Kellee and Ricki’s #MustReadin2019 Lists

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Must Read lists were a challenge started by Carrie at There is a Book for That. She shares on her 2019 intro post:

“For anyone out there with a To Be Read list that seems like it will never end, this challenge is for you! This is all about making your own personal list of books that you want to commit to reading in 2019.

10? 20? 30? more? It’s up to you

Books can be published in any year, be from any genre, and from any category: adult, YA, MG, Graphics, NF, etc. .  All that matters is that they are books you want to be sure not to forget as that TBR list continues to grow! These aren’t the only titles you will read over the year, but a list to help guide your reading. A list to lure you back to a reading path you have set for yourself. Many, many new books will tempt you! Go ahead and read them but having a list like this ensures you will not forget some titles you were determined to read. That’s the intention and spirit of this challenge.”

Here at Unleashing Readers, we focus on novels and call our Must Read lists our HOPE TO lists 🙂

Without further adieu, here are our lists!

Ricki

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka Completed February 3, 2019

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi Completed January 27, 2019

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Odd One Out by Nic Stone

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Completed February 19, 2019

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Read: 3 of 16

Kellee

I may have gone a bit crazy this year, and I know that I probably won’t get to all of these amazing titles, but I couldn’t cut any once I made this list. (Anyone who has been an UR reader for a while knows that I am not good at narrowing down lists.) This led to my list having FIFTY titles. I cultivated titles from my Kindle, my students, and my Goodreads TBR to complete the list. We’ll see what I can do this year!

Update: Since I made this list, I had the honor of accepting a spot on an ALA Book Award Jury, so plans have changed a bit 🙂 

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Chomp (and other Hiaasen books) by Carl Hiaasen

Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks

Dash and Lilly’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs Completed 1/13/19

Downsiders by Neal Shusterman
Read Shadow Club, The Schwa Was Here, and Dark Side of Nowhere instead
Completed 4/21/19, 4/27/19, 5/14/19

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Fallout by Todd Strasser

First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

Immoral Code by Lillian Clark

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel Completed 1/19/19

I Survived books by Lauren Tarshis

Killing November by Adriana Mather

Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (and its sequels) by Chris Colfer
The Wishing Spell Completed 1/12/19
The Enchantress Returns Completed 2/9/19
A Grimm Warning Completed 4/9/19
Beyond the Kingdoms Completed 5/1/19
An Author’s Odyssey Completed 5/28/19

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu Completed 2/4/19

Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano

Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak by Pablo Cartaya

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina Completed 2/10/19

#MurderFunding by Gretchen McNeil Completed 3/28/19

Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage by 48 Authors

Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd

Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Completed 2/8/19

Puddin’ by Julie Murphy

Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Red Queen Completed 2/16/19

Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

Right As Rain by Lindsey Stoddard

Rowling’s Novellas and Short Stories from Pottermore

Rules of the Road (and other Bauer books recommended to me by a student) by Joan Bauer

The Seasons of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon

The Selection (and its sequels) by Kiera Cass

The Selkie of San Francisco by Todd Calgi Gallicano

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson Completed 5/23/19

Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Surface Tension by Mike Mullin

Survivor’s Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz by Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat

Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess

Tight by Torrey Maldonado

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzner

Tradition by Brendan Kiely

Two Can Keep a Secret by Kerry M. McManus Completed 4/2/19

Warcross (and Wildcard) by Marie Lu
Warcross Completed 1/26/19
Wildcard Completed 2/24/19

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting by the Parkland Student Journalists

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.

Read: 12 of 50

What are your #mustreadin2019 titles? 

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Ricki and Kellee’s #MustReadIn2018 Final Update

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#MustReadIn2018 is hosted by Carrie Gelson at There Is A Book For That:

“For anyone out there with a To Be Read list that seems like it will never end, this challenge is for you! This is all about making your own personal list of books (5? 10? 20? 30? more?) that you commit to reading in 2016. Books can be published in any year, be from any genre, and be from any category (adult, YA, MG, Graphics, NF, etc.).  As your TBR list grows, you promise you will get to the books on this list.”

To see our complete lists and our rationale, see our original post, and to see our other updates visit our Spring and Fall posts. Today we’re happy to share our final update on our 2018 lists!

Kellee’s #mustreadin2018

I have not read any from the list since our Fall Update so no reviews today, but I am still so happy with my progress this year!

Laurie Halse Anderson
Vet Volunteers #1: Fight for Life 6/14/2018
Vet Volunteers #2: Homeless 6/19/18
Vet Volunteers #3: Trickster 6/19/18
Twisted 6/20/18
Vet Volunteers #4: Manatee Blues
7/7/18
Vet Volunteers #5: Say Goodbye 
7/19/18
Vet Volunteers #6: Storm Rescue 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #7: Teacher’s Pet 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #8: Trapped 8/5/18

Joseph Bruchac
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story 7/21/18
“Choke” from Guys Read: Sports Pages 7/21/18

Eric Gansworth
“Don’t Pass Me By” from Fresh Ink 2/26/2018

Dan Gemeinhart
Some Kind of Courage 
4/21/2018 
Good Dog 4/28/2018

Alan Gratz
Prisoner B-3087 2/8/2018

Mitali Perkins
Open Mic edited by Mitali Perkins including her story “Three-Pointer” 3/17/2018
Tiger Boy 5/15/2018
Rickshaw Girl 5/13/2018

Gae Polisner
The Memory of Things 1/22/2018

Rick Riordan
Reread The Lost Hero 7/13/18
Son of Neptune 7/29/18
Mark of Athena 8/16/18
House of Hades 9/1/18

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
“Confessions of a Black Geek” from Open Mic 3/17/2018
Two Naomis 3/27/2018

Eliot Schrefer
The Deadly Sister  2/11/2018
Mez’s Magic 2/25/2018
Orphaned 7/6/18

Laurel Snyder
Swan 1/6/2018
The Longest Night 1/6/2018
Forever Garden 1/11/2018
Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to be Kosher
1/13/2018
Any Which Wall 1/13/2018
Seven Stories Up 1/14/2018
Bigger Than a Breadbox (reread) 1/15/2018
Good night, laila tov 1/16/2018
Orphan Island 1/17/2018

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed 7/19/18

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan 7/15/18

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy 8/12/18

The False Prince trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The False Prince 3/4/2018
The Runaway King 3/13/2018
The Shadow Throne 4/3/2018

The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer
Started, but then my library loan expired. Will continue listening as soon as it is available.

Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn 1/27/2018

A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
The Bad Beginning 2/14/2018

Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani Dasgupta
Decided to wait until more of the series is out.

Solo by Kwame Alexander 8/18/2018

Stung series by Bethany Wiggins
Stung 4/1/2018
Cured 4/4/2018

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman 1/5/2018

What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold 7/25/18

Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu
Young Elites 9/27/18

Completed: 22 out of 33

Ricki’s #mustreadin2018

There’s a chance that my brother-in-law won’t read this post for the third year in a row and make fun of me for over-promising and underdelivering on my must read list. Ha!

When I create a list like this, I have a hard time reading the books because they feel like requirements. It really helps remind me that requiring reading (even of ourselves) is not the best practice. Instead, I end up circling around the books and reading other books instead. The funny part? For eight of the books on the list, I read half of the book. The eight books are still on my nightstand. I enjoyed them and was forced to read a different book that I assigned my students that week for classes.

The good news is that next semester, I am not teaching my YAL course, so I have much more time that I won’t need to reread YA texts that I love. Instead, I will be able to focus on the books I add to my #mustreadin2019 list! I am terrible at this list!

I read and loved Blood Water Paint and Ghost Boys since the final update. Perhaps I need to finish the others because I know I will love them. There are three or four that I will be moving to my next list. I am still sticking with 16, and I think I’ll actually make it this time. Other authors need to avoid publishing enticing books, please.

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough December 2018

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes December 2018

Completed: 2 out of 16

Have you read any of these titles? What’s on your #mustreadin2018 list?

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Ricki’s Favorite Reads of 2018

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Happy 2019! 

This year, I reread more books than any previous year. I am not including the billions of pictures books that I reread to my children in that statistic, either. 🙂 But for this list, I am focusing on my favorite reads of 2018. These are books that will stick to my bones for years to come!

 

Favorite Books Marketed Toward Young Adults

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

The Astonishing Color of After by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Mary’s Monster by Lita Judge

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

 

Favorite Books Marketed Toward Upper Elementary and Middle Grade

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya

 

Favorite Picture Books

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

Drawn Together by Minh Lê

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët

Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

The Wall in the Middle of the Book by John Agee

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorrell

 

Which were your favorite reads of 2018?

Kellee’s Five Star Reads of 2018

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Happy 2019! 

I had one of my best reading years ever! My GoodReads goal was 300 which I exceeded!

I read 415 books this year!
(Though I will admit GoodReads adding the ability to add rereads really helped with the total; however, I was quite inconsistent with it– I marked re-reads sometimes and other times I didn’t, so I don’t know how accurate the count is, specifically picture books…)

 

It was almost exactly split between picture books and non-picture books with my novel, etc. total being a bit over 200.
My average rating for the year is 4.2 and my top shelves were: realistic fiction, nonfiction, Unleashing Readers, Trent 4-5 years, middle grade, audiobook, mg-ya picture books, picture book, and read to Trent. 

Today, I want to highlight my favorite reads from the year by sharing my 5 star reads from 2018
(the visual includes all while the list includes only newly read in 2018 books): 

Click on the photo above to see my 2018 Goodreads shelf to learn about any of these titles. If I’ve reviewed the book on Unleashing Readers, I’ve also hyperlinked it in the list. 

Picture Books & Early Readers (nonfiction & fiction)

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
Windows by Julia Denos
Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin
Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
Lights! Camera! Alice!: The Trilling True Adventures of the First Woman Filmmaker by Mara Rockliff
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes
My Kite is Stuck! And Other Stories by Salina Yoon
Duck, Duck, Porcupine! by Salina Yoon
Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience and Fortitude by Josh Funk
Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford
Square by Mac Barnett
Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
Mission Defrostable by Josh Funk 
What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers
Masterpiece Robot and the Ferocious Valerie Knick-Knack by Frank Tra
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
Drawn Together by Minh Lê
The Very Last Castle by Travis Jonker
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoët
A Place for Pluto by Stef Wade
Cute as an Axolotl: Discovering the Worlds Most Adorable Animals by Jess Keating
Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonia Sotomayor
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
One of a Kind by Chris Gorman
The Dinosaur Expert by Margaret McNamara
Memphis, Martin, and Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan
A Friend for Henry by Jenn Bailey
Ruby’s Sword by Jacqueline Veissid
Brave Molly by Brooke Boynton Hughes
Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins
We Can’t Eat our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins
Earthrise: Apollo 8 and the Photo That Changed the World by James Gladstone
Sun!: One in a Billion by Stacy McAnulty
The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk
Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayred
Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi

Middle Grade

False Prince trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Granted by John David Anderson
Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Bat & the Waiting Game by Elana K. Arnold
Track Series: Sunny & Lu by Jason Reynolds
Breakout by Kate Messner
Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart
Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
Wonderland by Barbara O’Connor
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart
Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
Running on the Roof of the World by Jess Butterworth
Orphaned by Eliot Schrefer
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamura by Pablo Cartaya
Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Journey of the Pale Bear by Susan Fletcher
Garbage Island by Fred Koehler
The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Escape from Aleppo by N.H. Senzai
Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard
A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Redwood and Ponytail by K.A. Holt
Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez

Young Adult

American Street by Ibi Zoboi
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner
Fresh Ink: An Anthology edited by Lamar Giles
Tyler Johnson was Here by Jay Coles
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz
Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Here to Stay by Sara Farizan
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen
This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
Internment by Samira Ahmed
Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills
Odd One Out by Nic Stone
Dry by Neal Shusterman
Another Day by David Levithan

Graphic Novels

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
The Divided Earth by Erin Faith Hicks
I Am Ghandi: A Graphic Biography of a Hero edited by Brad Meltzer
Illegal by Eoin Colfer
Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Monsters Beware by Jorge Aguirre
Kitten Construction Company: Meet the House Kittens by John Green
HiLo #4: Waking the Monsters by Judd Winick
Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths by Graham Annable
Peter & Ernesto: The Lost Sloths by Graham Annable
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
Fox & Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

Nonfiction

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
Chasing King’s Killer by James L. Swanson
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries by Ammi-Joan Paquette
Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation by Patricia Newman
The Great Rhino Rescue by Patricia Newman
National Geographic: History’s Mysteries: Curious Clues, Cold Cases, and Puzzles from the Past by Kitson Jazynka

All of these books are highly recommended by me, so if you haven’t read them and they interest you, they won’t let you down 🙂 Happy reading!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/7/19

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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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CONGRATULATIONS

Vi for winning our Two Truths and a Lie Giveaway! 
&
Danielle for winning our Children of Exile Giveaway!

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Well, our last posts posted.

Wednesday: If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur by Amy Newbold

Friday: Ten Year Anniversary of the Sisters 8 series by Lauren Baratz-Logsted with Greg Logsted and Jackie Loggsted

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Shaping the World: Industrial Design” by Carla Mooney, Author of Industrial Design: Why Smartphones Aren’t Round and Other Mysteries

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

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Kellee

Hello, friends! So nice to be back after a couple weeks off!

 

The novels I read were:

  • This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills: I am so glad that Katie at Macmillan shared Emma Mills with me. Her books are such pleasurable reads that are written so well and are deep yet fun.
  • Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen: I know this may be sacrilegious, but I may like Nielsen’s historical fiction even more than her fantasy. Resistance is action packed, emotional, and fact filled.
  • Internment by Samira Ahmed: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Scary in the ways that is too full of a possible future. Whoa.
  • Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills: Emma Mills does it again! If you haven’t read any of her novels, get started then read this one when it comes out!
  • Odd One Out by Nic Stone: I am so glad that Nic Stone wrote this story for herself because she is not the only one out there that needs the story. A look at identity and friendship and family.
  • #murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil: Another book that is futuristic but with our current state of things seems too close to reality mostly with reality shows and social media becoming so front and center to our lives.
  • Searching for Lottie by Susan Ross: I am a fan of Susan Ross’s books. They are always a great middle grade introduction to some really tough subjects done in a gentle way yet without holding back anything. I also love that family is front and center in her stories.
  • Beep and Bob: Too Much Space by Jonathan Roth: A chapter book that Trent and I read (my astronaut loving kiddo loved them!), and I will review them on here soon.
  • Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro: Review coming closer to the publication date. Another great dark fantasy from Gregory Funaro.

