#IMWAYR Aug. 19

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers.
GREAT IDEA! Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for title ideas.






Last Week
Black Ice by Andy Lane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was thoroughly enjoying things ... until all of a sudden it was over. #pacingfail






Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists by Chris Duffy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fun ... but not for actual young kids. Much of the text is handwritten in a way that made it hard for ME to read ... and I'm a teacher used to deciphering student writing.

I can see a few of our older elementary students picking it up and enjoying a few pages but not reading it all the way through. I skimmed a good deal of it myself.


Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading about these three women. I didn't know their lives were so intertwined. The graphic novel format was fun ... the animals were given great facial expressions.

Only reason it's not a four is that there were many times when I felt like it kind of skipped around. Nature of the beast, I guess, covering three women in one book. But it felt a bit disjointed in places.


Audition & Subtraction by Amy Fellner Dominy

Didn't write even my usual short review for this one. But I liked it. Great for middle school!






Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I enjoyed it as a very believable and heartbreaking (but in a way that makes you believe in the redeeming power of teen relationships ... both friendships and romance) story. Plus awesome music references.

I just ... really could have done without the language. Say all you want "It's how teens talk" but it's not how ALL teens talk. Even now ... cause I know I'm not a teen anymore. Actually the same can be said about adult friends. But as a teen my friends that might have used that sort of language when I wasn't around were careful not to around me, and if they slipped apologized before I ever said a word. In fact it was rare I ever DID point anything out ... they were just perceptive enough to notice I didn't and adjusted themselves accordingly. Once or twice in a book and I hardly notice. There were several pages, though, were it seemed like every other word was bordering on offensive.

Definitely a young adult. Worth reading but I really wish it could be read WITHOUT the language because it really brought the story down for me.


Ollie by Olivier Dunrea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Too cute. My sis just had a little boy and he has two older sisters. His name is Ollie but their names are not Gossie and Gertie. I might deface the book and put stickers over the text and change the names. ;)


Ollie the Stomper by Olivier Dunrea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Can't wait to see if OUR Ollie is as stubborn as this one.


The Tell-Tale Start: The Misadventures of Edgar & Allan Poe, Book One by Gordon McAlpine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very high three. Really a four in terms of writing but three in terms of premise. There were funny lines sprinkled throughout the story, and some fun (at least for an adult, kids may not recognize them as such but they'll still enjoy the book!) literary references. The illustrations were fun for a "chapter book."

Only thing I wasn't as keen on was the premise of why the professor was after the boys in the first place.

Will read the second and probably get them both for our school collection. Not perfect but enjoyable all the same.


Coming Up
Well ... summer's over. And the fun doesn't start for another week (lucky kids). This week is all PD. Not PD we picked, either. C'est la vie.

ALL SUMMER I meant to finish Notice and Note. And several other professional titles. Where did you go, summer?

I greatly enjoyed the audiobook of book one. The library didn't have 2&3 in audio format so I guess I'll just have to read them with my eyes instead of my ears. ;)

And remember all those fun e-arcs? Need to schedule those. Oh, plus I have a blog tour stop coming up. Never done that before ... I should figure out what I'm supposed to do. And finish that book. It's pretty fun so far so that's good. Would be awkward if I didn't like the book.

Good luck to anyone getting ready for school to start!

What Are You Reading? & Superheroes Monday Made It

Excuse the long post. Reading is at the top. Monday Made It is at the bottom. ;]

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.
GREAT IDEA! Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for title ideas.


Lots o' Reading This Week ... pretty fast reading, too. Must remember that balance ... stop and enjoy the writing once in a while instead of just plowing through to get to the plot.

several Babymouse books--will post reviews when I finish ALL of them ;]
a couple Lunch Lady books--see same reasoning above
some poetry picture books--reviews posted yesterday
Madam President (Lane Smith) (SO FUNNY! I'd heard of this one and I'm pretty sure we have it at school but I'd never actually picked it up before. My favorite part is the "Cabinet." May have to think up something fun to do with this one in November! Plus, hello. MADAM President. Without it being all strange about it.)
Don't Read this Book
When a Dragon Moves In
I'm Fast!
Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book


Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom by Rachel Vail
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Go to the Goodreads link if you are interested in the review ... and make sure to read the last page before school starts!)





Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(In a nutshell WAAAAY better than the first one but that's still not saying much.)





Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fairy tale retelling. I did enjoy it.
Only a couple times I had to make myself keep reading. There are so many bits of fairy tales in here it can be hard to keep them all straight.



books two and three in the Quantum Leap series by Michael Carroll (they seriously remind me of X-Men Origins but he started writing them before that movie ever came out!)
The Gathering by Michael Carroll
My rating: 4 of 5 stars







The Reckoning by Michael Carroll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars








Super Human by Michael Carroll

As a stand alone story it was lots of fun.

As part of the series? It sort of seems ... like a weird tangent. Couldn't figure out how many stars to give it.




Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Creepy. And a couple scenes (one in the "trough room" in particular) made me gag. Definitely YA.
But still. I just may have to come back for more in the series. I want to know what happens!



The Wolf Tree by John Claude Bemis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ray is in the story ... but he is not nearly as central a character. Sally takes on a much larger role, as does Marisol (and her snakes ... which still give me the creeps). Jolie, too. And (without giving too much away) another character we did not expect to see again.

I don't quite "get" the whole machine thing, but I think book three should tie that up. This book was definitely a middle "we're not ready to finish but we want to tell you some more" kind of volume. Things happen to Buck and Si that really don't seem to serve much more of a purpose than to explain why they are not in this book very often. Could be foreshadowing or not.

Still. I'm hooked and we'll finish the series!

View all my reviews


Still in the Middle of
the professional reading--both books are really good but I can't zip through them like I do with fiction


Hoping to Read in the Next Two Weeks because #bookaday Is Going to End WAY TOO SOON
the last book in the Quantum Leap series
One Year in Coal Harbor (having trouble moving E-ARCs over to my Nook :X ... I don't always get it out when I should but now when I move files over they say they are not authorized ... must check on this further as it has never happened before :X :X :X ... I CAN read them on my Mac but that is sort of a pain)
In a Glass Grimmly
Unspoken
The Classroom
Ashen Winter
more of the Escape from Furnace series (if I don't get too creeped out)
Beyonders
Candy Shop War
more Babymouse and Lunch Lady (OH! And Squish!)

So for Monday Made It I went to Pinterest. I am the teacher librarian in an elementary school. I came from a high school Spanish/English teaching background (yes! Culture shock!). Never had to manage much more than papers.

The amount of time myself and (when she wasn't sent somewhere else on campus) my assistant spent handing out and picking up scissors, crayons, glues sticks, etc. to or from each table was just crazy. We couldn't leave it out, though, because with no walls and being in such a high traffic area? Without people even meaning to things walk away. "Oh, I'll just borrow this and return it." Enter all sorts of interruptions and they would forget.

Our school has a new principal (well, she started in late February so this is her first full year) who is instituting a schoolwide Super Heroes theme along with the "Seven Habits."

I made these to put on top of containers. We will fill up the containers (once with the basic supplies, then day by day depending on the specific activity with those needed supplies), set them out, and ... shouldn't that work? Of course lots of stuff will still disappear--it's really hard to remember to give every class and every table monitors every time they come. Or remember to ask teachers whose job it might be back in the class. (We won't get in to the teachers that disappear as soon as the class comes ... when this is NOT their planning time. But I digress cause it's not all of them!) Will these work, do you think? Plus ARE THEY NOT SO CUTE? Melonheadz clip art along with some designs on my Silhouette Cameo.

Can you see the bazillion glue sticks in the one container I put in the pic? They were on sale at ... gasp. Walmart. I dislike Walmart. But they were only $.10. The number of glue sticks we go through confounds me. And we don't get any of the classroom school supplies from the students at the beginning of the year. Oh well.

What Are You Reading? Monday

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.
GREAT IDEA! Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for title ideas.


I sort of did a mid-week recap ... cause the first half of the week I read a lot of picture books. LOVED Mrs. Harkness and the Panda. Got the IMAX movie from the library today ... it was not as good. :[ But you'll see pandas in one way or another when school starts up again. Must think of some cool stuff we can do. Also ... just realized I didn't get Chloe into that midweek recap. OOPS!

Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

LOVE. Definitely a must get for our school collection and maybe even personal collection. The different art styles are super cool (puppet type figures! paintings! crayon-style drawings!) and I love how it definitely shows author and illustrator working TOGETHER. Break the fourth wall anytime you want, guys. We'll come running.


Since then I've read a couple longer books as well.

This first one? Not YA or kid ... but I think it may help me in the fall.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ever so curious. I went through it pretty quickly ... but what she says seems to make a lot of sense to me.


Just a couple things where I tucked a little bookmark into that page. The rest of the review is on Goodreads (along with a couple quotes specific to teachers).

"Open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair memory.... They make people sick, hostile, unmotivated, and insecure. Open-plan workers are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure and elevated stress levels and to get the flu.... They have fewer personal and confidential conversations with colleagues. They're often subject to loud and uncontrollable noise, which raises heart rates; releases cortisol, the body's fight-or-flight 'stress' hormone; and makes people socially distant ..." (p 84)

"Conviction is conviction ... at whatever decibel level it's expressed." (p 202)


Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, I am late to this party. And no excuses cause I even got an ARC from the author (which I passed on to a student before I got to it!).

I listened to the audiobook while I was on the treadmill. I actually quite liked hearing the story that way because of the very nature of the tale ... it was meant to be told. Just like Min-Li's father told her stories.

Can't wait for more! I know she's working on a companion ... but she also just had a baby so we'll try to be patient. That's the one good thing about discovering a book late. Not as long to wait for the next ones.

Cold Cereal by Adam Rex
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I didn't get it. :/






Writing to Explore: Discovering Adventure in the Research Paper, 3-8 by David Somoza
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I posted a review here.



The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked it for the description of South Africa. In parts it was very beautiful. You could tell the author had been there. I did not like it for the lack of ... what is the word. Detail that added to more than the setting of the story?

Also ... the whole mythology of the "child who would ride the white giraffe"? Did ring totally true. :/

View all my reviews


Coming up?
Didn't get to Insurgent or Riordan this week ... sidetracked by a MASSIVE decluttering. Wow. I'd started in on some hoardish tendencies. I can see the light, however. Plus I can breathe now that the junk is out! So ...  read Insurgent. Riordan (I've got like four of them to catch up on!) plus I just picked up Chopsticks at the library. Beyond that? We'll see. ;]

What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.
Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for awesome title ideas.

This Week's Adventures

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Also read through NetGalley. This would be a great middle school choice. Recognized some of these legends while others were new. At least to me. ;)




How to Teach a Slug to Read by Susan Pearson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kids will like the pictures but they may not "get" the irony in the illustrations and book titles. I'm going to recommend it to parents, though, cause it really does give some great tips that would transfer well to helping teach to teach their children how to read.

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I could give like a three and a half or three and three quarters I would. Anything Ally Carter does is worth reading. Her books and characters are so much fun! Girls that are strong and brave and smart and creative. Yes, there might be a cute boy around but he doesn't HAVE to be. They are just handy partners. Like it should be.

Though ... I was pretty confused through the beginning. I obviously should have reread number four cause I just wasn't remembering a lot of it.

Seriously. This entire series along with Heist Society is just BEGGING to be made into a movie. Too much fun action and great settings (thinking of a cliff climb). Just be sure to not make it too teenybopperish and I'm all for it.

Senorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Apparently I liked this one more than many others. That's OK. No, the rhymes are not all great. But I enjoyed several lines and the illustrations. And to be fair ... I am a Texan. A forfeits does sound pretty tasty. ;)


Variant by Robison Wells
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit ... I wasn't totally convinced I liked this story.

Until the very end.



I'll be back. Question for the book's characters ... is who else will be returning in book two?

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And Next Week?
I still need to finish Throne of Fire. Why is it taking so long? I've owned the book since it came out. I got sidetracked last summer. And now? I guess because it's easier to pick up a book that is 200 something pages because I know I'll finish it pretty quickly. Even if in a week I end up reading 600 pages ... it was over three to five books! So if I don't ... it will definitely be one of the first ones I finish come summer. Along with Serpent's Shadow. I've had that one preordered since January. Don't take my tardiness for not enjoying them cause ... they're awesome!

