It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 3, 2014

It's Monday! What are you Reading? From Picture Books to YA edition, is a meme created by Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers.  Every Monday book lovers share their own #IMWAYR posts.  So here I are the books I've read, listened to and loved this week.

Loved Books of the Past Week

These are the books I loved from last weeks pile and will be placing 
on the desks of children and colleagues alike this week.

Fortunately the Milk 
by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Skottie Young

 

As mentioned earlier I am a HUGE fan of Gaiman's work and have loved almost everything he has written.  Fortunately for me, Fortunately, The Milk did not disappoint.  The story has a variety of twists and turns including pirates, Wumpyres, Aliens and a very intelligent stegasaurus (not necessarily in that order).  Gaiman' writing style in this late elemantary/early middle school novel reminded me alot of Douglas Adams, with its cheeky absurdity that leaves you needing to know what happens next.  I think I was particularly fond of this story because I have a father who has been known to tell tall tales.  This would be a great book to read before having students write their own creative stories because there are so many ideas that can be pulled from it.

Pick a Circle, Gather a Square:

A Fall Harvest of Shapes

by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky, illustrated by Susan Swan

It seems that 2014 is the year of reading great math books.  Pick a Circle... is a great companion book when teaching younger students about shapes in the environment.  Swan's collage and painting really bring the crisp feeling of fall to life.  Chernesky's rhyming phrases draw the readers attention to the shapes on the page, but leave some to be discovered on ones own.  My only reservation about this books is that it talks about diamonds which are not true geometric shapes, and from teaching older children that this can become confusing when we start to teach quadrilaterals.  A good book for kindergarten and grade 1 students, I can also see the opportunity for art activities inspired by Swan's illustrations.

Counting by 7s

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I found this story of love, loss and change to be both inspiring and informative.  Willow, the main character, lives a very ordered life, where everything has its place and life makes sense.  A great loss sends her life into chaos and she is unsure how she will be able to go on.  Through Willow's eyes we see chaos turn to comfort. Golderberg Sloan creates an interconnected web of characters interspersing their own points of view through out the story.  I would recommend this book to any teacher whose had a student that has a hard time connecting with others and any students who has felt unconnected. 


Lion Vs Rabbit

by Alex Latimer

Lion is a wedgy giving, lunch monkey stealing, bully and none of the other animals know what to do about it.  Enter rabbit, ready to go nose to nose with Lion in any competition imaginable.  Latimer marries the pictures and text well, especially as the story progresses and the extent of Rabbit's cleverness is revealed..  His animal spin on stereotypical bullying behaviours can be easily recognized and is very amusing.  This story would be well received in a grade one or two classroom and would work well as a conversation starter on ways to handle bullies, or just to help imagine what animals might be like if they acted like humans.

What I'm Listening to on My Commute

I have a 20-30 minute car ride to work and often pass the time with a good book.

The 5th Wave

by Rick Yancey

This one just happened to be available when I was searching for something new to listen to.  I have since been listening to it every chance I get!

What's on My Bedside Table This Week:

This is the book or books on my to-read list for this week.

I am still working my way through Genie Wishes, but I think I will be done in the next day or so.  I also have a bag full of picture books to work through, so with hopefully have at least a few to share with you next week.

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

by Teresa Toten

A newer Canadian YA novel, it has been recommended to me by several friends.  The story of a boy in love, who also suffers from OCD. I am wondering if I will see any parallels between this and Counting by 7s.

 Well that's it for this week!

Let me know if you've read any of my #IMWAYR books from this week or having any suggestions of what I should read next.  Have a great week and happy reading!