It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 3-30-15

Thanks to our dynamic hosts: Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kelle at Unleashing Readers.

Head to either blog to find reviews as well as dozens of links to other blogs filled with reviews!

Since February, I've been reading up a storm! Earlier this month I gathered with the rest of my colleagues on the Maine Student Book Award Committee to create the Maine Student Book Award List for 2015-2016! This meeting, where we take a serious look at over a hundred books that made our "short" list, is the most thrilling meeting of the year! Eight librarians and four teachers discuss and laugh and agree and disagree on what we think are the best books for readers in grades 4-8. There is certainly a range of opinions to this end, which is what makes the list so diverse and special. And of course, it's for the kids! 

Want to check out the list? 

Books I've Recently Read:

Night Sky Dragons by Mal Peet & Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Patrick Benson

Candlewick Press, 2014

Traditional Literature

Unpaged

Recommended for grades 2+

Set in a han* on the Silk Road, young Yazul is at odds with his industrious father, who thinks Yazul should spend less time playing with his grandfather and more time being useful. But when bandits threaten the safety of the han, it is Yazul and his grandfather that save the han.

Gorgeous illustrations!

*a han was a place of safety on the Silk Road

Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014

Action/adventure/survival

279 pages

Recommended for grades 6+

I loved this survival story, even though I typically despise reading stories set in winter settings-I'm in Maine, winter can feel never-ending...

What to expect:

-Strong female protagonist

-Dog sledding

-Loss of a parent

Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata

Atheneum, 2015

Realistic Fiction

228 pages

Recommended for grades 4-8

This book burrowed deeply inside my heart. Jaden is a young boy from Romania, adopted by American parents when he was four. Jaden had plenty of time to grown without a bonded family, and the effects are lasting. When Jaden's parents are ready to adopt another child, Jaden has a mix of emotions that he can't put a finger on.

The family travels to Kazakhstan to adopt a baby. But "their" baby was given to another couple. The new baby they are urged to bond with seems vacant and not quite well. Jaden doesn't want to bond with the new baby, but he does befriend a four-year-old boy with some developmental disabilities. Does Jaden see himself in this young boy? Whether he does or not, Jaden bonds with the boy and begs for his parents to adopt this boy instead.

As a mother, this book hurt at times. I wonder how kids will experience it.

I'm Currently Reading: 

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