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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 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

 

 

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Full on confession: I didn’t finish anything this week. This was the first week with students at school, and my new job is showing to be even busier than I thought. Our school is a digital curriculum pilot so I’ve been working on helping get the iPads out to all of the students. I’m also mentoring two new (to our school) teachers as well as two teachers who were at our school next year. Mentoring includes not only the reading aspects (hence the reading coach) including our new mandated curriculum, but also help with the implementation of digital curriculum. On top of all of this, I’m teaching yearbook and I’m working on getting ready for my club to start. PHEW! Because of all of this, I was at school most days until after 5, came home and had dinner, and, because of exhaustion, in bed by 9ish.

I’m actually not beating myself up about not finishing anything this week because of how crazy it is. The only reason why I’m sad is I really wanted to finish Living with Jackie Chan so I could review it with Ricki this week! Oh well. When I do read it, I’ll just go back and review it. [I also worry that if I don’t get a reading, I won’t have anything to review!! Hopefully my routine will fall back into place soon.]

Ricki: This week, I finished Rose under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. It was incredible. I just finished writing my blog post for next week, but I have to tell you all that it is going to go on my “favorites” bookshelf. I’d love to talk about it with anyone else who has finished it. I loved Code Name Verity, but this one exceeded my expectations. Wow.

I also finished Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey. It is a great book to help teachers enact social justice in their classrooms. While it is directed to elementary school teachers, I would argue that teachers of all grades will find nuggets of wisdom in the text. It taught me to be more socially and culturally responsive to my students.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I’m not making too many specific plans this week because I feel like I keep making plans and then not meeting them. I do hope to get to Jackie Chan (and finish it!!), and I do have a pile of picture books from the library. Obviously, I just need to get back into the swing of working full days and reading as well—I think picture books would be a great way to help myself get back into a routine and then hopefully it can move to novels.

Ricki: I start graduate school this week, and I am so frightened! I just ordered one of the textbooks, and it is over a thousand pages. I am not complaining because I know I am going to learn so much on this adventure, but I can’t help but be terrified! This week, my goal is to finish Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. Usually, I list at least two books, but I am not sure how busy my days will be. Rather than overwhelm myself with expectations, I will finish this book, and read much more if my nights are free. Usually, the first week of graduate school is introductions and syllabi review, but I am not sure if that will be much different for doctoral degrees.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

 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

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: YAY! I finished Rump by Liesl Shurtliff and I enjoyed it so much. I am so glad that I am on Twitter because they put this book on my radar. I really enjoy fairy tale retellings and this was a great one. I cannot wait to review it for you all! I also read The Day the Crayons Quits and Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great and once again I thank my friends for sharing these titles with me and I cannot wait to share them with you!

Ricki: This week, I read an incredible book called Into that Forest by Louis Nowra. It is about a young girl who gets lost in the Tasmanian bush with her friend. They are adopted by two tigers and slowly morph into feral children. I can’t recommend it enough. It reminded me a bit of one of my favorite books, Endangered by Eliot Schrefer.

Then, I read Living with Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles. If you’ve read Jumping off Swings, you have to check this one out. It is told from Josh’s perspective, after the baby is born. Oh, and if you haven’t read Jumping off Swings, you still have to check this one out. It can stand alone and is incredibly good. This book will stick with me for a very long time.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: Ah, school is back! The teachers were back this last week and the students start today. I have a new role as a reading coach which is so exciting; however, the work is so different than what I’ve done in the past, so I feel so, so busy. My hope this week is to finish Living with Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles this week then move onto either Guys Read: Other Worlds, Real Boy, or Stained – I haven’t decided yet.

Ricki: This week, I started Rose under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. I loved Code Name Verity for its complexity and depth, and this one is equally excellent. Unlike Code Name Verity, I immediately got into Rose under Fire. From the very beginning, I was hooked. I am actually itching to get back to it right now! Much of this story takes place in a concentration camp rather than an interrogation room, but the books are quite similar in their format and topic. That said, I am learning so much, so it is truly worth the read, especially if you liked Code Name Verity. Elizabeth Wein is a wealth of knowledge!

I am about finished with a professional development text, Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey. This book is very inspiring. She gives great advice about how to enact social justice in the classroom. Even as a high school teacher, I could pull many ideas from this text, which is directed to elementary school teachers.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

  

 

 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

  

   

 

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Wow – this was a crazy week for me. First, I had a two day training on the new mandated curriculum for my county’s reading classes. Then, on Wednesday I did 6 hours of online training followed by a 6 hour drive to South Florida for a Lifetouch Yearbook Workshop on Thursday and Friday. Then on Friday I drove the 6 hours back home. The training and workshop led to me working all day and really frying my brain! This meant, it wasn’t until Saturday that I did any reading for pleasure. Since then I finally finished Feynman and also read The Salem Witch Trials: An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane Yolen and Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss which were both really, really great nonfiction picture books. I’ll be reviewing all of these for you later.

Ricki: This week, I finished Double Vision by F.T. Bradley. It was a great middle grade book that will be enjoyable to kids who love adventure and investigative stories. I agreed to participate in a blog tour for the book in October, so I will share more about it then! I also read Jake by Olivia Carter. It was one of those books that kept me guessing about plot details. I can see 8th-9th graders enjoying it. Stop back on Thursday for the review and a book giveaway!

Lastly, I finished The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb. This was an incredible work of narrative nonfiction. I am a tough critic when it comes to nonfiction because I find I become easily disengaged. I stayed up until late in the night, reading about the Nazi Hunters who were seeking to capture Adolf Eichmann, one of the leading organizers during the Holocaust. I will post a review on August 22nd (next Thursday), but be sure to get your hands on this one when it is published on August 27th. It will change many of your fiction-loving students into nonfiction believers. 🙂

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee:  Back to school, back to school, jiggity jig! I know I have not been reading very much, but I know it is going to slow down even more now that school is starting again. Also, with car pooling (which I hope to do with 2 different people as much as possible this year) I know that audiobooks are a no-go this year. So, much of my reading right now is just going to be day-to-day. My plan for my next book is Rump by Liesl Shurtliff followed by Doll Bones by Holly Black. I also have 2 picture books to read: Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea and The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt.

Ricki: This week, I plan to tackle more professional development reading. I received a copy of Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey. I believe it is aimed for elementary school teachers, but I am teaching a cohort of elementary school students this semester, and this is the course’s required reading. I’ve heard great things. Has anyone else read this one? I also want to read Into that Forest by Louis Nowra. I signed up for the ARC on NetGalley because the summary looked so neat! I’ve never read a book with a setting in the Tasmanian bush! This one is due to be published on September 3rd.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

  

 

 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

  

  

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: My vacation was SO relaxing which led to lots of movies, lots of naps, but not as much reading as I’d planned. What I did read was amazing though! I’d brought a pile of nonfiction picture books with me to read, all which I’d heard about through Kid Lit Frenzy’s weekly meme, and they were all so good. The picture books I read were Imogene’s Last Stand by Candace Fleming, Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel, Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp, On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, and Jim Henson: The Guy Who Talked to Puppets by Kathleen Krull.  All of these were so good that I will definitely be sharing them on the blog very soon! I also read Battling Boy a new graphic novel by Paul Pope which is going to be a huge hit when it is published in October (and I’ll be reviewing it in September!).

 

Ricki: I had a bit of a crazy week, so unfortunately, I didn’t read as much as I planned. I did get to some great books though. I took a surprise trip to Maryland to visit a family member, and I was so busy that I didn’t have the usual downtime. Each night, I got back to the hotel room and collapsed into bed and didn’t read for my usual hours upon hours. My pregnancy is wearing me out! It is hard carrying around so much weight! This week, I finished The Truth about You & Me by Amanda Grace. I received it from NetGalley, and it is expected to be published on September 8th. Stop back on Thursday for the review! I also finished The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. I absolutely loved it. It has been on my TBR shelf for a while, and I thought it was about football (which was an incorrect assumption), so I was taking my time. This should teach me to read the summaries on the backs of books, but I hate reading any spoilers! It reminded me of It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I still have 2 picture books left to read: The Salem Witch Trials: An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple and Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss. I’ll definitely get to both of these probably tonight. I also started Feynman by Jim Ottaviani this week and it is taking a bit to read just because of the intense science and math within it. I keep stopping to Google things that I do not know- I obviously have a much lower science and math knowledge than is needed to understand the brilliant mind of Feynman, but I am going to make it through!

 

Ricki: This week, I will be finishing Double Vision by F.T. Bradley. It is a great middle grade book. I started it a few days ago, and I am enjoying the adventure. I suspect I will be done with it on the plane ride back to Connecticut! I also want to read The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb—a nonfiction book I mentioned last week. I have been trying to increase the amount of nonfiction that I read, and this one looks fantastic. I nabbed a copy on NetGalley a week ago, and it is expected to be published on August 27th. I am hoping that things will return to normal next week, and I will read more than these two books!

 

Upcoming Week’s Posts

  

 

 

 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.

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Last Week’s Posts

  

 

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I feel like I have really been struggling with reading this summer. Usually summers are my free time where I find myself taking part in #summerthrowdown and #bookaday, but I have not been reading enough to do either. I think it is because I have A) been writing and researching a lot this summer; B) taught summer reading camp and been doing a lot of professional development; C) just wanted to relax when I finally had free time. The thing is, though, I feel guilty for not reading as much. Guilty only because I have higher expectations for myself. I only have 2 weeks left of summer and I just know I am not going to live up to those expectations now, so I am working on realizing it is okay. Has anyone else felt this way ever?

This week I was able to read a couple of books among my classroom moving (I am officially my school’s reading coach next year, so I had to move from the largest classroom in the school to a room that is half the size of a normal classroom; however, we did it in just 2 days!!) and the Solution Tree PLC Conference:

First, because of all of the driving, I did finish Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls (audiobook) by David Sedaris. I loved it like all of his books, but I found that some parts of it were majorly serious and just didn’t affect me as much. I also read two nonfiction picture books that I really enjoyed and will definitely share on a NF PB Wednesday- Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara C. Levine and Hey Charleston!: The True Story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Next I read Doug TenNapel’s newest graphic novel Tommysaurus Rex which will definitely fly off my shelf when the school year begins (and I’ll be reviewing on Friday). Finally, I read a humorous poetry book called I Could Pee On This and Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano which had some quite hilarious kitty poems.

 

Ricki: For starters, I finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I liked it, but I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would (isn’t that usually the case with classics?). Then, I read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate because so many of you commented on last week’s post that it was a must read. THANK YOU! I loved it.

And then something magical happened. I couldn’t decide which book to read out of the stacks that covered my floor, and I discovered NetGalley. Okay, I always knew about it, but I didn’t realize just how awesome it was. I have been attached to my Kindle all week. I read The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle which was great—come back Thursday for the review. Because I am a Micmac Indian, I couldn’t resist ordering and reading Real Justice: Convicted for being Mi’kmaq: The Story of Donald Marshall Jr. (swing by on Wednesday for that review). And lastly, I also finished my 600-page book, Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields, as I am trying to get a head-start on my baby registry. If you are a new mom or going to be a new mom, this one is great. It came highly recommended to me. I am pretty proud of myself this week. Perhaps, I will get back on track with my reading goal.

 

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am currently on vacation and brought a bunch of books with me, so I will have to pick out of them which I’m going to read. I have a pile of nonfiction picture books from the library, some graphic novels, and a few novels. I know I definitely am going to read Feynman by Jim Ottaviani this week as @CbethM and @mselke highly recommended it and I requested it from the library because of them. I hope that this week will be a more successful reading week as I have no work things to do!! *fingers crossed*

 

Ricki: Because I am new to NetGalley, I recently learned that most publishers request that people not blog about their books until 30 days prior to their publication. This is a bummer for me because I like to share about a book right after I read it to hear your thoughts. So I have to slow down on my galleys. First, I am going to finish the galley, The Truth about You & Me by Amanda Grace. I started it last night and am enjoying it thus far. It is about a high school teen who takes a college course and falls in love with the professor (scandalous!). Then, I want to read The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb. It is a YA narrative nonfiction text, and I love World War II books, so I am excited. A few of the books I received aren’t going to be published for a few months, so we will see if I can hold off. If not, I will have to read them and then twiddle my thumbs until I am allowed to post their reviews. I am a very patient person, except when it comes to sharing about books. I’ve been known to drive to friends’ houses to deliver a book that they “must read!”

 

Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

  

 

 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

We have GIVEAWAYS for the Junket is Nice and Sidekicked pages that are still live. You can enter every day and get 1 free entry daily!!!

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This week I had a pretty good reading week. First, I finished my rereadings of the Walden finalists- they are all so great!!! I may even go back and reread some of them again just to get a final feeling for them. I also reread Stardines and Building Our House in preparation for this week’s reviews. I also read Junket is Nice in preparation for the review this week. Finally, I read Liz Kessler’s newest novel, North of Nowhere. It was filled with mystery and students will be guessing throughout the novel. I will be reviewing for you all in a couple of weeks. Overall, a pretty successful week!

Ricki: Like Kellee, I reread all of the Walden Award finalists this week. I am excited to post more about them this Friday. Kellee and I are joining forces for a blog post about our experiences on the book award committee, so check back if you are interested. We will give more information about applying to the committee at that time. This week, I also read Junket is Nice by Dorothy Kunhardt and More Than This by Patrick Ness (both of which I blogged about–click the pictures above if you missed them). Lastly, I finished When Kids Can’t Read by Kylene Beers. Check back on Thursday for my review. I know it is taught in many reading and methods courses, but if you haven’t read it yet, it is absolutely fantastic.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: This week I am driving all week, so I hope to finally finish the David Sedaris audiobook that I’ve been listening to all month. It is hilarious and I want to finish cherishing it. I’ve also started Wonder Light by R.R. Russell, also for review, and enjoying it so far. It’s protagonist is a “troubled” girl who is sent to a pony ranch to “find herself.” After Wonder Light, I’m not sure what I’ll read next. I know I want to read Doll Bones  for the #virtualbookclub on August 5th and I have some library books on their way—we’ll see what I end up reading.

Ricki: Last night, I started The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. This year, my students were really obsessed with mental illness and depression. I bought the book in a used bookstore and gave it to a few of my seniors and they loved it. I’ve always been afraid to read it because I worry it will sink me into a sorrow pit. So far, I really enjoy it, but I probably shouldn’t be reading it while pregnant—too emotional. I don’t plan to post a review because many of you have probably already read it. After that, I think I will move onto The Infects or The One and Only Ivan. I missed that one and everyone seems to adore it. Blogging is new to me, and to be honest, I find it difficult to predict what I will read because my mood fluctuates. I don’t like reading to feel like an assignment, so you may be hearing about an entirely different book next week. Send suggestions my way, as I seem to own half of the bookstore (and particularly the high school books), and I am feeling indecisive today!

 

Upcoming Week’s Posts

  

 

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