Kellee – Page 75 – Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/21/21

September 12, 2021June 21, 2021 by Kellee

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: Geraldine Pu: And Her Lunch Box, Too! by Maggie P. Chang

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

Kellee

Well, HELLO!!!! I have missed you all! First, thank you to all kind wishes you sent to me or shared on the blog. I am doing well and living a new normal that is going to be wonderful!

Since I’ve been gone almost 6 weeks and many of that was spent on leave or summer vacation, I have read A LOT! I am not sure of the best way to share it, so I am just going for it!

As you can see, I’ve been reading a lot of manga as I search for ones that I like, that my students will like, and that I want in the library. My favorite that I read, other than Promised Neverland, was definitely Amazing Agent Luna (although it is an original-English language manga which, according to my students, lowers its rep). The series Peach Fuzz and Yotsuba weren’t my cup of tea, but they’ll definitely get readers in my library. I’ve read the first Hikaru No Go and liked it, so I have the next 4 to read–I’ll let you know!
I’ve been going through our 6-8 Sunshine State Young Reader books for 2021-2022 school year and have read 14 of the 15! I am a fan of the entire list so far (and the last book for me to read is by Kenneth Oppel who has never let me down), so I am excited to share them all with my students in the fall.
- Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jake Burt: A book that is hard to put down and hard to read in our pandemic world.
- Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi: A look at surveillance society and kids who stand up against it.
- A Whisper in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat: I can definitely see why this book was Newbery honored–it is beautifully written and a great story!
- Jinxed by Amy McCullough: In a near future where our phones are gone but now humans have companion animal robots, but there is something going on that Lacey is going to figure out! (And it ends in a terrible cliffhanger, so I read the 2nd book Unleashed also!)
- The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty: I love McAnulty’s picture books and now I can say I love her middle grade novel! I loved Lucy from page 1!
- Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander: Enjoyed looking at Muhammad Ali’s life as a child and a young man and with Patterson & Alexander writing the story, it is also entertaining!
- The Unteachables by Gordon Korman: I had a very hard time getting past the slurs and negativity surrounding the students in the “Unteachable” class, and it definitely affected how much I liked the book, but I am so glad that the theme at the end was what it was, redeeming the book.
- Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick: I was terrified for the characters this entire book! A good read, and I hope it brings awareness to global warming and wildfires.
- Coop Knows the Scoop by Taryn Sounders: A new take on a murder mystery!
- The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA by Brenda Woods: A raw and truthful look at race in the south post-World War II, but also a look at a true friendship.
- Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs: Charlie Thorne is a genius, so obviously she is the only one that can help the CIA with discovering Albert Einstein’s last equation, but they aren’t the only ones looking for it. DUN DUN DUN!!!
I’ve also read some books from my #MustReadin2021 & #BitAboutBooks lists! I haven’t been let down by any of the books I’ve chosen so far!
- The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper: Yes to all of this book. Yes to the romance. Yes to the space travel. Yes to the friendships. Yes to the family issues. Yes Yes Yes. (And make sure to read/listen to the short story epilogue!)
- All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat: This is one of the best nonfiction middle grade books I have ever read. Period. Informative, engaging, truthful… everything.
- 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston: A fun rom-com book! Enjoyed the sequel 10 Truths and Dare, too,
- This is My America by Kim Johnson: Whoa. Pick up this book if you haven’t. It would be a great companion to Just Mercy or a look at racial law enforcement brutality as well as modern segregation in the south.
- Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay: Randy Ribay’s prose is beautiful, so the book has an amazing foundation, but then the story is also so captivating.
Trent and I finished listening to the 9th Captain Underpants and are waiting for the 10th to be an audiobook (Trent is very impatiently waiting). We also read and loved Ballet Cat, books from the Who Would Win series, The Perfect Fit, and Bethan Woolvin’s fairy tale books. All of these are great for elementary classrooms!
Trent read Geeger the Robot Goes to School and See the Cat by himself during reading time, but as soon as he was done he brought them to me and told me to read them–that is the biggest compliment you can get from him because it means he wants to talk about it with me.
The Martian is my second adult novels in 2 months which is more than in the year before that! The Martian was such a wonderful read–I couldn’t put it down, it made me laugh, it made my anxious… A new favorite. We then watched the movie, and I was disappointed as it is when you read a book and watch the movie.
I also grabbed Two Peas in a Pod by Sarah Mlynowsi (because I realized I’d skipped it when listening to the Whatever After series), Moon Girl and the Devil Dinosaur by Amy Reeder (because it looked epic and was Marvel and is middle school appropriate–on order for my library!), and The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo (because I am lucky enough to be working on the teaching guide).

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2021 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I suspect some of you have been tired of having my voice alone the last six weeks. I’ll be back next week with books to share. For now, enjoy Kellee’s long, wonderful report!

Kellee

Reading: Bloom by Kenneth Oppel

Reading during family reading time: Hikaru No Go Vol. 2: First Battle by Yumi Hotta

Trent reading during family reading time: Caveboy Dave: More Scrawny Than Brawny by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Phil McAndrew

Jim reading during family reading time: Fables Vol. 6: Homelands by Bill Willingham

Tuesday: Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Alicia D. Williams, Illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani

Sunday: Student Voices by Kellee’s Students of the Past & Present: “Shadow and Bone: Readers vs. Non-Readers” by Amy Calvo, Rising 10th Grader

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!

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/14/21

June 14, 2021 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

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.

Happy reading!

Thursday: Oakley the Squirrel: The Search for Z: A Nutty Alphabet Book by Nancy Rose

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

Kellee

As I’ve shared, I am taking the rest of May and the beginning of June off. I plan to be back next week though–see you then!

To keep up with what I am reading, check out my 2021 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I spent the week preparing for four presentations this weekend, so I stayed up late at night. Unfortunately, I didn’t read anything new. My older kids are recently into magazines, so I read a lot of passages from their magazines with them. I think I’ve read Little Blue Truck’s Halloween about 1800 times to my youngest son.

Ricki

As I mentioned earlier, my oldest son and I have read a story per night of Black Boy Joy, which is edited by Kwame Mbalia. It is a really great way to end each day. The last story was a bit longer (but very good), and it took us three nights to finish it. I love how different the stories are. My son and I spent time tonight reflecting about all of the stories we’ve read and trying to pick a favorite.

I really love Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian. I would be farther, but my work has been taking up a lot of my time. I am determined to finish it this week to report back!

Thursday: Geraldine Pu: And Her Lunch Box, Too! by Maggie P. Chang

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 5/31/21

May 31, 2021 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

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.

Happy reading!

Thursday: Love is a Revolution by Renée Watson

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

Kellee

As I’ve shared, I am taking the rest of May and the beginning of June off. I plan to be back on June 21st–see you then!

To keep up with what I am reading, check out my 2021 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

Hear My Voice / Escucha Mi Voz: The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States, Compiled by Warren Binford for Project Amplify

This book was gut-wrenching. It is a compilation of words from actual court records and features the voices of children at the border. If you flip the book over, you can read the English/Spanish versions. The middle of the book is packed with important information for readers to discuss and consider the ways they might act for justice.

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell, Illustrated by Frané Lessac

I read this book with all three of my children, and each of them found the book to be accessible in different ways. There is so much information in this well-research text that kids from all ages will appreciate. Traci Sorell is simply brilliant.

Ricki

I am currently reading Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian. I am not very far into the book, but it’s really good so far.

Thursday: Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Top 5 Graphic Novel Girl Power Books for Intermediate Schoolers

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 5/24/21

May 25, 2021May 24, 2021 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

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.

Happy reading!

Thursday: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “7 Ways to Get Your Child Who Reads Less Frequently to Read More” by Paul Lonardo, Author of The Goblin Pitcher

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

Kellee

As I’ve shared, I am taking the rest of May and the beginning of June off. I plan to be back on June 21st–see you then!

To keep up with what I am reading, check out my 2021 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I finished listening to Love is a Revolution by Renée Watson and loved it. There were so many great themes to think about in this book. I’ll be giving a full review with teaching tools this Thursday!

Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo is a stunning book in verse. I was captivated by the story and couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this book and will be reviewing it in the upcoming weeks!

Ricki

I just got my hands on Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith last night and started reading. It is a reinterpretation of the Peter Pan story. So far, I LOVE IT.

My oldest son and I are reading a story each night in Black Boy Joy, which is edited by Kwame Mbalia. We really look forward to reading it each night—the stories are very engaging!

Thursday: Love is a Revolution by Renée Watson

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 5/17/21

May 17, 2021 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

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.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Educators’ Guide for The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen

Friday: Watercress by Andrea Wang, Illustrated by Jason Chin

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “I Write About the Real World and Real Feelings… by Using Magic” by Corey Ann Haydu, Author of Hand-Me-Down Magic Series

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

Kellee

As I’ve shared, I am taking the rest of May and the beginning of June off. I plan to be back on June 21st–see you then!

To keep up with what I am reading, check out my 2021 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

Thanks for your patience as I navigated the last few weeks. I was visiting family, and the semester was ending, so it has been so busy! I am excited to share these books with you!

The Truth about Parrots: Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals by Maxwell Eaton III is a highly engaging nonfiction book. Both my 7yo and 4yo loved it and laughed a lot. We will be getting the other books in this series, for sure.

Dessert Island by Ben Zhu is a great picture book about a monkey on dessert island and a fox on desert island. It gave a very fun way for me to teach the difference in spelling to my kids!

