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. ;]