It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers have adapted it to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.
It has actually been a fairly crazy past two weeks, and I missed posting last week. So I combined the two weeks into this post. There are some very special books in the list below.
Here is what jumped out f the pile over the past two weeks:
Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet, Elspeth Graham; Illustrated by Juan Wijngaard (Walker Books 2010) - I can't believe that there will be no more of these beautiful collaborative books. I may not have read other books by Peet but the work he did with his wife have become books I love.
Sweep Up the Sun by Helen Frost; Photographs by Rick Lieder (Candlewick, March 10, 2015) - This is a follow-up to Frost's Step Gently Out. Beautiful photographs bring the poetic text to life.
Something About a Bear by Jackie Morris (Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2014) - I love both the illustrations and stories that Morris creates. Of course, anything about my favorite wild animal will garner my attention, but this one is definitely worth reading and owning.
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Elspeth Leacock, Susan Buckley; Illustrated by PJ Loughran (Dial Books, January 2015) - Powerful story about the Selma Voting Rights March as seen through the eyes of a 15 year old Lynda Blackmon Lowery. A quick read but one that will stick with you.
Lies and Other Tall Tales Collected by Zora Neale Hurston; Adapted and Illustrated by Christopher Myers (HarperCollins, paperback release January 2015) - I am still trying to figure out what to say about this one, but I found it fascinating and one that I would love to share with older students as a mentor texts.
Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley (Dial Books, June 2, 2015) - I was invited to a tea with Cassie Beasley by Penguin Publishers and bumped this up. Though in real life, I have mixed feelings about circuses, it would seem that magical circuses are more my thing. A great book to put on your summer TBR list.
In Defense of Read Alouds: Sustaining Best Practice by Steven Layne (Stenhouse Publishers, January 2015) - This one I read slowly. I wanted to enjoy and savor each chapter. Layne provides teachers with the research and thought behind the importance of reading aloud in the classroom but for those of us who already believe in reading aloud the book is a bit of a love song to the practice.
So, what are you reading?