Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/25/18

June 25, 2018 by Kellee

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

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Student Voices: Reflections on Mrs. Moye’s Advanced Reading Class by Five of Kellee’s 2017-18 Middle School Students

Wednesday: Whose Boat? by Toni Buzzeo

Thursday: Penguin & Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime by Cate Berry

Friday: Review and Giveaway!: Goodbye Brings Hello by Dianne White
Giveaway open until Friday!

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Tweens to Teens–The Case of the Missing Category” by Elizabeth Foster, author of Esme’s Wish

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

Congratulations to our fellow blogger, Shaye, for winning What Do They Do with All That Poo?!

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

I am at ALA Annual in NOLA this weekend; I will catch up with you all next Monday 🙂

Ricki

I am very jealous of Kellee.

I read Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. This quirky little book engaged me from the very first page. It’s marketed to ages 8-12, but it’s one of those books that will appeal to readers of all ages. The story is quite charming, and it feels very magical.

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson is absolutely stunning. I’ll be reading this book on the first day of my classes. This book is going to make my favorite list for the year.

Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. This book is getting a lot of press, and it’s beautifully conceptualized. I happened to have this book in my backpack when I was on campus, and I pulled it out to share with several colleagues. We need more picture books that push gender identity. It’s time.

I read several other picture books, but I want to stop here. These three books are simply wonderful, and posting about others feels like it takes away from their impact.

Request: Does anyone have any recommendations for YA texts that have strong themes of rural, white poverty? I’ve got The Smell of Other People’s Houses, The Serpent King, Ramona Blue, and Me and Marvin Gardens.

This Week’s Expeditions

Ricki

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro is my upstairs, bedtime book.

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani is my downstairs, kids-are-napping book.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is my audio book for cleaning, cooking, and driving. It’s 16+ hours long, and I’m a third of the way through. I need a longer commute!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Student Voices: (Mostly) Fifteen Word Book Reviews by Five of Kellee’s 2017-18 Middle School Students

Wednesday: Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson

Thursday: Atlas of Imaginary Places by Mia Cassany

Friday: Teaching Guide with Activities and Discussion Questions for Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “The Uh…. Game” by Mark Morrison, Author of TwoSpells

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!

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Author Guest Post!: “Tween to Teen–The Case of the Missing Category” by Elizabeth Foster, author of Esme’s Wish

June 24, 2018 by Kellee

Esme’s Wish
Author: Elizabeth Foster
Published October 30th, 2017 by Odyssey Books

About the Book: When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother, Ariane – so why can’t she?

But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.

After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about Ariane, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all.

Praise:

“I loved Esme’s determination and I loved the unbreakable bond between mother and child. Esme’s Wish overflows with creativity, imagination and originality.” – Kait’s Bookshelf.

“A fresh new fantasy, of an enchanting world.” – Wendy Orr, author of Nim’s Island and Dragonfly Song

About the Author: Elizabeth Foster read avidly as a child, but only discovered the joys of writing some years ago when reading to her own children reminded her how much she missed getting lost in other worlds. Once she started writing, she never looked back. She’s at her happiest when immersed in stories, plotting new conflicts and adventures for her characters. Elizabeth lives in Sydney, Australia, where she can often be found scribbling in cafés, indulging her love of both words and coffee. Find her on facebook @elizabethfosterauthor or on Instagram @elizabethfoster_ Find out more about Esme’s Wish, including teachers’ notes, on her website www.elizabethfoster.com.au.

Author Guest Post:

“Tweens to teens – the case of the missing category”

There has never been a better time to be a bookworm. Reading is in, geek is chic, and publishers are pumping out YA blockbuster after YA blockbuster. However, some eager young readers have been left in the dust.

Over the past few months, librarians and teachers have lamented to me a lack of titles appropriate for 10 to 14-year-olds. YA is skewing older and older – over half of YA readers are adults, according to several polls – and middle grade (MG) novels are strictly aimed at readers 8-12. So what about those readers who slip between the cracks? A recent Publishing & Weekly article pointed out that the 10-14 category used to exist, but does no longer. I believe this is a huge disservice to the ‘tween’ set: those who want something meatier than a chapter book, but aren’t ready for the violence, sex, and edgy themes of older YA.

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult for authors to find a publisher for titles aimed at this age group, because such novels don’t fit so neatly on the ‘YA’ and ‘MG’ shelves in a bookstore. I recently went through this struggle myself when seeking publication for my debut novel, Esme’s Wish.

Esme’s Wish, a fantasy/mystery for 10 to 14-year-olds, is the first in a trilogy, and edges into darker material as the protagonist ages – so it didn’t feel right to market the series as MG. But it is quite different from the older YA fare. There is no romance, at least in the first book, and minimal violence.

Esme Silver, the novel’s protagonist, still has some catching-up to do developmentally, due to the loss of her mother at the age of eight. After years of being vilified by her community, she’s still learning about friendship, loyalty, and trust. She still loves and longs for her missing mother. YA protagonists have typically already navigated the pains of separating from their parents, but how does one accomplish such a monumental developmental task when that figure is missing from one’s life?

Ultimately, I am glad I stayed true to my intentions. Teen girls up to the age of 14 or 15 have read the novel and loved it, particularly enjoying the focus on friendship and family, as well as the world-building and mystery aspects. The story has had a positive response from preteens, too. In fact, I just received an email from a primary school librarian telling me that one of her book club readers included it in her top ten (just below Wonder!) To help things along, I have decided to market the Esme series as ‘MG-to-YA’, after seeing books similar to mine tagged this way on Goodreads. Hopefully this will catch on, and help better delineate this category for publishers, authors and readers.

I remember my own kids at the cusp of adolescence – excited about the challenges of adulthood but stepping ahead with trepidation, one step forward, one step back. At the grand age of eleven or twelve, they were already reminiscing about their ‘childhood’ with fondness and nostalgia. More fiction for this rather forgotten age group can help ease the passage we, as adults, have already been through ourselves – and survived!

Esme’s Wish was published by Odyssey Books in late 2017. Its sequel, Esme’s Gift, is due out in early 2019.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for your post and sharing Esme with us!

Review and Giveaway!: Goodbye Brings Hello by Dianne White

June 22, 2018 by Kellee

Goodbye Brings Hello: A Book of Firsts
Author: Dianne White
Illustrator: Daniel Wiseman
Published June 26th, 2018 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Summary: There are many ways of letting go.
With each goodbye, a new hello.

From being pushed on a swing to learning how to pump your legs yourself, from riding a beloved trike to mastering your first bike ride, from leaving the comforts of home behind to venturing forth on that first day of school, milestones are exciting but hard. They mean having to say goodbye to one moment in order to welcome the next.

Honest and uplifting, this cheerfully illustrated ode to change gently empowers readers to brave life’s milestones, both large and small.

About the Author and Illustrator:

When she was five, Dianne White said goodbye to her house and her teacher, Mrs. Dunlap, and hello to a new school, and her newest favorite teacher, Mr. Loop. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the award-winning author of Blue on Blue. She lives in Arizona, where she writes full-time. Her next book, Who Eats Orange?, is due out August 2018. For more information, and to download a free activity kit, visit diannewrites.com. Twitter: @diannewrites

Daniel Wiseman remembers saying goodbye to the training wheels on his bike, and saying a great big hello to skinned knees and elbows. But the freedom of rolling on two wheels was well worth the bumps and bruises. He still rides his (slightly larger) bike almost every day. Daniel loves to draw, and has illustrated several books for children. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit him at danieldraws.com. Instagram: @d_wiseman

Praise:

“White and Wiseman have created an engaging set of vignettes that will appeal to young listeners in the process of learning new skills.”—Booklist

“This book will give courage to any child feeling a little nervous or scared to try something new.”—Kirkus

“The brightly colored, naive-style illustrations add a cheerful positivity to the book.”—School Library Journal

