It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Disclaimer: I receive a small percentage of books purchased from the links below.

For Myself:

I finished The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer and I loved it!  I had a hard time getting into it at first but once I got to page 52 (on the Kindle app) I didn't want to put the book down.  I liked the science, the dogs, the mystery, and the people.  I'm a huge Twilight fan so I'm partial to Meyer.  Although I didn't like The Host too much.  Well, I liked it after chapter 10 and I did like the movie.

I also finished Christmas at the Beach (Novella) (Ten Beach Road Novella) by Wendy Wax.  I started the Ten Beach Road series this summer.  Christmas at the Beach is book 2.5.  I didn't want to read it until Christmas time so I skipped over it this fall and read books 3 and 4 so I knew how the book ended because it was referenced in the other books. But I didn't know how we got to the end.  I like these 6 strong women.  I like their interactions and how they handle life.  This series is definitely a beach read.

A Yorkshire Christmas (Christmas Around the World Book 2) by Kate Hewitt is a sweet little Christmas book.  Claire needs to get away from home and her mistakes.  Her godmother offers her home in Yorkshire for a week at Christmas.  So she packs up and heads to England where she meets a grumpy farm and falls madly in love with him and his daughter.

Miss Kane's Christmas : A Christmas Central Romantic Comedy Novella by Caroline Mackelson is another sweet little Christmas book.  Miss Carol Kane's is Santa's daughter.  She's sent on a mission to bring Christmas cheer to a father who is writing a book about how awful it is that parents lie to their children about Santa.  Through some hard work Carol brings the Christmas spirit to this home.

For School:

With Pk-2nd I read Anna Banana and the Chocolate Explosion by Dominique Roques.   This book is on the Texas Little Mavericks Award list.  I had so much fun reading this book!  I projected it on the Promethean Board using the Elmo.  Since it's a graphic novel I really wanted the students to be able to see the details.  I also wanted to teach them how to read a graphic novel and projecting it aloud me to point out speech bubbles, the direction I was reading, and although this book didn't have boarded panes some pages did have multiple panes.

Some of Anna's friends want to learn how to make a chocolate cake but disaster strikes and chocolate explodes everywhere!  And one of her friends mysteriously bakes a cake... in the living room?

With 3rd-5th grade I read Fishfishfish (Three-Story Books) by Lee Nordling and Meritxell Bosch.  This graphic novel is also on the Little Mavericks award list.  This wordless graphic novel has three stories in one book.  It can be read across the page or top to bottom of one page then going to the next page.  Either way you get all three stories.  It just depends how you prefer to read it.  I started reading it top to bottom but decided I followed the story better when I read it across both pages.

My Junior Library Guild subscription came in last week so I've been reading my way through the box.

First Light, First Life: A Worldwide Creation Story by Paul Fleischman I am not a fan of mythology so I didn't care much for this book but if you do like mythology you'll probably like it.  Fleischman takes the Biblical story of creation and combines it with aspects of creation stories from other traditions.  He creates one picture of how the world began.

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol  It's starting to get cold and Grandma needs some quiet time to knit... but no one is giving her any quiet time.  Grandma packs up her yarn and leaves the house to find some peace and quiet.

Who What Where? by Olivier Tallec I'm not really sure why this book is titled Who What Where? when the only question it asks is who questions.  We are introduced to different characters then asked who is missing based on the characters show on the next page.  It is a fun little memory game.

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing  This graphic novel grabbed my attention with monsters in the closet and a monster mediator.  The story was set in a large city (I LOVE cities!) with monsters living on the downside.  Margo mediates between humans and monsters.  When Thompson, who's new to the city, gets scared by a monster Margo is on the case!

Mr. Putter & Tabby Hit the Slope by Cynthia Rylant & Arthur Howard I think this easy reader chapter books is such a cute series.  Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby are a little bored since it's winter. There are no flowers to tend to and the hammock is buried under snow.  Mr. Putter remembers back to his childhood when he'd go sledding in the winter.  He calls up his neighbor Ms. Teaberry and her dog Zeke and they head out to the slopes together.