Reading Teacher Writes

IMWAYR: Asynchronous Class and Reading Time

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!

I’m taking an asynchronous class so that I can renew my teaching license and add an Early Literacy endorsement, so I haven’t been reading as much as I want to this week, but I still have a few titles to share. Take a look!

Physical Books: I finished A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya and I loved it! Perfect for summer reading, a boy and his “famous author” grandfather spend time traveling and connecting (by choice and not) during a 10-day book tour. I’ve missed Pablo’s books and this one hit the spot.

As a purposeful learning method and form of personal “I can do what I want” message to the government, I’m reading books that point out the way citizens of this country live together, work together, and grow together. If only we could all READ together!

Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States by Rajani LaRocca and Huy Voun Lee (2025). Cover shows a happy family hugging, with a purple background, showing fireworks and a silhouette of the Statue of Liberty.

Wish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Nancy Carpenter (2025) shows the cover of a young person sitting on a tree branch in a big tree. The colorful letters, WISH IN A TREE meet the reader with joy and wonder.

Libro.fm: I started listening to Soundtrack by Jason Reynolds, read by a full cast. It’s an amazing production of music and excellent storytelling. Jason said in an interview that there is not a print version of this title. It’s meant to be heard as an audiobook. Good choice, Mr. Reynolds!

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Summer School Testing Week

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

It’s summer school testing week (already?) and I’m pretty much reading passages to students to practice IRead3 skills. In the meantime, I received a bunch of gifts in the last two days which will keep me going through July! I have such wonderful book-ish friends. Thank you to the Bookelicious team (Aliza and friends, you’re the best!), and Publisher Spotlight (Tracy, I appreciate you!).

“Bookelicious” Books: If you haven’t seen the Bookelicious site yet, check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Precious by Carlos Aponte (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025)

Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2025)

Awesome Earth: Concrete Poems Celebrate Caves, Canyons, and Other Fascinating Landforms by Joan Bransfield Graham and illustrated by Tania García (Clarion Books, 2025)

A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya (Kokila, 2025)

Publisher Spotlight books published by Ruby Tuesday (these look amazing, engaging, and fun):

Running a Business by Anna Young and Joanne Bell (2025)

Spending & Budgeting by Anna Young and Joanne Bell (2025)

How to Grow Potato Chips by Alix Wood (2024)

Let’s Investigate Plastic Pollution On Land and in the Oceans by Ruth Owen (2019)

Be a Water Scientist by Ruth Owen (2025)

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Summer School

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

Hello there! Is is okay to say I have NOT been reading, other than for organizing materials during summer school? Yes, I’m teaching summer school with 3rd graders who did not pass the IRead3 state test in the spring. Students have a chance to attend summer school and retake the test at the end of June. It’s a high-stakes effort, but I like teaching again. Here are some titles we are reading together:

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete, and illustrated by Shane W. Evans. (Scholastic, 2010)

Exclamation Mark (!) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. (Scholastic, 2013)

If the World Were a Village: A Book About the World’s People by David J. Smith and Shelagh Armstrong. (Kids Can Press, 2002).

My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor, and illustrated by Michelle Polizzi. (Harper Collins, 2018)

We will celebrate Juneteenth this Thursday with a day off school, but that doesn’t mean we won’t talk about the holiday this week. Sharing important topics, especially holidays, with children is one of my favorite things to do. Juneteenth for Mazie is one of my favorite titles, written by one of my favorite authors, Floyd Cooper (Oh, how I miss his magic!).

I love reading aloud to students! These books have become a daily practice for listening, predicting, questioning, summarizing, and finding pleasure in the reading classroom. I’m studying reading aloud as an intervention for my own research purposes, too; what a fascinating topic!

Other than teaching summer school, my husband and I have been walking our crazy boxer around the neighborhood in the evenings. This week will be hot, but I’m determined to move and stay healthy, so ask me next week if I’m still at it. The dog is about done with the heat already.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: May!

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

It’s May! We made it through state testing and we are looking at the end of the school year. Time to have some fun! Reading and writing are the best at this time of year because students can get creative and do some “passion projects.” Teachers can do the same!

This veteran, traditional teacher is learning some new creative outlets, too. I discovered a template in Canva (thanks, Susan E. Johnston!) and made some book ads for displays in the library. Check them out!

I know you might be thinking, “I knew how to do that already,” but it’s new for me and I liked working on these much more than I liked watching the news lately. Keeps me reading!

Happy book birthday to Kate Messner (The Trouble With Heroes), Kwame Alexander, and Jerry Craft (J vs. K)! Your wonderful books are out in the world and they are terrific additions to the school library!

