It's Monday! What are You Reading?

This was a crazy week since we went on vacation to Yellowstone and Montana. Last week I don't think I did a post, so I have quite a  few books to choose from as I look over what I have been reading.

Best Middle Grade Action/Adventure: The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. With that, I have finally finished reading all of the 2011 Nerdy Nominees. Wahoo! I had put off reading Son of Neptune because it was a sequel and both of them and they were quite lengthy. I am glad that it made the Nerdy list though or I may never have gotten around to it.  They were fantastic, on the edge of your seat kind of books. 

Best Y/A Action/Adventure: I had been saving Insurgent for my vacation. It was hard to wait, but it was great to have time to re-read Divergent and then follow it up immediately with the sequel. These were also well worth the wait. Now I need Roth to get the next one out in light speed.

Most Bizarre: Death in Yellowstone was incredibly gruesome at times, but incredibly fascinating. The many crazy ways of dying boggle the mind. Also, people's capacity for making poor choices seems to be endless. I have to say that after reading the book, I was creeped out when out running along the road. I was just waiting for a grizzy, bison, elk, moose, or some other random creature to pop out at me. This isn't so unusual as it might seem since I passed bison and deer when driving into town.

Best Overall Reading Experience: On our way to Montana, we stopped in Beartooth Pass to hike a bit in the alpine tundra and when we arrived in Montana, one of the first things we did was go on a hike around Trout Lake in Yellowstone. Later that same day, I found Rachel Carson's fantastic book The Sense of Wonder on the bookshelf in our cabin. I will write a full review soon, but it was just awesome to sit on the back porch gazing at the Absaroka Mountains and reflecting on our hikes as I read Carson's encouragement to share the wonder of nature with the children in our lives. 

For the coming week: I never did get to Ginger Pye for the Newbery Challenge, so I will have to hit that this week. Otherwise, I am looking forward to Darth Vader and Son and for the rest, I am leaving it wide open. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This has been a pretty great week of reading. 

Newbery Challenge: I finished Johnny Tremain. This was a re-read. This hasn't been my favorite Newbery, but I have ehad njoyed this book all three times that I have read it.  The author really does an excellent job at creating a very human, flawed, annoying main character that still manages to get my sympathy.

Caldecott Challenge: I am really going slowly through this challenge. I will have to catch up a bit over the summer. I enjoyed reminiscing with Song of the Swallows. San Juan Capistrano was one of my favorite field trips as a child. The gardens were fantastic and the history of the place was certainly interesting.

See You at Harry's was the most emotionally difficult book that I read this week. Tears were flowing throughout this one. Jen Vincent and Colby Sharp were discussing this book and I have avoided reading what they said, but now that I have finished, I will finally get to see what they had to say about it. I am looking forward to that.

Picture Books: Blue Sky is simple and sweet while Beep and Bah is simply hilarious. My first grade students loved it.

I am the Book is my penultimate 2011 Nerdy Nominee. I really enjoyed the many poems about books and poetry. I am going to order this one for sure. I want to post two of the poems in my LMC for next year too.

Netgalley was kind to me this week and I was able to read three excellent graphic novels. Amulet #5 was filled with action and adventure and definitely will satisfy my students. Drama had plenty of drama and fantastic characters. I really enjoyed the memoir Little White Duck: Growing Up in China. There aren't that many books set during that time period in China so it is intriguing to read about it.

Funny Business had some very funny stories. I especially liked Eoin Colfer's story about how he came up with Artemis Fowl. The other one that really got me laughing was the one by Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka.

A Stone in the Soup: A Hmong Girl's Journey was a great discussion starter with my second grade students. The Hmong students had a lot to say and the other students were able to ask questions and hear some history of the Hmong people. It helped that the story incorporated a story everyone was already familiar with too.

For the next week I will be reading Rabbit Hill and Strawberry Girl for the Newbery Challenge. I am also going to start Book-a-day so I will likely just share a few of my favorites because I should be reading at a much faster pace. I finally have Finnikin of the Rock so it is in my pile for this week. I also checked out some new non-fiction. Happy reading!

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

Once again, I was swamped with schoolwork for my class, so I didn't get to read very much this past week, but I did get some great ones.

Middle Grade: I finally got to read Fake Mustache and it was quite the adventurous romp. It is a lifting-the-spirits kind of book that I needed mid-week.

Picture Books: I really scored at the bookstore this weekend! I bought Duckling Gets a Cookie by Mo Willems and Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.

The Duckling is once again absolutely adorable and understandably frustrating to the Pigeon.

Pete the Cat is of course his laid back groovy self again. The punch line is fantastic!

Newberry: I also made a little headway here. I finished Roller Skates which has a feisty and fabulous main character. Lucinda races along living life fully. I love her, but wish that the book didn't have so many negative racial/economic comments. They weren't always outright awful, but there is a patronizing tone towards people of diversity or with economic challenges. Lucinda is very open and accepting of everybody and cares fiercely for people, but the book is just very dated in the way her class knows best.

The White Stag was not a favorite for me, but at least it wasn't terribly long or boring. It just wasn't my thing. It was historical warrior stuff. I couldn't help but think of the Pevensie children chasing down the white stag in The Chronicles of Narnia though so that was one positive.

