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
- Diverse Books for Back to School + Linkup. This month's #diversekidlit linkup features great suggestions for diversifying your back to school books.
- Diverse First Days of School: Suki's Kimono. This is a great book set on the first day of school about a girl who wants to wear her kimono over her older sister's protests.
- New Novel in Verse: Applesauce Weather. Debuting tomorrow, this brief novel written in verse is a lovely story about families.
Picture Books
City Cat (2013) by Kate Banks and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. I am considering participating in the Lauren Castillo illustrator study as part of The Global Read Aloud this year (though I am having trouble connecting with other middle school classes). To that end, I checked out several books by Lauren Castillo to evaluate for the final choice book week. I really wanted to like this book (the illustrations are so fun!), but the "story" is confusing, the rhyme is scattered, and it just didn't work for me.
What Happens on Wednesdays (2007) by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. A little girl tells the routines of her usual Wednesday. I think this could make a cute mentor text for younger students - writing their own versions of a regular day, but I'm not sure there's much here to interest seventh graders ...
Alfie Runs Away (2010) by Kenneth M. Cadow and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. This one is my favorite of three - mostly because everyone seems to have had this moment as a kid. For Alfie, his breaking point was having to give up his favorite red shoes. Rather than stop him, his wise mother helps him pack ... with predicable results.
Middle School
Sunny Side Up (2015) by Jennifer and Matthew Holm. Sunny is sent to spend the summer with her grandfather at his retirement community in the summer of 1976 and is a thrilled about it as you can image. Only as the story continues, do flashbacks start to suggest that there is more going on here than a simple vacation. I am working on building up my graphic novel collection for middle school, and this is another great addition. (Other new additions include Drama (reviewed last month), Roller Girl (reviewed in Feb.) and pre-ordering Ghosts, Raina's newest, arriving mid-September.)
Happy Reading!
No matter what the text is, I absolutely love Lauren Castillo's illustrations! Nana in the City is still my favorite!
ReplyDeleteAgreed! I adore the illustrations in City Cat - I just wish the text measured up!
DeleteLauren Castillo is the best. Loved her work in The Yard Sale. Thanks for sharing these books.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Yard Sale is a treasure.
DeleteSunny Side Up was a great book - it tackles a pretty serious topic with a gentle touch and a sensitive hand. Unfortunately just because a subject like addiction is "adult" doesn't prevent kids from having to experience its impact. So glad that stories like this exist.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Jane! I hadn't gotten around to reading Sunny Side Up while teaching third grade, but it really does address things so well that I would have no problem adding it to an upper elem classroom library either.
DeleteI loved the certainty of What Happens On Wednesday, & it would make a nice mentor for young children writing. I think you could expand it for older students, too. I liked Sunny Side Up very much. Thanks, Katie, and for sharing about City Cat too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda! I'm hoping to instill a love of picture books in my 7th graders without them thinking them "babyish," which is my fear with What Happens.
DeleteSunny Side Up is on my #mustreadin2016 list! I will be reading it in the next few weeks. It was great to see your review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ricki! It is a great one, and you will enjoy it!
DeleteSunny Side Up is a definite must have for a middle school GN library!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of the picture books, and they all look wonderful! I need to fix that :)
Happy reading this week!
Thanks, Kellee! Agreed.
DeleteI want to get Ghosts, Sunny Side Up and Roller Girl for my new classroom. Sunny side Up is a really fantastic title.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carrie. I'm definitely excited about Ghosts too!
DeleteI adire Lauren Castillo's work. All those graphic novels are very very popular. You might need more than one copy. So far, Roller Girl is my favourite, but I haven't read Ghosts.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sure! I hoping between the school library, we'll be ok. My copies of Smile and Sisters are falling apart already!
DeleteLauren Castillo love going on right here! Whee! I confess to not having read as much of her picturebooks as I should - will have to remedy that soonest.
ReplyDeleteStart with some of the ones that are already assigned for GRA - Yard Sale, Nana in the City, Twenty Yawns!
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