It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9.24.18

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

Fantastic mentor text for discussing not always believing what you read/hear.  It's necessary to have all the facts in this age of "fake news".  Check out the blog tour for Spooked! here.

Some traditional and non-traditional princess books in this #road2reading Challenge.


Picture Books


The Yin-Yang Sisters and the Dragon Frightful
written by Nancy Tupper Ling
illustrated by Andrea Offermann
This is just the kind of picture book I would have enjoyed as a young reader.  Full of adventure and sisterly love, it is just a fun read.  Sisters Wei and Mei are each other's yin and yang.  One likes action and adventure, the other enjoys reading to learn.  When a dragon sets himself across the bridge that links the villages, it's the sisters that decide to take on the dragon.


Merry Christmas, Little Elliot
by Mike Curato
I feel like the entire "Little Elliot" series are timeless books.  Maybe because they are set somewhere in the past, they feel like they will be loved for generations to come.
In this holiday installment, Curato has captured true holiday spirit.
Christmas music anyone???


Imagine
written by Juan Felipe Herrera
illustrated by Lauren Castillo
Whenever I am at ALA and NCTE, one of my favorite things is walking around the expo and glancing through the upcoming picture books.  Because of everything going on around me, I have a hard time really getting into the picture books, but I can get the gist.  
I remember reading this one at ALA this summer and just loving it.  I love the words and what they mean.  I think it's so timely.  And then there are Lauren's illustrations.  I think this book has some of her best work.
Read and share this book and if you're doing Mock Caldecott, you may want to add this book!


Harrison P. Spader, Personal Space Invader
written by Christianne Jones
illustrations by Cale Atkinson
We were just talking about this in a meeting - kids not understanding what personal space is and how much is needed.  This will be a great read aloud for a primary classroom.


Pearl
by Molly Idle
If you're looking for a book with an Aha Moment, add this one to the pile!  And with Molly Idle's beautiful, soft and gentle illustrations, this one is sure to be a timeless story.


Allie All Along
by Sarah Lynne Reul
A good one to add to your SEL collection.  
For those times when you feel so angry and the aggression must come out before you can feel yourself again.


Carmela Full of Wishes
written by Matt de la Peña
illustrated by Christian Robinson
Another beautiful story by this duo, this time taking a small moment and making it into a big moment.  It's Carmela's birthday and she is finally old enough to travel with her big brother into town.  Along the way she picks up a dandelion, not realizing if she blows the white spores away she can make a wish.  Once her brother lets her know, she holds on to that flower until she has her perfect wish.  But when she falls on her scooter and breaks the dandelion and therefore her hopes for a wish, it's her brother that makes things alright again.


I Love You More Than...
written by Taye Diggs
illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Not all families look alike and some of them are apart, for a variety of reasons.  What a reassuring book for a young child who may have a family that looks like that.


Life With My Family
written by Renee Hooker and Karl Jones
illustrated by Kathryn Durst
And speaking of families... even though they are sometimes crazy, imagining yourself in an animal family might be crazier!  A fun way of looking at collective nouns that identify groups of animals, it also has a sweet message about loving where you're at!


Good Dog
by Cori Doerrfeld
Add this to books you hand off to your dog lovers and to your readers who just love any books that make you say awwwww!  Told in two words per page (or sometimes none!) we follow an adorable stray dog as he follows a young girl and mom around town.  Will he find a new forever home??  I'm adding this one to my #MockGeisel long list!


Blue
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
We know that what seems to be a simple color book can win a Caldecott Honor (Green by the same author) but can she do it again?  I think this one is even more complex - I actually read it through a few times because I didn't want to miss anything!  I think this one tells even more of a story and I was surprised that a story told in just color words can evoke such emotion.  You won't want to miss this one!  It's going on my #MockCaldecott and #MockGeisel lists.  Just beautiful!


Dear Substitute
by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick
illustrated by Chris Raschka
Written as a series of letters to different events/people/animals that you may occur during a school day.  At first our main character is a student you may recognize - one that has a hard time dealing with change, difficulties when normal routines are interrupted.  But the character does change over time and learns to see some of the positives that happen when routines change.


King Alice
by Matthew Cordell
Have you ever had one of those days where a Snow Day has been called by schools and the roads are so bad that the whole family stays in together?  Then you know what starts out with lots of possibilities end with everyone being tired of being stuck in doors with each other!  
Young Alice has woken up and decided she is King and as King, she'll be writing a story.  What follows are pages of her book interspersed with what is going on inside the home.  Snow continues to fall, the remainder of her day continues on, and King Alice's book mirrors real life with imagination.

Currently Reading


Merci Suárez Changes Gears
by Meg Medina
I am loving this book, just having challenges with reading more than a chapter at night before sleep overtakes me!  I'm hoping to get it done this week!


You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P!
by Alex Gino
This book publishes this week so I wanted to get a head start on it.  I'm really enjoying it and I love the inclusion of Deaf characters.  Alex Gino has done a great job integrating the Deaf characters with a theme of racial differences.

Hoping to get the MG books read this week!  I think it will be a slow blogging week with other obligations on my plate.  We'll see how the week turns out!