It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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

 

 

Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison

 

I smiled all the way through this book. Who wouldn't fall in love with Jane, the ordinary, extraordinary little dog?! The illustrations are just priceless. Poor Jane just doesn't feel like she measures up to her graceful mother, her strong father, her brave brothers, fearless sisters, or the amazing circus performers. She tries everything! It turns out she's best at just being Jane. And that is extraordinary.     Peggy by Anna Walker     I was drawn to this book by the cover! The watercolor of a city filled with umbrella-clad pedestrians and one lone chicken is irresistible. "Peggy lived in a small house on a quiet street" and filled her days with ordinary activities until she was blown away by a blustery wind. Thus began her adventure in the big city, but there's no place like home.     Don't Play With Your Food! by Bob Shea   Bob Shea has such a sense of fun and creates great read alouds for young children. Kids will love the easily duped monster and the cute, clever bunnies.     Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown       This collection of Margaret Wise Brown unpublished poems were stumbled upon by Amy Gary and published in this beautiful book, illustrated by various children's literature artists. I'm amazed by Brown's ability to turn simple words, rhymes, and repetitions into pure magic. Goodnight Moon was one of my daughters' favorites were they were young. This book would make the perfect baby gift. A CD of music accompanies it.     Eric, the Boy Who Lost His Gravity by Jenni Desmond Eric gets really, really mad at his sister when she messes with all his toys and play. How is it HE is the one who gets in trouble?! He gets SO mad he actually lifts right up off the floor. After he cools off, he falls back down, and his sister is the one who gets really, really mad because she can't find Bunny, the stuffed animal. I thought the scribbled facial expressions were pretty funny.       Two Speckled Eggs by Jennifer K. Mann     MIDDLE GRADE     The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story by R.J. Palacio     In an interview I saw, R.J. Palacio was asked why she didn't include Julian's point of view in Wonder, and she said that she didn't want him to have a voice. When we hear someone's story, we feel empathy, and she didn't want that. I wonder if she needed the distance from writing the novel to feel compelled to tell Julian's story. At the beginning of the chapter I didn't think there was going to be redemption since Julian was unlikable as ever. His parents were equally unlikable, especially his m...more In an interview I saw, R.J. Palacio was asked why she didn't include Julian's point of view in Wonder, and she said that she didn't want him to have a voice. When we hear someone's story, we feel empathy, and she didn't want that. I wonder if she needed the distance from writing the novel to feel compelled to tell Julian's story. At the beginning of the chapter I didn't think there was going to be redemption since Julian was unlikable as ever. His parents were equally unlikable, especially his mother. It wasn't until he stayed with his French grandmother over the summer that Julian started to change. Once again, Mr. Browne was amazing and shed some light on Julian's behavior. He also validated Julian's sense of worth so that he could make the change. Palacio tried to take on an awful lot in 80 short pages, but she did tackle another big theme. I'll be curious to see what reactions my students have to this added chapter. Will they forgive Julian? Knowing my students, they will. I liked that I read Wonder aloud to my current fifth graders last year when I had them in fourth grade. They've had a year and a half distance from the book, and even though they were curious about Julian's perspective, they couldn't get it. From now on, students will have access to Julian's chapter immediately after they finish Wonder. That will be a completely different experience. "But the good thing about life, Julian," she continued, "is that we can fix our mistakes sometimes. We learn from them. We get better. I never made a mistake like the one I made with Tourteau again, not with anyone in my life. And I have had a very, very long life. You will learn from your mistake, too. You must promise yourself that you will never behave like that with anyone else again. One mistake does not define you, Julian. Do you understand me? You must simply act better next time."' - Julian's grandmother   YOUNG ADULT     The Elite by Kiera Cass   While this series is not especially deep, it is compelling. I am reading it for the same reason I watch "The Bachelor" - the drama and romance. :-)  I have some girls in my class that are ripping through the series, too. I have to get the final book, The One, back from one of them since I let her borrow it. Now I'm ready to find out how it all ends.   ADULT     The History of Us by Leah Stewart     THEN: Eloise has to return to Cincinnati and live in her childhood mansion after landing a job at Harvard in order to take care of her sister's three children after Rachel and her husband die in tragic accident. This incident is briefly described, and we don't know much about the years that Eloise raised the children except for brief flashbacks during the NOW section. NOW: The story fast forwards 20 years to when the children are young adults. Much angst gathers around family relationships, roma...more THEN: Eloise has to return to Cincinnati and live in her childhood mansion after landing a job at Harvard in order to take care of her sister's three children when Rachel,and her husband die in tragic accident. This incident is briefly described, and we don't know much about the years that Eloise raised the children except for brief flashbacks during the NOW section. NOW: The story fast forwards 20 years to when the children are young adults. Much angst gathers around family relationships, romance, the house, the city, and jobs. The family has to figure out what is important and what home and happiness means. I have to be honest - I found the characters pretty annoying and dysfunctional. It was fun, however, to have a novel set in my own nearby city, Cincinnati.   CURRENTLY READING     CURRENTLY LISTENING TO       My family loves to read, too!   Mom:     Dad:     My husband, Ed:     My daughter, Katie (18):     My daughter, Libby (21):     What are YOU reading this week?