What We Read This Week 9/4

This week was a crazy book week, because we splurged at the bookstore on Sunday (we rarely ever buy new books, preferring to use the library or buy used when we do buy), and I kept finding books to bring home from work! I think we read a couple more than I'm including here, but oh well - I'm sure we'll re-read them this week and feature them in next week's post!

The Two Sillies by Mary Ann Hoberman. My husband originally read this to my son a few weeks ago, but they both thought I would like it, so they put it aside for me to read. It's a fun, silly book (who would have guessed?) about a woman who wants a pet cat, but doesn't understand everything her friend is telling her to do in order to get the cat. The rhyme scheme makes this book even more whimsical.

The Octonauts and the Only Lonely Monster by Meowmi. My son loves the Octonauts TV show, but we didn't know it was based on a book series until our Instagram friend @smashingkidreads shared a photo of the books. We have one in our library system, so I snatched it up one day for us to share. It's a really cute book, a little less detailed than the show (which shares a lot of information about about the animal featured) but still so enjoyable. We will definitely have to find (or buy!) the others.  

Bugs in My Hair by David Shannon. My son is pretty into bugs... meaning he sees one, says "Ew, spider!" and "Gwoss" once it's dead (or ushered outside). He picked this book based on the cover alone, and I didn't think about it, but of course it's about lice! It was still an interesting read, and definitely a great book to read when it's about that time that kids encounter lice. This might be one we re-read...

Arthur's Honey Bear by Lillian Hoban. My son has a stuffed bear he named Honey Bear, and I loved Arthur as a kid (maybe I still do...), so I had to check this book out from the library. It's a little longer than we usually read, so I don't know that my son really followed all of it, but it was a sweet, enjoyable book about Arthur battling with himself about growing up or keeping what he loves.

Swap by Steve Light. The illustrations were the best part of this book - gorgeous! My son had more fun pointing at the pirates on each page, asking "Whos dat?" than looking at the pictures, so I snuck it away with me after. It's fun to see what was swapped on each page, and find the elements that the pirates still had left, plus the new items they swapped for. Probably better for slightly older kids who can appreciate doing that part of the "reading" with you, so this is one we'll revisit in the future.

Summer Reading

Halfway through the summer, I realized I hadn't done a monthly reading recap since May. However, I hadn't actually read much, so I put the concept on hold for the summer, and decided to post a "Summer Reading" recap at the end of August. I read 20 books this summer, which seems like a low number since I usually read double digit books each month, but I did have a lot going on as I:

• trudged through Harry Potter (don't get me wrong - I love the books, but they take me FOREVER to read!)
• completed internship hours in the Children's Department
• started a new job
• finished my degree
• had two children and a husband needing attention

Anyway, I feel like I didn't read much, and I'm saving my Harry Potter recap for when I finish the series (nope, still not done!), so here are my favorite books from the summer.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein. I was sucked in to this book from the beginning - books and riddles and codes and a super-cool library?! I’m in. It was a really good story, and I appreciate how it will get younger kids, especially those who aren’t readers and are more into games, into reading. There were book titles and references galore in this book, so it was fun to place those. It reminded me of Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein. I liked this second book a lot… maybe even more than the first? I felt like the puzzles and games were more involved, or perhaps just better written than the first book, because I felt very into the story. There was some suspense, and it will definitely engage middle grade readers.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg. Read for “research” as I develop a LGBT collection for the YA section at work. Really loved this one - emotional and tangled. Rafe was openly gay in his hometown, and everyone was fine with it - but he still felt limited by the label. He transfers to a boarding school across the country and doesn't tell anyone he's gay. For the first time, Rafe feels like he's just himself, until he starts falling for his friend. 

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. I feel like I’ve read a lot of school shooting books lately - is this a trend? This one was really amazing though. The bulk of the story (except for the epilogue) took place in about an hour, though it jumped between four different POVs. Very effective, very emotional.