It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

CONGRATULATIONS
Crystal for winning The Lost Girl giveaway!
Mary Alison for winning the Pumpsie giveaway!
Cassandra for winning the Duck and Hippo: The Secret Valentine giveaway!
Elisabeth for winning the Lost in the Antarctic giveaway!

 

Wednesday: Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro

Friday: Complexity in Someday by David Levithan

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Writing Process” by Lauren L. Wohl, Author of Extravaganza at the Plaza

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

Kellee

It is time to celebrate Trent’s birthday (HE IS GOING TO BE FIVE!), so today and next Monday I’ll be spending time with my family. I’ll be back on March 4th 🙂

Ricki

I finished the ARC of Jo Knowles’ latest book, Where the Heart Is. I loved this book. It tackles issues not commonly seen in middle grade literature. The main character is questioning her sexuality in ways that felt very real to me. Her parents are struggling financially and aren’t sure if they are going to be able to pay their mortgage. It’s a powerful book about friendship, family, and identity.

My 5-year-old finished reading Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor all by himself! We tackled three new pages each day, and I am so, so proud of him. Thanks to some of our fellow bloggers (Elisabeth, especially), we have a solid list of other engaging early readers in our future. I don’t generally enjoy early readers, but there are some gems out there that I have loved.

Ricki

My son and I enjoyed Fox the Tiger so much that we are going back a year and reading the first book, Fox is Late.

I am a few weeks delayed, but I am excited to get to On the Come Up by Angie Thomas this week. I just have to read a couple of journal issues that I missed last month first. 🙂

Tuesday: Teacher Action Research

Wednesday: Trent’s Favorite Reads as of his Fifth Birthday!

Thursday: Blog Tour with Reviews, Book Trailer, and Giveaway!: It’s Not Hansel and Gretel by Josh Funk

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: What If…? Then We…: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Possibilities  by Recebba Kai Dotlich

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 started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Tuesday: Parenting in the Age of School Lotteries and School Choice

Thursday: Review and Giveaway!: Duck and Hippo: The Secret Valentine by Jonathan London
Giveaway open until Wednesday!

Friday: Blog Tour with Review, Educators’ Guide, and Giveaway!: The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu
Giveaway open until Thursday!

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

Kellee

A much better reading week!

• Trent is pretty darn obsessed with Dog Man. We bought a box with the first three, and now that we’re on the third book, he has already asked if we could get four.
• I reviewed The Lost Girl on Friday, so check that out to see what I thought. (Spoiler: A special book!)
• Merci Suarez Changes Gears is everything I wanted and more! I’m definitely going to review it for you all! It definitely deserved the Newbery.
• And it must have been an award-winning book reading week because I also read The Poet X which blew me away! I can see why it won like everything.
• Done with the second Land of Stories book! It is pretty darn clever how Chris Colfer tied all of the fairy tales together. Waiting for the third audiobook to be available from my library now…

Ricki

My boys and I read Make This! by National Geographic. This is probably my favorite book that has come out of National Geographic. It’s divided into chapters (Forces, Motion, Optics, Energy, etc.), and each chapter features easy-to-create projects for kids to learn about physics and engineering. Most of the projects can be completed with items in our house. After every project, my boys were shrieking, “Let’s make it! Right now!” We currently have a straw rocket on the counter. (We had to pause for bedtime, but I suspect it will be in the air tomorrow.) My husband, an engineer, was impressed by the ways in which the chapters were divided. I am a big fan of this book and will be gifting it to a few engineer-loving kids that I know.

Kellee

• Going to listen to The Poet X now because I need to hear it performed.
• Red Queen take 3! Let’s see if I can finish it this time 🙂
• And onto Dog Man 3!

Ricki

I am loving Where the Heart is by Jo Knowles. She captures characters and emotion so beautifully. I am rushing to finish this post, so I can get back to it!

I am listening to They Both Die at the End (Adam Silvera). I have an hour and a half left. I suspect most of the readers of this blog have read it, but it is on my #mustreadin2019 list!

I am proud that my son is reading Fox the Tiger entirely by himself. We read a new page or two each day and review all of the previous pages together each day. I really, really enjoy this book and was glad it won the Geisel award. It’s a fantastic early reader that is engaging and fun.

