It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6.07.21

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 took last week off from blogging!  For the Memorial Day holiday I was excited to relax and just get some things done inside and outside of the house.  Then it was the last two days of school!  I was able to find some solid reading time over the Memorial Day weekend and I'm looking forward to continuing it now that summer is here!  Let summer reading officially begin!

Picture Books

     

El Toro and Friends:  Training Day and Tag Team

by Raúl the Third

colors by Elaine Bay

Readers may already be familiar with some of the characters from the new series "El Toro and Friends" from Raul the Third's ¡Vamos! series.  This series is being marketed towards the Elephant and Piggie crowd - in a similar size and length - and while it may not have the same humor, it does have very likable characters.  The stories are a bit longer in word length, but I love the inclusion of Spanish sentences and traditions and scenes found in Mexico.  I hope to see this series continue!  It's a must have for K-3 libraries.

Memory Jars

by Vera Brosgol

We've all had that feeling - loving something so much that we just want to bottle it up and keep it forever.  That's exactly what Freda does in the story but then figures out, when it's bottled up, you don't get to experience it and the joy that something special brings.

Coquí in the City

by Nomar Perez

Drawing upon his own experiences from when he was 10, Perez writes about immigrating to a new home, but remembering and treasuring the things you love about your native country.

Sunrise Summer

written by Matthew Swanson

illustrated by Robbi Behr

Partly autobiographical, this story is about how a family travels to a remote area of Alaska each summer to catch and sell salmon.  It was fascinating to read, and not at all what I expected!  In the story, the oldest sibling is of the age where she can help in the preparation and catching of the salmon.  Loosely based on the illustrator's experience from when she was younger, there is additional information in the backmatter that further explains that the author and illustrator's family has continued this tradition.  

Middle Grade

The Shape of Thunder

by Jasmine Warga

Wow wow wow!  Warga's ability to write about such a sensitive topic without it being about that topic and make it deep and compelling!  Just amazing.  This book is about friendship during the very center of grief and whether it can heal or not.  It's about healing and trying to find a way to change events that hurt our very core.  What it's not about is a school shooting.  It's the aftermath of one, but Warga focuses on family, friendship, identity, grief, and hope.  So well done.

Sisters of the Neversea

written by Cynthia Leitich Smith

By now, you should know that most version of Peter Pan are problematic.  I grew up with the Disney version and I still enjoy the ride at the Magic Kingdom.  But when as I watch it now I realize a lot of it is just wrong.

Cynthia Leitich Smith's book, as part of her new imprint Heartdrum from Harper Collins, sets out to change a lot of these wrongs, including shining a light on the mischief maker and head racist himself, the character of Peter Pan.  Set in today's world, this modern retelling is so enjoyable and I loved the way Smith wove the familiar story with today's younger generation and their better understanding of the world around them.

Just a heads up, this story is great for kids in third grade and up, but does have numerous ways the word "ass" is used - jackass, silly ass... it didn't really add to the story, wish the language hadn't been used!

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Collins for the e-galley.

The Best Worst Summer

by Elizabeth Eulberg

Having grown up in the 80s and having a huge crush on Joey McIntyre from NKOTB made me really really like reading this book!  The 80s references were rad!  Of course, to our readers they are all ancient and old, but it will make this book really fun to talk about with readers.

Told in dual storylines, one taking place in 1989 and one in the present day, the universal themes of friendship, family, and racism are familiar regardless of the decade.  Perfect MG to kick off my summer reading!

Young Adult

Every Body Looking

by Candice Iloh

This novel in verse captures that feeling of finally coming into your own identity and figuring out who you want to be, instead of who the grown-ups around you want you to be.

Well written, but a slow story.  I did like how it bounced back and forth between the main character's, Ada, ages.  Ada finally starts to come into her own by the end of the book and that's exactly when I wanted more!

This was one of my May #mustreadin2021 books.

A Vow So Bold and Deadly

by Brigid Kemmerer

If you have not read this trilogy, change that now.  I remember receiving an ARC of the first book and slowly reading it while working out.  It was a take on the Beauty and the Beast story.  I liked it, but really fell in love with it towards the end.  Loved the second book and loved loved loved this last one.  I enjoyed how the present day characters fell into the fairy tale setting and brought a dose of reality.  The stories remain pretty chaste until this last book, and even then the romantic scenes are pretty mild.  Always good to have a YA feeling story for older MG readers.

Currently Reading

The Gilded Ones

by Namina Forna

I am about 2/3 of the way done with this one and I can tell you it's EXCELLENT!!  The world building, the plot, the characters!  So well done!

I've been giving myself some binge reading time the last three days.  While I know that won't happen everyday of summer vacation, I am hoping it continues!  I have such a stack to get through this summer!  Happy reading to all!