It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12-16-13
Visit our hosts Jen & Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers for their reviews as well as links to all the other blogs participating in the book sharing fun! Last week there were over 40 blogs participating! There are so many new books to discover, and so many great conversations to be a part of!
Books I Read this Week:
Otis Dooda: Strange But True by Ellen Potter, illustrated by David Heatley
Feiwel & Friends, 2013
Humorous
225 pages
Recommended for grades 3-5
For some reason this book struck me in just the right way. A little bit weird, a little bit unexpected, but a big bit humorous!
Otis Dooda's family moves to the big city with his family and soon meets some very unusual apartment neighbors. Otis and his new friends have one episode after another of strange-but true- fun!
The verdict is still out on what the story is with Potted Plant Guy, but I'm sure there are more Dooda adventures to follow!
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party by Nathan Hale
Abrams, 2013
HIstorical Fiction/Graphic Novel
127 pages
Recommended for grades 4+
I'm a big fan of the Hazardous Tales series. I find them to be packed full of historical information, balanced with easy storytelling and solid doses of humor to break up the grimmer parts of the story.
My one criticism would be the small size of many of the image boxes. Pages with larger panels felt like a nice break from the itty bitty boxes that make up most of the book.
I think this particular tale will be a gross-out, but exciting one, for many readers. The hangman is a hoot in this one!
Serafina's Promise by Ann E. Burg
Scholastic, 2013
Novel in Verse/Realistic Fiction
299 pages
Recommended for grades 4+
Serafina lives in Haiti with her grandmother and parents. After losing an infant brother, Serafina longs to become a doctor one day. But with another baby on the way Serafina knows that it will be even harder to fund her schooling. Not one to give up, Serafina works to contribute to the family fund of coins.
Through two natural disasters, Serafina and her family push on, showing true grit and a determination to make the best out of each situation they are faced with.
A powerful story of survival and the desire to gain an education. Many American students take their opportunity of schooling for granted, and this story might be a nice eye-opener to show that not all the world works like our country does.
I'm Currently Reading:
On Deck:
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful reading week, and if you celebrate Christmas, a wonderfully magical week leading up to it!
Otis Dooda would be great for third graders-- it seemed young for middle school, but I always like Ellen Potter. Looks like you had a good selection of things!
ReplyDeleteAh! Counting by 7s! One of my absolute favourites this year. The characters and their interactions are just not something I have seen before. LOVED. Enjoy! Have a wonderful last week!
ReplyDeleteSerafina's Promise by Ann E. Burg sounds like a wonderful story. I hope the main character was able to fund her education. I will have to read it to find out. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMy reading stack post.
Hi there Nicole. I haven't read most of the titles you have here, but I am definitely intrigued enough to look for them in our library. Serafina's Promise sounds like my kind of read. I love novels-in-verse. The book cover of The Ability also looks very interesting. Otis Dooda also looks fun. :) Have a great reading week!
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