It's Monday, What are You Reading April 14, 2014

 It's Monday! What are you Reading is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers and have become a regular linked up blog. Thanks #PLN

What a fantastic week this has been, almost 8,000 librarians descended upon the city of San Antonio for the Texas Librarian Association Conference. I drove up with friends and experienced four days of fun, learning, and connecting with fellow librarians. What a wonderful time we all had. 

Here are a few books that I have read this week. Some of them I received at TLA.

The closing speaker at TLA was Henry Winkler. He gave a wonderful presentation and shared a lot of insight into the world of a dyslexic. I received A Short Story about a Long Dog by Henry Winkler as a freebie and could have kicked myself because I didn't realize it was in the bag at my feet when my friends were lining up to have him autograph their purchased copies. 

This is a humorous story about a boy struggling with dyslexia and with trying to convince his parents to let him have a dog. The wonderful thing about reading this book is that the font has been specifically designed for dyslexic readers. The letters are heavy on the bottom and space further apart than the typical font to keep the letters from floating off the page.

 

 

I am sure everyone is reading The Pigeon Needs a Bath and it certainly does not disappoint. I can hardly wait to share it with my Pre-Kinder classes. Chengdu is very sweet book about a panda who is having a little trouble sleeping. The illustrations are what caught my eye as I was wandering around the exhibit hall. I did a lot of stop and reads. What a great way to spend the day.

Author/Illustrator Jeff Mack treated us to a reading of his perfectly adorable  It's an Orange Aardvark. This is a book I will definitely be purchasing very soon for my library. I will be able to tie this little beauty into so many different topics-carpenter ants, rainbows, colors, imagination and more. I gained so much insight from Jeff Mack's explanations of word economy, image balance, and how less is more. I gave his presentation an A+.

When you are walking around the exhibit hall you are always on the look out for freebies and ARC give-a-ways. I actually did a double take when I saw this copy in my hand. Get Happy by Mary Amato. I have always liked everything Mary Amato has written. My kids love Please Write in This Book and boy and girls alike enjoy Guitar Notes, no, scratch that, LOVE Guitar Notes. I started reading it the minute I got to my room that first night. Wonderful story.

I am reading so many different stories this week that they are starting to blend together. I better get Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein straight though because our #virtualbookclub is just around the corner. Check out the Virtual Book Club website 

I was fortunate enough to be sitting with Chris during the Nerdy Book Club session at TLA and I asked him if he would be joining us during the chat. He said he is going to give it a try. I hope he does. 

 

Talk about an inspiring session. I bumped into Kirby Larson at the door so we headed out to the bathroom together chatting about her book Duke and we bumped into Colby Sharpe. We were hoping to use the men's bathroom but Colby assured us it was quite busy already. Cynthia Alaniz did a great job introducing the nerdy panel and from the moment it began it was top notch. Tom Angelberger was such a hoot. I have never seen anyone talk so quickly and excitedly in my life. I had a brief librarian panic moment when Linda Urban folded the cover of her book back to read from it. Book Ouch! 

Here are some of the goodies I picked up the first day at TLA. I tried not to take too many books because I already have too many to catalog back at home. It was hard not to take books because everyone kept offering them to us. I picked up about three bags. I plan to keep some for our library and offer the rest to librarians who were not able to make it to TLA this year. 

Well, here is a picture of me on the last day of TLA.  I was tired but very happy I went. Seems like I lost a bit of weight from all that walking. Happy Reading!

    

 

 

TLA Here I Come! and I read some books this week. #IMWAYR

It's Monday! What are you Reading is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers and have become a regular linked up blog. Thanks #PLN

I have been administering the TELPAS test and cataloging books this week like a maniac. 
I was determined to make sure my students all had plenty of challenging books to keep them busy next week while I am attending the Texas Library Association Conference. 

The Texas Library Association conference committees have created so many enticing sessions. I am so excited and really looking forward trying to make it to as many sessions as humanly possible. Of course the number one session that I plan to attend is the Nerdy Book Club session on Thursday.

