Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host
a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and
young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what
they plan on reading the following week.
Past Week:
I only managed one middle grade novel this week, but it was excellent so it should be worth several. I finally got to read Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead. It has many things to wonder about throughout.
This book is a fantastic example of a journal for young writers. Bits of poetry, lists, sketches, all show thoughts of the writer.
A topic that seems to be coming up often recently is bullying. I found these first-hand accounts powerful. They are accompanied by excellent thought provoking discussion questions that would be perfect for classroom use.
I really enjoyed getting to hear the voices of these outstanding illustrators as they discussed their work. There were many fun tidbits.
Today:
I experienced a treat today. I got to meet Sarah A.K.A. @pageintraining at the CCBC in Madison. We spent time sharing thoughts about books, reading, and getting to know each other in person since we have only met before on Twitter and Skype. While there, we were able to preview many non-fiction titles and read a few picture books.
J.R.R Tolkien is a very brief, but nice biography that would be a good purchase in light of the coming Hobbit movies.
Vote for Me! is a humorous look at what some candidates seem to do to get a vote. Several jokes that adults would get, but many children would miss without help from adults.
This was a cute little book that includes a bit about bullying. The monster loses the capital 'M' and becomes a simple Onster instead. This causes the other Monsters to ostracize the Onster. All is not lost though.
For the Coming Week:
I will continue to read The Bronze Bow for the Nerdbery Challenge and will hopefully read a few more Caldecotts. I also want to finish Real Revision. I got Fig Pudding from the public library and will give it a go too. Happy reading!
I love the titles you have here, particularly Show Me a Story by Leonard Marcus as I have just recently done a review of this lovely book. I've also been reading so many rave reviews about Liar & Spy, I really should find this book soon and pair it with Harriet the Spy when I introduce them both to my ten year old daughter. I didn't realize there was a picture book biography of Tolkien! Will definitely check that out as I am big on picture book biographies. Thank you so much for sharing all these lovelies with us. Enjoy the rest of your week!
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see the Tolkien biography for young readers. I now feel the need to read an adult biography to get more info though. It made me wonder about too many things.
DeleteLiar & Spy looks like such a great book. It's high on my son's TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I think most kids will enjoy Liar & Spy.
DeleteI read Liar & Spy this week, too! It's a good addition to any bullying unit.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to find the Tolkien biography. I'm starting Hobbit with my group soon.
Yeah, I had not realized that Liar & Spy would deal with bullying.
DeleteI will need to re-read Hobbit. Love it. It was cool to find out that Tolkien had an aunt & her farm was named Bag End.
Love Liar and Spy. Stead is brilliant. I would really like to read Show me a Story. Illustrators have such important perspective. Great list this week!
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful meeting you at the CCBC. Such a great Wisconsin resource for books! I could spend a week in there.
ReplyDelete