 

Wednesday: Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro

Friday: Complexity in Someday by David Levithan

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Writing Process” by Lauren L. Wohl, Author of Extravaganza at the Plaza

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 started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Wednesday: Review and Giveaway! Lost in the Antarctic: The Doomed Voyage of the Endurance by Tod Olson
Giveaway open until Friday!

Thursday: The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

Friday: Review and Giveaway!: Waiting for Pumpsie by Barry Wittenstein
Giveaway open until Friday!

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

Kellee

Not a big reading week in my world. Not sure why, I read every day, but just didn’t get anything finished.
Almost done with The Lost Girl which I’m reviewing on Friday, but I need one more night!

Ricki

I read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo last semester and loved it, but after it won the awards, I wanted to read it again. I didn’t think this was possible, but I liked it even more on the second reading. This book is simply phenomenal.

I also read the young adult book, Tales from the Inner City, by Shaun Tan. This cerebral text is a collection of fantastical stories and poems about animals. Each story and poem is followed by a beautiful, two-page spread illustration. The stories vary greatly in their emotional impact. Some move you to tears and others make you laugh. I have always admired Shaun Tan, but now I have even more respect for his genius brain. I’d love to use these for writing activity starters. I’ll be posting a full review for this one soon.

My boys loved J. R. Krause’s Dragon Night. They asked me to read it again the second we finished. It’s a clever tale of a boy who is afraid of the night and meets a dragon who is afraid of the knight. It takes some time for them to realize that they are afraid of different things.

Dress Like a Girl was good, and I wonder if I am the wrong audience for it. I love books that push gender norms, and I didn’t feel like it got there. I loved all of the careers featured, but quite frankly, I don’t care about dress or attire, so I think the premise of the book was tricky for me. That said, I’ll be giving my book to a little girl I know who will love it.

Meet Miss Fancy by Irene Latham is wonderfully conceived. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. The book is set prior to the Civil Rights Movement. Frank really wants to meet and touch Miss Fancy, the elephant, but he isn’t allowed into the park because he is black. I have many conversations with my 5-year-old about Civil Rights, and this book offered good opportunities to talk further about the topic.

I love books about artists, and Out of This World: The Surreal Art of Leonara Carrington by Michelle Markel was no exception. I loved learning about this new-to-me artist, and I especially liked how she resisted becoming a “proper English lady.” Not surprisingly, the book has beautiful illustrations.

Kellee

So many titles that I’m reading right now. Hopefully this week is more successful!

Ricki

I am a bit behind the boat, but I am just starting Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. I know many of you have loved it, and I am excited to get started.

Tuesday: Parenting in the Age of School Lotteries and School Choice

Thursday: Duck and Hippo: The Secret Valentine by Jonathan London

Friday: The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu

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 started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

CONGRATULATIONS
to Allison H. and Jeana S.
for winning our Beep and Bob giveaway!!!!

 

Tuesday: Call for Middle and High School Teachers of Young Adult Literature

Friday: Searching for Lottie by Susan L. Ross

Sunday: Guest Post: The Most Banned and Challenged Books of the Past Five Years

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

Kellee

• With Trent: Dog Man by Dav Pilkey. And he is obsessed! He wants to read chapter after chapter and gets so excited when he sees Dog Man out in the world.
• War Cross by Marie Lu is ridiculously good! Wow! I can’t wait to read Wild Card–hopefully the library will have the ebook for me soon!
• I also finished Lost in the Antarctic and am reviewing it this week!

Ricki

I finished my first book on my #mustreadin2019 list! I read 3/4 of A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi last year and then had to stop to finish a few other books for school. I started from the beginning and listened to it this time. It’s absolutely beautiful. This book will stick with me for a long time. My students love it, too. I will read anything by Atia Abawi.

My son and I loved Waiting for Pumpsie by Barry Wittenstein—even if he was a Red Sox player. It was wonderful learning about this historic man. The book is quite interesting and engaging.

