It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I'm writing my post today while I attend the ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle. And because I spent the week preparing for this conference, my reading was light! 

Of course, I read chapters from my library science textbooks. My choice reading, however, consisted of:

I finished this book before the conference, and I thought it was very well-written. The main character is a boy whose mother has passed away. As he and his father struggle to recover, he goes away to a boarding school where he meets the second major character of the story. Their friendship and adventures (along with a few mysteries here and there), make for a many-layered tale that readers can dig into with comfort.

I think I had great timing reading this book on this particular week. Clare Vanderpool won the 2011 Newbery Medal for MOON OVER MANIFEST, and tomorrow I will be attending the Youth Media Awards in Seattle where we will find out the 2013 Newbery Medal award winner as well as the winners of the 2013 Caldecott Award (along with others).  I attended these awards last year and blogged about them, and I get another opportunity to do this again tomorrow.

I also think it's appropriate that on Monday, I am not just celebrating my reading, but I'm also celebrating books. I'm not celebrating alone, and that's the other wondeful thing. I'm celebrating with  librarians and fellow teachers who believe as I do that our young readers deseve wonderful books.

What am I reading this week:

from amazon.com

THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING by Linda Urban


What are YOU reading?

*My ALA Midwinter Medley post is in the works. One more day!