Reading Teacher Writes

IMWAYR: May Weather Is Nice

IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop with kid lit co-hosts Jennifer from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from 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. It’s a great way to share what you’re reading and get recommendations from others. We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs each week.

May weather is finally here! Sunny at 80 degrees on Sunday and this week is supposed to be nice. I will be outside more, but I plan to finish some titles. I wish you a Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, too! I appreciate all of you!

Libro.fm: I can’t wait to finish listening to Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith. It’s perfect for high schoolers and Halloween.

NetGalley: If you know me at all, you know that my NetGalley account is neglected much of the time. But my friend, Elly Swartz has written yet another fabulous story that MUST be shared! We have to wait until October 31, 2023, though. (Hey! That’s Halloween! Am I on to a theme here with this post?)

Physical Books: I want to catch up on some award-winners and (again) if you know me, you know I love nonfiction! Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration by Elizabeth Partridge and Lauren Tamaki won the 2023 Sibert Medal (nonfiction). Flipping through the ARC I have, I can see that it’s going to be amazing!

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Happy May Day!

It’s May! The last month of this semester at school and I’m ready for summertime! I wish you the best as you finish out your school years, as well. Here’s what I’ve been reading.

Physical Books: Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney

Libro.fm: I’m loving Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith!

NetGalley: I’m still logging on when I think about it to read Hidden Truths by Elly Swartz. I love ALL her books, and this one is great, too!

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

Book Review: Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney

This memoir was written over a decade ago, prior to the passing of the author, but it still needed published. Thank goodness that Jerry’s family shared — Mr. Pinkney’s story is relatable as readers are immersed into the all-Black block in Philadelphia called East Earlham Street. Readers get to know Jerry as a boy, drawing on his bedroom walls and playing cowboys with his best friends. We see Jerry coming in late for dinner, staring in silence as his sisters teased him and called him “Jerry-with-a-nickname-and-no-middle-name!” But he was not “just Jerry,” as everyone would find out later.

We learn that Jerry’s dad taught him to use a saw to build, and the importance of focus. We learn that Jerry had trouble in school, as many of us did. Jerry’s teacher recognized his struggles and helped by asking him to draw so that he could participate confidently in class projects.

As Jerry became older, he discovered that he could, in fact, draw well, illustrating some of the most important books of our time. Once Jerry met John Liney, the successful artist who created the comic strip, Henry, he knew that he could be an artist, too. Jerry Pinkney won many awards for his efforts, including the Alumni Award (Philadelphia Museum School of Art) and the Caldecott Medal.

As a teacher-librarian, I loved the Editor’s Note that explains how Jerry wanted to have this book be “friendly to readers with dyslexia, and to that end the body text is set in a font specifically designed for that purpose.” I also appreciated the historical family and book cover photos and the timeline at the end.

This book is a keepsake – a wonderful work of art itself that helps us to remember the boy, the artist, and the legend, Jerry Pinkney.

Recommended for ages 10 and up and all future artists. 5 Stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

IMWAYR: National Library Week – Let’s Read!

Happy National Library Week! Read anything you want today, on The Right To Read Day! Thank you to Unite Against Book Bans for supporting readers. Thank you to the American Library Association (ALA) for your continued work to support reading and readers. I’m also blessed to know people who support ME as a reader, teacher, and librarian.

This week, I’m still administering standardized tests, but that’s not stopping me from doing the real work – encouraging students to be themselves, to be readers, and to be “smarter than the average bear.” (Bear = School Mascot)

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Down, But Reading

I’m down this week! ILearn testing begins tomorrow and I stayed home with a migraine today, AND I did something to my wrist and can barely type. I CAN read, though! Pictures below.

Physical Books:

Libro.fm:

NetGalley:

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

5 Kinds of Nonfiction

Did you know there are 5 Kinds of Nonfiction? My friend, Melissa Stewart, and Dr. Marlene Correia wrote 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction With Children’s Books and has generously shared resources and book lists for teachers, librarians, writers, and the rest of us!

Did you also know that Ms. Stewart updated those resources with even more titles on the book lists?
Thank you, Melissa! (Click here to read more.)

5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction With Children’s Books by Melissa Stewart and Dr. Marlene Correia (Stenhouse Publishers, 2021)

IMWAYR: Spring Break Reads

The Bad News: Spring break was much too short and the weather was not the best. The Good News: I had plenty to read! It’s Poetry Month, so I’ve been digging into former poetry reads and finding new ones. I also had time to listen on Libro.fm and open NetGalley again.

Physical Books: My poetry reads included Alive At The End Of The World by Saeed Jones, Glory in the Margins: Sunday Poems by Nikki Grimes, and How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander, Deanna Nikaido, and illustrated by Melissa Sweet.

Libro.fm: I’ve been listening to Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers, edited by Rose Brock, narrated by various voices and I just downloaded the long-awaited Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith, narrated by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Charley Flyte.

