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: The 2020 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner and Finalists

Thursday: Blog Tour with Author Q&A: Legends from Mom’s Closet by Sasha Olsen

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Opening the Door: How Stepping Inside the Poem can Help Your Students — even those who hate writing — Read, Understand, Create, and Enjoy Poetry” by Marjorie Maddox, Author of Inside Out: Poems on Writing & Reading Poems

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

Kellee

• Sara and the Search for Normal by Wesley King: “Sara wants one thing: to be normal. What she has instead are multiple diagnoses from Dr. Ring. Sara’s constant battle with False Alarm—what she calls panic attacks—and other episodes cause her to isolate herself. She rarely speaks, especially not at school, and so she doesn’t have any friends. But when she starts group therapy she meets someone new. Talkative and outgoing Erin doesn’t believe in “normal,” and Sara finds herself in unfamiliar territory: at the movies, at a birthday party, and with someone to tell about her crush—in short, with a friend. But there’s more to Erin than her cheerful exterior, and Sara begins to wonder if helping Erin will mean sacrificing their friendship.”
• Once Upon a Space-Time by Jeffrey Brown: In the future we learn we are not alone and everything changes. The alien technology changes our world and so much is now possible. Our main characters are kids at an institute just for space exploration, but they are the misfits of the school. But that doesn’t stop them! Told in Brown’s funny fashion, this sci-fi graphic novel is going to be a huge hit with students!
• Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein: “Seventh grade is not going well for Will Levine. Kids at school bully him because of his funny-looking chin. His science teacher finds out about the turtles he spent his summer collecting from the marsh behind school and orders him to release them back into the wild. And for his bar mitzvah community service project, he has to go to the hospital to visit RJ, an older boy struggling with an incurable disease. Unfortunately, Will hates hospitals.”
• Lumberjanes Vol. 5 & 6: I love so much about this series–the mix of a normal teen idenity story mixed with great friends and major craziness in a forest and mythology = some awesome graphic novels.
• Yoga Animals and The Refuge will both be reviewed this week — don’t miss them!
• With Trent:
  • The Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom: What a beautiful book! And so important–it is one that I would share with students ASAP. The conversation I had with my 6-year-old alone shows the impact the book has.
  • We continue to watch Mac Barnett’s Book Club Show Book Club each day. Since he made it through all of his own picture books, he is sharing some of his favorites, and we both are enjoying them! I particularly like that they are, so far, all lesser known to me books:
    • This week: The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer, The Quiet Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown, Shortcut by Donald Crews, and It’s a Secret by John Burningham.
    • This week Mac also finally got the one book we missed the first time around: The Skunk. So that means that Trent has now read all of Mac Barnett’s picture books.

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

It is my first time hanging out with my husband all week (where we are both not working at night), so I think I am going to pause and share next week if that is okay with you all 🙂

Kellee

• Currently Reading: The Brave by James Bird
• Currently Listening (and it is taking so long since I’m not driving anywhere!): Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick
• Reading with Trent for one of his book clubs: Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters by Andrea Beaty
• Reading with Trent for one of his book clubs (following along while watching Mac Barnett’s Book Club Show Chapter Books After Dark): Mac B. Kid Spy: Mac Undercover by Mac Barnett
• Trent reads each Monday with Henry: Elephant and Piggie books by Mac Barnett

Tuesday: The Refuge by Sandra le Guen, Illustrated by Stéphane Nicolet

Thursday: Yoga Animals: A Wild Introduction to Kid-Friendly Poses by Paige Towler

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?
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: Blog Tour with Q&A and Giveaway!: One Last Shot by John David Anderson
**Giveaway open until Wednesday!**

Thursday: Ricki’s Lessons Learned from Teaching her Kindergartener Stop Animation

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Engaging Reluctant Readers” by Sarah S. Reida, Author of All Sales Final

