Reading Challenge Update

I am participating in several reading challenges this year. The one hosted by Latin@s in Kid Lit fits nicely with Diversity on the Shelf. They both help to keep me on track to tackle my "Must Reads for 2014" too. In addition, I am also slowly plugging away at the Printz and Caldecott winners.

Here's what I have read so far:

Latin@s in Kid Lit

I reviewed all of them on Goodreads. I am looking forward to continuing this challenge. There are some great books out there and it is cool that Latin@s in Kidlit rounded up all of the books we read in January so we can see more titles to choose from and they recommended several that work for this challenge and Black History month too. 

Diversity on the Shelf (including the ones above) 

I reviewed these on Goodreads too except for Shadow Hero since it won't be released until July. The Diversity on the Shelf link up for January is here. I did not link all of mine since that would be craaaazy and I don't know if she meant to deal with picture books either. Kindred, Shadow Hero, Inheritance, Little You, and Maria had a Little Llama were my top five.

Must Reads

I have 110 books on my "Must Read" shelf and so far I have gotten to 18 of them. Some of them were for the challenges above.

Printz Award

I wasn't a big fan of either of these, but they both had serious subject matter. Do happy books ever get the Printz? 

Caldecott

These books were captivating. I have read Owl Moon many, many times and it always takes my breath away. Golem was very cool and totally reminded me of Frankenstein, but I think that this book was based on a story that pre-dates Shelley.

Overall, I am clicking along and am having a great time diving into these books. I can already see a change in my reading habits and it's a good one. You are welcome and in fact encouraged to join in any of these challenges at any time. 

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

You may find more complete information about what I am reading at Goodreads.com or by clicking on the Goodreads widget along the side of my blog.

The Past Week

Newbery Challenge - No progress. Ack!

Caldecott Challenge

Duffy and the Devil is a Rumplestiltskin story and it made me giggle. The pictures didn't wow me though. I thought they were unique, but not out of this world.

Picture Book

I finally got my hands on Laurel Snyder's Good night, laila tov. I had meant to read that awhile ago after we had a wonderful Skype visit with her in the spring, but my list of books just gets out of hand and I forget at least half of what I mean to read. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it for bedtime - or anytime really.

Non-Fiction

Just Being Audrey was wonderful. I have read a few adult biographies of Audrey Hepburn and so finding this book made me smile. Reading it made my smile grow even bigger. I love the illustrations! The text informed and shared her light, but my only complaint is that I wanted more information. That is the difficulty of picture biographies though.

Novel/ Printz Honor

For NaNoWriMo, I am writing a story with two narrators. One is telling her story in verse. So, I have a stack of books in my house that are of the Novel-in-Verse variety. Keesha's House was a re-read for me and I loved it again. Helen Frost does such a fabulous job of making poetry speak volumes. In few words, her characters manage to express so much. On top of it, she also uses a wide variety of poetry forms in her books. This one had sonnets and sestinas. She includes the rules for those forms at the end.

I didn't read any lengthy books this week, but otherwise, it was an excellent week of reading. Many books brought a smile to my face and several made me really think. 

For the Coming Week: I am having a hard time getting many pages read while I am working on NaNoWriMo so novels-in-verse are just the thing. I will continue to read through Thanksgiving books critically each day and will try to start M.C. Higgins the Great for the Newbery Challenge. I am not sure that I will get to much else though I want to start Malcolm at Midnight soon. We will see what I can fit into my very busy life.

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

You may find more complete information about what I am reading at Goodreads.com or by clicking on the Goodreads widget along the side of my blog.

Past Week:

Newbery Challenge

It is hard to choose a favorite between these because they are all so different, survival, animal fantasy, and realistic fiction. Summer of the Swans moved me, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH entertained me, and Julie of the Wolves made me question. The questioning led me to this review at the website Alaska Native Knowledge Network. I wish that Jean Craighead George had done a little more consulting before publishing, but the writing itself was well done. There were some inaccuracies and though I am sure she felt she was honoring the indigenous people, I am not sure that it turned out that way.

