It’s Monday! What are you reading?
Each week I share a reading photo of the week. Here are a few.
Finding a quiet place to read 🙂
Pouring over Aaron Becker‘s work. Our Skype call with him last week will be detailed here soon! Amazing, amazing, amazing.
We did some pulling apart of the room to arrange things for our Skype call. Before we put it back together, we enjoyed new places to sit and read.
Our #classroombookaday titles were on important themes of home, change, leaving, finding new place.
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.
Books I enjoyed:
The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
This little illustrated chapter book is ideal for Grades 2-5. Lots of humour perfectly suited to this age group. Can’t wait to get other titles in the series. This is the first one.
Templeton Gets his Wish by Greg Pizzoli
So if you could wish your family away . . . Would you miss them?
P. Zonka Lays an Egg by Julie Paschkis
Kind of a wow title. P. Zonka doesn’t lay eggs because of “pale mornings, the soft dark moss . . . ” and some incredible other reasons. When an egg finally arrives, it is a sight to behold. I personally think she could have just got by on those beautiful excuses.
Hannah and Sugar by Kate Berube
Gentle and sweet. Explores fears and courageous acts.
Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey by Margariet Ruurs Artwork by Nizar Ali Badr
Sharing this title with my students this week was very powerful. We have been reading titles about home – leaving home, moving, losing a home. This story and powerful artwork brought a deep and introspective silence over the room. This is a must own, must share title.
The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz
When the Newbery awards were announced, I was midway through this title and was not surprised this book was honoured. Incredibly researched, full of magical and historical details.
Reading Progress updates:
2017 Chapter Book Challenge: 5/75 complete
Goodreads Challenge: 25/365 books read
Progress on challenge: 3 books behind schedule
#MustReadin2017: 3/30 complete
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 8/50 titles
Diverse Books in 2016: 3/50 books read
Up next? I am in the middle of When we Collided by Emery Lord – a Schneider Family Book award recipient for 2017.
There's a Book for That 
I’ve heard so many great things about Stepping Stones. It sounds just heartbreaking, but also inspiring, and a must read, to be sure.
It is an incredible title.
I think that The Bad Guys will be successful even with my middle school students. The cat in the tree… I laughed so hard! Looks like you had a good reading week!
I know! Hilarious!
My students love all The Bad Guys books. They are quick reads, but they love the humor. Stepping Stones is new to me so I’ll have to find it. The story sounds powerful and the artwork looks amazing.
Yes, you must find it. The Journey too! Both so powerful.
The Inquisitor’s Tale is on my TBR. I’m curious about it though because I’ve seen a couple of book blog posts elsewhere that didn’t care for the book. It sounds amazing to me. I’m looking forward to reading it. The Bad Guys sounds like fun to and quick series to read. Thanks for sharing!
If I could recommend having uninterrupted time to devote to The Inquisitor’s Tale. I had to do a lot of rereading when I picked it up again to keep on top of things.
I’ll be starting The INquisitor’s Tale this week, excited to read it. I think Stepping Stones is amazing. That people use what’s available to create is a wonder to me. It is a beautiful book with a powerful message. Love that you skyped with Aaron Becker. I love those books! Thanks, Carrie!
The Skype was an incredible experience for my students!
Requesting Stepping Stones now. Love seeing the pics each week of readers in your classroom.
Can’t wait to hear what you think? Will I see you again in Bellingham soon?
You’re the second person to highlight Stepping Stones today, so I had to request it. I just finished The Inquisitor’s Tale this morning–so many layers to this fantastic book! I’m excited to check out the other 4 you mentioned here!
Stepping Stones is a mandatory read – so important and beautifully done.
I’ll be interested in hearing about When We Collided. Still haven’t read the YA Schneider winner from last year. They keep getting pushed back in the stacks!
Almost finished! Such a great book so far. I hear you about those stacks.
It sounds like you and your class are reading some wonderful books. I need to read Stepping Stones. I’m thinking about creating a list of must read picture books for adults and think this one should be on the list.
Agree – it would need to go on that list. I love that idea!
I’ve crazy about P. Zonka! Gorgeous writing, gorgeous pix. I was also feeling Newbery the entire time I was reading Inquisitor’s Tale. I do think the critiques I’ve read about character development, issues of representation, and sentence-level writing are valid, but it’s an impressive achievement nonetheless. So glad you’re sharing Stepping Stones. An incredibly important book (especially right now) and an incredibly beautiful book. I thought it would be enough for my libraries to have it, but I think I need to own it too!
I think it is a must own title.
Love your classroom book a day choices! (Especially now.) We are launching our family history and immigration today and sharing many of the same books.
We so need these books now.
I think Stepping Stones is just absolutely brilliant – will be featuring it for Poetry Friday soon – and very timely too given what’s going on in the world. I have to read more Aaron Blabey – it’s been highly recommended to me by an Australian librarian friend.
He is a fun writer! Do you also have The Journey? See it in the photo of the books we read this week? Also incredible.
Yes! I also have The Journey by Sanna – that one is incredible too and uplifting.
Jotted down The Bad Guys for my classroom-looks like a winner! Stepping Stones! Wow, as soon as I’m done with this comment I’m dashing down to ask my librarian if she has seen it yet. The Journey was so heart breaking, we have that title here, and it’s one I need to read to my students!
Love the pics of your students and classroom!
Hopefully she has Stepping Stones. It is such an incredible title. The Bad Guys is lots of fun. Looking forward to the publication date for the others!
You Skyped with Aaron Becker?!?!? How cool!!!! Can’t wait to hear about it.
Inquisitor’s Tale was a book that I just knew would be honored because of its uniqueness and literary merit.
Happy reading this week 🙂
Yep!!! So, so cool!