Whew. The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander is very powerful. I read it to my 2- and 5-year-old, and I am fairly certain most of it went over their heads (even with some explanation), but I am going to keep it for them for when they are a tiny bit older. This is a great book to add to the #blacklivesmatter list…and every list. I’ll be buying this one in hard copy.

¡Vamos!: Let’s Go to the Market by Raúl the Third is a fantastic new bilingual book that will be coming out with the first batch from Versify press. Each page contains a wealth of information and pictures. My two kids were captivated when we read it. Look out for this one. It will be getting a lot of press.

Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart shows a plethora of different families. It details the meaning of each color in the rainbow. I love books that feature different types of families as the norm. Imagine if we lived in a world where picture books were more like this one? I have high hopes that future books will model this one.

Hooray for Josh Funk and his new masterpiece, It’s Not Hansel and Gretel! We read the first page, and my son immediately said, “YAY! It’s like the Jack and the Beanstalk book!” This fairy tale retelling doesn’t disappoint. It was quite fun to read aloud, and it offers real flexibility for classroom use. It’s a great pick for teachers!

Duck and Hippo: The Secret Valentine by Jonathan London is the latest book in the adorable Duck and Hippo series. These two have found a place in my heart alongside other favorites like Frog and Toad. The characters each receive a valentine with the same message to meet in the park. But who could have sent it?

Kellee

• With Trent: Dog Man: Unleashed by Dav Pilkey
• With my eyes: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
• With my ears: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer

Ricki

I am savoring the end of Blood Water Paint (a reread).

I am reading two teacher action research books for my class. I can’t decide if I want to start an adult book All the Light We Cannot See, which I’ve heard is great, or stick with my love, YAL. There are so many great books on my nightstand that it will likely be a whim.

Wednesday: Lost in the Antarctic: The Doomed Voyage of the Endurance by Tod Olson

Thursday: The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

Friday: Waiting for Pumpsie by Barry Wittenstein

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 started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Teaching Tuesday: A Virtual Book Signing with Alice Faye Duncan

Wednesday: Crown Not Crow by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

Thursday: Hush Up and Hibernate by Sandra Markle

Friday: Review and Giveaway!: Beep and Bob Series by Jonathan Roth

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Student Body: Fostering Positive Body Images Among Students”  by Leanne Baugh, Author of Story of My Face

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

Kellee

• Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes: Are there parents actually like this?! And if there are, I hope there are kids just like this also! Wow–the injustice behind the censorship in this book just takes my breath away and makes my blood boil. I hope this book helps show kids the importance of book importance and availability.
• Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer: I definitely see why my students love this series. What fun fairy tale retellings! I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.
• Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson: I love the endings of both of Libenson’s books! And the structure of her books are unique and fun also. What great middle grade novels!
• The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs: WHOA! Twists and surprises and romance and more twists–definitely a must read for your mystery YAL readers!
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney: Newest Greg Heffley story. Not my favorite, but just as much fun as the others.
• Inkling by Kenneth Oppel: Kenneth Oppel never lets me down! He is one of the most underrated authors, and this book supports that as well. Inkling is creative, fun, special, and unique! A must read!

 

• Dooby Dooby Moo by Doreen Cronin and Click, Clack, Quack to School by Doreen Cronin: We’re on a Coreen Cronin kick! I didn’t know she had so many books; thanks to Trent’s book exchange at school and my friend Erin, we’re expanding our repertoire!
• Bob Books: Trent can read these, and I love it so much, and it makes me so happy!

Ricki

Unfortunately, I have to bow out for today. I’m sorry. Pregnancy is not kind this week!

Kellee

• Dog Man by Dav Pilkey: I am rereading Dog Man but this time with Trent. He saw this series at the bookstore and BEGGED me for it; how could I say no! And he finds it hilarious and loves being read it. So much fun!
• Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer: Looking forward to seeing what happens next!
• War Cross by Marie Lu: My students are going to be so excited that I am starting this!
• Lost in the Antarctic: The Doomed Voyage of the Endurance by Tod Olson: How did I not know about this series!??! I am really loving this so far, and I’ll definitely be reviewing this for you!

