It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

If you want to know more about what I am reading, visit me at my Goodreads shelf. Images via Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

The Past Week

Picture Books

Deep in the Sahara was the definite winner of the three. I reviewed it on Saturday. It is a beautiful story of faith and community. Daisy Gets Lost was a fun companion to A Ball for Daisy. I also liked When Lions Roar because it would be a good way to discuss fear.

Middle Grade

Rump was a ton of fun. I seek out re-tellings and this one didn't disappoint. The Year of Billy Miller and Like Bug Juice on a Burger were great realistic books about the challenges of growing up. They were both fun. I think Billy Miller would be a great read aloud because the text would be challenging for a second grader, but the content is perfect for them. Bug Juice was a fun follow up to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. I will be writing up a review later this week. I am still not sure why it is in verse format. It read like straight prose, so I actually was confused initially. I thought maybe the author had just decided not to use paragraphing. I had forgotten that the first one was like that too. Gone Fishing was such fun. I loved the mix of many poetry styles and the interactions between the brother and sister. The poetry explanations in the back were great too.

Non-fiction

I enjoyed learning about the library in Egypt through Hands Around the Library. I liked the Minnesota Bug Hunt too. The pictures were great. Locomotive was the one that stood out though. The layout, text features, and beautiful illustrations really supported the facts and made it fantastically engaging. I know teachers will love using it to demonstrate author's craft.

The Coming Week:

I have started reading a digital ARC of Chitchat a book about language, but the ARC is acting funny. I will try to finish it, if it will open. Otherwise, I will be reading books from the Nerdy Award Finalists list as quickly as I can. There are about 40 that I haven't read. I've requested 15 books through the library and I will read them as they arrive. I have a few at school too. I am about to begin Mr. Lemoncello's Library today and then it will all depend on what I can get into my hands. What will you be reading?