Review: Wow! What a great lesson within the pages of this book! As kids grow up, one of the hardest things is the saying goodbye to things as they outgrow or as the world changes. For example, Trent just finished preschool and is now in a jump start to pre-K program, so he is switching teachers. What a hard transition! We’ve also had a lot of change at my school that I teach at, and I have had to talk to my middle schoolers about change. It is hard for them, too! And the book doesn’t only deal with big changes, it also shows that seasons change, clothes change, haircuts change… Life is about changes, and we have to learn how to work through them to live our happiest life. Because of the way the book is written, a lot of discussion can happen inferring from the writing and the illustrations to help determine what change is happening to the kid in the illustration.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Activity kit including discussion questions, poetry, graphing, mazes, looking at seasons, and other fun activities here: https://bit.ly/2s3WA40

Discussion Questions: Here are some some of the discussion questions from the activity kit:

What are some things you’ve had to say goodbye to? Were you sad to leave them behind? Or did you feel happy that you were moving on to something new?
On the back cover of the book it says, “Trying new things takes courage.” What do you think this means?
Can you think ahead to what things you’ll do in the future? What will you be saying goodbye to soon? What hellos are you looking forward to?
Do you think saying goodbye and hello to things only happens when you’re a kid? Do grown ups say goodbye and hello to things?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: School People by Lee Bennett Hopkins; Time for School by Brian Biggs; Monster Needs to Go to School by Paul Czajak; On My Way to School by Sarah Maizes; One Leaf, Two Leaves, Count with Me by John Micklos; When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano

Recommended For:

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review and giveaway!**

Penguin and Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime! by Cate Berry

June 21, 2018 by Ricki

Penguin and Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime
Author: Cate Berry; Illustrator: Charles Santoso
Published May 8, 2018 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Summary: Penguin and Tiny Shrimp will charm, amuse, but never put you to sleep in this meta bedtime tale in the vein of Goodnight Already.

Penguin and Tiny Shrimp DO NOT have a bedtime story to share with you.

There are no soft beds or cozy covers here. There are fireworks! And shark-infested waters!!

This book will never make you sleepy. Not at all. Not even a little. . .

Ricki’s Review: Whenever my son pulls this book from the shelf, I get a happy feeling inside of me. There are some books that are really fun to read, and this is one of them. It’s the perfect bedtime book. It makes us laugh, and it makes us y-a-w-n. I love the silly characters and smile every time that I read it.

Most apparent to me is that the author and illustrator know kids. The middle of the book features a lot of wild activities that really resonate with my son. Then we get to the silly pages where the characters resist their tiredness… is this sounding familiar, parents and guardians? I absolutely adore this book and recommend it highly. If bedtime is an issue in your house, this book might help.

Kellee’s Review: This book is definitely a laugh-out-loud book! Penguin and Tiny Shrimp have such unique and perfect voices that kids, and parents alike, will find so entertaining. The illustrations are perfect companions to the narrative also; they are silly, colorful, and full of personality!

Also, Penguin and Tiny Shrimp are the embodiment of my son right now. He doesn’t do bedtime and would rather be doing all of the things that Penguin and Tiny Shrimp take part in: swinging in the jungle, flying in hot air balloons, riding on a boat, signing songs, and even jokes! But then in the end, Penguin and Tiny Shrimp are too tired to go on (and their yawns are actually contagious!), and I love using their story to talk to Trent about bedtime.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book would serve as a great mentor text for kids to write their own bedtime stories. The animals are very inspirational. Teachers might start by asking students to pick two animals that are very different (like Penguin and Tiny Shrimp) and to write their own story of the two characters’ adventures.

Discussion Questions: What do Penguin and Tiny Shrimp do to try to resist bedtime?; Which animals are your favorite? How are the animals similar and different? What does this say about bedtime?; Do you resist bedtime? Why?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley; Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown; Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Keely Platte for sending us this book! We loved it.**

Whose Boat? by Toni Buzzeo

June 20, 2018 by Kellee

Whose Boat?
Author: Toni Buzzeo
Illustrator: Tom Froese
Published May 22nd, 2018 by Abrams Appleseed

Summary: Smoke billows up.
Cool water flows.
Whose boat is that?
Do you know?

