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Monday, April 7, 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.

If you want to know more about what I am reading, visit me at my Goodreads shelfImages via Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

The Past Week:
Geisel Books


Be sure to visit the blogs of Colby Sharp and Mr. Schu to see their video reviews for the Geisel Challenge. I really enjoyed seeing the writing that was happening in Zelda and Ivy. Mercy was so fun and I truly had hot buttered toast for dinner Friday night in honor of the book. It was yummy. I don't know if I have ever eaten a half dozen pieces of toast for a meal before, but it was great. I am sure Mercy would approve, but would likely eat a few more pieces than that. My two favorites were Move Over Rover and Not a Box. I wrote quite a bit about Rover here. They are both exercises for the mind in different ways. They are high on the imagination and creativity scale. Last week I forgot to mention one other book that I read - The Pigeon Needs a Bath! I am including it here since Pigeon has potential for a future Geisel award as Willems has snagged a few of those. 

Poetry

It is poetry month so I am hoping to read at least one poetry book a week. Ahsley Bryan's ABC book is fabulous. I reviewed it over at Goodreads. There were several poems that really stood out - of course one was from Langston Hughes. 

Middle Grade/Young Adult


I would peg these both as middle grade, but I noticed that both were also tagged young adult by quite a few people on Goodreads. Milagros is out-of-print, but recently Meg Medina posted that it is being resurrected as an e-book. I flew through the book and got quite attached to Milagros. She sees people as they truly are and she is herself truly not matter what happens around her The Rock and the River was hard to hear (I read this one with my ears). I sat in my car crying on several occasions. Sam is a boy trying to become a man. His father is a leader in the civil rights movement and in this book Sam begins to see beneath the surface of that fight. Like One Crazy Summer, this book shows us a bit about The Black Panthers. The story, along with the afterward, provides a lot of background about the group and shows that they weren't just about violence which is the stereotype that many people have about the Panthers.

Adult


I adored Americanah. I will have to find time to read more of Adichie's novels. She has a fabulous sense of humor and writes beautifully. After I finished I went back and watched the video interview that she did recently about the book. Adichie is an amazing woman.

Reviews


I reviewed Electa Quinney and Soccer Star this week.

The Coming Week:
I am still reading House of Purple Cedar, Death Spiral and Lucca and the Fire of Life. I am highly likely to read something by Mitali Perkins too since she will be in town and presenting at the local university. Yay! I think Grasshopper Jungle and Port Chicago 50 may get a shot too. Not sure though. It's always a bit of a surprise. I will read the 2008 Geisel award winners also. Those are quick. Have a great week of reading!

12 comments:

  1. The Geisel challenge sounds intriguing. I really love most of the books that have earned the award. Not a Box was just adorable!

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    1. It is very fun to read the Geisels. They are so upbeat and fun.

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  2. All new books to me Crystal. I love learning about new ones! Thank you always!
    Happy reading this week! :)

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  3. I love the way you arrange your books, Crystal, makes it easy to read which book goes with what group, although I know not all fit so easily into a category. I love the look of Move Over, Rover, sounds so good! And I will look for Milagros and The Rock and The River-both new to me. Thanks much for the wide array!

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  4. I absolutely love THE ROCK AND THE RIVER, and I am so glad that it touched you as much as it touched me. It is an incredibly powerful title.

    I hope you have an equally great reading week next week!

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    1. I can't believe that I hadn't heard of The Rock and the River before. I would agree that it is very powerful. I would be interested in hearing student reactions.

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  5. I need to catch up with the Geisel challenge! Most of the books I've read before, but there are a handful that have escaped me--including Move Over Rover! Your review really intrigued me, so I'm going to look for that one this week. I'm reading Grasshopper Jungle right now--crazy and absorbing!

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    1. Glad to hear that about Grasshopper Jungle. :)

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  6. What a number of multicultural books you have here. I have to acquaint myself with Meg Medina's writing. The Rock and the River sounds like a very poweful read indeed. Good to see that you're making great progress with Geisel challenge.

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    1. Yes, Meg Medina is someone you don't want to miss. I enjoyed Milagros and her Yaqui Delgado was one of my favorite books from 2013. Her picture book about Tia Isa is wonderful too. I still need to read The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind.

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