It's Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA

I hope everyone received some wonderful books for the holidays! Books continue to be my favorite gift to give and receive. This year, I received a pie cookbook from my sister and my husband gave me the new volume of  Saga, the newest issue of Ms. Marvel, and the Flavia de Luce short story.

[To rehash the concept :: post what you read last week, what you're reading now, and what you plan to read this week. If you have a review of the book(s), great! If you have a picture of the book(s), wonderful! If you have a book giveaway, fantastic! If you just list the title(s) of the book(s), not a problem! Make it as simple or as complex as you need it to be. At least, that's the message I got. This version of the meme is hosted by Jen and Kellee of Teach Mentor Text, which, in turn, was inspired by Sheila over at Book Journey, who hosts the original It's Monday! What Are You Reading?]

WHAT I READ LAST WEEK:

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse by Alan Bradley

Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak

Oh No! Not Again! (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or At Least My History Grade) by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Dan Santat

Rifka Takes a Bow by Rebecca Rosenberg Perlov, illustrated by Cosei Kawa

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett

WHAT I PLAN TO READ THIS WEEK:

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

It' Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA

A much better reading week, if I do say so myself. Graphic novels help to ease me back into a regular reading schedule, and I anticipate that once Winter Break starts I'll get more reading done. I was also able to catch up with a few Capitol Choices nominees; it's nice that I have access to them at our monthly meetings.

Looking back, it was a nonfiction-heavy week, testament to the strong field of nonfiction books for kids out there right now. If you have any nonfiction recommendations, please share them.

[To rehash the concept :: post what you read last week, what you're reading now, and what you plan to read this week. If you have a review of the book(s), great! If you have a picture of the book(s), wonderful! If you have a book giveaway, fantastic! If you just list the title(s) of the book(s), not a problem! Make it as simple or as complex as you need it to be. At least, that's the message I got. This version of the meme is hosted by Jen and Kellee of Teach Mentor Text, which, in turn, was inspired by Sheila over at Book Journey, who hosts the original It's Monday! What Are You Reading?]

WHAT I READ LAST WEEK:

The Blind Boy & the Loon by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril

Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory: The Complete Story of Willy Wonka, the Golden Ticket, and Roald Dahl's Most Famous Creation by Lucy Mangan

Dollars and Sense: Developing Good Money Habits by John Burstein

The Graveyard Book, Volume 2 written by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell, illustrated by David Lafuente, Scott Hampton, P. Craig Russell, Kevin Nowlan, and Galen Showman

Halfway Home: Drawing My Way Through Japan by Christine Mari Inzer

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison

Manage Feelings by Sarah Tieck

Nuts to You by Lynne Rae Perkins

Shooting the Stars: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by John Hendrix

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak

WHAT I PLAN TO READ THIS WEEK:

The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett

Nuts to You by Lynne Rae Perkins

Nuts to You written and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
Published by Greenwillow Books (August 26, 2014)
272 pages
Age range: 8~12 (3rd~6th grade)

Synopsis (the short version from the back cover):
In which four squirrels find out what they're made of: Friendship. Courage. Big ideas. Also, nuts. (And I mean that in a good way.)

Synopsis (the longer version from the publisher):
How far would you go for a friend? In Nuts to You, the funny and moving new novel by Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins, two squirrels go very far indeed to save a friend who has been snatched up by a hawk. Nuts to You is short, funny, and surprising—an Incredible Journey with squirrels. It features black-and-white art by the author on every page and will appeal to fans of animal fantasies by Kate DiCamillo, Kathi Appelt, and Avi.

The squirrels Jed, TsTs, and Chai are the very best of friends. So when Jed is snatched up by a hawk and carried away to another realm, TsTs and Chai resolve to go after him. New communities are discovered, new friends are made, huge danger is encountered (both man-made and of the fox and bobcat variety) and mysteries are revealed. Nuts to You is wholly original, funny, lively, and thought-provoking. It is a deeply satisfying piece of storytelling about the power of stories to save the world; about the power of friendship and the importance of community.


This beautiful book is illustrated in black-and-white on every page by the author and includes an introduction, epilogue, and funny footnotes throughout. A terrific read aloud!

Some favorite quotes:

"What I love most about peanut butter," he said, "is how it transports me to my youth. The first taste always takes me back to the very first time I had it. For an instant, I am young again, and strong. And probably foolish." (page 4)

But hope pushed its way into her heart. Stubbornly, it took its place beside sorrow. (page 25)

Then he stepped off the branch, looking to the spot where he would land. Step and land, step and land. That's all travel was. Throw in some running and a change of scenery. No big deal, right? (page 32)

Use of Language:

[...] her voice already dimming with distance, muffled by the laced fingers of the trees. (page 31)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA

Ack! Year-end reading is getting off to a bad start! I spent Thanksgiving week back in California and only managed to finish one book (Amy Poehler's Yes Please). The second I got home, I dove head-first into running the book fair at my daughter's school. Ironically, I was surrounded by books for 30+ hours during those three days and I managed to read zero books! It took me a week to get back into reading. I was hoping to read 450 books by the end of the year but I'm not sure I'm going to meet that goal. But I will try!