Picked up a couple cool looking non-fic books at the library yesterday. Curious Critters, Secrets of Civil War Submarines, and Here Come the Girl Scouts.

I have several books on hold still. Will see if one of them comes in. If not? Have some books in the Netgalley queue. Ashen Winter, One Year in Coal Harbor, and Unspoken.



And now I'm going to take some Nyquil. Yes. Again. Seriously. Since I became a teacher? And (sadly) more specifically an elementary school librarian? Immune system of ... whatever has the least helpful immune system. Can't take the day off cause there is too much to do and they don't get me a sub. And they keep pulling my assistant. People still expect the library to run like two people are working their full time when really? It's only one full time any more. Then one part time ... and you can never count on when that part time might be. Is it terrible to say I've discovered I don't much care for circulation? Let me be out in the shelves helping kids find books. Not behind the desk scanning. Blah on scanning. Looking at a self service station for next year but even that takes monitoring. :/


Mulling over ideas for a Piggie and Elephant party for PreK (cause they LOVE the dance game ... we're going to have to pull out tables and let them dance!). Pete the Cat for kinder and first. And some sort of "green" summer reading journal. Like make covers out of cereal boxes and then some cool SIMPLE logs and prompts on the inside? Only what to give the ones who finish when you have no budget ...

Cold Case by Julia Platt Leonard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I love a good murder mystery, so when I was offered this one for review (THANK YOU) I of course said sure.



Things I Liked:

1)The relationships around Oz (the main character)--he and his brother Dave, he and his best friend Rusty, he and fellow restaurant employee Razor. They all rang true in terms of how they communicated and got along.

2)The history of Los Alamos and descriptions of Santa Fe.

3)The descriptions of how a kitchen runs. Not that I cook but still ... it made sense and seemed like it really was a young teen explaining it all.

4)Totally doable for a middle grade murder mystery. Enough detail that the kids will be intrigued but not so much that we have to worry about freaking them out. Who knows which houses allow CSI and which don't.



Things I Think Will Get Even Better with More Middle Grade Mystery Novels:

1)I don't think (wouldn't know for sure, would I?) bad guys explain everything. Mentally going through in my head ... and I just really don't think they do. Will consider more specific examples but the way the final ending plays out was just a little bit contrived.

2)The mother is pretty absent and I'm not sure why. Doesn't have to be that way ... even to get Oz over to Rusty's house more often.

3)Perhaps narrowing down the suspect pool just a bit. There are a couple characters in the story who's only real job seems to be red herring. A little misdirection is fun. Too much and it starts to wear on the credibility of the story.



All in all ... a solid entry. If I could give three point five or three point seven five even I would. Will definitely watch for more from this author. Not a huge fan of the cover (running seemed to be more important to him) but I can see the vibe they were going for. With booktalking I can think of at least a couple fifth graders who will enjoy this one, and definitely sixth or seventh graders. Another reviewer here on Goodreads mentioned they enjoyed this one more than Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer and I would agree. Was thinking the same thing before I even saw that comment.



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Vanished by Sheela Chari

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This title was a refreshing change of pace. I'd never heard of a veena before, and not read much about modern India or current culture (lots of stories set during the British occupation but not much else).



The prologue opened with description just like a movie set. I could see it in my head.



The description of the veena was well done, but it was a little harder for me to envision just because it was so out of my normal everyday knowledge. I wonder if there is really one with dragon details like in the story. Would love to see a photo! Will have to find some clips of the music to use when I talk about this book to classes.



Unfortunately I didn't keep any notes on quotes that I enjoyed. Just know that this was a fun mystery with believable characters that I will be recommending to ... oh, about fourth grade and above students in the coming school year. If I could have given it three and a half or three and three-quarters stars I would have.



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Third Grade

Mystery Books

Working on this the last couple of nights for some genre booktalks the rest of the week. I sort of wish I'd included catalog search terms but what can you do ... it's bedtime and it's done. Next time!


PS I'm taking suggestions for title additions!