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Monday, July 2, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?




It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a community of bloggers who link up to share what they are reading. To find out what other bloggers are reading, check out the host blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. You can also follow on Twitter at #imwayr.

What I've Been Reading...


Niblet and Ralph by Zachariah OHora

Niblet and Ralph live in the same apartment building. They find a way to visit each other's apartments, but this leads to confusion when their owners return and find that they each have a different cat in place of their own. Niblet and Ralph are two amusing cats whose mischief inadvertently leads to a new friendship.

Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi

Yasmin is a second grader who is great at solving problems. In each of the four short chapters, Yasmin is faced with different problems that are resolved due to her sense of adventure and creativity. Readers will also get a sense of Yasmin's Pakistani-American culture throughout the book. Illustrations, which are on included on most of the pages, are wonderful, too. This will be a great read to recommend to transitional chapter book readers. Thanks to the publisher, Capstone, for sending my book review group, #BookExcursion, an advance reader's copy of the book. The book publishes in August.

Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldredge

Evangeline is an apprentice to her grandmother who is a haunt huntress. When they take a job in New Orleans, Evangeline begins to question whether she has inherited any of the powers that are part of her family's history. In spite of her doubts, Evangeline is determined to keep those around her safe. This is an adventurous read with lots of action and supernatural elements. The setting, the Louisiana Bayou and New Orleans, is both charming and spooky. Evangeline is a character with strength, grit, and spunk and a heroine who demonstrates that fear can be faced head on.

Toaff's Way by Cynthia Voigt

Toaff is an adventurous and curious squirrel who gets separated from his family after a storm. The year following his loss, he takes a journey in which he strives to figure out the world and his place in it. He learns about survival, acceptance, and friendship. Imagining the world from the perspective of a squirrel, this is a sweet and entertaining tale. Toaff will win over readers' hearts. Thanks to NetGalley, I read a digital advance reader's copy of the book. The book publishes in August.

Professional Read


Sparks in the Dark: Lessons, Ideas, and Strategies to Illuminate the Reading and Writing Lives in All of Us by Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney

Sparks in the Dark is about creating meaningful and authentic experiences for learners so they develop the love of reading and writing that will allow them to grow their literate lives. Throughout the book, Travis, a seventh-grade teacher, and Todd, a school principal, weave stories of their experiences as educators who promote literacy and provide instruction that aligns with best practice. They write about the necessity of access to books, providing choice, being teachers who read and write and the importance of having difficult conversations with kids and being professionals who learn in a variety of ways to improve our practice. This is a conversational, inspirational, and practical professional read. 

17 comments:

  1. I’ll have to sign up for Meet Yasmin on the #bookexcursion list - I have a reader in mind who would love it!

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    1. You'll really love it and I think your reader will, too!

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  2. I'm very much looking forward to Meet Yasmin! Sparks in the Dark also looks really good. Thanks so much for sharing all these wonderful reviews, Lisa!

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    1. I think you'll like Meet Yasmin. I enjoyed Todd Nesloney's previous book, Kids Deserve It, too.

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  3. Will note Meet Yasmin! & it's great to read of a new book by Cynthia Voigt. I have loved her earlier books, for all ages.

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  4. I can't wait to introduce students to Yasmin. I am a big fan of Zachariah OHora's work so I look forward to reading Niblet and Ralph. There are so many good professional reads this summer and Sparks in the Dark is another I want to read before school begins. Happy 4th and have a great week!

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    1. I agree there are many good professional reads out there this summer. I have quite a few I want to get to reading! Hope you enjoy the week as well!

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  5. I am really interested in Meet Yasmin! Your review intrigued me. Thanks for sharing it--it is new to me!

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  6. Niblet and Ralph is such a fun book about friendship! Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful 4th of July!

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    1. There's a lot to love about Niblet and Ralph!

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  7. I am also really looking forward to Niblet and Ralph. Also, Evangeline seems like an interesting one that I could get some readers to try. Thanks for the great titles.

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    1. Evangeline is a great character and I definitely think readers will like her and the plot of the book.

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  8. I recently learned that Jan Elredge lives in my city--I need to get Evangeline (I also loved her guest post on UR)!
    Ohora books are awesome--I need to get this newest.
    And I love Yasmin so much--thank you for sharing her :)

    Happy reading this week!

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    1. Oh, wow! So cool that she lives in your city. I'll have to check out that guest post. Have a great week!

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  9. I really like the look of Sparks in the Dark - love PD texts about reading. Yasmin looks like a lovely early-reader text! :)

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