It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/27/17

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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.

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Congratulations to Josh Funk for winning Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite!

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Last Week’s Posts

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

  

Tuesday: Ten of Trent’s Favorite Books as of His Third Birthday

Wednesday: The March Against Fear by Ann Bausum

Thursday: Guest Review: Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Friday: The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming by J. Coats Anderson

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Thank you to everyone for the happy birthday wishes for Trent! I cannot believe he is three, but I am truly loving this age.

 

I cannot wait to review these two books for you all! Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee is a powerful book about Shakespeare and identity while A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold is one of those quiet yet impactful books about a sweet boy named Bat who is 99.9% guaranteed to become a vet.

I reread Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher for my faculty book club. Rereading it reminded me why it was so memorable for me—it is just so gut-wrenching. Although, the book club meeting brought up some really good questions on if Hannah’s story would help people who were suicidal. We all felt that the book would make teens think about their impact on those around them, but would someone who was depressed or suicidal feel like if Hannah couldn’t make it, they can’t either? That was the question of the night.

I finished Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart before our Skype visit! Here is my book club with Dan:

I loved Scar Island and The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart, and I cannot recommend them both enough; however, I think that Skyping with him took it to a whole new level! His answers about his books, his writing process, and the role of the reader were so insightful.

 Ricki

My dissertation is due on April 1, so I am writing during every waking moment!

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

 

I’m currently listening to Showing Off, the third book in the Upside-Down Magic series, and I just love Nory and her class.

I started then paused and will need to restart Bot Wars by J.V. Kade. I only have two more books to read on our Sunshine State list and Bot Wars is one of them.

However, before I restarted Bot Wars, I really need to read Loot by Jude Watson. My librarian is hosting a Skype visit with Jude, and I really want to read at least Loot before the Skype visit.

 Ricki

Sadly, I won’t be reading this week (other than reading during the day with my sons). These will all be rereads. Wish me luck on my dissertation (ah!).

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday 

Tuesday: Ten Books We Wish Had More Pages in Them

Wednesday: If I Were a Whale by Shelley Gill

Thursday: Duck and Hippo in the Rainstorm by Jonathan London

Friday: Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

 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!

 Signature andRickiSig

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/20/17

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IMWAYR 2015 logo

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.

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Last Week’s Posts

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

top ten tuesday    

Tuesday: Happy Valentine’s Day! Our Favorite LBGTQ Love Stories

Wednesday: Famous Fails! by Crispin Boyer

Thursday: Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite by Stacy McAnulty

Friday: Time Museum by Matthew Loux

Sunday: Guest Post: “Theater Games to Promote Reading and Writing” by Gary Schwartz, Author of The King of Average

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Hi, everyone! Today is Trent’s 3rd birthday! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! My mom and brother are in town, and we’re going to Disney to celebrate his birthday. I’ll catch up with you next week with what I read over the two weeks 🙂 Have a great week!

 Ricki

This week, I enjoyed Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp. It is a dystopian graphic novel. In the futuristic world, everything is faster. People take medications to speed up their heart rate, the government requires every sentence to end with “Go,” and the world simply moves faster and more efficiently. I enjoyed this book and had a lot of fun reading it.

Henry and I loved reading The Tree: A Fable by Neal Layton. The story is simple, but the message packs a powerful punch. He’s brought up the story to me on several occasions, so it seems that it has really stuck with him. I love the questions he asks me when we read it.

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This Week’s Expeditions
 Ricki

It seems that lately, I am really good at starting a lot of books and not finishing them. I have many half-finished (and great!) books laying around my house. I think I am distracted with my dissertation writing. I am loving All We Have Left by Wendy Mills. We are using it for the Muslim-Islamic research study that we are about to start in a school.

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

  

Tuesday: Ten of Trent’s Favorite Books as of His Third Birthday

Wednesday: The March Against Fear by Ann Bausum

Thursday: Guest Review: Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Friday: The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming by J. Coats Anderson

 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!

 Signature andRickiSig

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/13/17

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IMWAYR 2015 logo

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.

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Last Week’s Posts

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

   

Tuesday: Books to Deepen Our Understanding of the Countries on the #MuslimBan List

Wednesday: Sea Otter Heroes by Patricia Newman

Thursday: Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Friday: An Alphabet in Bloom by Nathalie Trovato

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Overwhelm and Fear”  by Mary Cronk Farrell, Author of Fannie Never Flinched

 So, what are you reading?

