It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/28/14

Share

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

top ten tuesday emerson I kill candlewick

Tuesday: Top Ten Characters We Would Want With us on a Deserted Island

Friday: Candlewick Press Picture Books

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: First, I want to apologize to anyone who feels that I have not been visiting their blog. Last week, after commenting on many blogs, I went back to visit one and did not see my comment. After talking with the blog author, I realized my comment just disappeared. I started looking at some of the other blogs and past weeks, and I could not find my comments. It seems they were just never getting posted! 🙁 I promise I read your blogs! I worked with some of you, and I think I figured out a solution (I have to enter the comment and spam number/words a couple of times and click post), so hopefully I will not have this problem in the future. 

This week I continued to reread for my committee commitments, but I did finish Touched by Paul Mauer and a collection of Peanuts comics. I look forward to sharing Touched with you. It is quite an intense read, and one that high schoolers will truly connect with. I also was able to start reading Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson. I am not very far into it, but I do find that it is very lyrical and descriptive. I hope I enjoy it as much as others have.

With Trent, we read mostly Mo Willems’s books this week: three Cat the Cat books and three Elephant and Piggie books. I really love the Cat the Cat books, and I know they are going to be a favorite when he is a little bit older. They are interactive, and simple, yet so much fun. I read Elephant and Piggie: Are You Ready to Play Outsidefor the first time, and it is one of the best E&P books I’ve read. I love when Gerald is being down to earth, and in this one he is just a super friend. Finally, we also read Naked by Michael Ian Black, and it made me laugh out loud! Have you read it? If not, it will surely make you giggle.

Ricki: I finished an incredible professional development book: Critical Encounters in High School English by Deborah Appleman. The book provides scaffolded lessons to teach literary theory to students. One aspect I liked about this book was that Appleman stresses that literary theory is not just for AP English students. She provides lessons and ideas for all levels of students between grades 6 and 12. This book made me really excited about literary theory. The activities in the appendix are wonderful. I will be writing an extensive blog post about this book soon. I need a few days to digest it all!

Henry and I read seven picture books this week! Our favorite was My Pet Book by Bob Staake. It was very fun to read. We also loved the nonfiction book, The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins. This book proves that nonfiction picture books can be quite marvelous. If you are looking to teach metaphors, I would recommend checking out Ninja Boy Goes to School by N. D. Wilson. The other books we read were just okay, so we won’t share them. 🙂

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I go back to work today, so I am going to have to work on figuring out the balance between being a mom, working, and reading (future blog post about this). I do hope to finish Boys of Blur and then get to brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (thank you Holly!). I also plan on reading a couple of more Elephant and Piggie books with Trent, and then we’ll delve into other picture books we got from the library.

Ricki: This week, I plan to finish Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. I am also reading the textbook, Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century by Pam Cole. I am listening to The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin—which is excellent thus far.

 

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday walden hidden like anne frank bloomsbury

Tuesday: Authors Who Are Highly Represented in Our Libraries

Wednesday: Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner Announcement

Friday: Bloomsbury Picture Books

 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!

 Signature andRickiSig

20 thoughts on “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/28/14”

  1. Sometimes I have the same problems with comments! After writing a reply, sometimes I forget to “prove I’m human” and it all just goes to the great unknown! Boys of Blur and Brown Girl Dreaming have been getting lots of buzz so I have to check those. Yay for Fikry. I almost want to read it again already!

    Reply
    • I am so glad that I am not the only one that has had problems. I always typed in the #s/letters, but I guess it wasn’t working. Argh.
      I’ll let you know about Boys and Brown Girl. Having trouble getting into Boys, but I haven’t given it much time.
      Fikry that good?

      Reply
    • Fikry is simply delightful. I have been going for much longer walks because I can’t bear to turn it off. The other day, my headphones broke, and I almost threw them in the street! Happy reading this week!

