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.
*Screaming from rooftops!* If you have not read Nielsen’s Ascendance Trilogy, get to it! So much epicness and adventure and action and humor all in one series!
Stung and Cured by Bethany Wiggins were quite interesting books. I can see why those who don’t like them didn’t, but I did overall. Actually, I may have liked Cured better than Stung! If you like post-apocaplyptic, dystopians with a bit of romance, then you’ll like these!
I Love You, Michael Collins by Lauren Baratz-Logsted is so different than any of the other three books I read; however, I love when I read very different books that both are so special! I am so happy to review this title soon.
Ricki
I Am Ghandi by Brad Meltzer is an absolutely stunning graphic novel which features 25 acclaimed graphic novelists. I am really excited about this book, which will appeal to all ages. My four-year-old was mesmerized by the artwork and enjoyed learning about Ghandi’s life.
Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell is an absolutely stunning story that allows young people to consider ideas like class, poverty, and imagination. This one is due out in August, and I suspect it will be well-loved by readers.
Run Wild by David Covell, set to be published this June, reminds us that it is so good to be alive. The words in this book dance off of the pages. It made me want to open my doors and race out into the world.
I REREAD Graceling by Kristin Cashore for my Adolescents’ Literature course. We had some fantastic discussions about the fantasy genre, and this book was great fun to talk about.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee
I was so excited to start the 4th Upside Down Magic book, Dragon Overnight, when I finished Shadow Throne, and it is totally living up to its expectations! I love the characters in this series and all of the truly realistic themes that are touched upon in this fantasy series.
League of Lasers is the 2nd book in the Star Scouts series by Mike Lawrence, and I am so excited to read it. I also got some other :01 graphic novels from Netgalley that I hope to read; I’ll share which ones next week if I get to them!
Trent and I are still reading Date with Disaster, and I love that he loved DC Superhero girls!
Ricki
My son and I started Sci-Fu by Yehudi Mercado. He’s loving it, and he doesn’t realize that I am editing out a lot of the words. It’s not written for a four-year-old, and he thinks any book with pictures is written with him as the audience. I’m enjoying it!
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Teaching Tuesday: Disability and the Body, Literature Circles/Book Clubs
Wednesday: Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway: Bone’s Gift by Angie Smibert
Thursday: Islandborn by Junot Díaz
Friday: Kellee’s #mustreadin2018 Spring Update
Sunday: Author Guest Post from Carolyn O’Doherty, Author of Rewind
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!
Secondhand Heroes: Brothers Unite [July 5th, 2016] In the Trenches [February 7th, 2017] The Last Battle [April 10th, 2018]
Author: Justin LaRocca Hansen
Published by Dial Books
Brothers Unite Summary: Perfect for fans of Amulet, Sidekicks, and Zita the Spacegirl, this graphic novel series debut introduces Stretch and Brella, a pair of ordinary brothers whose extraordinary yard sale discovery turns them into superheroes.
Tuck and Hudson are just two average suburban brothers—until their mother buys them a scarf and an umbrella at a yard sale. Quickly, the brothers realize that these ordinary-looking objects are full of magic, and that, with the help of their squirrel sidekick, they can use that magic to fight evil. As the boys move from fighting their neighborhood nemesis to facing bigger foes, they become Stretch and Brella, the unstoppable brother superhero duo. Soon, Stretch and Brella find themselves in another realm, where they take on enormous dragons and an evil knight in an incredible graphic novel adventure.
In the Trenches Summary: [Mild Brothers Unite SPOILERS!] Two ordinary objects turned a pair of brothers into superheroes. Now they must fight the evil Trench right in their own neighborhood.
When Tuck and Hudson return from their first adventure as the superheroes Stretch and Brella, they’re still reeling from the shock of their newfound powers. But there’s no time to slow down. Trench, a supervillain whose powers came from the very same garage sale where Tuck and Hudson found their magic scarves and umbrella, lives around the corner—and he’s out to get the brother superhero duo. With help from their squirrel companion, Steen, and another newly minted superhero, a neighborhood girl named Elvira, the brothers keep fighting the good fight, with plenty of action and adventure along the way.
The Last Battle Summary: [Mild Brothers Unite & In the TrenchesSPOILERS!]Two ordinary objects turned a pair of brothers into superheroes. Now they’re banding together with their neighbors to take down the evil Trench once and for all in the final volume of this graphic novel trilogy.
Tuck and Hudson have figured out how to wield the superpowers they got when their mom bought them an ordinary-looking pair of scarves and an umbrella at a yard sale. But Trench, their supervillain archnemesis, is only getting more powerful. Slowly, the brothers have discovered the others in their town who have superpowered objects from that same yard sale. Now Tuck and Hudson, along with their friend Elvira and their squirrel sidekick, Steen, are leading a band of heroes in the fight against Trench. This final volume of the graphic novel adventure series features the heroes’ last stand, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.
About the Author: [From http://www.justinlaroccahansen.com/] I grew up in the tiny town of Millis Massachusetts but spent most summers in a tinier village called Cataumet in Cape Cod and it is there I feel most at home. Comic books, cartoons and toys captivated me as a child and I would constantly create my own characters and stories. I went to college at Ringling College of Art and Design where I got a BFA in Illustration. Shortly after I moved to New York City to try and “make it” as an illustrator. It was a long journey with plenty of odd jobs (including a birthday party host and paper airplane teacher), lots of rejections (we’re talkin’ LOTS), and all the ups and downs that come with chasing a dream. I finally sold my first picture book Monster Hunter in 2012 to Sky Pony Press. The next few years would be consumed by a graphic novel trilogy that had been kicking around in my head for some time called Secondhand Heroes. The first book of that trilogy, Secondhand Heroes: Brothers Unite was published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an Imprint of Penguin Random House, in 2016. Part two, Secondhand Heroes: In the Trenches came out in 2017 and last summer I finished work on part three, Secondhand Heroes: The Last Battle which will be out on April 10th, 2018. I live in Brooklyn with my most amazing wife and my collection of Springsteen records.
Kellee’s Review: One of my students named Lucas is a huge graphic novel fan, and earlier this school year, he introduced a new series to me: Secondhand Heroes. He had read the first books in the series and wanted BADLY for me to read them and could not wait for the third book in the series. Well he does not need to wait any longer! This is a crazy series! I’ll be honest, in the first book, a twist in the plot happens, and the reader is not sure why, but I promise: TRUST THE AUTHOR! It epically comes together throughout the series. This series is definitely a perfect reading ladder up from younger middle grade series like Zita and Amulet. The bit of romance and realistic violence pushes its age range further into teens which, as a middle school reading teacher, I am always looking for! I also am in love with the artwork. It is different than other series because of its softer undertones and touches which makes it so unique.
Ricki’s Review: I am so glad that I read this series and have it to recommend to students. While it is definitely above his age range, my son really enjoyed this series. Each night, we read it together, and he imagined that the brothers were him and his younger brother. It’s quite a clever series—the main characters, two brothers, get items from a second-hand shop that prove to be magical. They turn into superheroes. At first, they question whether they should use the superpowers, but they quickly realize how they can use these superpowers for good. I particularly like how the boys slowly discover others in their town who have also gained superpowers. It was fun to read all of the different powers that characters had. The illustrations are eye-catching and engaging. The books in this series were ones that I looked forward to reading each night with my son. I’d put it more at the upper elementary/middle school level and agree with Kellee that these books books make a wonderful ladder for middle schoolers. I’ll be recommending these books often.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Graphic novels are such an important format to have available for students in school and classroom libraries.
“While many teachers are beginning to include [graphic novels] in their classrooms, there are still teachers, administrators, and librarians who struggle with including this format in their schools. So, why should you use them in your classroom and have available for students?
• Graphic novels can make a difficult subject interesting and relatable. (Cohen)
• Students are visual learners, and today’s students have a much wider visual vocabulary than students in the past. (Karp)
• Graphic novels can help foster complex reading skills by building a bridge from what students know to what they still have to learn. (NCTE)|
• Graphic novels can help with scaffolding when trying to teach higher-order thinking skills or other complex ideas.