Caldecott Challenge

I really, really, really, love Lon Po Po. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story is wonderful too. I love that the eldest daughter uses wisdom in this difficult situation rather than needing an outside source of rescue. Hey, Al is a bit creepy to me, though I enjoy the pictures. I also like the moral, but am saddened that they are still stuck in the same place with no escape in sight.

Picture Books

I read too many picture books to share them all, but these were two that I really enjoyed. Both show a unique culture and family. Saltypie (my favorite book of the week) is a piece of history from the author's own life. Tim Tingle is quickly becoming an author that I want to know more about. I am always excited to see literature that presents modern Native Americans in daily life. A Mango in the Hand was very fun and I think that it would work well as a read aloud and could be used for discussion about proverbs and maybe as a jumpstart for some writing. 

Non-fiction/Poetry

I loved reading this great poetry collection related to the life and works of Marc Chagall. Fun fact learned: The title of the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof was inspired by one of his paintings. Cool.

Professional Development

I thoroughly enjoyed this challenging work. It prompts us to ask several questions when reading information such as: why was it written, whose perspective is presented, is it believable, does it match up with other sources? These are questions that I want my students to ask when they are looking at information online and when they are reading non-fiction texts of any kind. I want them to be thinkers and questioners, not just blind consumers of information. Their teachers need to model this in the classroom.

For the Coming Week: Now that one of my professional books is complete I will look to finish another, but I am not sure yet which one. I will begin reading Slave Dancer for the Newbery Challenge and also work on Laugh with the Moon and of course I will hit some picture books along the way. Since National Novel Writing Month AKA NaNoWriMo begins this week and I have a half-marathon next weekend, my reading may slow down, but it won't come to a complete halt. Have a great week of reading!

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

Past Week:

Newbery Challenge

This week was a good one for Newberys. I love, love, love, Claudia in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. She is a girl with a plan - a fabulous plan. I remember going to the Los Angeles Museum of Art on a field trip after reading this book and just imagining how Claudia did it all. The High King was also pretty fun. It was a trip down memory lane as I thought back to my earlier reading of both this and The Mabinogion (Welsh legends) that Alexander used in writing this series. For more on this visit my previous post here. Sounder was a less pleasant read, but certainly was powerful. I just really have a hard time with those sad books. It has made me cry each time I have read it. I am also not sure how I feel about Armstrong and how he chose to write the book without names and from the sharecropper perspective. I am not sure that he had the best point of view for it, but really, I will have to think about that some more.

Poetry

The McElderry Book of Mother Goose: Revered and Rare Rhymes was okay. I enjoy Mother Goose most of the time, but this particular collection didn't really catch my fancy. I am not entirely sure why, but maybe there just weren't enough of the ones that I love. Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems was a fun exploration of elephant facts. The poetry was nice, but not out of the ordinary, but I did like the combination of poetry with the non-fiction.

Middle Grade Novel

Three Times Lucky was highly recommended to me, but it was another book that didn't quite grip me. It took a long time for me to finally get past the feeling that the characters seemed unreal. I enjoyed the humor of Mo, but she just wasn't believable. She seemed too funny, too precocious, and the lines were just too snappy for me to settle in. Eventually, I just accepted the book as humor and moved on to the mystery. 

Picture Books

I re-visited Crossing Bok Chitto and still find the illustrations and the story very engrossing. This is a fantastic tale of friendship, bravery, and a bit of magical realism. Loved it. 

I also had fun reading Joseph and His Little Overcoat. The collage was very entertaining and the cutouts added a uniqueness to the book. The story was very cute. Of course, I had to wonder if the author of I Had a Favorite Dress had read this once upon a time and was inspired. They would be fun to pair together.

I almost forgot, I also read the newest Elephant and Piggie book, Let's Go For a Drive. This completely made me thing of John Schu and his road trip with his friends Donna and Ivan and all of the things they collected as they prepared to go. I had to wonder if he had read an ARC of this before writing about "Every Road Trip Needs..."

