It's Monday - Reading Magic

                 Thanks to Jen at Teach.Mentor.Texts and Ricki and Kellee at Unleashing Readers, we have a terrific Monday Reading community. Come Visit!
          Tweet at #IMWAYR

            I’ve been out of town helping with my grandson since last Tuesday and didn’t have much time for reading, yet managed to finish We Were Liars on the plane coming home. My grandson is better, still restricted to quiet activities (eye injuries are serious!), but it does look as if he’s escaped surgery! I had a wonderful time with him, and with my son and daughter-in-law. Now I’m back, and on my way to the All-Write conference this Wednesday, so exciting. I hope some of you will be there! And I hope to find more books to read for this summer!

We Were Liars- written by E. Lockhart

                  One cannot put this book away from one’s mind either during the time reading, or at the end. It will be one that stays with me for a long time. I re-read parts as I read, and am actually happy I have it on my Kindle, because it’s ready to visit again. I wonder if I’ll see more truths this time? The story tells of a few summers on a private island owned by a wealthy family who gather each summer.  There are gorgeous descriptions and achingly beautiful scenes. The story mesmerizes, from parts about the patriarch to the youngest, and the secrets can’t be revealed except when you turn your own pages as you read it yourself. 

Baseball Is … - written by Louise Borden and illustrated by RaúlColón

               For those baseball lovers, this is almost poetry, the words “baseball is” defining every single lovable moment of our national sport, the players, the fields, the umpires, home plate, the pitcher’s mound and of course those famous players of long ago, and those in the All-Star game, coming soon next month. There is a part of all of us that is baseball, and the story by Louise Borden includes the fans and those children who start playing and dreaming while very young. And Colón’s illustrations, while colorful, are nostalgic in style, and filled with action in the baseball he shares. Just take a look at the cover, such excitement, like baseball!

Something Beautiful – written by Sharon Dennis Wyeth and illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet

               I'm sure I read this when it came out years ago, and because of a friend's review, I found it again at my school library, will be sure to share it with teachers and students next year. It's a story of a young African-American girl who sees some things in her neighborhood that aren't pretty, an empty lot full of trash, an ugly word scrawled on her apartment's front door, a homeless woman. This particular day she goes searching for something beautiful and finds those in her neighborhood who have something to share. A beautiful apple at the market, a smooth stone in a pocket, a sidewalk hip-hop dance and other 'things' help her to find beauty. The author shares that the idea comes from a small pitcher her mother gave her, and that the 'something' beautiful we all have is what we have inside us. It's a perfect book for conversations about appreciating and noticing small things.

NEXT: I don't know what I'll find at the conference, but will try to read one of the NetGalley titles I have downloaded. I'm behind in reading these new books, & they look good, most of them are YA, but I have a few for younger readers too. 

Happy Reading everyone!