately, I didn’t read as much as I planned. I did get to some great books though. I took a surprise trip to Maryland to visit a family member, and I was so busy that I didn’t have the usual downtime. Each night, I got back to the hotel room and collapsed into bed and didn’t read for my usual hours upon hours. My pregnancy is wearing me out! It is hard carrying around so much weight! This week, I finished The Truth about You & Me by Amanda Grace. I received it from NetGalley, and it is expected to be published on September 8th. Stop back on Thursday for the review! I also finished The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. I absolutely loved it. It has been on my TBR shelf for a while, and I thought it was about football (which was an incorrect assumption), so I was taking my time. This should teach me to read the summaries on the backs of books, but I hate reading any spoilers! It reminded me of It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I still have 2 picture books left to read: The Salem Witch Trials: An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple and Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss. I’ll definitely get to both of these probably tonight. I also started Feynman by Jim Ottaviani this week and it is taking a bit to read just because of the intense science and math within it. I keep stopping to Google things that I do not know- I obviously have a much lower science and math knowledge than is needed to understand the brilliant mind of Feynman, but I am going to make it through!

 

Ricki: This week, I will be finishing Double Vision by F.T. Bradley. It is a great middle grade book. I started it a few days ago, and I am enjoying the adventure. I suspect I will be done with it on the plane ride back to Connecticut! I also want to read The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb—a nonfiction book I mentioned last week. I have been trying to increase the amount of nonfiction that I read, and this one looks fantastic. I nabbed a copy on NetGalley a week ago, and it is expected to be published on August 27th. I am hoping that things will return to normal next week, and I will read more than these two books!

 

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.

Announcements

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GIVEAWAY WINNERS! 

LINDA B.

DONNA M.

Last Week’s Posts

  

 

 **Click on any picture above to view the post**

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I feel like I have really been struggling with reading this summer. Usually summers are my free time where I find myself taking part in #summerthrowdown and #bookaday, but I have not been reading enough to do either. I think it is because I have A) been writing and researching a lot this summer; B) taught summer reading camp and been doing a lot of professional development; C) just wanted to relax when I finally had free time. The thing is, though, I feel guilty for not reading as much. Guilty only because I have higher expectations for myself. I only have 2 weeks left of summer and I just know I am not going to live up to those expectations now, so I am working on realizing it is okay. Has anyone else felt this way ever?

This week I was able to read a couple of books among my classroom moving (I am officially my school’s reading coach next year, so I had to move from the largest classroom in the school to a room that is half the size of a normal classroom; however, we did it in just 2 days!!) and the Solution Tree PLC Conference:

First, because of all of the driving, I did finish Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls (audiobook) by David Sedaris. I loved it like all of his books, but I found that some parts of it were majorly serious and just didn’t affect me as much. I also read two nonfiction picture books that I really enjoyed and will definitely share on a NF PB Wednesday- Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara C. Levine and Hey Charleston!: The True Story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Next I read Doug TenNapel’s newest graphic novel Tommysaurus Rex which will definitely fly off my shelf when the school year begins (and I’ll be reviewing on Friday). Finally, I read a humorous poetry book called I Could Pee On This and Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano which had some quite hilarious kitty poems.

 

Ricki: For starters, I finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I liked it, but I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would (isn’t that usually the case with classics?). Then, I read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate because so many of you commented on last week’s post that it was a must read. THANK YOU! I loved it.

And then something magical happened. I couldn’t decide which book to read out of the stacks that covered my floor, and I discovered NetGalley. Okay, I always knew about it, but I didn’t realize just how awesome it was. I have been attached to my Kindle all week. I read The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle which was great—come back Thursday for the review. Because I am a Micmac Indian, I couldn’t resist ordering and reading Real Justice: Convicted for being Mi’kmaq: The Story of Donald Marshall Jr. (swing by on Wednesday for that review). And lastly, I also finished my 600-page book, Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields, as I am trying to get a head-start on my baby registry. If you are a new mom or going to be a new mom, this one is great. It came highly recommended to me. I am pretty proud of myself this week. Perhaps, I will get back on track with my reading goal.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am currently on vacation and brought a bunch of books with me, so I will have to pick out of them which I’m going to read. I have a pile of nonfiction picture books from the library, some graphic novels, and a few novels. I know I definitely am going to read Feynman by Jim Ottaviani this week as @CbethM and @mselke highly recommended it and I requested it from the library because of them. I hope that this week will be a more successful reading week as I have no work things to do!! *fingers crossed*

 

Ricki: Because I am new to NetGalley, I recently learned that most publishers request that people not blog about their books until 30 days prior to their publication. This is a bummer for me because I like to share about a book right after I read it to hear your thoughts. So I have to slow down on my galleys. First, I am going to finish the galley, The Truth about You & Me by Amanda Grace. I started it last night and am enjoying it thus far. It is about a high school teen who takes a college course and falls in love with the professor (scandalous!). Then, I want to read The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb. It is a YA narrative nonfiction text, and I love World War II books, so I am excited. A few of the books I received aren’t going to be published for a few months, so we will see if I can hold off. If not, I will have to read them and then twiddle my thumbs until I am allowed to post their reviews. I am a very patient person, except when it comes to sharing about books. I’ve been known to drive to friends’ houses to deliver a book that they “must read!”