Libro.fm: I’m still listening to Rebellion, 1776. I’m loving this story and the audio is perfect!

NetGalley: I started reading Legendary Frybread Drive-In, but I put that away during testing time. I’ll begin again this weekend.

Hey! Happy Teachers Appreciation Week! I appreciate everyone in education and all you do for all our students. Have a great week!

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: State Testing Week One

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

It’s state testing week, number 1, and I won’t be reading much this week besides the scripts for the tests. But…I’ll gather grand poetry titles and other enjoyable reading materials so that when we are done with standardized enterprises, we can once again have some fun with reading and writing before summer break.

Physical Books: I received this in the mail – thank you Scholastic and Erin Soderberg Downing! What Happened Then sounds like an on-point title for fourth quarter of the school year. I cannot wait to dig in. (Publishes September 2, 2025)

Libro.fm: I’m still listening to Rebellion, 1776. So timely! So wonderful! So needed! I wish our current government officials would read.

NetGalley: Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, is a collection of short stories that imagine “regulars at the drive-in, who might mosey down well-worn paths to its tall neon sign.” I’ll say more about this one soon. I just started. By the way, don’t you just LOVE this cover? (Publishes August 26, 2025)

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: One Week Until Spring Break!

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

One week left until spring break! Yesterday started a new calendar week with straight-line winds and a huge storm that caused much damage and power outages in our area. It’s amazing that more people weren’t hurt or killed in the 15-20 minute incident that blew through around 4:15 pm. Today the storm is over, but the bitter cold has returned. So much for an early spring. Our power was restored, thankfully, around 2:30 pm, so tonight I can type on my desktop again, enjoying the wi-fi while my husband and dog relax and watch a movie. The laundry is in the washer and the phone is charging. Now I can tell you about my week of reading.

Physical books: The Pinchers and the Curse of the Egyptian Cat by Anders Sparring, illustrated by Per Gustavsson (Gecko Press, 2025). Jon Scieszka called this little mystery “Goofy, good fun, criminally good.” I agree! The characters are the Pinchers, a family of thieves, except for Theo Pincher, who cannot lie and doesn’t like stealing. Tables are turned when Theo and his sister, Ellen (named Criminellen, Ellen for short) “shop” (read, “shopLIFT”) items at Pique’s Boutique and accidentally break a statue of Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess. When Nic (Mom) finds out, she’s sure that breaking the cat has terrible consequences for the family due to an old curse. This book is intriguing and fun to read – meant for elementary students, but silly enough for their teachers and parents to read and enjoy, too. Published by Gecko Press, this Swedish title is sure to please families of thieves and upstanding citizens, alike.

Libro.fm: I’m slowly listening to Rebellion 1776, the newest title by Laurie Halse Anderson (who I have missed!). I’m loving this one; there’s so much action in the first two chapters already. Elsbeth, age 13, seeks employment to avoid the orphanage during the forced evacuation of Loyalists from Boston in 1776. She cannot find her father and she is thrust upon the streets, looking for him while trying to survive as she tends to a wealthy family with smallpox victims (she had smallpox as a small child, so she’s immune now). War has begun, yet smallpox causes as many deaths as the battles. If you’re a fan of the Seeds of America trilogy, you MUST add this one to your list of historical fiction that matters.

NetGalley: I’m almost finished with Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner. It’s gripping and makes you think and want to change the world.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Birthday Week and Spring Holidays

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

My husband and I are celebrating his birthday this week — lots of restaurant gift cards and family fun. I read a few new things, but mostly I’m spending time with family and watching Notre Dame Women’s Basketball – go Irish!

Libro.fm and NetGalley: I’m still reading along with the audiobook, Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner. Being disabled and having a school shooting and having to deal with all that trauma…this book is moving. Honestly, I’m not sure how many students will want to read this one, but it’s important. I will probably read it aloud to a group; we can find community with this title.

Physical Books: I received a package of books from Publisher Spotlight (Thank you, Tracy!) and I’m loving these titles! So timely, too, as spring, Eid, and Easter are just around the corner. Look!

Eid for Nylah – Nizrana Farook and Zelma Firdauzia created a celebration for Nylah the cat, who doesn’t understand why no one in the family has time to play. The family and neighbors are all so busy! Nylah searches around and finds out during a walk in the park what the big deal is…it’s Eid! This is an adorable story to be shared. Eid al-Fitr is March 30 and observed on the 31st — time to celebrate!

