It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys and invites bloggers to recap what they’ve read this week while planning ahead on what to read next! Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers added their own twist by focusing on kidlit, from picture books up to YA.

This week flew by with lots of after school events and not much reading time. I did, however, sneak in a few books!

Here’s what I read:

(Click on the book covers to add these titles to your Goodreads TBR piles)

My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kugler
YA Realistic Fiction
My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Stars
This book has been in my TBR pile since August and I am so glad I didn’t give it back to my friend Mandy without reading it. It’s a fun YA book that is very reminiscent of The One and Only John Green’s Will Grayson, Will Grayson. The characters are humorous and readers will find themselves quickly invested in each characters’ story. There are a lot of musical references that some students may not get, but it has a fantastic storyline that will definitely win them over.

Explorer: The Lost Islands Edited by Kazu Kibuishi
2013
MG Fantasy Graphic Novel
My Goodreads Rating: 3/5 Stars
The Lost Islands is the follow up to Mystery Boxes, which I really enjoyed. Both have a lot of kid appeal with lots of short stories set in mysterious places and gorgeous pictures, but I enjoyed Mystery Boxes a lot more.

More Bears! by Kenn Nesbitt, Illustrated by Troy Cummings
2010
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
If you are looking for a picture book to read that provides some opportunities for audience participation, this might work for you. This is a funny book that even my middle school students would enjoy.

Rawr by Todd H. Doodler
2013
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 3/5 Stars
This is a silly book about a well behaved dinosaur. The dinosaur on the cover is cloth too for extra cuteness.

How Do You Hug a Porcupine?
2011
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 3/5 Stars
This is a cute rhyming picture book that younger readers will enjoy.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
2009 – Newbery Medal (2010)
MG Mystery
My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Stars
I had no idea what to expect when I opened this book and wow, was I impressed! A quick read, but very complex and thought provoking. It definitely appeals to those readers that have read A Wrinkle in Time.

Here’s what I plan to read next: (Click on the cover for more info from Goodreads)

Confession time – Arcadia is an ARC from NCTE 2011. I knew right away that I wouldn’t be able to put it in my classroom library, but I still decided that I would read it someday. I started it this weekend, and it is completely different than anything I have ever picked up. I still have to give it my 100 page test to see if I want to finish it, but I am trying to broaden my reading tastes. This definitely is a true test. The Nazi Hunters is another book out of my reading comfort zone, but I will definitely give it a try. I’m also ready to read Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller, who I respect so much when it comes to the importance of lifelong reading.

What are you reading to finish up 2013? Have you started planning you Winter Break book stack yet?

Happy Reading!

Lesley ♥