It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a meme started by Teach Mentor Texts, and I participate every week on my personal/professional blog, along with many other bloggers, so I thought I'd share them with you, too!  In the comments section below, I want to hear what you're reading!  Parents, if you'd like to share what you're reading, that would be great!

 

PICTURE BOOKS

 

 

Inside Outside by Lizi Boyd

2013-book, art, birds, cats, creativity, curiosity, dogs, home, mock-caldecott-2014, nature, picture-book, play, read, seasons, wordless I was lucky enough to win this book from Margie Myers-Culver when she gave away wordless picture books for Mr. Schu's birthday on Twitter. I loved all four that she gave away, but I already owned the other three (Bluebird, Journey, and The Boy and the Airplane), so I tried for this one. I was so glad to receive and read it! Fans of Laura Vaccaro's GREEN will enjoy this celebration of nature and childhood. Die cuts throughout enhance this book about a child's creative and curious life inside his home and outside in his yard throughout the seasons. I love the feel and weight of the pages and the adorable dog and cat. Be sure to notice the mice! Thanks, Margie ( and Mr. Schu for having a birthday)!   Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie based-on-true-story, civil-rights, multicultural, picture-book, strong-children, survival, war I read this book aloud to the sixth graders about the Lost Boys of Sudan to build some background knowledge for their read aloud, A LONG WALK TO WATER by Linda Sue Park. It's an excellent picture book about Garang, a young boy who has to flee his village in Sudan after it is attacked. He befriends a younger boy and takes care of him during their walk to Ethiopia. This picture book parallels A LONG WALK TO WATER closely, so it makes a great introduction. MIDDLE GRADE The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt 2013-book, animals, audio-book, character-development, character-motivation, death, environmental, fantasy-science-fiction, grandparents, great-read-aloud, humor, intermediate-kids-book, journey, mock-newbery-2014, nature, personification, quest, sensory-details, setting I LOVED the audio of this book, narrated by Lyle Lovett. It's so charming, poignant, and funny. Lyle Lovett's voice was just perfect for the story.  Katie, in one of my 5th grade classes, is reading it right now, and I can't wait to hear what she thinks. I don't know if the actual reading of it will be as good as the audio, but I hope so! Twelve-year-old Chap is missing his grandpa something awful, and he loves the swamp. Bingo and J'miah are raccoon brothers and new scouts of the Sugar Man Swamp, keeping watch from Chap's grandpa's missing Desoto, reporting Intel. Alligator wrestler Jaeger Stitch is trying to turn the swamp into an Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, and if that's not enough to worry you, there is a gang of wild hogs on the way, intent on destroying everything! It's up to the Sugar Man to save the day, but no one has seen him in decades, and he's awfully hard to wake up. The characters and setting are unforgettable; I'm looking forward to recommending this to my Mock Newbery Club! A good pairing for this book would be Carl Hiassen's CHOMP.   CURRENTLY READING   This is a young adult book.   CURRENTLY LISTENING TO     This is also a young adult book.   Comment below to tell us about books you just finished this week or that you're currently reading.  If you're listening to any audio books, let us know!