#IMWAYR DECEMBER 21, 2015

Hello Monday! It's time to check in with Jen at Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers to find out what other readers are up to
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What with guests all last weekend, dealing with my ill mother, and trying to get through the last week of school before the holidays, I didn't get a post in last Monday.  So this here is a recap of most of my reading for the previous two weeks.

PICTURE BOOKS

The final school week of 2015 was all about reading seasonal picture books, handing out candy, and making sure students were loaded up with good books to last the winter break. I gave each group of children their choice of three books for me to read. Each one wanted When Santa was a Baby.

4 stars

When Santa was a Baby by Linda Bailey and Genevieve Godbout (Illustrator)

I had a lot of fun reading this. Have I mentioned that I am a Linda Bailey fan? The K/1/2 grouping laughed much heartier than the older students did, but we all appreciated the humour and enjoyed Godbout's retro looking illustrations. When there was enough time, I paired it up with Little Santa by Jon Agee and my listeners couldn't decide which they liked best. 

  

An Otis Christmas by Loren Long

3 stars

While I am an Otis fan, this book just didn't quite work for me. It might be that this book was a little too saccharine for my tastes, especially paired with the humour and fun of the other seasonal titles I've been reading recently.

4 stars

Merry Christmas Mr Crow by Kathi Appelt and Jon Goodell (Illustrator)

While this text by Kathi Applet is charming, it is Jon Goodell's beautiful illustrations make this book. A crow flies around at Christmas time collecting odd bits of this and that (in very crow fashion) to decorate a tree.

How to Read a Story by Kate Messner and Mark Siegel (Illustrator)

YES!

5+ stars

If only it was possible I would give this book many more than five stars. Mark Siegel's illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to Messner's brilliant text. I love that this is a story within a story. I can't wait to read it to our older students who read with little buddies. I can't wait to read it to the younger students because there is just so much here about making sense of text.

What a jewel of a book!

INFORMATION

4 stars

Water Can Be...  by Laura Purdie Salas & Violeta Dabija (illustrator)

I've waffled back and forth between giving this book 4 or 5 stars. As a primary level picture book read aloud it is a solid five. The poetry of the text works well against the backdrop of these rich, almost illuminated illustrations. I appreciate the section at the back of the text that explains almost every line of the text in more detail. Unfortunately, as research tool for older readers, this section provides introductory information only.

NOVELS

3 stars

The Rule of Three by Eric Walters (book club book)

I'm pretty sure I'm not the target audience for this book, but that said, it is a pretty engrossing read. It is an end of the world scenario set in America as some kind of virus destroys computers and shuts down all power. It's a reminder that when disaster strikes in any form, we really must pull together as a community to survive. To be completely honest, this book was a bit too macho for my tastes. 

4.5 stars

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands narrated by Ray Panthaki 

This was a stunning book to listen to. It's got murder, mayhem, suspense and all kinds of plot twists and turns. 
In addition to all that, there is a sweetness to this book that underlies all the adventure. 

4 stars

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde narrated by Elizabeth Jasicki

If I wasn't already a fan of Fforde's work, this would have put me solidly in his camp. I'm in awe of how he is able to pull together a fabulous satire that melds our modern world with magic and dragons. 
Avid readers of Terry Pratchett's work will probably be appreciative of Jasper Fforde. 

4 stars

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan narrated by Ari Fliakos

This book has been keeping me company in my head for a while now as I travel back and forth to work, go Christmas shopping, and work on assorted projects. I was happily engrossed in this complicated story that begins in a book store.  I appreciated the combination of archaic mystery and the modern world of google. This was a very satisfying read. 

4 stars

George by Alex Gino narrated by Jamie Clayton

I enjoyed listening to this book. I liked that it is essentially a positive story about a transgendered child. It is important that George is referred to as she right from the beginning. While there are a few boys who are nasty, and one teacher who has to learn to be more accepting, this is a good book to introduce my elementary readers to a transgender character. 

My only quibble is that Girls are very multidimensional characters and as I finished the book I couldn't help but wonder if all transgender girls want to be girly girls in the same way that George and Grayson from Gracefully Grayson by Amy Polonsky want to.
Both of these books are circulating constantly in our library. I now want to go and talk to readers about them to see what they are thinking.

CURRENTLY

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, one of my #MustReadIn2015 titles, is the book I'm reading with my eyes. I'm listening to Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. I read the book last spring, but listened to all the previous books in the series and always planned to listen to this one too. Will Patten's narration sent me back into this world within the first few words. I hope this will tide me over until The Raven King is published this coming April. If I read one of my #MustReadIn2015 books twice do I get to count it as two books?

UP NEXT

Cress will be my next audiobook, and then Jellicoe Road, another of my #MustReadIn2015 titles.