Sunday, June 9, 2013

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:

Picture Books


Of all of the picture books, I would have to say Ball was my favorite this week. The enthusiasm and focus of that dog are illustrated so well. Anyone with a dog in their life, or wishing for one, will just love it.

Middle Grade


Yay! I had noticed recently that I wasn't reading as much middle-grade as I would like so this week I kicked it up a bit and got quite a few read. My favorite of the week was Doll Bones, but Weedflower was a close second (a review of Weedflower is here). Doll Bones had just the right amount of creepy in it. I typically avoid scary books because I am prone to nightmares after books or movies that are intensely scary. This was creepy, but not over the top. I loved the characters and wanted to know more about them even when the story came to an end. The dynamics of their friendship was almost as intriguing as the mystery. Their playfulness and creativity brought back memories of my own childhood make-believe adventures.

Young Adult


I liked both The Iron King and The Testing, but neither one really stood out for their genre. They were fun, but unfortunately they were also slightly "forgettable" as Simon Cowell would say. I felt that many characters and events were repeats from other books I had read. Entertaining, but not terribly unique. I liked that in both books, the main characters sometimes called for help, but also tried very hard to solve their own problems. They weren't always damsel in distressy. I am leaning toward reading the second book in both series, but it all depends on the height of my TBR pile.

Non-Fiction


I loved Almost Astronauts so much that I had to write a review even though it was the night before the last day of school and I had other things I needed to do. It brought me to tears and I am excited to share it with my fifth graders next year. Children of Manzanar paired well with Weedflower too.

The Coming Week:
I am listening to Esperanza Rising (MG) and should finish it this week. I am still reading an ARC of A Moment Comes (YA), and I plan to start an ARC of The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3) as soon as I finish it. I also have The Real Boy waiting in the wings. After all of Colby Sharp's tweets about it and this awesome Nerdybookclub post that includes some of the awesome illustrations, I know I have to keep that at the top of my TBR pile. Right now I have a ginormous pile though. Plenty to see me through summer #bookaday. What fun things are you getting to read?






16 comments:

  1. I keep hearing about Doll Bones. I'm on the waiting list for it at the library.

    And I agree about The Iron King.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you will enjoy Doll Bones. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

      Delete
  2. I LOVED Doll Bones! I wish that I worked with younger kids because I am curious to hear what younger readers think of it. I liked that it was a sweet story about friendship and growing up and that it was no really scary, but I wonder of kids looking for a creepy ghost story will feel the same way. I nit-picked The Testing to death and ended up not even finishing it. I enjoyed the Iron Fey series a lot. They are the first books about faeries that I have enjoyed. I would recommend the next one if you have time. Grimalkin is awesome and Meghan kind of grows up a bit. Have a great week! http://wp.me/pzUn5-1ze

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, I will have to let my kiddos know that Doll Bones is no Goosebumps or they may be disappointed when they are looking for that type. Grimalkin was my favorite! I will give the next one a try. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. It seems like everyone is reading Doll Bones! Also looking forward to reading The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot! Thanks for sharing!
    Catherine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome and yes, I think a ton of people are all over Doll Bones. I am thankful that it lived up to the raving I had heard.

      Delete
  5. Hooray for another Doll Bones fan! Lots of other great looking reading; I'm intrigued by Weed Flower. I really enjoyed Almost Astronauts, too. An interesting look at a topic I wasn't aware of. Stone has done such a nice job with the books of hers that I've read.

    Lorna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Books about the Japanese internment fascinate me I think because I never knew about it when I was growing up. It is a whole section of history I missed. Almost Astronauts is like that too. Stone is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. She keeps the humanity in history.

      Delete
  6. Seeing Doll Bones on these #IMWAYR posts for a few weeks in a row is certainly a message! Time to read it! I haven't read Ball yet but my favourite people at my local bookstore were raving about it last time I visited

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ball is just adorable. You will want to read it soon.

      Delete
  7. I have Doll Bones waiting to be read.

    And I met Joelle Charbonneau this weekend, though I missed her talk about The Testing. I'm probably more likely to read her cozy mysteries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's so fun to meet authors. I didn't know Joelle C. wrote mysteries too. I'll keep my eye out for them.

      Delete
  8. The Testing and The Iron King are both on my to-read list!
    Here is my Monday post.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for stopping by. Iron King was my favorite of the two.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm glad you featured the picture books. I'm always on the lookout for new books to buy as gifts for my nieces and nephew. Thanks for stopping by my Monday post.

    LisaILJ @ I’ll Tumble for YA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ball was so fun! Mustache Baby and Ribbit were funny too. I think I will always love picture books.

      Delete