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.
I enjoyed reading Last Pick by Jason Walz. This graphic novel is sure to be popular among young people. I appreciated the incorporation of disability without centering disability as the main focus of the text.
I reread All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson in preparation for my class this week. I love this book. It is so honest and powerfully written.
Ricki
Oh my goodness–I am loving this book so much.
Tuesday: Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement by Sandra Neil Wallace, Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Good Teachers” by Lynn Katz, Author of Chester and the Magic 8 Ball
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!
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.
I REREAD Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley because I am teaching it this week. I’ve read this book three times now, and it holds up each time!
My oldest son and I really love these Unsolved Case Files books by Tom Sullivan. We can’t wait for the third one to come out! It was a lot of fun read Escape at 10,000 Feet. I wasn’t aware of this historical story, but my partner told me it is famous. I guess I missed it somehow!
My middle son loves this book, Thunder Cluck: Smart vs. Strong by Jill Esbaum. It’s a fun story, and I love early readers in the graphic novel form!
My book club reads adult (rather than young adult) books, so I get looped into an adult book every month now. This month, we read Pip Williams’ The Dictionary of Lost Words. I wish I’d known it was somewhat based on a true story before I started reading it! The author’s note at the end was great. I loved the book, but admittedly, it took me some time to get into it.
Tuesday: Nonfiction Picture Book Round Up!: The Universe in You by Jason Chin; Of Walden Pond by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by Ashley Benham-Yazdani; Polar Bear by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann; We’re Not Weird by Michael Garland; & The Science of Light by Margaret Peot
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!
Promise Boys Author: Nick Brooks Published: January 31, 2023 by Macmillan
Goodreads Summary: The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying in Nick Brooks’s Promise Boys, a trailblazing, blockbuster mystery about three teen boys of color who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names—for fans of Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Karen McManus.
“A brilliant pulls-no-punches mystery with bruised hearts at its core.” —Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End
“Thrilling, captivating, and blade-sharp. Promise Boys will stay with you long after the last page.” —Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying
The Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. As students, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are forced to follow the prestigious “program’s” strict rules. Extreme discipline, they’ve been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the fates of many men in their neighborhoods. This, the Principal Moore Method, supposedly saves lives.
But when Moore ends up murdered and the cops come sniffing around, the trio emerges as the case’s prime suspects. With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. But is the true culprit hiding among them?
Ricki’s Review: After reading this book, I adopted it for my young adult literature class this semester. This required me to a) change my book order–which makes several people annoyed, b) adjust my syllabus and move sections around, and c) message the campus book store that, yes, I know that the book isn’t out yet, but I still want them to pre-order it.
I say all of this to demonstrate how much I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. It reminded me of Monster by Walter Dean Mayes a bit in the topic. Three teenage boys are all suspected of murdering their principal. The book is written from the different perspectives and allows the reader to explore any biases they might hold about teenage boys of color. It is set in a very strict school that thinks that hyper discipline will fix kids. This is an important book. I am so glad it exists, and I can’t wait to discuss it with my students.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might use this book for students to analyze the rules that come with their schools and within other systems. They might then write narratives related to the rules that they perceive.
Discussion Questions:
When you were reading the book, who did you think did it?
Why does the school use discipline? What are their assumptions?
What did you learn from this book?
Flagged Spreads: “Rumor has it a student brought a gun to school the day of the murder. You didn’t hear that from me.”
Play Like a Girl: A Graphic Memoir Author: Misty Wilson Illustrator: David Wilson Published: September 22, 2022 by Balzer + Bray
Goodreads Summary: Debut author Misty Wilson chronicles her seventh-grade experience as the only girl on her town’s football team in this empowering graphic memoir about teamwork, friendship, crushes, and touchdowns.
Misty never shies away from a challenge, on or off the field. So when the boys tell her she can’t play football, there’s only one thing to do: join their team and show them what she’s got.
But the training is rougher than she thought—and so are the other guys, who aren’t thrilled about having a girl on their team.
Middle school isn’t so easy, either. Misty wants to fit in with the popular kids, but they think a girl playing football is “weird.” Even her best friend doesn’t get it.
Can Misty find a way to score points with her teammates, make new friends, and show everyone—including herself—what it means to play like a girl?
“I am a huge fan of Misty and her courageous journey of staying true to herself. Readers will love her!” —Terri Libenson, New York Times bestselling author of the Emmie & Friends series
“This is the book I wish I’d had as a kid. Misty’s passion for football and her fight to play in a male-dominated sport while balancing friendship and crushes makes for a winning read!” —Dr. Jen Welter, first female NFL coach, first female running back in men’s pro football, and founder of Grrridiron Girls.
