It's Monday! What are you reading? 12-17-18

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.


I recently finished reading and loved:

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

While I knew this book would be Laurie Halse Anderson’s memoir and companion to Speak, I wasn’t expecting that this would go beyond her own story and become the story of all survivors. It is more than just a story of survival. It is all our stories of survival. Soaring Earth by Margarita Engle While I didn't enjoy this companion to Enchanted Air nearly as much as the first book, I really respect the message that Engle was trying to convey: a fancy university education isn't necessarily for everyone and there is much learning and no shame in a community college education. Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano When you look beyond the book’s main conflict, which is Leonara’s discovery that she’s a witch and the subsequent antics that ensue when she experiments with magic that she has yet to understand, there is an underlying feminist message to this story: women are strong and can do anything, but they’re even stronger with bonds of friendship, family, and sisterhood. Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite by Anna Harwell Celenza, illustrated by Don Tate After reading this I immediately had to seek out a recording of Duke Ellington's arrangement of the Nutcracker Suite. I didn't even know this version existed. So glad I read this picture book! My Heart by Corinna Luyken "There are days it is broken, but broken can mend, and a heart that is closed can still open again." Popular culture likes to perpetuate the narrative that our hearts are fragile. But really, our hearts are resilient. And Corinna Luyken helps us remember how strong we are because of our hearts. Currently Reading: The Way the Light Bends by Cordelia Jensen