Monday, January 10, 2022

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 1.10.22

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.


Happy belated New Year's to all!  I can't believe this is my first #IMWAYR post since August!  I had to slow down blogging because life was getting to be too much of everything.  Between school (and that word is a loaded statement because anyone dealing with working with children in any capacity during this ongoing pandemic knows that it's more than we could ever sit down and write) and my daughter's junior year of high school and ongoing college search and our home renovations, it was TOO much.  It still is.  I can't go back to regular blogging, but I can do some.  I'm not even going to say it will be a regularly posted amount.  When I can, I will, and when I can't, I won't.  
I've also gone back and looked at my posts from the year and seen what readership is.  I can say that blogging readership has gone done.  I think with the rise of social media, it's very easy to find book titles in quick social media posts instead of reading through a blog.  Keeping that in mind, how I blog may change.  In a list post such as this, I'll try and keep descriptions to a minimum so quick scanning can occur.  Unless I feel like you really need to know more!  When a post is spotlighting a book, there will be some longer descriptions, including how it can be used.
And we'll see where 2022 takes us!  I still have stacks of books to get through and when I blog, that takes up reading time.  Have to find a balance and when the book stacks are tipping over, it definitely means I need more reading time!

The second week of Winter Break had me plowing through book stacks.  And as much as I read, I have more stacks to get through!  Here are some favorites.

Recent Picture Books


Have You Seen Gordon?
 by Adam Jay Epstein
Let Me Fix You a Plate by Elizabeth Lilly
Sam Is My Sister by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
There's a Ghost In This House by Oliver Jeffers
The Longest Letsgoboy by Derick Wilder
Soul Food Sunday by Winsome Bingham
From the Tops of the Trees by Kao Kalia Yang
Aaron Slater, Illustrator - by Andrea Beaty
Off-Limits by Helen Yoon
Wildfire! by Ashley Wolff
Three Ways to be Brave by Karla Clark
Fly by Brittany J. Thurman

Recent Nonfiction Picture Books



Pura's Cuentos by Annette Bay Pimentel
Battle of the Butts by Jocelyn Rish
With Great Power: the Marvelous Stan Lee by Annie H. Eriksen
What's in Your Pocket? by Heather L. Montgomery
A Dinosaur Named Ruth by Julia Lyon
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson
I'm Trying to Love Garbage by Bethany Barton
The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin

Recent Middle Grade and Young Adult



Violets Are Blue by Barbara Dee
When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods
Omar Rising by Aisha Saeed (publishes Feb. 1st)
Alias Anna by Susan Hood (publishes March 22nd)
Stuntboy In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (publishes Feb. 1st)


Hope you found a book or two to add to your reading pile.  Now it's time to get back to mine!



8 comments:

  1. I've seen your sharing on twitter, understand about the time to post versus reading. I think about that, too, Michele. Best wishes in this coordination of, well, life! It's a little crazy out there! I noted a few from your lists, have ordered the new Sepetys book, and know I will enjoy it! Have a lovely week ahead!

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  2. I'm so glad to see you back on #IMWAYR, even if it's not always regular—life can definitely get in the way, so I understand! And I understand you wanting to shorten your post format—I'm going to try a shorter format myself starting next week (although "shorter" is VERY relative for me).

    It looks like you've been reading some great books! I really want to read From the Tops of the Trees, and I made note of Three Ways to Be Brave as well. I actually just got a copy of There's a Ghost in This House as a gift, and I reviewed Born on the Water today and LOVED it! Thank you so much for the wonderful post, Michele!

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  3. It's great to read what you have been up to. We too are in the middle of house renovations. It just adds another level of background stress. I am worried I might end up getting used to living in chaos.
    I made balance my word for the year. I'm not sure if I will continue to blog either. If it wasn't that I try to highlight Canadian authors, white and indigenous, I would probably throw in the towel.
    Some of these books are on my list and I will add more from here to it. Thanks.

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  4. Glad to be reading your post this week! I can definitely understand the need to take a break! Love many of these books, but there are also a few I can add to my list.

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  5. I totally understand the need to take a break. I did too, and was happy to come back when it fit into my life. I prefer the two-way interactions I have with a number of you that have been doing this for several years, and getting to that point with other new people too.
    I also really agreed with what you wrote about school lately. It is a very different job than when I started.
    As for the books, so many good ones that I also loved like Omar Rising, Violets are Blue, and I Must Betray You in your MG section. One I am currently reading and a few I am waiting to get shipped. I also really enjoyed Aaron Slater... I am adding a few picture books especially that biography of Stan Lee. Thanks for coming back, it was nice to read some of your thoughts!

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  6. Thank you for including BATTLE OF THE BUTTS on your nonfiction list!

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  7. Welcome back Michele! I agree that blogging can be challenging when life gets busy. I read all the time but there are times it is difficult to focus and write reviews. Finding the balance between reading and blogging is tricky and I love that you are trying to discover ways to make it work for you. Happy 2022!

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  8. Thank you for giving a shout-out to my book Three Ways to Be Brave! How nice!

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