      Reply
  2. Kellee- I see your comments but have also experienced popping in my comments and thinking I’m done and then find out later it wasn’t accepted, makes me crazy! 🙂 Best thoughts your way as you make the transition to work again, it is tough this week. I appreciated the balance. Ricki- love that you hold back on charing the stinky books… Must read My Pet Book soon! 🙂

    Reply
    • Isn’t it obnoxious?! I wonder how long it has been going on for…

      It is very tough. Once I get to work, I love being there. It is something my mind needs. But leaving Trent is SO tough. I miss being with him all day. Thank you for the kind words 🙂

      Reply
    • Debbie, if I don’t have something nice to say, I shouldn’t say it at all, right? That often doesn’t stop me in non-blog world, but I try my best to find the positives in books. Sometimes, it feels like too much of a stretch. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Loved the Boys of Blur, Kellee, & of course all the Elephant & Piggie books. Took the latest one to the beach with us, about making a new friend since my granddaughter is going to Kdg this year-new school! Your Critical Encounters books sounds great, Ricki, will look for your review. And I adored AJ Fikry-what a book! Hope all goes well for you this first week back, Kellee. Have a good week, too, Ricki!

    Reply
    • I haven’t been able to get into it yet, but I also haven’t given it enough time. I need to just curl up with it.
      I haven’t read the newest E&P book yet, but I’m sure it is wonderful!
      Good luck to your granddaughter this year!!!
      Thank you for the kind words, Linda. Today was tough, but it is going to be okay 🙂

      Reply
    • I am not looking forward to AJ Fikry being over. It is simply delightful. The characterization is magnificent. I will get right on that Critical Encounters review. It is an awesome resource.

      Reply
  4. Hmmmm… I am intrigued by the Critical Encounters book. I might have to check that out. I am not a huge fan of giving kids heavy doses of literary theory, but I think a little bit here and there can be helpful and allow them to think more critically about literature.

    Reply
  5. I have not read Cat the Cat books and my sister is always looking for good books to read to her twins, they are 15 mo. I’ll have to tell her about those!
    I can’t wait to read your post, Kellee. I’m sure it will resonate with a lot of us. I love what I do, but the unstructured time of summer is such a favorite. It’s hard going back to the hustle and bustle of everything.
    Ricki, I have AJ Fikry too, and just haven’t gotten to it. I think I’m going to have to set a pile of books aside that I absolutely must read before Aug. 18 (back to school date). I can’t believe it’s almost here!
    Have a great week!

    Reply
    • Oh yes, they’d be great for your sister! Cat the Cat is just the younger sibling to Elephant and Piggy.
      I am thinking a lot about what I am going to say in that post. I don’t want it to be too rambley, but I have a lot of thoughts to spill out.
      You have a great week as well!

      Reply
    • I can’t believe how quickly this summer has gone. I recommend AJ Fikry be in your must-read pile. The character development is incredible. I find myself laughing out loud as I listen.

      Reply
  6. I LOVE the Peanuts!! When I was a kid, I had a bunch of the books and Snoopy EVERYthing. lol I still have my little stuffed Snoopy in his Joe Cool outfit 🙂

    I keep hearing great things about AJ Fikry and hope to read it also.

    Good luck going back to work, Kellee!

    Sue

    Book By Book

    Reply
    • I love them too!! I great up in a Snoopy house. My mom swears that she only learned to read well and enjoy reading because of Snoopy 🙂 Love that you still have your Snoopy!!!
      Thank you for the good luck. It went well today though it was tough.

      Reply
  7. Kellee I love the Cat the Cat titles. Perfect buddy reading books in my room when the Ks come to visit and Gerald and Piggie are delightful always! I just had someone send me Naked! So excited to read it! Ricki -Isn’t Tree Lady gorgeous? I plan to share it with my class early in the year and have an art project planned around it. Just the cover makes me sigh. So beautiful.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Linda Baie Cancel reply