This nonfiction ode to boats features six kinds of workers and their boats—a patrol boat, a tugboat, a car ferry, a lobster boat, a lifeboat, and a fireboat—with important parts properly labeled. The answer to each inquiring refrain lies under a gatefold, engaging the reader in an informative guessing game. With lyrical (and factual!) text by New York Times–bestselling author Toni Buzzeo, and the stylized art of Tom Froese, this sturdy board book is perfect for curious and playful young readers.

About the Author and Illustrator:

Toni Buzzeo’s first two books in the series, Whose Tools? and Whose Truck?, have sold more than fifty thousand copies. Toni is the author of the 2013 Caldecott Honor Book and New York Times bestseller One Cool Friend, as well as many other books for children. A former elementary school librarian and secondary teacher, she now presents at schools, national and international library and reading conferences, and in district and regional staff development trainings. Buzzeo lives with her husband in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Tom Froese is a commercial artist. His work can be seen in retail stores and publications including Monocle, Harvard Business Review, and Wired UK. He lives in Canada.

Kellee’s Review: This book quickly became a favorite in our household. Trent was so excited about learning about the boats, and the little bit of a twist at the end makes it so that Trent loves to reveal this surprise and he gets excited every time. I do really like how the book doesn’t only introduce the boats but also shares the who the boat is owned/driven by. The lyrical poems for each boat are also really nicely written and fun to read aloud.

Trent’s Review:I like how the pages open up. And I like reading it to mom, dad, and my two kitty cats. My favorite boat is the car ferry. Sometime I want to park my car in the car ferry then I’ll go up and up to the top. It is fun how the boats were the kids’ in the pool. I like this page and this page (he then went through every page).

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This would be a great book to discuss careers on the water. Also, the text would be a great introduction to possessive apostrophes since it focuses on the owners of the boats. Students could also write their own poems about a vehicle or boat or building or whatever they want to have their peers guess the owner of what they are writing about.

Discussion Questions:

Which boat helps maintain order in the harbor? Whose boat is it?
Which boat moves cars across the bay? Whose boat is it?
Which boat helps with fires and accidents? Whose boat is it?
Which boat moves larger boats? Whose boat is it?
Which boat captures fish and other animals for food? Whose boat is it?
What is the twist at the end of the book?
What are the differences between the boats? Similarities?
What boat vocabulary was new to you?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat by Philip C. Stead, Just a Tugboat by Mercer Mayer, Books about vehicles

Recommended For:

Student Voices: Reflections on Mrs. Moye’s Advanced Reading Class by Five of Kellee’s 2017-18 Middle School Students

July 22, 2018June 19, 2018 by Kellee

In continuing the reflections shared on Friday, here are some students’ reflection posts on taking Advanced Reading with me:

Favorite Activities in Mrs. Moye’s Class by Daniel U. and Ian B. (6th grade)

Book Trailers: We made a whole presentation about a book we read and liked. Mrs. Moye gave us recommendations of where to make the presentations and helped us prepare to type our ideas and thoughts about the books. We also added images and music, and we presented it to the class. It was a fun experience making the presentation and watching all of them and learning about new books.
In-Class Book Clubs: Mrs. Moye gave us a choice of what book we wanted to read with a group then set up dates for our book club meetings where we talk about the book. In between meetings, we write questions to discuss with our group. This was great because you get to socialize and get to read a great book and discuss it with others.
Passion Research Project: We made a presentation about a topic that connected to Rescued, the book we read. We used different websites to get our information that we turn into a presentation with images. Then we presented it to the class who jotted down facts and new things that they learned from each presentation.
Affixes: We learned how to use different word parts such as prefixes, suffixes and roots, and how to use them to define unknown words by breaking down words. This makes passages easier because the different meanings of word parts help us understand words that we may not know. When we break them down while reading, we can figure the passage out.
Novel Study: We read Rescued by Eliot Schrefer as a class, answered questions about the book, and we did focus questions every week while we were reading. Then we went on a field trip to the Center for Great Apes!