For Next Week:
I am reading Unwanteds (A 2011 Nerdie nominee), Thimble Summer (Newbery) and Why Culture Counts (Professional). I would like to finish all of those and the poetry book that I am reading Poetry Out Loud. I would also like to read some of the brand new books that just came in at my school library. It has been hard not to take home piles of them, but I just have too much to do. Happy Reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Newbery Challenge: This week the big finish was with The Trumpeter of Krakow which wasn't half bad. It had a bit of mystery, adventure, royalty, alchemy, and love.  It still might not hold the attention of modern day elementary students, but it was better than many we have read so far.

Caldecott Challenge: I quite enjoyed So You Want to be President. It was filled with random facts about presidents and the presidency. The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship was amusing. The Glorious Flight was entertaining and educational too. White Snow, Bright Snow made me wonder if we would get snow this month since the calendar in that book said March. The illustrations weren't my favorites. Drummer Hoff was certainly bright and bouncy, but a bit strange. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble was fun. The final one I read this week was Marshmallow. That bunny is really adorable.

STEMS Books: I was lucky enough to go to a STEMS resource afternoon to look at all kinds of great books. All the Water in the World is fantastic. I also liked Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships. It reminded me of A Friend Like You by Askani which I like a smidge better.  I saw a lot of other great books, but didn't get to read them all. I did order many of them so will get to them later this year.

Picture Books: We had a big treat when Linda Urban read Mouse was Mad to my first grade class. I finally read The Goodbye Cancer Garden which was really an excellent view of the journey of a mom with cancer and how her family works through the treatments together.  Rhyming Dust Bunnies, Nothing but the Truth, and Listen to My Trumpet were part of World Read Aloud Day celebrations. Cheech the School Bus Driver was one I buzzed through while window shopping. It was okay. Invisible by Katja Kamm was a rather unique and quite bizarre little book. Things become invisible as they pass into a background that matches them.  A Few Blocks was quite creative artistically. Brother Sun, Sister Moon was just beautiful. Crafty Chloe made me smile and The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore was just a neat experience. 

2011 Nerdy Nominees: Roots and Blues: A Celebration was worth the wait. I love Arnold Adoff. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was creepy and it completely sucked me in. How to Save a Life had me a little conflicted because I was getting tired of some of the teen voices and that doesn't usually happen. Maybe it is because I have two teens in my home, but I wanted a break. Eventually though, the voices ceased to bother me because the story took over.

In honor of Women's History Month, I read Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World. Amazing women and well written.

Two more books this week were Kristy's Great Idea (Babysitter's Club Graphic Novel) and The Three Weissmanns of Westport (adult fiction).  I liked the graphic novel, but the Weissmanns was another one where certain character voices became annoying.

For the coming week, I plan to read Vanished by Sheela Chari, Hitty (for Nerdbery), and the new Marty McGuire. I will also read Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Other than that, I will likely hit a few Caldecotts too. I never realize how many books I read until I post this, then I am a little shocked at the number.  I wonder if the trend will continue. I so love to read.

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

Whew! It's been quite a week. I had an exhausting event on Friday and Saturday to prepare for, but recovery was nice as I was able to just read for most of Sunday and catch up.

Newbery Challenge: I finished Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon which was the 1928 Newbery winner. I actually enjoyed this one, but am really not sure that young children would be the right audience. I liked the cultural aspects that I learned throughout the story of this boy and his pigeon in India. This seems to give an authentic picture of life near the Himalayas.

Caldecott Challenge: It was a slow week for the Caldecotts.  First I read Blueberries for Sal the 1949 winner, which is one of my all time favorites. The pictures are fabulous, but it is just such a wonderful mother-love story and a great view of the natural world. Interesting too was that I read a New York Times post about the lack of such views in recent children's literature just this week. The second Caldecott I read was If I Ran the Zoo. See my not so positive review here.

2011 Nerdy Nominees: I have slowly been chipping away at these over the past few months. I really enjoyed the ones I hit this week -  Graphic novels Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory and Feynman.  Feynman got a little complicated, but as he seemed to point out often, we don't always have to understand everything. I also got to experience Elephant Scientist another fabulous book in the Scientist in the Field series.

Seuss books: In my classes I shared Hooray for Diffendoofer Day, And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street, There's a Wocket in My Pocket, and I Can Read with My Eyes Shut. All of these were met with smiles and laughter.

Random Non-fiction: The Boy Who Bit Picasso is a great introduction to the man and his art told through a child's perspective. I loved it.  Black and White: The Confrontation of Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor was intense. It reminds me of how bad things have been for some people and how courageous some people have been in the face of injustice.  Finally, I did read one adult book What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love. It was a little like reading a People magazine, but with more depth.

Random fiction: I read quite a few family books. Sunday is for God is a look at a family and their typical Sunday routine. It is a quiet, peaceful, and homey book.  I was finally able to read The Great Wall of Lucy Wu and I really loved it. It is a family book. It is a growing up book. It is a wonderful middle grade novel.  And the last one I read of the week made me cry. A New Year's Reunion: A Chinese Story shows a father coming home for the New Year celebration. This is happy, but it is also sad because he is a migrant worker and this is the only time of the year that he is with his family. The pictures are beautiful and the story more so. 

For this coming week I plan to start The Trumpeter of Krakow for the Newbery Challenge, I will read some more Caldecotts, and I mean to read a few more 2011 Nerdy Nominees like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, How to Save a Life, and Roots and Blues: A Celebration among random books that come my way.  I am also looking forward to hearing a lot of good readers on World Read Aloud Day so I will get to experience some books that I am not necessarily expecting.  Have a great week reading!