It's Monday - September 17th

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Big thanks to anyone who read my Ann Aguirre Q&A and spread the word about the post. It ended up being one of my top blog posts ever!

Check over at Teach Mentor Texts to find out what everyone else is reading this week.

I had an excellent reading week. I think I've found a niche in my science fact and fiction. Be sure to come back on Fridays (as much as I can manage) for my Sci Friday posts.


Science Fact:

Two amazing nonfiction books this week. I featured them this past week on my SciFriday post this past week. If you have students who want to know about black holes, these are the resources you are looking for.







Science Fiction
I'm focusing on graphic novels for this week's SciFriday. Check back Friday for short reviews of these two gems.








Comics:

    Catching up on the new Spike miniseries (#2 is about to come out) by reading the first issue. I wrote a review for Fandom Post which should go up this week. If you like Spike (from Buffy), you'll love this issue. I'm hoping the whole mini is this good!








Fantasy: (Is it really fantasy with no magic?)
The world has been buzzing about The False Prince, and now I'm on the bandwagon. It was a fun, energetic read with a very quick tempo and great sense of humor. Middle grade students will adore it, I'm positive of that! I will admit that I figured out the "big twist", but it didn't hamper my joy in reading this book at all. I got this book from the library but will definitely get it for my classroom.



Newbery - "Nerdbery"
   <---- I'm still plugging along at this challenge. I have now read 48 of the books. Yay me!

This is a reread for me. I really enjoy this book. I love the middle ages, and this is a simple and sweet tale. Yes, it's moralistic. The lesson of "work hard, accept your limitations but find a way to make yourself a 'door in the wall'" is still a good one. The easy story makes this a nice way to introduce upper elementary or middle school students to some of the archaic language they will encounter in other, harder texts.




Ummm.... hmmmmm.... picture book? This was on the shelf with "graphic novels" at my library. Don't think it belonged there. It's a very sophisticated book, with three short stories that are almost allegories. Great for discussion starters for older students on topics like colonialism, depression, and fitting in.






Currently Reading:

Human.4 - thanks to a recommendation by @TLT16. I'm about halfway through this odd little duck of a science fiction tale. The story is heating up, and I'm intrigued.











What Came From the Stars 
 Kathy (The Brain Lair) and I are reading this as our latest Batty About Books read. Check out our first chat posted on Saturday here on the blog. (Mild spoilers for this first half of the chat.








Geek Wisdom - just starting - kind of a "bathroom reader" with quotes and short pieces about the things nerd culture can teach us...










I'm sure next week will be slower... but check back to find out for sure!

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