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.
CONGRATULATIONS
Emily M.
for winning a copy of Cast Off by Eve Yohalem
CONGRATULATIONS
Amanda T.
for winning a copy of The Dungeoneers by John David Anderson!
Last Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For the Rest of 2015
Thursday: Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway!: The Disappearance of Emily H. by Barrie Summy
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Last Week’s Journeys
Kellee: I had a pretty good week! Although I didn’t get to read a book a day as I’d like, I did read every day and finished two novels, a graphic novel, a picture book, and a new board book.
The two novels I read are both must reads! Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King is just another brilliant novel by King. This book is just an explosion of thought-provoking commentary mixed with humor, feminism, romance, depression, and a touch of magic. I also finished The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee by Barry Jonsberg. I do not know how I missed this book! Jonsberg has given us another book that will help readers build empathy for students around them that may be a bit different.
The graphic novel I read was Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes which is the first book in a series that so far is good, but… Holy cliffhanger, Batman! I love the cross-curricular aspects of this graphic novel and that smart kids are the star of the book. I did feel like this book was an introduction to the series and that this series is really going to pick up with book 2. This one is an introduction and the adventure/mystery is just starting.
The picture book I read was Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber which we’re reviewing for you on Wednesday.
Trent and I read a new, silly board book this week. The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz is full of nonsense rhymes while telling thestory of a hippo whose hiccups are causing problems.
Ricki: Happy Birthday, Kellee! I love you more than you know, my friend.
Well, my poor father fell down the stairs and broke his leg, so I have been helping him get around. This means a lot of lifting and not a lot of reading. I am thankful he is okay, so I am not sorry my priorities had to shift a bit this week. I did finish listening to Dodger by Terry Pratchett. To be honest, I wasn’t blown away. I enjoyed listening to it, but I didn’t find it to be incredibly unique or interesting.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee: The reason why I was not able to finish more novels (I finished Glory O’Brien on Monday and Candice Phee on Tuesday) is because Revolution by Deborah Wiles has stalled me a bit. This is a me problem, not a book problem. It is just so big which makes it not a travel or bed book. That really eliminates a good chunk of my reading time, so I have found myself on social media instead of reading a bit more while reading this book. I hope to have finished it by the time this posts (I’m writing this on Saturday because I am going out Sunday to celebrate my birthday which is Monday/today! Yay!), but I don’t know if that is realistic.
I am also listening to X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon. I am about 70% of the way through, and I listen to it whenever I can. It is fascinating! I look forward to Ricki’s review on Thursday.
After Revolution, I’m going to stick with reading about civil rights by reading Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley. Then I’ll switch it up to mythology with Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland then blood diamonds with Diamond Boy by Michael Williams. Hopefully I get more novels read this week. I do have a training on Tuesday, but next to that, I should be able to focus on reading and blogging this week.
Ricki: I can’t decide which AudioBookSync free summer read to listen to next. There are so many great choices! Which is your favorite? While I have you here, I want to pick your brains because you are incredible teachers: Does anyone have any suggestions for creative discussion formats to use in the middle/high school classroom? I am looking to try something new in my Methods class next week. They are future secondary teachers (of all subject areas). We’ve done Jigsaws, Fishbowls, Give One Get One, Four Corners (Agree/Disagree), and Post-It Notes (on Discussion Questions posted on the Walls). Please feel free to share in the comments. (And if you’d like, I can gather your ideas and create a blog post describing each of these in more detail.)
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My TBR For Summer 2015
Friday: Blog Tour, Review, Book Trailer, and Giveaway!: The Vanishing Island by Barry Wolverton
Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Joy of Sharing Literature in A Classroom” by Miriam Spitzer Franklin, Author of Extraordinary
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!
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Wow, you both have been busy, reading and other things. Happy Birthday, Kellee, hope it’s a wonderful day. And Ricki, sorry about your father, but glad he’s okay, too. As for reading groups, one goal often is to get the students to discuss without looking at me all the time, either for me to approve or to see who’s going to be called on next. I do two things almost every meeting: one, they share a passage from the pages that were read and share why. They call on each other, taking turns. Then they are to bring a question for the group. I ask one also, guide the discussion for “my” question, then it’s someone else’s turn to “lead”. I like this because it takes me out of the lead role (& often the ‘approval’ role). The readers each bring something to the table, and feel honored for their opinions. Hope that’s what you want. I’d love to see a blog post!
Thank you Linda!!
Hi! I will certainly write a blog post! I did a rendition of this, and I hadn’t considered writing about it! I will be sure to share it in my compilation. 🙂
I look forward to any Gene Luen Yang. And Overdrive has been such a wonderful find for me, listening to all these great audiobooks!
