Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 1/13/14

July 27, 2015January 13, 2014 by Kellee

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: I finished Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always by Elissa Janine Hoole which, unfortunately, took me all week to finish it. It was overall a good book, but I just had trouble connecting to the protagonist until about half way through… then it was smooth sailing. I did finish it Saturday, but because of going to be early and waking up early to see my husband finish his first marathon (actually he did the Dopey Challenge this weekend! 48.6 miles in 4 days!), I haven’t started another book yet.

Ricki: Last week, I read seven books. This week, I read zero. Yes, ZERO! I am so embarrassed. My excuse: Henry’s colic has gotten increasingly worse. We have been dealing with a child who screams from 8pm to midnight. The hours before and after that, he fusses. My life balance is all a mess! To be fair, my husband and I reread The Little Engine that Could to him last night, but I included that book in a past week’s post. We also read a book about cars, but it wasn’t memorable enough for me to remember the title. I have also read about fifty more pages in Winger by Andrew Smith. But books completed? None.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am still listening to Ocean at the End of the Lane. I am carpooling again (3 days this week), but I am listening whenever I am alone. I am almost finished with disc 4 (out of 5), so I should finish it soon. I plan to start Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil tonight and finish it this week. I then plan on reading Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan.

Ricki: This week, I would love to finish Winger by Andrew Smith. I read a few pages to Henry (and even read the swears–I figure it is safe, as he is only 6 weeks old). I also plan to read some of Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire for school. I’d love to finish two or three picture books too, if Henry is willing to listen. 🙂

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!

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A Big Guy Took My Ball! & I’m a Frog! by Mo Willems

January 10, 2014 by Kellee

A Big Guy Took My Ball!
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Published May 21st, 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

I’m a Frog!
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Published October 15th, 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

A Big Guy Took My Ball! Goodreads Summary: Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.

Gerald and Piggie are best friends.

In A Big Guy Took My Ball! Piggie is devastated when a big guy takes her ball! Gerald is big, too…but is he big enough to help his best friend?

I’m a Frog! Goodreads Summary: In I’m a Frog! Piggie has some ribbiting news! Can Gerald make the leap required to accept Piggie’s new identity?

Review: I love Elephant and Piggie. They are such amazing friends through all sorts of scenarios. Elephant keeps Piggie grounded and Piggie helps Elephant think/move outside of his box. Just a wonderful combination of character traits and they make for such funny books. And you know that they are good, they both won 2013 Early Reader Nerdy Awards!!!

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: Elephant and Piggie books are, of course, amazing for read alouds and will be loved by everyone who reads them. However, the books also have very few words and it is up to the reader to use inference (using the illustrations) to read even deeper into the story.

Discussion Questions: In A Big Guy Took My Ball! what did Elephant assume about the guy Piggie was talking about?; In I’m a Frog! how does Piggie help Elephant?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Any of the Elephant and Piggie books, Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel

Recommended For:

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

July 27, 2015January 9, 2014 by Ricki

The Killing Woods
Author: Lucy Christopher
Published: January 7th, 2014 by Chicken House (Scholastic)

GoodReads Summary: Fatal attraction, primal fear, survival in the forest: From the author of the Printz Honor Book Stolen, the highly anticipated thriller about deadly games played in the dark.

Ashlee Parker is dead, and Emily Shepherd’s dad is accused of the crime. A former soldier suffering from PTSD, he emerges from the woods carrying the girl’s broken body. “Gone,” he says, then retreats into silence.

What really happened that wild night? Emily knows in her bones that her father is innocent — isn’t he? Before he’s convicted, she’s got to find out the truth. Does Damon Hilary, Ashlee’s charismatic boyfriend, have the answers? Or is he only playing games with her — the kinds of games that can kill?

Review: I absolutely loved Stolen, so I was thrilled to read another book by Lucy Christopher. This book reads more like a thriller. I was sucked into the mystery and very curious about how the plot would unravel. I think this book is most notable for the intricate descriptive details about the setting. I felt the dark coldness of the killing woods. The setting was spooky, which set the tone for the dark story. There are richly realized themes of friendship, family, and loyalty.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Emily’s father suffers from PTSD. I think Lucy Christopher is delivering a message about PTSD, and it would be important for readers to think more about this. Students might find value in learning more about PTSD before, during, and after reading this book.

Discussion Questions: Why is everyone quick to blame Emily’s father? Do you think he is guilty?; What is The Game? What are the different roles that everyone plays in The Game? What does it teach us about this group of kids? Is it realistic and does it reflect people in general?

We Flagged: “I guess whoever built and buried that IED out there in the desert will never know how far that blast traveled. But all things ripple out, cause shrapnel.”

Read This If You Loved: Stolen by Lucy Christopher, The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles, The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Recommended For:

**Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Chicken House for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

Strange Mysteries From Around the World by Seymour Simon

February 9, 2014January 8, 2014 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Strange Mysteries From Around the World
Author: Seymour Simon
Published May 1st, 1997 by HarperTrophy

Goodreads Summary: Describes ten strange natural phenomena and possible explanations for them, including the day it rained frogs, an atomic explosion that occurred forty years before the atom bomb, and an eerie crystal skull.

My Review and Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: These mysteries are so fascinating to read about and they are real! Although this book is a bit older, because the topic is strange mysteries it mostly doesn’t matter. It wold be interesting to read this aloud and then do research and see if anything has changed about the mysteries. I can also see this book being used as an opening of the day/class just to get kids focused. The mysteries intrigued me, so I really think kids would find them interesting as well.

Discussion Questions: What do you think happened at _____?; Which theory do you believe?

We Flagged: “When it’s raining heavily, some people say it’s ‘pouring cats and dogs.’ Of course, that only an expression. Cats and dogs really don’t rain down from the sky. (Although there may be poodles in the street.) But don’t be too sure that it never rains animals. Here is a quote from July 12, 1873, issue of the magazine Scientific American: ‘A shower of frogs, which darkened the air and covered the ground for a long distance, is the reported result of a recent rainstorm at Kansas City, Mo.'” (It’s Raining Frogs and Fish p. 1)

Read This If You Loved: Jane Yolen’s Unsolved Mysteries in History, Encyclopedia Horrifica by Joshua Gee, Alien Investigation by Kelly Milner Hall

Recommended For:

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals and Resolutions for 2014

January 7, 2014 by Ricki

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Bookish Goals and Resolutions for 2014

Forget the weight-loss. We are going bookish on you!

Ricki

1. 114 Books

Every year, I increase my goal by one book. I always match the year. Because it is 2014, I am aiming for 114. This might be impossible with a new baby, but I will be reading more picture books.

2. Children’s Book All-Star

I want to become a children’s book all-star. I want to get the nostalgia of old books and jump into the fun of new releases.

3. To learn to love more middle grade novels

Some of my favorite books are middle grade books. That said, I don’t tend to love novels directed to this age group. This year, I am going to aim to change that by reading more widely within the field.

4. To keep up with new YA releases

I will devote everything to my new baby, but I don’t want to neglect my love of YA books, so I want to try to keep up with the best new releases.

5. To read to my new baby every night

I haven’t had a baby (obviously), so I am not sure if this is a lofty goal. Are there going to be some nights where I can’t read to him because I am so tired from breastfeeding? I have no clue how my life is going to be this year, but this is my goal!

Kellee

1. 275 books in 2014

In 2012 I read 397 books, which is crazy!, so for 2013 I set my goal for 300 thinking it’d be no problem… well, I have not been reading like I did in the past. I ended up lowering my goal to 225 because I knew that I was not reading like I used to. During 2014, I’d like to push myself more and try to get close to that 300 again—I’m going to aim for 275. This may be crazy with a new baby at home, but I guess we’ll find out!

2. Get more book reviews up on my teacher website

My teacher website is being used more than ever now that we are an iPad school, but I haven’t updated the book reviews on there all year. I hope to get more up there.

3. Get into classes more often to book talk

This year I took a job as a reading coach and found myself all caught up in logistics, observations, and intervention. I want to go back to the basics and get into classes more often to book talk and to do book passes.

4. Get back into the reading groove

Like my #1 says, I really want to try to get back into the reading groove of reading every night. Right now, there are nights where I do not touch a book. I know it has been a combination of my new job and the pregnancy making me super tired, so I hope I can overcome it in 2014 (I know, I know… a new baby will make it very hard, but it doesn’t hurt to try.)

5. Read to my new baby every night

One thing that will definitely help is reading to baby Boy Moye every night. I want him to be a reader and I cannot wait to share with him all of my favorite picture books and I cannot wait to find out what his favorites are.

What are your bookish goals?

RickiSig and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 1/6/14

July 27, 2015January 6, 2014 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

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

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Happy new year!! I read two very different yet very good novels this week and I definitely recommend them both. First was Period 8 by Chris Crutcher which is… well, a Chris Crutcher novel! They are always winners. I’ll be reviewing it here for you later. Next, I read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein which was a middle grade novel paying homage to Willy Wonka with so many book allusions throughout. It was such a fun book! I actually am not planning on reviewing it because I read it in bed in one sitting, so I didn’t take any review notes on it—oops!

Ricki: This week, I took it back a few decades and read Experience & Education by John Dewey. This book was published in 1938, but boy was John Dewey on the mark. He was ahead of his time in his progressive thoughts, and I can understand why scholars always refer to his writings. I also read the YA book, The Living by Matt de la Peña. I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for the sequel. I will read anything by this man. He is such an incredible writer. This book was much different from his other works, and I think students who love action-packed books like The Maze Runner by James Dashner will love it. The children’s books I read to Henry this week are: Boy and Bot by Ame Dyckman, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (sobbed through this one), Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems (nice illustrations and photography), Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson, and Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle (this one was adorable).

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I just started Sometimes Always, Sometimes Never by Elissa Janine Hoole yesterday, but did not get very far–we’ll see! After Sometimes Always, I’ll be reading Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil. I also will continue Ocean at the End of the Lane tomorrow when I go back to driving to work.

Ricki: This week, I am starting Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere as part of my independent study for my doctoral degree. I am trying to read books by all of the big names in education. I also plan to read Winger by Andrew Smith while nursing. Additionally, I will be reading as many children’s books as I can to Henry each night. 🙂

Upcoming Week’s Posts

So, what are you reading?

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