It’s Monday What are You Reading? August 6/18

I am happily linking this post up with other bloggers at unleashingreaders.com and teachmentortexts.com, the very best places to check out what is new in kidlit and fill your TBR lists. Thanks for stopping by to read about my reading week.

Books I Finished This Week:

Hard to write more about this book. It’s an excellent story about friendship. A great beginning of the year read aloud or book talk candidate. It has interesting, diverse characters and as a bit of an introvert myself, there was one I enjoyed a bit more than the others.

This is another book that I am late to the party on, as with Hello, Universe, but its certainly a very sweet early chapter book in which a young boy learns to form friendships, be a sibling and a caretaker of pets. His autism is certainly part of the story, and kids could learn about what it is like for kids who have autism and also how to make them part of their community. I may seek out the sequel to this one, at least for the library.

Yes, another story where friendship is a major theme. In this graphic novel, Bina has to deal with her very best friend Austin leaving for the summer to attend a soccer camp. She tries to deal with befriending Austin’s sister, and also with changes in her relationship with Austin. It reminded me a little of Roller Girl, but for a slightly older audience. Roller Girl is one of my favourite graphic novels dealing with these kind of issues but I might recommend this one to kids that I have already handed Roller Girl.

As an elementary librarian and a grade six teacher, I am often asked for scary books, but I can tell most of these kids do not want to be too scared. Here is a book that I should be handing to them. I bought it when it came out as a paperback so no one had the chance to read it at my school last year, but I have a list of kids that will appreciate this one. There are lots of ghosts and thrills and also some good plot points around family and Korean culture. I look forward to the sequel to this one, I think it would make a great TV show too (but I hardly watch TV so what do I know).

This is a really sweet picture book letting readers know that it is okay to be different from what people expect. Here we have a dragon that just cannot breathe fire. Other things come out that are sometimes topical, and often hilarious. I think readers will like to guess what might come out of our dragon’s mouth next. I am looking forward to sharing this with primary classes during the next school year.

This is a book that I have skimmed a lot but never read straight through. I decided to read the whole thing right through this summer. It is a great resource full of some aha moments and lots of affirming head nodding ones too. I had a couple of moments where I thought, Hey I used to do that, why did I stop!? Great professional development and anyone teaching reading should make themselves familiar with Donalyn Miller by reading this book or The Book Whisperer. Next, I have to loan this to a few people.

Lately, I have been feeling a bit of pressure to get through a lot of books that I added to our library system over the last third of the year, and some the district added as well. Occasionally, I lament that I am unable to read as many series out as I want. I think I will try to read one per week this month, and this week it was the sequel to A Tale Dark and Grimm. If you have never read this series I think dark humour might be the best way to let you know what to expect. It is a wonderfully, dry depiction of the fairy tale world. Some of the tales and inspired by classic fairy tales and some are original. In addition to being their own tales, the chapters work together into a coherent and interesting novel as well. It is great, but grizzly fun.

Currently Reading: I have only one book right now. Immediately after posting this blog, I will go and find a couple more to add to my currently reading pile. For now, it is just my family’s read aloud, A World Without Heroes, book one of the Beyonders series by Brandon Mull.

Up Next: I have an ARC of The Lighthouse between the Worlds by Melanie Crowder that I want to read soon, and a book that I started before a student asked me to read it, Enginerds by Jarrett Lerner. I will also be picking a sequel. Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier? Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish (my wife’s choice I am sure)? or The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud (this would surely be my daughter’s choice). I also have some new picture books to read before they go in the library in September.

Have a great reading week, and if you are a fellow B.C. resident, Happy B.C. Day!