Picture book | Literacy Love

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.

Happy Monday literacy lovers! I hope you all had a relaxing long weekend and aren’t too sleepy this morning! I’m still in my end of the year reading mode – only 8 more books to get to my goal of 130 for 2013. I’m getting there… slowly but surely.

Here’s what I’ve read lately:

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

Picture Me by Lori Weber
3/1/14 release date – NetGalley ARC
MG/YA Realistic Fiction
My Goodreads Rating: 2/5 Stars
There are three female characters in Picture Me who are involved in both sides of a bullying incident at school that changes their lives forever. This book attempts to tackle a lot of heavy subjects from each of the girls’ own perspectives and does a great job of showing that there is more to a person than meets the eye. Unfortunately, readers are left with three cliffhangers, and wondering what happens to each of the girls. Lots of unresolved plot.

Storm Runners: The Surge and Storm Runners: The Eruption by Roland Smith
2011 and 2012
MG Realistic Fiction / Adventure
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars to both
I really like this series. It has action, suspense with lots of witty one liners and memorable characters. The Surge is the follow up to Storm Runners and Eruption is the last in the series. The Surge is about what happens to Chase Masters and his friends after Hurricane Emily. They are still on the Rossi farm and there are circus animals on the loose amidst all of the flooding and damage of the hurricane. His father, Tomas and the news crew are still trying to reach him. In Eruption, the group goes to Mexico after an earthquake that has cause a volcano to erupt. Upper elementary and middle school students will like this fast paced story.

Kizzy Ann Stamps by Jeri Watts
2012
MG Historical Fiction
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
This novel is all about Miss Kizzy Ann Stamps attending a newly integrated school for the first time. Talk about a a resilient character – Kizzy Ann writes her new teacher letters about her life in the segregated South and all of her thoughts and fears about this new adventure. This smart little girl is sassy and fun to read about.

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Peter Brown
2013
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Stars
This is a really funny picture book that readers of all ages will enjoy. I laughed out loud while reading this in class and I love the carrots’ expressions throughout the book. Great ending, too!

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
2013
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Stars
This is definitely in my top five favorite picture books that I’ve read this year. So funny! Duncan’s crayons have gone on strike, and each one writes him a letter that explains their demands. This book might be a little long for bedtime, but it can be used in so many different ways. It would be an excellent perspective and point of view mentor text for older students. Can’t say enough about this one!

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes Edited by Kazu Kibuishi
2012
Short Stories Graphic Novel
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
The very popular author of the Amulet series edited this fantastic book of eight different short stories all centering on the theme of a mystery box. The stories are written by different authors, including Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman and there are a lot of different styles showcased throughout the book. I am definitely on the look out for book #2 of this series!

Kel Gilligan’s Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley and Illustrated by Dan Santat
2012
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Stars
This picture book about Kel who learns to face his fears is hysterical and laugh out loud funny. It is a favorite among my eighth grades who are continuing their picture book study this week.

The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Illustrated by Dan Santat
2012
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
This is a fantastic fractured fairy tale sort of book and play on The Three Little Pigs. The illustrations are funny and all of the pig references are clever. A great picture book!

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

Three more “odds and ends” books that I’m trying to read before the end of the year. I also got a few books for an early Christmas present and it is going to take a lot of will power not to dive into them before these three are finished. Crossing my fingers for an early in the season snow day!

Happy Reading!

Lesley ♥

Thanks so much to Cathy Mere of Refine and Reflect and Mandy Robeck of Enjoying and Embracing Learning for leading this blogging event. (Click on the picture above for more info.) The question was basically….What 10 picture books could you not live without?

My very first 10 for 10 picture books come with a twist – they are all books that my seventh and eighth graders explored during our Wordless Picture Book Study last spring. The idea for the study came from browsing Twitter one afternoon and turned into one of the coolest things I have done in my Focus Reading classes so far. Day 1 involved exploring the books and browsing at our own pace, on days 2-4 we spent time studying different elements of the book and noting authors’ choices, on days 5-6 we wrote dialogue and narration for our favorite titles, and days 7-10 were spent making mini Smore Page book report ads (www.smore.com) for a book of our choice. It was such a great experience and I can’t wait to expand it to even more titles next spring. Without further ado, here are the 10 books we used last spring:

Click on each book to add these titles to your Goodreads TBR pile!

I introduced the unit with Bob Staake’s Bluebird, which had just recently been released. Students were hooked on the idea from day 1.

Shadow by Suzy Lee – Beautiful pictures

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon – More of a wordless graphic novel. Students enjoyed this one.

Chalk by Bill Thompson – Students really liked this one. Very popular!

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney – AMAZING pictures and a beautiful story!

Zoom by Istvan Banyai – Can be “read” backwards for a completely different perspective. Students were impressed with this one.

The Adventures of Polo by Regis Faller – Another favorite of students. There are more Polo titles out there that I will use next spring.

Window by Jeannie Baker – My personal favorite of the bunch! The collage pictures are stunning!

The Arrival by Shaun Tan – Very complex and thoughtful. Students liked the futuristic themes.

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman – A book about a magical book! Students liked this one a lot.

I’ve already started a new wish list for books that I’d like to add to our collection. There’s always a chance of having students two years in a row, so I am invariably trying to keep things fresh. I hope you enjoyed this list and are thinking about a wordless picture book study for your class. I’d love to hear about your favorite wordless picture books and add them to our collection!

Happy Reading!

Lesley ♥