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

Kellee

• The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead: “After her parents’ divorce, Bea’s life became different in many ways. But she can always look back at the list she keeps in her green notebook to remember the things that will stay the same. The first and most important: Mom and Dad will always love Bea, and each other.When Dad tells Bea that he and his boyfriend, Jesse, are getting married, Bea is thrilled. Bea loves Jesse, and when he and Dad get married, she’ll finally (finally!) have what she’s always wanted–a sister. Even though she’s never met Jesse’s daughter, Sonia, Bea is sure that they’ll be ‘just like sisters anywhere.’As the wedding day approaches, Bea will learn that making a new family brings questions, surprises, and joy.”
• Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson: I read the first couple of books in the series a couple of years ago, but when I noticed the whole series was on Hoopla from my public library, I decided to reread them so I could read the rest, and WOW! They are even better than I remember! They are such a fun combination of camp-life friendship fun, crazy adventures, fantasy, mythology, love of all identities and people, and weirdness!!!
• With Trent: The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz: I loved reading the first book in this series with Trent. His review: “I liked this book because the Jersey Devil is blue and red, and I like blue and red. And it looks cool with its wings. I liked how Professor Fauna talked about pirates in the Pine Barrens. Elliot is like me and I like that. We both don’t like to take risks, and he has hair kind of like mine. The book was adventurous.”

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

The kids have been wanting to read a lot of Berenstain Bears books lately, so I posted one above, but we’ve plowed through about a dozen of them. I’ve also grown to love the Giggle Gang series of early readers (What is Chasing Duck? is above). As long as you all will keep it a secret, I am exhausted by the DC Super Friends and Lego Super Heroes early readers. I posted four of the books we read. I honestly don’t see the appeal of freezing and superhero-ing. But my 6- and 3-year-old love them. Sigh. We’ve got several more on hold. I will pretend to love them!

The Refuge by Sandra Le Guin. Whew. This one is stunning. My guess is that it might rake in some awards this year. I found it to be quite captivating (review to come next week). 

We love Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty, so we enjoyed rereading The Story Book Knight. The Snatchabook is one of our family’s favorite books. We found that one hiding in the bookshelf last week, and my 3-year-old walked into my partner’s office while he was working to smile broadly and hold it up. There was mutual shared joy. That book is magnificent, and we really love The Story Book Knight, as well.

We reread some classics (Harold and the Purple Crayon and The Paper Bag Princess–which are both fantastic). We also finished our book club book Unicorn Rescue Society. It’s the first in the series, and we’ll likely read the others in the future. And finally, my 3-year-old would be upset with me if I didn’t highlight We Don’t Eat Our Classmates. This one really made him giggle.

Kellee

• Reading: After the Worst Thing Happens by Audrey Vernick & Lumberjanes Vol 5 by Noelle Stevenson
• Listening: Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick
• Reading/Listening with Trent: Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters by Andrea Beaty & Mac B. Kid Spy: Mac Undercover by Mac Barnett

Ricki

We are also reading Mac B. Kid Spy: Mac Undercover by Mac Barnett. I read the first four chapters to the boys tonight, and my 6-year-old was really into it. I stopped after the first chapter and convinced him to clean his room. This earned him the next three chapters. We are reading four chapters a week with his book club, so we’ll be finished in four weeks. I also found a copy of Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds. I am excited to check that one out. I missed it, and I have read most of his books. 

Admittedly, I’ve gotten out of my reading groove. I’m reading about 15 books a day with the kids (most of them rereads while we wait for the library to open). But my night time is spend working. Without childcare, I am really struggling to find time to read YAL because I have such limited work time. I am hoping to get back into the groove soon. Tonight, I am closing up my computer and going upstairs to read. I miss normalcy!

Tuesday: The 2020 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner and Finalists

Thursday: Blog Tour with Author Q&A: Legends from Mom’s Closet by Sasha Olsen

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Opening the Door: How Stepping Inside the Poem can Help Your Students — even those who hate writing — Read, Understand, Create, and Enjoy Poetry” by Marjorie Maddox, Author of Inside Out: Poems on Writing & Reading Poems

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?
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: The Princess in Black and the Case of the Coronavirus by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale, Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Thursday: Review and Giveaway!: It Is (Not) Perfect by Anna Kang, Illustrated by Christopher Weyant
**Giveaway open until Thursday!**

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Studying the Past, Writing the Future: Some Thoughts on the Study of History” by Todd Hasak-Lowy, Author of We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World

Updated Often: The Big List of Online Learning Resources for COVID-19 and Quarantine

