It's Monday, What Are You Reading? February 29, 2016

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Not a lot this week. Click on the book covers to learn more about them. 

Nice example of the power of imagination.

Lots of info I did not know about this influential woman!

Nice, simple biography. Full Review on Wednesday.

Finished Listening...

Enjoyed this Newbery winner!

What are you reading friends?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? March 2, 2015

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Here are the books I read this week. Click on the covers to learn more about them.

A story about labels and acceptance. Good for Grades K-4.

A fun, fun, FUN interactive book for the little ones.

A beautifully illustrated wordless picture book about how drawing can transport you to different worlds. 

Currently Listening

I struggle with many of the early Newbery winners. This one is not easy to listen to so far.

Currently Reading

LOVING this one!!!

What Are You Reading Friends?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading-Feb. 23, 2015

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Be sure to enter my giveaway of a signed hardcover copy of Lynda Mullaly Hunt's Fish in a tree here.

Thanks to a trip to the book store, I was able to read a bunch of picture books. Click on the covers to learn more about them.

Really cute book about counting and sharing. K-2

A book about fate and friendship. K-4

I really love the illustrations in this book about 

the ingredients necessary to make a good book. K-3

Neat story of creativity, persistence and making 

mistakes. Good for K-3.

LOVED this adorable parallel story. Great for any 

child who has ever been afraid of monsters. K-3.

Betty wants to peel her banana by herself. If you have 

spent any time around toddlers, you will totally recognize this scenario. 

I finished....

Thanks to my friend Jason Lewis for lending me this arc. 

Loved it! Good for grades 6+. Review later.

Currently Reading....

Really loving so far!

What Are You Reading Friends? 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? April 28, 2014

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Sorry, no time to post reviews with the books I read this week. Click on the picture to go to the book's page on Goodreads and to see my rating.  I will be doing a full review on Plastic, Ahoy! and The Dumbest Idea Ever this week. I am hoping to do a review of The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill soon. Enjoy your week!

Picture Book-Fiction


Nonfiction

Graphic Novel

Poetry

Middle Grade

Finished Listening....

Still Reading....

What Are You Reading Friends? 

Recent posts:

Review of If it Rains Pancakes

Celebrate this Week

Visit this week for:

Nonfiction Wednesday-A review of Plastic, Ahoy!

Friday-A review of The Dumbest Idea Ever

Saturday-Celebrate this Week!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? April 7, 2014

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Here is what I finished last week.

A Snicker of Magic 
by Natalee Lloyd
I read this book with a lunchtime book club and 
LOVED it. What a unique story!

Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor
I read this book in my attempt to read the Newbery winners. I did not realize that it was the 4th in the series. It is an amazing and powerful story!

I finished listening to...

Flora and Ulysses
by Kate DiCamillo
This book was on my must-read-in-2014 list. 
I enjoyed the audio version of this Newbery winner.  

Currently Reading...

The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill
by Megan Frazer Blakemore


What Are You Reading Friends?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? October 28, 2013

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Please click on the picture to go to the book's page on Goodreads to learn more about it.


Picture Books

Spork

by Kyo Maclear

Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Adorable little Spork is searching for his place in the world.  He's not a fork, nor a spoon and the other utensils shun him.  Until one day a messy "thing" arrives. 

I read this to my 4th graders and they loved it.  They especially liked guessing what the messy thing was and rooting for Spork to find self-acceptance. 

Not A Box 

by Antoinette Portis

Oh the wonders and possibilities of a simple, empty cardboard box.  In this book the rabbit uses the box as a spaceship, robot and a car just to name a few. 

Good for ages 4-8. 

Bob and Otto

by Robert O. Bruel

Illustrated by Nick Bruel

I was delighted to find this book at my library.  I love Nick Bruel's illustrations and after looking into it more, I discovered that Nick Bruel found this story his father had written after his father passed away. He made some minor changes and did the illustrations. 

This is a story of friendship.  Bob and Otto are great friends and enjoy spending their days together on the ground.  

You can read the book online at the site below.

http://us.macmillan.com/bobandotto/NickBruel

Good for grades K-3

Nonfiction Picture Book

 Harlem's Little Blackbird

by Renee Watson

Illustrated by Christian Robinson

This picture book biography is about Florence Mills, a singer/dancer from Harlem in the 1920's. She was lesser known than some more famous African-American performers of the time, but just as influential.  Strangely enough, there are no known audio or video recordings of her voice on record, so her story has been passed down by generations of story tellers. 

Good for grades 3-5.

