It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how 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. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.
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!
Wednesday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: We’re a Bad Idea, Right? by K. L. Walther
Friday: Student Voices: Beauty in Life Op Eds from Maya D. and Samanta F.
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
Picture Books
- Beatrice and the Nightingale by Patricia Newman, Illustrated by Isabelle Follath: I don’t know how I missed this release from Patricia Newman, but I am so glad that she shared it with me at ALA. It is a nonfiction picture book about a cellist who duets with a nightingale. I loved learning about Beatrice Harrison as a cellist and her time exploring music with nature. I am a fan of all of Newman’s books and this one didn’t disappoint!
- Christian’s Soccer Superpowers by Christian Pulisic, Illustrated by Marta Kissi: A perfect book to read aloud with the World Cup just wrapping up because it combines soccer and a great lesson about confidence. And it is written by a player many kids may know!
- Monsters are the Worst! by Alex Willan: Another great addition to this series! As always, Willan’s artwork is so colorful, expressive, and fun and his story is silly yet because, as always, what seems like the worst are actually pretty awesome! Anyone a fan of the series will love this one!
- Landing in a New Pond by Marisa Ramel, Illustrated by Jennifer Doehring: A great book for libraries and classrooms for three purposes: 1) for a child who has moved recently; 2) for lessons about ducks and migration; 3) someone struggling with connecting with their sibling. And with realistic yet colorful and fun illustrations, readers will connect with the characters and the story.
Middle Grade
- Einstein the Penguin by Iona Rangeley: The cover and title of this book sucked me in right away and then finding out that it also has mystery and a great side cast of characters made it even better! I do agree with some reviews that say that the book does try to include a lot of plot into its 200 pages, but I think the author does it well to give readers an introduction to our main characters in a way that is more multi-dimensional. The book reminds me a bit of Paddington, and I think that kids who like that kind of humor and pacing will love this book.
- Follow the Water: The Unbelievable True Story of a Teenager’s Survival in the Amazon by Ellen Cochrane: I did not know this story before reading this book and it IS truly unbelievable. In 1971, Juliane is in a plane crash in the middle of the Amazon and survives and is able to, after almost 2 weeks, survive! The story as a survival story which makes it very engaging and the author also obviously did a lot of research because the book is filled with information as well. I was enthralled by this book!
- The Endless Game by J.D. Amato, Illustrated by Sophie Morse: When Fred moves to a new town, he worries it will be just the same as all of the other towns he’s lived in, but he learns quickly that Lakeside, IL is different because the entire town is taking part in a giant game of capture the flag that has been going on for generations! Through this game, Fred finds a place in town like he never has before and his summer becomes more epic than he could have ever imagined. This graphic novel was so much fun and unique–well worth the read and kids will enjoy it.
- The Amazing Generation: How to Choose Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price: I was fascinated by the idea of The Anxious Generation so when I heard there was a middle grade version, I knew I wanted to read it, and I am glad I did (and I listened to it with Trent!). We are still talking about this book. It was written in a way that leads to respect, not obedience, and explains why setting boundaries around screens is something that is worth talking about and exploring. So well done; I hope kids will pick it up!
- At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom by Erin Entrada Kelly: This is more than just a biography of Joey Guerrero–it is also about the history of Hansen’s disease and Philippines’ part in World War II. I am so, so, so glad I read it. Joey is a force that all people should know about and the history in the book is unfortunately not taught in our eurocentric history curriculum. And since it is Erin Entrada Kelly, you know it is written beautifully, including how she included informational sidebar/inserts throughout the fill in knowledge gaps. A truly exceptional book.
- Greta Ever After by Melissa Dassori: I am always happy to come across a new fairy tale, and Greta Ever After is just that! Greta has ambition and goals, but she feels like she is struggling to move towards them, so when an opportunity to manipulate the situation in her favor occurs, she guiltily takes part whcih starts a tumbling of bad choices. Then add in a magical clock and companion who gives Greta a choice she may not be able to turn down, and now we have ourself a modern-day fairy tale. I usually struggle with magical realism, but I think the author did a good job intertwining it. I also thought it was clever how the authro incorporated Greta’s love of journalism into the structure of the book.
- Scat: The Incredible Science of Wildlife Poop by Anita Sanchez: Trent and I listened to this audiobook and it was much more scientific and informative than I could have imagined. Scat is a HUGE part of the environment and because of the taboo over it, it isn’t talked about, so it was interesting to learn about its part in nature.
- The Sixth Extinction (Young Readers Adaptation): Which Species will go the Way of the Dinosaurs and Which will Survive? by Elizabeth Kolbert: This is a heavy book. A scary book. A too-real book. I learned so much while reading it; it is a book that will stick with me for a long time. I think that everyone should read it, or its full length version. It truly teaches us about our planet’s history and the danger of its present and possibilities of the future. Brilliant.
