#IMWAYR NOVEMBER 2, 2015

I'm so happy when it's Monday, a time when bloggers write about what they have been reading during the past week.  Jen at Mentor text and Kellee and Rickie from Unleasing Readers are our amazing hosts for this event. Check out their links to find out who is at this party and discover new book ideas you for yourself!

I just haven't been reading much this week because I'm just so busy. I've stayed late at work three days and stayed overnight on Wednesday night with my mom. At home all I've had energy to do is crash in front of the TV and watch netflix. I been binging on a series called The Bridge. Let me tell you that it isn't easy to knit and read subtitles at the same time. I am now hooked on Call the Midwife.

My school book club starts this week so I've been working to get that all organized and together. I've come to the realization that as soon as I say to myself that I must read these book club books, I feel the resistance rising. I read as part of my job, but there is something about having to read books I haven't chosen that brings on the need to do anything else but read. I need to get to them so I can have meaningful conversations with kids, but there is something about it that sucks the joy out of my reading life.

I've started small and read most, if not all of the picture books over the past while. I'm starting on the chapter books now. Thankfully I've already read a few of the novels.

PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

A Bug In a Vacuum by Mélanie Watt

The highlight of my reading life was this book. Mélanie Watt is just brilliant! In fact, I read it at least three times. The first was just to appreciate the big idea. In the second go round I savored the illustrations more fully.  The third time I appreciated the humor. I can't believe I didn't already know that Mélanie Watt is a Canadian author!

  

Dracula's Cat by Jan Wahl

4 stars

I can't remember how many times I've read this book. I collected about 15 classic Halloween picture books for work with a couple of grade 4/5 classrooms this week. We are planning to create book trailers, and each group's job was to read their book and identify the story elements they would need before continuing on. One of the classroom teachers and I read this title and then modeled the conversation for what we were looking for. This is a great little book for teaching so many basic parts of literature. Dracula's plan to frighten an old woman are told from the point of view of his cat. There are numerous attempts before he gives up and goes home. It has a clear beginning, middle and ending. I couldn't find a cover image on the internet, so I'll have to add one later when I am at work and can scan one. 

CHAPTER BOOKS

4 stars

Bagels Come Home! by Joan Betty Stuchner & Dave Whamond (Illustrator)

This is one of the chapter books from book club. It is a delightful tale of a family that gets a dog from the shelter. Bagels, (the other pets are Creamcheese, the cat, and Lox, the fish), seems to be untrainable and ends up getting kicked out of dog school. On top of this, he has an uncanny ability to escape from their locked house and wreck havoc on the neighbourhood.

NOVELS

  

4 stars

Another Day by David Levithan

I didn't like this book as much as the first one, but I did appreciate reading Rhiannon's perspective on her relationship with A. One of the best things about these books is how it forces the reader to look at the world from so many different perspectives. In this one I came to appreciate Rhiannon's understanding of relationships. I had forgotten how the book ended so it was interesting to revisit it from Rhiannon's perspective. I think I liked A's decision better than R's. 

CURRENTLY

I'm listening to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I've started reading Finding Ruby Starling by Karen Rivers since it is on my must read in 2015 list, and it is also one of our book club choices!