Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 11/28/22

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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!

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Ricki

I am sorry that I’ve been gone for so long! I am so glad to be back.

First, look who I found at NCTE and ALAN! It was so nice to get to spend time with Kellee in person.

I read some great books while I was gone. I am going to start with the longer texts this week and focus on the picture books in the future weeks.

The Dark Matter of Mona Starr by Laura Lee Gulledge is a graphic novel that uses dark matter as a symbol for mental health struggles. I found it to be visually powerful.

The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes was my book club text. I appreciated the story and it hit a chord with me. I wish this book was available in all classroom libraries for students to read.

I reread Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I love this book so, so much. Also, I met Aiden Thomas at ALAN. He is such a bright light. It made me like his books even more (which I previously thought to be impossible).

A colleague sent me a copy of Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher. Every academic in an English department (or liberal arts department) should read this book. It is SO funny. The book is written entirely in letters of recommendation.

My son has been begging me to read The Donner Dinner Party by Nathan Hale. Oh my goodness. I will never forget this book. I thought I knew a lot about the Donner party, but I realized that I knew very little!

Kellee

It’s my week off, but I will have a long update soon! Until then, you can check out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

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Tuesday: Dark on Light by Dianne White, Illustrated by Felicita Sala

Friday: The Little Bad Book 2 by Magnus Myst

Sunday: Follow That Line!: Magic at Your Fingertips by JaNay Brown-Wood, Illustrated by Rob Justus

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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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What a Blast! Fart Games, Fart Puzzles, Fart Pranks, and More Farts! by Julie Winterbottom, Illustrated by Clau Souza

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Summary: Squeakers, butt puffs, trumpets and “the destroyer”. Celebrate farts in all their hilarious, honking glory!

Con-fart-ulations! You’ve found the book that confirms your fine appreciation for the fact that nothings funnier than a little pfffftt from someone’s butt. Cheerfully over-the-top, packed with activities, and grounded in the science of flatulence, What a Blast! Is a trip through the body’s digestive system to explore the whys, hows, and wherefores of farting. You’ll discover the fartiest food in the world, meet infamous farters from history, learn just what to say if you fart in public—“Yeah, you heard me!—and so much more!
Have fun with farts!

  • Solve the question of who farted?
  • Discover your gastrological sign.
  • Play free the fart through an intestinal maze.
  • Learn how to make elbow farts, hand farts, and armpit farts.
  • Throw a farty party.
  • And get creative with funny fill-in stories, like a fart to remember

Ricki’s Review: I should really get my three sons to review this book. They have had such a blast (pun intended) doing the workbook. Parents and teachers, if you want to get kids excited about reading and writing, this book will do it. I can’t tell you how many giggles this book has brought our family. I have to admit that I even giggled behind my hand. I can’t recommend this workbook highly enough—it is cleverly crafted and full of amazing reading and writing opportunities for kids. It has open-ended questions, quizzes, brackets, puzzles, games, etc.

We Flagged:

**Thank you to Claire and Ivanka from Workman for providing a copy for review**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 10/3/22

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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!

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Tuesday: Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet by Barbara Dee

Thursday: The More You Give by Marcy Campbell, Illustrated by Francesca Sanna

Saturday: Guest Review: Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Sunday: Author Guest Post by Diane deGroat, Author of The Adventures of Robo-Kid

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

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Kellee

I am off this week. I’ll see you next week!

Ricki

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson is an incredibly powerful book. I had such a strong visceral reaction to a scene that I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. The writing hit me really hard. I won’t ever forget this story.

I read this book for my book club, and I cried (a lot). Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart is a beautifully written memoir about the relationship between Zauner and her mother—and the devastation she experiences when her mother passes on.

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Ricki

My book club is deciding between the two above books. I am rooting for the YA book, of course. 🙂 I’ll read something else next week, but I wanted the space to be able to jump to whatever book strikes me tonight!

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Tuesday: Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head by Jeanne Walker Harvey, Illustrated by Diana Toledano

Thursday: What a Blast! Fart Games, Fart Puzzles, Fart Pranks, and More Farts!

Sunday:  Author Guest Post: “Little Red and the Big Bad Educator’s Guide” by Rebecca Kraft Rector, Author of Little Red and the Big Bad Editor

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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

The More You Give by Marcy Campbell, Illustrated by Francesca Sanna

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The More You Give
Author: Marcy Campbell
Illustrator: Francesca Sanna
Publishing December 28, 2021 by Chronicle

Summary: A modern-day response to The Giving Tree, this lyrical picturebook shows how a family passes down love from generation to generation, leaving a legacy of growing both trees and community.

Once there was a wide-open field, and a boy who loved his grandmother,
who loved him back.

The boy’s grandmother gives him many gifts, like hugs, and Sunday morning pancakes, and acorns with wild and woolly caps. And all her wisdom about how things grow. As the boy becomes a father, he gives his daughter bedtime stories his grandmother told him, and piggyback rides. He gives her acorns, and the wisdom he learned about how things grow. His daughter continues the chain, then passing down gifts of her own. Here is a picture book about the legacy of love that comes when we nurture living things—be they people or trees.