Tuesday: Call for Middle and High School Teachers of Young Adult Literature

Friday: Searching for Lottie by Susan L. Ross

Sunday: Guest Post: The Most Banned and Challenged Books of the Past Five Years

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 started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

 

Tuesday: Kellee’s Five Star Reads of 2018

Wednesday: Ricki’s Favorite Reads of 2018

Thursday: Final Update of #MustReadin2018

Friday: Kellee and Ricki’s #MustReadin2019 Lists

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Curiousity, Ignorance, and the Big What If?” by Jeanne Moran, Author of The Path Divided

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

Kellee

I apologize for taking off a Monday right after we got back, but this past weekend was one of Jim’s Disney races, so I took the weekend off to root him on and spend time with family. See you next Monday! 🙂

Ricki

I finished listening to The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed. This book was a finalist for the AEWA award, and I’ve seen it referenced several times. It is going to stick with me for a long time. I leave this book with admiration for the strength of the characters in this book. It takes a different approach to the #metoo movement than I’ve seen in any other book. If you missed this one last year, I recommend it highly.

I listened to Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris. I can proudly say that this is the ONE book that I will be putting on my baby registry. My kids listened to it with me while we crafted, and my older son started to respond to the questions posed in the book. It’s all about finding the superheroes around us and being superheroes ourselves. This book just makes me feel like a better person.

Ricki

I am trying to be better about my #mustreadin2019 list this year. This is the first book I’m tackling (A Land of Permanent Goodbyes). I read most of it last year and loved it, but I didn’t finish it because of a deadline. So I am restarting and listening to it this time. So far, so good.

My older son and I are reading Pelé: The King of Soccer by Eddy Simon and Vincent Brascaglia. Admittedly, I am not a huge soccer fan and I have no idea who Pelé is, but I love watching my son play soccer. He loves the book, and it is enjoyable to read so far.

Teaching Tuesday: A Virtual Book Signing with Alice Faye Duncan

Wednesday: Crown Not Crow by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

Thursday: Hush Up and Hibernate by Sandra Markle

Friday: Beep and Bob Series by Jonathan Roth

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Student Body: Fostering Positive Body Images Among Students”  by Leanne Baugh, Author of Story of My Face

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 started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

CONGRATULATIONS

Vi for winning our Two Truths and a Lie Giveaway! 
&
Danielle for winning our Children of Exile Giveaway!

Well, our last posts posted.

Wednesday: If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur by Amy Newbold

Friday: Ten Year Anniversary of the Sisters 8 series by Lauren Baratz-Logsted with Greg Logsted and Jackie Loggsted

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Shaping the World: Industrial Design” by Carla Mooney, Author of Industrial Design: Why Smartphones Aren’t Round and Other Mysteries

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

Kellee

Hello, friends! So nice to be back after a couple weeks off!

 

The novels I read were:

• This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills: I am so glad that Katie at Macmillan shared Emma Mills with me. Her books are such pleasurable reads that are written so well and are deep yet fun.
• Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen: I know this may be sacrilegious, but I may like Nielsen’s historical fiction even more than her fantasy. Resistance is action packed, emotional, and fact filled.
• Internment by Samira Ahmed: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Scary in the ways that is too full of a possible future. Whoa.
• Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills: Emma Mills does it again! If you haven’t read any of her novels, get started then read this one when it comes out!
• Odd One Out by Nic Stone: I am so glad that Nic Stone wrote this story for herself because she is not the only one out there that needs the story. A look at identity and friendship and family.
• #murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil: Another book that is futuristic but with our current state of things seems too close to reality mostly with reality shows and social media becoming so front and center to our lives.
• Searching for Lottie by Susan Ross: I am a fan of Susan Ross’s books. They are always a great middle grade introduction to some really tough subjects done in a gentle way yet without holding back anything. I also love that family is front and center in her stories.
• Beep and Bob: Too Much Space by Jonathan Roth: A chapter book that Trent and I read (my astronaut loving kiddo loved them!), and I will review them on here soon.
• Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro: Review coming closer to the publication date. Another great dark fantasy from Gregory Funaro.