Why I Decided to Stay in Advanced Reading for Three Years by Maria N. (8th grade)

I decided to stay in Mrs. Moye’s class for all three years of middle school because not only is it a great learning experience, but it is also fun. Mrs. Moye’s class has taught me things that I didn’t learn in other classes and that made me feel very smart. Word parts were also a need to know in her class, and they helped so much when I didn’t know a word on tests. Her class was also fun because we got to laugh, smile, and cry over amazing books. I made friends that I will forever be thankful for. I not only made great friends, but these friends like books just like I do. Mrs. Moye gave us many book options that my friends and I could read, including reading the same book if we wanted to or we could read books that are completely different. So many options. I am so thankful for Mrs. Moye’s class.

Why I Decided to Join This Class in 8th Grade by Haruna R. (8th grade)

I decided to join this class because I heard a lot of good things about it. When I heard that it was about reading books, I got more interested in it. I also knew a lot of my friends were in it, and they told me there are so many books to read. When I first came into the class, all I saw was books. I saw so many series that I love, and we got to check out books with no specific due date. Mrs. Moye is very flexible about turning in and grading work. She also makes the class fun. I like to read books as a class and in book clubs. We also had a field trip to The Center for Great Apes which was a great experience, and we could connect the book we read to the field trip. Mrs. Moye has read so many books, so whenever I read a book, I could talk to her about it. I could also ask questions about the book. Mrs. Moye also recommends books and talks about books she has read, so we can read it if we want. There is never a time when I ran out of books to read. Mrs. Moye encourages us to read and tells us about books that she enjoys. We use Goodreads to keep track of what we read and what we want to read. You can discover new books on the website, too, and can even narrow them down by genres. Overall, Mrs. Moye’s reading class has been wonderful, and I will miss it very much!

Why I Didn’t Leave Advanced Reading by Amanda C. (8th grade)

When I saw my schedule the summer before 7th grade, I was so upset to see that I was taking a reading class. I hated reading! It was boring, and there was never any good books to read. When the first day of school rolled around, I was dreading the very though of going to first period. I assumed that I was probably going to get assigned a whole book to finish by the end of the week. The teacher was probably mean, too. But I was wrong. Mrs. Moye turned out to be so sweet and had such a passion for reading. And no, I didn’t have to finish a book by the end of the week. In fact, Mrs. Moye let her students read whatever they wanted. She had a huge classroom library with every kind of book you could think of, including books even SHE hasn’t read yet. We got to do research projects, make book trailers, and we even had a debate unit! I had a lot more fun in her class than I thought I would. And while we did all of these things, the most important thing I did was find a love for reading. By loving to read, my vocabulary has gotten so much larger, and I’ve found some great friends through reading and the class. I’m going to miss walking into Mrs. Moye’s class every morning because her classroom is somewhere I feel safe and joyful. Thanks for everything, Mrs. Moye! <3

Thank you to my wonderful students, Daniel, Ian, Maria, Haruna, and Amanda, for sharing the joy you got from my class! I have the same joy teaching you all! XOXO

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/18/18

June 18, 2018 by Kellee

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

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: Things We Do Over the Summer (Educators DO Work During the Summer!)

Wednesday: Women Athletes Who Rule! from Sports Illustrated Kids

Thursday: Review and Giveaway!: What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz
Giveaway open until Thursday! Don’t miss out on entering!

Friday: Kellee’s End of Year Student Survey Results, Students’ Favorite Books, and Top Checked Out Books 2017-18

Sunday: Author Guest Post with Teaching Tools!: “Lessons of Past Wars” by Barbara Diggs, Author of The Vietnam War

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

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

First, I must share the awesome news that I had a team place TENTH IN THE WORLD and an individual place SECOND IN THE WORLD in their respective competitions at the Future Problem Solvers International Competition!!!! I am so proud of them!