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

I had a much better reading week! I finished everything I had started last week when I didn’t finish anything 🙂

  

The three books I read this week could not be more different. First The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham is the first book in a fantasy series about a town that has many legends that end up being true, and our protagonist, Rye, is more involved with these legends than she could ever imagine. Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter is the final book in the Embassy Row series which I have LOVED! I listened to all of them, and I really enjoyed the audiobooks. While listening, I couldn’t stop talking about the story. So many of my students are reading them now, and I love talking to them about this modern royal drama. (My Goodreads Review) Lastly, I finished a historical fiction novel about emigration to the Washington Territory called The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming by J. Anderson Coats which I’ll be reviewing next Friday.

I had a heartwarming thing happen to me this week! One of my students has an ELA teacher that let’s them use tickets they earn to buy a book of their choice, and he chose to get Dogman Unleashed because 1) He wanted to read it; and 2) I didn’t have it in my classroom library yet. It was so sweet!!

I also realized that Trent and I had gotten into a reading rut because we are reading the same 10 or so books over and over, I am working hard on trying to introduce him to new books since we have so many amazing books in our library. This week we read four new picture books that I have a feeling will be added into our rotation. Super Jumbo is the companion to How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler. Jumbo is here to save the day  but it is harder than he thought and not always what he thinks is needed. The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield is one of my favorite picture books I’ve read in a long time. It is such a special story about passion and love and music! The other two I read, Duck and Hippo and Mr. Fuzzbuster will be reviewed soon, so I’ll share them then.

Ricki

Henry and I read Duck and Hippo and Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite. Both are charming picture books. Duck and Hippo reminds me of Frog and Toad, which is a series I adore! Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite reminds me of Dog vs. Cat by Chris Gall.

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

 

I am so excited that my lunch book club, the same club that did the Mock Newbery, will have the opportunity to Skype with author Dan Gemeinhart on Friday! The Honest Truth is on our state list, so many of the students have read it (as have I) and Some Kind of Courage was on our Mock Newbery list, so he seemed like the perfect author to Skype with, and I am so glad that he was willing and available! I’m currently reading Scar Island, his newest, and if I finish, I’ll pick up Some Kind of Courage.

I am also reading Barbara Dee’s new book that comes out soon, Star-Crossed. I just started, but I love the middle school voice so far.

 Ricki

I am alternating between Pose, Wobble, Flow by Antero Garcia and Cindy O’Donnell-Allen and For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood by Christopher Emdin. If I wasn’t spending so much of my time writing my dissertation, I would be finished with them both by now. Both are excellent books that I recommend for all teachers (inservice and preservice).

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday  

Tuesday: Happy Valentine’s Day! Our Favorite LBGTQ Love Stories

Wednesday: Famous Fails! by Crispin Boyer

Thursday: Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite by Stacy McAnulty

Friday: Time Museum by Matthew Loux

Sunday: Guest 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!

 Signature andRickiSig

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/6/17

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IMWAYR 2015 logo

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.

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Last Week’s Posts

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

top ten tuesday book-of-heroines book-of-heroes Paper Animals ellie ultra #1 

Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books that were Honored at the ALA Youth Media Awards

Wednesday: National Geographic’s The Book of Heroines and The Book of Heroes

Thursday: Paper Animals from Kane Miller Books

Friday: Ellie Ultra: An Extra-Ordinary Girl by Gina Bellisario

Sunday: Author Guest Post: Imagination by A.H. Richardson, Author of Jorie and the Magic Stones

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Well . . . I didn’t finish anything this week. But I’m reading a few different books at once–see below 🙂

 Ricki

Oh, darn. It’s happened. Kellee’s and my bad reading weeks have aligned. I apologize that I didn’t stop by everyone’s blogs on Monday. We had a family emergency this week, and it has taken up a good portion of my week. Thanks for understanding!

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

I have only 3 of our state list books left, so I hope to finish them by the end of February or mid-March. The Luck Uglies is an interesting fantasy novel though it is taking me a bit to get into it. Right now, something crazy happened, so I assume I’ll finish soon!

I don’t know much about settling of the West, so I look forward to going on Jane’s adventures with her.

 Ricki

This week, I started Pose, Wobble, Flow by Antero Garcia and Cindy O’Donnell-Allen. It is really, really good. I highly recommend this book, particularly for teacher education. The concept is spot on, and it has invigorated me!

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

Tuesday: Books to Deepen Our Understanding of the Countries on the #MuslimBan List

Wednesday: Sea Otter Heroes by Patricia Newman

Thursday: Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Friday: An Alphabet in Bloom by Nathalie Trovato

Sunday: Author Guest 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!