- A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day, Illustrated by Yas Imamura: Day’s Mona Lisa book is one of my favorite nonfiction books, so when I found out that his next book is about a volcano, I was sold right away. Then it won all sorts of ALA awards, so I knew that it was going to be as well done, and I was not disappointed. Like Mona Lisa, Day does a fantastic job of telling a story about something (a volcanic eruption) and sharing how it was part of a much bigger picture than it seems at first. In this case, the volcanic eruption leads to Frankenstein–want to know how? Read this fascinating book!
- The Six (Young Readers Edition): The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush with Rebecca Stefoff: I did not know this history as much as I thought. I knew about Sally Ride and the shuttle program, but I did not know about the six first women astronauts, the sexist barriers they fought through, and how much the six led to huge changes at NASA. The book was very detailed and interesting and actually quite suspenseful. An intriguing read.
- Building 903 by Lois Lowry: I need to talk to someone about this book. I don’t really want to review it too much because I think it is a book that everyone who reads it will experience differently. If you are a Lois Lowry fan, dystopian reader, or anti-book banning, you should give it a try.
- Sole Survivor by Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely: This is a true story that doesn’t seem true. Like Follow the Water, it is a story about a young person that survives a plane crash and is the sole survivor–this time the crash was at the top of a snow covered mountain. Because Norman Ollestad is one of the co-writers of the book (and the main character), the book is in first person which really sucks the reader in. It is another unbelievable story that is so hard to put down until you know how he makes it!
- Witch Hunt: The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare by Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy, Illustrated by Tim Foley: I think the Cold War and the Red Scare are things that happened and unless you lived it, you don’t really understand fully what happened. This book takes you back and helps you experience it. The authors did a fantastic job having different primary sources while also including their explanations and thoughts. And the structure was so smart! It was chunked with quotes and information shared and then their explanations–it made it very easy to follow. It was such a fantastic job that this book gave me quite a bit of anxiety because there are terrifying similarities to modern-era.
- Earthrise: The Story of a Photograph That Changed the Way We See Our Planet by Leonard S. Marcus: It is fascinating that a photograph truly did change the way humans saw Earth, and this book takes the reader through the history of the photograph and what it came to mean. Through the story, the history of Apollo was also shared. Combined with The Six, I received a great space education.
- Living Light: Conserving Bioluminescent Plants and Animals by Stephen Aiken: Bioluminescence is so interesting! This is a traditionally structured nonfiction book filled with so much information that kids will really gravitate to because, well, glowing things are cool! I loved learning about how bioluminescence is helping with cancer research!
- Diamond Fever!: A True Crime Story in the Wild West by Steve Sheiken, Illustrated by Jon Chad: I am loving these nonfiction books that are so interesting and suspenseful that you can’t put them down! This one tells the story of a supposed diamond mine found in the west during the height of the gold rush. The story includes trickery and adventures and is told in a snarky way, all that keeps the reader wanting to figure out how it all went down. Just a wild story!
- Cracking the Code: The Human Quest to Uncover Secrets by Rachel Kehoe, Illustrated by Meegan Lim: This was a very cool book that shared so many different tales of codes being cracked–from coded letters to ciphers to the enigma machine to even looking at our DNA as a code. With each “case” covering a couple of spreads, the book keeps you reading and engaged.
Young Adult
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black: I can definitely see why this book is loved. I mean, it is Holly Black’s brilliant writing combined with her well-established faerie world with a new story following a mortal in the magical world. Jude is easy to love and despise, which makes it more fun to keep reading about her, and her journey in the book truly went in ways I didn’t see coming. I am interested in hearing who everyone things the cruel prince is though–I don’t think the answer is as easy as it seems. I will definitely have to read more of this series.
Adult
I finished my Freida McFadden/thriller journey in early July. I finished 23 McFadden books and the Alibis Collection, which includes 6 short stories including 1 by McFadden. It was a fun side quest, and it really got me back in the reading habit!
And you can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
It is my week off; I’ll share what I read next week.
Kellee
I actually don’t know what I am going to read now! My audiobook expired on Hoopla, so I am waiting until August to start reading it again, and I am not sure what physical book I’ll pick up as I just finished The Cruel Prince–we’ll see!
Wednesday: Fatal Glitch: Camp Zero and Let’s Play a Game by Erin Entrada Kelly and Eliot Schrefer
Friday: Student Voices: The Power of Books from Mina Y. and Mily R.
Sunday: Author Guest Post: “The Magical Science of Graphic Novels” by Matthew Manning, Author of The Spark Experiment
Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on other linked blogs. If you post about your Monday post, tag the post with #IMWAYR!
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