It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11-5-18

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 and recommendations!

Books I've Recently Read:

Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr

Candlewick Press, November 2018

Realistic Fiction

320 pages

Recommended for grades 4-6

Astrid is unstoppable. She is spunky and daring and headstrong. Originally published in Norway, this novel has already be translated into 19 languages and adapted for the stage! Described as being a mix between Pippi Longstocking and Anne Shirley, you won't miss the intense Heidi vibe to this tale.

A mix of adventure, relationship highs and lows, the fragility of the heart, and a lot of snow.

Speechless by Adam P. Schmitt

Candlewick Press, November 2018

Realistic Fiction

304 pages

Recommended for grades 5+

Get this one. This was one that I couldn't wait to get back to, that I thought about later, and yearned to spend more time with. When I closed this book tears were streaming down my face.

The cleverness of this book is in how it is laid out. How you get more more and insight and information that changes the way you perceive and process the story. This was a hard one to read. My teacher self and my mother self were pulled upon to relate, to question, to grieve, in different ways.

The tears don't come in the beginning, despite the story opening at a wake for a 13-year-old child. They won't come until you really come to terms with how you would have treated that boy in life.

This one will get you.

Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure by Torben Kuhlmann

Translated by Henry David Wilson

NorthSouth Books, 2018

Fantasy

112 pages

Recommended for grades 3-5

The illustrations in this oversized chapter book are by far the star. The story felt a bit disjointed, and rushed. But those illustrations, they are something else. I'm still mulling over my feelings about this one. I do think my third graders will enjoy it.

The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and her Tribute to Veterans 

by Barbara Elizabeth Walsh, illustrated by Layne Johnson

Calkins Creek, 2012

40 pages

I snagged this from the library to read in honor of Veterans Day, and will be ordering a copy for my classroom. Reading this aloud to my students will spark conversations around Verterans Day, serving our country, the power of one person's idea and drive, and of course, the significance of the poppy.

I'm Currently Reading:

(Book 1)

Thanks for stopping by!