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 didn't participate last Monday because I was out on the road visiting this lovely lady.

Me and My Gram - Photo credit Bobie Williams

So here are the highlights from the last two weeks rather than a listing of everything I read.

Last 2 Weeks on the Blogs: 

**I didn't write the post, but don't miss this  

giveaway at Rich in Color

in honor of our three year anniversary.

Review of Moonshot at Rich in Color

 Women's History Month Post at Rich in Color

A review of Olinguito, from A to Z!

A review of The Amazing Discoveries of Ibn Sina

The Past 2 Weeks in Books:

 

 

What I notice here is a lot of nonfiction. The Langston Hughes memoir, I Wonder as I Wander, was interesting though not what I expected. It's a travel memoir and I always like those, but somehow I thought there would be poetry. I enjoyed it anyway and the reader (it was audio) was wonderful.  

Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea reminded me about how much I used to love filling in blank maps. It's a picture book biography about scientist Marie Tharp and how she made maps of the ocean floor.

I read two cute weather books, When Spring Comes and Ling & Ting: Together in All Weather. It was funny to read When Spring Comes this week and see this page when we had about 6 inches of snow on the ground.

Reading Ling & Ting was also coincidental since I saw a TedTalk by Grace Lin. Her topic was "The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf." It's excellent. If you haven't watched it yet, take the 12 minutes to listen if you can.

Whose Hands are These is a wonderful inclusive look at careers. Pink is a Blobfish was hilarious and just gross enough to be fabulous. Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls are Born to Lead is a picture book biography. There are quite a few on the market at this point, but this one seems to me the best for young readers. The illustrations are engaging and so is the text.

Sex is a Funny Word was a Stonewall Book Award honor book for 2015. The book seems to be aimed at upper elementary students. From my goodreads review, "This book explains a lot of things, but what I appreciated the most was all of the questions at the end of the sections. Families reading it together would have lots of opportunities to discuss things that many kids are wondering and might be afraid to ask. Children reading it on their own would also understand that if they are wondering these things, they are obviously not alone and might actually venture to talk to someone they trust."

I had fun reading Lola Levine Drama Queen. Lola Levine is a great early chapter book series. Don't Throw it to Mo! is another book including some humor. I liked this early reader and loved that we get to see a youngster playing football. There aren't a ton of books for my young football fans that they can read independently.

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing is one I'm reading to prepare for the author panels I'll be moderating at the WEMTA conference next month. I didn't know much about Joplin, but found this to be a well done biography. I loved the many images and the design of the book was eye-catching.

The Coming Week:

Currently reading

I'm still working on these history books. These are not light books, but are definitely very interesting. I am listening to the Let's Get Busy Podcast featuring Philip Stead. They're discussing Ideas Are All Around. I have it at school and now I am eager to read it. I may even stop by tomorrow on my day off to pick it up. Beyond that, I am not sure which books I will pick up. I am eager to read something YA that's light and fluffy. If you have an idea, let me know. Thanks!