WHAT ARE YOU READING?

HERE'S WHAT I'VE BEEN READING! 

PICTURE BOOKS

 
        

    

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña; illustrated by Christian Robinson - Remember riding on the subway? Or any kind of mass transit. Do you make up stories about the other people you see? Milo does. He's on a long subway ride with his sister - one he makes every month. So to pass the time - Milo imagines the stories of the people he observes. This is a beautiful and timely books - breathtaking. Please read this one!

Underground: Subway Systems Around the World by Uijung Kim - This is an interactive informational book! You will be introduced to a subway system - Tokyo's for example - and provided with a few important facts. Turn the page - and it's a "look and find" for an assortment of items on the crowded subway. There's a glossary at the back of the book that explains items that might be unknown to kids. I'm happy this is on TLA's 2x2 list this year. More kids and parents will read it. You could read this before or after you read Milo Imagines the World. They would go well together.

 Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler - based on the story of the author's grandmother - "Dad lives with the angels now, and we need to find a new home." Doesn't that first sentence just reach out and grab you?

Unicorns are the Worst! by Alex Willan - Are unicorns really the worst? Goblin things so. All that glitter! And tea parties -- so many tea parties. But maybe goblin is wrong - maybe there is something WORSE than unicorns!

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero - Do you like to collect things?  Read about Llewellyn and his friend, Evelyn, who collect all sorts of amazing things.  But then Evelyn has to move far away.  Llewellyn has an idea to bridge the distance. Can you guess what it is?

Nicky & Vera by Peter Sis - Nicky saved almost 700 children from the Nazis. Vera was one of them. Peter Sis tells their story.

GRAPHIC NOVEL

 

Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte; illustrated by Ann Xu - Twelve year old Cici has to leave her beloved A-má behind when she moves to Seattle with her mom and dad. She hatches a plane to bring A-má to visit but in order to raise the money, she needs to win a local cooking competition for kids. I really enjoyed this one! 

CHAPTER BOOKS

   

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller - Newbery award winner!  This is realistic fiction with a dash of magical realism and lots of Korean mythology. Lily is a great character. This book definitely made me cry!

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes - Trey is light skinned like his Norwegian dad while Donte is darker like his mom. The boys attend a prep school outside of Boston - not on scholarship. Their mom is a lawyer; their dad works in computer science so they have money. But the kids and teachers and administration at school just can't quite accept Donte. He is taunted, bullied, and accused of things he did not do. Things spiral out of control and Donte has to figure out where he fits and how he can find his own place in a world that does not want to accept him. Great book! The only thing I don't like is the cover because to me it says Donte and Trey don't get along - which is not at all the case. Donte's whole family is very supportive. Rhodes also wrote Ghost Boys which I also highly recommend.