Monday, May 28, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? May 28, 2018


A great meme hosted by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers! A place for people to talk about books they have recently read and are currently reading. Also a great place to find books to add to your "must read" list.

Here is what I have recently read (click on the title to learn more about the book):
By Kelly Yang

I finished this one in just 2-3 days! A very interesting story about an immigrant family who is trying to make it in America. The main character Mia, and her parents, end up managing a hotel under the harsh supervision of the mean and racist owner. The thing that made this story even more interesting was the fact that much of it is based on the author's life! I think it may become my first or second read aloud next school year.

By Stephanie Burgis

This title is on our state's student book award list (Maine Student Book Award) for 2018-2019 so I decided to give it a read! An entertaining story about a young female dragon who sneaks out of her families cave in order to prove herself. She's only out of her cave for a few minutes when she is tricked by a mage and is turned into a human. The rest of the story is how she survives as a human and how she finally figures out what her passion is. I can see why this one made the list and imagine it will be passed around the classroom quite a few times next school year!

Here is what I am currently reading (click on the title to learn more about the book):
By Kieran Larwood

Still reading this one during independent reading time in my classroom. Still enjoying it!

By John David Anderson

This one has been in my to read pile to quite a while. I finally decided to read it because it is also on our student book award list for 2018-2019. I am only on the second chapter, but I have high hopes!

By Daniel Rechtschaffen

I am reading this one for a graduate level course I am taking this summer.

Monday, May 21, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? May 21, 2018

Wow! Again, it has been way too long since I have written a blog post! With the end of the school year drawing closer, I vow to try and keep up with my blog and post on a more regular basis. I am really looking forward to some of the amazing books I have in my to read pile as summer quickly approaches! For all you other teachers out there, good luck with the last few miles of the school year marathon!


A great meme hosted by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers! A place for people to talk about books they have recently read and are currently reading. Also a great place to find books to add to your "must read" list!

Here is what I have recently read (click on the title to learn more about the book):
By Jerry Spinelli

I'm not sure why I had never read this one before. I think I was under the impression that it was way too old for m 4th grade classroom, so it just kept getting put further and further down the pile. While the characters are a little on the older side and there is a bit of kissing, the theme itself is a good one. I think most of my 4th graders could handle the mild kissing scenes and would get a lot out of the message of be yourself and accept others the way they are.

By Kwame Alexander

I had this one preordered and started it the day it arrived in my mailbox. I loved The Crossover and was really looking forward to learning more about Chuck Bell when he was a kid. I enjoyed the story almost as much as The Crossover, and I really liked the connection this book made back to The Crossover at the end of the book!

By Chris Colfer

This series has been in my classroom for ages, but for some reason I never had much desire to read it.  I suppose part of the reason is that I was being a bit judgy and didn't hold out a whole lot of hope that Chris Colfer, Glee star, would be able to write a decent chapter book. But as I was poking through my book stacks a few weeks ago I came across this title again, and for some reason, this time, I decided it was time to give it a read. Turns out my students had been right all along, and indeed I had been too harsh to judge Chris Colfer, because this book is very entertaining! I love the fairy tale aspect of it as well as how the two main characters deal with a really tough time in their life. I might even have to read book #2!

By Tracy Barrett

As was The Wishing Spell, this title was also a pretty entertaining fantasy! The thing I liked most about this story is that everyone in the story looks up to Marabel's twin brother Marco because he is a boy, but in the end Marabel is the one who actually saves the day.

By Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

With a title and cover like this, how could you not pick this one up off the shelf! Really sweet story about family, friendship, and helping one another out.

By David Barclay Moore

I listened to the audio version of this one and it was amazing! It was narrated by Nile Bullock who seems to be a similar age to the main character Lolly. This fact really made me feel like Lolly was telling the story. This made me feel that much more connected to him and his story. The story itself is also a great one about a boy who is trying to survive life living in a tough neighborhood where everyone expects you to grow up to be a nobody or die trying.

By Varian Johnson

Great mystery about two kids who are each having a rough summer for different reasons and how they band together to solve a mystery that no one believes is real. Johnson did an amazing job of tackling tough topics such as divorce, bullying, racism, and sexual identity in a way that is appropriate for the younger MG reader!

By Aisha Saeed

As soon as it was announced that this book would be the MG title for this year's Global Read Aloud, I preordered a copy! It took me about 2 days to read this amazing story about what life is like for those living in countries where indentured servitude still exists. A powerful story about what is possible when you dare to have the courage to speak up for yourself and fight for your rights. I will definitely be reading this to my 4th graders next October as part of the Global Read Aloud (https://theglobalreadaloud.com/)!

By Sally J. Pla

This book moved to the top of my pile when a colleague of mine told me how much she loved it. Another great story about how to overcome your fears and how to survive really uncomfortable situations when a loved one needs you.

Here is what I am currently reading (click on the title to learn more about the book):

By Kelly Yang

Really excited to get an early copy of this one through my last Scholastic book order! I have been hearing so much about this book that I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and get started. I started it last night and am already having a hard time putting it down!

By Kieran Larwood

This book is on our state's student book award list for 2018-2019 so I decided to make it my independent reading time book at school. I am only a few chapters in, but I can already tell that this one is going to be popular with my 4th graders!