Still Reading

I am nearing the end of Lies My Teacher Told Me, but still have a ways to go with Other People's Children, and Courageous Conversations About Race. 

The Coming Week: Hopefully, I will finish up some of the books above. I have just started the next Newbery Summer of the Swans (another re-read). I have a few Caldecotts on hold at the library to pick up this week and I finally got Shana Burg's Laugh with the Moon today. It should be a good week. Happy reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

Past Week:

Professional

I am within the final 100 pages, but will still be working on this one. I just attended a workshop with an intense focus on culturally responsive teaching and how to have Courageous Conversations About Race. I appreciate the way the book challenges the status quo and helps encourage us to find our voice. I look forward to continuing the journey with my peers that went to the conference.

Newbery Challenge

Shadow of a Bull was an interesting look at bull-fighting and a young man deciding his future. I found the author the most intriguing though. Maia Wojciechowska and her family fled Poland during WWII. During her life she mastered five languages, lived in many countries, braved parachuting, bull-fighting, and many other things. She seemed to have lived a vibrant life. I would have loved to meet her.

Caldecott Challenge

The Christmas Anna Angel had some awesome folk art details, but the story itself was a bit lengthy for me and didn't hold my attention unfortunately. This isn't really one I would recommend.

Picture Books I Enjoyed

Rocket is again adorable and I loved the interaction between him and the owl. This is also a great way to show how the writing process works. Nighttime Ninja is sure to be a hit with my many students that are always requesting ninja books. The illustrations are fantastic and the plot is just too fun.

Picture Books for the Older Crowd

It's not that young children can't or shouldn't read these, but I think adults will get the humor and/or intentions of the author just a bit better. I believe that All My Friends are Dead was truly written for an adult audience. It is definitely filled with humor, but though the jokes aren't really inappropriate, they just aren't kid jokes. With the Sendak book, We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy, I was not as sure who he was writing for beyond just communicating. The work is filled with politically charged subtexts through the illustrations though he was simply using two nursery rhymes as the main text. Without adult input, I am not sure that children would get what he was doing because I am not altogether sure myself. This is a great discussion starter about poverty and homelessness no matter the age of the readers though.

Concept Book

Tana Hoban's books are so simple, yet filled with information and fantastic pictures. I snagged this one for the pre-k teachers to use during their dot unit. Count and See goes well with dots as each number has dots to represent it. I am ordering a copy for us to use next year with our Dot Day celebration. 

Favorite Book of the Week

Splendors and Glooms had such a fantastic sense of place. I loved falling into the book each time I picked it up. The characters were full of life and won my heart. The mystery and adventure kept me enthralled. I can't wait to talk this one up to everyone I see. 

The Coming Week:

I have just started Three Times Lucky, a middle-grade mystery set in the south. I am about to begin I, Juan de Pareja for the Newbery Challenge. I am also going to hit some of the books we just got and are just starting to process. It should be a good reading week.

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?

Newbery Challenge: This week I finished Dobry. It was a folksy family story about a young peasant boy in Bulgaria who is being raised to be a farmer though he is a talented artist. It was interesting to find that this was based on an actual artist's story.  I had to search pretty hard to find this article about the origins of the book. 

Caldecott Challenge: I didn't read a single one this week. How did that happen?

2011 Nerdy Nominees: I also got to read Bookspeak! Poems About Books. I thought the art was fun and many of the poems were really fantastic. I can't wait to share some of them with my students.

Non-fiction: Come and Eat by George Ancona is a great look at the variety of ways that people around the world eat.  Project Puffin: How We Brought the Puffins Back to Egg Rock came with the adoption of our Puffin. Walden Pond Press adopted it in the name of our library in honor of the Neversink book release. I learned all kinds of puffin facts. I am just tickled to know that the babies are called pufflings. It just makes me smile.  Just Like Me: Stories and Self-Portraits of 14 Artists was excellent. It is a great volume because it highlights a wonderful mix of artists.