Poetry

A Stick is an Excellent Thing

by Marilyn Singer

Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

This is a really fun book of short poetry to celebrate outdoor play.  It made me want to roll in some leaves and jump off a swing.  Good for grades 2-4.

Middle Grade

Fortunately, the Milk

by Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by Skottie Young

Although this book was not a favorite for me, many kids will enjoy it for it's over-the-top silliness. A father gets delayed bringing milk home for his two daughters.  The tale he tells about why he is late is the basis for the book. Traveling through time, being captured by pirates and rescued by a stegosaurus in a hot air balloon are just a few events from his tall tale.  The fun, messy illustrations are the best part of this book. 

Good for grades 3-4.

Currently Reading

Frog Burgers 

by Lee Mandel

The Graveyard Book 

by Neil Gaiman

Currently Listening

Waiting for Normal

by Leslie Connor

A Letter to My Class of Readers

Dear Class, 
     I'd like to thank you all for a wonderful year together.  I can't believe it is the end of the school year and you will soon be 5th graders. 
   When looking back on this year, I will remember many things.  One thing I will remember is our read alouds together.  

Remember how nervous we all felt every time "the Nova" was parked in front of Ferris Boyd's house? Or how Delly stopped at nothing to help her friend when Ferris Boyd was missing in True...Sort of?  





Then there was The One and Only Ivan.  I

remember your anger when "the hook" was used on Stella and your happiness when Ivan finally went to the zoo.  We also watched Ivan win the Newbery Award together.  Your cheers when Ivan was announced was one of my favorite moments (even though some of you hoped Wonder would win).

Speaking of Wonder, reading this book as a whole 4th and 5th grade was one of my highlights of this year.  As we read, I noticed more and more copies of the book popping up around the room with all of you huddled around them as we read. Oh how we all grew to love Auggie and his true friends who stood up for him.  We cried when Daisy died and celebrated as Auggie was recognized for his inspiration and courage. These books knit us together and the characters became members of our class. 

We celebrated books and reading whenever we could.  I had so much fun at our Diary of A Wimpy Kid book release party.  We even got to review the new book on The Nerdy Book Club!

I also remember some of you groaning in disbelief when I asked you to read 40 books this year.  There was actual fear in some of your eyes as you tried to imagine yourselves reading so many books. Slowly, you built your reading stamina and were groaning when reading time was over.  It made me smile every time I heard you recommend books to each other or talk about a great part of the book you were reading.  Every time I brought new books into the classroom it was like a feeding frenzy.  I watched each of you find your favorites.  Whether it was: the Amulet series, Origami Yoda books, Out of My Mind, Drama, Dork Diaries, Capture the Flag, Wonder, RULES, A Dog Called Homeless, One for The Murphys or another favorite, you all found books that you liked best. Pretty soon you stopped asking me for recommendations and started asking each other.  

My wish for you is that you continue to be readers.  Reading is not something you do just for school, but a lifelong activity.  I truly feel that reading makes life better.  I wish you the best of luck next year and in years to come.  If you ever need a book recommendation, you know where to find me.

It's Monday What Are You Reading- March 4

Please visit the amazing blog: Teach Mentor Texts 

who host this terrific meme each week. 

Here is what I read this week. 

Click on the titles to go to the book on Goodreads.com.

Picture Books

Elsie's Bird by Jane Yolen
Really sweet book about a single father and his daughter that moved to Nebraska to become homesteaders.

Find a Cow Now by Janet Stevens

Cute story about a herding dog that 

needs to find a cows to herd, 

but doesn't know what a cow is. 

Spuds by Karen Hesse
Nice picture book about a family with a hard-working single mom and her 3 children.  The children try to help mom by picking potatoes at a field that doesn't belong to them.

Cecil The Pet Glacier 

by Matthea Harvey

Just silly and adorable!

Memoirs of a Goldfish  

by Devin Scillian

Very funny.  About a goldfish who gets many new tenants to his bowl, which becomes too crowded. I read this to my daughters 5th grade class and they really liked it.

Graphic Novel

Binky The Space Cat by Ashley Spires

My first Binky book.  Very simple writing with 

entertaining pictures.  Cat lovers would enjoy this book. 

Middle Grade Book

The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths

A US adaptation of an Australian book. 

Extremely silly, quick to read. 

Click here for my Goodreads review.

 

Young Adult Novel

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Interesting YA novel.  

Click here to read my review on Goodreads. 

 

Finished Listening

The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle

by High Lofting

 Currently Reading

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

and

Hide and Seek by Kate Messner

What Are You Reading?

Check out my review of Genie Wishes by Elisabeth Dahl here.