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

Gail Carriger @ Bethesda Library :: November 5, 2014

Martin Widmark @ Politics and Prose :: November 5, 2014

Martin Widmark is the Swedish author of the Whodunit Detective Agency series (LasseMajas Detektivbyrå in Swedish). He was at Politics and Prose to talk about writing, creativity, and the middle grade series that's recently been translated into (American) English.

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

It seems like a rather light reading week, but I also read five Japanese manga that I had my mom bring back from Japan (the newest volumes from Fumi Yoshinaga's two series, Ooku and What Did You Eat Yesterday? -- both series are translated into English -- and the two newest volumes of Hana Yori mo Hana no Gotoku by Minako Narita, whose work I've been reading for years).

And I finally, finally, finished the e-galley of The Walled City by Ryan Graudin that I started in late-July. I'm still puzzling over why it was difficult for me to really get into it enough to finish in a reasonable amount of time. I appreciated the setting (alternate Asia?) and the gritty premise of the plot, but the pacing threw me off.

My favorite book of the week was Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen. The words and the pictures work so well together, and the ending! The ending!

And, I hate to end on a complaint, but I'm kinda annoyed with Ninja Red Riding Hood. It's not the only book that's guilty of this, but -- for the love of gosh-darn-it! -- will people please stop mixing up Asian clothing as if it all comes from the same place?! Ninjas don't wear kung fu uniforms!

[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:

Cursed Pirate Girl, Volume 1 by Jeremy Bastian

Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts, illustrated by Christian Robinson

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 1: The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford, illustrated by Kelly Murphy

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

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell