IMWAYR

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Last Week’s Posts

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

Tuesday: Ten Favorite Christmas Books from Maria N., 7th grade

Wednesday: The Musnet Series by Kickliy

Thursday: Inky’s Great Escape by Casey Lyall

Friday: Red & Lulu by Matt Tavares

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

 

I love this series! Abby and Jonah are such good kids yet there are still lessons in each books without them ever losing their integrety. I also love how each fairy tale is looked at in a modern light and helps the characters get an ending they actually want and deserve.

Confession: I did a good amount of audiobook listening, but I did not read hardly at all. SHHHHH! This seems to happen to me about once a year where reading removes itself from my routine, but I’ll definitely work on getting it back in. I think part of it is that I have been working really hard on proposals for NCTE 2018 including reading research, reaching out to publishers, and collaborating with other educators. Working on proposals plus busy holiday activities equals asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Thank goodness for audiobooks!

 Ricki

Holy, heck. This book. American Street by Ibi Zoboi is absolutely incredible. As I was reading it, I turned to my husband and said, “This book is so good.” It’s beautifully written; it’s lyrical; it’s powerful.

We’ve been reading a lot of new picture books at my house. These three stand out as stellar reads. Little i by Michael Hall is about a lower-cased i who loses his dot. He goes searching for it. Don’t Forget Dexter by Lindsay Ward is a household favorite. My son fondly calls it “my dinosaur book.” He has many dinosaur books, so this is a big compliment. And we adore The Bad Seed by Jory John. It has been a great resource to discuss good and bad behavior. I like how it complicates common notions of the ideas of being simply “bad” or “good.” It also teaches kids about bettering themselves.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

Let’s see what the week brings. I don’t want to say what I hope to read just in case I have another less than stellar reading week because I don’t want it to seem like it was the book. It never is.

I will be continuing my listening of the Whatever After series. I look forward to see where they go next!

Ricki

I just started The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, and I can already tell it is going to be a great read.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

   

Tuesday: Ten Books We Hope Santa Brings to our Boys

Wednesday: If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy & Greg Newbold

Thursday: Windows by Julia Denos

Friday: Children of Exile and Children of Refuge by Margaret Peterson Haddix

 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!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Last Week’s Posts

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

 

Tuesday: Ten New Authors We Met at NCTE/ALAN 2017

Wednesday: Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist Nina Simone by Alice Briaere-Haquet

Thursday: Prince and Pirate by Charlotte Gunnufson

Friday: Emily and the Spellstone by Michael Rubens

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Talking to Kids about the Sixth Mass Extinction” by Laura Perdew, author of Extinction: What Happened to the Dinosaurs, Mastodons, and Dodo Birds?

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

• I was a bit worried about Knock Out by K.A. Holt because House Arrest has quickly become one of the books I rave about the most, and I didn’t know if a sequel would be able to stand next to it in my mind and heart, but MAN! It does! Knock Out takes place years later and the main character of House Arrest is now a secondary character. I don’t want to tell you much more because the premise of Knock Out spoils the end of House Arrest (in my opinion…K.A. Holt says you could read them in either order, but I’m partial to the publication order because it adds more suspense in both).
• The Whatever After series keeps surprising me! Although the main premise is formulaic (Abby and Jonah go through a mirror and mess up a fairy tale, so they have to fix it and it changes), the actual stories have each been very unique! I can definitely tell why this series is so popular! Bad Hair Day is about Rapunzel, and within the first 20% of the book, Abby has cut off Rapunzel’s hair, so they have to figure out how to fix that one.

 Ricki

It’s finals week, so I’ve been reading all of my students’ writing. Many of them are creative writing majors, and their work is wonderful!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

My life has been full of so much fun lately! The holidays are my favorite because we get to celebrate family and friendship and kindness and goodness. Oh, and I love Christmas music! But that also means my life is full of non-reading things thus affecting my reading life.