• For students who struggle to visualize while they read, graphic novels provide visuals that show what good readers do. (NCTE)
• Many graphic novels rely on symbol, allusion, satire, parody, irony, and characters/plot and can be used to teach these, and other, literary devices. (Miller; NCTE)
• Often, in between panels (called the gutter), the reader must make inferences to understand how the events in one panel lead to the
events in the next. (McCloud)
• Graphic novels can make differentiating easier. (Miller)
• Graphic novels can help ELL (English Language Learners) and reluctant and struggling readers since they divide the text into manageable chunks, use images (which help students understand unknown vocabulary), and are far less daunting than prose. (Haines)
• Graphic novels do not reduce the vocabulary demand; instead, they provide picture support, quick and appealing story lines, and less text, which allow the reader to understand the vocabulary more easily. (Haines)
• Research shows that comic books are linguistically appropriate reading material, bearing no negative impact on school achievement or language acquisition. (Krashen)
• Students love them.
In the first book, why did the author change settings?
How did the boys’ behavior in this new setting affect the end of the series?
How did the superpowers bring the brothers together?
How did Brella’s interest in Isabella cause him to struggle with being a superhero?
How did Trench use Brella and Stretch’s “weaknesses” as a good person filled with love to manipulate them?
How did Trench set up Brella and Stretch?
How would you compare/contrast the boys’ character traits from the first book to the last book?
Flagged Passages: [From Brothers Unite]
(p. 24)“1. *whup* 2. HUH…HUH…HUH. 3. THIS IS MY HOME. TUCKER WAS RIGHT. THIS. IS. 4. AWESOME!” (p. 26)(p. 50-51)“2. VERY WELL. 5. Brella: TUCK! Stretch: FLY! I GOT IT! (p. 74)”
Read This If You Love: Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, Zita the Spacegirl series by Ben Hatke, Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel, Sidekicks by Dan Santat, 5 Worlds series by Mark Siegel, Cleopatra in Space series by Mike Maihack, HiLo series by Judd Winick, West series & Battling Boy series by Paul Pope, Chronicles of Claudette by Jorge Aguirre
Recommended For:
and
**Thank you so much to Justin for providing copies for review and goodies for Kellee’s students!**
You’re My Little Cuddle Bug Author: Nicola Edwards; Illustrator: Natalie Marshall
Published February 1, 2017 by Silver Dolphin Books
Summary: Celebrate your little cuddle bug with this sweet and colorful rhyming board book!
Celebrate your little cuddle bug with this sweet and colorful rhyming board book! With chunky pages for little hands and die-cut cuddle bugs to add depth and interest, children will love the interactive features alongside the story.
My Review:The bright bugs pop on the page in a way that emanates warmth. This book reminds me of the popular classics like Time for Bed by Mem Fox. It’s fun for parents/guardians to read to their children, and the sweetness of the story and illustrations pop off of the page. The book is set up with cutouts and raised illustrations. On the first page, there is a baby bug, and when the reader turns the cut-out page, the baby bug is joined by a cuddling parent. It’s quite a charming little board book that made me smile.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The book’s audience seems to be children and families, but I think it would also make a sweet read-aloud at a daycare or preschool before naptime. Children might draw their own cuddle bugs and write a verse from a parent or guardian to a child.
Discussion Questions: Which is your favorite bug? Why? How is this bug different from all of the other bugs in the book?; How do the bugs cuddle differently?
We Flagged: “So when the night is beetle black, and daytime’s at an end, we’ll snuggle up, two cuddle bugs, and sleep my little friend.”
Sports Illustrated Kids: The Baseball Fanbook Everything You Need to Become a Hardball Know-It-All: Lingo, Trivia, Stats, Skills
Author: Gary Gramling
Published April 3rd, 2018 by Sport Illustrated
Summary: Everything You Need to Become a Hardball Know-It-All!
The next book in the Fanbook series from Sports Illustrated Kids, The Baseball Fanbook has all the nerdy-cool insider knowledge that fans ready for next-level, in-depth stats need to know to impress their friends, family, coaches, and any season ticket holders they may meet. Tailor-made for baseball fanatics ages 8 and up who know the basics of the sport they love, may play it, and are looking to become super fans, this new fanbook is filled with fun trivia, unique lingo, and illustrated behind-the-skills how-to’s. Chapters include Team Tidbits (salient baseball facts about every MLB team), Think Like a Manager (essential strategies to understand), He Reminds Me Of (compares current players to legendary greats of America’s favorite pastime), and much more!
Review: As the 2018 baseball season begins, I knew I had to share this book with you all because I love this resource! I saw the The Football Fanbook, and I was impressed by it, but I LOVE BASEBALL! So I am so happy that there is a baseball version now.
