It’s Monday! What are you Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!  is a meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach.Mentor.Texts. 

      This week, I read a few great books!  One of the books was Wonder, which lived up to all of the wonderful recommendations and reviews.  This book has stayed with me in the days since I read it.  I am working on my review, but, don’t wait for my review, just find the book, share it with your students, your family, or your friends.  This week I also read the first of the Penderwicks books written by Jeanne Birdsall.  This was an old fashioned book detailing a charming story about 4 sisters and their summer cottage.  I plan to reserve and read the other 2 books soon.  This book was just a pleasure to read.  Some of the other books I read this week were a little more difficult.  I read both Breadcrumbs and Neversink.  Breadcrumbs  was just difficult to read because I didn’t connect with the protagonist and the fantasy part of the story was a little too dreamlike for me.  I guess I was expecting something different!  That being said, the story was interesting especially the weaving of many different fairytales.  Neversink was also difficult for me.  I was reading this as an e-book and took every chance I could to be distracted, checking email, playing games, and looking for other e-books before I finally forced myself to finish it last night.  I think this book might be a good fit for animal lovers who like sensitive characters, thoughtful speaking animals, and stories of success.  Actually, if you like all of those things: I suggest you read The One and Only, Ivan instead! 

Here are the MG novels I finished: 

 

Wonder

by R.J. Palacio

– Review Coming

The Penderwicks: 

A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, 

Two Rabbits, and a Very 

Interesting Boy

by Jeanne Birdsall

 - 4 stars on goodreads

Breadcrumbs

by Anne Ursu

- Review soon to come

Neversink

by Barry Wolverton

 - 3 stars on goodreads

Picture Books also read this week:

 

A Nap in a Lap

by Sarah Wilson

- 3 stars on goodreads

Time to Pee!!!

by Mo Willems

- 4 stars on goodreads

KnuffleBunny

by Mo Willems

- 4 stars on goodreads

 

Duck Soup

by Jackie Urbanovich

- 3 stars on goodreads

3 Fly Guy Books

by Tedd Arnold

- Each 4 stars on goodreads

 

Press Here

by Hervé Tullet

- Reviewed Here

Plus 2 Books About:

Polar Bears

Also 3 Books About:

Tigers

- One earned 4 

stars on goodreads!

And 1 Book About:

Orcas

This Week I will Read:

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

(I am halfway through this book and really enjoying it a great deal.  

I feel bad it's taken me this long to read since I have had it for months.)

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

(Carried over from last week)

 

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

(I love Elizabeth Eulberg.  She was part of my inspiration for starting 
this blog!  Can't wait to dig into this one, I know it will be a treat.) 

M+0 4EVR by Tonya Cherie Hegamin

Super Sluggers: Wall Ball by Kevin Markey

(Because we are into Baseball season full swing, 

I thought this might be a good read. Pun intended btw!)

I am now up to date (barely) with my reading goal. My Lil Guy is still choosing some interesting books from the library shelves.  After reading a few Fly Guy books to him, he really enjoyed the easy, fun, short chapter books.  I see many more of these in our future.  Thank Goodness our library has a stocked shelf of these. So, that is what I am reading.  What are you reading these days?  Leave me a comment and I will be sure to visit your blog and check out your list too!

Even More Great Places to Read Everyday, Everywhere

I started this series about a week ago, looking for great places to read and ways to find extra time in your life to read … You can find details for the first 15 here and here.  Here is a review:

1. Read in Bed.

2. Read while on the Phone, waiting on hold for Customer Service.

3. Read at the Library.

4. Read while waiting at the doctor’s office.

5. Read in the car.

6. Read while sitting in your potty chair.

7. Read in a lawn chair while watching your children playing.

8. Read on a blanket, under a tree.   

9. Bring a book for little ones to read during church.

10.  Read as you have your private lunch.

11. Read on your commuter train ride

12. Read while waiting for water to boil/cooking in the kitchen.

13.  Always, always, always bring a book when you are visiting relatives, especially in-laws. 

14.  Read on a Plane Ride.

15. Read while you are waiting for the movie to start at the movie theatre.  

Thanks to Jen Robinson from Jen Robinson’s Book Page who shared these ideas:

16. Listen to audiobooks while doing chores around the house.  Jen mentioned folding laundry and cooking, I might try this while dusting and cleaning this weekend.  Anything to make housework a little more pleasant!