Isn’t AudiobookSync such a great treat for the summer??! It keeps me in audiobooks all year 🙂
Me, too, Earl!
I’m looking forward to listening to some of the YASync books as well but have a new Judy Blume one to enjoy first… 🙂 Can’t wait to read Gene Luen Yang’s book… the other books sound great. Ricki, so glad your Dad is doing ok, glad you’re able to be there for him! 🙂
Enjoy the Judy Blume book! She is brilliant.
The new Yang book is a great set up for series–I look forward to the rest.
Thanks, Debbie! I am glad he is okay, too. Phew!
Happy Birthday, Kellee!
Sounds like you read a lot of books last week! I really want to read Glory O’Brien. Don’t forget to do a quick intro post for the Big Book Summer Challenge and sign up! Revolution definitely counts! I plan to get to that one next 🙂
So sorry to hear about your Dad, Ricki. My dad is going through cancer treatment (and not doing well), so I understand about dropping everything and shifting priorities. It’s great that you live close enough to help! My dad is 8 hrs away 🙁 Hope you dad heals quickly.
Too bad Dodger wasn’t great – I have that one, too, but haven’t listened yet. I’m listening to Next right now which is excellent. For SYNC books, did you download week 1? I just finished Beautiful Creatures last week and LOVED it! Far exceeded my expectations.
Hope you both enjoy your books this week!
Sue
2015 Big Book Summer Challenge
Glory O’Brien is so good!! It really makes you think about so much!
That is interesting. I didn’t expect to like Beautiful Creatures, so I didn’t download it. Ah, well.
Thanks for the good thoughts about my dad. I am sending healthy vibes to yours, too. I am sorry you live so far. That must be very difficult.
Happy Birthday, Kellee! June is a great month for birthdays–all three of us in my house have June birthdays. Ricki, I hope your father is getting along much better this week.
I finished Dodger, too, this week. I loved it, though that may be because I read everything by Dickens in our library when I was in high school. I keep downloading books from SYNC YA, but they may last me all year. I started listening to Cruel Beauty this weekend, and so far I enjoy spending time with Nyx.
I do want to read Glory O’Brein. Maybe I’ll see if our library has it or can get it when I go this week.
Thank you Kay, and happy birthday to your household!
Glory O’Brien is fantastic–I hope you enjoy it!
Interesting. I didn’t love any of the Dickens books I read, so maybe I am missing the link! That makes a lot of sense. I didn’t mind Dodger. It just wasn’t one that will stick with me.
Happy happy birthday, Kellee!
Looking forward to the review of X! I did buy it, I’m hoping to get to it sometime this summer.
I thought Countdown was fascinating, but it did take me longer to read than I thought. Hoping to finish the Jodi Picoult YA quickly so I can get to it!
Ricki, what about padlet? One way you can use it is to pose a question and the kids can all answer on it, all answers show up in their own box. I’ve really enjoyed using it.
You should listen to the audiobook of X–it is fantastic!
And thank you Michele!!!
Ahh! I hadn’t thought about including electronic devices! I use a lot of these, too! Great idea, Michele!
I’m looking forward to reading MY DOG IS THE BEST. I’m a sucker for a good dog book. 🙂
And it is a quite good one 🙂
This one is very charming. 🙂
Hi, visiting from The Logonauts! Thanks for hosting 🙂
Thank you for stopping by and taking part! 🙂
Thank you for joining, Kelly!
Happy Birthday Kellee. I’m looking forward to the Yang middle grade. Rikki, I’m enjoying the audio of Here in Harlem by Walter Dean Myers. It’s short poems in different voices. They’re even shorter than short stories. It is done by a variety of voices and even has background sounds and sometimes music. If you haven’t read The Living yet though that’s the one I would go for next. I hope your father recovers quickly.
Happy Birthday Kellee! I’ve just downloaded Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future. After reading your comments I couldn’t wait for the real book to become available. I haven’t read this Gene Leung Yang title, but I do have the Shadow Hero to read for the summer. I might not read Secret Coders as I hate books that end with cliffhangers.
Ricki, I’m so glad your father is doing better. Dealing with aging parents is not easy work. Dodger wasn’t my favourite Pratchett title, but Nation is one of my all time favourites by any author. One of my favourite strategies is to just have students read from a passage in their book. Then we go around the circle and everyone says something about that passage – what it means, questions they are left with, and then in theory at least, the reader gets the last word. However, the conversation often continues after that.
Happy reading to both of you this week.
Ricki – sorry to hear about your father. How awful! Happy birthday wishes Kellee! I wish you both lots of happy reading this summer. I am just finishing up reports so reading blogs but little time to comment this week.
The Vanishing Island looks like a very interesting read. Great to read so much book love about X here.