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

Kellee

• Major Impossible by Nathan Hale: This is the first of Nathan Hale’s books where I knew nothing about the history of, and it was so interesting! Powell is such a fascinating character, and I want to learn even more about him! And I adore Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales and how he mixes the text structure and adds in so much humor in serious history.
• Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson: Pheobe and her Unicorn are some of my favorite comics to read to just feel happy, and this one definitely filled that want!
• BenBee and the Teacher Griefer by K.A. Holt: “The Kids Under the Stairs: BenBee and the Teacher Griefer is a funny, clever novel-in-verse series about Ben Bellows—who failed the Language Arts section of the Florida State test—and three classmates who get stuck in a summer school class.
  But these kids aren’t dumb—they’re divergent thinkers, as Ms. J tells them: they simply approach things in a different way than traditional school demands.
  Each chapter is told through the perspective of one of the four students, who each write in a different style (art, verse, stream of consciousness).”
• Lafayette by Nathan Hale: It was so much fun to read Lafayette’s story since I only knew aspects of his history from high school history class and Hamilton.
• With Trent:
  • Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler: What a beautiful story to read to celebrate spring. Read by Michelle Obama on her story time.
  • The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli: We’ve been watching Standby Book Club with Greg Pizzoli, but we kept missing this one. We were so glad that he reread it.
  • My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete: Such a sweet story about siblings, one with autism.
  • Much else of what we’re reading right now are either chapter books or rereads (primarily of Mac Barnett, Josh Funk, Kate Messner, or Oliver Jeffers books because we watch their storytimes!).
  • Trent has also been reading to us! This week he read Fox the Tiger  by Corey R. Tabor, Harold and Hot Pretend for Real by Dan Santat, and The Good for Nothing Button by Charise Mericle Harper.

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

The boys and I tried out the library’s overdrive because we were looking for some new books for the oldest to read aloud. The books we were looking for weren’t available, but we found a lot of amazing alternatives! How Many Jelly Beans? offered some great number sense. They loved the DC Super Friends: Bizarro Day and Star Wars Sith Wars books.

Our shared favorites were A Pig, A Fox, and a Box by Jonathan Fenske (very funny!) and The Doghouse by Jan Thomas. We’ve put holds on a few other books by these two authors but we may be in for a long wait.

My oldest loves anything history or autobiography, so he liked listening to Magic Treehouse’s Fact Tracker: Abraham Lincoln. We’ve read Hope’s Gift by Kelly Starling Lyons three times this week because he likes learning about the Civil War.

We’ve read other books in Stacy McAnulty’s companion series, but we hadn’t read Earth! yet. It was just as amazing as the others. This is one of our favorite science series.

Kellee

• Reading and Listening: I don’t know… I’ve been on a graphic novel kick to keep my engagement up, but who knows what I’ll turn to.
• Listening with Trent: Unicorn Rescue Society: The Creature in the Pine by Adam Gidwitz (finishing this week for book club)
• Reading with Trent: Rosie Revere and the Caucous Riveters by Andrea Beaty (starting for our other book club)

Ricki

We are going to explore the Kindle Overdrive options our library offers some more. The library is starting to offer curbside pickup in a week, and we may try to brave it and leave the books to settle for a few days before we open them up.

Tuesday: Blog Tour with Q&A and Giveaway!: One Last Shot by John David Anderson

Thursday: Ricki’s Lessons Learned from Teaching my Kindergartener Stop Animation

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Engaging Reluctant Readers” by Sarah S. Reida, Author of All Sales Final

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?
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!

Updated Often: The Big List of Online Learning Resources for COVID-19 and Quarantine

Tuesday: Virtual Book Clubs with our Kids During Quarantine

Thursday: Abby in Oz and the Whatever After Series by Sarah Mlynowski

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “What Kids Can Do to Help the Environment and Why Does It Matter?” by Tracy Richardson, Author of The Field and Catalyst

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

Kellee

• Doodleville by Chad Sell: What a fascinating graphic novel about come to life drawings which symbolize much more than they seem.
• Book Love by Debbie Tung: I think Debbie Tung wrote this book for me. She is in my head! Funny is the “she gets me” kind of way.
• What About Worms by Ryan T. Higgins: I cannot wait to see the finished book. The e-galley, I’m sure, doesn’t do it justice, but I know Trent is going to LOVE it.
• Act by Kayla Miller: I cannot believe I haven’t read any of these titles yet–what a fun cast of characters! A great representation of middle school with a great story!
• What We’ll Build by Oliver Jeffers: Oliver Jeffers is brilliant, and this book he wrote about his daughter fills my heart, and I cannot wait to see the finished book (he read it live on Instagram).
• Unicorn Rescue Society: The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande by Adam Gidwitz and David Bowles: I just love this series. Period. Fun adventures, a diverse cast of characters and setting, mythology, and humor. Perfect.
• They Called Us Enemy by George Takei: I am so glad that George Takei wrote this memoir. It is something that should not be forgotten in our history, specifically as it is being repeated  now. We cannot forget the story and people behind laws.
• With Trent: Almost all of what we are reading is through authors’ virtual read alouds. It is such an amazing oppurtunity, I just don’t want Trent to miss out. This week, we went to virtual story times with: Josh Funk, Kate Messner, Peter Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Michelle Obama, and Mac Barnett.
  • He also had two great books focused on two amazing women read by his teachers this week: Shark Lady and Frida. 

