It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/27/2016

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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. 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...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Thank goodness for the Thanksgiving holiday and a few days to catch up on life! Peanut and I finished up Wonder (I cried...he didn't) and he loved it - hooray! And believe it or not, we started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - another hooray! I've waited so long to read it with him and he hasn't been very excited until now. We went to see Fantastic Beasts on Wednesday and that convinced him to give the Harry Potter books a try. I'm soooooooo excited! Little Bean and I even finished the 7th Lunch Lady - woo hoo! I also read Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles that I've been meaning to get to and read most of Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It was a great reading week.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I'm so excited to keep reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone with Peanut and Lunch Lady with Little Bean. I'm a bit all over the place as I forgot I was reading Rising Strong and that I had wanted to read Orphan Island from Laurel Snyder. So, I'm hoping to finish up everything I have going right now. We'll see how long it takes us to get through Harry Potter...I'm guessing that one will take a while. But that's okay, I'm excited to savor it with my kiddo!

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/21/2016

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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. 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...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

I should have known better! You would think after all these years of attending NCTE I would realize how to be more realistic about what I can accomplish the week of NCTE. I did read Rising Strong by Brené Brown and Little Bean and I finished up the 6th Lunch Lady...but I didn't get to blog posts I was hoping to get to and I didn't get as much reading done as I pretended to think I might. But hopefully I'll have time to read this week. I've got lots of amazing books from NCTE to explore. 

Reviewed Last Week:

Click on any picture above to go read my review/post.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I'm hoping to finish up Rising Strong and Laurel Snyder's Orphan Island is calling my name. I'm hoping to be able to spend a lot of time reading this week as I recover from the nonstop brainwork of NCTE...oh, and I'll be marathon watching Gilmore Girls too.

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

JOIN: Celebrating Feeling More Whole

Every Saturday, join me as I CELEBRATE This Week 

with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.

This weekend I'm in at Atlanta for the National Council of Teachers of English conference. I'm lucky enough to share my experiences as a teacher who writes and maybe possibly hopefully inspire teachers to write and to write with their students. It was soul-warming to be with educator, author, and illustrator friends who are family to me now. 

To say I needed this weekend is a complete understatement. Since the election last week, I've been processing so much information and feeling overwhelmed and shaken in a way I haven't felt since September 11th, 2001. I knew connecting with some of the people who I admire most in this world and having thoughtful conversations with them was going to be good for my soul. And it was. It really was. I'll be back next week to share more of my experience with remarkable people this weekend but today I'm celebrating Ruth Ayres.

Ruth is one of the most inspiring women I know. She's passionate about reaching student writers and her ideas take teachers to the core of what we need to address first with students. I'm so proud to know her and getting to catch up was only one teeny part of how this conference helped buoy me up so I can keep moving forward. 

What are you finding to celebrate this weekend?

Even if it's a small bit of celebration that we can find, please share!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/14/2016

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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. 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...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Announcements:

I'm off to NCTE this week! So excited to connect with friends. I'm anticipating lots of hugs. But also I'm honored to get to present with colleagues and share ideas. Here they are in case you'll be there and might be interested!

The Artist as Historian: 

Advocating for Visual Literacy with Non-Fiction Picture Books 
Friday, November 18, 02:30 pm – 03:45 pm
Georgia World Congress Center A303

Creating Student Compassion through Mentor Texts
Friday, November 18, 04:00 pm – 05:15 pm
Georgia World Congress Center B216

Get Writing! 

A Hands-on Workshop Celebrating the Transformative 

Power of Writing Communities for Teachers
Sunday, November 20, 12:00 pm – 01:15 pm
Georgia World Congress Center B314

Thinkers Who Thrive: 

Advocating for Student Independence as Readers and Writers
Sunday, November 20, 01:30 pm – 02:45 pm
Georgia World Congress Center B405

Last Week's Book Adventures:

I'm still reading Wonder with Peanut and Little Bean and I are almost done with the 5th Lunch Lady. We're still reading and discussing Launch as a book study. I also started Rising Strong by Brené Brown and it's amazing. So so so so good. 

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

This week I'm excited to keep reading with my kids and to keep reading Rising Strong and Launch. I also bought I Am Here Now: A Creative Mindfulness Guide And Journal by The Mindfulness Project that I'm hoping to start working in.

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/7/2016

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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. 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...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Wow, oh, wow, last week was intense! To start it off, Halloween was on Monday but then Tuesday and Wednesday were late nights watching the Cubs. The Cubs won the World Series! I still can hardly believe it.

We did (somehow) still get reading in. Peanut and I are still reading Wonder and Little Bean and I finished Bird and Squirrel and then we read Bird and Squirrle On Ice, Lunch Lady and Cyborg Substitute, Lunch Lady and The League of Librarians and we're in the middle of Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta.

I also finished Be Light Like a Bird and started Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles and am still reading Launch for school.

Reviewed Last Week:

Click on any picture above to go read my review/post.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I plan to continue reading Wonder, more graphic novels, Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, Launch, and I also have Rising Strong by Brené Brown to start to!

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Be Light Like a Bird

Title: Be Light Like a Bird 
Author: Monika Schroder 
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers 
Publication Date: September 1st, 2016 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Middle Grade Novel 
GoodReads Summary: After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Wren finds her life thrown into upheaval. And when her mother decides to pack up the car and forces Wren to leave the only home she's ever known, the family grows even more fractured. As she and her mother struggle to build a new life, Wren must confront issues with the environment, peer pressure, bullying, and most of all, the difficulty of forgiving those who don't deserve it. A quirky, emotional middle grade novel set in Michigans Upper Peninsula, Be Light Like a Bird features well-drawn, unconventional characters and explores what it means to be a family and the secrets and lies that can tear one apart.
What I Think: My oldest son is a such a fan of realistic fiction. He loves funny books but I've also watched him get sucked in by great stories about real kids dealing with real-life problems. That's exactly what Be Light Like a Bird is. Kids have to deal with tough situations all the time, and adults often try to keep the reality of situations from kids. Usually adults mean well, but it doesn't always make it easy for kids because they experience things without all the information.
     As a mentor text, I can see using Be Light Like a Bird as an opportunity to talk to students about personal narrative. They can think about some of the ideas from the book and then brainstorm some experiences they have had. Brainstorming ideas and getting to real and raw ideas makes personal narrative that much more interesting. A discussion about what counts as personal narrative is especially important. Not every student has a story of going to Disney World, or going to a Museum, or even going to a park. But that's okay. We all have a story to tell. Personal narrative can be as little as seeing a bird outside your window or your brother finishing the last of the cereal before you have a chance to pour yourself a bowl. Even the tiniest moment is a story. And all stories are worth telling.
Snatch of Text:  
     "Printed on the first page was a quote: Be light like a bird, not like a feather.
     When Dad had given me the journal to me, I'd asked him what that meant. He said, 'It means you don't want to just float around in life like a feather. You want to determine your own direction --- fly and soar like a bird.'" (p. 45)
Writing Prompt: Write about a quote that means something to you. Maybe it's something an adult has said to you that means something to you or something you've discovered for yourself.