 

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

We have GIVEAWAYS for the Junket is Nice and Sidekicked pages that are still live. You can enter every day and get 1 free entry daily!!!

**Click on any picture above to view the post**

 

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This week I had a pretty good reading week. First, I finished my rereadings of the Walden finalists- they are all so great!!! I may even go back and reread some of them again just to get a final feeling for them. I also reread Stardines and Building Our House in preparation for this week’s reviews. I also read Junket is Nice in preparation for the review this week. Finally, I read Liz Kessler’s newest novel, North of Nowhere. It was filled with mystery and students will be guessing throughout the novel. I will be reviewing for you all in a couple of weeks. Overall, a pretty successful week!

Ricki: Like Kellee, I reread all of the Walden Award finalists this week. I am excited to post more about them this Friday. Kellee and I are joining forces for a blog post about our experiences on the book award committee, so check back if you are interested. We will give more information about applying to the committee at that time. This week, I also read Junket is Nice by Dorothy Kunhardt and More Than This by Patrick Ness (both of which I blogged about–click the pictures above if you missed them). Lastly, I finished When Kids Can’t Read by Kylene Beers. Check back on Thursday for my review. I know it is taught in many reading and methods courses, but if you haven’t read it yet, it is absolutely fantastic.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: This week I am driving all week, so I hope to finally finish the David Sedaris audiobook that I’ve been listening to all month. It is hilarious and I want to finish cherishing it. I’ve also started Wonder Light by R.R. Russell, also for review, and enjoying it so far. It’s protagonist is a “troubled” girl who is sent to a pony ranch to “find herself.” After Wonder Light, I’m not sure what I’ll read next. I know I want to read Doll Bones  for the #virtualbookclub on August 5th and I have some library books on their way—we’ll see what I end up reading.

Ricki: Last night, I started The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. This year, my students were really obsessed with mental illness and depression. I bought the book in a used bookstore and gave it to a few of my seniors and they loved it. I’ve always been afraid to read it because I worry it will sink me into a sorrow pit. So far, I really enjoy it, but I probably shouldn’t be reading it while pregnant—too emotional. I don’t plan to post a review because many of you have probably already read it. After that, I think I will move onto The Infects or The One and Only Ivan. I missed that one and everyone seems to adore it. Blogging is new to me, and to be honest, I find it difficult to predict what I will read because my mood fluctuates. I don’t like reading to feel like an assignment, so you may be hearing about an entirely different book next week. Send suggestions my way, as I seem to own half of the bookstore (and particularly the high school books), and I am feeling indecisive today!

 

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

 

 

 **Click on any of the pictures to view the post*

 

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Last week I did not have to work so it gave me time to get some reading in as well as some research and writing. As planned, I finished The Price of Freedom and Tom T’s Hat Rack to review (click the book covers above to see my reviews). Unplanned, I read Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz and I cannot wait to share it with you this week. It is a very good debut novel. I also finished Surfacing by Nora Raleigh Baskin which I struggled with, but can see why others really enjoyed it. My favorite read of the week is definitely Primates by Jim Ottaviani. If you followed Teach Mentor Texts or me on Twitter, you know that I am a huge advocate for apes (2 of my favorite books ever have apes) and I’m so lucky to have such a great friend in Maria (@mselke01) that she sent me Primates. When I opened it, I immediately sat down and devoured it. So good! I’ll be reviewing it for Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday next week. On top of my pleasure reading, I read a bunch of articles about Emotional Intelligence and Socioeconomic Status and low reading level for research. 

 

Ricki: This week, I finished Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. It was incredible and well worth the hype. Kelly Gallagher seems to fundamentally share many of the same theories about education as me, and he does a phenomenal job verbalizing and supporting his beliefs. I can’t wait to use it in my college class next semester. If you haven’t read this one, I highly recommend it. (Oh, and it is fewer than 150 pages, so it doesn’t take long to read.) I also finished Sarah Dessen’s The Moon and More. I fall in love with all of Sarah Dessen’s characters, so I was not surprised to have adored this one. It wasn’t my absolute favorite of all of her books, but it was certainly a wonderful read. In our Launch Week, Kellee and I did a Favorites page. She recommended Love That Dog. When I saw it on many of the Favorites lists of other bloggers in our Blog Hop, I had to read it. It made me want to teach middle school (or even upper elementary school). I would love to use this as a read-aloud. I would have used it in my high school poetry unit, had I known more about it sooner.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: This week I go back to work so I will probably not get as much reading done. I’ll be able to continue my David Sedaris audiobook because I’ll be driving again, so that is exciting. I’m also researching with Teaching Struggling Readers: How to Use Brain-based Research to Maximize Learning by Carol A. Lyons which is quite interesting so far.  For pleasure, I’ll be starting Sidekicked by John David Anderson and I know I’ll love it because everything from Walden Pond Press has been quite brilliant.

