Monday, September 15, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teacher Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Picture Books


This week I shared Part 3 in my new series Around the World in a Single Book: cultures around the world. This series presents some of my favorite nonfiction resources for studying world cultures. Part 1 focused on books exclusively about children around the world. Part 2 looks at cultures around the world, and Part 3 examines specific aspects of culture, including books about languages and schools around the world.


Share the power of girls and schools with this collection of nonfiction and historical fiction resources. These picture books (and one biography) introduce students to the struggles of girls around the world (and through history) as they strive for education and equality. Start a conversation with your students around this important topic. Read The Power of Girls and Schools: text set for specifics about each book.


The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse and illustrated by Wendy Watson. This powerful World War II picture book is based on a true account of cats being used to thwart German sniffer dogs in Warsaw, Poland. A great resource for teaching about World War II and resistance movements. (H/T Linda at Teacher Dance)

Middle Grade

Our school librarian and a colleague are busy trying to prepare for this year's Newbery selections and are hoping to have read (and guessed at) the winner and honor books. To that end, you may see a lot more 2014 potential Newbery candidates coming up in my reading lists in the next few months. (We will also be doing Mock Caldecott book shares and voting with the students near the end of the year. Any leads are welcome!)


The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm. This great new release from Jenni Holm mixes science fiction with the normal problems of middle school, resulting in a delightful story about family, friendship, and the fountain of youth! Read my full review here.


The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. This Victorian novel and self-proclaimed "scary story" was an enjoyable read, but most of the time I had the feeling that I read it before. It was only when attempting to explain the plot briefly to another friend that we realized that this book may have every Victorian or Dickensian trope thrown at a single book. (Orphans? Check. Innocent cripple? Check. Haunted feeling and unnatural events? Check. And so on.) I think students without a strong background in Victorian literature might find the book more engaging, and I think it would make a great "scary story" recommendation to mid/later middle grade students, as it has that scary element without being horrifying.


Caminar by Skila Brown. This historical fiction novel in verse tells the story of young Carlos, living in 1981 in Guatemala. A powerful variety of poems tell his story as the paths of both the army and guerrillas overlap in his village. Brief historical context is provided in the opening note to the reader and the Q&A at the end. Suitable for older middle grade and young adult readers.

Happy Reading!

15 comments:

  1. I am reading The Night Gardener right now and also feeling like it's too similar to other books I've read. I loved 14th Goldfish. I'm also trying to catch up on Newbery buzz titles because it's fun to guess and predict the award (and even more fun when a book you championed gets an award!) Do you follow the SLJ blogs Calling Caldecott and Heavy Medal? They're both up and running again and making up lists right now of potential titles. Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 Production posted her annual Fall Prediction post today too.

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    1. Awesome, thanks Elisabeth! I will check each of those suggestions out. Doing the Caldecott with the kids the last two years has been a blast, but this is the first time I'm trying to get 'in' on the Newbery conversation. Looking forward to it!

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  2. i love the book I am Malala

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    1. Thanks so much, xabz! Such a powerful story.

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  3. I am excited to read The Night Gardener. I can't handle truly scary stuff, but books and spooky movies intended for a younger audience I enjoy! So I'm hoping I can read it soon!

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    1. You should be fine. :) I refuse to watch horror movies and true crime kinds of things too, and this is nothing like that.

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  4. I adored Night Gardener. It was so well written, beautifully scary. I'd like to read that one again. I think The 14th Goldfish is amazing too... it will be tough to choose this year!

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    1. Definitely looking forward to having some potentially-contentious Newbery conversation with colleagues for sure!

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  5. I really appreciate your list - The power of Girls and School - just followed the link and pinned the post. Thank you for all of these lists you are sharing.

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    1. Thanks so much, Carrie. I love sharing the power of compare/contrast and multiple perspectives with kids, and I think text sets are great for that.

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  6. I know most of these, Katie, & appreciate that you've gathered them together into good lists to have when needed. Elisabeth beat me to those two blogs, wonderful sources for Newbery & Caldecott hopefuls. There is also a group that reads and discusses possibles on Goodreads. Look for Newbery groups. I still have read The Night Gardener-always good to have a scary book to recommend! Thank you!

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    1. Thanks for the leads, Linda! I will definitely be diving into them soon for ideas. Hope you enjoy The Night Gardener. Interested if people will have the same "I've read this before" feeling that I did.

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  7. OK, I think my last comment disappeared.

    I loved The Fourteenth Goldfish. Have you seen Jenni's recent blog post about her inspiration to write it? Definitely worth sharing with students!

    http://www.jenniferholm.com/2014/09/this-is-going-to-get-little-mushy.html

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    1. Hmm, disappearing comments, weird. Sorry about that!

      Thanks for the link too, yes, I will definitely share. Love showing kids where great ideas come from!

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  8. The Night Gardener is one of my favourite reads this year. Not very familiar with Victorian literature - it was ages ago when I read Dickens. I found it very engaging though and particularly loved Molly and Kip's voices. Very creepy and sinister, I thought - without being outrightly scary as you've pointed out. :)

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