A Fall It’s Monday What Are You Reading Post 9/23/19

Summer ended without much of a bang weather wise here, and over the last few weeks the new school year has brought an end to prolific summer reading. However, I have been able to finish a few books that I thought I would share on this first Monday of Fall. Head to teachmentortexts.com and unleashingreaders.com if you haven’t already to see more of what people are loving this Fall.

Books I Finished This Week

The unruly, but beloved (at least by my primary classes in the library) pigeon is back to school just like many of us, but not really happy about it. His complaints and realizations will draw big laughs yet again.

Another new title from a perennial crowd pleaser, Guts is a book I never would have thought existed or that I would read when I was a kid. A graphic novel about a girl dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? Ignorant 11 year old me would have horrified. I am interested in how this one will be viewed by Raina Telgemeier’s fans. I think some will think it is her best effort yet, but some might not. I remember when Vera Brosgol’s Be Prepared came into my library, some tweens were a little uncomfortable reading about the beginnings of early adolescence but others immediately passed it to friends. I think this book will be similar. I thought the connections made between mental health (anxiety) and physical health (IBS) were very good and could provide important talking points.

More silly fun with animals from the author of I am Not a Chair (which I loved). I did not like the story of this one quite as much, but I think the appearance of most of the animals you would want to see in a zoo, in restaurant food will hit the funny bones of many young readers. The poor waiter who keeps returning the food to the kitchen, at the expense of his health at times, deserves some laughs too.

The next series to be published in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint (Oct. 15) is important in several ways. It is a story with its roots in African mythology and features a number of characters that are somewhat familiar to North American readers from African-American stories. I think many readers may be somewhat ignorant of the origins of characters such as Brer Rabbit, John Henry and Anansi but that is part of the fun of this and other books in the series. We are able to learn a lot more about great stories and characters of many cultures. There are also characters that are new to me and maybe should not have been new. The real fun is in a story filled with quests and adventure as Tristan Strong is thrust into a position where he must save the world in a place that is far from home, at a time in which he feels anything but at his best. Tristan uses his brains and his brawn, learning the power of belief in oneself and of a good story in order to pull through.

Currently Reading and On-Deck Books

I read half of Arturo Zamora when the student beside me on a bus trip was asleep and I really enjoyed it. My regular book, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky was an e-arc and my old IPAD is not bus savvy. I will finish this one up soon. We All Fall Down is a re-read I am reading to my grade 6/7 class who knew only a little about 9/11 when we started. The Rule of Three is a re-read that I am reading with my family as my nine year old requested it. We are reading extra Eric Walters’ books as he visits our school district in about a month. My oldest, 12, wants me to catch up on The Trials of Apollo series before the fourth one is out on Monday. I might be a few days late. Also, I really enjoyed Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series, and when he went back to that world with last year’s Impostors I went along for the ride, and now the second book in that set is here with Shatter City.

Thanks for stopping to read my weekly summary of my reading. I hope to get to the other posts linked up at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers to see what others have been up to. Thanks to our hosts Jen, Kellee, and Ricki and happy reading to everyone!