Monday, July 20, 2015

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/20/15


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture books through YA by Jen of Teach 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.


Happy Blog Birthday to Me!


Last Week's Posts

  • #3rdfor3rd: Babymouse. Babymouse continues to be a big hit among my third graders - boys and girls alike. Check out this review by third grader Hayat about why she loves Babymouse.
  • This is Just to Say. Following up on last week's Poetry Friday post with another great collection of apology poems (some false, some not).
  • Kid Lit Blog Hop. Stop by the 64th Kid Lit Blog Hop for a great collection of posts all about kids books and authors!

Picture Books


The Best Eid Ever (2007) by Asma Mobin-Uddin and illustrated by Laura Jacobsen. Aneesa is disappointed to be celebrating Eid al-Adha without her parents, who are undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage. But by befriending two recent refugee girls, Aneesa learns an important lesson about the true importance of Eid. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.)


Time to Pray (2010) by Maha Addasi, translated by Nuha Albitar, and illustrated by Ned Gannon. In this tender bilingual book, young Yasmin is visiting her grandmother in a Muslim country. Fascinated by the calls of the muezzin, she asks her grandmother to teach her to pray. When she returns home (presumably to America), she finds a special gift from her grandmother to remind her about her prayers. A note at the end of the book describes the five times for prayer and the reasons behind them. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.) Both these books are also featured in a new post this week, More Great Picture Books about Ramadan and Muslim Culture.


Chandra's Magic Light: a story in Nepal (2014) by Theresa Heine and illustrated by Judith Gueyfier. This is, unfortunately, a book where the purpose (teach kids about solar lamps!) overshadows the book itself. The characters have no depth and the emotional content is lacking. I feel like this could have been a really good book, but it just didn't come out well.


When Everybody Wore a Hat (2003) by William Steig. Another in my recent memoir kick, this memoir by acclaimed author William Steig draws upon memories of his childhood. Rather than a story, the book lays out little vignettes describing the illustrated scenes. I probably will not use this as a mentor text for memoir with my third graders, as this style really skims the surface and does not offer the description or reflection that I try to foster in my students' memoirs.


I Yam a Donkey (2015) by Cece Bell. I love grammar puns (see Teach Grammar with Humor), but I was really disappointed with this book. It is too much of a one-trick pony, and the joke does not grow or deepen. In addition, the vernacular way the donkey is talking (the 'you is' construction in particular) seems like a mockery of an Ebonics-style of speaking. I agree with the need to teach traditional English structures of grammar and speaking, but I'm not sure that mockery is the right way to accomplish that goal.

Middle Grade


The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. (2009) by Kate Messner. Inspired in part by Teachers Write, I've been catching up on the incredible writings of Kate Messner. This book just blew me away right from the beginning with its quick and insightful portrayal of main character Gianna. You "get" her so easily and immediately want to know more.


Ranger in Time 2: Danger in Ancient Rome (2015) by Kate Messner. On the younger side of middle fiction is the newest book in the Ranger in Time series (book 3 arrives in Dec.). Sent by his magic first aid kit, golden retriever Ranger finds himself in the Colosseum of ancient Rome, where he befriends a young worker and his trainee at a school for gladiators. This quick and engaging read provides a lot of mystery and excitement to draw readers.

Challenges and Summer Plans

This summer I am again joining in the amazing community and discussion of #cyberPD. This summer's book is Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. Click here to read more about #cyberPD or click here to join the Google+ discussion group!

I am also participating in a month-long professional development book club discussion of the book Digital Student Portfolios by Matt Renwick. Read my posts here.

#Bookaday Challenge update: days read a book 46/49, books read 64/90

Award-Winning Books Reading Challenge update: 12 books, 2 dedicated posts

Dive into Diversity Challenge update: 145 books, 33 dedicated posts (More Great Picture Books about Ramadan and Muslim Culture)

Happy Reading!

14 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your blogoversary! I love the apology poems in This Is Just to Say. They even inspired me to write some of my own poems of apology!

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    1. Thanks, fun! Did you see my post on Forgive Me, I Meant To Do It? I shared a false apology of mine as well as some student examples.

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  2. Kate Messner has been a favorite since she visited our school a couple years ago. I lurk on Teachers Write but don't ever try it. :P Enjoy!

    Angie from MsOReadsBooks

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    1. How wonderful to have her visit your school! I am mostly lurking on Teachers Write this summer too - so much going on!

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  3. Happy blogiversary! What a great feeling of accomplishment. And I adored Gianna, and the book even had cross country in it! I wish there were more middle grade books with Muslim characters, since I have a lot of students whose background is Somalian, and they would like to see themselves in books occasionally!

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    1. Absolutely! Did you see my recent review of "I'm New Here" ? One of the characters is a young girl who is a recent immigrant from Somalia.

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  4. I appreciate the post about Ramadan & the Islam culture. I'll pass this on to a student I had last year who studied Islam & the culture. Thanks for sharing all the different books Katie & congratulations for your blogiversary!

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  5. I've got a few books about Islam, but these days I'm just looking for ordinary muslim kids in ordinary books who have the kinds of adventures ordinary kids have. Have you read Does My Head Looks Big in This by Randa Abdel-Fattah?

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    1. No, I have not, thanks for the tip. You raise a great point. I recently reviewed the book "I'm New Here" and "One Green Apple" is one of my all-time favorites but both focus on girls who are recent immigrants to the US.

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  6. Love the Kate Messner love! I was so pleasantly surprised with Gianna Z. Didn't expect to love it as much as I did. There is a sequel available, but it's only available as an e-book. It's told from Zig's perspective. The Exact Location of Home. I loved it too :)

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    1. Oh, cool! Thanks for letting me know, Michele. I was really blown away by Gianna too.

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  7. Happy Blogiversary! The Best Eid Ever looks like a really beautiful book. I know what you're saying about Chandra's Magic Light - I felt the same way when I read it, but you were able to capure it so beautifully in just a few words. :) I haven't read anything by Kate Messner yet, so thanks for sharing quite a few middle grade novels here. :)

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    1. Thanks for the reassurance! I feel bad panning books, especially one with such potential, so I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in this one. Kate Messner is incredible, enjoy!

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