It's Monday, What Are You Reading? - April 9

My goal is to participate in this challenge (hosted by Kellee and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts) on a pretty regular basis.  I know that as I've dropped in and read some of the blogs others have written about what they're reading, I get some great ideas for where I can go next with my own reading.  And this weekend was full of great reading, so here we go!!

I started the long weekend (we weren't in school Friday) by finishing an ARC of Remarkable.  What a delightful book that was.  I loved the concept of a young girl who was surrounded by gifted parents, siblings, acquaintances, and townsfolk.  The big message of this book was that we all have gifts to offer to the world, regardless of how inconsequential -- important message for our students to hear.

On Friday afternoon, I visited my favorite children's bookstore, Cover to Cover.  While there I bought this wonderful stack of books:

books from Cover to Cover

Some of these books were "destination books" -- they were the reason I traveled to Cover to Cover.  Others, like Take Me With You and Kindred Souls, were purchased on the great advice of Beth, one of the incredibly knowledgeable women who work at Cover to Cover.

From Friday evening to Sunday evening, I was able to finish Fake Mustache, Humming Room, Take Me With You, and almost finish Kindred Souls.  What a great weekend of reading!


Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger was a hoot from start to finish.  While I have thoroughly enjoyed his Origami Yoda books, I enjoyed this one even more. 

Take Me With You is a story set in Italy and revolves around the two main characters just wanting to belong to their family or be adopted by a family who would want them.  The idea of belonging is a key component to this book. 

Kindred Souls is the latest book by Patricia MacLachlan.  I love how slowly she moves her plot and action so we can appreciate both the setting and the characters.  Another tear jerker for me.  But a great book because the language is accessible for many abilities. 

Humming Room by Ellen Potter was another great recommendation from a tweep.  I love Ellen Potter; I currently have many children reading SLOB.  The parallels between The Secret Garden and the Humming Room might be a great bridge to get students into a classic like that.


I'm so excited to be part of the Monday group!  See you all next week!