#IMWAYR September 19, 2022

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted each week by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts. If you are a person who loves kidlit, all you need to do to join is to blog about books you are reading on Monday, add your link to either of those two blogs and post using the hashtag. I hope you will join in!

Is it really mid-September already? It's been so nice having the weather turn a bit colder (not actually today when it is 86, but last week and the rest of this week anyway). I'm definitely looking forward to the leaves changing. The only problem is as the mornings get darker, I do sleep later so it is cutting into my reading time. Here's what I read this week.

Middle Grade

After a fall leaves him with a bump on the head, Billy Miller is not so sure second grade will be his year. His fears are realized right away when the girl sitting next to him turns out to be quietly mean. Fortunately Billy has good friends, a great teacher, a caring family, and lots of opportunities to make his year great. Fans of Ramona Quimby will enjoy this one. It would be a fantastic read aloud for any second grade class. I'm looking forward to the companion book to the series coming out next month about Billy's quirky little sister Sal.

Young Adult

Isla Crown has always known that the day would come where she would have to fight for the right of her people to exist. Years ago a curse was cast and a riddle was spun. Now every 100 years, the rulers have to fight to the death to try to break the curse and not be the kingdom that will perish. But nothing is as it seems, and Isla will have to figure out who to trust. A twist on the Hunger Games concept, I enjoyed the first book in this series. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.

From the moment Avery was named the heir of one of the most powerful and richest men in the country, her world turned upside down. In addition to dealing with the press, and all the people who are out to get her, Avery has to deal with the moody, dashing Hawthorne boys. The plot definitely thickened in this third book. I'm excited that Jennifer Barnes has left opening a possibility for new challenges. I would love to see more of these.

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a third grade teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

#IMWAYR September 12, 2022

 

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted each week by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts. If you are a person who loves kidlit, all you need to do to join is to blog about books you are reading on Monday, add your link to either of those two blogs and post using the hashtag. I hope you will join in!

It's definitely a challenge blogging and teaching. Just getting this in under the wire. Here's a couple of books that I read this week.

Middle Grade

Marcus is a sharp-tongued, reactive kid, but when his father forces him to take a movie-making class as part of the after-school program, he may find that giving people a chance and learning to work with others will make his superhero movie-making dreams come true. I love the character growth in this book. Kids will also be inspired to make a movie.

Young Adult

Violet has always dreamed of the future. When her vision shows her a boy getting killed, she decides to change the outcome, not realizing that she was saving the prince and angering the fates. Now as the seer to the king, that same boy she saved has become her adversary as she plots with his father to break his curse and find him a wife. But the thing about prophecy is it is told in riddles and what Violet believes to be true may be different from reality. YA fantasy lovers will enjoy this one. It does have mature content so I would not recommend it for younger YA readers.

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a third grade teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

#IMWAYR Monday, August 29, 2022

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted each week by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts. If you are a person who loves kidlit, all you need to do to join is to blog about books you are reading on Monday, add your link to either of those two blogs and post using the hashtag. I hope you will join in!

One day of school down. Today we came together as a staff and started to get our rooms ready. I'll post some pictures next week. Students start on Thursday.

Last week I interviewed Michelle Mohrweis, author of Trouble With Robots (which I reviewed a few weeks ago). Check out her interview here. 

Middle Grade

When most people lose someone important to them, they wish their loved one could come back. For Sal, his ability to reach into other dimensions makes this impossibility a reality. Unfortunately, this comes with unforeseen challenges that may lead to the destruction of the entire universe. Lovers of real-world fantasy and science fiction will enjoy this book.

When Katie needs to earn money in order to join her best friend at camp for the second session, she ends up with a job babysitting her neighbor's cats. These cats are an unusual bunch who are able to do some very uncatlike things, such as stealing the neighbor's couch and going on the internet. And Katie's neighbor who owns these cats? She's full of surprises too. A fun graphic novel set in a world where good and evil and superhero and villains may not be what they seem.

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a third grade teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below.