It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #imwayr [4.4.22]

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!

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It’s a new month! Happy April everyone!

Here is my wrap up to my busy last month:

It was a month filled with exciting news, spring break travels, and my last parent-teacher conferences. My hope is that this month slows down so I can get more reading time in, but also speeds up so the school year doesn’t seem to drag on. We have MAP testing at the end of the month, so we will see how that goes! I am going to try to finish A Duet for Home today because it publishes tomorrow! Enjoy your week everyone.

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• The Aquanaut by Dan Santat
  • Santat has illustrated and written such a beautiful graphic novel–the opening is heartbreaking, but the story leads down a surprisingly out-of-the-blue journey of a walking aquanaut filled with sea creatures desperate to share a very important message. This book will grab young and old readers’ hearts. It’s one of those graphic novels where you just can’t simply put it down and come back to it later. With a powerful ending that ties to environmental rights of not holding marine life captive, you’ll want to slow down and read through the author’s notes. Santat discusses how this book came to life, who it is for, and some fun facts on how the creatures were named and created. A graphic novel I highly suggest!
• Doggo and Pupper: Save the World by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Charlie Alder
  • Another great book in the Doggo and Pupper series! Pupper enjoys life, but he does worry a lot. He wishes he were braver and more hero-like. Only thing is that heroes are not afraid of anything, especially giant squirrels. A great lesson learned by Pupper and taught by Doggo is that being able to fly is not what makes you a hero. What Pupper thinks is heroic isn’t the true definition of being a hero. Sometimes being a hero is by simply helping others. Doggo and Pupper learn that they are very good helpers, indeed! They too are heroes. Another sweet message and great read for kids bridging to chapter books.
• Anisa’s International Day by Reem Faruqi
  • This lower middle grade book is all about celebrating your culture, being unique, not assuming or judging others, and apologizing when you know you’ve made a mistake (plus, lots of baking!). A delightful #mglit read perfect for 2nd-5th. In our school, we celebrate International Day every year and I just loved this story. Also, I love that it was under 90 pages and had illustrations sprinkled throughout. I can’t wait to see the published book when it comes out in September. #BookAllies

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Shop the books above and support me and local Indies:

• The Aquanaut: A Graphic Novel by Dan Santat
• Doggo and Pupper: Save the World by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Charlie Alder
• Anisa’s International Day by Reem Faruqi
• A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser
• The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

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Have you ever read any of these books? Share with me what you are reading below!

Xo, Sierra