• I am almost done with Cold as Ice, Whatever After #6, and I cannot wait to find out how it ends! It is a retelling of “The Snow Queen.”
• I actually am surprising myself that I haven’t read Thunderhead yet. I don’t know if I am psyching myself out of starting because 1) then I’ll have to wait even longer for the final book in the trilogy, 2) It is going to be a time-suck of a book because I won’t want to stop, 3) I just am so worried that it is going to not be what I want after Scythe. But I need to get reading because I have students and teachers all waiting to get their hands on my ARC (however, at this rate, they may just have to buy their own copy in January). We’ll see how it goes…

Ricki

I am finally reading American Street by Ibi Zoboi and am loving it.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Ten Favorite Christmas Books from Maria N., 7th grade

Wednesday: The Musnet Series by Kickliy

Thursday: Inky’s Great Escape by Casey Lyall

Friday: Red & Lulu by Matt Tavares

 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!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Last Week’s Posts

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

Tuesday: Ricki’s NCTE/ALAN Reflection

Wednesday: Kellee’s NCTE/ALAN Reflection

Thursday: Ricki’s NCTE/ALAN Book List

Friday: Kellee’s NCTE/ALAN Book List

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

• Have you not read the Whatever After series by Sarah Mlynowski yet? You really, really should! I love their premise: Each fairy tale seems to end in a happy ending, but is that really what makes the characters happy? The last one I finished, Dream On, looked at the “Sleeping Beauty” fairy tale.
• It probably won’t surprise you to hear that Children of Exile by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a twisty, turny mystery adventure that is a bit dark and looks at a deep issue of human existence. Well, that’s exactly what it does. And there is a twist that I am still dealing with!

 Ricki

I REREAD The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas in preparation for my class tomorrow. I am so excited to hear what my students’ think about it. They always have such insightful comments about the books that we read.

I read Case Study Research by Robert K. Yin. I’ve learned that academia is all about stretching my brain about the many types of methodological approaches to studies. Yin is just one scholar who is known for case study research, and I wanted to learn more about his perspective.

I read (and LOVED) Love by Matt de la Peña. I will be purchasing this book in hardcover. Wow, wow, wow. Review to come.

I adored Prince and Pirate by Charlotte Gunnufson. This is a very funny book. I am excited that we are reviewing it this week.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

 

All of these are sequels! And I can’t wait to get to them 🙂

Ricki

My Adolescents’ Literature class ends this week, and I feel very free to read (rather than reread) anything that I want! My NCTE/ALAN TBR stack is whispering to me right now.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

Tuesday: Ten New Authors We Met at NCTE/ALAN 2017

Wednesday: Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist Nina Simone by Alice Briaere-Haquet

Thursday: Prince and Pirate by Charlotte Gunnufson

Friday: Emily and the Spellstone by Michael Rubens

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Talking to Kids about the Sixth Mass Extinction” by Laura Perdew, author of Extinction: What Happened to the Dinosaurs, Mastodons, and Dodo Birds?

 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!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

We’re back!!

Thank you all so much for understanding about our time away. NCTE and ALAN were as amazing as always, but we are happy to be back 🙂

 Last Few Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Ironically enough, while I am at NCTE and ALAN, a conference about teaching English and adolescent literature, I get very little reading done because I am going from about 6AM to 11PM! But traveling to and from the conference then 5 days off when I get back do help on the reading front.

• Before leaving for NCTE, I made sure to read This is Not a Valentine by Carter Higgins and Hidden Dangers by Lola M. Schafer because I was lucky enough to spend a dinner with them at NCTE, and I wanted to make sure I’d read their newest. Both are ones I highly recommend though for very different reasons! I love the innocence and sweetness in Valentine and Hidden Dangers is terrifyingly interesting!
• Dude by Aaron Reynolds isn’t coming out for a while still, but when I saw a galley, I made sure to check it out, and it made me actually laugh out loud.
• Matt de la Peña is having a really big Winter 2017/18! First, let me tell you about Love. At ALAN last year, Matt read the poem that would become Love to us, and I flat out cried because it was such a beautiful love letter to his daughter. I couldn’t wait to read the final picture book, and MAN! it did not disappoint. Loren Long took Matt’s beautiful poem and added art to turn the poem into a picture book about love for all humans. BEAUTIFUL! Miguel and the Good Harmony is a perfect companion to Coco! The movie and book are about passion and family.

