It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!
This past week was a weird one for reading. I’m trying to get in some adult titles before school starts again, but I want to keep up on my middle-grade and YA reading, too. I thought it would be fun to do a little author study, so I chose recent and upcoming Steven Sheinkin titles. Plus, I finally got to read the new Rex Ogle ARC and I read Sharks in Kansas, the new, fascinating picture book by Melissa Stewart.
Libro.fm: Diamond Fever! A True Crime Story in the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin, narrated by James Fouhey is an adventure that brought mystery, true crime, and American history to life. I paired listening with the printed book (Roaring Brook Press), which has short chapters, graphic novel panels by artist Jon Chad, and a wealth of source notes and hefty bibliography, which made the reading experience even better. This is a must-read for fall!
Physical Books: (ARC) Mind vs. Machine, by Steve Sheinkin and Maurice Ashley, with art by Thien Pham. Publishes in September 2026 (Roaring Brook Press). This book is timely! As AI discussions are ruling the internet, we read about a chess match between a human and an IBM supercomputer back in May of 1997. This graphic novel will be a hit with students and adults alike.
Sharks in Kansas, by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander is a fabulous nonfiction book about dinosaur sharks that once lived in the Western Interior Seaway, which was a “watery world” about 85 million years ago, where the US state of Kansas is now. I know students who will grab this title off the library shelf and probably try to keep it, so I have a copy for myself, too. (Random House Studio, 2026)
NetGalley: Rex Ogle does it again! Absent is fabulous! (Illustrated by L.J. Baptiste. Publishes in September by Norton Young Readers.) Why do we need to attend school again? What’s the point? Mr. Ogle is a master storyteller for the middle school child. (That cover! It speaks to my middle-school heart.)
It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?
Reading Teacher Writes 