It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 4.20.2020

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

It's a cover reveal for Anna Staniszewski's upcoming picture book!  See it here.

We learned how animals use play for different skills in Maria Gianferrari's new book.  Be sure to enter the GIVEAWAY!

Here are some longer transitional chapter books for readers who are almost ready to make the jump to longer middle grade novels.

It's National Poetry Month - have you read these books?

Picture Books


Night Animals Need Sleep Too
by Gianna Marino
Some nocturnal animals get together to find the perfect place to settle in and sleep.  Of course everything they find is already taken, which leads to some laugh out loud moments for the reader.  And then the irony of the ending, because of course it takes all day to find a place for nocturnal animals to sleep....


That's Life!
written by Ame Dyckman
illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld
Ok, this book could not have published at a more important time.  A big look at life and all it brings us.  This book is really perfect to read and talk about right now.  So many great writing prompts come from this book - I will probably use some in my journal!


Summer Song
written by Kevin Henkes
illustrated by Laura Dronzek
The final season in this four book series from the husband and wife team.  By far my favorite season, and I do love all the green in this book.  There were parts of the story that didn't flow well, which I don't think I've ever said after reading a Henkes story.  Glad to have this final book in my library!


Baby Clown
written by Kara LaReau
illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Parents will recognize a collicky baby, young readers will recognize the turning point and humor!


The Weather's Bet
words by Stephen Cowan
illustrated by Ed Young
When Nature's big three - wind, rain, sun - get together, who will be the strongest?
Young adds symbols that are based on seal characters of Chinese pictograms into the story for the nature's elements.


Zero Local Next Stop: Kindness
by Ethan Murrow and Vita Murrow
Husband and wife team up for another gorgeous wordless picture book that shows how one small act of kindness can be spread.  It's gorgeous.

Graphic Novels


Peter and Ernesto: Sloths in the Night
by Graham Annable
My favorite sloths are back!  This time they are traveling (at record speed!) to a temple where there is a rumored dragon.  While traveling, Peter and Ernesto and the other sloths are on the lookout for a friend.  They learn that their traveling becomes a little easier when kindness is shown, and then it's often reciprocated.  

Middle Grade


City Spies
by James Ponti
Looking for a book that is high on adventure, mystery, and suspense?  This is a book for those readers.  We meet Sara in this book and when we first meet her she's at court, getting in trouble for hacking into the New York City juvenile justice system in order to expose her foster parents, who are not protecting their wards.  It's there she meets Mother, a spy for the British M16 organization, who agrees to take her on and train her to become a spy.  Plus they need her for their very next mission.  Sara meets the other kids in the organization and learn they have all taken on names that are reflective of where they came from.  That's when Sara sheds her old identity and becomes Brooklyn, M16's newest kid agent.  Brooklyn doesn't have much time before the mission and she's thrown into some of the hardest training of her life.
Readers are going to love this fast-paced novel where tweens/teenagers use some amazing skills to take down some very powerful bad guys!  Looking forward to book 2 in this series already!


Foreverland
by Nicole C. Kear
This question may hit a little too close to home right now.  Have you ever wanted to leave the problems in your life and get away to a magical place?  A place that has wonderful memories?  A place where you can escape the realities of life and maybe not worry about growing up just yet?
That's what Margaret does in this story.  Something is going on at home and she wants to escape, go to a place that only holds happy memories.  For her, that's the theme park Foreverland (with some definite connections and feels of Disney parks, but on a smaller scale).  While Margaret has always been a shy kid, she has to face some fears and figure things out on her own, but it's not too long and she meets another runaway kid, Jamie.  The two kids get to know each other and help each other out, all while trying to stay hidden from the head of security, the Captain!
Middle grade readers will relate to the main characters and appreciate the storyline of running away and escaping life's problems.  And while growing up can be hard, it's with the support of friends that help us get through.
I really enjoyed the way acrostic poems wove through the storyline!

Currently Reading


The Water Bears
by Kim Baker
This story is pulling at my heartstrings!