The graphic novels I read were:

  • Time Museum 2 by Matthew Loux: Have you read the first Time Museum graphic novel yet? If not, pick it up and then pick this one up because they are both so adventurous and funny!
  • Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson: I can see why so many of my students love this story–it truly looks at what it means to be a middle schooler and struggling with finding your place.
  • Edison Beaker, Creature Seeker: The Night Door by Frank Cammuso: A funny and smart introduction to a new middle grade graphic novel series!
  • Monster Mayhem by Christopher Eliopoulos: I love Zoe. She is one of the smartest characters I have ever encountered in a book and the empathy she grows through the help of her robot and monster friends!
  • Nico Bravo and the Hound of Hades by Mike Cavallaro: Mythology and graphic novel fans have a new series that they are going to love!
  • The Singing Rock & Other Brand-New Fairy Tales by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer: I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings, and these new fairy tales are right on point.
  • Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton: Yay Narwhal!!! I love these stories, and Otter adds a lovely new character!

The picture books I read were:

  • The Lost Picnic by B.B. Cronin: A fun seek and find book!
  • Cheerful Chick by Martha Brockenbrough: Chick is so cute! And a great message for the readers!
  • Felipe and Claudette by Mark Teague: I love Mark Teague’s illustrations, and this story was so cute (I love Claudette!), and the ending was so heart warming!
  • Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog by Lisa Papp: I loved the volunteering and literacy-loving aspect of this story!
  • Cicada by Shaun Tan: Wow, Shaun Tan! He is so existential. And his illustrations are genius.
  • Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman: A lovely story of Carl finding his identity.
  • Maybe Tomorrow? by Charlotte Agell: Sometimes it is okay to not be dragging around all of the tough stuff in life and enjoy life instead.
  • Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesday by Jon Stahl: But what do they eat on Wednesday? Read to find out and be ready to laugh!
  • Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel: From love and joy to resistance and strength–all the reasons to put your hands up.
  • I Need a Hug by Aaron Blabey: I love Blabey’s illustrations! They really add such humor to this story about finding someone to accept you.
  • There’s a Hole in the Log in the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long: I love this song, and I am happy to have a fun book to read while singing it (and it has a twist ending!).
  • Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayre: A look at all of what makes our amazing planet that we need to take better care of. Read for the message and view for the beautiful photographs.
  • The Runaway Beignet by Connie Collins Morgan: A present from my Louisiana-based parents along with making beignets with Trent–yum! And a fun story that is retelling of the runaway gingerbread man.

Ricki

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes is incredibly powerful. I sobbed through the entire book.

Why, oh why, did it take me so long to read Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough? I read 3/4 of the book last semester and had to pause to finish some work. My pause is not representative of how incredibly amazing this book is.

  

  • There’s a Hole in the Log in the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long: I never logged this one a couple of weeks ago, but I noticed it above in Kellee’s list. I love this book and read it often. It has such a great rhythm to it and is quite fun to read aloud.
  • Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman: I also didn’t log this one! Deborah Freedman is a genius. She always impresses me. This book teaches about nature while also exploring identity.
  • Here, George!But Not the Armadillo, and Hey, Wake Up! by Sandra Boynton: I think I’ve read almost every Sandra Boynton book out there, but I read these three for the first time this weekend. My younger son loves everything she writes. He gets really excited when he finds her section of the bookstore. Here, George! was my favorite of the three. It describes what George, the dog, does when no one is home (spoiler: he dances!).
  • Old MacDonald Had a Farm and The Wheels on the Bus by Nosy Crow: I got these two books for my younger son for the holidays. He absolutely loves this series. The sliders are really fun to push, and it adds a new twist to lift-the-flap books. They are very well-made.
  • The Hat by Jan Brett: The illustrations of this book really shined.

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Kellee

  • Starting: Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes
  • Listening: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (Yay! Hopefully I can finish it before the loan expires this time!!!)

Ricki

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka is next on my list! I saw it on a few Mock Printz lists, and I need to get to it NOW!

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Tuesday: Kellee’s Five Star Reads of 2018

Wednesday: Ricki’s Favorite Reads of 2018

Thursday: Final Update of #MustReadin2018

Friday: #MustReadin2019

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Curiousity, Ignorance, and the Big What If?” by Jeanne Moran, Author of The Path Divided

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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!

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