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.

I am typing this up on Friday since I will be VERY busy this weekend driving to Iowa and back to see a wonderful music concert at Luther College and then visiting with family. Soooo, I am only posting on what I have read through the business week.

The Past Week:

Picture Books

I adored Molly Idle's books. Flora and the Flamingo simply begs you to get up and dance. And Tea Rex just cracked me up. The absurdity of a massive dinosaur coming to tea is perfect. The illustrations had me laughing out loud and snorting. The Day the Crayons Quit was a nice book about creativity. It's great for encouraging thinking outside of the accepted color schemes. It's also written in letter format. My only issue was that I got kind of tired of the letters before the book was finished. I almost gave up. Fortunately I stuck with it because the ending is sweet. The Boy and the Airplane made my heart smile. Like Flora it is a wordless book and it speaks volumes through the illustrations. Those were two of the books spotlighted in the Sharp-Schu Bookclub this week. If you missed out, here is a recap.

Oliver Jeffers: Picture Book Maker by PenguinYoungReaders

Author of The Day the Crayons Quit

Non-fiction

These are two very powerful pieces of literature. Letter from the Birmingham Jail was on the Sync website this week. They offer two free YA audio downloads a week throughout the summer. Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing writer. He spun those words together to create poetry. I can't understand reading that or hearing it without being moved. Beyond Courage also tugged at my heart. The horrifying things that people have done to others just defy understanding. I had to wonder if I would have been brave enough to do the incredible things that the Jewish Resistance managed to accomplish. Such an incredible collection of heroic stories.

On a lighter note, I loved finding out more about Christo and Jeanne-Claude. I had heard of their work with the fences and umbrellas, but didn't know about any of the other public art that they have created. I would have enjoyed seeing the flags in Central Park. It is a fascinating discussion of weather art that is not meant to last is actually art. Their installations are usually on exhibit for two weeks and then are dismantled and recycled or repurposed never to be seen again except by photo or video. It's a different way to think about art and expression. The photos were inspiring.

Young Adult

After having Lyn Miller-Lachmann visit over on Rich in Color, I had to read Rogue. Lyn was writing from her own experience and I appreciated that look into the world of Asperger's syndrome. Kiara stands out and not in a good way, but she is trying so hard to fit in. It is sometimes painful to watch what she is willing to do to have a friend. I wanted to step into the book and meet Kiara and learn from her. She has such a neat perspective. The Bitter Kingdom was a completely different type of book. Fantasy all the way. I will be reviewing it later this summer over at Rich in Color, but for now, just know that it was a very satisfying end to the Fire and Thorns trilogy. Things didn't go exactly as I expected, but it was fantastic.

The Coming Week:

I am in the middle of The Real Boy and am loving it. I am also listening to another free audio, Once. I can't believe I am back in World War II so soon. I am super excited to have The Ocean at the End of the Lane in my bag for this weekend. I had to run out and buy it after reading Amanda Palmer's intriguing post about Neil Gaiman's newest book. There are also a lot of ARCs waiting for me and I am not entirely sure which ones to pick next, but with my family visit I probably won't get a ton read this week. 

So looking forward to this!

What will you be reading? Have fun no matter what you choose.