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,  check out these blogs.                                   

I always look forward to digging into my large stack of "to read" books during the summer! So far, here are two of my favorites from this summer. 

  Paper Chains by Elaine Vickers has been in my "to read" stack for awhile and I so wish I moved it to the top sooner! I loved this book and will be purchasing multiple copies for 5th grade teachers to use for book clubs in the fall! This book is full of social issues, friendships, family relationships, and more.  The main character, Katie, knows she is adopted, but doesn't know anything about her birth parents. She is afraid to ask her adoptive parents and is also scared to talk about this part of her life with her best friend, Ana.  Ana is also struggling with her own family issues since her dad left the family to play for a different hockey team.  Their friendship is strong and helps them through these secrets and challenges.  It is a book that you won't want to put down because you want to find out what happens next! 

 Checked by Cynthia Kadohata was also in my stack for a long time and I was hesitant to read it because it focused on hockey and sports books usually aren't my favorites.  However I really enjoyed it and am so glad I gave it a try! There is so much more to this book than hockey. The main character, Conor, is 11 years old and is extremely passionate about playing hockey.  His father is very involved in helping him practice hockey and supports him all the way since he is a former pro hockey player himself.  Conor's mother passed away when he was younger so he has a strong relationship with his father and the two of them share the same passion for hockey. Since hockey is an expensive sport to play, they face some financial decisions along the way.  In addition to loving hockey, Conor also loves his dog, Sinbad, who faces some challenges during this book that bring them even closer.  I have some 6th graders in mind that will love this book in the fall! 

Happy Reading! :)

It's Monday! Here's What I'm 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.

There is so much to love about Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin. Thyme and her family move from San Diego to New York City in order to get cutting edge cancer treatment for Thyme's younger brother, Val. Thyme has to deal with moving, fitting into a new school, figuring out a grumpy neighbor, sharing a bedroom with a moody older sister... While the primary focus is on Thyme and her issues, all of the characters are multi-dimensional and provide discussion opportunities about all sorts of social issues. The basic premise is simple in that Thyme has to establish a new identity and set of friends while supporting her brother and coping with the understandable family tension. However, perceptive readers will find a lot of other issues to talk about if they pay attention to the struggles of many magnetic characters. Melanie Conklin weaves in loneliness, insecurity, loss of parents, grief, immigration, even dementia, as there is an unlikably likable neighbor who both fascinates and scares Thyme--and she does this all while maintaining a strong middle school voice and perspective. I'm really looking forward to hearing other people's reactions to this new book!

Happy Reading,

It's Monday! So Happy to be 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.

I really didn't have a plan for what I'd post today for It's Monday! What are you reading? And then, on my walk, I saw the UPS man, and he said he had just left a package at my house. (Should I worry that the UPS man knows me by name?)

"Amazon?" I asked. 

"No," he replied. 

I spent some of the rest of my walk worrying about one of my daughters might have ordered that I said yes to and didn't remember. I didn't need to worry!

When I got home, my package of books had arrived that I won from my participation in the Slice of Life Challenge. Thank you Two Writing Teachers, and thank you Little, Brown Books for Young Readers!

Mama Seeton's Whistle by Jerry Spinelli would have been an amazing Mother's Day gift, as it really is a tribute and statement about the power of a mother to bring her family together. Far from a small moment story, it spans the life of a family, celebrating the moments of growing up and the power of family dinner and chocolate cake. Love, love, love this book. 

If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't! by Elise Parsley is hilarious. While it's not one that easily fits into a narrative unit, it's a book that students, young and old, will really enjoy. Despite her better judgement, Magnolia brings her alligator to school for show-and-tell (even though she knows that she would be better off with "a hollow stick, or a bird's nest, or some sparkly rocks.") Throughout the day, she has to live with the consequences which include her name on the board with checks and underlines and a potential visit to the principal. It's a great book for teaching about endings, voice, and details. 

Birdie's First Day of School by Sujean Rim is a great book for early primary teachers to read on the first days of school, but it is also a great mentor text for teaching about narrative craft moves. Birdie is predictably worried about the first day of school, and she does some talking with her monster about that, some inner thinking to herself, and goes through a lot of nervous behavior. There's easy to follow time transitions, as well as repetition, character development, and setting description. 

Outstanding in the Rain by Frank Viva is almost too clever to describe. The book has holes which reveal letters on the following page. It makes sense on the first page, and then rhymes and completes a thought on the next page.  It's not a mentor text because what Viva has done with word play is far too tricky to be duplicated. However, it would be a great class challenge to try to predict what might come on the next page, and it would be extremely fun to try to create a classroom version. 



So happy to be reading today!

It's Monday--Here's What I'm 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.

Since I was on vacation last week, I had more time than usual to allot to reading, although I have to say, I managed to fill up my week! Two awaited books arrived in my mailbox during the week, and they get my Monday reading attention. 


Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo arrived and went to the top of my reading list. I had to keep slowing myself down as I read this book. The chapters are short, the plot is tight, and the sentence structure is fairly simple, so readers can fly right through it. However, when I slowed down, or even reread some parts, the craftsmanship and the mentorship that this book offers writers is huge. Yes, there is a strong sense of what characters want and what gets in the way, but there is also amazing voice created through the details each character notices, the predictability of the characters' actions, and the memorability of even minor characters. It's a book that I'm sure will be used extensively in the teaching of reading and writing. 




I'd also been waiting to get my hands on Booked by Kwame Alexander. I could write a strong literary essay on the similarities between these two books, as both deal with divorce, quests, and developing friendships with memorable secondary characters. (Some of our fifth-graders are in the middle of that unit.) Because the narrator is obsessed with soccer, Booked had the potential to either attract or lose readers, but it is about much more than soccer. Told in verse, Kwame Alexander weaves in life struggles, humor, middle-school insecurities, and even vocabulary lessons in a story that appeals to both boys and girls. It's another one that I had to keep fighting my tendency to whip through it and slow down to enjoy the craftsmanship, lyrical quality, and lessons on plot development and character complexity.

Happy reading,

Day 21: #SOL16- Reading and slicing about a truly outlook-changing post

Today I am truly doubling up my Slice of Life post with my Monday Reading post. The Slice of Life Challenge is hosted by the inspirational writers of Two Writing Teachers. Each March, they invite people to join them in a commitment to write every day. Today, I am doubling up on my slices with my Monday 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.

Over the week, the majority of my reading life has been reading blogs within the Slice of Life community. Yes, I have read several picture books--I struggle to walk by the library shelf of featured ones. I also had a wonderful time reading Encounter by Jane Yolen to a group of fifth graders, issuing them a challenge to generate their own questions. (If you've never read Encounter, go get your hands on a copy.) I also did some reading about Alzheimer's Disease and dementia to support my daughter as she tries to complete her Senior Capstone Project. (Wouldn't be my top choice for my reading life!) But, mostly, and happily, my reading life has been about sharing the daily lives and posts of the amazing community within the Slice of Life. 

I have read about learning experiences from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, I have read booklists, travel experiences, special family moments, and Clare Landrigan has repeatedly touched the core of my soul with her posts that honor her mother and contain important messages about living, grieving, and celebrating. Here is a post that no one should miss. Seriously. Read this post. (Yes, I've linked it twice.)

Happy reading and happy slicing,

Day 14: SOL#16- It's Monday! What are you reading?

The Slice of Life Challenge is hosted by the inspirational writers of Two Writing Teachers. Each March, they invite people to join them in a commitment to write every day. Today, I am doubling up on my slices with my Monday 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 Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie has been on my TBR list for a long time--years actually. My mentor in my creative writing program suggested it as a book to study setting and character development, so I picked it up last week. What an amazing book on so many levels! Let me start by saying that I wouldn't recommend it for students below sixth grade. Amazon targets grades 7-12. There are many violent bullying scenes, upsetting alcohol-related scenes, and extremely sad and tragic events. It is the first person narrative of a 14 year-old Spokane Indian who is bullied on the reservation and leaves to attend a mostly white high school. His decision to leave the reservation school leads to even more bullying as there is so much pressure to stay and not abandon the tribal nation and the cultural ties. What I admire about Sherman Alexie's writing is how he keeps a fast moving plot going, but weaves in important messages about writing, reading, life, and many, many social issues. Honestly, whatever social issue you can imagine, I think it's touched on in this book. Racism, social class, bullying, learning disabilities, alcoholism, sibling relationships, eating disorders, popularity, athlete/non-athlete tensions, college aspirations, death, parental struggles, poverty--all there, but none of them feel overdone. It just feels real. 

Happy reading, and happy slicing,

It's Monday! Here's What I'm 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.

Tara Smith put The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin on my radar a few months ago, but I didn't get around to picking it up until last week. I'm so glad I did. (Warning: you will want to have time on your hands when you start this one because it's a little addicting.) Ali Benjamin does a fascinating job of moving between the past and present, as well as intertwining an almost informational component to the story, as the main character deals with grief by immersing herself in a study of jellyfish. There are so many important conversations that could come out of this book, as it tackles bullying, stereotyping, divorce, and perhaps most importantly, grieving. This book would be wonderful read aloud because of the engaging plot, but also because of the incredibly powerful scenes contained throughout the entire book. 



Pax by Sara Pennypacker has been a title that has come up over and over from other bloggers, as well as on my Amazon If you liked this, then you'll like this list. (How does Amazon always seem to know the books I want to read?) Like The Thing About Jellyfish, there are two stories to keep track of in Pax, a writing style that fascinates me as a writer. The stories of the fox and the boy alternate, and Sara Pennypacker is masterful at leaving readers with a critical situation. What important messages about peace and war exist in this text! At first I thought the depth of the story would have to do with the relationships between the main character and his father, as well as with the fox. However, as I continued to read, I realized that there were so many messages and themes around the complexities and damaging effects of war. It's an incredible book with hard-hitting, memorable scenes and interactions. 

