I probably won’t read much this week, honestly, due to students coming back to the school buildings and the Presidential Inauguration on Wednesday. I wish you all a thoughtful and reflective Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and hope for peace and love to continue into the future.
NetGalley Reading: I started Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, but the weekend got away from me. A young Indian American girl shifts between worrying about school and taking care of her mother, who has leukemia. The book publishes in February, so I still have some time before the pub date to finish.
Physical Books: I will finish Fault Lines in the Constitution by Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson before Wednesday’s inauguration. It’s an interesting and informative look at our laws and how they work.
Libro.fm Audiobooks: I’m listening to The Sea in Winter by Christine Day. With 1/3 of the book done, I can say that I really like Maisie and her family and I know my students will, too. (Heartdrum, 2021)
It’s MONDAY! What are YOU reading?
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.
This week I’m trying to keep the pace by reading instead of watching the news. The USA is in turmoil. I’ve decided that if I keep reading, I can be more intelligent and then I’ll know how to respond more appropriately to the news. I’m hoping to improve my attitude. NetGalley Reading: I will start Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca tonight. A young Indian American girl shifts between worrying about school and taking care of her mother, who has leukemia. The book publishes in February, and I’m lucky to be approved to read this already-popular title. Physical Books: I read This is Your Brain on Stereotypes by Tanya Lloyd Kyi. It’s an upper elementary/middle school-appropriate nonfiction look at the science of your brain and how it makes you to think the way you do. It’s interesting and easy enough to read and understand for my students. I liked it! I also pulled Fault Lines in the Constitution by Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson to read during this crazy real-life week. I received my copy of My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World by Malcolm Mitchell, who gives children and adults a reason to smile about reading books. I saw the author speak at a virtual event with Brain Lair Books (My very favorite bookstore) and he was wonderful! I can’t wait to share this with my elementary students. Libro.fm Audiobooks: I’m still listening to the last 20% of Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao. My priority is to get this one finished by tomorrow night.
It’s MONDAY! What are YOU reading?
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.
In an attempt to be more organized about my reading this year, I’m trying something new (we’ll see how long this lasts). Each week I’ll read physical books, listen to an audiobook, and read a NetGalley book, and then share my thoughts. This week I’m still working on 2020 titles while diving into my already-growing 2021 TBR list.
NetGalley Reading: I finished Booked: The Graphic Novel by Kwame Alexander, with art by Dawud Anyabwile. This dynamic duo already wowed me with The Crossover: Graphic Novel Adaptation in 2019 and now they are back to retell the story of soccer player, Nick Hall. I LOVED the story all over again and I can’t wait for students to see this one on January 4, 2022 (yes, we have to wait another year).
Physical Book of the Week: Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson
Libro.fm Audiobook: Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao
It’s Monday! What are you reading?
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.
I don’t read many books in one day, but The Shape of Thunder was such a gripping story, I had to finish before bedtime. Cora and Quinn used to be best friends, before Quinn’s brother did the most awful thing one can imagine to Cora’s sister, Mabel and others at the local high school. The girls cannot be friends now. It’s impossible.
It’s been almost a year since that terrible day. Can the two girls ever come to terms with what happened and be friends again? Maybe not. Maybe. Only time will tell.
Jasmine Warga weaves such intricate stories — readers are lost in the woods with Cora and Quinn, looking for answers that may save their friendship once and for all. Can Cora and Quinn turn back the clock? Using the scientific method, is it possible to travel back in time and change the story of that fateful day?
Family dynamics are at the heart of this novel. There is trauma and grief, but also love, wrapped with feelings that no one can share. Parents are imperfect and siblings prove that difficult relationships can tear a family apart, and the consequences are far-reaching.
Thank you, @NetGalley and @BalzerandBray for the early read. Thank you @JasmineWarga for another wonderful title, which I’ve added to my list of 2021 books to purchase. (May 2021)
Recommended for upper middle and high school. Trigger warning: death/school shootings
Cash Pruitt is a hard-working 17-year-old from Sawyer, Tennessee, who has a hard past. Now living with his grandparents, Cash mows lawns, attends Sawyer High School, and hangs out with his best friend, Delaney Doyle. The two share heartbreaks (Cash’s mom died of an opioid addiction and Delaney’s mom is headed down the same path) and adventures (traveling on the river and digging in caves). Delaney’s adventures include discovering a new medicine in those caves, a medical science breakthrough that leads to an invitation. Middleford Academy in Connecticut offers Delaney a scholarship to the prestigious private high school, but she says she won’t go unless Cash joins her.
How does a teenager just pick up and leave the only home he’s ever known? What will happen to Papaw if he isn’t home to take care of him? Papaw will surely die from emphysema if Cash leaves. Mamaw cannot handle working night shifts and taking care of her husband all by herself. Cash’s decision to stay might just mean he’s stuck in the little Appalachian town forever, with little hope of a better future. Delaney’s decision to leave might just mean Cash loses his best friend…forever.
Packed with references to commonly recognized settings (Dairy Queen, Little Ceasar’s Pizza, the Greyhound Bus Station, New York City…), readers will relate to Cash and Delaney and their story, eagerly following the two friends to their new home at Middleford Academy. The gorgeous language of Zentner’s storytelling, especially the details of scenes and scents, make the reader stop and appreciate nature, especially the river and how it nourishes the soul. Readers will also cheer for minor characters, other students who ascend on the school from everywhere in the world, who connect with Cash and Delaney and provide a family away from home.