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

We read a lot of Elephant and Piggie (series by Mo Willems) this week. My 6-year-old has a lot of fun reading one part of the Elephant and Piggie books, so we went to town on the books. A neighbor lent us some of the books from her collection. We allowed them to sit for two days before we touched them, and then we read book after book (about three each night). He also read Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry to me (which I was able to access digitally). It was a great reading week, and we had a lot of fun with these books.

Kellee

• Reading: Lafayette by Nathan Hale
  • Nathan Hale is our author who is going to come to our school next year!
• Listening: I haven’t decided what I want to listen to next as I wait for the 5th Unicorn Rescue Society book to be out in 8 days.
• Listening with Trent: Unicorn Rescue Society: The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz (for book club)
• Trent reading with Henry: Elephant and Piggie books during partner reading for their weekly book club

Ricki

I am on the quest for more books that feel comfortable and challenging for my son. He loves the Elephant and Piggie books. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d love to hear them!

 

Tuesday: The Princess in Black and the Case of the Coronavirus by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale, Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Thursday: Review and Giveaway!: It Is (Not) Perfect by Anna Kang, Illustrated by Christopher Weyant

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Studying the Past, Writing the Future: Some Thoughts on the Study of History” by Todd Hasak-Lowy, Author of We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World

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?
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!

Updated Often: The Big List of Online Learning Resources for COVID-19 and Quarantine

Tuesday: Online Tools Recommended for Digital Teaching

Thursday: Everywhere Book Fest

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Anatomy of a Middle Grade Manuscript” by Laurie Smollett Kutscera

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

Kellee

• Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte: “Deaf author and librarian Ann Clare LeZotte weaves an Own Voices story inspired by the true history of a thriving deaf community on Martha’s Vineyard in the early 19th century. Mary Lambert has always felt safe and protected on her beloved island of Martha’s Vineyard… But recent events have delivered winds of change. Mary’s brother died, leaving her family shattered. Tensions over land disputes are mounting between English settlers and the Wampanoag people. And a cunning young scientist has arrived, hoping to discover the origin of the island’s prevalent deafness.”
• Abby in Oz by Sarah Mlynowski: I love this series so much–I look forward to reviewing it on Thursday!
• Max Meow: Cat Crusaders by John Gallagher: Fans of Dog Man, Captain Underpants, and Lunch Lady are going to love this new addition to the graphic novel superhero world! Max Meow accidentally gets powers, and he is so excited to save the day, but Agent M, an evil rat, will do anything to sabotage him. I will definitely be getting this one for my school library and for my son!
• Bad Guys: Attack of the Zittens by Aaron Blabey: Bad Guys is such a silly story! I feel a bit bad for Wolf as he continually really does try to be good while the others aren’t always on the same page. The Shark was once again my favorite in this one.
• Trent has been reading to his 1-year-old cousin a couple of nights a week (so cute btw!). This last week he read One Lonely Fish, Brown Bear, I’m a Librarian, and Nibbles Numbers. 
• Virtual Read Alouds: Mac Barnett, Oliver Jeffers, Greg Pizzoli, Josh Funk, Michelle Obama, and Levar Burton.
  • I am so thankful for these virtual read alouds! Since March 30th, Trent has read 91 titles. A huge majority is because of these virtual read alouds (and his teacher reading a book a day!).
  • The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers is Trent’s go-to book since Oliver Jeffers read it. He has read it independently a few times since then.

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

My one-year-old (He turned one this week!) can now crawl across the ground with a book in his hand. He thinks he’s absolutely brilliant and grins broadly when I lift him into my lap to read a book.

The boys and I finished Bad Guys: Attack of the Zittens by Aaron Blabey. The 6yo has a book club with Trent, and I am excited to hear them chat about it tomorrow!

