It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12/03/12

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

After doing the meme for a couple of weeks, we realized this would be a fun meme to start up with a kidlit focus - anyone reading and reviewing books in children's literature - it can be picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, you name it in the world of kidlit and it's in! We have loved being a part of this meme and we hope you do too!  We encourage everyone participating to go and visit the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and to comment on as many posts as you can. We love talking books and believe in sharing and discussing what we're reading. We hope you join us!

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: Ugh. I'm so irritated with myself but can't really be mad at the same time. I think I'll be able to read during the week and then a million things seem to get in the way. I had three late nights this week and our town's tree lighting on Friday night, which all added up to a tired me that could barely keep my eyes open for two pages every night. So I'm still working through What Came From the Stars (thank goodness for the renew option at the library!) and I'm over halfway through the audio of Splendors and Glooms. 

Kellee Says: This week flew by! Actually it seems like the entire year is flying by so quickly! (Though at the same time it seems like it has been forever since school started- does that make sense?) This week I read a mix of books. First, The Edumacation of Jay Baker by Jay Clark which is a teen book for Diary of a Wimpy Kid readers that have gotten older. I do have one issue with the book- sometimes when a book is too realistically representing teens it includes negative aspects of teens that I wish would not be depicted in books (primarily the loose lipped use of slurs like "retard" and "gay"); however, it is unfortunately a realistic portrayal. I also finished my audiobook that I've been listening to Dark Life by Kat Falls and it did not let me down. It was on our state list last year and all of the students raved about it and I see why. I am going to do an audiobook review of it later so I can share it with you. 
     I was lucky enough to get an ARC of the tenth Captain Underpants book, Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers, and I liked it just as much as I loved the whole series (see past review). I, personally, love how I can tell that the series is growing with its readers. This was by far the most complicated, in-depth and challenging Captain Underpants book yet. I was also really excited to find out there is going to be an eleventh as I thought ten was the last one. The other illustrated novel I read was Lulu Walks the Dog by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Lane Smith which was a bit different than the first, but I really enjoyed it as well. I'll be reviewing these for you soon. 
     Lastly I read a bunch of nonfiction books, in prep for Non-fiction Wednesdays!, including a biography of Jon Stewart by Randy Scherer and some so grossly interesting books from the Gruesome Truth about... series. I learned about the Greeks, the Egyptians and the Middle Ages.      

Reviewed Last Week:

 
  
  

Just click on any picture above to go read the review

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: I love our Monday posts where I get to look back at what was working and what wasn't working in my reading life and then reassess. The word reflection is somewhat overused but it's still important. If we can't look back at what we have done and be honest in our self-assessment, then we can't see where we are going as we move forward. I want to read more...I recognize why I'm struggling...now I just have to really do something about it! I think I have to find time to read that isn't right before bed every night. We'll see if I can fit some reading in during my lunch this week so I can finally finish What Came From the Stars. On audio, I should be able to finish Splendors and Glooms and then the plan is still to read Peter Nimble next! 

Kellee Says: I was having trouble deciding what audiobook to listen to next, but after meeting Blue Balliett and listening to her speak at ALAN, I knew I needed to finally read one of her books (specifically because most of them have an art connection as well). So, I chose Chasing Vermeer which I will start today. I have a couple of more non-fiction books I want to read as well as Linnea in Monet's Garden and I am currently reading Jennifer Brown's Perfect Escape.This will be a great reading week!

This Week's Reviews:

 

Check back throughout the week to hear about these books. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

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