[To rehash the concept :: post what you read last week, what you're reading now, and what you plan to read this week. If you have a review of the book(s), great! If you have a picture of the book(s), wonderful! If you have a book giveaway, fantastic! If you just list the title(s) of the book(s), not a problem! Make it as simple or as complex as you need it to be. At least, that's the message I got. This version of the meme is hosted by Jen and Kellee of Teach Mentor Text, which, in turn, was inspired by Sheila over at Book Journey, who hosts the original It's Monday! What Are You Reading?]

WHAT I READ LAST WEEK:

Chimpanzee Children of Gombe by Jane Goodall, photography by Michael Neugebauer

Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

Nuts to You by Lynne Rae Perkins

WHAT I PLAN TO READ THIS WEEK:

Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory: The Complete Story of Willy Wonka, the Golden Ticket, and Roald Dahl's Most Famous Creation by Lucy Mangan

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA

[To rehash the concept :: post what you read last week, what you're reading now, and what you plan to read this week. If you have a review of the book(s), great! If you have a picture of the book(s), wonderful! If you have a book giveaway, fantastic! If you just list the title(s) of the book(s), not a problem! Make it as simple or as complex as you need it to be. At least, that's the message I got. This version of the meme is hosted by Jen and Kellee of Teach Mentor Text, which, in turn, was inspired by Sheila over at Book Journey, who hosts the original It's Monday! What Are You Reading?]

WHAT I READ LAST WEEK:

All the Answers by Kate Messner (publication date: January 2015)

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA

[To rehash the concept :: post what you read last week, what you're reading now, and what you plan to read this week. If you have a review of the book(s), great! If you have a picture of the book(s), wonderful! If you have a book giveaway, fantastic! If you just list the title(s) of the book(s), not a problem! Make it as simple or as complex as you need it to be. At least, that's the message I got. This version of the meme is hosted by Jen and Kellee of Teach Mentor Text, which, in turn, was inspired by Sheila over at Book Journey, who hosts the original It's Monday! What Are You Reading?]

WHAT I READ LAST WEEK:

At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui by Christine Liu-Perkins

Gotham Academy, Issue 2 written by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher, illustrated by Karl Kerschl

Luz Sees the Light by Claudia Davila

Ms. Marvel, Issue 9: Generation Why, Part II written by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona

Runaways: Dead End Kids written by Joss Whedon, illustrated by Michael Ryan, colored by Christina Strain

Stella's Starliner by Rosemary Wells

Wonder Woman: The Story of the Amazon Princess by Ralph Cosentino

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

All the Answers by Kate Messner (publication date: January 2015)

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

WHAT I PLAN TO READ THIS WEEK:

Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson

Robin LaFevers @ Bethesda Library :: November 10, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA

This was very much a middle-grade kind of week, which was great because I see myself "specializing" primarily in MG books. This is particularly useful to me because my capable-but-reluctant-reader daughter is in fourth grade. More and more I'm realizing that there is a shift at about this age in how kids see themselves as readers, how they're seen as readers, and how they present themselves as readers. I don't want to pigeonhole my daughter as a reluctant reader, especially because her teacher commented that she was a great reader during our parent conference, but I see a marked difference between her and my son. Again, comparing children is a bad idea, but the first-born child often becomes a reference point for clueless parents, and it's a hard habit to break.

Anyway, in order to recommend as many books as possible to my daughter, I'm trying to read as many different types of MG books as possible. The great thing is that she doesn't struggle to read, she has wide interests, and once she finds a book she likes she'll read it (albeit slowly). I feel like part of what's holding her back is that she's intimidated by longer books. For example, Hoot was a recent selection in her book club, and she wasn't particularly keen on reading it when she saw how long it was. But I got the audiobook for her (a first for me, too, actually) and she read along with the CD, which helped immensely. She still didn't finish the book, but it was clear to both of us that she was definitely interested in the storytelling. 

I think the first order of business is to build her confidence by finding great stories in an easily digestible format, and to continue to encourage her. Any other suggestions, wise readers?

[To rehash the concept :: post what you read last week, what you're reading now, and what you plan to read this week. If you have a review of the book(s), great! If you have a picture of the book(s), wonderful! If you have a book giveaway, fantastic! If you just list the title(s) of the book(s), not a problem! Make it as simple or as complex as you need it to be. At least, that's the message I got. This version of the meme is hosted by Jen and Kellee of Teach Mentor Text, which, in turn, was inspired by Sheila over at Book Journey, who hosts the original It's Monday! What Are You Reading?]

WHAT I READ LAST WEEK:

Ariol #1: Just a Donkey Like You and Me by Emmanuel Guibert, illustrated by Marc Boutavant, lettering by Michael Petranek, translated by Joe Johnson

The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny) by Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer, illustrated by Stacy Innerst

Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber, illustrated by Brian Lovelock

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell

Hello, My Name is Ruby by Philip C. Stead

Ken Jennings' Junior Genius Guides: Maps and Geography by Ken Jennings, illustrated by Mike Lowery

Landed by Milly Lee, illustrated by Yangsook Choi

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy

Otis and the Scarecrow by Loren Long

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor, illustrated by Laura Beingessner

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 1: The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford, illustrated by Kelly Murphy (publication date: January 2015)

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui by Christine Liu-Perkins

WHAT I PLAN TO READ THIS WEEK:

 

Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard

by Loree Griffin Burns, photography by Ellen Harasimowicz