The 6yo read Mac and Cheese by Sarah Weeks to me, too. He found it on his bookshelf and was intrigued. It was an adorable story. Now, whenever my kids are grumpy, I tell them not to be a “grumpy grump” like Cheese. 🙂

I didn’t read anything else new this week (but re-read many, many, MANY picture books), but I did submit a chapter to my editor for my book!

Kellee

• Reading: Doodleville by Chad Sell
• Listening: The Chupacaras of the Rio Grande by Adam Gidwitz and David Bowles
• On Deck: Act by Kayla Miller & One Last Shot by John David Anderson
• Listening with Trent: The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz

Ricki

Reading with the 6yo: The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz

Reading (a chapter a week) with the 3yo: Juana & Lucas by Juana Medina for his book club.

Reading for myself: Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. I am loving this debut so far.

Tuesday: Virtual Book Clubs with our Kids During Quarantine

Thursday: Abby in Oz and the Whatever After Series by Sarah Mlynowski

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “What Kids Can Do to Help the Environment and Why Does It Matter?” by Tracy Richardson, Author of The Field and Catalyst

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?
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!

Updated Often: The Big List of Online Learning Resources for COVID-19 and Quarantine

Tuesday: Ricki’s Reflection: Drawbacks of Homeschooling for My Child

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Ways to get Middle-Grade Students Excited About Reading” by Sherry Ellis, Author of Bubba and Squirt’s Mayan Adventure

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

Kellee

• Another week of reading primarily Mac Barnett, Oliver Jeffers, Mo Willems, and Greg Pizzoli. This week, we had Beekle thrown in because Dan Santat visited Mo Willems’s lunch doodles on the one we watched last week, and we love Beekle. Also, Mac Barnett read Mister Dog by Margaret Wise Brown after reading his book about her. Lastly, we also got to attend a virtual story time by our library, and they read Gorgonzola.
  • Reading Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers again reminded me how much I love it. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it!
• What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen: “Twelve-year-old Libby Monroe is great at science, being optimistic, and talking to her famous, accomplished friends (okay, maybe that last one is only in her head). She’s not great at playing piano, sitting still, or figuring out how to say the right thing at the right time in real life. Libby was born with Turner Syndrome, and that makes some things hard. But she has lots of people who love her, and that makes her pretty lucky.”
• The Space Between Lost and Found by Sandy Stark-McGinnis: “Cassie’s always looked up to her mom, a vivacious woman with big ideas and a mischievous smile. Together they planned to check off every item on a big-dream bucket list, no matter how far the adventure would take them. But then Mom was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and everything changed. Now, Cassie tries to keep Mom happy, and to understand some of Dad’s restrictive new rules. She tries to focus on math lessons and struggles to come up with art ideas that used to just burst off her pen. When Mom’s memories started to fade, so did Cassie’s inspiration. And even worse, she’s accidentally pushed away Bailey, the one friend who could make it all okay.”

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

My middle son is still quite fond of board books even though he is three. I think it is because he likes pocket-sized things. We read this book, What Can a Crane Pick Up? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich for the first time this week, and I was quite fond of it. I can see why it received a starred review. It is the perfect balance of silly and informational.

This was another board book I found to be quite charming. A Unicorn Named Sparkle’s First Christmas by Amy Young teaches kids that gifts and material things are less significant than love. I liked the message a lot.

These two were the titles my kids and I enjoyed most this week. 🙂

Kellee

• Reading: Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
• Listening: Abby in Oz by Sarah Mlynowski
• Reading with Trent: The Bad Guys: Attack of the Zittens by Aaron Blabey (Chapters 4-6 this week)
• Listening with Trent: Unicorn Rescue Society: The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz (Chapters 5-10 this week)
• And we’ll continue to go to Mac Barnett’s Mac’s Book Club Show Book Club, Oliver Jeffer’s Stuck at Home Book Club, and Greg Pizzoli’s Standby Book Club.
• Also, on Tuesday we’ll be joining Kobi Yamada, author of the What Do You Do With…? as he does a reading through a live Zoom call on Tuesday, April 21 at 1 p.m. PST/ 4 p.m. EST.  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-reading-of-what-do-you-do-with-an-idea-with-author-kobi-yamada-tickets-101653079096

Ricki

• Virtual Book Club #1 (6yo child): The Bad Guys: Attack of the Zittens by Aaron Blabey (Chapters 4-6 this week).
• Virtual Book Club #2 (6yo child): Unicorn Rescue Society: The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz (Chapters 5-10 this week).
• Virtual Book Club #3 (3yo child): Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina (Chapter 6 this week).
• Illustrated Harry Potter Book 2 with 6yo
• Goodnight Moon for the 483rd time with 11mo
• Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay (all for me!)