Now, please don’t stop here just because I say I love baseball, so you assume you have to love it also to like this book. One of the things I like about this series is that they are written for all levels of fans. Maybe you don’t get why people like baseball? Check out this book to learn why! Maybe you are a player but really want to learn more specifics about the MLB? Check out this book to find out more! Maybe you are a baseball fanatic that lives and breaths the sport? Check out this book to maybe learn some fun facts you don’t know or as just a fun and entertaining read. It really is written in ways that all types of readers will find something in it.
Although this book is aimed for kids in grade 3 and up, don’t let that make you think it doesn’t include detailed information–it does! Each chapter is focused and full of information and photographs. But at the same time, I will say that it isn’t so overwhelming that younger kids will be turned off either. I’ve used parts of it with Trent this year as the season begins, and as we get ready for him beginning t-ball.
I am also impressed by its text structure. It is set up to be a book that could be read in order or jumped around, which is what I think is the best structure for informational nonfiction books because it makes it so any type of reader can grab it and read it how they’d like. The chapter titles are: 1) Know These Numbers, 2) Obscure Facts, 3) Skills to Master, 4) Run a Team, 5) He Reminds Me Of…, 6) Team Tidbits, & 7) Talk to Talk, and they are pretty self explanatory about their content.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Like other topic focused books, the best place for it will be in libraries and classrooms for students to read if they want to. Parts of it could be used for math statistics activities or for sports history lessons or for a research resource; however, primarily it is going to be in kids’ hands being read.
Discussion Questions:
Who is your favorite player? Create your own “Reminds me of…” document.
How are statistics such as ERA, WHIP, and batting average determined in baseball?
How has the sport of baseball changed over time?
Using the “Run a Team” chapter, create your own team. First, create it with known players then work on making a team of players you create.
Who is your favorite team? What did they leave out of the team tidbits that you would have included?
Flagged Passages:
“Chapter 3: Skills to Master
Whether you’re eager to snag an autograph or ready to perfect your slide into second, you need to know how to do things the right way — even eat sunflower seeds!”
“Chapter 5: He Reminds me of…
Your grandparents have déjà vu all over again when they see these modern players on the diamond. Which stars of today play like the stars of yesteryear?”
Read This If You Love: Baseball!, Sports history, Fun with numbers
Teaching is unlike any other career. The community expects certain standards of teachers; however, often they are not always respected as professionals. Some teachers feel like they are always being questioned about their expertise. Others feel immense pressure when their pay is linked to test scores. Teachers work long hours, and the career can sometimes feel exhausting.
Despite this, most teachers express pure love for their jobs. For today’s post, we wanted to share some of the ways we practice positivity (or share positivity with our students). Over the years, we’ve learned that focusing on the positive is wonderful for our sustainability and happiness. We invite you to share your approaches or ideas for remaining positive, too.
Kellee
CONFIDENCE & JOY
Each year I pick one word that I am going to focus on professionally (in August) and another personally (in January), and I work very hard on reminding myself of these words. Part of what affected me negatively professionally was always questioning myself, so I focused on confidence professionally. At home, I question myself a lot also but there it is more about how others are being affected, so I chose to focus on joy personally. By having these two words at the forefront of my mind, I am making sure that I am focusing on my happiness all the time.
“It’s going to be okay.”
I have begun repeating this often at work. Sometimes things can seem so devastating and stressful, and we know that stress affects the brain in a negative way, so I have tried to become even more of the cheerleader around my stressed-out colleagues. I remind them, “It’s going to be okay.” Because, you know what? It is. Hopefully this little reminder can help them remove the stress fog and remember that for real it’ll be okay.
Do what you love.
If you are not happy in your current position or your current school and you are past the honeymoon stage (which can be tough), then change. Change is scary (trust me, I know! I’ve been at the same school my whole career), but it is also what will make your life more fulfilled and happier (although at the same school, I’ve taught 6 different things, am the reading coach, and sponsored 4 different clubs). Talk to your administration. Be truthful with them. Ask for help if you need it. Be honest. Move schools if you need to. But remember, you have to be happy at work to be happy in life.
Surround yourself with positivity.
Yes, even at lunch try to focus on the positive. I know that it is the time to vent about the rude kid or the teacher who keeps holding kids into other classes, but this venting session can also lead to a focus only on that negative energy. I know we need to vent and we need a break, but is this negative energy in the middle of the day actually helping or is it hurting? Just ask yourself that.
Schedule YOU time.
Yes, put it in your calendar on your phone with an alarm and a reminder. Get a pedicure, go on a staycation, go on a date, go to happy hour, read in bed… whatever you want to do. But schedule it and make it a priority. And yes, that means not bringing grading home on the weekends! You are important–remember that!
Keep your empathy for students
This and the next one are things I’ve really started to realize since I’ve gotten past 10 years in the classroom: Being a teacher is so much more enjoyable when we listen to our students, when we remind ourselves that they are kids and humans, and when we remember the difference between tough and mean.
Let your students know you are human
We’ve all heard, “Oh, you don’t just sleep here, miss?!?!” But it doesn’t have to be that way. Students should know we are human: I let them know when there is stuff going on in my life that may affect my attitude or interactions with them; I talk about my family, hobbies, life, etc.; and I listen to them when they talk about theirs. This small difference can really help with respect as well. Since my students know me and feel respected by me, they respect me. And we all know respect equals a much easier time in the classroom!
And don’t sweat the small stuff!
🙂
Ricki
Switch the Content
Whenever I feel a lull in my teaching or career, I switch it up. If I am not learning right along with the students, then I am not happy. I love to explore new topics and new ideas with students, and I am constantly seeking their input about what they’d like to learn.
Connect with Colleagues
My colleagues invigorate me. I am a part of multiple teaching social media groups, and I love going to conferences. Each time I attend the NCTE conference and ALAN Workshop, it feels like a shot in my arm. I am jittery with excitement because of the new ideas that I’ve learned.
Read
I try to regularly read the latest articles within the journals of my field, and I pop onto popular teaching websites regularly to try to get new ideas. Every year, I try to improve my practice and hone my philosophies, and I love reading the writing of those in my field.
Research
I love doing research in my classroom. This always gives me a strong sense of purpose. Studying my students (or others’ students) teaches me so much about teaching. This makes me feel fulfilled as I work to improve myself.
Pursue Other Passions
I’ll admit that this often means immersing myself in the newest YA books, but sometimes I take time to paint or pursue a passion that is outside of my job. I try to avoid feeling guilty that I am not doing work for my job 24 hours a day. If left alone, I’d probably spend every waking hour planning and grading.
What are your coping strategies for staying happy and positive while teaching?
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.
Yay Spring Break! And thank you for understanding about last week! My Future Problem Solvers teams did AMAZINGLY! I have one 6th grade team and one 11th/12th grade team that qualified for internationals! I’m so proud of how brilliant they are!
Sunny by Jason Reynolds: Wow. I hope this isn’t the end of this series because each one is such a special treat. Sunny is quite different than the first although readers will find the format and story just as engaging.
Bat and the Waiting Game by Elana K. Arnold: See my review from last week 🙂
Bone’s Gift by Angie Smibert: I’ll be reviewing this next week!
Breakout by Kate Messner: This is a 500 page book that I couldn’t put down and read so quickly! It is so special. I loved the variety of formats within the narrative and the multiple and diverse points of view. It is so applicable for many ages and it brings up issues for conversation in a respectable yet clear way. And it is such a darn good story!
With Trent’s books, I’m primarily focusing on either new books to Trent or me, books we haven’t read in a while, or books he’s obsessed with. Listing all of the books we read in the car or sitting in the living room would be crazy, but I feel guilty about it, so I wanted to just say something 🙂
8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos by Vivian Vande Velde: Reading this book with my mom and Trent when we visited Baton Rouge during Spring Break is going to be one of those memories that stay with me forever. My mom and I took turns reading, and we read to Trent every day. It is such a heart-filling experience to be able to enjoy a book as a family!
With Easter upon us, we also read a bunch of fun Easter books that I pull out each year. Llama Llama was my favorite–I just think she has such an year for rhythms and rhymes.
Ricki
It’s been a crazy week for me. I’ve been planning an event to have the Get Lit players come to our university, and it sucked my time away. I did finish a few books!
I loved the nontraditional format of Thornhill by Pam Smy. It’s very similar in format to a Brian Selznick book, but it falls closer to the horror/mystery genre. It was a very engaging read and kept me intrigued. The integration of art and prose is wonderfully done—the prose is set in the 1980s, and the art is set in present day.
Your My Little Cuddle Bug by Nicola Edwards is a charming board book that reminded me of a Mem Fox text. It’s a warm and fuzzy type of book. 🙂
Who’s Hiding by Satoru Onishi is a fun, interactive book where kids try to determine which character is hiding, angry, etc. It is a fun take on the search-and-find books.
Hoot Hoot Pop-Up Fun is a pop-up book winner. As a mom of two young kids, I read a lot of pop-up books, and the pop-ups are very clever in this book. We spent a solid ten minutes on the wolf page making the wolf howl and howl.
We also read a book called Shake Dogs Shake Puppies by Carli Davidson. The book is about 400 pages of photographs of dogs and puppies shaking off water. My younger son spends a lot of time perusing this book–even though I think it was intended to be an adult coffee table book.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer E. Nielsen: I have 25 minutes left in the audiobook, and I cannot wait to finish it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stung by Bethany Wiggins: This is our next faculty book club choice, and so far I am liking it, but I already know that it is going to be a split discussion because a couple of teachers have told me they really didn’t like it. I look forward to having the conversation. If nothing else, I know that kids adore it. It won the Florida Sunshine State Young Reader Award for grade 6-8 in 2016.
DC Superhero Girls: Date with Disaster: Trent picked this book out at the book store, and he and I are reading it a chapter at a time. This is his first full graphic novel, and as long as I point at the word bubbles, he’s doing a great job following along!
I Love You, Michael Collins by Lauren Baratz-Logsted: After Stung I look forward to picking this one up to read and review.
Upside Down Magic: Dragon Overnight by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins: When I finish Shadow Throne, I am going to start the 4th Upside Down Magic book, and I am so excited! I love this series.
Ricki
I’ll be REREADING Graceling by Kristin Cashore for my class. We are doing Sci Fi/Fantasy this week, and the houses are reading Graceling, Feed, and Unwind. I am excited to hear what they think about the three books.
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: The Stress of Teaching and Advice for Remaining Positive
Wednesday: Sports Illustrated Kids: The Baseball Fanbook by Gary Gamling
Thursday: You’re My Little Cuddle Bug by Nicola Edwards
Friday: Secondhand Heroes series by Justin LaRocca Hansen
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
P.S. Please note that IMWAYR’s publishing time has changed, starting with this post, to 2AM ET!
Moon
Author and Illustrator: Alison Oliver
Expected Publication April 17th, 2018 by Clarion Books
Summary: Like many children, Moon leads a busy life. School, homework, music lessons, sports, and the next day it begins again. She wonders if things could be different. Then, one night, she meets a wolf.
The wolf takes Moon deep into the dark, fantastical forest and there she learns to howl, how to hide, how to be still, and how to be wild. And in that, she learns what it’s like to be free.
Review: Just as Where the Wild Things Are made children think about controlling our inner wild things (anger), Moon has us look at the new pressures of childhood and the need to let kids unleash their inner wild thing (playfulness). I talk often about the pressure that kids with other parents and teachers about the pressure that kids have on them now. Computer programs and homework starting in kindergarten, multiple standardized testing starting in 3rd grade, high school classes starting in middle school, AP classes required for almost everyone, etc. etc. etc. It makes me so sad to see that a lot of the joys of childhood are being pushed away to make kids grow up earlier (but then we complain about kids growing up quicker…). Moon, the main character, represents so many of our kids, and her adventure shows how important it is to let our kids just be themselves to be happy and to remove some of the pressure. I loved this message, and I thought it was told in a beautiful and figurative way that will lead to wonderful discussions and lots of rereading.
And I couldn’t review this book properly without commenting on the beautiful illustrations. I particularly loved the palette changes to highlight time and place and the bits of humor in the illustrations. Just a wonderful combination of artwork and story.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Moon‘s theme and symbolism are what jump out to me first, and I see them being what is discussed the most when it comes to this book, and I could see it be extended from early elementary all the way to middle school just pushing the conversation to different levels the older students get.
Discussion Questions:
What do the wolves symbolize in Moon’s story?
How is your life similar to Moon’s at the beginning of the book?
How does Moon’s life change from beginning to end?
What lesson was the message the author was trying to spread from Moon?
Do you see any differences between Moon from the first couple of pages and the last couple of pages?
Flagged Passages:
Read This If You Love: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Yellow Kayak by Nina Laden, Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
and
