It's Monday! What are you reading? 7-31-17

It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.

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 finished reading:

Captain Pug: The Dog Who Sailed the Seas by Laura James, illustrated by Eglantine Ceulemans
Patina by Jason Reynolds


Picture books that stood out in the pile:
 
Please, Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe
Fun metafiction picture book that makes kids think about what happens to characters after you close a book.

The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell
Sometimes the best gift you can get is time with the people you love

 
Grandad's Island by Benji Davies 
A quiet yet joyful story about death and grief of a loved one

 
Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp 
Full review coming soon

 
Stay: A Girl, a Dog, a Bucket List by Katie Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise
In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have read this less than a week after having to say goodbye to my beloved dog, Guenter, but this is a beautiful story that will start to help kids wrap their minds around the idea of their own beloved dogs not being there forever. 


Currently Reading:

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore 
I am loving this book so far. It reminds me so much of my favorite Jason Reynolds book, When I Was the Greatest.  

It's Monday! What are you reading? 7-24-17

It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.

RIP sweet Guenter

The past month has been really difficult, but the past few days especially. We had to say goodbye to our sweet pug, Guenter, on Friday and my heart is completely broken. At first I felt guilty for grieving the loss of a dog much deeper than many of the people in my life who have passed on, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I totally have permission to take this as hard as I need to. Afterall, he spent every single day with us for almost 12 years of our lives. How can that not hurt beyond measure when he's suddenly just not there anymore.





Anyway, I did get a little bit of reading done this past week despite my abject sadness over losing my dog.

The Lemonade Stand Cookbook by Kathy Strahs
A fabulous cookbook to include in school libraries for the budding chefs, bakers, and entrepreneurs in your life. I love all the colorful pictures of the recipes included in this book along with the equally colorful and organized layout.

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith
Hilarious take on the Little Red Riding Hood story.


Sleep Tight Farm by Eugenie Doyle, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander
A beautiful picture book about the ways a family gets their farm ready for the winter. I especially love the author's note at the end that describes how Doyle writes letters to a class of 3rd graders every year and then at the end of the year, they come visit her farm, help with some of the chores, and then have lunch together.

 
Real Cowboys by Kate Hoefler, illustrated by Jonathan Bean
A beautiful book that challenges masculine norms from one of the most mythical and masculine of jobs in American culture: the cowboy.


A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals by Lucy Ruth Cummins
A book that manages to be both totes adorbs and darkly funny. Fans of Jon Klassen will love this one.


Alan's Big, Scary Teeth by Jarvis
A hilarious book that is sure to be a read aloud hit about an alligator who loves his big, scary teeth and finds himself in a pickle when said teeth go missing.  


Currently reading:

Patina by Jason Reynolds 

It's Monday! What are you reading? 7-17-17

It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.

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.

It's been a stressful past couple of weeks as I've been trying to nurse a sick dog back to health. Almost 3 weeks ago, this little guy was diagnosed with diabetes, ketoacidosis, sepsis, and pancreatitis. He spent 3 days at the 24 hour emergency vet and has had many visits back for vomiting and inappetence. So my reading life has taken somewhat of a hit due to the anxiety of a dog that has been on death's door. He was starting to show signs of improving, like getting his appetite back and playing with some of his toys. But yesterday he had a huge setback by excessive vomiting and so I had to take him back to the emergency vet, because of course this had to happen on a Sunday when our regular vet isn't open. So yeah, reading hasn't quite been on the forefront of my mind these days. But I have gotten SOME reading done. Here's a highlight of some of my favorite books from the past couple of weeks:


Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes
I have always loved books that focus more on character than plot, and this book has that in spades. Beatrice Zinker always sees the upside to life... because she spends so much time upside down.

This is an absolutely darling early chapter book to transition 2nd-4th graders into longer novels. I can't wait to read Beatrice's next upside down adventure.  


Pig the Winner by Aaron Blabey 
I'm guessing my love for this book is obvious based on what I wrote above, but I may have snorted from laughing so hard while reading this I'm the bookstore.


King Baby by Kate Beaton 
I love Kate Beaton's books. That is all.


Life by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel  
Stunning picture book about the beauty and wonder of life. I can see this one being a Caldecott contender. 

 
The One Day House by Julia Durango, illustrated by Bianca Diaz 
This beautiful book is a testament to what can happen when welcoming and diverse communities come together to pitch in and help their neighbors.  


Oh yeah, and in between all the stressful dog stuff, I did get a chance to attend nErDcampMI last week and it was by far the best year yet! Check out my Storify archive for a rundown on how it all went.  

It's Monday! What are you reading? 7-3-17

It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.

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 posted:

Reflections from ALA 2017 


Last week I finished reading:

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
This was a hard book to read, but the characters are memorable and you really root hard for the main character, Charlie. 


Swing It, Sunny by Jennifer L and Matthew Holm
Jennifer and Matthew Holm are dream team graphic novelists. Just like with Sunny Side Up, the sequel is full of heart and humor that will take away some of the sting of the difficult situation Sunny's family is going through. But what really elevates this book and the first book for me are the delightful visual details from the 1970s that make it more than just a decade of questionable fashion and home decor. 


Picture books that stood out in the pile last week:

For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai's Story by Rebecca Langston-George, illustrated by Janna Bock
She was warned. She was given an explanation. She was almost killed. Nevertheless, she persisted. 

 
Today by Julie Morstad 
Anything Julie Morstad illustrates is beautiful and brilliant and this book is no different. It's kind of like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure in re: all the small but significant decisions we make in a day (what to wear, how to wear your hair, what to eat for breakfast, etc.)


After the Fall by Dan Santat 
Humpty Dumpty loved sitting on his wall watching the birds. After he fell, he was afraid to get back up on his wall. Fear and anxiety plagued him. But eventually, he found the courage to get back up. Rife with rich metaphor and symbolism, After the Fall is a kidlit celebration of a phoenix rising from the ashes.  


Charlie and Mouse and Grumpy by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes 
Love this quiet, gentle, yet quirky series.