Tuesday: Online Tools Recommended for Digital Teaching

Thursday: Everywhere Book Fest

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Anatomy of a Middle Grade Manuscript” by Laurie Smollett Kutscera

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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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!

Updated Often: The Big List of Online Learning Resources for COVID-19 and Quarantine

Tuesday: Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence by Jacqueline Jules, Illustrated by Iris Deppe

Thursday: It’s Okay To….

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Handling Conflict in Middle Grade Novels” by Ben Gartner, Author of The Eye of Ra

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

Kellee

• Whatever After series: The newest book in the series came out last Tuesday, so I had to catch up! I love this series–it is so much fun, smart the way the fairy tales are twisted, and just a lovely read.
• City Spies by James Ponti: As a huge fan of middle grade spy books, this is one I am going to definitely add to my recommendation list for those who love Alex Rider and other adventure books like that. Ponti did a great job developing an amazing team of teens taht you connect to and root for!
• Lila and Hadley by Kody Keplinger: “Hadley is angry about a lot of things: Her mom going to jail. Having to move to another state to live with her older sister, Beth, even though they haven’t spoken in five years. Leaving her friends and her school behind. And going blind. But then Hadley meets Lila.”
• With Trent:
  • We’re reading the Questioneers books by Andrea Beaty for one of our virtual book clubs with a colleagues daughter. The books have so much to talk about!
  • Mac Barnett is a constant right now because of Mac’s Book Club Show Book Club. Trent will not allow us to miss one.
  • We sadly had gotten behind on Oliver Jeffers’s read alouds, so we did some binge watching/reading!
  • We are also going through our picture books to read some Trent never has before. We read quite a few fun ones this week. Trent’s favorites were:
    • The Monster Who Lost His Mean by Tiffany Strelitz Haber
    • Pirate Chicken: All Hens on Deck by Brian Yanish
    • Funny Farm by Mark Teague
    • My Dog is the Best by Laurie Ann Thompson

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

This week, I read a lot of phonics worksheets that my oldest son received as homework from school, but I don’t think those count? He also did a dozen worksheets each for The Bad Seed and Rosie Revere, Engineer. I love both of these books, so I enjoyed reliving them. He also finished Sideways Stories at Wayside School by Louis Sachar for his virtual book club. My middle son and I continue to read Juana & Lucas for his virtual book club (not finished with it yet). And my youngest son is really excited about closing any book we open, so he listens but tries to close the book every time I open the pages.

We officially closed the cover of the first illustrated Harry Potter book yesterday. I didn’t enjoy the series when I read it myself a decade ago, but I can officially say that I loved reading it with my kids.

As for me? I am kind of disappointed to say that I have not read any young adult books this week for myself. I have been really focused on working on my book for NCTE, so I’ve been doing a lot of writing. I miss reading a lot, but with the stay-at-home stuff, I don’t have many work hours, so I am compacting my 5-day work week into nights and weekends.

But tomorrow, I am going to try to teach my oldest son how to do stop animation. We are going to write a story together and put it into stop animation. I am hoping it goes well. Fingers crossed!

Kellee

• Reading: What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen
• Listening: Abby in Oz by Sarah Mlynowski
• Reading with Trent: The Bad Guys: Attack of the Zittens by Aaron Blabey (Chapters 1-3 this week for virtual book club); Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty; & Lights! Camera! Alice! by Mara Rockliff
• Listening with Trent: Unicorn Rescue Society: The Creature in the Pines by Adam Gidwitz (Chapters 1-4 this week for virtual book club)

Ricki

Henry and Trent are in two virtual book clubs together, so we will also be reading part of The Bad Guys: Attack of the Zittens by Aaron Blabey and Unicorn Rescue Society: The Creature in the Pines by Adam Gidwitz (see the photos Kellee posted above).

My middle son and I are still reading Juana & Lucas for his virtual book club. It’s fantastic.

My kids and I will also be starting Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Yahoo!

I am hoping I’ll be able to read something for myself, too. Stay well, everyone. <3

Tuesday: Ricki’s Reflection: Drawbacks of Homeschooling for My Child

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Ways to get Middle-Grade Students Excited About Reading” by Sherry Ellis, Author of Bubba and Squirt’s Mayan Adventure

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