It's Monday! What are YOU reading?

I'm participating in the meme "It's Monday!  What are you reading?" created by Book Journey and Teach Mentor Texts.  I missed last week because of moving chaos, but I'm back this week and ready to share some of the books I've read in my classroom and on my own!

PICTURE BOOKS:

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, Illustrated by E.B. Lewis

My class of 5th graders practiced their first round of sentence collecting with this book.  It's a beautiful book about a girl who does not choose to be kind to a new student in class.  She has many opportunities to treat the new child with dignity, but fails to do so again and again.  When her teacher does a lesson on kindness, the girl comes up short in identifying how she has shown kindness.  Regretful, she hopes for another chance with the new girl.  However, the girl has moved and doesn't return.  This book is a wonderful look at regret and treating others kindly.  My classes are currently studying what characters say and do when they are and are not empathetic.  This book was a great mentor text for finding those examples.

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise by Jan Pinborough, Illustrated by Debbie Atwell

I'm offering this book as a choice for a nonfiction book that shows human rights on my September Literacy Contract.  I loved this book about Miss Moore, the woman in charge of founding libraries for children, in particular the NYC library.  This should be a great book to spark thought about the rights children should have.

Bluebird by Bob Staake

This is an intriguing wordless book about bullying.  A young boy is made fun of at school and finds himself lonely and in despair.  A bluebird comes along and befriends the boy, taking him places he has never been and introducing him to new friends.  When the boy encounters the bullies, however, tragedy strikes and he must learn how to make his own way in the world.  This is an interesting read.  I'm anxious to discuss it with someone else.  I'm also looking forward to sharing it with my students.  I can't wait to hear their insight!

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Kevin Cornell

This is Mac Barnett's latest and it's FUN!  The premise of the book is to count monkeys, but instead, the reader ends up counting other things because one king cobra scared off all the monkeys.  Hilarity ensues as the reader counts all of the other things that have staved off the monkeys.  Natalie (my four-year-old daughter) LOVED this gift from Holly Mueller!

ADULT BOOKS:

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian, narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Alison Fraser

Oh, wow!  This was a terrific listen!  I was captivated by the story of the little-known Armenian genocide at the start of WWI.  The Ottoman Empire was in its last throws and in an attempt to make itself stronger and rid itself of neighboring intellectuals, the empire systematically killed millions of Armenian citizens in the deserts of Syria.  Sound hauntingly familiar to the Holocaust?  Bohjalian has created a vivid picture of life in the Syrian desert in 1915 by inserting a Bostonian, Elizabeth Endicott and her wealthy banker father who travel to the land to do charity work on behalf of the "Friends of Armenia" society in the United States.  When Elizabeth meets Armen, an Armenian engineer, there is an immediate spark.  Armen, however, has lost his wife and child in the death march and is on a quest to redeem them by joining the British army to fight the Turks.  Elizabeth stays on in Syria, making friends with some of the refugees, only to discover a secret that could rock her relationship with Armen.  Told alternately from 1915 and present-day, this story of love, loss, and decisions is a wonderful historical novel read.  I highly recommend it!

CURRENTLY READING:

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

ON DECK:

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

Hope you're embarking on a great reading week!  I'd love to know what you're reading.  Leave a comment below!