It’s Monday! What are you reading?
I have been sharing a reading photo of the week each week. It is Spring Break so I haven’t been teaching this week. But in anticipation of being back in the classroom with students today, I am sharing a photo from this time last year. This is at the book selecting table during buddy reading. I love all of the book love that happens at this time 🙂
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.
Some picture books I enjoyed this week:
The Pet Project Cute and Cuddly Vicious Verses written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Zachoriah Ohora
I don’t know how I missed this book published in 2013- it is hilarious and an amazing text to inspire some fun poetry writing. Thinking it would be great to pair with titles like Prudence wants a Pet and A Pet for Petunia to have students examine all of the ways children ask for pets. Sometimes, as this title reveals, they come to their own decisions about just how wonderful (or not) a particular pet might be. Both poems and illustrations are awesome in this book.
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
Yes, just as amazingl as I imagined it would be. With all of the gardening I have been doing this week, this title was perfect. Simply gorgeous illustrations. I really liked the intergenerational connections and time spent across seasons. Great additional information about various creatures in the back of the book.
Home by Carson Ellis
So very beautiful. And of course, I instantly think art and writing and what will this inspire. A treasure that I had to buy. A must own.
I Had a Favourite Hat written by Boni Ashburn and illustrated by Robyn Ng
Cute little book about expressing one’s self through various seasons and for various reasons. One hat can be so many things . . .
The Spider by Elise Gravel
I know my class will be “crawling” over each other to get at this latest Gravel title!
Head Lice by Elise Gravel
Oh, head lice, how we don’t love thee! But this book lets us grin about a pretty constant annoyance. So, we’ll take it!
Hands & Hearts with 15 words in American Sign Language written by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Amy Bates
Lyrical text. A wonderful day between mother and daughter.
My plan was to get many more novels read but our house has been bit by the spring cleaning bug and we are clearing out the basement and weeding the garden and my reading time was eaten up . . . I did organize some book shelves though and redid my TBR stacks so here’s to the upcoming books!
I did finish Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell.
This title was just published in North America in the fall of 2014 but was first published in 2011 under the title The Girl Savage and was actually Rundell’s first book. My daughter and I each read this book this week and had similar reactions to specific characters. We loved Will’s spirit and rooted for her throughout the book.
Updates on my 2015 Reading Goals:
2015 Chapter Book Challenge: 14/80 complete
Goodreads Challenge: 110/415 books read
#MustReadin2015: 7/24 complete
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 25/100 titles
Diverse Books in 2015: 12/50 books read
Up next? I am almost finished We Were Here by Matt de la Peña and will then start All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. We have a family listen aloud happening right now – Doll Bones by Holly Black. I have read the book in the past but it sure is fun experiencing it with my family! I love how there is always somebody claiming, “This isn’t scary.” Which usually means we have just heard a particularly creepy part!
There's a Book for That 
Kate Messner’s Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt just became available at my library, so I’m picking it up today! I can’t wait! Ellis’s Home looks wonderful!
Home is beautiful as is Messner’s new title. Enjoy!
Hands & Hearts is new to me – can’t wait to read it!
It is a lovely idea for a book.
Thanks Carrie, I need to find that Messner book. I have Home on hold, evidently many others are waiting too. Have a good week back!
And I just had to have my own copy . . . 🙂
Can’t wait to read Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt! Home as well… Always love your posts and pictures! 🙂 Happy reading to you…
Thanks so much Debbie! I wish you happy reading too!
Many enticing titles you shared. I jotted them all down and look forward to requesting them from our library. Some titles are even on my “Want List.”
~Suzy Leopold
My “want list” is always endless 🙂
So glad you got Home. I keep revisiting it. See if you can find her on the Shoe page. Also, the baby with the bare buns is her son. Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms is on my TBR pile–interesting that it was published a few years ago under a different title. Have a great week!
Okay now off to check out these pages! It must of been such a treat to have her present!
The lice title looks hilarious. I’m going to have to buy it. How I loved Home–it really made me want to produce some art too. I may have to buy two copies so that I can cut one up and frame some of the pages. I thought Doll Bones read beautifully aloud. Do you know what happens tomorrow? Jinx’s Fire is published. Woo! Can’t wait.
I love being Jinx fans! Doll Bones is so much fun to listen to. Our whole family is really enjoying it. We talk a lot about lice in my classroom so it is nice to have a book that makes us laugh on the topic.
I’m so glad your children agree (even contrarily), that Doll Bones is creepy! The Spider and Head Lice are waiting for me at Kidsbooks. I’m afraid to pick them up because I know I won’t get out of there without it costing me at least $200. Kirkus reviews are one of my bibles for book purchase and they kind of dissed it. I’m glad that you disagree. Maybe you will loan me your copy to peruse?
Always happy to loan you books!
Up in the Garden and Home were 2 of my favorites from this year, so far! Beautiful and fun to read. I’m so glad you introduced me to Elise Gravel’s books. They are so great to turn kids on to fun nonfiction!
These Gravel titles are plenty silly. We get lots of laughs from them!
Ooooo…Love this week’s list! Up and Down in the Garden – one I bought in Victoria! LOVED Home – so whimsical and beautiful! Elsie Gravel – my kids LOVE these books! I Had A Favorite Hat and The Pet Project – both look WONDERFUL and I can’t wait to read them. Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms – what a great title! I want to read this one too! Thank you for all these wonderful new titles!
A pleasure! So glad we both fit in some wonderful bookstore visits over the break!
I couldn’t get into Cartwheeling but loved Rooftoppers. I was in Seattle when Carson Ellis did an event at our store for Home. But I heard she was great. I loved the touch of whimsy in that picture book.
Much to love in this picture book. I hope it is the first of many.
I so love the assortment of titles you have here. Love the look of the Elise Gravel books – I would have to look up those. I am thinking of reading All the Bright Places this week too! Just finished reading The Sky Is Everywhere which I loved. Would be great to read about your reactions to the novel. 🙂
I also loved The Sky is Everywhere. Hoping to have All the Bright Places finished soon.