Picture Books: I loved the beautiful pictures in And Then It's Spring. Bee & Bird was a neat look at perspective in a wordless book.

Chapter Books: The Legend of Diamond Lil was another fun part of the J.J. Tully Series by Doreen Cronin. The Whole Story of Half a Girl was a great middle grade book about feeling different. This book is from the perspective of a girl who is half Jewish and half Indian. Glory Be is historical fiction during the civil rights movement and was quite engaging.

Graphic Novel: The Unsinkable Walker Bean was certainly full of action and adventure. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I know quite a few students at my school that would LOVE it.

Young Adult: Vintage Veronica is by Erica Perl. I love her younger books so grabbed it up when I saw her name. It really kept me on my toes since I could never predict what would happen next. 

For next week: I really, really, really need to finish writing my research paper, so I am going to try to limit my recreational reading or I will be in trouble. Ack. I will maybe read a few Caldecotts to make up for last week and just finish reading Caddie Woodlawn unless I finish my paper early. I wonder if I can actually hold myself to that?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Since it is Spring Break for me, I got quite a few books read over the past week. Just the way I like it. :)

Newbery Challenge: I read Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze and actually was surprised that I enjoyed it more than I expected. It wasn't earthshaking, but it was also not hideous like some of the other "multicultural" early Newberys have been. Another was Invincible Louisa. That one was a re-read because I went through a Louisa May Alcott phase in upper elementary and middle school and read all of her novels and several bios. I enjoyed it this time too though it seems Meigs hero worshiped a bit.

Caldecott Challenge: I only read two Caldecotts over the past week. I read the Girl Who Loved Wild Horses which isn't awful, but it would be better if the author had included source information. I also read The Village of Round and Square Houses which again, wasn't awful, but wasn't fantastic either. 

Picture Books (Fiction and NF): A Party in Ramadan by Mobin-Uddin was really good. It showed a girl trying to keep her Ramadan fast in spite of attending a friend's birthday party where there will be food.  The Odd Egg by Gravett is great with a surprise ending - maybe not best for pre-school since they may be startled. Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom is a fantastic way to introduce the underground railroad to young children. I am Different Can You Find Me? is a great look and find type book that has world languages as its content. Finally, Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What Are Patterns? is a gorgeous book with fantastic photographs of patterns - both manmade and natural.

2011 Nerdy Nominees: After this week, I only have 5 more left!! I read the YA book The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic which was really appropriate as this is the week of the 100th anniversary of the sinking. Paired with a re-watching of the movie, it was pretty incredible. I loved the constant switching to different perspectives. The iceberg's voice was (forgive me) chilling. I loved that it was included. I also finished Wither by DeStefano which was a great dystopian book.

Graphic Novels: Luz Sees the Light was a bit preachy, but it was okay. I definitely preferred the biographical Fatty Legs: A True Story about a woman's residential school experience years ago as an Inuit.

Middle Grade: Crow by Barbara Wright was absorbing historical fiction. I can see this one potentially winning awards.

Young Adult: I think my favorite book over the week was The Running Dream. Somehow the main character really tugged at my heart. Why We Broke Up was okay, but I got annoyed sometimes by the melodrama. 

For Next Week: I plan to finish up Dobry and start Caddie Woodlawn. I will also finish up Blue Jasmine by Sheth and might finally get to The Genius Files. Then who knows. I have a huge stack waiting for me. 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! 

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It is hard to keep all of the books straight. I don't know what I would do without Goodreads. I am happy I don't have to deal with spiral notebooks full of titles anymore. Here is what I got to read this past week.

Newbery Challenge: I finished Smoky the Cowhorse and started Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon. Smoky was kind of slow going for a long while, but then towards the end the storyline picked up and it seemed like all sorts of things were happening. I am enjoying Gay-Neck a lot more already. I seem to gauge how much I like a book by the speed I read it. When I love a book, it just flies by.

Caldecott Challenge: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is the only one I recorded reading. Love that book!

