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!
Thursday 12/16: Waffles and Pancake: Planetary-Yum by Drew Brockington
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
While we’ve been away, I (Kellee) went on vacation to Colorado, and Ricki and I got to see each other! It was the most wonderful 36 hours with one of my best friends! And the kids had such a blast together! 💖
Kellee
Here’s what I’ve read since I last updated on December 13th:
- Dragons in a Bag and The Dragon Thief by Zetta Elliott: Oh how I love these books! What a fun concept with great characters that anyone reading is going to fall in love with. I am so looking forward to the third one coming out! (I loved it so much that I added it to my fantasy/sci-fi book club options for my UCF Children’s Lit class!)
- Brilliant Bea by Shaina Rudolph, Illustrated by Mary Vukadinovich: With ALA Youth Media Awards around the corner, I wanted to get some picture book reading in for eligible Schneider Award picture books, and I was so happy to have found Brilliant Bea. What a great character who shows that dyslexia is more than who anyone is.
- Another Book About Bears by Laura Bunting, Illustrated by Philip Bunting: I thought this humor was on point, so I look forward to reading more from this duo (I checked out their website and there are so many to choose from!).
- Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen: What a fantastic futuristic adventure! I loved how the setting played its own part in the story, the humor that shone throughout, and the character development throughout. I was also lucky enough to write the teaching guide for it which was such a delight!
- The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity: This concept is so unique and fun! Gothic novel fan Haley gets swept away to Willowweep Manor and feels like her dreams have come true as she finds herself in a truly gothic setting; however, there is so much more going on than she first realizes!
- Sanctuary by Paola Mendez & Abby Sher: Whoa! One of my favorite reads of the year. Period. Dystopian and futuristic in the way that Internment by Samira Ahmed was, in a future just too close for comfort. This story looks at what could happen if we continue to suspect all immigrants instead of becoming inclusive.
- The Astonishing Color of After by Emily E.R. Pan: I can see why so many people love this book. It is beautiful. But man, it hit me hard and was just so sad! That may show how well done it is though.
- Santa in the City by Tiffany D. Jackson, Illustrated by Reggie Brown: A perfect Christmas Eve read aloud for Trent! And many of the questions asked in the book are ones that Trent is asking about Santa, too.
- My City Speaks by Darren Lebeuf, Illustrated by Ashley Barron: Like Brilliant Bea, this book fits Schneider criteria. It is a beautiful look at how a city sounds while a child, who is visually impaired, walks around.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney: I always read the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid, usually around Thanksgiving, but I hadn’t this year; I am glad I could squeeze it in before the end of the year! (I also want to commend Jeff Kinney for realizing that Greg and Rowley had a toxic relationship and moving away from including it.)
- My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame: Loved loved loved this story about a single Japanese father who meets his deceased twin brother’s husband for the first time. He must fight his own prejudice and learn to love his brother for who he was.
- Smaller Sister by Maggie Edkins Willis: This is a graphic novel you are going to want in your libraries! It is a story of sisterhood as well as body image, anorexia, and disordered eating. It is done so tactfully and within a story that any reader will connect with.
- Sayonara Football Vol. 2 by Naoshi Arakawa: Volume 1 ended in such an odd way, I am glad volume 2 picked up right where it left off and cleared things up for me. I think this is going to be a hit manga in my school.
- The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep by Allan Wolf: Allan Wolf is a genius. Have you read anything by him yet? If not, fix that. This one or his Titanic novel are brilliant. The way he tackles topics, does research to immerse himself, and can tell stories from so many points of view is just so all encompassing. I mean, some of the points of view in this book, which is about the Donner Party, is from hunger (literal and figurative) and from oxen–it was fascinating to read!
- A Night to Die For by Lisa Schroeder: A murder mystery thriller that kept me guessing, and I couldn’t believe the reveal when it was shared. Fans of Karen McManus, Holly Jackson, and Kara Thomas will want to pick this one up!
- Shuri by Nic Stone: It is great to see Shuri get her own novel, and it is quite the adventure!
To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2021 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Kellee
Currently, I am not reading anything! I do have 2 teaching guides to work on, and I have some novels I’ve chosen for book clubs in my Children’s Lit class at UCF that I need to reread, but we’ll see what I do this upcoming week as we return to work.
Tuesday: Kellee’s Favorite Books Read in 2021
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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Kellee, it’s so wonderful that you got to visit in-person with Ricki—how fun! And wow—you’ve been up to a lot of reading since you started your break! The book that immediately jumped out at me was Smaller Sister—I wrote it down in case I get a chance to buy some more books. Good luck with working on your teaching guides and Children’s Lit class, and thank you both so much for the great post and link round-up!
Oh that makes my heart happy to see you two together. Here’s hoping I get to hug both of you in 2022!
Awww, I’m so glad you were able to get together!!
Kellee~ I’ve been meaning to read Crazy Rich Asians. The oldest in my family is wanting to watch the movie and I’d really like to read the book, first. And I remember enjoying Dragons in a Bag, but I never got around to The Dragon Thief. I’m glad to hear it was good!
It’s great that you two saw one another. Yay! Have a wonderful reading year ahead!
I’m not sure I say this, but thanks so much for hosting #IMWAYR!
Some of these books are on my list, but I have added the Dragons in a Bag series, Brilliant Bea, The Astonishing Color of After and Smaller Sister to my want to read list. Happy New Year to both of you.