It’s Thanksgiving Monday, what are you reading?

I am using this time on a holiday Monday to write a post and link up with other kidlit focused bloggers who virtually meet each Monday at teachmentortexts.com (thanks to Jen for hosting) and unleashingreaders.com (thanks to Ricki and Kellee for hosting). Visit these sites if you want to add books to your to-read lists.

Books I finished this week:

I love The Blackthorn Key Adventures series by Kevin Sands, and this is the fourth installment. I usually drive to Mosaic Books in Kelowna to get a few copies the weekend before release. I have a lot of readers in both my grade six class and in the library that want to check this one out right away. This one takes place weeks after the third book and Christopher is in a lot of trouble when he wakes up and remembers pretty much nothing about his life. In addition to figuring out who he is, he also wants to help the village that has brought him back to health physically find out why children are disappearing. For fans of this series, this is another must read, but apparently there will be a long wait for a fifth one. Through conversation with Kevin Sands on Twitter, I learned that he has something new in 2019 but it won’t be a Blackthorn book, for that my readers and I will have to wait until 2020.

I have been waiting to read this one for a while. My pre-order got held up and then shipped elsewhere but I finally got this late in the week. My library groups are becoming accustomed to hearing a new Josh Funk book at some point in the fall and a few kids have been asking me for this one. This is the third installment of the Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast books and it features a battle for control of the fridge that is filled with puns, and more rhyming fun. These are among the most read picture books in my school each year.

This one was a big change of pace for me. I wouldn’t say it is a book that kids couldn’t read but it doesn’t read like it is written for kids. I only mention this because it is a rare thing for me to write about this type of book in this space. The characters are adults with the majority being elders. There is a large group that decides to go on a bucket list type trip from Vancouver to the Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque, New Mexico. All of the individuals in the group are going through personal challenges of one sort or another and the strength of the book is how they use each other as a community to get through some of life’s big moments. Another strength is many of the mentions of the Indigenous ceremonies and ways of living that go beyond simply stating but describing them for readers who may be less familiar.

Manny is a super hero when he plays games at school and around the house. He has a number of capes that he wears depending on the heroic deeds that are needed. What will happen when his powers are tested more than ever before? When a bully makes fun of one of the smallest creatures at his school, Manny is challenged to stand up and speak for a school mate. This one has a really positive message about the bravery required to be the first to stand up and speak out against injustice.

Currently Reading

Last night I started The Marrow Thieves, and I was into it right away. I was wishing I had started it earlier in the day so I could read more. My class is reading Amal Unbound together as part of the Global Read Aloud, I have previously enjoyed this one in the summer. This week, we got to do a Google Hangout with a class near San Antonio, Texas that is also reading the book. It was fun to share a few thoughts. This week we are using Flipgrid to share with a large group of classes in Canada and the US. My family is reading E. Aster Bunnymund, the second of William Joyce’s Guardians series. We should finish this today, and my wife’s choice will be next. This was my youngest child’s (8) choice and it is testing my oldest (11) who would not have chosen this one.

On deck reads

I have these two ARCs to choose from and we are working to select books for our District Battle of the Books this school year. I read for this purpose throughout the year, but another teacher dropped several on our list this week that I haven’t read and now I might scramble to find copies of a few this week, although I don’t own any of these. My public library only had two but in out of town branches, so I have put in for some interlibrary loans. If I can get one of these books this week, I will try to read it.

Have a great reading week, everyone, thanks for stopping by and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.