In a welcome surprise, references to another Zentner title will help readers reminisce — a throwback that brings one forward to hope and renewed love of story. Follow Cash Pruitt’s path from small town boy to boarding school poet, living his dreams with him. Appreciate the intelligence of a strong female character with attitude, who can kick your butt, then give you a hug in the same scene, while all along working in the science lab to save the future. Grieve your losses alongside each of the characters, and lift your head back up to see the “wild light” that is waiting for you at the end.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing this digital ARC, and to Jeff Zentner for writing yet another wonderful book that celebrates nature, family, and friendships. In the Wild Light has an expected publishing date of August 10, 2021.
It’s December of the worst year ever, but there WERE a LOT of excellent books to read this year, so that’s the positive spin I will hold on to. Happy Holidays to all of you, and best wishes for the new year!
(My list of “best books” includes the books I read in 2020, published in 2020, and that I rated 5-Stars on Goodreads.)
Another busy week is behind me; I’m ready for the week to come, thanks to good books.
I finished the graphic novels and picture books from last week, and added another picture book. I won Hello, Neighbor! The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers by Matthew Cordell in the Perma-Bound webinar drawing! Thank you, Julie, Perma-Bound, and Matthew, for the signed book. It’s beautiful!
As I prepare for next quarter’s professional development, I will turn (again) to my reading mentors, Kylene Beers and Bob Probst and their new title, Forged By Reading: The Power of a Literate Life.
It’s MONDAY! What are YOU reading?
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.
I know I said I was going to start A Promised Land, but I got distracted by book mail at school. Our students are doing virtual learning this week, but teachers are still working in the buildings. Opening book boxes made me feel like Christmas came early. Look at what I pulled out to read before students return…
Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant and Frank Morrison (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2020). I’ve heard about this one, and now I have it, too. So exciting!
Look at this magnificent cover! Rainbow Revolutionaries: 50 LGBTQ+ People Who Made History by Sarah Prager and Sarah Papworth (Harper, 2020) has encyclopedia-like entries about people I’ve heard of, but my students may not recognize. This will be perfect for our research studies over the winter. I have to say, I stopped typing this post to read a little first…intriguing!
It’s MONDAY! What are YOU reading?
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.
Reading…continued…I will finish up the graphic novels from last week — Superman Smashes the Klan, The Oracle Code, and Doodleville — and add a new one to this week’s list, Twins (by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright). I’m so happy my indie bookstore, Brain Lair Books, had a copy for me.
Then I will start a new adventure. It will take me a while, but I’m up for the challenge. Barack Obama’s story, A Promised Land. Seven hundred, six pages plus a 45-page index. My goal is to have it finished by December 31st.
It’s MONDAY! What are YOU reading?
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.
I pulled a little collection of graphic novels out this week because we have three of them in our Battle of the Books stack this year and because Junior Library Guild delivered more with our school subscription last week. They will keep me busy, trying to keep up with the students and promoting the message, “Graphic novels are real reading!” Try some of these in your own reading life.
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh – Snapdragon lives in a town with her mom…and a witch neighbor. Jacks is scary, lives alone in a dark house, and sells skeletons from roadkill on the internet. When Snapdragon needs a favor, Jacks is the only one left to ask for help, so the two become companions, whether Jacks likes it or not. There are mysterious happenings and surprising relationships, and Snap wants to know what it all means, and how she is involved with the bigger picture of this little town.
This graphic novel comes complete with suspense and awe, and a cute little dog pal, to boot. Readers will take Snap in as a friend, and feel a family connection in the end.
Recommended for middle schoolers and up.
Beetle and the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne – Middle school students are going to love Beetle and her cute ghost-BFF, Blob Ghost. This graphic novel is perfect for independent reading time and focuses on friendships (new and old), family, and finding a way to stand up for yourself in times of trouble.
Beetle is a 12-year-old goblin-witch who is homeschooled by Gran, the Town Witch. She’s not very good at her lessons: she can’t fly a broom well and doesn’t know how to make potions. Beetle would rather dream about becoming a sorceress and hang out at the mall with Blob Ghost. But the mall is being sold, and will be demolished in one week under the control of the new owner, Marla Hollowbone, a former resident and Gran’s nemesis.
Can Beetle and her old friend Kat (Ms. Hollowbone’s niece) find a way to help Blob Ghost escape the mall and be free? Will Kat find a way to stand up to her power-hungry aunt? Will the town ever be the same?
Next up…Superman Smashes the Clan by Gene Luen Yang, with art by Gurihiru.
Doodleville by Chad Sell. Cardboard Kingdom by Mr. Sell was such a hit, we had to get this one into the library! I haven’t read it yet, but I will this week.
The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp and illustrated by Manuel Preitano (DC Comics, 2020)
It’s MONDAY! What are YOU reading?
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.
NetGalley Reading: I started Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, but the weekend got away from me. A young Indian American girl shifts between worrying about school and taking care of her mother, who has leukemia. The book publishes in February, so I still have some time before the pub date to finish.
Physical Books: I will finish Fault Lines in the Constitution by Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson before Wednesday’s inauguration. It’s an interesting and informative look at our laws and how they work.
Libro.fm Audiobooks: I’m listening to The Sea in Winter by Christine Day. With 1/3 of the book done, I can say that I really like Maisie and her family and I know my students will, too. (Heartdrum, 2021)
It’s MONDAY! What are YOU reading?
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.
Reading Teacher Writes 