IMWAYR

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

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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

  

Tuesday: Top Ten Books If You Like Superheroes/Reality TV

Thursday: Ricki’s Bookish Bucket List

Friday: Kellee’s Bookish Bucket List

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I read two very good, but every different, books this week. First I finished In The Shadow of Blackbirds which is quite a unique book. It takes place in 1918 during World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic and has a twist of supernatural. And so suspenseful! I also finished Serafina’s Promise which transports you to Haiti during the floods and really bad earthquake. Ann E. Burg’s verse is so descriptive that it makes the setting and characters jump off the page.

Trent continued his picture books reading as well and read some great ones this week:

• Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton (I am remembering how much I love Sandra Boynton, and I am enjoying every single one of her books that we read.)
• Koala Lou by Mem Fox (Every time I said “Koala Lou, I DO love you.” Trent smiled. It melted my heart!)
• Peek-A-Zoo by Nina Laden
• All In A Day by Cynthia Rylant (I really loved the lyrical aspect of this one and the message. One of my favorites we’ve read this far.)
• Sleepy Bears by Mem Fox (I love how each bear had a different dream. Another great message in a wonderful picture book.)
• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (A classic! Just as good as when I read it when I used to babysit.)
• If I Was a Penguin… by Anne Wilkinson (On Jim’s birthday he chose what to read Trent, and they reread this cute book.)

Ricki: I received a wonderful box of ARCs from Penguin this week. I was sucked in by the cover of The Merciless by Danielle Vega. “Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned,” and “For mature audiences only.” I dug right into that one. My son fell asleep in the car seat in the back of my car, so I started reading it in the front seat of the car (in my garage). I was done by the next morning. (Don’t worry, we left the garage.) It was a great horror book that sucked me in!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I started Openly Straight last night and am already liking the voice. I’m sure I’m going to love it. Trent plans on making a dent on his library pile that includes more Sandra Boynton, Dan Santat, Mem Fox, and other picture books we can’t wait to read.

Ricki: I am currently reading eight books right now. I just can’t get enough variety, I suppose. I just started Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. It came highly recommended. I am also listening to Paperboy on CD, and I am reading a fantastic book for early elementary schoolers called Annika Riz, Math Whiz by Claudia Mills. It is a very fun, short chapter book. I am also still reading some of the others I posted in my last Monday post.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

Tuesday: Top Ten Books We’d Frame As Pieces of Art

Wednesday: Guest Post from Mathangi Subramanian, author of Bullying

Thursday: Guest post by Michele Weber Hurwitz, Author of The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days

 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 hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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

   

Tuesday: Top Ten Characters Who Are Smart

Wednesday: Thrive Blog Tour and Author Guest Post

Friday: Tracy Holczer, author of The Secret Hum of a Daisy, Guest Post

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: A pretty good reading week here at the Moye house. I was able to finish both Rose Under Fire and P.S. Be Eleven. They are very different books, but both so good. I am still reeling about Rose. It was almost perfection. P.S. Be Eleven was a great follow up to One Crazy Summer.

Trent and I read 7 picture books again this week (though there were a couple #bookaday hiccups which we had to remedy by reading 2 books in a day):

• Happy Easter, Mouse! by Laura Joffe Numeroff (Trent received this in his Easter basket from his grandparents. Just as cute as all the other Mouse stories.)
• Time for Bed by Mem Fox (Mem Fox writes books as if they are songs. Beautiful.)
• My Very First Book of Shapes by Eric Carle (This book is bilingual and interactive. It’ll be a fun way to learn shapes and Spanish when Trent gets older.)
• Jabberwocky by Jennifer Adams (We read this on Poem in your Pocket Day and also in honor of National Poetry Month. I love the Baby Lit adaptations!)
• Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton (I remember reading this when I was a kid now that I’ve reread it. Sandra Boynton is SO MUCH FUN!)
• Llama Llama Zippity Zoom by Anna Dewdney (With all of the Llama Llama talk, I had to get the board book from the library, and we really enjoyed it. A simple text, but one that is fun and a child could easily memorize.)
• How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler (My parents know Fred from Lakeland, and they got us a signed copy for Jim and Trent. They read it together this week, and it is such a perfect father/son read.)

