Monday, July 31, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7.31.17

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

Do you know a dog lover?  Then you want to check out Hello Goodbye Dog.  Lots of mentor text ideas and a giveaway!

Have you heard about Alan Gratz's new book Refugee?  I hope this is a book that will start many conversations.

I am so excited for this book - Dazzle Ships.  Another fascinating account of history that I never knew about!

The Heartwood Hotel series is so perfect for animal lovers!  This is a series I would have loved as a young reader!

Picture Books

Stay: A Girl, a Dog, a Bucket List
Stay: A Girl, a Dog, a Bucket List by Kate Klise
5/5 stars
The Klise sisters are back together and have written a book that is a must have for library collections.  It's a beautiful story about the love between a dog and girl.  It's going to hit many emotions depending upon the background of each reader.  For me, it made my heart a bit fuller.  I think this book may be just the comforting blanket a reader may need at some point.

Renato and the Lion
Renato and the Lion by Barbara DiLorenzo
5/5 stars
A really beautiful picture book that takes place in Florence, Italy during World War II.  At the heart of the book is a moving story of a boy and his love for a statue in Florence.  But underneath is actual events about what the Europeans did to protect their artwork during World War II.  Don't miss the author's note at the end.

The Fog
The Fog by Kyo Maclear
4/5 stars
Fantastic illustrations - potential Mock Caldecott contender.
Teach upper elementary/intermediate/middle school?  Great picture book for discussion - about the environment.... or maybe a metaphor for the fog in your life... or how we see each other/need each other.

Littles: And How They Grow
Littles and How They Grow by Kelly DiPucchio
4/5 stars
I will add this to my list of books to give for a baby shower/newborn gift.  Sweet story, and I loved the diversity the illustrator included.

A New Friend for Sparkle (A Unicorn Named Sparkle #2)
A New Friend for Sparkle by Amy Young
4/5 stars
Another fun book with Sparkle the Unicorn/Goat.  Doesn't have quite the spark the first one had, but it will still touch reader's hearts with the message of friendship.

A Place to Read
A Place to Read by Leigh Hodgkinson
3/5 stars
I would use this book at the beginning of the school year to talk about all the places we read and how to find one that fits for you.  The illustrations are fun, but the story doesn't go quite into the depth I wanted it to.

I Wrote You a Note
I Wrote You a Note by Lizi Boyd
4/5 stars
This makes for a fun, whimsical read aloud.

Poetry

A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices
A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby
4/5 stars
This is a must have for the beginning of the school year!  Savor this book, take your time reading it.  It's a perfect book to use for character study!

Middle Grade

The Pirate Code (Hook's Revenge, #2)
Hook's Revenge: the Pirate Code by Heidi Schulz
4/5 stars
Jocelyn, Roger and the crew are back for another adventure!  
This book was one of my #mustreadin2017 books and it was a fun follow up to the first book in the series.  
It was fun being back in the Neverland and going on another pirate's adventure.

Young Adult

Another Brooklyn
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
4/5 stars
I'm putting this one in young adult because it's a book that spans the ages.  This one can easily be read by young adults and adults.  
A short, quick read, Jacqueline Woodson's melodic words and lines sooth you as you read, and you can't help but get drawn into this quick story.

Currently Reading

The Silver Moon of Summer (Silver Sisters, #3)
The Silver Moon of Summer by Leila Howland
This is the perfect summer series.  This series is a fun read about three sisters that takes place on the east coast.  

My summer reading is winding down.  I have some must read books to read and share!  Happy reading this week.

12 comments:

  1. Renato and the Lion sounds very interesting. I have many students who like reading about this time period. This sounds like a good one to share with them.

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  2. This is the second time I've seen Stay on a list this week. I will definitely have to check it out. I love your analogy of a book as a comforting blanket. So true!

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  3. I loved Another Brooklyn, and agree that it's for YA, too. Thanks for the picture books, will look for Renato and the Lion, and others, too. There are so many lovely stories out there!

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  4. Stay sounds so beautiful, but I have a feeling I'll be needing some tissues!!

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  5. Thank your for your post! I've added a lot of the picture books to my to-be-read pile.

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  6. Renato and the Lion is one I will be grabbing. I loved Another Brooklyn and it grew on me even more with each reading. I'll watch for Stay.

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  7. Thanks for sharing all of these new books! Lots of great ones coming along! Have a great week!

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  8. I loved Another Brooklyn, too - not a book for my sixth graders, but I passed it along to 8th.graders who loved it, too.

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  9. Loved Renato and the Lion. Stay hit me really hard, but that's because I read it less than a week after I had to put my dog down. It is a beautiful book though.

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  10. Hi! :) You know how much I loved Renato! It made me cry, and PBs don't often do that.
    I didn't know Another Brooklyn--I'll have to look into getting it. I love Woodson's work.
    I read Fog from Netgalley, but we also recently got it from our Powell's Books Boox, so I look forward to sharing it with Trent.

    Happy reading this week :)

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  11. Can't wait to read Refugee.

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  12. I can't wait to read both Stay & Refugee. I love Kenard Pak's art, and am a new fan of Kyo Maclear (thanks to her adult book, Birds, Art, Life--loved it!!)

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