Ricki’s Review: This book is absolutely stunning. It captures the beautiful spirit of giving as it passes through generations. I found myself drawn into the text, captivated by the words and the powerful illustrations. I loved the ways in which the spirit of giving is captured across three generations. Overall, I love the way it captures kindness, wisdom, and love.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might read The Giving Tree and then read this book. Students could engage in a discussion of giving. The two texts exist as foils for each other, and the giving does not just go one way.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How do we give? What do we give?
  • What does it mean to give?
  • What does giving mean for the boy in the book? His grandmother?
  • What have elders given to you?

Book Trailer:

Read This If You Love: Books about Giving; Books about Intergenerational Love; Books about Kindness

Recommended For: 

**Thank you to Cynthia at Random House Children’s Books for providing a copy for review!**

Who’s That Dinosaur?: An Animal Guessing Game by Gabrielle Balkan, Illustrated by Sam Brewster

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Who’s That Dinosaur?: An Animal Guessing Game
Author: Gabrielle Balkan
Illustrator: Sam Brewster
Published September 21, 2022 by Phaedon

Summary: A playful, informative introduction to dinosaurs for the youngest readers, by the team behind the bestselling Book of Bones

Set up as a guessing game with visual and narrative clues, Who’s That Dinosaur? invites readers to examine seven skeletons and guess to whom they belong. The answer is provided in a vibrant, foldout reveal, accompanied by an explanation as to why each dinosaur’s body was so special.

It’s a humorous, informative introduction to fossils and dinosaur anatomy, where, in a surprise twist, young children learn how birds are modern-day dinosaurs. A fun and informative introduction to the ever-popular topic of dinosaurs.

Review: This book is such good fun! It is an informational fiction text which really engages its readers. Although this is marketed to younger readers (ages 2-4), My almost 6-year-old had a BLAST reading it. He was able to read the words, so it also offered great vocabulary for him. (My 3-year-old, of course, loved it.) This is a book that would be great for preschool or early elementary school classrooms. It is interactive, engaging, and a very fun read—for adults, too!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: It would be neat to have children create their own interactive pages that fold out. They might pick a dinosaur or animal and research to create their own “Who’s that…” page filled with fun facts.

Flagged Spread:

Read This If You Love: Interactive activity books that are fun and educational

Recommended For: 

**Thank you to Phaidon for providing a copy for review!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 9/19/22

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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!

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Tuesday: I Cannot Draw a Horse by Charise Mercile Harper

Thursday: Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Misinformation, & Conspiracy Theories by Elise Gravel

Saturday: Guest Review: We Can: Portraits of Power by Tyler Gordon

Sunday: Author Guest Post by Laura Schaefer

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

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Kellee

It’s my week off! I will catch you all next week. To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

It’s been so long that I truly can’t remember all of the books that I’ve read, but I remember these four, for sure!

Mama in Congress by Rashida Tlaib with Miranda Paul is the story of Rashida Tlaib, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress. I love how family is centered in this book of such a trailblazing woman!

I loved Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender. Check out my review!

My son loved Layla, the Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish. This is a story about fitting in when you stand out.

I hadn’t read Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, and my coworkers were talking about it. I read it in one night and loved it. It’s a fantastic graphic novel.

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Ricki

I am reading Jen Ferguson’s The Summer of Bitter and Sweet. This one has received SIX starred reviews. I’m finding it to be very intense, so I have to read it in chunks. The writing is incredibly powerful.

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Tuesday: A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn by Patricia Newman, Illustrations by Natasha Donovan

Thursday: Who’s That Dinosaur by Gabrielle Balkan, Illustrated by Sam Brewster

Saturday: Guest Review: All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold, Illustrated by Janina Edwards

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Their Story, Our Legacy” by Emily Francis, Author of If You Only Knew: Letters from an Immigrant Teacher

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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

Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Misinformation, & Conspiracy Theories by Elise Gravel

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Killer Underwear Invasion: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories
Author: Elise Gravel
Published September 20, 2022 by Chronicle

Summary: A hilarious and timely tool to help kids learn how to tell what news is true and what isn’t

Can peanuts give you super strength? Were unicorns discovered on the moon? Did Martians really invade New Jersey? For anyone who has ever encountered outrageous stories like these and wondered whether they were true, this funny, yet informative book breaks down what fake news is, why people spread it, and how to tell what is true and what isn’t. With quirky illustrations and a humorous tone, Elise Gravel brings her kid-accessible wit to the increasingly important subject of media literacy and equips younger readers with the skills needed to interact with global news.

Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: My kids love this book, and I love the way it allows kids to think about critical literacy! I used excerpts of this in my college class to demonstrate how accessible conversations about critical literacy can be. I also found myself sharing pages of the text with my brother (who said he would be ordering it for his daughter). This book is wholly impressive and critical for classrooms. Teachers could do close readings of the text and pair this text with conversations about disinformation, evaluating sources, etc.

Flagged Passage:  

Read This If You Love: Humor, Books about Critical Literacy, Retaliation against Fake News!!

Recommended For: