It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/6/23

Share

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!

Bold_line

Tuesday: Educators’ Guide for The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

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

Bold_line

Kellee

Graphic Novels/Mangas

School Trip by Jerry Craft Clock Striker, Volume 1 by Issaka Galadima Tegan and Sara by Tegan Quin
Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotouge 鬼滅の刃 4 [Kimetsu no Yaiba 4] by Koyoharu Gotouge Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotouge
Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes Saving Sunshine by Saadia Faruqi The Lost Heir by Tui T. Sutherland In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee

  • School Trip by Jerry Craft: The third book in the New Kid series does not disappoint, as the group goes to Paris! Although everyone is excited to go to Paris, it ends up being trickier and with bumps that were unexpected. It also looks at how identity changed depending on your setting.
  • Clock Striker Vol. 1 by Issaka Galadima, Frederick L. Jones, and Saturday AM: The first book in a sci-fi manga series where a young girl finds herself as a sidekick to a legendary warrior, called a SMITH, which leads to one adventure after another.
  • Junior High by Tegan and Sara Quin, Illustrated by Tillie Walden: Two sisters navigate everything about junior high together in this graphic novel, from crushes to friendship.
  • Demon Slayer Vol. 3, 4, 5 by Koyoharu Gotouge: I can definitely see why student love this series. It is hard to predict, full of nonstop action, and lead by unexpected heroes.
  • Garvey’s Choice: The Graphic Novel by Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III: Grimes’s beautiful verse about Garvey’s life as he combats expectations versus passions combined with Taylor’s illustrations brings this story to a whole new level. I loved how it was done.
  • Saving Sunshine by Saadia Faruqi, Illustrated Shazleen Khan: Such a sweet story about bickering siblings that have to find common ground while on vacation, mostly once they have the same mission.
  • Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #2: The Lost Heir by Tui T. Sutherland, Illustrated by Mike Holmes: The more I read this series, the more I don’t know what is truthful and what is a lie. So much is going on! I hope book 3 clears it up.
  • In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee: This was tough to read because of the struggles Deborah has with her mental health in middle school, but I am so glad that Deb is telling her story to normalize the emotions that she had. Additionally, the illustrations are wonderful and there is more to the story than meets the eye.

Middle Grade/Middle School

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf New School Skirmish by Zoe Tokushige Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros 
The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm

  • The Boy in the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf: This early middle grade novel is a great introduction to the refugee crisis and how kindness can change the world.
  • Airi Sano, Prankmaster General: New School Skirmish by Zoe Tokushige, Illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar: A new illustrated novel with humor and lessons that will be great for early middle grade readers who gravitate towards books like Dork Diaries. Underneath the humor, silliness, and hijinks, is a great lesson about figuring out who you are in a new place.
  • Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling: Dusti Bowling never disappoints me. Jolene knows that her friend is in trouble but no one believes her, so she goes on a journey, as you guessed it–across a desert, to save her. The suspense is real!
  • Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros: I will be reviewing this tomorrow!
  • Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, Illustrated by Isabelle Follath: This is one of Trent’s books for Battle of the Books and we listened to it together. It is full of dark humor and a young girl that changes a small part of the world; it is great for fans of Lemony Snicket or Roald Dahl.
  • The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera: What happens if Halley’s Comet took a turn and was coming for Earth? Petra is told that she’ll be put in cryosleep until they reach their new settlement, but when she wakes up, she learns that the truth is MUCH more complicated than the escaped Earthlings were told.
  • The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm: Trent is a member of his Battle of the Books team, and this is his favorite book that he’s read so far, so I knew I had to pick it up; I can definitely see why he loves it! Holm’s book shows what it would be like to live on Mars in a settlement while life and tensions continue on Earth.
  • More Awesome Asian Americans: 20 Citizens Energize America by Phil Amara and Oliver Chin, Illustrated by Juan Calle: Although I haven’t read the first in this series yet, I now want to–it was wonderful to learn about all of these innovators. And I am a fan of the mix of who is represented: from actors, athletes, singers, and authors to inventors, chefs, botanists, lawyers, and more! Even those who were not new to me, much of what I learned was new to me.

Young Adult

Three Drops of Blood by Gretchen McNeil The Black Queen by Jumata Emill The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle We Were Kings by Courtney C. Stevens

  • Three Drops of Blood by Gretchen McNeil: This book is different than the McNeil #murdertrending series, but it definitely has as much suspense! The first half of the book sets the stage and it takes a little bit to get to the action (and blood!), but stick with it, and you will not be disappointed.
  • The Black Queen by Jumata Emill: Nova is the first Black homecoming queen at her high school and on the night she is crowned, she is murdered. In this book, told in dual points of view (Nova’s best friend and the girl accused of murdering her) takes you through the investigation into the racially charged town that led to the tragic death.
  • The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle: While there is no game in this book and I’m baffled by the title, everything else about it kept me reading. It keeps you guessing and trying to find clues all the way to the end when everything comes together.
  • We Were Kings by Court Stevens: With only days to save her mom’s best friend from the death penalty, Nyla decides to investigate the murder she was convicted for herself. The clues just keep coming and when it all is revealed… whoa!

Picture Books/Early Readers

Invisible Things by Andy J Pizza Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey Sunny and Oswaldo by Nicole Melleby The Sky Is Not the Limit by Jérémie Decalf Bitsy Bat, School Star by Kaz Windness

  • Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller: This is such a cool book! It is a fun and fascinating way of looking at the world around us that will lead to many discussion and revisits! It truly shows what is magical about our world!
  • Henry, Like Always by Jenn Baily, Illustrated by Mika Song: I loved revisiting Henry in this chapter book! Henry (the picture book) was honored by the Schneider Award Committee while I was on it, so I am already a big fan of this sweet boy.
  • Sunny and Oswaldo by Nicole Melleby, Illustrated by Alexandra Colombo: I loved the message of this book! Oswaldo shows us that everyone deserves love, especially when recovering from trauma, even if they don’t act the exact way you think they should. This story of a cat shared this message in such a lovely way!
  • The Sky is Not the Limit by Jérémie Decalf: I love the combination of beautiful verse, amazing illustrations, and space information. Decalf’s book will lead to any reader to want reread it and then learn more about Voyager 2.
  • Bitsy Bat, School Star by Kaz Windness: Bitsy has trouble fitting in but she reminds herself and her classmates that she is a star just the way she is while also highlighting what makes each of the characters special. It was a nice way to share a neurodivergent character with readers.

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

Ricki

See you next week!

Bold_line

Kellee

Reading: Wings of Fire The Graphic Novel #3: The Hidden Kingdom by Tui T. Sutherland, Illustrated by Mike Holmes; Global by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin, Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano; and The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart

Listening: We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

Bold_line

Tuesday: Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros

Thursday: Author Guest Post by Margarita Engle, Author of Destiny Finds Her Way: How a Rescued Baby Sloth Learned to be Wild

Bold_line

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

1 thought on “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/6/23”

Leave a Reply to Earl Dizon Cancel reply