It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8-22-16

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!

This Friday my district has our first inservice day. Next week is my first full week back to work since having my second son. So many emotions! I love teaching. I love the people I work with, and my building is full of energy. Work is a good place to be for me. It energizes me and gives me creative outlets. But boy will I miss my kids! I've taken these long summer days for granted, as we do so many things. I sure am one lucky lady.

Books I Read this Week:

Be Light Like a Bird

by Monika Schroder

Capstone, 2016

Realistic Fiction

240 pages

Recommended for grades 4-8

Last week I posted briefly about this book because I knew there was more on the way. Monika Schroder was kind enough to write a guest post for my blog earlier this week, and she is giving away a copy of the book to one lucky reader! You can read her post and enter to win the book here.

Applesauce Weather

by Helen Frost, illustrated by Amy June Bates

Candlewick Press, 2016

Poetic Narrative/Realistic Fiction

112 pages

Recommended for grades 3-5

Helen Frost writes some of my students' favorite poetic narratives. Salt is an historical fiction novel they can enter without feeling overwhelmed with length. Hidden is a book that I am lucky to end the year still owning. Once I book talk that book it barely has a chance to hang out with the other novels in verse. And now we have Applesauce Weather. I can't say that it tops either of the previously mentioned titles, it's gentler and slower, with an old timey feel. I am suspecting that the cover will be a hard sell. I will share this story of an elderly uncle visiting family and spinning his tales for their entertainment, but I am just not sure my students will be as fond of it as an adult reader might be. But the good news is that I will only have to wonder so long, I can put this one to the test in a few short weeks.

The Case of the Starry Night

by Yvonne Jones

LHC Publishing, 2016

Mystery/Science Fiction

36 pages

Recommended for grades 3-5

Wen Amser is back in action, this time to use his amulet to travel back in time to save van Gogh's Starry Night from a group of bandits. There is a bit of information about Starry Night and van Gogh, though most of the story is centered around Wen. The book is short, and felt rushed to me. To appeal to younger readers (that may be better suited for the brevity of this story) I would have expected the text sizing and white space to be more substantial. 

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo

by Drew Weing

First Second, 2016

Graphic Novel/Fantasy

128 pages

Recommended for grades 3-6

By far, the star of my reading week! This book is cool and funny, a winning combination! 

When Charles' parents move to Echo City to fix up an old hotel, Charles is less than impressed. And things go from boringly bad to excitingly dangerous when Charles discovers an actual monster in his closet. Turns out there is only one person fit for the job of keeping kids safe from monsters, Margo Maloo. Lucky for Charles, she eventually lets him tag along on her missions, making Charles' move to Echo City far from boring!

I love the drawings, the story is fresh, and the main characters are excellently developed. My grandmother would have called Margo "One Hot Ticket." And she would have been exactly right! And Charles cracked me up on many occasions. Kids are going to love this one!

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