Ellis Island Passover – Marissa Moss is a favorite author with Creston Books, and she used her grandfather’s story as her inspiration here. I love family stories and especially now, I love joyful immigration stories. Perfect for the spring holiday!

If you know me at all, you know I’m a fan of reading and helping readers, and this book is up to the tasks. Just One More Story by Perry Emerson and Sean Julian is about Pip and Bun, two very different bunnies. Pip LOVES to read, but Bun says, “Reading is BORING!” But when Pip tells Bun that reading isn’t for LITTLE bunnies anyway, Bun becomes interested. Of course, I love this title and with Easter coming up, maybe someone could receive this as a holiday gift.

Always looking for mystery chapter books, I came across (in that beautiful box from Publisher Spotlight) A Recipe For Trouble, An Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire story. My upper elementary and middle school “foodie” students will love this – “Paris, mid-1930s. Alice Éclair is a regular 13-year-old girl, whipping up amazing confections in her mother’s patisserie, Vive Comme L’Éclair. But she’s been receiving mysterious messages…” Ah! I was hooked by the back cover. Bonus: there are codes to crack and clues to find, which is fun!

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Middle of March

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

It’s the middle of March and I’m still dealing with the remnants of illness, but the neck pain and tingly fingers are new since I fell while walking on March 9th (darn uneven sidewalks!). I’ll start with my listening this time, since that is what I’m doing the most these days.

Libro.fm: I’ve listened to Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson and Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay. Fabulous! I love listening to audiobooks now! These stories are both still in my mind – just what stories are supposed to do – making me think.

Physical Books: So many picture books! So little time! My favorite new title is Who Ate Steve? by Susannah Lloyd and Kate Hindley. (Nosy Crow, 2025) Hilarious! According to the narrator, this book is supposed to be about BIG and small, but the small creature, Steve, cannot be found. Who ate Steve? Think of this book as a 2025 cross between This is Not My Hat (Jon Klassen) and We Do Not Eat Our Classmates (Ryan T. Higgins).

NetGalley: Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner is an excellent, necessary book – a realistic fiction novel-in-verse that Simon & Schuster introduces as: “A girl with cerebral palsy navigates loss, grief, and the aftermath of trauma following a school shooting in a world that wasn’t built for her in this deeply affecting novel in verse from Jamie Sumner, the acclaimed author of Roll with It.” I was moved by how students with special needs, such as a wheelchair, feel helpless even more-so than other victims because no one plans for them in these tragic circumstances. A must-read for upper elementary, middle school, and high school students and staff. (This book is also on my Libro.fm list.)

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Find the Light

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!

On this President’s Day, I don’t feel much like celebrating, but I am certainly reading to find the light in the darkness. On this day of protest, I stayed home due to the chilly temperatures and taking care of the house. It’s sunny and bright, which makes me feel a bit better, and knowing that I will share these new book titles at school soon gives me “warm fuzzies.”

Physical Books: I pulled a favorite out this morning – Light for the World to See by Kwame Alexander, which holds three poems he wrote a while back that almost make even more sense to read in 2025. Perfect!

I’m preparing for some read alouds and a presentation in March, and these new books are fantastic! They are lovely (and two are nonfiction, which I am always looking to add to my collection). Paula’s Patches by Gabriella Aldeman and Rocío Arreola Mendoza is about a girl who ripped her pants just as she entered the school building and tries to hide the hole from others. But the story is so much more than that! I love the idea of “patching” up items and problem-solving to “patch” feelings, too.

How to Bird by Rasha Hamid is for anyone who wants to learn how to notice, intentionally observe, and record findings while watching birds in your neighborhood. The book includes tools needed, steps to take, and ways you can share with others.

My favorite title of the week is Hello Beech Tree, also by Rasha Hamid and illustrated by Sofia Moore. This is the true story of a class of kindergarten students who loved a beech tree, lost that tree (it was chopped down), and reunited a few years later to plant a new tree in the school yard with a new kindergarten class. The book seems like a sweet fiction story, but it’s true! Just the kind of joy I needed to experience today. The back matter is critical in this book — I will read it aloud, too.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Continued + A New Picture Book

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!

It looks like illness is rolling over to February, but I’m hoping it will be gone soon. I’m still reading the books from January. School is crazy right now, as we are preparing for “the test” soon. We are doing our best to show growth in reading and math, and our staff is working hard each day to help students.

In the meantime, I received the newest book from Travis Jonker, Caboose. Nostalgia – remember getting into line in elementary school? Remember what DRAMA that was? Well, Travis does, and he wrote a book about the phenomenon, “lining up.” You must read it! It will take you back to your early school days, too.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?