It's Monday! What are You Reading?

Thank you Jen and Kellee for hosting this weekly!  To see what others are reading and recommending, or to participate, be sure to check out their blog Teach Mentor Texts :)

Last week, some of my favorite reads were: 

I love all of Jacqueline Woodson's books so I was so excited to find out she was publishing a new book and immediately added it to my list.  Each Kindness just came out this month and it is a beuatifully written book with a powerful and important message.  This book is a perfect companion text to use with Wonder by R.J. Palacio and to use in class conversations when talking about Kindness and what it means to be kind to others.  I am reading aloud this book this week to my students and look forward to the conversations we will be having all year around this picture book.  Thank you Jacqueline Woodson for writing this important book for children of all ages.

I have read all of Franki Sibberson's professional books so I immediately added her new book, The Joy of Planning, to my Amazon cart last month. This book is a must read for educators, especially beginning teachers, because she explains the "big picture"of planning purposeful mini-lessons.  She walks the reader through her planning process so we can see how she thinks about her mini-lesson cycles, selects resources to use, and designs her lessons.  I also like how Franki shares titles of books she has used as demonstration texts in mini-lessons and online resources that she uses and loves.  

Last week, one of my student's donated The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech to our classroom library so of course I had to take it home this weekend to read.  The title fits this book perfectly because it is filled with unexpected events.  It is beautifully written and has two plots that alternate within chapters, using a different font.  I love how the two plots come together like puzzle pieces throughout the book and fit together perfectly at the end.  I look forward to giving a book talk for this book this week to my students - I know they will love it! 

Happy Reading! :)