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

 

 

 

Lion, Lion by Miriam Busch, illustrated by Larry Day

 

2014-book, animals, cats, humor, picture-book, play-on-words, surprise-ending

 

Interview with Mr. Schu

 

 

This book has a story for me! I won artwork by Larry Day (featuring the LION and the little boy) at Nerd Camp earlier this month. I was very excited to meet the author of the book he illustrated (who happens to be his wife) and Larry right after I claimed my prize. It was interesting that I won the art because all the other works of art that I was interested in I knew the illustrator and the books they were from - except this one! I put raffle tickets in the bag for this one just because I loved the lion and the boy, the beautiful, rich colors, and thought the illustration was awesome. After I won it, I thought I better buy the book, so I did. As Miriam Busch was signing the book for me, I realized my phone went dead, and I couldn't take a picture of me with her (Larry had signed it already and was signing someone else's book when this was happening, I think). I was so disappointed! My friend, Megan, was in the bathroom at the time, so I couldn't even borrow her phone. Lo and behold, and only at Nerd Camp, there was another illustrator/author, Ruth McNally Bershaw, standing by to rescue me. She SKETCHED us as we were standing there and handed me the sketch!!!! WOW! WAY better than a photo! Both the Larry Day art AND the sketch of Miriam and me are being framed at my favorite framing store and will be added to my collection of children's book illustrations in my classroom! I finally got to read the book and loved it. Kids are going to love the surprises and twist in this book, the endearing LION, the funny, colorful illustrations of all the animals, and the brave boy.

 

 

 

 

 How To Draw a Dragon by Douglas Florian

 

2015-book, art, dragons, humor, picture-book, poetry,  rhyme, weneeddiversebooks   Douglas Florian books always make me smile. The fantastic, humorous art, the quirky verse, and the kids in his books are great! Each two-page spread features a colorful, unique, and creative dragon, a child (I appreciate the diversity of the children!), and tips on how to draw the dragon.     Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley   2015-book, acceptance, family, grief, loss, mock-caldecott-2016, mothers, picture-book   Oh my, this one is a tear-jerker. Beautiful illustrations accompany a poignant story about a few stages of grief (denial, acceptance) and the love of a mother. One of my favorites this year!   MIDDLE GRADE     Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson   2015-book, character-development, emotions, friendship, graphic-novel, grit, identity, intermediate-kids-book, mothers, sports       I loved this graphic novel about a 12-year-old and her experiences with roller derby, changing identity, and learning about what friendship really means. Her chosen sport also teaches Astrid a lot about determination and grit. Moms could learn a few things, too, about how to handle a little girl growing into a teenager from Astrid's mother. I know this will be a favorite in my classroom!   I better order multiple copies!                     Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail and Danger in Ancient Rome by Kate Messner     2015-book, adventure, dogs, early-middle-grade, historical-fiction, history,  time-travel Rescue on Oregon Trail:               I loved this first book of a new historical fiction/time travel series for young readers! Once again, Kate Messner knows exactly how to appeal to any and all levels/ages of readers. It's amazing. Ranger is a search-and-rescue dog, and when he finds a first aid kit that transports him back in time to 1850, his skills come in handy on the Oregon Trail. I love Ranger's devotion to his present-time owner, Luke, even when doing what he can for the families in the past. Kids will love Ranger while also learning lots of history!   Danger in Ancient Rome   This follow up to the first in a series of time-travel historical fiction books featuring Ranger, the search-and-rescue dog, was a little more violent and action-packed. It will appeal to early middle to middle graders who love adventure, survival stories, and history. Lots of facts about gladiators sneak into the narrative, and there is a great Author's Note and glossary at the end. Ranger's antics will delight dog lovers!   Young Adult     When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds   audio-book, characters-with-disabilities, conflict-and-resolution, divorce-or-separation, family, fathers, financial-struggles,  siblings, teenage-sex, weneeddiversebooks, young-adult-book     Megan and I listened to the audio of this book to and from NErDcampMI. Ali is a kid living in Brooklyn with his kid sister, Jazz, and mother, who works multiple jobs to make ends meet. His neighborhood is noisy, full of action, and sometimes dangerous, but Ali stays clean. Jazz loves giving everyone nicknames, including the brothers who moved next door. Noodles becomes his best friend, even though he's constantly looking for trouble, and Needles has Tourette's Syndrome. He gets his nickname from his love of knitting, which he learns when Ali's mother teaches it to him to calm him down. Noodles is hard on Needles, which really bothers Ali. When a misunderstanding turns into a brawl at a party, Ali has to figure out how to stay on the right side of the tracks. There is a lot going on in this story, and I loved how Reynolds dealt with decisions, emotions, the urban setting, family, forgiveness, values, and friendship. It was nice to read a young adult novel in which the character decides NOT to participate in things that many YA novels celebrate (sex, drugs). Lots to talk about in this novel. Also, don't let the cover scare you away.  This book SHOULD be included in your teen libraries.     The Hunted by Matt de la Pena   2015-book, adventure, survival, weneeddiversebooks, romance, young-adult-book       Strong follow up to The Living.  I highly recommend both - teens will love them!       The Young Elites by Marie Lu       2014-book, abuse, character-motivation, disease, fantasy-science-fiction, romance, strong-girl-character, survival, violence, young-adult-book   Wow.  This book was intense!  I've argued that as a whole series, Legend is strong than the Divergent and Hunger Games series.  I'm waiting for the movies - I hope someone is making them! This one promises to be just as strong.  However, while I would recommend Legend to some of my mature 6th grade readers, this one is for older kids!  There are more mature themes and more intense violence in this story.  Adeline is a great character, though, because she has built up anger from her father's abuse and abilities that are potentially greater than any of The Young Elites' powers if she can learn to control them.  I hate that I have to wait now for the 2nd installment!   ADULT     The Rosie Project by Gramie Simsion                              adult, adult-fiction, characters-with-disabilities, gifted-character           I finally got around to reading this novel, and I'm glad I did. I loved it! It's smart, funny, and thought-provoking. It helped me think about Asberger's in a new way, and I enjoyed the budding romance between Don and Rosie.  I'm excited about the movie - Jennifer Lawrence is being talked about to play Rosie - perfect choice!