It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 1.20.14

This weekly post comes from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.  It's a great source to find new books to use with your students.

I actually got quite a bit of reading done this week.  There was more reading then sleeping going on, I am pretty sure!  I started reading blogs this past summer.  Slowly, since the start of the school year, I kept adding to my daily blogs that I read.  Which means my pile of TBR books kept getting higher and higher.  I feel the need to keep up.  I know, let it go now.  But it's been fun having that many more books in my repertoire to bring to kids and teachers.

Here are some of my favorites from this past week:


Don't Play With Your Food! by Bob Shea
4/5 stars
Very cute story.  Would pair well with Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds.  Watch for a future post!


Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It by Gail Carson Levine
4/5 stars
Poems based off of William Carlos Williams's "This Is Just To Say" poem.  Watch for a future post on this one too!


Henry's Map by David Elliot
3/5 stars
Cute story that introduces mapping.  Good for young readers


Baby Bear by Kadir Nelson
5/5 stars
Beautiful beautiful book.  Already ordered it!  The illustrations are stunning.  The story is cute, lacking a little bit, but I barely noticed it because the illustrations are so amazing.  The story is definitely one for a younger reader, but our kindergartners do a unit on bears, so I can't wait to share it with them!  Will definitely be comparing text and illustrations during that lesson!


Building Our House by Jonathan Bean
5/5 stars
Awesome illustrations.  Loved seeing the progression of the family building their home.


Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon
4/5 stars
Lovely story about friendship.  Pair in a friendship unit with Frog and Toad and Elephant and Piggie stories.


Arnie the Doughnut by Laurie Keller
5/5 stars
I had not read this book before, but had seen several people post about the new(er) chapter book based off this picture book.  The humor and sarcasm in this story are hilarious.  Even older grades (4th/5th) will crack up at the humor.  My absolute favorite line, after Arnie figures out doughnuts get eaten is, "Well, that explains why my friends never write or call - they've probably all been EATEN!" The best surprise for me with this book is Laurie Keller will be at the Anderson's Children's Breakfast in February.  I will be purchasing this book and having her autograph it!



Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner
4/5
Wordless picture book.  Younger students will laugh at the interactions between the cat, Mr. Wuffles, and the aliens.  Older students will go back, again and again, and try to figure out the language of the aliens!


The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher
4/5 stars
Loved this mystery.  The author did a great job keeping it suspenseful - she never "watered" the mystery down even though it is a book for kids.  My only warning is the author references, repetitively, the social worker's "enhanced" body part, the "time of the month" and the brother ends up with hickeys.


Marty McGuire by Kate Messner
4/5 stars
Great chapter book for kids who are ready for chapter books, but not the super long chapter books.  Another great thing is this book is the first in a series.  The second book is out and the third one is scheduled to be released on Jan. 28!  Perfect for 1st-3rd grade classrooms.


Spaceheadz by Jon Scieszka
4/5 stars
Can Jon Scieszka do anything wrong?  This is a great series from Scieszka.  Michael K. is new in town and he unfortunately gets matched up with the other new kids from school - who just happen to be aliens who are disguised as students, along with the class "hamster" (Major Fluffy).  Another great series that is very reader friendly.  Great for 2nd-4th grade.  Older kids will appreciate the humor!

Continuing this week:


And hoping to get to:
         

Happy Reading to you!