You must get Little Lunch Truck by Charles Beyl if you children love vehicle books (and they will love it even if they don’t like vehicle books). I loved reading this one aloud to my children. I suspect this one will be very popular when it comes out.

Oddbird by Derek Desierto is about a gray bird who doesn’t fit in because his feathers aren’t colorful. He attaches colored feathers to fool the other birds. A charming book that teaches a great lesson in the end.

Nick Bruel’s latest installment of the Bad Kitty series, Bedtime for Bad Kitty, is sure to please his followers!

The One and Only Sparkella by Channing Tatum (Yes, THE Channing Tatum) shares the story of a girl who loves to sparkle and doesn’t feel like she fits in at her new school.

Memory Jars by Vera Brosgol tells the story of a girl who, following her grandfather’s death, wants to keep everything she loves most in a jar. This interesting concept will offer space for conversations about grief.

Starboy: Inspired by the Life and Lyrics of David Bowie by Jami Gigot is cleverly done and quite abstract. Lovers of David Bowie (and those who don’t know him at all) will adore this inspired text.

My kids really enjoyed The Pout-Pout Fish and the Mad, Mad Day by Deborah Diesen. I love this series, and it always makes me smile.

Drop everything and read Tae Keller’s When You Trap a Tiger if you haven’t read it yet. My kids and I listened to it on the drive to school each day, and we really looked forward to it each morning. I highly recommend it.

Check out my full review for Watercress by Andrea Wang last Friday! It’s a stunning picture book.

My kids can’t get enough of Jory John’s books. They laughed and giggled at The Great Eggscape!, which we took out from the library.

Truman by Jean Reidy tells the story of a tortoise who adventures bravely across the living room. Just thinking about this book makes me smile!

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo…I just can’t even summarize this book in a sentence, so I will review it this Thursday. It’s so, so good.

Triceratopposite by Bridget Heos tells the story of a dinosaur who does the opposite of what his parents ask him to do.

My two sons adored the middle grade novel Bedhead Ted by Scott SanGiacomo. No matter what Ted does, he cannot tame his hair, and during the course of the book, he learns that it actually has a superpower!

Ricki

My 7yo and I are reading Stamped (for Kids) by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi together. He is really liking it so far.

I am listening to Love is a Revolution by Renée Watson.

I am reading Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo.

Thursday: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “7 Ways to Get Your Child Who Reads Less Frequently to Read More” by Paul Lonardo, Author of The Goblin Pitcher

and

Author Guest Post: “I Write About the Real World and Real Feelings… by Using Magic” by Corey Ann Haydu, Author of Hand-Me-Down Magic Series

May 16, 2021 by Kellee

“I Write About the Real World and Real Feelings… by Using Magic”

I like to say that I write about myself without writing about myself, that I try to understand my feelings by writing about someone else’s very similar feelings.

And I use magic to do it.

I have never owned a second hand shop filled with cuckoo clocks and birdcages and patchwork purses and chandelier earrings. I have never participated in an end of the school year parade, and, regrettably, I didn’t have a cousin who lived in the apartment downstairs from me when I was growing up. And most of all, as much as I wish I could, I have never witnessed magic. At least not the kind that shows up in my books. Not the magic passed down through generations, not the kind of magic that the best friend cousins of my HAND-ME-DOWN MAGIC series encounter in book after book.

But. I did have a best friend growing up, and we did it get into fights. I did have family that I sometimes felt part of and sometimes felt confused about my place in. I did feel jealous when a friend had something I wanted, and I did feel scared when things didn’t feel entirely in my control. Some of those things—fighting with a friend, feeling jealous or scared or left out or uncertain about who you are—are a little bit scary. Uncomfortable. Hard to talk about, and harder still to write a whole book or series of books about. When I am feeling those hard and scary and uncomfortable feelings, for myself or for my characters, I know it’s time for magic.

When something feels hard to look at straight on, I introduce a bit of magic to help make it easier to understand. Because there’s a lot about the world I don’t understand! There’s a lot about my characters’ worlds that I don’t understand right away. I don’t know when I first start writing why a particular bag in a particular shop window could make someone feel like they would become the best version of themselves if only they had it over their shoulder. And I don’t know why someone else’s happiness can sometimes feel like a personal slight. Or why it is hard to share in that happiness sometimes. I don’t even really know how to solve those problems, or any of the strange and awkward and tricky and uncomfortable problems that arise simply from being a person in the world interacting with other people. But I do know that many of us think we aren’t supposed to talk about those messier parts of our hearts and friendships and lives. And I do know that if I add magic, the conversation becomes easier.