• I have a tradition of reading the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book on my way to NCTE each year because it comes out right before the conference. This year, the story fit because Greg is going on a family vacation, but as with all DoaWK stories, everything does not go as planned. I just really love these books!
• I’m still listening to the Whatever After series, and I finished with book #3 which was a retelling of “The Little Mermaid,” but with a MUCH better version.
• My book club is Skyping with Michele Weber Hurwitz on Friday, so I wanted to make sure to read all of her books. Last but not least is her newest Ethan Marcus Stands Up which looks at school and ingenuity and family and friendship. I know my kids are going to love this one!
• Emily and the Spellstone by Michael Rubens is a pun-y and adventure-filled story about Emily who gets thrown into quite a predicament when she finds out she is a Stonemaster and has a demon at her beck-and-call. I’ll definitely be reviewing this one here.

• I read the first Musnet book a year ago, but I was so excited to learn that there are THREE more of them! I finished the whole series, and I cannot wait to review them!

 Ricki

My sister-in-law bought these books for my son’s birthday. We love the Please, Mr. Panda book, so we were very excited to read Thank You, Mr. Panda and I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda. All three books are excellent. My son is currently sleeping with these books in his bed. This is reserved for his favorite books. 🙂

I REREAD If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan for my class this week. We are thrilled to be Skyping with her on Wednesday!

I also read several other books at the conference, but I can’t seem to remember the titles. I promise I’ll remember them for next week!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

• I’m currently listening to Whatever After #4 which is the retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
• I am so excited to read the first and second book in the new Haddix series: Children of Exile and Children of Refugees.
• I haven’t jumped into my NCTE/ALAN books yet because I had some books here I needed to read first, but the first two I am going to pick up are Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman and Knock Out by K.A. Holt. I CANNOT WAIT!

Ricki

I am not sure which NCTE book I’ll read first. I am actually interested in spying on other bloggers to see what everyone is reading before I make my decision. 😉

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Ricki’s NCTE/ALAN Reflection

Wednesday: Kellee’s NCTE/ALAN Reflection

Thursday: Ricki’s NCTE/ALAN Book List

Friday: Kellee’s NCTE/ALAN Book List

 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!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Last Week’s Posts

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

Tuesday: Ten Books We Plan to Read this Winter

We are currently away at:

We will be taking this upcoming week off for conferencing, traveling, and family! We will catch everyone up the week of November 27th. To our US readers: Have a fabulous holiday!

 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!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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
Lisa M.
for winning our giveaway of Space Boy and the Snow Monster by Dian Curtis Regan!

Last Week’s Posts

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

 

Tuesday: Ten Characters Who Would Make Good Leaders

Wednesday: Teaching Guide with Activities and Discussion Questions for Maya Lin: Thinking With Her Hands by Susan Goldman Rubin

Thursday: Aliens Get the Sniffles, Too! Ah-Choo! by Katy S. Duffield

Friday: Teaching Guide with Activities and Discussion Questions for Charlie and Mouse and Grumpy by Laurel Snyder

Sunday: Author Guest  Post!: “There’s No Such Thing as Pantsers” by Justin Lantier-Novelli, Author of Don’t Mess with Coleman Stoops

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

• I started listening to the Whatever After series by Sarah Mlynowski after a student recommended it to me. I was on an audio book lull, so when I saw that my library had them all, I started listening, and I really am enjoying them! What a fun take on fairy tales! In each story, Abby and her brother Jonah get transported into different fairy tales and always end up causing a ruckus even when they try really hard not to.
• For my teacher book club’s November title, we chose Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina, and it is more than you could have expected from the summary. It is set with Son of Sam and a crazy summer in NYC as the background, but the story is so much more than the setting and historical aspects. It is a story of growing up and family and abandonment and friendship and love.
• I then, on a whim, picked up House Arrest by K.A. Holt. I’ve had students recommend it, and I just randomly chose it–wow! I am so glad I did! It is a book that I wish I’d read when it came out, so I could have been recommending it since then. If nothing else, it is going to be a book I recommend highly to so many students going forward. Timothy just wants to help out his family, but after he steals a wallet to buy his baby brother’s medicine, he finds himself on house arrest for a year. This is his journal.

