It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? originated as a meme that started by Shelia at Book Journeys, then it passed onto Kathryn at The Book Date. Then the Unleashing Readers, Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee decided to give it a twist by having a #kidlit focus. So this is a time to share what you have been, currently are, and will be reading soon!
If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade, young adult, or anything in those genres – then join us! This is also a great opportunity to see what others are reading and you might find your next “must-read” too!
If you join in the fun and you Tweet, tag your tweet with #imwayr!
Goodbye, September! Hello, October and #spookyseason! Here are the few books I read last month:
My top favorites were Pony by R.J. Palacio, 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard, and Mine by Delilah S. Dawson.
All of my students will be back in the classroom today! I can’t wait to see all of their faces and be back together as a class. It might take a bit to get adjusted but it will be well worth it.
Lastly… I have some exciting news! I interviewed for a seasonal position at my local indie bookstore, Main Street Books, for the Christmas Traditions festival and I found out on Friday that I got it! I start training every Saturday in October and November and have four shifts during the festival at the bookstore. I will work the cash register, shelve books, recommend books, set up displays, you name it. It’s been a dream to work in a bookstore in some capacity and I literally will… during one of the most magical times of the year. I am beyond blessed and thankful.
Here’s to another great week of reading and I hope you all find something special!
- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
- Thanks to a few coworkers who recommended I read TFGSG. This was giving me similar vibes to The Mary Shelly Club as the horror film references and parallels were so fun to read. Knowing what a final girl is and how this focuses on a final girl support group is intriguing. Following the personalities of each of the final girls and how extremely different they were from one another was easy to keep track of who was who. Lynne, the main final girl was all over the place and quite traumatized as she literally thought someone was following her ready to kill her at any moment in time. The pacing was great and the ending left me cringing.
- Alias Anna by Susan Hood with Greg Dawson
- A powerful and heartbreaking novel in verse about the true story of Zhanna (alias “Anna”) and her younger sister, Frina, who fled under the noses of Nazis at such a young age. The emotional punch throughout and mixture of poetic devices was remarkable. The wealth of information in the author’s notes and real photographs of Zhanna and the many people mentioned in the book was inspiring too. I highly recommend this biographical novel in verse! #BookAllies
- Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories by Max Brallier and illustrated by Letizia Rubegni
- This is the perfect spooky early reader for kids in 1st-3rd grade. The stories are quite eerie so make to sure to tell that to potential readers! Recently I shared how great it would be to read a short story compilation to the class as ways to hook readers in or use as a mentor piece for a writing lesson. This would be a great choice for teachers of the grades above! I love this Acorn Series and hope to read the other two soon.
- Birdie’s Billions by Edith Cohn
- Young readers will love this story! Birdie struggles with doing the right thing, especially when doing the wrong thing seems like the best thing. She stumbled upon A LOT of money while walking through an empty house with her cousin… she keeps it a secret and takes all of that money to give to her mom. She can’t just hand it over because then her mom will question her so she comes up with a major plan to make it all work. Her mom shouldn’t have to clean houses for the rest of her life or live paycheck to paycheck either. Birdie learns many lessons about being truthful and doing what’s right. I loved the family makeup in this story since it was relatable for me–someone who grew up with only my mom because my biological dad was in jail for stealing. This is the kind of family we should see more often in middle grade books and not just the “perfect family”. #BookAllies
Shop the books above and support me and local Indies:
- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
- Alias Anna by Susan Hood with Greg Dawson
- Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories by Max Brallier and illustrated by Letizia Rubegni
- Birdie’s Billions by Edith Cohn
- Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
- The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters
Have you ever read any of these books? Share with me what you are reading below!
Xo, Sierra
Books. Iced Lattes. Blessed. 
Congratulations on the new (& exciting) bookstore position. Although it’s a used bookstore, I love working there & we do order some new books! I’ve heard of Alias Anna, on my list, & will look for Beneath The Bed & The Final Girl Support Group for sure! Thanks, Sierra & have a super week!
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Hope your first day back with everyone goes very well. And CONGRATULATIONS on your seasonal bookstore position. Sounds like such fun!
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Good luck with the return to class post-quarantine—I hope everything goes well! And congrats on the bookstore position—even with the unpleasantness of retail, it is kind of a secret dream of mine to work in a bookstore at some point too, and I’m so glad you’ll get to do that and pass on all these awesome kidlit recommendations to some shoppers! (Honestly, I just want to GO to the bookstore—it’s been so long, thanks to COVID.) Birdie’s Billions sounds great, and I’m so glad you connected with it personally. Thanks so much for the wonderful post as always, Sierra!
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