It's Monday! What are you reading? 7-7-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.

Last week I had a pretty good reading week but it was a sad week for book lovers on Wednesday when we were hit with the devastating news that Walter Dean Myers died. So many of my Nerdy Book Club friends on Facebook and Twitter recalled their fond memories of meeting Walter at conferences and book signings. I'm saddened by the fact that I never got to meet him. Though the first time I met him in the pages of a book was through the eyes of Jack in Sharon Creech's Love That Dog and have loved Mr. Walter Dean Myers ever since. 

Last week I finished reading:

Breakfast on Mars: Your Favorite Authors Take a Stab at the Dreaded Essay Assignment edited by Rebecca Stern and Bard Wolfe
While only a few of the essays in this book really struck me as useful, the writing prompts at the beginning of each essay are also a great resource as well. In a way, I kind of like that so many of these essays aren't 100% mentor-text-worthy because it makes the writing accessible to students. On the other hand, if I'm going to use a mentor text, I want it to wow me, and none of the essays in this collection really wowed me.


Picture books I enjoyed last week:

Food Trucks! by Mark Todd
Food trucks have become the new, hip way to eat on the go, and this delightful collection of poems explores some of the different types of cuisines and themes most commonly found in food trucks.I will be writing a longer review of this book soon because, come on, with a blog like mine, this book is just begging for its own review. :) 

 
Animals Should Definitely NOT Wear Clothing by Judi and Ron Barrett
With a cover and a title like that, how could you NOT want to read this?  

 
Limelight Larry by Leigh Hodgkinson 
Love this book about a proud peacock who thinks he's the star of the book and therefore doesn't appreciate all the other animals coming in to steal his thunder. The illustrations are lovely and the story is tons of fun. 


I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures by Caryln Beccia
Highly entertaining read about the various and strange "cures" people have come up with over the years for all sorts of ailments. I can definitely see this book getting passed around in a classroom. 

 
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
A beautiful testament to the power of childhood imagination. 


Currently reading:
 
Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters by Laurie Ann Thompson 
I only just started this book yesterday so I'm not quite sure if I'm liking it yet. It has potential though. 


Still reading with my ears:

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick 
This book is powerful. And the audiobook narrator is fantastic. Highly recommend it.  


Current giveaway:
 
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn