It’s Monday What are You Reading- the BC Day Edition!

Happy BC Day to several readers and bloggers from BC that will see this weekly post detailing my reading for the week as part of the Monday group that links up at teachmentortexts.com and unleashingreaders.com. Jenn (TMT) and Kellee and Ricki (unleashing readers) host a large group of blog posts each week and it is a great place to vastly inflate your TBR piles and become jealous of the books that other people have been able to get (oops, just meant to think that- oh well).

BC Day is kind of bittersweet with so much of our usually beautiful province still covered in smoke, and many people still on evacuation alert or orders. It has kind of put a damper on the whole book in a hammock outside routine. This week I leaned on the public library to cross off a bunch of picture books that have been on my TBR list for a while but that I don’t own. Many of these are a few years old, and came to my attention from other people’s lists. Also, bigger buildings with air conditioning are not as smoky right now as our houses. Win-win!

Books finished this week:

As part of my #MustReadin2017 (shout out to Carrie Gelson at There’s a Book for that for hosting that one) I put Amulet on my list. I intended to read the whole series, but only put the first book on my list. My seven year old ensures that I will make it through the whole series by working me into her busy schedule of reading and re-reading all seven books. Love the monster on the cover of this one, and it is emblematic of some really creepy pictures in book five. This continues to be a very interesting story with some sinister bad guys.

Now for those picture books. This would make a nice read aloud with very young children as the pictures of farm animals are engaging and the story has some nice repetition and moments for prediction. There are some simple rhymes that make up most of the story as well.

This book also would be good book for predicting as there is a little bit in each picture and text that previews the next page. There is also a pattern to how the reader discovers the noise and culprit of that noise on each ascending floor. I have really enjoyed the work of the author and illustrator of this book in their other works and I liked this one too. Even though I didn’t enjoy the whole package as much as I expected for some reason, I think some kids, maybe those that live in and near apartments will love it more than I did.

This book would make a really cute addition to any primary aged picture book collections with its message of diversity and inclusion. The elephant being excluded from Pet Club Day is handled correctly and kids will love seeing the many different animals come together while still including all others. Again, there are some opportunities for kids to look ahead and predict how the problem might get solved, even some picture clues that my seven year old was able to find.

I think It’s a Tiger would make a fun read aloud with younger, primary aged students. It has a funny plot with a predictable pattern that will have kids anticipating the next page based on the picture clues and repetition. The humour allows for the reader to bring expression and drama to the story as well.

This book was a playful poke at the child that resists bedtime. In this case, it is the child trying to get a giddy father to finally just go to sleep even though he wants to delay his bedtime in numerous ways. It’s a fun spin on a normal routine and kids will enjoy that. I imagined you could get students to write their own stories in which roles are flipped, maybe students getting their teacher ready for the end of the day, or kids getting their parents ready for hockey practice in the morning. Maybe even getting a principal ready for an assembly. Overall, this was a fun read.

I really loved reading this one with my child as it featured more of the wacky hilarity from Dory’s imagination, this time featuring her return to a new school year. Even with a new year beginning, the old characters like Mrs. Gobble Gracker and Mr. Nubby still play supporting roles. If you enjoyed the first Dory book, you have probably already read this, and if not give this early chapter series a try. Its full of humour and imagination and there are so many perfectly written moments between the siblings. The one moment in which I looked to see if Abby Hanlon had hidden cameras set up in my house was when Dory gets her outfits ready for school. The spectacular clashes of colours and styles combined with the sheer volume of layers reminded me of both my kids, and it was ironic to see them laughing so much at the “silliness” of it all.

This author got a lot of attention for Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, and inexplicably, I still haven’t read that one yet. However, I noticed Posted at my public library this week and I decided to try it. The cover sort of had my thinking about what the rest could be about. This was a really easy book to sit and read, I enjoyed the conversational style of first person narration. It reminded me of books by Jerry Spinelli or a little of Wonder. The content here is very slightly mature compared to Wonder, which I would read to a fifth grade class. However, if I had a seventh grade class, and maybe they had already read Wonder and I wanted a story with similar themes, this would be a great pick. Its a thought provoking book with much to say about interpersonal relationships that take place in schools.

Currently Reading:

The first book on this list is a Man Booker Prize nominee from 2006. More importantly, its my wife’s choice for a book I must read this summer. Everyone in my family picks one title for each individual. This might be appropriate for young adults as well. There were some obvious connections between this and Posted in the first thirty pages as the main character talks about labels and fitting in (or not). The setting of early 1980s Britain will be challenging for some younger readers. It also reminds me a little of Catcher in the Rye. Our family is reading the fifth Harry Potter book together. It is a little odd for us that he is (spoiler alert) not headed back to school right away. I started reading Terrible Two, and honestly it does not really have a hold on me yet. I was without my other book, and needing something so I picked this one up. I think I need to read on before I abandon it though, there could be some good pranking coming soon. My youngest has me dutifully reading the next Amulet with her. I will soon be one of the many people lamenting the pause before book eight arrives.

On deck:

I have Gordon Korman’s Restart checked out from the library but I am also considering Princess Academy and Minrs 2.

Happy Holiday Monday if you are in BC, and if not, just try to survive another Monday with some reading time. Thanks for popping by.