It’s Monday! What are you reading?
My favourite reading photo of the week is this picture taken during Reading Workshop. It highlights that all kinds of readers choose all kinds of books. Dr. Seuss? Check. Browsing some Elephant and Piggie titles? Check. Some amazing graphic novels? In Raina Telgemeier‘s Sisters, absolutely!
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. It’s the best way to discover what to read next.
My favourite picture books of the week?
Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors poems by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beckie Prange
The end pages alone are reason to own this book. (That’s my current #1 reason why I must have it) Poet and artist celebrate nature’s successes. Who has been around for a long time and continues to thrive? Introduced in order of their evolutionary arrival, read poems and facts about such creatures as the squirrel, ants, geckos and diatoms. Fascinating and a lyrical experience all at once. Blending of art, poetry and nonfiction.
Octopus Alone by Divya Srinivasan
Wow. These illustrations. So very, very beautiful. Octopus is overwhelmed by the curious seahorses who find her so fascinating. She seeks out a quieter home but eventually misses her friends. I like the honouring of needing space but that it isn’t necessarily forever.
123 versus ABC by Mike Boldt
Super silly – an ideal title for reading aloud and then left to be read and reread individually and with a buddy. Such fun! Is this an ABC book or a counting book? The argument between letters and numbers travels through the pages. It doesn’t take long to catch on to what is happening but it sure is fun following it all through to the end. I bought this book for my classroom library.
Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown Illustrated by 12 Award Winning Artists
Lovely lullaby poems made even lovelier by the various artists who illustrated this collection. It’s difficult to pick a favourite page but I certainly had fun trying. I did choose a favourite poem though: Wooden Town. I can just imagine that I would have been reading this poem to my children when they were younger again and again and again.
And in novel reading . . .
Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg (Middle Grade)
A novel in verse set in Haiti. Serafina lives in poverty with her family and her ambitious dreams of one day being a doctor. At eleven, she tries to convince her parents to send her to school. Hardships and natural disasters abound but Serafina’s strength and dreams persist.
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (Young Adult)
What a read. Sad. Vulnerable. Full of raw mistakes and huge hopes. Grief. Passion. Love. Despair. Family dynamics of so many varieties. It seems a book that pulls the reader through so many emotions may leave that reader exhausted and done by the end of the pages. Yet, this title is strangely energizing. It leaves you wanting more. Rooting for everyone. Lighter.
Next up? I have started The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney. I am still reading The Turtle of Oman: A Novel by Naomi Shihab Nye. I don’t seem to pick this title up very often and tend to keep starting other books. This week it’s time to get it read or abandon it.
Reading Goal Updates:
2014 Chapter Book Challenge: 79/100 novels complete (I have made the pile of 21 titles I must finish in order to meet this challenge. Will I get it done is the big big question)
Goodreads Challenge: 570/650 books read (49 books behind)
#MustReadin2014: 21/30 complete
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 131/65 complete
There's a Book for That 
Thanks for listing these titles. There are some good ones there for me to check out. I love Mo Willems’ books so was pleased to see that some Elephant and Piggie titles were being read. Good luck with achieving your goal. You’ve read an amazing number of books anyway, so don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t reach your target. Teaching is such a demanding profession I don’t know how you fit in all the reading you do as it is!
Reading is one of my favourite things to do. But, your are right I am pretty sure that I have a huge, likely impossible goal ahead!
Just give it your best shot! Best wishes for the holiday season to you and your family. 🙂
Isn’t it fun to see the ideas in picture books? Love the Octopus and the ABC versus 123 books, Carrie, & I’ll Give You The Sun is already on my list-does sound spectacular. I just brought The Red Pencil home to read over break. Have a good week!
I am already completely hooked with The Red Pencil. Want to try and finish tonight. What a book. Look forward to seeing what you think about I’ll Give You the Sun
A combo counting and alphabet book?? Sounds like my book nightmare–especially if it rhymes, LOL. But seriously, I’m pleased to see a recommendation for a fun counting & alphabet book. I need them for my Children’s Lit class but tend to personally avoid like the book plague. Will definitely be purchasing! Octopus Alone looks beautiful and I fear I might really relate to the needing space theme. I have my stack of reads for finishing out my reading goals too but realized today that I should probably plan to finish 15 books over the next 10 days to have a chance at reaching 200. Is that even feasible?? I need more short books! Why can’t the Newbery honor more picture books?!
No rhyming. I have allergies to rhyming text too remember! There are some beautiful alphabet books out there. I think I even did a post: https://thereisabookforthat.com/2012/02/23/abcdefg-alphabet-books-for-you-and-me/ I should update with A is for Musk Ox which I love! Oh I too have impossible reading goals. But, feels kind of foolishly ambitious and yet I am determined!
Thanks for this link! Will add to my Children’s Lit Pinterest Board. I loved A Is for Musk Ox–so funny!
Serafina’s Promise has been on my list for quite some time, so it was great to see your review. I love the word, “ubiquitous,” so I most certainly want to read that book, too. In fact, I want to read every book that you posted about this week. Your blog always motivates me!
So happy to hear this. Serafina’s Promise is really sticking with me. I thought about Serafina on my walk to work this a.m. What a brave and inspired character.
I am absolutely loving that you’re starting off your It’s Monday posts with pictures of your student readers. So inspiring. ❤
Thanks Beth. We have a lot of #booklove in my room and it is such a part of my everyday that I feel I need to share it here. So much of the reading I do is about finding amazing titles for my students.
Your photos are just. Perfect. I love them! Like I tell you over and over–you inspire me!!!
Serafina was such a powerful book. I wanted more of a conclusion in the end, but I know others loved the ending.
I need you, at some point, to just make me a list of the PBs I MUST read that I haven’t because each week I have the hardest time deciding which of yours to reserve from the library because I want to read them all!
Happy reading this week! 🙂
I hear you on the ending of Serafina. I worried. But tried to have faith. I love sharing these photos. More confirmation of the reading life I share with these little readers.
Hooray for Serafina’s Promise, quite curious about I’ll Give You the Sun… Happy reading to you!!
It’s a beautiful YA novel. On lots of top 2014 lists. For good reason 🙂
I’ve been meaning to find Serafina’s Promise for the longest time! 🙂 I love how you’ve read so many novels-in-verse lately. We’ve been talking about “I’ll give you the sun” for our book club – will share with them your review about the novel. 🙂
I have really enjoyed all of these novels in verse. Such powerful images. I hope you can find and read Serafina’s Promise.