It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how 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. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.
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: The Dinosaur in the Garden by Deb Pilutti
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
Middle Grade
- Black Lives: Great Minds of Science by Tonya Bolden, Illustrated by David Wilkerson: This new series is going to be a must buy for any nonfiction-loving reader and any library. Bolden does an amazing job focusing on a variety of scientists in all sorts of fields to show the wide range of contributions to science by Black scientists. I look forward to the next book in this series.
- Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas: I can definitely see why this is one of Trent’s favorite books he read last year. Bree is a lovable character that anyone will connect with and the story is one that sucks you in and makes you want to keep reading. AND it also touches on the racism surrounding pools in America, multi-generational friendships, and stereotypes within a school environment.
- Mexikid by Pedro Martín: This critically acclaimed graphic memoir is one that so many graphic novel loving readers are going to gravitate to. My favorite part may be how the graphic novel is creatively crafted with a variety of variations of storytelling styles (if you have read it, you understand what I mean!).
- Hoops by Matt Tavares: I love how Matt Tavares took this idea for a picture book and realized it needed more and created his first graphic novel. While not exactly nonfiction, it was highly inspired by a true story of a female basketball team the first year schools were required to offer equal opportunities in sports; I loved how the history was taught flawlessly within the story. Readers will definitely connect to the characters in this book and be rooting for them until the very last page!
- Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman: Gayle Forman’s debut middle grade book is about so much more than it seems to be at first glance. Although it is about Bug’s summer being not what she wants it to be as her brother grows from friend to BIG brother, but it is so much more. It is about found families, identity, hate, love, allyship, friendship, survival, and is a snapshot of the late 1980s. I did not expect for it to be as deep as it was when I started, but the book ended up being more than I could have even guessed.
- The Riverman by Aaron Starmer: A past student of mine (now in 10th grade) contacted me to tell me he had found a book that had become his favorite book every, so I knew I had to read it since I never had. Although this book may not be for me, he loved the complicated friendships, mysterious disappearances, emotional impact, untraditional story, and the highlight on creativity. He went on and read the sequels in less than a weekend; that is the best recommendation that a book can receive.
Young Adult
- Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives it Changed by Dashka Slater: Whoa. So much to unpack in this book, from the lack of regret for blatant racism, the mishandling of the situation by all adults, the long term effects of racism, and the consequences of this one terrible social media account. Whoa. Highly recommended.
- As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh: This book is SO WELL WRITTEN! I gasped, I cried sad tears, I cried happy tears, I sat numbly, I texted a friend who has read the book to exclaim… the emotions are a roller coaster ride, which makes sense as it takes place during the Syrian revolution and has the reader immersed in the setting. Another whoa and high recommendation.
- Louder than Hunger by John Schu: This novel-in-verse explores anorexia, mental health, and residential treatment facilities with true honesty, which is exactly what I knew John Schu would bring to us. The book is well written, keeps the reader reading, and has so much truth in it. I am so proud of John for telling this story and for writing this fantastic book; I cannot wait to congratulate him next time I see him.
- Spy x Family Vol. 11 by Tatsuya Endo: In Volume 11, it is all about Anya as her bus is high jacked on the way to a field trip. Full of action and telepathy, volume 11 was another great Spy Family book.
Picture Books
- Dragon Post, Beast Feast, and Santa Post by Emma Yarlett: Emma Yarlett was one of Trent’s favorite picture book creators, so we were very happy to be able to introduce my nephew to her books with these three. The stories were a hit because they are silly and fun, but the letters/cards really pushed them over the edge to being a new favorite for my nephew.
I also read two picture books from Penguin Young Readers which will be perfect for Pride Month!
- The Broken Heart by Aaron Chan, Illustrated by Josiane Vlitos: This is a fantastic picture book to look at healing emotional grief, which may be hard for a child to not understand that you can’t just put a band aid on some broken things. It is also all about empathy, which I think is the most important thing that kids need to read about so they can understand it better to build their own. I also loved the dynamic between the siblings as we too often do not get to see loving relationships between siblings as far apart in age as Stephanie and Cody.
- Family is Family by Melissa Marr, Illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero: What a cute story about different family make ups and how they are all families!! The story and important theme are paired illustrations are just so colorful and eye catching which lends itself to being loved by so many readers.
To learn more about any of these books, click on any title/image to go to the book’s Goodreads page or check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
With the books listed above, I have officially finished my #mustreadin2024 list as my goal was to finish the 2024 Project Lit lists for middle grade and young adult, and I DID IT!!!
Ricki
This is my week off; see you next week!
Kellee
- Reading: The Island by Natasha Preston
- Listening: You Are Here: Connecting Flights edited by Ellen Oh
- (Though listening is harder for me during the summer as I do not have my commute to listen, so this one may take a bit)
Tuesday: Educators’ Guide for Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year by Andrea Beaty, Illustrated by David Roberts
Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Peer Tutoring, Musical and Otherwise” by Caroline Palmer, Author of Camp Prodigy
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
