Monday, February 17, 2014

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.

The Past Week: 

Picture Books


There are so many titles, I will have to let the ratings speak for the most part. I was lucky enough to attend Anderson's Children's Literature Breakfast so I heard Jon J. Muth share about making Hi, Koo! I think that added a bit to my delight in the book, but his illustrations are just so fun and beautiful and the haiku and art complement each other very well. That was a stand-out for me. Almost to Freedom touched my heart and I loved learning about the history of We Shall Overcome (oops that should be down in my non-fiction section). The Tortoise and the Hare had fabulous illustrations that were much like those in the Lion and the Mouse. The Negro Speaks of Rivers was breath-taking. There were a lot of great picture books in my hands this week.

Non-Fiction


Both of these books were very engaging and provided tons of great information. I shared Farmer Will Allen with my first grade students and it was just the right amount of text for them. Any more and it wouldn't have worked as well. He is quite and interesting man with a great project of bringing healthy food to urban areas. Josephine was another intriguing person. She had a passion for dance and she followed her strength. The book communicated her energy and fire.

Middle-Grade/Young Adult


I enjoyed Romeo and Juliet and reviewed it over on Rich in Color. I finished an ARC of Saving Baby Doe, but I am still ruminating so haven't rated it yet. I'll be writing a review sometime this week here on the blog.

The Coming Week: 


I am still listening to The Lacuna on a Playaway. I am listening to Article 5 on CDs in my car. I only have 3 CDs left so should finish soon. The other one is for school. I also started the first Hank Zipzer book after meeting Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver this past weekend (see my Celebrations post). I will likely read some other books that I bought at the Children's Literature Breakfast also. Have a great week!

10 comments:

  1. I loved Josephine, too! That one was a surprise for me. It was so much fun picking up new books this weekend. My new favorite is Maple by Lori Nichols. Did you see that one? It's a must-read!

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    1. I have seen Maple and heard people talk about it, but I haven't gotten it into my hands yet. I think I'll like it. :)

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  2. Wow-lots of good books you read here! I have Weeds Find A Way from the library, so need to read it! Thanks for sharing especially the good NF books. Lovely to have good reviews!

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    1. I really had fun with Weeds. They are much maligned, but can be wonderful.

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  3. I missed the conference this year! For some reason I only seem to make it to their YA conference. The breakfast just comes at a bad time of year. Glad you had such a good time and look at all those amazing books you read.

    What We Read

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    1. I would love to get to the YA conference too, but am not sure if I can justify that one since I am in an elementary. :)

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  4. I read WEEDS last week too, and I loved the illustrations. Thanks for sharing all of these books. I have had Article 5 on my TBR list for a long time, so I am looking forward to your review!

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    1. I only recently heard of Article 5. I am enjoying it though at times I just want to grab the main character by the shoulders and shake her.

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  5. Hi there Crystal, we have finally been making progress with our Goodreads account - we're catching up on 2013 and we've been actively updating our 2014 one with our mobile app of goodreads. Makes it easy somehow. My daughter is currently listening to the audiobook version of The Book Thief - it's our first audiobook experience, and I will probably share my experience with this soon. The Negro Speaks of Rivers does look gorgeous. Unfortunately, we don't have it in our public libraries. I do own a physical copy of Lacuna - I hope to read more adult novels this year and the next. :) Have a great reading week!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. I loved The Book Thief on audio. It's one of the best. Have a good week. :)

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