Ricki: It is the last week of school, and with all of the term papers, my reading has suffered! I’ve been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Henry every night, but we haven’t finished yet. He tends to fall asleep, and I don’t want him to miss any of it. For Easter, we read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick by Lucille Colandro (very fun!). And for school, I finished Culturally Responsive Teaching by Geneva Gay. I highly, highly recommend this book to teachers. It taught me so much about the learning styles of students of all different cultures. I am in awe of Geneva Gay’s intelligence and thoughtfulness. I plan to blog about it soon (after I finish my paper and have thought it through).

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am going to start In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters tonight and hope to finish it this week then I’ll start Brother, Brother by Clay Carmichael. My goal is to finish them both this week although I am starting work again today, so we’ll see how reading goes this week. Trent will continue his #bookaday though his dad may read some with him without me since he is home with him during the day now. I know I do want to read Trent’s other Easter books this week: All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant and Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney.

Ricki: Baby Henry and I reserved two books from other libraries: Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea and And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson. I have always wanted to read both of these, and I think Henry will enjoy them. I am done with PD books for my doctoral degree this semester (phew!), but I may get a head start in a few weeks. For now, I am going to finish the rest of Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira. I have been working on it for a few weeks, but now that school is coming to a close, I am going to devour the rest. 🙂

Upcoming Week’s Posts

  

Tuesday: Top Ten Books If You Like Superheroes/Reality TV

Thursday: Ricki’s Bookish Bucket List

Friday: Kellee’s Bookish Bucket 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 hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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

  

Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Things We’d Like to Own

Friday: Amulet Graphic Novels: Teaching Guide

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I love Rose Under Fire. This week has been quite busy, and I have not been able to finish it yet; however, I am so enjoying it. I wish I was reading it right now! I am also reading an e-book called Coyote Summer by J.S. Kapchinske which I am also really liking. I knew nothing about it, and it is quite surprisingly a good book.

Also, we visited Barnes and Noble on Saturday, and I decided to partake in a couple of picture books I’ve been wanting to read: Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Willems and Warning: Do Not Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt. Um, I definitely need to own both of these books. I was laughing in the middle of the store. So good.

Trent and I continued our picture #bookaday and read some really great ones this week:

• Global Babies by Global Fund for Children (A great introduction to diversity!)
• Little You by Richard Van Campt (A beautiful poem and a loving message. I also liked the style of illustrations.)
• A Bedtime for Chester Raccoon by Audrey Penn (A Kissing Hand tale that is just as sweet.)
• Owen and Mzee: Best Friends by Isabella Hatkoff (I LOVE Owen and Mzee, and I am so glad there is a board book version of their story.)
• Me Hungry! by Jeremy Tankard (This was the surprise of the week. It cracked me up! Told from the POV of a caveboy, it is quite funny.)
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (On Easter. Classic.)
• Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes (I just adore everything Kevin Henkes writes.)

Ricki: This week, I finished the professional development text, The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol. It made me look at schooling in an entirely different light. For example: Why is it that schools named after MLK Jr. are filled with black students? Wasn’t MLK Jr.’s message about integration? This is just one of the many questions the Kozol poses. I am still pondering some of the ideas that Kozol presents.

Henry and I enjoyed some great picture books this week. My two favorites were: Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen and Noodle by Munro Leaf. These two will be going on Henry’s wish list. The other books we read were: Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo by John Lithgow, On Our Way Home by Sebastien Braun, Love is a Handful of Honey by Giles Andreae, Heart in the Pocket by Laurence Bourguigon, Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman, and Sometimes I Forget You’re a Robot by Sam Brown.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am going to finish Rose Under Fire and begin (and hopefully finish!) P.S. Be Eleven. I’ll also continue Coyote Summer. This is my last week of maternity leave, so I am going to cherish it by spending as much time as I can with my son and reading.

