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Monday, April 27, 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...


Do Not Eat the Game! by Matthew McElligott

This picture book shows that games are fun when there are more players and when everyone follows the rules. The text is written to sound like game directions and the monsters' antics are amusing. Thanks to the publisher for a review copy. The book publishes in May.

A Hatful of Dragons: And More Than 13.8 Billion Other Funny Poems by Vikram Madan

My favorite part of this book is the fill-in-the-blank poem with lists of words to choose from so readers can actually make up billions of different poems. I also love the variety of poems - there's even a rebus and one partly written in comic-book form. These nonsensical, silly poems, some which have a bit of suspense, will surprise and amuse readers.

Baloney and Friends by Greg Pizzoli

After finishing this book, the only thing I am disappointed with is the fact that I can't share it with students until fall since schools will not be reopening in Massachusetts this school year. Early readers will love the graphic novel format and the personalities of Baloney and his friends. The book has three different stories (and a few mini-comics thrown in) and the last one, which is a sweet story of friendship, is my favorite. Readers can also draw the characters by following the directions at the end of the end of the book. This will be a much loved book, so I hope it doesn't take too long for the next one in the series.

Santiago's Road Home by Alexandra Diaz

Twelve-year-old Santiago wants to escape the abuse of his abuela so he decides to head to the United States with a mother and daughter who he has recently met. In the United States, Santiago is separated from those he now considers family and is put into an immigration detention center. This book provides a powerful glimpse into the experience of a child immigrant who is torn from the people who care about him and is at the mercy of an unjust system. Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.

13 comments:

  1. I hadn't heard of Santiago's Road Home yet but loved The Only Road also by her. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I'm definitely looking forward to Santiago's Road Home. I was a bit worried to find that Beatty's Lupita Manana (on the same topic but from 1981!) is still in the collections of some of our schools. We need to make sure certain topics are updated. Have you seen Efren Divided? Also a good choice.

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  3. Santiago's Road Home sounds like a great book to add to my #ownvoices collection. I'll have to look into that!

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  4. My school system has not really said that but I am pretty sure I will not be teaching a class in person this year, nor able to share books in quite the same way. That is tough. I am adding Santiago's Road Home to my list and Baloney and Friends looks good too. Thanks for the post, and have a good week!

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  5. You put two in my cart! A Hatful of Dragons and Baloney and Friends -- thank you!!

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    1. Hello, thank you for looking up my book. If you decide to get it, please message me through my website (www.HatfulOfDragons.com) if you would like to receive a signed bookplate for your copy.

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  6. Wow, Santiago's Road Home is very newsworthy, Lisa. I've put it on my list. I've seen others share A Hatful of Dragons, sounds like a lot of fun poetry! Thanks!

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  7. I can't wait to read Santiago's Road Home. It sounds wonderful and important. Someone else told me Baloney is great so I have that one on my soon to purchase list!

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  8. Those look like awesome picture books, especially Don't Eat the Game! I can't wait for the library to reopen. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week and stay healthy & safe!

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  9. Thanks for the shout-out and the praise! I hope you all enjoy Santiago along with the other great books listed here! Happy reading!

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  10. I'm very excited to learn about Santiago's Road Home (^^and how cool to see the comment from Alexandra Diaz). This sounds like a very important book and I'm definitely adding it to my reading list. I'm making it around to everyone's blog late this week, but it's nice to see so many in our community still participating in the midst of such chaos. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, Lisa!

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  11. Baloney and Friends is so much fun! :) Trent and I really like Greg Pizzoli! Santiago's Road Home looks like a must read!

    Happy reading!

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  12. Thanks for sharing about my book. Please message me if you would like to receive a signed bookplate for your copy. https://www.vikrammadan.com/blog/signed-bookplates-hatful-of-dragons

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