Ricki’s Review: I loved this graphic memoir. It felt very real to me, and the scenes really packed a punch. I especially loved the football scenes, which were full of great plays and amazing strategies. I wish I’d had this book when I was a middle school girl. In the scenes where the boys were rude, I remembered a similar comment when I was in 8th grade taking tech ed.
The book does a particularly good job depicting middle school. It’s a tough time and a struggle for a lot of kids, and I think middle schoolers will find solace in this book. There are great themes of identity and friendship.
I’ve already recommended this book to several young people, and I am so glad it exists!
Kellee’s Review: Misty Wilson’s memoir starts with “I wish someone had told me middle school would be so hard.” As a middle school educator, I felt this and knew that this books as going to hold some middle school truths. And it did: growing up, figuring out who you are, finding and keeping friends, navigating crushes, and more. All of this is so tough in middle school, so having a book to read about it really helps middle schoolers navigate it all.
I really loved reading Misty’s story. I, too, was a tomboy who didn’t do make up, would love to play a sport more than anything, and just couldn’t figure out how to be a good friend with the people who I thought I should be friends with. So much of middle school is fighting who you really are versus who everyone else and society wants you to be (and ignoring the mean comments along the way). This story was refreshing and will definitely find readers in middle school.
Play Like a Girl will add to the books I can recommend to Telgemeier fans, and it has the extra topic of football which will lend itself to finding even more readers!
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book is a great tool for teachers who are teaching memoir. It demonstrates how illustrations can depict a story richly and realistically.
Discussion Questions:
What struggles does Misty experience?
What words would you use to describe Misty, and why?
What did you learn from this book?
Is this a book that is just for girls? Why might all kids learn from this book?
Flagged Page:
Recommended For:
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**Thank you to Katie at HarperCollins for providing us with copies of this text for honest reviews!**
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!
Tuesday: You So Black by Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D., Illustrated by London Ladd
Sunday: Author Guest Post by KimberlyBehreKenna, Author of Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
It’s my off week this week, so I’ll see you next week! To learn more about any of these books, check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
My youngest son and I have read Pretty Perfect Kitty-Corn by Shannon Hale and Leuyen Pham at least thirty times in the last week. This book brings him so much joy.
My oldest son (age 9) and I read Who Were the Navajo Code Talkers? by James Buckley Jr. together, each alternating chapters for our read-aloud. I know a lot about the code talkers, but this book offered me more details and was very engaging.
My book club read this book, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I loved the integration of science and women’s rights.
My son and I read Jailbreak at Alcatraz by Tom Sullivan. I didn’t know much at all about this moment in history, and I found this book to be fascinating. The illustrations are very well done, and I was hooked. I told my son we would read it across three nights, and we stayed up past his bedtime to finish it.
How Old is Mr. Tortoise by Dev Petty, illustrated by Ruth Chan is a cute, silly story about a tortoise who can’t remember how old he is, and it’s his birthday!
After reading Promise Boys by Nick Brooks, I adopted it for my young adult literature class this semester. I have so much to say about this incredible book, and I will share more in a review next Thursday!
Ricki
I am listening to The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams.
I am reading In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner
Tuesday: Everybody Counts by Matt Esenwine, Illustrated by Emma Graham
Thursday: Play Like a Girl: A Graphic Memoir by Misty Wilson, Illustrated by David Wilson
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!
K is for Kindness Author: Rina Horiuchi Illustrator: Risa Horiuchi Published: April 26, 2022 by Viking Books
Goodreads Summary: Debut author/illustrator and sister duo have crafted a sweet ABC book that expresses how kindness can be found anywhere.
Ape picks an apple for Aardvark below. Bat puts a bandage on Brown Bear’s big toe.
From aardvark to zebra, this delightful cast of animal characters illustrates the many ways to show kindness to others, while teaching the youngest readers their ABCs.
Debut author/illustrator and sister duo Rina Horiuchi and Risa Horiuchi have crafted a warm and tender gift that affirms kindness can be found anywhere.
Ricki’s Review: This book is just so charming. It is a great way to learn the alphabet along with all of the ways that we can be kind. The book doesn’t feel didactic, and it was enjoyable for me, as an adult reader. There aren’t just simple animal names on each page, but instead, they read like this: ““Narwhal takes Newt, his new neighbor, to lunch.” The repetition is really helpful for young readers. I’ve been having my 6-year-old read it to my 3-year-old, and it makes my heart swell. I love the ending, in which readers are asked how they are kind—this allowed for some great discussions in our house.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book inspires me to want to choose an emotion or an abstract concept to make my own alphabet book! Kids would have a lot of fun making a shared book together!
Discussion Questions:
Which page was your favorite, and why?
How do you demonstrate kindness?
How do the pictures and words work together to create a vivid representation of kindness?
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Recommended For:
**Thank you to Rina and Risa for this phenomenal book! It is a great addition to children’s literature!**
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.
We are taking a winter break until January 3! We will see you after the new year!
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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