Sunday, September 8, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

These are memes started by Teach Mentor Texts and Book Journey, and I'm excited to participate, along with many other bloggers, in reviewing books I read the previous week. I'll be reviewing picture books through adult books.
 
 
PICTURE BOOKS
 
Inside Outside
 
 
 
I was lucky enough to win this book from Margie Myers-Culver when she gave away wordless picture books for Mr. Schu's birthday.  I loved all four that she gave away, but I already owned the other three, so I tried for this one.  I was so glad to receive and read it!  Fans of Laura Vaccaro's GREEN will enjoy this celebration of nature and childhood. Die cuts throughout enhance this book about a child's creative and curious life inside his home and outside in his yard throughout the seasons. I love the feel and weight of the pages and the adorable dog and cat. Be sure to notice the mice! Thanks, Margie ( and Mr. Schu for having a birthday)!

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan

#11 in the Award Winning Books Challenge

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by
Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

 
I read this book aloud to my sixth graders about the Lost Boys of Sudan to build some background knowledge for A LONG WALK TO WATER by Linda Sue Park. It's an excellent picture book about Garang, a young boy who has to flee his village in Sudan after it is attacked. He befriends a younger boy and takes care of him during their walk to Ethiopia. This picture book parallels A LONG WALK TO WATER closely, so it makes a great introduction.
 
MIDDLE GRADE
 
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
 
 
 

 
 
I LOVED the audio of this book, narrated by Lyle Lovett. It's so charming, poignant, and funny. Lyle Lovett's voice was just perfect for the story. I've got a student reading it right now, and I can't wait to hear what she thinks. I don't know if the actual reading of it will be as good as the audio, but I hope so! Twelve-year-old Chap is missing his grandpa something awful, and he loves the swamp. Bingo and J'miah are raccoon brothers and new scouts of the Sugar Man Swamp, keeping watch from Chap's grandpa's missing Desoto, reporting Intel. Alligator wrestler Jaeger Stitch is trying to turn the swamp into an Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, and if that's not enough to worry you, there is a gang of wild hogs on the way, intent on destroying everything! It's up to the Sugar Man to save the day, but no one has seen him in decades, and he's awfully hard to wake up. The characters and setting are unforgettable; I'm looking forward to recommending this to my Mock Newbery Club! A good pairing for this book would be Carl Hiassen's CHOMP.
 
ADULT
 
Don't Go
 
 
                                        2013-book, adult-fiction, audio-book
 
                                         
 
Poor Mike! This compelling novel begins with Chloe Scanlon struggling to get help as she bleeds uncontrollably from her arm, crawling on the floor from an accidental, self-inflicted stab wound. She is hazy, barely conscious, and senses someone walking in, standing over her, and then leaving. She can't reach the phone, and horribly, she dies. We find out her husband, Dr. Mike Scanlon, is a doctor and has been serving in Afghanistan. He receives the horrific call that his wife has died and rushes home. His wife left their infant daughter, Emily, in the care of Danielle and Bob, her sister and her husband. They take Mike in to their home, along with Emily. Shortly after his return, Mike gets embroiled in one unbelievable thing after another, finding out terrible things about his wife. It seems that he will never have a normal, happy life again. I listened to the audio version and got completely caught up in the twists and turns of this story. I recommend it!
 
For the third week in a row, I feel like I am not getting enough reading in, but alas, that is the fate of a teacher back at school!  Thank goodness for audio books because I can listen to them during my commute to and from school and while I walk my dog.  I know that soon I will be able to sit down and read again, but right now it seems painfully out of reach!  Meanwhile, I am enjoying recommending books for my students and getting recommendations and inspiration from them.
 
CURRENTLY READING
 
The Moon and More   The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business  10 Prayers You Can't Live Without: How to Talk to God about Anything Unlocking Complex Texts: A Systematic Framework for Building Adolescents' Comprehension
(I tend to read nonfiction in small doses while I'm reading other things. UNLOCKING COMPLEX TEXTS is our school's book study, so I'll be reading it for a while.)
 
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO
 
The Raven Boys
 
I also feature what my family is reading:
 
My mom:
 
Shine Shine Shine
 
My dad:
 
Fair Land, Fair Land
 
My husband:
 
Black List (Scot Harvath, #11)
 
What are YOU reading this week?

22 comments:

  1. I'm right there with you...my personal reading has slowed...slowed...almost stopped.

    Here's my It's Monday!

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    1. Visited your post - great books! I accidentally commented three times. Ha. I deleted two of them. ;-)

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  2. Brothers in Hope - looks fantastic...

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  3. Thanks for these reviews!

    My personal reading has also slowed now that students have been back for a week.

    I'm glad for the Inside Outside recommendation--a 6th grade teacher came by the library the other day asking for them to teach inferencing, so I'll order this one for sure. Also love Brothers in Hope, but I don't like that it's catalogued in the picture book section--the text and theme is for older kids, but they don't often find it since it's nestled with the "little kid" books, as they say. I'll have to pull it out and display it with A Long Walk to Water--thanks for the idea!

    Natalie

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    1. Worldless books are great! My favorite this year is Journey by Aaron Becker! Bluebird by Bob Staake, Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle, and The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett all great this year!

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  4. I started reading The Raven Boys several months back but postponed it for our current theme. I have a feeling it would fit our 'monsters and beasts' theme more than coming-of-age. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about it. Thanks for including Brothers in Hope for our AWB Reading Challenge - it does look awesome, will look for it in our library!

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    1. Oops - I forgot to link it up! I need to do that. :-)

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  5. Brothers in Hope looks just amazing. Thank you for highlighting it here. I hope you enjoy The Raven Boys. I love this series! Inside Outside is a wordless title I also have just read in the last few months. I am very curious how a class of kids will respond. Love sharing wordless titles and just sitting back to listen to all of the discussion that is the result.

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    1. I'm loving The Raven Boys! I think kids will love Inside Outside!

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  6. Ooh, I really loved Scottoline's book Don't Go. She writes such a diverse collection of books. I read one of her legal thrillers a couple of weeks ago.

    Here's MY WEEKLY SUNDAY/MONDAY UPDATES

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    1. Don't Go was great as an audio - very riveting! I'm going to look for more by her.

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  7. Oh I love that you're featuring what your family is reading. Such a neat idea. :)

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  8. My students love Lisa Scottoline. I am excited to pass on the word about this book. Don't let yourself get down about the amount of reading. You did a fantastic job. As the school year gets smoother, you'll get your groove back, lady! That said, I am impressed at the number of books you are reading at once! You go, girl.

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    1. The nonfiction/professional books I'm reading at once will go slowly. Just bits at a time while I'm enjoying fiction. :-)

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  9. Oh, I just loved the audio of Raven Boys! I can't wait for The Dream Thieves. I hope you are enjoying it. Have a great week. http://wp.me/pzUn5-1Fm

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  10. I usually match a non-fiction with a fictional story too. I will be interested to see what you think of The Power of Habit.
    Have a wonderful week!

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  11. The Raven Boys is on my list to read, after the book I'm reading, and one more!
    My It's Monday What are you Reading

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  12. LOVE!!! the family feature section! Makes my day!
    I hadn't read anything on your list, so thank you for the recommendations :)

    Happy reading this week!

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