It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/24

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

I didn't plan to do so, but I seem to have taken a break from blogging for the last month or so. It was kind of nice to really not worry about what day it was and live in total vacation mode. Going back to work later this week makes it important to actually know what day it is. And, oh, guess what? It's Monday! Here are the books I've been reading:

Books I Finished:

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat was a beautiful, but deeply disturbing book about growing up in two cultures and coming to terms with your past. It is definitely a novel I am glad I read but some of it was quite difficult to read. This is a book I would recommend to adults. 

Stella by Starlight is another fabulous book by Sharon Draper. The Ku Klux Klan has moved into Stella's town and now tensions are really high and everyone needs to be extra careful. I read this book thinking it would be too much for my fourth grade students, but I don't think it would be too difficult for them content-wise. I was impressed by the way the author dealt with this sensitive and scary subject matter in a way that I would be able to incorporate into my classroom. Of course, the book is also very appropriate for older grades as well. I would highly recommend this one to grades 4 and up.

I loved The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein, but not as much as I loved Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library. I still would absolutely recommend this excellent adventure to kids in grades 4 and up. 

I loved how Liesl Shurtliff wove together the worlds of Rump and Jack. I read Rump with my students at the end of the school year and they loved it. I know they will also love Jack! What's awesome is that my school has an author visit scheduled for Liesl Shurtliff to visit in September. I cannot wait to share this book with students and have them fall in love with this author too!

I finally got my hands on a Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales graphic novel. This one is The Underground Abductor. It is about Harriet Tubman. I actually learned a lot and I know my students will love this graphic novel. I highly recommend it!

The Trap by Steven Arntson is a really interesting fantasy which explores an idea about being able to have out of body experiences. I would recommend this one for grades 6 and up. 

I LOVED The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. The story fascinated me from the very first page. I was able to connect with the main character from the very beginning. I liked the way the author really highlighted the idea of really seeing the people around us who are disabled and not seeing just their conditions. 

I have also been reading a bunch of the Who Was and What Was books. I love learning more about some of these things and I know my students will enjoy these books too.  

Have a great reading week!