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.

Last Week on the Blogs:

Celebrating our school

A review of What We Left Behind
(I was conflicted with this one)

A discussion post about Urban Tribes at Rich in Color

A review of Show and Prove at Rich in Color

Last Week in reading: 

 Young Adult

All of these were totally worth every minute of my time. Dumplin' was really an enjoyable read mostly because Willowdean, or Will as friends call her, is real. I totally loved this character. Show and Prove was difficult at the start. I didn't understand some of the vocabulary and the context in the first chapter, but I was so glad I stuck with it. I reviewed it (see link above) and recommend it for anyone interested in a story about friendship with 80s hip-hop in the background. Some Assembly Required is the memoir of Arin Andrews, a transgender man and mainly focuses on his transition during high school and what led up to it. I found it helpful to hear the story straight from someone going through the experience. This and the book Beyond Magenta definitely help me to see things I wouldn't have realized otherwise.

Middle Grade

Full Cicada Moon was a very interesting book in that the main character was both African American and Japanese living in a predominantly white community in the late 60s. She not only didn't "fit" racially, she also bucked gender norms. She wants to be an astronaut and take shop class instead of home ec. It's also a novel in verse - something I typically enjoy. I did like the book, but agree with Malinda Lo (see her excellent NY Times review here), that some of the situations around race towards the end were not handled in the best possible way. I enjoyed reading it, but cringed a bit at the end.

 

Hilo the Boy Who Crashed to Earth was amazingly fun. This graphic novel is packed with action, humor, and has a focus friendship. I cannot wait to share this with students. I think fans of Zita the Spacegirl are going to adore this one. 

The Honest Truth has been on a few potential Newbery lists so I wanted to check it out. It's a sad and courageous story. I can see why people have chosen it as a possibility. I read it in one evening.

Picture Books

 

Finding the Music/En pos de la musica is a warm family book about being part of a caring community. It also shares about mariachi music.  

 

Maya's Blanket/Le manta de Maya is another sweet book and I was happy to realize it is a retelling of the Yiddish song "I Have a Little Coat." It would be fun to read and compare this with Joseph's Had a Little Overcoat, My Grandfather's Coat or even I Had a Favorite Dress. 

The Sock Thief is simply precious. The young boy picks mangoes and then as he "borrows" socks from people in the neighborhood, he leaves a mango in payment. He uses the socks,  but does return them. It's has a quiet humor and is also charming.

Miracle on 133rd Street is about a family getting ready for a holiday meal. It turns into a neighborhood party and they each share something of themselves. It's another sweet story about a community caring and sharing.

I'm Trying to Love Spiders is a wonderfully illustrated absolutely hilarious non-fiction book about spiders. I laughed so hard. 

 

The Coming Week:  I'm still listening to I'll Give You the Sun and have just started reading Lizard Radio. I will probably start Shadows of Sherwood and The Way Home Looks Now. I have quite a few library books stacked up waiting for me too. It should be a good week for reading.

Reading Challenge Updates:
Diversity on the Shelf/Diverse Books - 209/100
Goodreads - 515/520
#MustRead2015 - 46/53
Diversity Reading Challenge - 12/12
Pura Belpré Challenge -86/86 (some were read prior to this year)
Around the World with Books Map