It's Monday! What are you Reading?

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.

You may find more complete information about what I am reading at Goodreads or by clicking on the Goodreads widget along the side of my blog.

The Past Week:

Young Adult

I absolutely adored the Tiffany Aching series so really looked forward to Dodger. Can you believe I didn't get the Dickens reference even knowing that Dickens was a character in the book. About 75 pages in, I thought to myself, Dodger? Like the Artful Dodger? Pffft. There are definite connections and it is a lively mystery. Dodger definitely made me laugh. He was a fantastically charming & amusing character. My only complaint was that though Pratchett was obviously favorable toward his Jewish character, it seemed not so great that he portrayed him as a penny pinching haggler. Going for the stereotype is a little less creative than I would expect. Also, there was a word used, shanky, that I thought was really fun, but it turns out that it has negative connotations towards Jewish people too. Not so cool.

I listened to The Winter People and enjoyed learning about the Abenaki people. Although there are some pretty exciting and action filled scenes, the book was often moving quite slowly, so I am not sure if upper elementary students would go for it. The historical aspect was fascinating for me and also, it reminded me of how differently the French and English could be when interacting with Native Americans.

Middle Grade

This was definitely my favorite book of the week. I also read The Porcupine Year with my ears. I loved the interaction between the main character, Omakayas, and her brother. They have a quarrelsome, but loving relationship. Like the previous books in this series, there are very realistic situations that the family encounters with strength and love for each other. I found myself wanting to find out more about them. I can't wait to read the next installment.

Early Chapter Book

I had fun with Tugg and Teeny. It is an easy reader chapter book about two sweet friends. I think my students will enjoy them.

For the Coming Week:

I have started reading an ARC from NetGalley -- Hammer of Witches. I was also listening to The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I would be finished except that the last CD was missing so I will have to wait until tomorrow when I can pick it up at the library. In the meantime I started listening to Cinder. I also started reading Poison. I will likely finish that this evening. Aside from these, I am not sure which books I will get to next, but I know it will be a great week of reading.