Wondering  what you need to bring to TLA or need some questions answered? Librarian Jen Bigheart shares some TLA helpful hints here. Plus there is a YA/Kidlit meetup.

Several Coastal Bend librarians will be brainstorming at the President's Party as we share updates about our first Teen Book Fest by the Bay that is in the planning phase. 

In gearing up for the Nerdy Book Club session, I have been reading Duke by Kirby Larson, one of the Nerdy Book Club session presenters. Kirby spent a long time researching background information on war dogs and every day details that made up the WWII era.

Eleven year old Hobie's father is a soldier away fighting for his country. Hobie knows with a heavy heart that there is something more that he can do for his country beyond buying war stamps. He has a trained and highly intelligent German Shepard named Duke. The war department needs smart dogs to help the war effort but is Hobie able to let go of a friend so dear to him? Visit Kirby's Lane to learn more about this heart tugging historical fiction.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library is the next book in line for our #virtualbookclub chat coming up on April 21st at 8:00 EST. Snag a copy of the book and join us. We guarantee a great chat with fellow teachers, librarians, and book lovers.





Here is the book I am most excited to read soon. I recently finished The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. It was a very exciting and interesting read in the same vein as Hunger Games, Divergent, and Battle Royal. Well, maybe not as violent as Battle Royal. That book was unnerving and I had to keep a cheat sheet to track all the fatalities in Battle Royal.






Have a wonderful reading week.

Will You Survive the Testing? No, not that testing #IMWAYR March 31, 2014

It's Monday! What are you Reading is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers and have become a regular linked up blog. Thanks #PLN

For some time now, I have been so incredibly busy that any time I tried to sit down to read, I would fall asleep due to sheer exhaustion. This week, I have  been cataloging and processing new library books like a maniac. I have readied over a hundred and fifty new books for my students and several books on my TBR pile. Below are some titles I enjoyed this week and then there were two I really found read worthy.

Let me start with the most exciting book I have read this year. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. I rate this book highly because it does what I like goods novel to do. They unnerve me and possess me. In the midst of a pleasant dinner, snippets of dialog echo in my mind pulling me away from friends and family dinner chatter. My dreams are invaded with desperate scenarios where I am a participant in the testing. While I work in the garden or clean my house, I stop mid task and run grab my book just for a few minutes to fall back into the story. My family is wise to me and I hear them laughing about it. 

I also finished The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, a book that intrigued and disturbed me with its violence. I liked Tana, a strong female character that when faced with the massacre of many of her friends by vampires, chooses to rescue not only her bitten and infected ex-boyfriend but also a ruby red eye vampire in chains. She drives them both to Coldtown fearing that she too may be infected due to a fang scratch on her leg. In this story, vampires are rockstars that draw young people to coldtowns hoping to be "turned". This novel is not for those who are afraid of the dark.  

These books were a bit milder and fun to read. 

 

I read 2 more Texas Bluebonnet titles this week. Pickle (still reading) and Lester's Dreadful Sweaters.

Sparky was pretty darn cute and my grandson loved the idea of a pet sloth. My mom would have let me have a sloth for a pet too. I have raised cats, turtles, fish, frogs, a rat, dogs, ducks, bunnies, and a billy goat named Blanco Diablo who lived up to his name. I was also the custodian of two rescue animals a badger and a javelina, both who eventually were released back into the wild.

Don't you just love the sea turtle painting my sister Jypsy made for my birthday. Our school mascot is the sea turtle so I have long wanted a painting for my library. 

Mr. Bones approved of the books I chose for Spring lessons. We both love bears and Kevin Henkes and Karma Wilson have created some wonderful bear books. 

I am so excited because in just a few days it will be time to depart for the Texas Library Association conference. It is considered the ultimate of state library conferences. I will be traveling up with some librarian buddies and have made plans to meet up with some of my Twitter PLN. If you are headed to TLA, please let me know. I would love to met you in person. 

Have a lovely reading week.