Sunday, May 17, 2015

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5.18.15

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.

That first week back after vacation is always a tough one to get caught up on.  Add being gone at swim meets all weekend, well, reading slowed down, just a bit!
Here's what jumped out of the stacks this week:

Picture Books

Stuck
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
5/5 stars
I love books that make me laugh.  They are so easy to "sell" to students.

And Then It's Spring
and then it's spring by Julie Fogliano
4/5 stars
This is a great book to pair with Kate Messner's Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt book.  I passed this one along to our 2nd grade team who does a unit on plants and seeds.

Templeton Gets His Wish
Templeton Gets His Wish by Greg Pizzoli
4/5 stars
Greg Pizzoli is masterful at teaching strong central messages, using accessible text.  I love using his books to spark wonderful conversations.

Inside This Book: (are three books).
Inside This Book (are three books) by Barney Saltzberg
3/5 stars
Cute book that has 3 siblings showing the books they published, each one after the other.  Could be used as a mentor text for Writer's Workshop!


Poetry

Dogku
Dogku by Andrew Clements
4/5 stars
Loved this entire book told in haiku.  The illustrations are a stand out too!

Graphic Novel

Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust
Hidden by Loic Dauvillier
4/5 stars
I feel the more I read, the more I learn about history.  The German purge of people of Jewish descent is widely known.  However, I don't remember reading as much about the same thing happening in France.  I feel like I've just recently read about this in different books.  
This is a great book to use in a classroom when discussing this time period.  I love that the graphic novel is being used as a format to teach some important events - this format seems to reach more readers.

Middle Grade

Wish Girl
Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin
5/5 stars
Oh my gosh.  How I loved this book.  It grabbed my heart and Did. Not. Let. Go.  
First of all, you will love Peter and Annie.  They both are fighting for something that just blows you away.
Secondly, you will love the setting.  The Hill Valley.  Or is it a character?  I think that would be a wonderful debate to have.
This book would make a wonderful read aloud.  If it's not already on your list, please add it!

Currently Reading

The Precious One
The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos
Yes, an adult book!
I've enjoyed her other books, her command of language is amazing.  This one started out slow for me, but there are just too many times I read something, a line, that just makes me stop and amaze at her writing ability.  

On-Deck

Masterminds by Gordan Korman

What are you reading?

12 comments:

  1. My fifth graders are reading HIDDEN, and they love it even thought they think it's really sad. It's interesting to have a very serious and tragic story told in the form of a graphic novel. I can't wait to read Wish Girl!

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  2. I have seen HIDDEN pop up on lots of blogs. It's definitely one I want to read.

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  3. I loved Hidden, and will look for Wish Girl, Michele. The picture books look good too. And Then It's Spring is terrific, good idea for the pairing too.

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  4. I haven't heard of any of these. Obviously I need to expand my reading horizons outside of YA. Come see what my week was like here. Happy reading!

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  5. I've had WISH GIRL on my TBR pile for a while now but just haven't gotten around to it. I love settings that seem to be their own character in the novel so I think I'll really like that.

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  6. Wish Girl sounds incredible--adding it to my TBR list for sure. I really enjoy Oliver Jeffers' books. Hidden was a powerful read. I need to buy a copy so I can booktalk and get students reading it.

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  7. Masterminds was beyond awesome. Korman just keeps getting better and better.

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  8. Hidden - such a powerful book. I read about Wish Girl on another post this past week (Nerdy book club I think!) and it looks amazing - your review has made me even more excited about reading it. Dogku - great addition to my poetry collection. Have you seen Guyku? It's great, too! Thanks, Michele!

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  9. Stuck is one of my absolute favourites! I LOVE reading it aloud. I am currently reading and LOVING Wish Girl! Can't wait to get back to it in fact!

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  10. Hey! Sorry I didn't stop by yesterday. Silly migraine.

    You have so many good books here! I loved Stuck, too. It is not surprising we share the same views on it. My husband and I thought it was grand. Also, I thought Hidden was a gem. Like you, I love learning about history through books. Speaking of which, I will keep you posted on X. So far, it is absolutely a must-read.

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  11. What an exciting list of picture books. Hidden and Wish Girl just arrived in a box of new books but I haven't had time to read either of them yet. I pretty much love every book Jeffers publishes! Isn't it lovely to look forward to reading an adult title?

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  12. I love how you described Wish Girl - so much book love there - I will have to find that one. The adult novel you shared is totally unfamiliar to me, will definitely have to look for that one. There's another picturebook/graphic novel of the same theme entitled Hidden Child by Isaac Millman - also worth checking out.

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