Ricki: I am still reading Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira, and I just started the professional development text, Culturally Responsive Teaching by Geneva Gay. Henry and I are still reading our graphic novel book of classic fairy tales called Fairy Tale Comics, which is edited by Chris Duffy, and we are also still reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

   

Tuesday: Top Ten Characters Who Are Smart

Wednesday: Thrive Blog Tour and Author Guest Post

Friday: Tracy Holczer, author of The Secret Hum of a Daisy, 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!

  and

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

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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

  

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Unique Books We’ve Read

Wednesday: Favorite Nonfiction Picture Books About Strong Women in History

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This week I read All our Yesterdays by Cristen Terrill–SO GOOD! I found myself reading when I should have been doing just about anything else, but it was just so suspenseful! Ricki has already reviewed it, and I will post my review in May. It is a must-read, in my opinion.  While nursing this week (well, not nursing, but during the 20 minutes after nursing when I have to keep Trent upright), I also finished Teen Idol Terror by Paul Plunkett, a fun mystery that I’ll review in the future, and Thrive by Meenoo Rami, an education book that we’ll have the blog tour stop in a couple of weeks.

Trent and I continued our #bookaday and read some great picture books:

• No Two Alike by Keith Baker (This will be a good way to show Trent snow and also how unique everything is, and I really liked the rhyming.)
• Spot the Dot by David A. Carter (A super fun interactive book that will be great for teaching colors and having fun while doing it.)
• Daddy Wrong Legs by Nina Laden (Trent is going to love this book when he is able to flip through the book mixing and matching the legs and heads. Some of them are quite hilarious.)
• The Biggest Kiss by Joanna Walsh (Love this cover! A cute book that will be a good Valentine’s Day read.)
• Chickia Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. (I haven’t read this book in a long time, but it is as fun and rhythmic as I remember.)
• Disney’s Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp (Final two books in the Disney Bedtime Stories tower. I really enjoyed the Lady and the Tramp adaptation–very cute.)

Ricki: Like Kellee, I also read Thrive by Meenoo Rami this week. This is a fantastic book for beginning teachers, and I can’t wait to use it in my classes.  I also read several picture books to Henry. One of our favorite books was The Fox in the Library by Lorenz Pauli. (We are biased because we love any books about books.) I will be reviewing it next week. We also loved a recommendation by Carrie in her children’s book post (bit.ly/1fOCOdu): Hug by Jez Alborough. There is something magical about animals hugging each other. We also enjoyed the classics, The Napping House by Audrey Wood and Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman, a newer book called Hello, My Name is Ruby by Philip C. Stead (great for bird-lovers), and The Dead Family Diaz by P.J. Bracegirdle (fantastic for teaching about The Day of the Dead).  If you are looking for an adult book, my husband just finished The Strain by Guillermo del Toro. It is a new, adult, horror book. He enjoyed it, and he is a tough critic. 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am going to start (should have started already!) Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. It is going to be interesting to see how it connects to Code Name Verity. I also plan on starting another e-book, probably Coyote Summer by J.P. Kapchinske, to read after nursing. E-books are much easier to read with one hand than hard/paper books. Trent and I will continue our #bookaday, of course, but I never know what is in our plans 🙂

Ricki: I am currently reading Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira. I am almost finished with the professional development book, The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol. Henry and I are also almost finished with our graphic novel book of classic fairy tales called Fairy Tale Comics, which is edited by Chris Duffy.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Things We’d Like to Own

Friday: Amulet Graphic Novels: Teaching Guide

 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 hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: “Gateway” Books/Authors in Our Reading Journey

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This week I finished Wild Awake by Hilary Smith. It was an interesting journey of watching a character’s life run out of her control. I was a big fan of the way the author wrote the story because if helped you feel the chaos that was happening in Kiri’s life. A very impressive debut novel.

Trent’s picture book #bookaday continued, and we actually doubled up on a couple of days. This week, we read:

• Disney Bedtime Stories Board Books: 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, Lion King, Dumbo, Lilo & Stitch, and Pinocchio (These stories are all touch and go. Some are so sweet, especially Dumbo, 101 Dalmatians, and Lilo & Stitch. We have 2 more left that we plan to finish this week.)
• Listened to Go Dog Go, Are You My Mother?, and The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman on You Tube (These videos are perfect for the 20 minutes Trent and I have to spend upright after nursing. I’m sure we will listen to them over and over.)
• Baseball Is… by Louise Borden (Friday was the Cubs home opener, and we celebrated by having a baseball filled day! Thank you to Michele Knott for recommending this beautiful book to me.)
• Black on White by Tana Hoban (I learned about Tana Hoban’s books at the Mommy-Baby Tea that I go to. Since babies’ eyesight is not mature yet, the contrast in these wordless books keeps their attention, and it worked great for Trent. I made a little story for each picture to make it a little more interesting for me.)

Ricki: This week, I read a lot of great books. I am going to divide them up by category to make it easier to read.

Professional Development: I finished Life in Schools by Peter McLaren. It was good, but it wasn’t my favorite PD text. I felt like many of the ideas were contained in several other texts I have read recently. That said, I agree with the ideas he puts forth about the hegemony that exists in schools.

YA/Middle Grade: I read We Were Liars by e. lockhart. It was incredible. If you are looking for a good YA book, this one will blow you away. It has strong literary merit and is haunting. I get the shivers thinking about how powerful it is. I also finished Aphrodite by George O’Connor. I love how he re-imagines Greek mythology in graphic novel form!

Children’s Books: We pounded through our library books this week. Henry and I have a new tradition. We read a book downstairs before we go upstairs for his last feeding, so he and I enjoy double the reading time. My favorite from this week was The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Shotter.  It highlights the magic of collecting words. I also loved Jane Yolen’s How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?. The other books we read and enjoyed together were: Robie Harris’ When Lions Roar, Mark Moulton’s Change the World Before Bedtime, Mem Fox’s Koala Lou, Chris Allsburg’s The Stranger, and Taro Miura’s The Tiny King.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I have already started All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, and I am intrigued by the premise already. At only 30 pages in, I am excited to keep reading it. And, of course, Trent and I are going to continue our #bookaday. We’ll first finish the Disney board books then move to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and other books Aly kindly sent us.

Ricki: My next PD book is Jonathan Kozol’s The Shame of the Nation. I have always wanted to read this one, so I am looking forward to learning a lot from it. I just started the young adult book, Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira. I pre-ordered it because I heard such good things about it. Henry and I are reading Fairy Tale Comics (edited by Chris Duffy). It retells seventeen fairy tales in graphic novel form. He love the bright colors, and I enjoy how each fairy tale is short, so I can keep his attention!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Unique Books We’ve Read

Wednesday: Favorite Nonfiction Picture Books About Strong Women in History

 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 hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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

   

Top Ten Tuesday: Our Bookish Bucket List

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I’ve continued being able to find time to read my novels–YAY! I finished Bruised by Sarah Skilton, and I am so glad that it came onto my radar. It is a special, unique little book. I look forward to sharing it with you soon. I started Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith, and so far, I am enjoying it. It is a look at grief and love.

Trent and I have been keeping up with our picture book #bookaday, and we’re making quite a dent. He’s already at 38 books! This week, we read:

• The Napping House by Audrey Wood (Classic! And just as good as the first time I read it.)
• Board Books from the Disney Bedtime Stories: Aristocats, Aladdin, Bambi, and Alice in Wonderland (I love these little Disney stories. I still have 6 more to read from the set, I believe. Thanks to Jessica for these!)
• I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak (So true! The love you feel for a child is one you can’t understand. Thank you to Katie for this one–I’m sure it’ll be a favorite.)
• Horns and Toes by Sandra Boynton (After Sandra Boynton was mentioned last week, I had to read the one I had 😀 I loved Sandra Boynton books when I was younger, and I am glad to read them again. Thank you to Cristen for this one.)

Ricki: I had a very busy week, so I only finished three books. I read Brian Floca’s Locomotive (see my review on Thursday). It was incredible! I am so glad Kellee recommended it to me. My husband, son, and I were taken back to the summer of 1869, and we learned so much about the locomotive! I also read Jacqueline Woodson’s Each Kindness (see my review next Thursday!). This is a very powerful story that really affected me. I plan to read it often to my son because I think the message is so very important. Lastly, I read Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner. I expected to like it more than I did. Everyone has raved about it, and maybe my expectations were too high. 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I plan on finishing Wild Awake, and hopefully start All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill. Trent and I will continue our #bookaday by first finishing our Disney bedtime stories readathon, and then we’ll tackle the amazing pile of books our book angel, Alyson, sent us.