The graphic novels I read were:

• Time Museum 2 by Matthew Loux: Have you read the first Time Museum graphic novel yet? If not, pick it up and then pick this one up because they are both so adventurous and funny!
• Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson: I can see why so many of my students love this story–it truly looks at what it means to be a middle schooler and struggling with finding your place.
• Edison Beaker, Creature Seeker: The Night Door by Frank Cammuso: A funny and smart introduction to a new middle grade graphic novel series!
• Monster Mayhem by Christopher Eliopoulos: I love Zoe. She is one of the smartest characters I have ever encountered in a book and the empathy she grows through the help of her robot and monster friends!
• Nico Bravo and the Hound of Hades by Mike Cavallaro: Mythology and graphic novel fans have a new series that they are going to love!
• The Singing Rock & Other Brand-New Fairy Tales by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer: I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings, and these new fairy tales are right on point.
• Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton: Yay Narwhal!!! I love these stories, and Otter adds a lovely new character!

The picture books I read were:

• The Lost Picnic by B.B. Cronin: A fun seek and find book!
• Cheerful Chick by Martha Brockenbrough: Chick is so cute! And a great message for the readers!
• Felipe and Claudette by Mark Teague: I love Mark Teague’s illustrations, and this story was so cute (I love Claudette!), and the ending was so heart warming!
• Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog by Lisa Papp: I loved the volunteering and literacy-loving aspect of this story!
• Cicada by Shaun Tan: Wow, Shaun Tan! He is so existential. And his illustrations are genius.
• Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman: A lovely story of Carl finding his identity.
• Maybe Tomorrow? by Charlotte Agell: Sometimes it is okay to not be dragging around all of the tough stuff in life and enjoy life instead.
• Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesday by Jon Stahl: But what do they eat on Wednesday? Read to find out and be ready to laugh!
• Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel: From love and joy to resistance and strength–all the reasons to put your hands up.
• I Need a Hug by Aaron Blabey: I love Blabey’s illustrations! They really add such humor to this story about finding someone to accept you.
• There’s a Hole in the Log in the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long: I love this song, and I am happy to have a fun book to read while singing it (and it has a twist ending!).
• Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayre: A look at all of what makes our amazing planet that we need to take better care of. Read for the message and view for the beautiful photographs.
• The Runaway Beignet by Connie Collins Morgan: A present from my Louisiana-based parents along with making beignets with Trent–yum! And a fun story that is retelling of the runaway gingerbread man.

Ricki

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes is incredibly powerful. I sobbed through the entire book.

Why, oh why, did it take me so long to read Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough? I read 3/4 of the book last semester and had to pause to finish some work. My pause is not representative of how incredibly amazing this book is.

  

• There’s a Hole in the Log in the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long: I never logged this one a couple of weeks ago, but I noticed it above in Kellee’s list. I love this book and read it often. It has such a great rhythm to it and is quite fun to read aloud.
• Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman: I also didn’t log this one! Deborah Freedman is a genius. She always impresses me. This book teaches about nature while also exploring identity.
• Here, George!, But Not the Armadillo, and Hey, Wake Up! by Sandra Boynton: I think I’ve read almost every Sandra Boynton book out there, but I read these three for the first time this weekend. My younger son loves everything she writes. He gets really excited when he finds her section of the bookstore. Here, George! was my favorite of the three. It describes what George, the dog, does when no one is home (spoiler: he dances!).
• Old MacDonald Had a Farm and The Wheels on the Bus by Nosy Crow: I got these two books for my younger son for the holidays. He absolutely loves this series. The sliders are really fun to push, and it adds a new twist to lift-the-flap books. They are very well-made.
• The Hat by Jan Brett: The illustrations of this book really shined.

Kellee

• Starting: Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes
• Listening: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (Yay! Hopefully I can finish it before the loan expires this time!!!)

Ricki

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka is next on my list! I saw it on a few Mock Printz lists, and I need to get to it NOW!

Tuesday: Kellee’s Five Star Reads of 2018

Wednesday: Ricki’s Favorite Reads of 2018

Thursday: Final Update of #MustReadin2018

Friday: #MustReadin2019

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Curiousity, Ignorance, and the Big What If?” by Jeanne Moran, Author of The Path Divided

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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