It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11.18.19

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

Some new picture books and a middle grade about computing superstar, Katherine Johnson

Books about some DYNAMIC DUOS, perfect for kg-3rd grade readers!

My nonfiction picture book stack here


Picture Books


Five Minutes (That's a lot of time) (No, it's not) (Yes, it is)
written by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick
illustrated by Olivier Tallec
The title really says it all.  The entire book is different scenarios that take five minutes, but depending on what it is is the perspective of how long it feels.
Waiting to be called back to the dentist... fast 5 minutes.
In the dentist chair... slow 5 minutes.
Kids will relate to this book!


Talia and the Very YUM Kippur
written by Linda Elovitz Marshall
illustrated by Francesca Assirelli
Grateful my friend Kristen Picone told me about this one!  I do not have many books that celebrate the Jewish New Year, will be adding this one to my list.
Talia helps her grandmother prepare for a special feast but in her young mind, Yom Kippur becomes YUM Kippur and break-fast is breakfast.  Fun story!


Inky's Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home
written by Sy Montgomery
illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford
A fun story about a very curious octopus.  Inky the octopus escaped from the National Aquarium in Wellington, New Zealand.  Inky had been brought there after being caught in a lobster trap by a fisherman.  Injured and young, he was kept at the aquarium but not for long!  Inky escaped through a small drain pipe in the floor that lead back into the ocean.  Making international news, Inky became a superstar!  


Why?
written by Adam Rex
illustrated by Claire Keane
If you've ever seen the Disney show "Phineas and Ferb", then you'll know the voice of Dr. Doofenshmirtz.  That's the voice I had in my head when I read this story.
A super villain (the Dr. D. voice) crashes into a mall, ready to cause havoc everywhere when a young toddler stops him with her questions of "why?"... he entertains these questions and the answers finally get him to the root of his problems.


What is a Refugee?
by Elise Gravel
I really like the explanation this book provides about refugees, what is a refugee, why would they need to leave, what their feelings are, and what it's like to assimilate into a new place.  At the end, Gravel includes statements from young refugees that will help young readers understand these are young people just like them.  There is also a list and short bio of "famous" refugees.
The only thing I'm not sure about are the illustrations.  Lots of white refugees and light brown skin color refugees.  Some of color, an even smaller number wearing hijab.  I'm not sure the illustrations are representative of all refugees, but I also don't want to make assumptions.  Just something I noted.

Middle Grade


The Real McCoys
by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr
If you have kids who love the hybrid style book like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this is a series you want for your library.  There are three books published so far and I'm hoping for more! 
The series is a mystery - Moxie is looking for a new partner for her detective agency since her best friend has moved away.  For the time being, she's trying to solve them on her own.  The first mystery is solving who took the beloved school mascot, Eddie the Owl.  She has a list of suspects and trying to figure out who positively took it is a tough case to crack.  Luckily her brother, Milton, is able to step in and help out.
I loved how the text and illustrations went together in this novel.

Currently Reading


The Toll
by Neal Shusterman
I'm trying to savor this one and since I have zero time to read, the 1-2 chapters I read each night is definitely helping me read this slowly....


It's my busy time of the year!  NCTE and then we roll into the holidays and my daughter has the Paralympic Swimming Nationals.  I have a full week of posts for you this week and then I'll be in and out until 2020!  Hope you're finding more time than me to read!