Ricki: Henry and I took another trip to the library. I am not sure the librarian enjoyed signing out twelve picture books, but we always return them promptly! I am giddy just thinking about them. We are also continuing to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe together. I am still reading Peter McLaren’s Life in Schools, and I am halfway through e. lockhart’s We Were Liars. I will definitely be reviewing this one. 🙂

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Top Ten Tuesday: “Gateway” Books/Authors in Our Reading Journey

 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 hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee 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

   

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On Our Spring TBR Lists

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

 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I was able to finish Robyn Schneider’s novel The Beginning of Everything this week (YAY!!). I had started it before Trent was born, but hadn’t been able to find time or brain power to truly read until this last week when I made sure to fit reading into my schedule. I think that my brain NEEDS reading or I really start to feel like I am dragging. After finishing, The Beginning of Everything, I started Bruised by Sarah Skilton. It is quite an interesting read so far. The verdict is still out if I like it or not.

On top of the novels, I also continued by picture book #bookaday with Trent. This week we read:

• Baby Loves to Rock by Wednesday Kirwan
• Rockin’ Babies by Jenn Berman
• Rocker Babies Wear Jeans by Michelle Sinclair Colman
  • (Like I promised, I read some rocker books that were given to me by my friend Jill this week. I really liked them all. They are obviously written to be funny for the parents reading them as well as for the kids. I think I liked Baby Loves to Rock the best.)
• Hello Baby! by Mem Fox (This book was so kindly given to me by my friend JoEllen. I’m so glad this is the book she decided to share with Trent. Neither he or I had read any Mem Fox before, and I was so happy to finally get to read one of her books. This one is illustrated by Steve Jenkins and I really enjoy his artwork. Overall, exactly as wonderful as everyone says.)
• David Smells! by David Shannon (My friend Cristen and her daughter Lucinda love David books, and I am so glad that she shared him with me. I like that this book taught a bit of a lesson, but also was quite entertaining.)
• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (Like Ricki, this book was longer than I remembered and Trent actually didn’t make it through. It is such a classic, and I can see why. Great rhyme, rhythm, story, and theme.)
• I Love You Because You’re You by Liza Baker (SO SWEET! I love reading books like this to Trent.)

Ricki: I had a great reading week! I finished Threatened by Eliot Schrefer. It was fantastic. I will be reviewing it this Thursday! I also read several great children’s books. I loved Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox. It was so good that I plan to order it to have in Henry’s library. I want to read it over and over again! I also read Mem Fox’s Where the Giant Sleeps. I thought the story was okay, but I really loved the illustrations the most. They are beautiful. Last week, I discovered Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series, as well. I am not a children’s book expert, but I am learning! (I know much, much more about YAL as a field.) I read Llama Llama Misses Mama, and my husband read Llama Llama Red Pajama. I enjoyed the humor of Alan Sitomer’s Daddies Do It Different Sunday night, and closed the night off with Sandra Boynton’s Snuggle Puppy. Thank you all for your recommendations. Henry and I are having a great time with these books and authors you are recommending!
(Kellee: I LOVE seeing you discover great picture books Ricki! Llama Llama is one of my favorite series and I, too, discovered Mem Fox this week. I love that we are on this adventure together!)

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I plan on finished Bruised and start Wild Awake by Hilary Smith. As for our picture books, I am not sure what we are going to explore this week. It’ll depend on what I am feeling like each day although I do have a pile of picture books from Candlewick that are taunting me!

Ricki: I am still reading Life in Schools by Peter McLaren. I will tell more about this when I have read more than 50 pages. 🙂 I am also still reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis to Henry. I can’t decide which YAL book is next, but like most of you (I am sure), I have a few galleys that are calling my name…

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Top Ten Tuesday: Our Bookish Bucket List

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