2011 Nerdies Book Award Nominees: I finally read some graphic novels I had been waiting for. Page by Paige written by Laura Lee Gulledge was great. The artwork was clever AND beautiful. I also appreciated seeing Paige's struggle with her own creativity and personality. Even at my age, I am still wondering who I am. There was a similar flavor with Level Up by Gene Luen Yang. What a common quandary - what am I going to be when I grow up? The last one of these that I read was a picture book - Prudence Wants a Pet by Cathleen Daly. Simply adorable.

The only other book that I managed to squeeze in was Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. I have to say that being published anywhere near The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was not helpful to this book. Me and Earl is definitely a different kind of book. I am still processing this one. This was a bit of a ramble about a hard time in a teen's life. He narrates using a screenplay type of format alternating with traditional writing since he enjoys making movies. He portrays himself as a bit of a cold fish and so I had a hard time connecting with him. I appreciated the honesty of someone frustrated with the process of watching someone die. 

For the coming week, I have some professional reading to do, some caldecotts, finishing Gay-Neck, Feynman, Hera, and a few other 2011 Nerdies Book Award Noms. I would like to finish off that list and keep trucking with some 2012s soon. I am also going to be reading a lot of Dr. Seuss this week - always fun!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Newbery Challenge: I started Smoky the Cowhorse and am making steady progress.

Caldecott Challenge: I managed to read five books for this challenge in the past week.  Make Way for Ducklings has always been a favorite and I still love that feisty mama duck.  She is just awesome.  Prayer for a Child is all sweetness and nostalgia filled.  Chanticleer and the Fox is fun and fablish.  The Egg Tree was also a trip down memory lane as I thought of Easter one year on a cousin's farm hunting eggs and the times I have made eggs with my children for an egg tree of our own.  Finally, Ox Cart Man was a fun way to look at seasons. All in all a pleasant Caldecott week.

I did manage to finish the Ellen Degeneres book, Seriously...I'm Kidding, but was unfortunately underwhelmed.  The books that actually knocked my socks off this week are potential 2013 award winners.  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate was a fantastic story told by a gorilla.  I am not generally an animal story fan, so this is saying something.  The other wower was The Mighty Miss Malone. Christopher Paul Curtis has created another living breathing charming character that just pushes right into your heart.

Younger Books: Hot Hot Roti for Dadaji by F. Zia was fun and I loved seeing the interactions between grandfather and grandson.  Henry and Mudge and the Bedtime Thumps and Babymouse Burns Rubber were two series books that did not disappoint.

History: Breaking Stalin's Nose was a fantastic look into the past.  I appreciated the combination of text and pictures that told a story of two days in the life of a child of communism.  The story is compact and powerful.  I really appreciated seeing the author in a video on Mr. Schu's blog too.  It made the story come alive.  Another really fascinating piece of history was the book Drawing from Memory by Allen Say.  I loved this memoir especially since it had such a variety of illustrations including his early artwork, comics, and other bits and pieces.

Last, but not least, I finished Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley which won the Printz and the Morris awards.  I found it intriguing and certainly well done, but it wasn't exactly my typical type of story.  Because of the mysteriousness of the storyline, I was pulled along throughout, but it took a long time for me to really care about the characters.

All in all, a busy reading week.  For next week, I will finally, finally, finish Me and Earl.....  I have it on the computer upstairs and it has been where my daughter has been working on her school project every evening, so I wait.  I will also finish Smoky the Cowhorse.  I am planning on reading the Great Wall of Lucy Wu and several other middle grade novels and a passel of Caldecotts again.  I am going to finally read some Kashmira Sheth books too because she is coming to visit in April.  With a lot going on in my life, I am not sure if I will get as much time to read this week, but I will eek out as many reading minutes as I possibly can.  ;)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I am taking the easy way out today.  I am putting in screen shots of my Goodreads page.  I am super tired, but didn't want to skip this so here is my compromise.

I had a few favorites.  I had been looking forward to Bitterblue and was not disappointed.  It is another great fantasy and I liked it waaaay better than Fire and almost as much as Graceling.  Stick was seriously intense, but quite well done.  Kepler's Dream was a surprisingly engaging family mystery.  The pictures in Naamah and the Ark at Night were fabulous.  Hippo & 11 Experiments got some chuckles out of me.  I really enjoyed Redwoods.  I learned a lot of super interesting facts.  Nothing Like a Puffin was a really bright and fun book that explained puffins by showing what they are NOT like.

I also read to a group of children in Romania on Friday morning and had a blast with them.  I shared some Jack Prelutsky, Sugar Snow (a Laura Ingalls Wilder picture book), the Oneida book from above and Punk Farm.  Here is a video on their wiki.  If you are interested in reading with them, I would highly recommend it.  It was a great experience.  

For the coming week, I am finishing Seriously...I'm Kidding for real.  I only have 2 chapters left.  My attempt at Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was stymied when I could no longer open it on my NookColor.  I will finish it this week on my computer - not nearly as comfortable.  I am also planning to dive back into the Newbery and Caldecott challenges.  Smoky the Cowhorse is up next and I have a pile of Caldecotts.  It should be fun. :)  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Middle Grade Novels
These are the two chapter books I finished this week.  Both of them were wonderful.  I loved the people I met.  These were characters I wish I could meet for real.  Foster almost convinced me that cupcakes should be my favorite food.  Close to Famous reminded me that just because some things are easy for us, they can be very hard for others.  It made me really think hard about what might be going on inside some of my students.

Raine and the wonderful tumble of people she meets were real and quirky and inspiring. I appreciated that she had honest feelings dealing with her family and kept working at the relationships even when it got hard.  The personalities in Sparrow Road were very fun.

I took a break from Newbery, but will resume soon.  As for Caldecotts, I only read one - Alphabatics.  It was okay.  The crazy gyrations of the letters morphing into things were kind of fun, but it didn't really hold my attention.

I have had a super busy time the past week, so most of the rest of the books were what I read whenever I was stuck shopping and I stopped in at a bookstore for a few minutes waiting for other people.  My favorite of those was Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Kassen.  I really can't wait to read that one to my students.  They will love it.

I am in the middle of three books right now and so hopefully I will finish them up in the coming week.  I'm reading Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres, and Kepler's Dream by Juliet Bell.  All are good in their own way and it is always hard to figure out which one to pick up.  I need to start my next Newbery and get a few more Caldecott's under my belt this week, but I  have no idea if I can carve out that much time.  Here's hoping!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

What I Read this week:

For the Newbery Challenge I finished The Dark Frigate (1924) and got started on Tales from Silver Lands.  I did enjoy the pirates and ship adventures, but am struggling a bit to get through the tales.

With the Caldecott Challenge, there were many more titles this week.  I giggled through Madeline's Rescue, King Bidgood's Bathtub, Finders Keepers, and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, reminisced with The Rooster Crows: A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles and Wee Gillis, enjoyed visiting islands with The Little Island and Time of Wonder.  I also read Many Moons (rather silly characters) and Freight Train (fantastic concept book).

A few newer books caught my eye like Shoe-La-La! which was a silly romp with pink and sparkles.  I also stumbled upon two very sweet books Hug Time and one of my new favorites Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Peter Reynolds.   

   

Petunia Goes Wild was another fun book too.   I laughed and laughed through the newest Bink and Gollie: Two for One.  Those two friends are just fantastic and so full of life.  I smile the humongous smile with them.

I didn't manage to read many non-fiction books this week, but the ones I did read were wonderful.  I especially enjoyed Never Forgotten.  It's an amazingly powerful book that will stay with me for a long time.  The other non-fiction book I got to read was on the Nerdies list - A Butterfly is Patient and had beautiful illustrations.

For next week:

I want to dig in to some of the books that I learned about during the Youth Media Awards today - starting with Close to Famous and Tales for Picky Eaters.  I will finish Tales of Silver Lands and start Shen of the Sea.  If I get a chance, I will also read read Stick by Andrew Smith (YA).  And of course, I will keep trucking along with the Caldecotts.

Have a great week of reading!