It's Monday ... Here's What I've Been Reading! #bookaday #IMWAYR #booklove

Well … I’ve been reading way more than I have been writing about my reading lately. I’m trying to get back into the swing of sharing with this community. So here goes:

Fred Gets Dressed -This book is LOL and talk worthy! Kids immediately referenced No David when I read it. The illustrations are powerful - kids wanted to study them long after the initial read aloud. Don’t miss Peter Brown’s post about this book: https://www.peterbrownstudio.com/fred-gets-dressed/

Stroller Coaster - What a team Matt Ringler, Raul the Third, and Elaine Bay make! This book is so much fun and has a story line all of us can relate to - just look at this spread!

This is one I will use as a read-aloud in the first weeks of school and as a mentor text in narrative units. It has every craft move you could want! Check out this interview with the creators: https://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/09/15/cover-reveal-interview-extravaganza-stroller-coaster-illustrated-by-raul-the-third-elaine-bay/

Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers - This is a beautiful narrative. It is a great mentor text - close in ending, point of view, and unfreezing the characters with dialogue, feelings, action, and thought shots. The powerful endnotes provide more information about Raksha Bandhan.

Maya and the Robot - Eve L. Ewing’s debut middle-grade novel. I loved it! Maya is a 5th grader dealing with not getting the same teacher as her closest friends. She loves science and finds herself programming a robot given to her by Mr. Mac, a grocery store owner. This is a story of community, friendship, and problem-solving on so many levels. I hope it is going to be a series!

Summer Feet - a gorgeous lyrical text celebrating all our feet do in summer. Every sense will be engaged as you read this book. This generated so much conversation and inspiration for writing when I read it to K-5 students during the last week of school. Add this one to your poetry collection!

What Are Your Words - A Book About Pronouns - This is a really interesting book filled with information. It is told as a narrative but begs you to slow down, process, ask questions and discuss. This is a great book to have on hand when kids have questions around gender and identity.

With Book Love,

Clare