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Monday, January 13, 2020

Recent Reads

Every Monday, I share books I have recently read. I also participate in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, 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, or follow on Twitter at #imwayr.

Recent Reads


The Heart of a Whale by Anna Pignataro

This is one of those picture books that is just all around gorgeous. It's a sweet story of love and friendship. The text is poetic and the illustrations capture the magnificence of the ocean and all the sea creatures living within it, but especially the whale. This book can be read aloud anytime, but because there is a theme of love, I'm thinking about sharing it with my students around Valentine's Day.

A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan

In 1963, Sharon Langley and other black children were unable to ride the carousel at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Baltimore because of a rule that remained in effect at the park. Protesters changed that and Sharon, just before she was one year old, became the first African American child to go on a ride the day the park opened to all regardless of skin color. This is an insightful read about how people were able to work together to make change.

The Best of Iggy by Annie Barrows

Iggy is not the kind of kid who thinks things through and, although not his intention, his behavior often lands him in trouble. This book is silly and humorous and there are, no doubt, readers who will be able to relate to Iggy's impulsivity. The short chapters and illustrations will also appeal to some readers. Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for providing #BookExcursion with a review copy.

Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit

Vivy is a girl and she is autistic, but she knows how to throw a knuckleball and is not going to let anything stop her from playing the sport she loves. The entire story is written in letters between Vivy and a major league pitcher she admires, VJ Capello. Vivy has a lot of personality and learns to use her voice to speak up for herself. Readers will root for Vivy as she strives to overcome obstacles that threaten to get in the way of her baseball pitching. Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for an advance reader's copy. The book publishes in February.

11 comments:

  1. Oh, Vivy. . . sounds very nice, Lisa. I will look for it, & The Heart of A Whale is on my list! Thanks!

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  2. Love that Vivy included sports. The cover is a good one.

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  3. What a collection of wonderful books today. Vivy sounds like an important one as does A Ride to Remember.

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  4. Def need to sign up for a turn to read The Heart of a Whale. I didn't know that A Ride to Remember took place in Baltimore. I will have to see if my local library has a copy. Thanks for the recommendations Lisa!

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  5. I have Vivy and Iggy in my pile to read. I somehow missed putting The Heart of a Whale on my checklist. WAiting for publication now!

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  6. These are all in my stack - can't wait until this weekend!! The Heart of a Whale looks gorgeous.

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  7. These all look really good. I suspect that I have two teachers in my school that would love to have Iggy as a read aloud. Thanks for the great shares!

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  8. I'll have to check out The Heart of a Whale. Thanks for the suggestion!

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  9. The Heart of a Whale and A Ride to Remember both look awesome. I put in requests for them at my library. Thanks for sharing and have a great week!

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  10. These are all new to me, Lisa! And I really like your idea of sharing The Heart of a Whale during Valentine's Day. Perfect! Hope you've had a wonderful reading week -- I'm very late to the imwayr party, yet again. Trying to get my act together before February. LOL

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