Monday, July 25, 2022

It's Monday! What are you reading? 7-25-22

It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.


Last week I read and loved:

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day
A really lovely and important middle grade book that tackles a difficult topic but isn't heavy-handed about it. It is a book about family history, family secrets, and indigenous identity. It's also a great entry point to discuss the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 that is alarmingly being brought again before the Supreme Court this fall

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
This book’s premise can be distilled down as New Kid meets Bring It On but with swimming instead of cheerleading. It’s a story that imparts a lot of hard truths about why so many Black Americans never learned or teach their kids to swim, but it’s mostly a page-turning story of friendship, teamwork, and overcoming adversity.


Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country by Kelly Yang
Wonderful book that connects narrative elements along with peritext and backmatter to tell the story of inspiring Asian Americans. I love that each page spread featured a different Asian American illustrator, further highlighting the accomplishments of Asian Americans.


The Surprise by Zadie Smith and Nick Laird, illustrated by Magenta Fox
What a delightfully odd and heartwarming story about a guinea pig that does Judo and doesn't know her place in a family of pets that are very dedicated to their schedules. The delightful oddness of the story puts me in mind of Phil Stead's picture books. 


Currently (still) reading:


Currently reading with my ears:





5 comments:

  1. I also really enjoyed I Can Make This Promise. I read her second book last year, and it was good as well, although this one is my fave of her MG so far. I also appreciated your description of Swim Team and I think I have lots of graphic novel fans in my library who will love this. Thanks for the post.

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  2. Maybe I should read Swim Team this summer. Looks like a good read.

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  3. Swim Team is so good! Yes We Will is in my stack. It sounds like an informative and important book.

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  4. I agree that I Can Make This Promise is an important book. Thanks for the information about Swim Team.

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  5. What a great set of books, Beth! Swim Team and Yes We Will are on my list, and I just added The Surprise as well because it looks so delightful and adorable. And I read the article you linked for I Can Make This Promise—that is an alarming situation, and I appreciate you informing us about it. Thanks so much for the wonderful post!

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