It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/23/15
I just got back home from NCTE convention in Minneapolis. Needless to say, I am thrilled to have brought back 50 free books with me!
I can’t wait to dig into this big pile and share the titles with my students. Here are some titles that I’m especially excited about reading:
It’s Monday! What are You Reading? is a weekly blog meme. The kidlit version is hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts.
Here are some titles I’ve recently finished:
If Kids Ruled the World by Linda Bailey
3/5 stars
I know a book is going to be good when the first page centers on the ideology that we need to eat birthday cake so we “grow up to be strong and healthy.” This picture book inspires us to be more creative and think differently. I love the vibrant and detailed illustrations done by David Huyck. The coloring was especially wonderful.
Kids are awesome, play is awesome, and this book is equally as awesome.
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
3/5 stars
Tragedy strikes when Charlie Asher’s wife dies suddenly after giving birth to Sophie. Struck by grief, Charlie sees a man in mint-green at the bedside – a man he should not be able to see. With this short induction ceremony, Charlie has been assigned a very dirty job. He has become a death messenger where his “soul” duty is to collect the souls of the dead and see them through to their new owners. Charlie is not Death, but he’s definitely got a hand in it. When the Underworld plots to overtake San Francisco, Charlie, in his new role, is determined to stop it.
I liked the creativity Moore used to write this book. However, this is a title that reminds me why I love YA Lit and Middle Grades more than I like books for grown-ups.
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
4/5 stars
Bridge, Emily and Tabitha have made a pact not to ever fight. This pact becomes increasingly difficult to keep when the three best friends take an interest in very different activities. When the girls join three different clubs, they try to keep their friendship intact.
This book alternates with three different perspectives. First, the story of Bridge, Emily, and Tab is the centerpiece. The second perspective is composed of letters from a secondary character to an unknown person. The receiver of the letters is revealed halfway through the book. The last perspective is written in second person. Until the last fifty pages of the book, I had no idea who “You” was. This third perspective told a completely different storyline with different characters.
I laughed out loud when I turned the book over and saw that it was a level 3.9 in Accelerated Reader. I was struggling to follow the book! Although I was challenged with the perspectives when I first started, I began to love the switches. The book kept me reading because I wanted to know how Stead tied it all together, which she did beautifully.
I have looked through my TBR piles a few times trying to find Goodbye Stranger which I needed so badly that I had to pre-order it (not something I usually do). I promptly lost it somewhere in my house. I’m not sure what it says about me that I cannot put my hands on this book. I have a lot of books. That’s what it says, I guess. Also, I’m not organized. Loved traveling with you, of course, and looking forward to getting down to see your classroom, meet your students, and relocate some of my middle-grade titles soon!
Well, if and when you find it I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! I aspire to have a book collection as awesome-sounding as yours does. This may have been one of my favorite NCTE trips (minus the food poisoning) that I’ve been on. I’m really looking forward to your thoughts when you visit my classroom!!
What a pile! Thanks for telling about Dirty Job and If Kids Ruled The World, both new to me. I’ve read and enjoyed Goodbye Stranger, very good story. Have fun with your books!
50 free books! Wow! I don’t know whose idea it was to categorize Rebecca Stead’s book that way, but I’m pretty sure it was a mistake. I really enjoyed it.
Rebecca Stead is always a hit-or-miss for me – didn’t love When You Reach Me as much as I thought I would. And I’ve been reading so many mixed reviews about Goodbye Stranger, so it was great to read your thoughts as well. 🙂
Me, Earl and the Dying Earl is a very good book. 🙂