It’s Monday! What are you reading?
Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. Follow the links to read about all of the amazing books the #IMWAYR community has read. One of the very best ways to discover what to read next!
Lots of reading this week. And some important writing:
- I loved sharing the wonderful sentiments from my students shared in our weekly Gratitude Circle in my Celebration post this week.
- I also wrote a post that has been brewing for a long time. Finally, I had the courage to finish it and press publish: The Part that is True. And then, I burst into tears. Sigh. Sometimes, sharing is a big risk. I have so appreciated the supportive comments and feedback.
And on to the books I have loved! My favourite picture books of the week:
Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle your Tongue by Jon Agee
These tongue twister poems are hilariously ridiculous. Many are battling it out to be my favourite. I will check back soon to see which has won! Sharing the one I plan to read first to my class – just because we have been talking about the courtesy of neat writing for the sake of the reader 🙂
Rotten Writing
Reading writing
When it’s written really rotten
Can cause your eyes and intellect to strain.
When it’s written really rotten,
Writing’s really rotten reading.
Yes, reading rotten written writing really is a pain.
Scoot! by Cathryn Falwell
I adored the celebration of nature and the liveliness of the rhyming text. In the final pages, Falwell explains some of her inspiration and how she made some of the collages using found objects from nature. A sample of the text:
Hustle! Hover! Flitter! Flee! On every branch and shrub and tree!
Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman
A picture book that invites you into its pages where much is happening after a pot of blue paint is toppled by a chicken. I love the splashing, splattering and wading through the spilled paint. And then of course, the delightfully simple problem solving at the end of the story! Would be a perfect story time book for younger students!
Open Very Carefully: A Book with Bite written by Nick Bromley and illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne
Titles that demand to be shaken, examined and rocked can’t miss! And then when there is a huge bite mark in the back cover . . . Yikes, beware! Lots of fun for an interactive story experience.
The World is Waiting for You by Barbara Kerley
Gorgeous photographs beckon you – get outside and explore something amazing! Star gaze, get your hands muddy or follow a path to anywhere. Back pages include details about some of the photographs and how the photographers managed to capture such images. Significant photos for me: Sylvia Earle swimming with dolphins, a cave of crystals (beams of selenite) in Mexico and a beautiful photograph of two children racing with a toy sailboat on the edge of a river. A National Geographic title.
I featured three amazing nonfiction books with an ocean theme on my Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday Post: Life in the Deep Blue Sea
Slugs by Valerie Bodden
I picked up this title at a recent book store sale. It is the perfect level for my primary students and has been passed from child to child ever since I book talked it on Tuesday. Wonderful photographs and interesting text. And of course slug slime, slug eggs . . . Such fun! I plan to purchase more of these Creepy Creatures titles.
The New Girl . . . and Me written by Jacqui Robbins and illustrated by Matt Phelan
This is a must have for school library and classroom collections. Themes of friendship, kindness, being new and taking social risks. When Shakeeta shows up in Mia’s classroom, Mia sets out to discover just how she might make her feel at home even though she is not entirely sure what that means. Mia certainly doesn’t want to say anything that might make Shakeeta want to punch her in the head like she threatened to do to the boy making fun of her. Mia’s gestures are sweet, genuine and “iguana friendly.” The story ends with possible new beginnings. Lovely.
Miss Dorothy and her Bookmobile written by Gloria Houston and illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb
Such an inspiring story about Dorothy Thomas, an absolute book hero. Dorothy’s dreams of a fine brick building where she could be librarian never materialized. But her role in bringing books to a community was huge. True testament to how books change lives and connect community. This title is now part of my growing picture book biography collection.
Champion written by Marie Lu
I have read the entire Legend trilogy in the last 5 weeks (around the reading of other novels) and I must admit I am sad to leave the world of June and Day. I don’t want to give anything away so I will just make two comments. One, the ending was not a disappointment. At all. Two, I might have enjoyed this third title in the trilogy most of all. Fantastic YA fiction: lots of action, drama, and intrigue.
Next up? I am currently reading Far Far Away by Tom McNeal. After this, I plan to read The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. My children and I are almost finished Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo and we will be starting The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen next (a #MustReadin2014 title).
Reading Goal updates:
2014 Chapter Book Challenge: 9/100 novels complete
Goodeads Challenge: 90/650 books read
#MustReadin2014: 5/30 complete
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 34/65 complete
Happy Reading everyone!
There's a Book for That 
Scoot looks interesting. Great progress on your reading! I agree with you about The New Girl… and Me.
Isn’t it a lovely title? Sorry I hadn’t discovered it sooner. It’s one I would like to have on hand to share with my classes.
