It's Monday, What Are you Reading? July 20, 2020

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

Here are a few books I read last week. Click on the covers to go to the book's page on Goodreads.

Loved it! Full Review tomorrow. 

Alan Katz writes silly books and poems and this series is no exception. None of the information is actually true and the events never happened. There is a very short (factual) biographical section at the end. It has fun illustrations and kids may like it, but it was not my cup of tea.

I LOVE books about lesser-known, but super-important people. German born Emmy Noether was a gifted mathematician in a time when women were barely allowed to attend college. Her research was vital and she even helped Einstein with his Theory of Relativity. Of course, men took all the credit for her work. This book would make a nice companion to science units and to examine gender stereotypes and fairness. 

Currently Reading

Still Listening

Next Up

What Are You Reading Friends?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading July 1, 2019

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

Here are a few books I have been able to read over the last couple of weeks. Click on the covers to go to the book's page on Goodreads. 

The second in the series from Kayla Miller.  The story is all too relatable and timeless as Olive and Willow struggle with their friendship at summer camp when their personalities and expectations differ. Great for middle schoolers. 

Reading fantasy is a book gap for me. The Storm Keeper's Island was a nice way to fill it a bit. This is the first in the series. For 5th grade and up. 

This is the first in the super-cute graphic novel series, Monkey and Cake. First grade is the sweet spot for this one.  

Crabtree Publishing has a whole series of these fractured fair tales. If you are looking for books for second graders who are striving readers, want something entertaining, but not too young looking, this one does the trick. 

I really like Scholastic's Acorn imprint for young readers. There are currently 3 in this series. They are in full color and are written in  short chapters. Perfect for grades 1-2. 

Currently Reading

and 

What are you reading friends? 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? November 26, 2018

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

Here is my reading from the past few weeks. Click on the book covers to learn more about the books.

What are you reading friends? 

Lions and Liars by Kate Beasley and Dan Santat

Lions and Liars 
by Kate Beasley 
Illustrated by Dan Santat
Published June, 2018
Farrar Straus Giroux

Fiction

304 Pages

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

Frederick Frederickson has a food-chain theory about life. There are lions, like the school bully. Gazelles, like the bullied kids. There are meerkats, and the fleas that live on the butts of meerkats. Frederick's a flea.
Fifth grade is off to a terrible start when Frederick is sent to a disciplinary camp for troublesome boys. His fellow troop mates—Nosebleed, Specs, The Professor, and little-yet-lethal Ant Bite—are terrifying. But in between trust-building exercises and midnight escape attempts, a tenuous friendship grows between them. Which is lucky, because a Category 5 hurricane is coming and everyone will have to work together—lions and fleas alike—to survive!

My Thoughts

Frederick Frederickson is WAY down on the social food chain of 5th grade. Even his so-called friends are pretty quick to tell him how much of a loser he is.  He feels like if he could just win something, then he would finally be popular. Through a series of events, he ends up going down a river alone on a boat with no motor and washes ashore at a disciplinary camp for boys.  He is mistaken for another boy, Dash, who is infamous within the circle of boys for being reckless and dangerous. With this new identity comes instant respect and a good amount of fear from most of the campers who bend over backward to impress him or just give him anything he wants. He begins to enjoy this newfound power and popularity and doesn't want to go back to his old life. When his calm, law-abiding personality begins to shine through, some of the boys begin to doubt the validity of Dash's reputation and start to challenge him more verbally and physically. 
Just when Frederick is ready to call his parents to come get him, a powerful hurricane hits. This experience is a turning point in the story as he, and one of his friends, face the dangerous storm together. 

While I read the ARC, which did not have all of Dan Santat's illustrations, it did have a few which were excellent. This sprinkling of illustration will help middle grade readers understand the story and, let's face it, many middle graders still want to look at pictures in a book. 
I would definitely add this one to your grade 3-5 library. I can think of many of my former 4th graders that would love it.  

See what others have to say about this book:

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? July 9, 2018

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

Here is my reading from the past couple of weeks. Click on the book covers to learn more about the books. 

Finished

Read

See review here.

Currently Reading

What are you reading friends?

In Your Shoes by Donna Gephart

In Your Shoes 
by Donna Gephart
Expected publication
October 30, 2018
Delacourte Books for Your Readers
336 pages
Realistic fiction
Review ebook obtained through Netgalley

Goodreads Summary
The critically acclaimed author of Lily and Dunkin delivers another heartfelt story that will remind readers you never know who needs a friend the most, about two imaginative tweens who help each other find new beginnings.
Miles is an anxious boy who loves his family's bowling center even if though he could be killed by a bolt of lightning or a wild animal that escaped from the Philadelphia Zoo on the way there.
Amy is the new girl at school who wishes she didn't have to live above her uncle's funeral home and tries to write her way to her own happily-ever-after.
Then Miles and Amy meet in the most unexpected way . . . and that's when it all begins. . . .

My Thoughts

In this middle grade novel, middle schoolers Miles and Amy are both dealing with many feelings of loss, grief, guilt, regret and fear. Amy, who has lost her mother, moves to a new town away from her best friend and her dog. She lives in a funeral home (the family business) and stays with her uncle during the week while her father is away studying at mortuary school. 

