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

I really enjoy learning about other people's lives. It is fascinating to me. I think I had read a picture book bio of Cesar Chavez in the past, but Cesar: Si, Se Puede! was excellent. The poetry was fabulous and so was the artwork. While it included a lot of facts, it was so much more enjoyable than reading a dry textbook. The language was rich and moved me. Mister and Lady Day was another moving look at a life. Since we were viewing her life in relation to the dog, it was a lighter book than it might have been though the author's note at the end shared some of the difficulties that Billie Holliday was going through. It was one of the books that I picked up at The Reader's Choice bookstore in Milwaukee when I got to visit last week (I talked about the visit here).

Middle Grade & YA

Saraswati's Way reminded me a bit of Boys Without Names and highlights a young boy trying to get an education in Delhi. He has no money for school and many things are against him, but he still has hope. Hush was another book to tug on your heartstrings. The girl and her family are in the witness protection program and their lives have been turned upside down. It is usually labeled as young adult,  but it was right on the border. All the Small Poems and Fourteen More was a super peaceful set of poems about everyday things. It would be great with young children. The one about a dog was one that was featured in Love that Dog. I recognized its loose skin immediately.

Non-fiction

I thought this would be a memoir or biography, but it was a collection of quotations from Jacqueline Kennedy from letters, interviews, and other writing. It wasn't horrible, and it had a certain organization, but it wasn't fabulous either. I felt that I learned a bit about her, but it wasn't very cohesive. She said/wrote some hilarious things though.

Also, I have read it multiple times since I got the digital ARC, so I likely have mentioned it before,  but I reviewed The Shadow Hero over on Rich in Color on Friday. I love, love, love it.

The Coming Week:

I am still listening to Son of a Witch and am enjoying that. Nanny said, "Maybe we are all gifted and we just don't know it yet" and I am holding onto that line today. It sure seems to take a long time to figure out our gifts sometimes.

I have been taking my time savoring Akata Witch, but am almost finished. I will be sad for it to end because the next one doesn't come out until next year.

I have a ton of books that I need to be reading. Ack! For two different book clubs I need to read Half Broke Horses and When I Was the Greatest. I also have a large stack of library books waiting for me, but the book club books come first. What will you be reading?