It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA (29)

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Jen & Kellee from Teach Mentor Texts have adapted this to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

I realized that I have been reading though a lot of advanced copies of books recently.  As a result, I have put release dates near all of the books so that if anything interests you then you can mark your calendars.

Here are my favorites from my the past week's reading adventures:

Drama by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic, September 1, 2012) - Fans of Telgemeier's first graphic novel - Smile - will be eager to read her newest graphic novel to be released at the beginning of September.  I can't wait to see the final version in all color.

Guys Read: The Sports Pages edited by Jon Scieszka (Walden Pond Press, July 10, 2012) - The newest Guys Read will be out next week.  Stop by the blog tomorrow for a chance to win all 3 Guys Reads. 

Lulu Walks the Dogs by Judith Viorst, Illustrated by Lane Smith (Simon & Schuster, September 4, 2012) - Yipee!  There is a new Lulu book coming out.  It made me so happy to get an ARC of this one.  I think I love this book even better than I loved Lulu & the Brontosaurus (which I didn't think was possible).  I want to read it to every first and second grade class.

The Word Eater by Mary Amato (Holiday House,  2004) - Okay, this is an older book that I checked out of the library.  Great for 2nd to 4th graders and good for discussions about bullying.

Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird: A True Story by Stephanie Spinner; Illustrated by Meilo So (Random House, October 9, 2012) - Though this is a picture book, it is a little more like a novella.  Definitely geared for independent reading levels of 3rd grade to 5th, but would work as a read aloud in 2nd grade.  I loved this story of Alex and the research on language and learning. 

Seed by Seed by Esme Raji Codell; Illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow Books, August 21, 2012) -  Most of the time I think of Johnny Appleseed as some kind of folktale/legend. Codell focuses more on the life of John Chapman and what kind of legacy he left behind. Though the book will be released in time for Johnny Appleseed's birthday on September 26th, I found that this one is also relevant for earth day celebrations.

So, what are you reading this week?

I am on vacation for the next several weeks.  I am going to read to my hearts content and don't have any definite plans of what I will read and when.  How are you doing on your summer reading?  Any fun surprises?  Books that you found that must be used as a class read aloud?  Love to hear what you have discovered.