It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10.29.18

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.

Last Week's Adventures

In part 2 about my Mock Orbis Pictus, I dug into how it is going to look and shared the rest of our list.

In the #road2reading Challenge, I talked about how I book talk books so they are not "boy" or "girl" books and shared how I would introduce three books that may be typically called "boy" books.

Picture Books


Wild Orca: The Oldest, Wisest Whale in the World
written by Brenda Peterson
illustrated by Wendell Minor
In a book that is perfectly illustrated by Minor, we meet Granny, the world's oldest living orca.  Through the eyes of a young girl who is patiently waiting this year's migration by Granny and her family, we learn facts about these amazing creatures but also go on an adventure with them.


Little Whale
by Jo Weaver
Another migration story, mother Gray Whale is bringing her child, Little Whale, back to the cool, northern waters.  Facing dangers and the wide open sea keep them moving.  Told in stunning charcoal illustrations, this is a beautiful story about a mother's love keeping her child safe.


Hansel and Gretel
by Bethan Woollvin
I am pretty sure this is my favorite fractured tale by Woollvin because it turns the table on who the "villain" of the story is until one character in particular changes throughout the story. 


Little Fox in the Snow
written by Jonathan London
illustrated by Daniel Miyares
Follow a young fox throughout the day as it hunts for food and then is hunted for food!  Good verbs are sprinkled throughout to explain the fox's movements.
Find this book Nov. 13th


No Boring Stories!
written by Julie Falatko
illustrated by Charles Santoso
Who wants to read a boring story?  Certain not these characters, especially those stories with bunnies them.  Due to their bunny bias :) these characters won't let Bunny into their writing group because bunny stories are boring.... or so they thought.  Maybe what they need is a good bunny idea!  Shares elements of plot - would be a fun book to share when that is discussed.
Find this book next Tuesday - Nov. 6th!


A Horse Named Steve
by Kelly Collier
Thanks to my friend, Ann DiBella, for telling me about this one!  A story that will for sure make you laugh and wonder if you always do whatever everyone else is doing, how unique are you?  Pair with Robert Munsch's Stephanie's Ponytail.


Misunderstood Shark: Friends Don't Eat Friends
written by Ame Dyckman
illustrated by Scott Magoon
Misunderstood Shark was one of my favorite picture books this spring.  Funny and smart, kids flocked to this book!  It's still one of my most checked out books.
In January, we get the sequel and find out how our friend Bob is doing.  And... we get the best and most disgusting shark fact EVER in this book!!!  Make sure you look for it in January 2019!  I already have my copy on preorder!
Thank you to Scholastic for the advanced preview!

Informational Texts


Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices
written by David M. Schwartz
photos by Dwight Kuhn
The science behind a jack o lantern after Halloween - what happens to a carved pumpkin if left to rot outside!
Absolutely disgusting, this one will fascinate readers who enjoy their science!

Currently Reading


Book Scavenger
written by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
A slow reading week means I'm still reading this one.  Late nights reading means a lot of rereading the next day - need more daytime reading :)

Happy Reading week to you!