NetGalley: I’m still not good at reading on NetGalley, but I saw some favorite authors this week, so I’m motivated. Hidden Truths by Elly Swartz, History Smashers: Christopher Columbus and the Taino People by Kate Messner and Jose Barreiro, and Only Only Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly are books I cannot wait to add to the library this fall.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: A Few New Titles

I read a few new titles over the weekend and today. There are many good picture books coming in 2023! I’m excited to use these with students. Bear is Never Alone by Marc Veerkamp and Jeska Verstegen, translated by Laura Watkinson (Eerdmans Books, 2023), is a look at what happens when one has “had it up to here!” Bear loses his cool after all the forest animals demand more of Bear’s beautiful piano music. It’s Zebra who comes to the rescue, sitting quietly with Bear and reading after Bear’s outburst. The stress subsides as the book ends and makes Bear (and the reader) feel better.

A related title is Snail Trail by Ziggy Hanaor, illustrated by Christos Kourtoglou (Cicada Books, 2023). “Marjorie was a happy snail. She liked playing with her friends and spending time with her family. But occasionally, Marjorie wanted to be on her own.” Marjorie, like Bear in the story above, “loses it” when she gets overwhelmed. It takes her fellow snail friend, Bernard, to teach Marjorie a trick to keep others away.

These are both books I can see using in a classroom – maybe on a stressful or noisy day – and students and teachers can safely talk about feelings and the consequences of letting those feelings get the best of us.

How the Sea Came To Be (And All the Creatures In It) by Jennifer Berne and Amanda Hall (Eerdmans Books, 2023) is a wonderful new title that needs to be in STEM classrooms and school libraries. Written in three parts, this poetic journey through time tells how the “sea came to be – and all the creatures in it.” Jennifer Berne and Amanda Hall use poetry, colorful pictures, surprising page layouts, and bunches of backmatter to encourage children to observe, discover, and research our past and plan for our future. This picture book is gorgeous and interesting — readers will fall in love with the ocean and all the organisms in it. Teachers will love the glimpse at the eons and captioned notes about animals most of us have never heard of before. There are pages of key terms and concepts that dig deeper, yet are accessible to students. Recommended readings and more fill the end of the book, leading to a lifelong commitment to joyful exploration and care of our earth’s oceans.

Finally, I picked up Jack Wong’s When You Can Swim – a fictional account of a young person learning to swim. The idea came from Mr. Wong’s personal experience and it’s an idea that I found original and fun. Adults will remember back to the days when they learned to swim and will read this one with new “little fish.” The book releases in May (Orchard Books, 2023) and I cannot wait!

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Happy Spring!

It’s Spring! If the snow and cold ever go away, I’ll believe it. Ha! Happy fourth quarter of school, happy spring, happy reading! School is super busy until spring break now, but I’m still on track with my reading.

Physical Books: I received a lovely book mail package today with the new book, The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story by Dezh Azaad and Nan Cao, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. It’s the story of a family who lives on their carpet, and wherever they happen to be, the carpet brings them “home.” I love hearing about family traditions and cultures, and The Carpet is perfect for sharing.

I’m still reading Rosewood: A Midsummer Meet Cute by Sayantani DasGupta. It’s perfect for catching that spring/summer vibe.

Libro.fm: I’m still listening to Finally Seen by Kelly Yang and I LOVE the characters! The narrator (Cindy Kay) is good and I’m enjoying my commute to work while hanging out with Lina.

NetGalley: I’m reading Dear Medusa when I can. I feel for Alicia early in the book. This one is sad and scary and makes me angry. I wonder how long it will take to get challenged or banned. (I’ll be mad about that, for sure.) I’m still a fan of this cover! Perfect!

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Book birthdays and Re-Reads

Physical Books – New: Happy Book Birthday to John Schu and Lauren Castillo! It’s FINALLY here! This Is a Story is a long-awaited picture book for celebrating readers and reading. I was lucky enough to see this one before it publishes tomorrow. Look at this cover! (That’s how I hold new books – I hug them!) There’s even a poster on the inside of the jacket. Share this story with all your friends and family!

T.P. Jagger is in town! My author friend came to visit for a few days and meet students from our district’s elementary schools. We are having so much fun talking about writing (secret tips!), reading, and T.P.’s series, Hide and GEEK. These four friends – Gina, Edgar, Elena, and Kevin (the GEEKs) – are having adventures and solving mysteries and our readers love the series! In the first book, the GEEKs try to save their town as the famous toy factory that manufactured the Bamboozler is shutting down. In the second book, someone is trying to say the GEEKs are frauds! What? (You’ll have to read and find out.)

NetGalley and Libro.fm: I’m still reading Dear Medusa and listening to Finally Seen. These books are keeping my attention even though I just started a very busy week.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?