I was not a fan of A Wrinkle in Time when I read it in 6th grade, and I was hoping that I’d feel different after the graphic nove, but, I’m sorry! I just didn’t love it. The story just doesn’t do it for me. I loved the graphics though!
I finished Harbor Me while at the FPS competition surrounded by kids from 41 different countries/states who all want to make a difference in this world. Both left me feeling hopeful. And Jacqueline Woodson is as amazing as ever.
Wonderland by Barbara O’Connor was shared with me by Augusta Scattergood because she had a feeling I would like it, and boy, does she know me! I loved spunky Mavis who wants acceptance but also won’t bend to be liked, and Rose needs someone to help her see how awesome she is. And then there is Henry–a much needed dog. It is a wonderful story!

Continuing my dog books this week, I read the first in the Vet Volunteer series by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I am so surprised that I don’t hear about these more. They have diverse characters and ANIMALS! And written by Laurie Halse Anderson! What’s not to like?!
This last year, both 7th and 8th grade teachers wanted to teach The Outsiders at the end of the year, and I just could not remember the story well enough after reading it 25 years ago to understand why they all felt this was the best novel for all students to read, so I wanted to pick it up. Now, I will say that after reading it I do wish some of the racist and sexist comments didn’t exist; however, they could lead to conversations of changes of language over time. Other than that, Man! I get it! Wow. What an awesome book! I do think there are some contemporary YAL that would fit the same themes and storyline, but I also understand why this book is loved.
Front Desk by Kelly Yang was on my Twitter feed constantly over the last couple of weeks, so I requested it from my library and was so excited when I got it to read. WOW! Perfection, everyone. Read this story about resilience and kindness and seeing light in all the darkness and family as soon as you can!

I guess we have officially added early chapter books into our rotation! He’s been picking them more and more, and Mercy Watson is definitely a favorite, so we read another one of her stories this week.
We also read Masterpiece Robot by Frank Tra, and I am SO EXCITED to review it for you! I think everyone will really love this book!

Ricki

I read Aisha Saeed’s Amal Unbound in one sitting. It’s very, very good. I was drawn into the story and simply couldn’t put it down! This book will provide a lot of opportunities for rich classroom conversations. I recommend it highly.

I love A.S. King. She writes such thoughtful stories. I really appreciated the ways in which she delved deeply into economics and environmental issues. I’ve decided to adopt this one for my YA course next semester. It provides a different angle that I am excited to explore. Like most of A.S. King’s books, this book felt unlike any other book that I’d read. The twisting of the economics and environmental themes was really compelling.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

Ack! I almost wish we were still in school and not on summer vacation because I have 3.5 hours left of Anger is a Gift, and I just don’t have a lot of time that I listen to audio right now, but I want to finish it! I will be driving alone later this week though, so I hope to finish!
Two Truths and a Lie by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson was a favorite of mine when it comes out, so I am excited to read the second one that focuses on history.
Currently Trent and I are reading Tales of Sasha Book #1: The Big Secret by Alexa Pearl. He chose it out of the pile of books I gave him, and so far we’re loving the spunky Sasha.
I loved the first Vet Volunteers, so I plan on reading a few more for fun.
At the push of Ricki and with it being on my #mustreadin2018 list, I plan on getting to Me and Marvin Gardens this week as well.

Ricki

My blog partner took a look at my course syllabus and recommended that I switch one of my books out for this one. I will be reading Anger is a Gift immediately. 🙂 When Kellee demands that I read something, I read it.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Student Voices: Reflections on Mrs. Moye’s Advanced Reading Class by Five of Kellee’s 2017-18 Middle School Students

Wednesday: Whose Boat? by Toni Buzzeo

Thursday: Penguin & Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime by Cate Berry

Friday: Review and Giveaway!: Goodbye Brings Hello by Dianne White

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Tweens to Teens–The Case of the Missing Category” by Elizabeth Foster, author of Esme’s Wish

So, what are you reading?

and