Trent and I had some fun this week reading some new books! I love when Trent is open to reading new stories!

• If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy Newbold is a fun introduction to some of the best artists ever!
• Up! Tall! And High! by Ethan Long is a silly book about adjectives with laugh-out-loud situations.
• Boo Who? by Ben Clanton is about fitting in when you are new.
• Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis is a book that I cannot believe I haven’t read yet. It is so interesting to try to figure out what the bugs are saying and to watch their world transform.
• We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio is a perfect companion/introduction to Wonder as it is a perfect look at the themes that Wonder shows up.

 Ricki

Thank you all for being very patient with me while I moved into a new house. I had a lot going on this week with some major work items due and moving with two kids under four. 🙂 I am happy to say that I’m back in action and looking forward to seeing many of you at NCTE and ALAN!

I read Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds a couple of weeks ago and loved it. I’ve had three students read it since then, and we all are raving about it!

I went to high school with Julia Denos. She was a year above me, and her sister and I were very close friends in middle school. She is just as kind and smart as she seems in interviews and presentations. I think Windows is absolutely brilliant. She captures Somerville so well.

The final installation in Kobi Yamada’s series is a phenomenal ending. I was reluctant to read What Do You Do With a Chance? because I love the first two books, and I was pleasantly surprised by how different and complementary the book is. I am so grateful for this series.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

• I am on #3 of the Whatever After series, and this time, Abby and Jonah are in “The Little Mermaid.”
• My 7th grade book club has started up again (here’s info on last year!), and our first author that we’ll be Skyping with is Michele Weber Hurwitz. I’ve already read her Summer I Saved the World…in 65 Days, so I plan on reading her other two novels, Calli Be Gold and Ethan Marcus Stands Up. Looking forward to 12/1 and the Skype visit!!!

Ricki

Moving has really cramped my style. I am halfway through Turtles All the Way Down and embarrassed that I haven’t finished it sooner. I love it thus far!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Ten Books We Plan to Read this Winter

After Tuesday, we will be taking some time off for conferencing, travel, and family. We’ll be attending two of our favorite events of the year!!!

We’ll be back the week of November 27th to catch everyone up. See you then 🙂

(On the 20th, we will still have the linky available for everyone to link up, so please stop by if you plan on doing an IMWAYR post.)

 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!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

Last Week’s Posts

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

 

Tuesday: Books to Read on Halloween

Wednesday: Living Things and Nonliving Things: A Compare and Contrast Book by Kevin Kurtz

Thursday: Miguel and the Grand Harmony by Matt de la Peña

Friday: Quack and Daisy series by Aileen Stewart

Sunday: Author Guest Post and Giveaway!: “The Power of Imaginative Play” by Dian Curtis Regan, Author of the Space Boy series
Giveaway open until Friday!!

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

I am so glad I reread The Impossible Knife of Memory before hosting a round table with Laurie Halse Anderson. It is brilliant, and rereading definitely allowed for me to be able to get more in depth with it when I am chatting with her.

 Ricki

Ricki just moved, so she is away this week 🙂

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

This month’s Faculty Book Club choice is Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina, so I started that today.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

Tuesday: Ten Characters Who Would Make Great Leaders

Wednesday:  Teaching Guide with Activities and Discussion Questions for Maya Lin: Thinking With Her Hands by Susan Goldman Rubin

Thursday: Aliens Get the Sniffles Too! by Katy S. Duffield

Friday:  Teaching Guide with Activities and Discussion Questions for Charlie and Mouse and Grumpy by Laurel Snyder

Sunday:  Author Guest Post!: “There’s No Such Thing as Pantsers” by Justin Lantier-Novelli, Author of Don’t Mess with Coleman Stoops

 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!

  and