 

Ricki: As I plan for my new college class, I will be doing some textbook reading. Luckily, it is all related to promoting reading, so it should be enjoyable. Kylene Beers’ When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12 came highly recommended, so I will begin tackling that one. I am just about finished with Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed, so I am going to post that review on Thursday. Get ready–this is a great one (if you haven’t 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!

 Happy reading!

 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.

 

Announcements!

Last week we had giveaways every week and we are excited to announce the winners today! We’ll be contacting each of you via email today to get some info from you.

Day One: Andrea P. and Megan A.

Day Two: Jennifer F.

Day Three: Holly M.

Day Four: Linda B.

Day Five: Julee M.

Day Six: Katherine N.

Day Seven: Melissa M.

Congratulations!!!

 

Last Week’s Posts

Day One: IMWAYR     Day Two: Meet Kellee     Day Three: Meet Ricki

Day Four: How to Navigate     Day Five: Our Favorites

Day Six: Favorites Blog Hop    Day Seven: Recap

 

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Finished my rereads this week! I am so excited! Though the books are amazing it is nice to be moving on to other things. This week, in between rereading I did fit in some other reading. First, I finished Eleanor and Park which Ricki and I will be reviewing later this week. I also read Jeffrey Brown’s beloved Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess which were so funny (though I think I would get them more if I was a bigger “Star Wars” fan). Finally, I read a couple of picture books that are on some mock Newbery lists- Stardines Swim High Across the Sky by Jack Prelutsky (illustrated by Carin Berger) and Building our House by Jonathan Bean- and I cannot wait to review both of these for you as well. 

 

Ricki: Unlike Kellee, I still have two more books to reread for our book award. Then, I am free until the next round of rereading! I also finished Eleanor and Park, which I adored. I can’t wait to review this one with Kellee. In case anyone is keeping track, I also finished Les Miserables. I didn’t enjoy it very much, but now I can officially watch the movie without guilt. Lastly, I read Teen Boat, a graphic novel about a teenage boy named Teen Boat who has the ability to turn into a boat. It was very peculiar, but I found it to be quite funny. I’d recommend it to upper middle school teachers.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: Unfortunately Margaret Cho was bounced because I received the newest David Sedaris book in audiobook, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, from the library and I bumped everything down to listen to it. I love David Sedaris and so far am really liking this one as well. I’ll also be reading The Price of Freedom and Tom T’s Hat Rack for the reviews later this week. Finally, I began Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gerwirtz today and so far am enjoying it. Looking forward to sharing my review of this one as well.

 

Ricki: For starters, I will reread two more books for the book award to get ready for our next round in the process. Also, I started Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher last week and absolutely love it. I am teaching a college course next semester, and this book came recommended for my syllabus, so I thought I would give it a try. It definitely lives up to the hype and is extremely interesting. Lastly, I finally got my hands on a copy of The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen, so I will definitely be enjoying that one this week.

 

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!

 

Happy reading!

 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.

Welcome to Unleashing Readers!  We thank you for checking out our new blog and cannot wait to share our love of books and teaching with you. This week we will be getting you acquainted with our blog during our Unleashing Readers Launch Party. We hope you’ll come back and check us out. 

 

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This week I continued rereading my books for the award committee, so unfortunately I cannot talk about them. What I can share is that I finished an (adult!) Al Franken audiobook entitled Oh, The Things I Know! which, if you like Al Franken, was quite funny.  He really knows how to find humor in just about any situation.

 

Ricki: I am also continuing to reread books for the award committee, and sadly, I can’t talk about them either. We will surely share news about them when we are permitted. I finished The 5th Wave by Ricky Yancey and loved it. I plan to post a review next Thursday to share its goodies. I also finished Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley, an excellent graphic novel about Kinsley’s life, told through food.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am going to take a quick break from rereading because I got a book from the library that I had been waiting for: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I have heard such great things about it from some people I know who have great taste. After finishing it, I will go back to my rereading though I am almost done.  For my audiobook, next in line is a Margaret Cho (adult!) book which I hope is as hilarious as her stand-up.

 

Ricki: My school librarians gave me one more day to finish Les Miserables, so I will finish that today or tomorrow. Honestly, it has been insufferable, so I’ve been trudging through it for weeks. I always tell my students to put down books they don’t like, but I never seem to follow my own advice! I am also reading Eleanor and Park, like Kellee, and we plan to team up for a review later this month (yahoo!).

 

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