I love the look of The New Girl…And Me, and Miss Dorothy and her bookmobile. It’s not quite the same, but I’ve written a poem about the bookmobile, what it meant to me in a small town & the woman who brought books to me-helped me choose. I’ll need to read that one for sure. Thanks for all, Carrie. You’ve inspired me about the Legend books-I bought #1!
Miss Dorothy and her Bookmobile is divine. I ordered my own copy because I love the whole idea of sharing books like this. I also loved the book That Book Woman. Would love to read your poem!
I started reading the Legend series but I wasn’t able to get my hands on the sequel fast enough to remember what was going on! If you liked the third book the best, I think I’ll give the series another try and read it all the way through.
My new trick with trilogies is to wait until all three books are out so I can read them in pretty quick succession!
My library just got a copy of Champion, but I was a good librarian and let a student have the book first. I always ask students to return things I need to read at 3:00 on a Friday so I can take them home!
That’s the perfect plan! Everyone wins. 🙂
The New Girl looks absolutely adorable. I need to get my hands on a copy of that one.
Deborah Freedman is so talented. She’s someone I hope wins a Caldecott one of these days.
She is so talented – I agree! This book has so much going on. Very, very clever but also just plain fun.
Hooray for love for The World Is Waiting for You… fantastic book. 🙂 Champion- I agree. On both points. The New Girl… and me looks precious! Thanks for sharing as always… Happy reading your way…
Thanks for the happy reading wishes! Glad you agree with my points about Champion. I always get so anxious about endings of trilogies! This was just ideal.
Had a few tough conversations with friends about the conclusion…
I was so worried to read Champion after being bitterly disappointed with another highly anticipated trilogy ender. I totally agree with you. It was so awesome and my favorite of the three! I really enjoyed Far, Far Away. It’s quirky, isn’t it? Enjoy your reading week! ~Megan
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Champion definitely gets points for its ending! Far Far Away is just amazing. I am completely captivated by the voice. (and voices . . . :-))
I really need to start setting a limit for the amount of books I am going to commit to buying before I check out your #IMWAYR posts, Carrie! You’re gonna cost me a small fortune this week.
But seriously, thanks for the incredible recommendations!
I suppose if I am to be guilty of anything, this is an okay thing to be guilty of! Happy you found some titles that appealed!
Miss. Dorothy looks like a gem – thanks for sharing today, Carrie.
It really is. Worth tracking down for sure.
I loved Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile! And I love love love Blue Chicken and everything Deborah Freedman. I agree with Beth–she’s one of my picks for a future Caldecott (I thought Snail & Fish was certainly Honor-worthy this year–that dreamy spread of Snail looking down into the book Fish has just jumped into!). I am reading Far, Far Away right now–I put it down to read some other books and haven’t gotten back to it. Must do that! So glad you published “The Part that is True”. There are a lot of important teaching stories I don’t write because yes, sharing is a risk. Maybe someday….
Thanks Elisabeth. I think sometimes we have to push ourselves to take those risks with what we write. But so tricky. I have been really touched by the responses. Far, Far Away is so far, so lovely. Find it hard to put down. Not because it is high action but because the story is just so magical in its tone and voice.
I am going to join in on the agreement that the New Girl looks like a fun read and good for classrooms. Off to look for it now. Thanks for sharing your list.
My pleasure Alyson Hope you enjoy it. I think it is done very realistically and will resonate with children.
Hello there Carrie. New Girl caught my eye. If it’s a new title, I doubt if we’d have it in our public libraries, but I was thinking that I could include it as part of my text-set for my class when we talk about friendship and kindness. We featured Miss Dorothy and her bookmobile when we had a books about books theme. Lovelove that one. AND A Book with Bite – looks like my kind of book! Will look for that one too! 🙂 Contemporary YA novels are a little touch-and-go for me, as I tend to gag at cliched love triangles. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this series though, I’ve been seeing the Legend trilogy for a long time and wondering what it’s about.
You are funny – I don’t think this is too much of a cliched love triangle honestly. Too much romance and I am typically out too. Lots more to these books I think. I was really excited to discover The New Girl – a really well done title that portrays children’s relationships realistically.
You always have such great titles and thoughtful comments with each book! Miss Dorothy looks wonderful, I will definitely need to order that one. My second graders enjoy picture book biographies so much, and it’s a great way to get some interest going for the basket of biographies that often collects dust early in the year. I love a good trilogy and will add Champion to my list. But the book that interests me the most is SLUGS! While the slugs in my yard often creep me out, I do think they are so interesting! I lived in California for awhile and found the banana slugs of the redwood forests beautiful and fascinating!
Miss Dorothy is a keeper! Absolutely. And yes, this little books on slugs is getting a lot of love in my room. The perfect series and level for the primary classroom.