Miles has lost his grandmother who loved the family bowling alley as much as Miles. He also goes through more difficult times later in the book. Miles has a lot of anxiety and feels that if he worries about enough, then maybe he can prevent bad things from happening. He has a couple of great friends, Randall, his best friend suffers with asthma and loves to bowl, even if he just ends up losing money in bets against Miles. Then there is his friend Tate who is also Randall's girlfriend. Tate is a likable, spunky character who befriends Amy and makes her start to feel a bit more comfortable. 

Miles and Amy develop a cute and perfectly awkward tween relationship with shy smiles, blushing and even a game of spin the bottle. 

Since Amy likes to write, the reader is treated to the fictional story Amy is writing about a girl locked in a castle tower and a prince who struggles to feel accepted. 

I think many students will enjoy this story. Kids in grades 5-8 will especially appreciate the angst of being a preteen and navigating the challenges of friendships,  family dynamics, and romantic crushes. 

See what others have to say about this book. 

Watch. Connect. Read.

Kirkus

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

Louisiana's Way Home 
by Kate DiCamillo
Expected Publication Oct 2, 2018
Candlewick Press
Middle Grade
227 Pages
Advanced Reader's copy provided by publisher


Goodreads Summary
From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be.
When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana’s and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.)

Called “one of DiCamillo’s most singular and arresting creations” by The New York Times Book Review, the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story.

My Thoughts
First off, I LOVED Raymie Nightingale (DiCamillo 2016) and Louisiana was my favorite character in the book. I was thrilled to get to spend more time with her in this book. So my thoughts are probably a bit skewed. Louisiana is a character like no other. She has a unique way of expressing herself and her voice is very strong throughout the book. The way she views the world is very different to say the least. She is both brazen and innocent at the same time. Although the story seems a bit far-fetched, it all just seems very "Louisiana" to me. Nothing surprised me (well almost nothing). I was not surprised when Granny needed her teeth out or when 12 year-old Louisiana drove the car, or when they landed in a motel room with no money to pay. In true DiCamillo style, readers will meet and get to know new and interesting characters. There are two cranky women who are always in various stages of curling their hair, three characters named Burke, and a nurturing, cake-baking mother. 
Of course Granny is an intriguing character in her own right. She is grumpy, non-nonsense, cunning and fiercely protective. I think she could have her own story explained in a book some time. 

The ending is surprising and satisfying and just seems "right". Readers will love Louisiana with her swampy lungs, fainting spells, beautiful singing voice and her adorably woeful outlook. 

I would recommend this book for grades 4-6. 

See what others have to say about this book:
Publishers Weekly
Kirkus

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? August 14, 2017

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

Here is what I read this week. 

Click on the covers to learn more about each book. 

Middle grade historical fiction of how Cuba became a literate nation.

Finished

Middle Grade. Sports enthusiast, Hudson, may get sidelined due to asthma. 

Currently Listening

Currently Reading-Paper Book

Currently Reading-ebook

Things that Surprise You by Jennifer Maschari

Things that Surprise You 
by Jennifer Maschari
Expected publication August 22, 2017
Balzer and Bray
288 Pages
Middle Grade 
Realistic Fiction
Review copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

Emily Murphy is about to enter middle school. She’s sort of excited… though not nearly as much as her best friend Hazel, who is ready for everything to be new. Emily wishes she and Hazel could just continue on as they always have, being the biggest fans ever of the Unicorn Chronicles, making up dance moves, and getting their regular order at The Slice. 

But things are changing. At home, Emily and her mom are learning to move on after her parents’ divorce. Hardest of all, her beloved sister Mina has been in a treatment facility to deal with her anorexia. Emily is eager to have her back, but anxious about her sister getting sick again.

Hazel is changing too. She has new friends from the field hockey team, is starting to wear makeup, and have crushes on boys. Emily is trying to keep up, but she keeps doing and saying the wrong thing. She want to be the perfect new Emily. But who is that really?

Things That Surprise You is a beautifully layered novel about navigating the often shifting bonds of family and friendship, and learning how to put the pieces back together when things fall apart. 

My Thoughts

Add this one to your list of books that should come with tissues. Many "tweens" can relate to the events and feelings in this book. Friends change and mature at different rates and when a best friend changes a lot, and seems to be moving away from you, it can be devastating. Emily's character really rang true for me. The struggle and pressures that kids (particularly girls) can go through with friends, popularity, bullying and just finding their place is all presented perfectly. I was moved to tears more than once as I watched how Emily was treated and felt her desperation to be accepted. 

Who Would Like It

I would highly recommend this book for grades 4-6. Fans of books like One for the Murphys, The Thing About Leftovers and Raymie Nightingale will enjoy Things that Surprise You. 

See what others have to say...

Kirkus

Teachers Who Read

Visit Jennifer Maschari's website

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? July 3, 2017

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

Happy 4th of July (almost)!
I have been busy reading lately, but not so busy posting. Here are some books I have read in recent weeks. 

 

I reviewed these books last week. Very fun way to play with words for pre-K-2

So FUN! A must-have! K-5

Adorable, as expected. K-4

Nonfiction picture book about one of the first coders. Loved it. Review here. 

An alternative to Wimpy Kid. Will make you want to do some pull ups. Grades 3-5

For fans of Matt Christopher. Grades 3-5

Full review here. 

Beautifully written. Grades 5+

Currently Reading

Up Next?

I hope you all enjoy the holiday with family, friends and great books!