#IMWAYR, Palindrome Week Edition 8/13/18

What I Finished this week:

In this crazy adventure two kids end up travelling into the world of their favourite series of books, a series that is to them what Harry Potter and Percy Jackson are to my little readers. Into the world of gnomes and trolls Buck Rogers (yes, like the space dude) and his best friend Lizzy go, but what happens to them there is not exactly what they expect, and as a reader, I felt the same way. What happened was that many assumptions that we make in stories and in life were challenged. This book has fun moments, lots of pop culture references that older nerds such as myself will enjoy and lots of opportunities to discuss issues or prejudice, which I did not expect. I found it hard to deal with how much I really disliked one of the characters and I am not sure how students will react to this book.

I really loved this picture book which I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway on Twitter (thanks Danielle Davis @writesinLA). Its a story about a girl’s name as the title suggests, reminding me of Chrysanthemum as her full name is really long. The story of her name is one that inspires pride in her family and heritage and that was such a great message well delivered.

I really loved this interactive picture book and think that many adults will love reading this over and over to unsuspecting children who may not understand all of the jokes. I do think this one will get lots of giggles in a library read aloud even if my Darth Vader voice is not great. I think I might get my principal to read this one.

I re-read the first three Amulet books this week. I plan to read one a day before attending an author event and hopefully getting to read the eighth book Supernova. These books are so popular in my house and my school.

This is another book that I won recently on Twitter, and I have been seeing so many great reviews lately that I was excited to get to it. There is one moment in particular that I loved in which you can see the whole story can go one way or the other, and there is this beautiful moment of acceptance that Julian gets to take advantage of. The artwork is also quite amazing.

This was a super fun, fast paced read. Great humour for fans of Dav Pilkey, Jeff Kinney and others. It is a full on chapter book with few pictures but the length won’t intimidate most young chapter book readers. The language is at a higher level though. I will grab the sequel for the library when it comes out in February, I think I will get a lot of kids to read this book in the coming school year, but they will likely be younger than the grade 6 students I teach.

Currently Reading:

Sophie Quire is the sequel I picked for myself this week. I decided to read more sequels in August. It has been more than two years since I read Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, but this seems like the sort of book that could also stand alone. I read it between Amulet books right now. A World Without Heroes, Beyonders, Book 1 is our family read aloud. We are half finished and really enjoying it. I am reading Good Questions for Math Teaching because I did not teach math last year and I am back doing so (it was my strongest area as a grade six student but not as a grade six teacher- I started as a humanities teacher in middle school- so no math). It is easy to read and helpful so far. Finally, I am reading The Mad Wolf’s Daughter with my daughter, who is 8. I had read it about a month ago and sold her on reading it. We are alternating chapters. It is one of my favourite books so far this year and I am really looking forward to the companion novel but it is not out until March. The author has a great giveaway for educators on Twitter, but it is US only.

Also this week:

I will finish my re-read of Amulet and last week I thought I would read an ARC of Melanie Crowder’s The Lighthouse Between the Worlds, and I haven’t but hope to this week. I also have some new books coming in to distract me including Jennifer Nielsen’s newest Resistance. If it comes in this week, I will read it. Since my house smells like smoke thanks to the wildfires in B.C. and in the United States, it might be a good week for some inside reading time. I should say how much I appreciate the people who fight these fires and keep communities safe. Happy reading, everyone!