It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/22/13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.

It was originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, but Jen and Kellee put a Picture Book to YA spin on it.

What I Read This Week:

Picture Books

Once a week I volunteer at my local library. This week I was assigned to shelf read the picture books looking for popular authors who have multiple titles; I was to make a list so we could check to see what we needed to order. The end result was a stack of books that I needed to check out! Some of them were books I have been hearing about but not yet read, while others were ones that simply caught my eye. There were 13 in all, but some of my favorites were:

  Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton. The story was a bit goofy, but there was just something about the illustrations that I loved.

What To Do If An Elephant Stands On Your Foot by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. I just love Peter H. Reynolds’ art work. When I first started reading the story, I was afraid it was going to be a take on If You Give A Mouse a Cookie, but was pleasantly surprised by the narrative twist.

Crow Call by Lois Lowry, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Oh. My. Goodness. This book is absolutely beautiful! Lois Lowry is an amazing storyteller, and Bagram Ibatoulline’s illustrations are gorgeous. I am always in awe of artists whose work is so realistic it looks like a photograph.

Happy Birthday, Hamster by Cynthia Lord, illustrated by Derek Anderson. Cynthia Lord has long been a favorite author. This book is so much fun.

Kamishibai Man by Allen Say. This caught my eye for two reasons: 1. Allen Say. 2. After reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet I am interested in learning more about the Japanese culture.  This is a beautiful story.

Young Adult

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

This is a book that I have long had on my TBR list and the time just seemed right. Last week reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford got me thinking about the American Identity and how the United States has treated minority groups who proudly identify themselves as American. My husband was reading Code Talker and as we discussed the books, it was clear that this would be a good follow up for me. Code Talker tells the story of Ned Begay, a Navajo Indian who becomes a Marine Code Talker in the Pacific theater of World War II. After attending boarding school where he was told that everything Navajo is bad, Ned, is eager to join the Marines when he learns that Navajos are being specially recruited. Upon completing basic training, where the Navajos discover they are better equipped to handle the physical demands, Ned begins training as a Code Talker, and is delighted to discover that his sacred language, for which he was previously punished for using, is now highly valued.

The Island of Lote by Emily Kinney

I have to confess that I have abandoned this one. I’ve been trying to read it for quite some time. I met the author; she’s a young gal from Maine. I enjoyed hearing her speak to our middle school students. A few of the middle school students have read this book and enjoyed it. I really wanted to like it, but just couldn’t get past some early events that really go beyond what is realistic. I know that when reading fiction you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief, but this was a bit too much to ask. I do hope that Emily continues to write and that her writing matures. She has a lot of talent and potential.

Graphic Novels

reMIND: Volume 2 by Jason Brubaker

I was thrilled to find this at my library on Thursday. I read volume 1 earlier in the spring and fell in love with Jason Brubaker’s drawing. My favorite, by far, is Victuals the cat. When I read Volume 1 my first reaction was that the story was goofy, but suddenly I found myself sucked into the story.

What I am Reading:

Professional Development

Real Revision by Kate Messner

The English Teacher's Companion, 4th Edition by Jim Burke

Middle Grade

Doll Bones by Holly Black