It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye and Ricki Ginsburg at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What are You Reading? weekly on their blogs.  To see what others are reading and recommending each Monday, or to participate, be sure to head over to these blogs.

 The Paper Cowboy by Kristin Levine is one of my new favorite books. Although the story takes place in a small midwestern town during McCarthyism, the themes are universal. I love Kristin Levine's final message in her author's note about the importance of community. She writes, "the old woman who lives next door might need some company. The annoying boy on the playground might be longing for a friend. Even when a parent is sick or a child is injured, it's not always easy to see the need or what to do about it. But when people do step in and help, when they take a chance and engage with their neighbors, amazing things can happen." Tommy, the narrator, is a character you won't soon forget, as he deals with guilt, abuse, dysfunctional family relationships, and a community reeling with fear. He is a bully and there were times when I wanted to jump into the pages and shake him, but his reflections and honesty about his actions could lead to some powerful conversations about the complexities of bullying. Kristin Levine had me hooked in the first chapter, and my Christmas decorating was put off in favor of reading a great book.

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak had me and my teenage daughters laughing out loud because of the silly language.  While I love picture books with no words because they challenge readers to make up the stories, I LOVE this book with no pictures because it invites visualization. Once the silliness and interactiveness of this book is fully experienced, I would love to challenge young readers to imagine the pictures that they would put on the pages. If anyone has done this, please share!



If I thought that we were laughing hard in the bookstore over The Book With No Pictures, it was nothing compared to Waiting is Not Easy by Mo Willems. My teenage daughters had not read any of the Mo Willems books before and we left the bookstore with one and a promise to bring more home from the library.  The pictures are hilarious, but the final message is brilliant. I am not going to tell you what Piggie has in store for Elephant. Pick this one up and read it together with a favorite book buddy. You won't be disappointed!

Happy Reading!