It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! I always join Jen and Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts in a weekly meme where we discuss what we've been reading the past week!

May is always a busy month. There were many demands on my time this past week. The result: I only read TWO books in a 7-day period. I did do a lot of professional reading in preparation for some important school/district meetings, though!

Here are the two books I read:

EYE OF THE STORM by Kate Messner
Published: March 13th, 2012
Publisher: Walker & Co.


Eye of the Storm is a suspense-filled science adventure. It takes place in the future. Jaden attends a science camp owned by her father, and while she is there she uncovers some very interesting secrets about his company's projects. In this time, tornadoes and bad storms are an everyday happening. (As with Kate Messner's Marty McGuire series, this book is filled with science!) Jaden tries to figure things out and along the way she learns about herself. I loved her character because she is smart and strong! This story has lots of interesting plot twists. It's great for middle grade to YA--and I especially recommend it to anyone who loves science!

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Published: Sept. 1, 2007
Published by: Houghton Mifflin

This is a WONDERFUL book. Zoe is the main character, and her life is far from perfect. She has a dream to play the piano! Instead, she gets an organ. She makes the best of it, learning to play TV theme songs. Her family and friends are interesting characters, helping her along the way. The story is very endearing and sweet, and I cheered (and cried!) for Zoe. Read this book as soon as you can!


Here's what I hope to read this week:

Earthling by Mark Fearing
My librarian picked up this ARC for me at TLA. I love graphic novels.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
(I loved Bud, Not Buddy and Mighty Miss Malone---also by Christopher Paul Curtis! If you haven't read these books, read them as soon as possible!)

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
(I've got to get back on track with my Newbery Challenge, and this book was the winner in 1998.)

I find my TBR stack changes from week to week. I can PLAN on reading something, but I change my mind. I usually read what's right for me at the time. It's what I allow my students to do, too.

At this time of year, I'm not letting up on the reading that happens in my classroom either. We are reading independently everyday, and I am still conferring everyday. My students depend on this. So, no matter what assembly or event is scheduled, we STILL read independently for at least 35 minutes.

With end of year assessments and turning in textbooks, I'll need to reward myself--with a cute pair of shoes AND lots of reading.

P.S. Today, I'm wearing my silver TOMS--sparkly and comfy!


Happy reading!