I don’t try to hide the truth in my books—that doesn’t feel fair to anyone—me or my readers or the characters I spend so much time writing and falling in love with. But I try to make the truth easier to understand, easier to look at straight on, easier to manage. Magic helps manage hard truths—big ones, sure, but small ones too, little moments where your heart hurts or you are blushing and wish you weren’t, or your best friend is making you mad or sad or uncomfortable and you don’t know why. Look! Look at me! Magic says in those hard moments in my books, I’m here too! Maybe I can help? Maybe I can explain it? Or maybe I just make things a little lighter, a little prettier, a little more interesting than regular old life is.

Sometimes, I use magic to make a feeling bigger: what if Alma feels a little left out of her family life, not just because she hasn’t lived in the same home as them ever before, but also because the rest of them have a belief in magic that she just can’t seem to muster?

It’s an added layer to bulk up the feelings I want to discuss. A way to turn up the volume on the circumstances, so make sure they come through loud and clear.

Sometimes, I use magic to make the feeling easier: Someone I loved did something mean to me: maybe it was because of magic?

Mostly I use magic to make things easier to talk about: Life is confusing and big and hard to understand and not in our control and that is scary. But Del doesn’t want to say all of that. Or even think it. Del is scared of a crystal ball telling fortunes that come true in tricky ways. Let’s talk about that, and maybe it will show us some other things along the way.

Magic is sneaky. Maybe when we talk about Del’s fear of her crystal ball, we can start talking about other things that happen unexpectedly or other times we think something bad might be our fault. Magic lets a conversation evolve naturally, instead of going right to the center of things. Magic is a beautiful and fun and silly and shiny way in to the scary things.

It is easier to talk about the world—a world which is sometimes very challenging and uncomfortable and sometimes even a bit sad and lonely, especially lately—when there is a mix of the familiar and the mysterious. A mix of real life and magic. A combination of the things we understand and the things we never fully will. Magic, when done well, is the bridge between those two things.

Using a bit of magic to talk about the real world reminds me of an old fashioned radio dial. Magic can turn things up or down, it can cut through the static, it can help you search for the story you want to hear, it is a tool in the toolbox of a writer, and a reader, and a person in the world, when you are a bit lost and bit frightened and a bit unsure. I am those things pretty often. That’s why I use magic so much!

The truth is—I’m a writer and a reader and a parent and a person in the world, and I’m just as flummoxed as everyone else, about why things are the way they are or feel the way they feel. Magic helps me make sense of it all too, it gives me a little space and perspective, a new angle at which to look at my character’s circumstances. Which in turn helps me make sense of my own. I believe it can help make sense of things for young readers, too. Magic can bring order to the mess and can put a magnifying glass to the tiny tricky details. It can amplify what we need to look at more closely, a quiet what feels too scary to approach head on.

We all want to reach young people, we all want a way in. For me, magic is the way.

Maybe it can be for you too.

Hand-Me-Down Magic: Perfect Patchwork Purse
Author: Corey Ann Haydu
Illustrator: Luisa Uribe
Published May 4, 2021 by Katherine Tegen Books

About the Book: Family magic saves the day for best-friend-cousins Del and Alma in the third Hand-Me-Down Magic book! With adorable illustrations and short, easy-to-read chapters, this series is perfect for fans of Ivy & Bean and Dory Fantasmagory.

Almaknew it the first time she saw it: The patchwork purse in the window of the Curious Cousins Secondhand Shoppe was magical. Special. Perfect. But when her friend Cassie spots the purse and buys it, what could Alma do but agree that the purse really did look just right on Cassie?

Del decides it’s up to her to bring some homespun magic back into Alma’s life, and she’s got just the plan to do it. After all, she is the EXPERT on magic!

All she needs is some glitter and lots and lots of glue . . . because she knows magic can always come from the most unexpected places, but most importantly, that best-friend-cousins never let each other down.

About the Author: Corey Ann Haydu is the author of Eventown, The Someday Suitcase, and Rules for Stealing Stars and four acclaimed books for teens. She grew up in the Boston area, earned her MFA at the New School, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her dog Oscar. Find out more at www.coreyannhaydu.com.

Thank you, Corey, for sharing how you use magic to tackle what is real!

Educators’ Guide for The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen

May 11, 2021 by Kellee

The Rock from the Sky
Author & Illustrator: Jon Klassen
Published: April 13, 2021 by Candlewick Press

Summary: Look up!

Turtle really likes standing in his favorite spot. He likes it so much that he asks his friend Armadillo to come over and stand in it, too. But now that Armadillo is standing in that spot, he has a bad feeling about it . . .

Here comes The Rock from the Sky, a meditation on the workings of friendship, fate, shared futuristic visions, and that funny feeling you get that there’s something off somewhere, but you just can’t put your finger on it.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the teachers’ guide I created for Candlewick Press for The Rock from the Sky:

You can also access the teaching guide here.

You can learn more about The Rock in the Sky on Candlewick’s page.

Recommended For: