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.

I'm still recovering from going to ALA midwinter (my head is still fuzzy and reeling a bit) and the slightly horrifying drive home from Chicago yesterday. I am also giddy from the ALA Youth Media Awards announcements this morning. With that combination, I'm not sure how much I will be writing to go along with my titles today, but here goes....

The Past Week: 

I reviewed Rose Eagle by Joseph Bruchac last week at Rich in Color

I read Because They Marched because it was on my #MustRead2015 list. I put it there because it was on the list of Best Multicultural books of 2014. That only brings me to 3/53 for the reading challenge. I'll need to pick up the pace.

I started listening to Mission Unstoppable on my drive to Chicago. It was okay, but not my favorite book. When it was time to drive home, there was quite a bit of snow on the roads and the wind was picking up so I thought I needed something that would make me laugh and relax so I started listening to If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) instead. That was an excellent choice. She is such a positive person and she cracked me up. It's amazing how much she continues to do and I'm glad she shares her writing with the world. By the time that book was over, my drive was a little less stressful and I went back to the first book. 

I saw these three beauties at ALA Mid-winter. Orion and the Dark is a gentle book about fear of the dark. It's very sweet and I enjoyed the design. Jen Vincent was on a mission to get everyone she knew to read Orion. :) I'm glad she recommended it. I read I Know the River Loves Me at the Noche de Cuentos. I love the artwork of Maya Christina González. The water in this book is gorgeous and the text is also. Sidewalk Flowers is a wordless book that I saw at the Groundwood booth. In it the child picks flowers along the sidewalk and ultimately shares them with others. It is a sweet story and totally reminded me of Amanda Palmer. As a street performer, Amanda would hand flowers to the people who gave her money. She said that by that exchange, she was seeing others and being seen. There was a connection between them. The child in the story seems to truly see people and shares with them as a result. 

The Coming Week:

I'll be reviewing Hold Me Down over at Rich in Color. I plan to work on my #MustRead2015 list by reading Hidden, Strike, and Frida & Diego. Beyond that, I'm not sure what I will get to, but it will likely include some ARCs from ALA and or some of the winners of the Youth Media Awards. Have a great week!