Monday, March 27, 2017

#IMWAYR It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 03/27/17


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.



Last Week's Posts




Middle Grade



Hello, Universe (2017) by Erin Entrada Kelly. The solidly-middle grade offering from Erin Entrada Kelly features several main characters who bring their distinctive voices to the various chapters, as they find "fate" drawing them all together at the beginning of summer. You see where the book is going almost immediately, but I appreciated the ways she drew the characters together and her willingness to not just jump to the easiest conclusions.


Matylda, Bright and Tender (2017) by Holly M. McGhee. (A review copy of the book was provided by Candlewick. All thoughts are my own.) The jacket flap warns you that this is a book about the loss of your best friend, so even though that event doesn't happen until a ways into the book, the story is already imbued with the inevitability of the coming loss. As Sussy struggles to go on after Guy's death, she finds solutions (both positive and negative) for her grief in this gentle but difficult story.

Young Adult



American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, paired with Monkey King by Ed Young. Before handing out American Born Chinese for our next book club read and discussion, we shared and discussed Ed Young's version of the Monkey King tales to set the stage. Knowing a little bit about Monkey as a folktale character I think will help my students to dive into the three intertwining strands of AMC, one of which focuses on an abbreviated history of the Monkey King. I am looking forward to some powerful conversations about identity, racism, and the everyday struggles of middle school.

Happy Reading!

12 comments:

  1. I also read these books and really enjoyed them. I especially like the illustrations in The Monkey King. I expect you will have some great conversations with your students about it and American Born Chinese.

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    1. Definitely. A couple of my students are Chinese and had read other Monkey King tales too, so I'm looking forward to their reactions as well.

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  2. I keep hoping for FEWER middle grade books with parents and friends dying. Grandparents, okay. Divorce as cause of loss of parent much more realistic!

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    1. Truth. From what I've read the author actually based this on her own experience of losing a close friend as a child, and it's important to give kids "safe" ways to practice at experiencing real loss.

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  3. I want to read both of those middle grade titles. They are both on my #MustReadin2017 list! Nice to read your thoughts here.

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    1. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about them too!

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  4. Pairing up Monkey King with American Born Chinese is a brilliant idea. American Born Chinese is one of the first graphic novels that opened my eyes to the power of this format. Still, if I had read Monkey King first, I think my understanding would have been much more profound.
    My library has finally ordered Hello Universe, so I am really looking forward to reading it.

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  5. So excited to read Monkey King. We are big fans of Ed Young's illustrations and love finding new traditional tales that foster conversations.

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  6. I'm adding Hello, Universe to my list. Love the cover, very intriguing!

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  7. I just requested Hello Universe. I read and enjoyed American Born Chinese but have never seen the Ed Young book. I will have to track it down. :)

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  8. I love how Erin Kelly is slowly making a niche for herself. I enjoyed her Land of Forgotten Girls. :)

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