17. Listen to an audiobook while driving in the car.  I have tons of friends who do this to make the commute pass quickly; I am looking for the perfect book now to give it a try.

And some more ideas I been thinking about:

18. Turn off the TV and read.  One night a week (or more) turn off the TV and have personal or family book time.  My Lil guy loves to be surrounded by piles of books on the couch.  He will sit and read reclining on one side of the couch while I recline on the other side.  It’s a peaceful 20 or 30 minutes that I cherish.

19. Read in the bath.  It’s so indulgent to take a bath with a book.  While my e-reading habits don’t really promote this habit, for those of us who enjoy a nice soak, a book can add to a relaxing experience.

20. Read in bed (part 2). Many of us read before we fall asleep, but how many of us read before we get out of bed in the morning.  There is something about the morning that peaceful, especially after a goodnight’s sleep.  It might be a challenge to some of us, maybe after we’ve woken up a bit and brushed our teeth, or after we make the bed for the day, we should relax with a book before starting our day.  I know many of you are not convinced, but perhaps it’s a challenge you can attempt. 

So now we are finished with numbers 1 to 20.  Hopefully next time around I am going to look at how you can "pretend like you are doing something important when really you are actually just finding an excuse to read in peace".  Later I will explore how to build extra time with books into your family schedule and then finally how children can capture extra reading time at school.  I really have enjoyed this series of posts and hope to keep up with more ideas.  Please leave YOUR ideas in the comments and I will add them onto the list.  Thanks.  :-)

Technology Alert!

Technology Alert!  I will admit, while I am a solid bookie, I love books, I read them, heck I even sleep with them!!  (Admit it, you have slept with them too!)  While I can’t deny my love of books, I also have a Nook Color.  That’s right, I am a Nookie.  Maybe I should add to my blog title:  Teacher.Mother.Reader.Nooker.  I have had the Nook for 3 months now and have read a ton of books on this format.  It’s not the same as a book, but it’s not half bad.  I also enjoy sharing my Nook with my Lil Guy.  He has about a dozen books/apps that he can manipulate with help.  I had read that e-books and apps were beginning to be part of KidLit Blogosphere, and thought I should find something to review.  Anyway, I decided to do a review for a e-book/app I recently bought on my Nook. 

 

My First Zoo: Sights and Sounds

My First Zoo: Sights and Sounds brought to you by Tipitap is a treasury of animals for young ones to explore.  Each page is a single photograph of an animal with the animal’s name clearly labeled over the photograph, like with many children’s e-books, as you turn the page the text is read to you.  The other feature of this e-book/app is that by touching the animal you can hear the animal’s sound.  Before I bought the app I saw that there was some issue with sound, but following the directions on the overview, provided by the developer, I was able to turn up the volume sufficiently.

The animals in My First Zoo are shown on big beautiful color photographs.  The animals range from domestic, such as cat and dog, to exotic, like cheetah and peacock.  There were enough animals to keep me and my Lil Guy tap, tap, tapping for quite a while.  My Lil Guy, at age two, was able to turn the pages and tap to hear the sound independently after the first few pages.  This is part of what makes e-books (especially interactive books like this) a good match for toddlers:  we made the app into a game.  First we would see the animal and hear the name, sometimes I would repeat the name or he would repeat it.  We would try to guess the noise the animal would make and listen, once, twice, sometimes several times.  We were howling and imitating lots of the animals.  Just like reading a book, Lil Guy is seated and cuddled on my lap as we read, talk, and share. 

I thought this interactive e-book/app was fun and even educational.  It would be a great fit for toddlers or young children interested in animals.  It is very well done and easy to manipulate.  If this was part of a series featuring other sight and sound collections, I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase more.