 Signature andRickiSig

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/30/17

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IMWAYR 2015 logo

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.

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Last Week’s Posts

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

top ten tuesday Mock Newbery Winner & Honors entertitlehere-rahulkanakia Last Day on Mars black-flowers-white-lies-9781510709881

Tuesday: 2017 New Year’s Book Resolution

Wednesday: Kellee’s Mock Newbery Experience

Thursday: Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Teaching Guide!: Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Survival Stories for Tweens and Teens” by Yvonne Ventresca, author of Pandemic and Black Flowers, White Lies

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Now that the ALA Youth Media Awards have been announced, (CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners! We’ll celebrate our favorites tomorrow. The awards always make me so happy for the books I have read and love; makes me want to read a million more books; and makes me sad for those that weren’t honored.) I am now working on finishing the Sunshine State Young Reader Award nominees. This week, I read Nickel Bay Nick by Dean Pitchford which i son the list. I can see why my students like the book–it is an interesting look at motives, happiness, and personality.

nickel bay nick ashes

I also finished Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson, and it is the PERFECT finale to the Seeds of America series. Isabel and Curzon went through so much, and it was an honor being part of their journey. And yes, this one made me cry.

 Ricki

math cursei will take a nap a sick day for amos mcgee all the places to love henry's important date bear and the piano a penguin pup for pinkerton the dark guji guji imaginary fred

This week, I asked my preservice elementary education students to bring in their favorite picture books. We took thirty minutes to read and enjoy each other’s books. It was a marvelous time! During their breaks, I continued to read their favorite books, and I was struck by how varied and different our tastes can be. I enjoyed them all for different reasons.

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, I Will Take a Nap! by Mo Willems, A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan, Henry’s Important Date by Robert Quackenbush, The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield, A Penquin Pup for Pinkerton by Steven Kellogg, The Dark by Lemony Snicket, Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen, and Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers

Out of all of the books, if I had to pick a favorite, I really enjoyed A Sick Day for Amos McGeeIt hit me in the gut, and it moved me to tears. I also thought The Dark would be a great book to talk about fear and Imaginary Fred does a wonderful job in its portrayal of our imaginations. I will certainly be gifting Math Curse to a few friends, too. The Bear and the Piano reminded me that we can never forget our roots, and All the Places to Love was brimming with beautiful paintings and love. Guji Guji is a silly but important story of identity. Not all of these books are new, but they all touch my students in some way. Sharing this experience with them brought us together as a group.

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

turn left

I am currently reading another SSYRA nominee: Turn Left at the Cow by Lisa Bullard. I really hope to finish the nominees soon! I do have some review books to read but they are for late February and March, so I am trying to finish the SSYRAs before starting them 🙂

 Ricki

white-folks

I hope to finish this book this week. It has been a great text to learn from. Fiction has pulled me away a few times, and I look forward to getting back to this text!

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday book-of-heroines book-of-heroes Paper Animals ellie ultra #1

Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books that were Honored at the ALA Youth Media Awards

Wednesday: National Geographic’s The Book of Heroines and The Book of Heroes

Thursday: Paper Animals from Kane Miller Books

Friday: Ellie Ultra: An Extra-Ordinary Girl by Gina Bellisario

Sunday: Author Guest 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!

 Signature andRickiSig

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/23/17

Share

IMWAYR 2015 logo

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.

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Last Week’s Posts

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

top ten tuesday frightlopedia the sun is also a star zack-delacruz-2

all-3-books

Tuesday: Ten Underrated (less than 500 ratings on Goodreads) Books We Read in 2016

Wednesday: Frightlopedia: An Encyclopedia of Everything Scary, Creepy, and Spine-Chilling, from Arachnids to Zombies  by Julie Winterbottom

Thursday: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Friday: Zack Delacruz: Just My Luck by Jeff Anderson

Sunday: Guest Post”From Advocate to Author: New Children’s Chapter Book Series Features American Special Hockey Association” by Chris Beehler, ASHA Ambassadors Executive Director

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

summerlost wolf hollow

Out of the 4 Mock Newbery titles I hoped I would get to, I was able to get to two. Summerlost by Ally Condie is a wonderful story about friendship and grief with a little bit of Hollywood, Shakespeare, and mystery thrown in. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk lives up to the To Kill a Mockingbird comparisons because of Annabelle’s strong voice, the look at a misunderstood situation, history, and standing up to bullies.

