It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now 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!

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers 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. 

Kristi's bookshelf: November-2015

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

by Daniel James Brown

tagged: november-2015

Behind the Veils of Yemen: How an American Woman Risked Her Life, Family, and Faith to Bring Jesus to Muslim Women

by Audra Grace Shelby

tagged: november-2015

The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again!

by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

tagged: to-read and november-2015

Girls Like Us

by Gail Giles

tagged: november-2015

Shift

by Jennifer Bradbury

tagged: november-2015 and to-read

Wordless Wednesday

Marking, Commenting, Report Cards - Oh my!

Marking, commenting, report cards, parent/teacher conferences, #gafe summit, virtual day, last minute literacy training, sub plans, and the rest of life. Yup, it is end of term in my world. All of those things are happening in the next handful of days. On top of the normal end of term crazies I am at a new school, working to understand the hows and whys of a new report card. And just for the fun of it, I said 'yes' to presenting at a tech conference this weekend. You moms know that also means prepping meals, making sure laundry is clean, and double checking childcare arrangements in addition to prepping for my presentation, packing, traveling, etc.

To sum it all up, its a bit crazy around here. (Or at least the 'around here' that takes place in my head!) With all of that going on I am still trying to get back into the swing of things with my blogging routine. As I reflected yesterday, it isn't just my writing that isn't getting its due time, it is my reading too. So where has the time gone? I haven't been able to put my finger on the black hole that is sucking it away. I would love to figure it out so I can put a plug in it. I will say that I am not stressed out about it. Over the years I have learned that it all gets accomplished, somehow. 

As I started writing, the list of things I currently on my plate lead to the title of this post. Two weeks ago my six year old daughter watched "The Wizard of Oz" for the first time. As we cuddled on the couch, watching the story unfold, I realize how many lines that are part of our everyday quotes came from this legendary movie. "Lions, and tigers, and bears - oh my!" is just one of the many. Others, like "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too!" and "Toto, I've got a feeling we aren't in Kansas anymore" and "We're off to see the Wizard" and "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" and of course, "There's no place like home" are lines we naturally attribute to Dorothy's adventures. But what about, "Going so soon?!" or "Go away or I'll bite you myself!" or "A horse of a different color"? It was fun to watch the movie through my daughters eyes. The next day, when the neighbor boys were shooting various weapons at her she shot back enchanted poppies, to make them go to sleep. I love that "The Wizard of Oz" and all of its ideas and lines can now be a part of our family vernacular.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now 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!

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers 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. 

October has been rough. I slogged my way through books I felt like I needed to read, found that I didn't enjoy an author I have always enjoyed, and in general had a hard time getting a book into my hands. I read plenty - blogs, student work, news, but not much to show for it here.

October's books...

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

by Malcolm Gladwell

All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr

Shade's Children

by Garth Nix