Happy Reading,

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.

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate arrived at my doorstep last week, and I had uninterrupted reading time over the weekend.  It's one of those books that if you haven't read it yet, I'm a little envious of the experience that lies in front of you. Maybe because of the cover, I was anticipating an element of fantasy, but the plot line has nothing fantastical about it--it's real life poverty and homelessness in the life of an incredibly authentic fifth-grade boy. We were with friends over the weekend, and I left the book in the hands of our host, so I can't pull direct quotes from the book. However, the concepts of homelessness not happening all at once, but little by little, has stayed with me, and the importance of a little magic when we struggle resonates as well. With the short chapters, spot on dialogue, and hard hitting lines and messages, I can't imagine too many better books for read-aloud time. So, so good. 

Happy Reading,

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.

We had a snow day on Friday, and I spent the first part of it reading Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. This one has been on my TBR list for a while, as many bloggers and other teachers have talked about it, and it was decadent to sit and read it cover to cover. If you haven't read this one yet, I highly recommend it. I started it with the idea that I'd pick up craft moves--I had a pencil in hand and a pad of sticky notes. Within about twenty pages, the plot swept me away. I'll have to go back on a rereading mission in order to mark some pages as mentor text possibilities because I was far too interested in Kek's story to want to take time writing in or about the text! While this story inspired me to learn more about Sudanese refugees since the main character is a ten year-old refugee and the story opens with him landing in Minnesota to live with relatives, it's also a universal story of friendship, making mistakes, and overcoming adversity. Told in verse, it would be a wonderful read aloud, as well as an important story for book clubs and conversations. 

Happy Reading,

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.


Even though I haven't been blogging as much as usual, I've been doing a lot of reading and writing. I had the pleasure of working with Renée Watson through the Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program, and I purchased two of her books. What Momma Left Me by Renée Watson is the story of a middle-grade girl with family secrets and family challenges. Even though the subject matter is intense and emotional, the voice of the main character shines through with insights, reflections, humor, and important realizations about people and life. Upper elementary students will both relate to and learn from Serenity, the eighth-grade narrator.

I read  This Side of Home by  Renée Watson in less than 24 hours, and it's not short. I started it with a pen in hand to make notes on the craft and structure, but the story was too good. I'll read it again for craft analysis, but I needed to just be in the world of Maya, her family, and her friends. While this book deals with important cultural, economical, and political issues with important historical references woven into the text, it also has a tight and engaging storyline about growing up in a changing demographic. There is nothing R-rated in this book, but most elementary students won't understand the references to high school life.

Meg Kearney is the director of Solstice, so I also purchased one of her books, The Girl in the Mirror, the second of a trilogy. Told through journal entries and poems, this book would be a perfect mentor text for poetry forms and the power of telling stories through different genres. The narrator is a high school senior and a poet, and a tragic event defines her senior year of high school. 

Trouper by Meg Kearney is a not-to-be-missed picture book about a three-legged dog who needs a home. E.B. Lewis's pictures are beautiful, and the story is all about hope, friendship, and what really matters in life. 



Happy Reading!

It's Monday! Here's What I'm 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.

I haven't read much, as my writing life has been taking over in combination with my parenting life, but the books I read last week were really good, and really worth sharing.

When Sophie's Feelings Are Hurt by Molly Bang is a wonderful sequel to When Sophie Gets Angry...really, Really Angry. In this book, Sophie paints a picture of her tree, using the colors that she associates more with her feelings than the actual tree. Reading this book aloud could lead to important conversations about not only empathy, but also respect for other people's work and the importance of honoring creative spirits.

I may have to buy I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld for people I love this holiday season. It's short, but full of high impact wishes--such small phrases and sentences and such big sentiment and meaning.

Stacey Shubitz put One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail on my radar a few months ago. It's a fabulous mentor text for opinion writing, as Sophia uses all kinds of persuasive techniques to try to talk her family into a giraffe. Her parents and grandparents teach her about the importance of audience, as well as counterarguments through their responses. As a read-aloud, it could also generate some fun conversations about perseverance and resilience.

Happy reading,

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 Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach is such a fun book to read aloud and will also be a great mentor text in writing workshop for all ages.  As a mentor text, I can see it being used to help teach craft moves, description, and definitely perspective/point of view! This story is engaging, beautifully illustrated, and has a surprise ending where the narrator is revealed to the reader! I look forward to sharing this book with students and colleagues! 

Wolfie The Bunny written by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Zachariah OHora is a hilarious book and will be such a fun read aloud! In this book, a bunny family adopts a wolf as a son and the daughter, Dot, is the only bunny who notices and understands that the wolf can eat them up! Dot is relentless to get her bunny family to comprehend the danger of having this wolf in their family, but no one wants to listen to her warnings.  This book may also have a surprise ending! Kids will love listening to this story being read aloud and looking at the great illustrations. Enjoy!


Happy Reading! :)