 Ricki

Extra Yarn

I have always intended to read this book, and I am so glad I did! Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett is fabulous. Jon Klassen is able to take a story and illustrate it in a way that is so remarkable. This beautiful story will stick with me.

my map book

I was able to read My Map Book by Sara Fanelli when a guest presenter for my class used it to talk about writing and authorship. What a clever book! I will be using this book as a writing starter in the future! If you do memoir writing, especially, this book is fantastic to initiate writing!

ghost

Yessss! I read Ghost by Jason Reynolds. There is something special about Jason Reynolds’ writing. Every book has blown me away! I have high hopes that this book is on the Newbery list on Monday!

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

ashes

I have a lot of books I NEED to read, but I decided to read one I WANTED to read first. I love Chains and Forge, so I am so excited to read Ashes!

 Ricki

walk-two-moons white-folks

I am still reading both of these books (Walk Two Moons and For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood). Both are excellent. I am just searching for time to read amidst my dissertation work!

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday Mock Newbery Winner & Honors entertitlehere-rahulkanakia Last Day on Mars

Tuesday: 2017 New Year’s Book Resolution

Wednesday: Kellee’s Mock Newbery Experience

Thursday: Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia

Friday: Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson

Sunday: Author Guest 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!

 Signature andRickiSig

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/16/17

Share

IMWAYR 2015 logo

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.

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CONGRATULATIONS

Sara A. 

for winning the giveaway for Your Alien Returns!

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Last Week’s Posts

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

top ten tuesday arabian-nights barkus charlie-and-mouse edenswish

Tuesday: Ten Books We Are Looking Forward to in the First Half of 2017

Wednesday: Tales from the Arabian Nights by Donna Jo Napoli

Thursday: Teaching Guide for Barkus by Patricia MacLachlan

Friday: Teaching Guide for Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “The Real-Life Power of Genies” by M. Tara Crowl, Author of Eden’s Wish and Eden’s Escape

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Best Man Save me a Seat Key to Extraordinary Full of Beans wild robot when green becomes tomatoes

My primary reading right now is trying to read as many Mock Newbery titles as possible, and each one is really showing me why they are on so many lists for possibly winning the Newbery. The Best Man, Save Me a Seat, and When Green Becomes Tomatoes are all wonderful, well written, and so worth the read, but out of these six, I think Key to Extraordinary, Full of Beans, or The Wild Robot are more likely to be contenders. This upcoming week, my students will be debating what book they think should win, and we are voting on the 19th in preparation for the announcement next Monday! (I’ll be sharing our Mock Newbery, process, and votes next week.)

time museum Last Day on Mars

I also read The Time Museum by Matthew Loux and Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson in preparation for sharing them here–I cannot wait to share both of them with you as sci-fi is one of my favorite genres, and I love seeing new titles coming out for my middle schoolers that do the genre justice.

 Ricki

Otter in Space

Otter in Space by Sam Garton is a new, charming picture book that will get kids thinking creatively. Otter and Teddy want to have a moon rock just like the one they saw at the museum, so they decide to make their own! I adored this book, and my son loved it, too.

Merry Christmas Squirrels

How did I not know about these books? Nancy Rose positions miniature scenes and hides peanuts to get real squirrels to visit them! She takes their photographs and constructs a story. I adored Merry Christmas, Squirrels, and I will certainly be checking out her other books.

Paper Animals

Kane Miller Books sent Henry and me this awesome origami book, Paper Animals. We’ve been hard at work, creating a lot of paper animals to fill a giant boat! The book contains both the instructions and the paper to go along with each animal!

Sneak peek for the review on February 2 (What will Henry [err…Mama] make)?:

origami3

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

wolf hollow summerlost pax

The last three Mock Newbery titles I’ll probably get to are Wolf Hollow, Summerlost, and Pax. I hope to read them this week.

some kind of courage As Brave as You

If I have an awesome reading week and have time to pick up more books, I would love to get to Some Kind of Courage and As Brave As You as well.

 Ricki

walk-two-moons

Among about 6 other books that I am reading, I just started Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons. I am reminded that she writes in a way that sweeps me off of my feet!

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday frightlopedia the sun is also a star zack-delacruz-2

Tuesday: Ten Underrated (less than 500 ratings on Goodreads) Books We Read in 2016

Wednesday: Frightlopedia: An Encyclopedia of Everything Scary, Creepy, and Spine-Chilling, from Arachnids to Zombies  by Julie Winterbottom

Thursday: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Friday: Zack Delacruz: Just My Luck by Jeff Anderson

Sunday: Author Guest 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!

 Signature andRickiSig