It's Monday October 6th

It's Monday! Time to share what I've been reading. Today's post again represents several weeks of reading, not just one. I still haven't gotten myself back to a regular blogging schedule.

Be sure to check the Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers sites for more great books to add to your TBR list!






Science Fiction

Well, SON is on my "must read in 2014 list, so I had to make time to read the whole series. I've read The Giver enough times that I didn't reread it, but I did need a reread of Gathering Blue before I went to Messenger. Lowry is a true master. I was in a bit of a book slump, picking up and putting down books one after another. These two captured and held my attention completely. I just started SON yesterday and I'm already hooked.

Delivery of Doom is a silly, fun science fiction for the younger set (third and fourth grade?). Lots of punny humor. The beginning really hooked me but the plot felt like it slowed down mid-book. Still, I think kids will enjoy all the pizza and cheese humor.




Middle Grade - Realistic Fiction and Mystery

Beautiful story of a girl who loves homonyms and her dog, Rain. Follow her struggles with her family, her challenges fitting in at school with autism, and the storm that changes her life forever.  (I won an ARC of this one)


Another great mystery by J.E. Thompson! My students loved the first one. The friendship of the girls is so fun, and I love how adventurous and curious they are. Thompson came to my school last year and the kids learned so much!




Graphic Novels
Phelan weaves a truly unique historical fiction here. Does the boy in the Dust Bowl really see a mysterious figure in the nearby barn - or is it a symptom of all the dust he's ingested? Lovely, haunting illustrations.

It was good - but doesn't top my list. I thought the storyline was interesting. The idea of a godling going through his coming of age test was cool. 

But many of the pages felt frantic while others were slow. I was a bit confused at the beginning. And I know it's the start of a series but the ending point didn't make me feel like this volume was complete.

Picture Books

Beautiful story and very pretty illustrations. I loved how Emily is inspired by Van Gogh to make her own art. This "maker" inspiring book idea seems to be a trend. I have a shelf on Goodreads devoted to the ones I've found so far. 

Not sure why my formatting is wonky - but here are my thoughts on those last two books:

Hello, My Name is Ruby - sweet, simple story. I think I like the illustrations more than the actual storyline, though.

Herman and Rosie - this is a gem. Two lonely city-dwellers find each other through serendipity and music. Another "maker" inspiring book? (though this time the making is music)

Here's my shelf on Goodreads that shares the creativity and artistic inspiring books I've found:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4878838?shelf=artistic-creative-inspirations

I'm counting titles where the characters in the story create - make - and are inspired. I didn't include biographies of artists or musicians, although I suppose I could...

Have a great reading week!