Middle Grade Thursday: The Imaginary

For our first middle grade Thursday I am going to review The Imaginary by: A.F. Harrold. Sara and I received our ARCs of this book at Nerd Camp MI last year. I was very excited to read it. 

In The Imaginary Harrold takes the reader into the world of imaginary friends. The main character of the book is an imaginary boy named Rudger. Rudger's real friend is a girl named Amanda. They have great adventures until they are separated in an accident. Rudger loses Amanda but is determined to find her again. On his journey to locate Amanda Rugder meets a crazy cat, a group of imaginaries, and the frightening Mr. Bunting. 

I absolutely loved this book. I believe that kids would relate well to this story because having an imaginary friend is a big part of childhood. Teachers and librarians could use The Imaginary and Beekle to introduce a unit on imaginary friends. I recommend this book to anyone who has had an imaginary friend or knows someone who has. I give The Imaginary 5 out of 5 stars. 

For more information about A.F.Harrold visit his website: http://www.afharroldkids.com

Or follow him on Twitter @afharrold

Picture Book Wednesday: Be A Friend

Amy's Review 

In your life have you ever felt alone? Have you ever felt left out because you were different from everyone else?  Be A Friend addresses this issue. Dennis is different from everyone else and has no friends. Then one special friend comes along and helps him feel better about his differences. I loved this book because it brought me back to my childhood. While I was reading I remembered moments when I felt left out and needed a friend. I also remembered the excitement I felt when I met someone like me and we became friends. I recommend this book for any kid who feel different or might be considered a loner. I think this book would help them to realize that it is okay to be different and that they will eventually find a friend who loves them for who they are. I give Be A Friend  5 out of 5 stars.

Sara's Review

I read this book to several classes. I had to explain why Dennis's face was painted white and what the dotted red lines meant because my students lacked background knowledge about mimes. Once they understood, they were found the story very engaging. One of the most common forms of bullying in elementary school is exclusion. One child is isolated from the others and I love that this book addresses that issue and teaches children empathy. I love the color scheme Yoon employs in the book and it was so very fun to dress up in those colors.

Here is Salina Yoon's author website.

Salina was featured discussing Be A Friend on the #kidlit podcast series The Yarn, hosted by Michigan educators, Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp.

Salina is also the creator of the Penguin series, with the latest title Penguin's Christmas Wish being released on September 6, 2016.

New Book Tuesday 3/29

Every Tuesday, I will share the books that I have bought. If I buy any extra later in the week, I'll share those as well. If you want to build your wealth in flammable materials, be sure to check out @mrschureads' Book Release Calendar!

This week is a light week for me. There are only three books on the way.

If you have not read Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, get yourself to the library ASAP!  History has never been more hilarious or more fun. I cannot wait to read the newest in the series, and I know next to nothing about this part of American History.



If you are a fan of Hunger Games and Divergent, you've probably heard of Ally Condie's Matched series. Summerlost is her debut middle grade novel. So many of my nerdy friends have read this that I am excited that March 29th is finally here.



For some reason, this book is being published on Friday instead of Tuesday. Twenty Yawns was available as a free Kindle preview book, so I've already read it many times, but I can't wait to get my hands on the print copy. I love Lauren Castillo's illustrations and Jane Smiley's story is so heartwarming.




Happy Reading!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I'm kind of in a reading rut right now. I'm in the middle of several books I'm not thrilled with most notably:



I am reading this for Newbery Pie, so abandoning it is not an option, but I am going to put some of the other books on hold and start on these two:




What is Amy Reading? 

Like Sara I am reading multiple books at a time. This list only includes print books and not the books on my Kindle. 

Finishing up: With one chapter left. 

I am planning on starting this book today. 

Just for fun because I love graphic novels.

New Schedule

So our blog is feeling the winter slump. Spring is here and we are ready to pump some life into this thing. Starting next week, we are going to follow this schedule:

#IMWYR:

We will participate in It's Monday! What Are You Reading? See entry over at Jen Vincent's Teach Mentor Text blog for details.

New Book Tuesdays:

To say I have a book buying problem is quite the understatement. My husband teases me that if I buy one more book, my book closet is going to collapse into our front hall. Will this stop me? In the words of Pete the Cat, "Goodness no." See which books I buy and add to my ever growing To-Be-Read Mountain.  Want to know what's coming out each week? Check out John Schu's (@mrschureads) Book Release Calendar. Warning: clicking this link could be dangerous to your bank account!

Picture Book Wednesdays: 

I was featured last month on the amazing Scholastic Reader Leader Blog with a post about my New Year's Resolution to read a picture #bookaday. Wednesdays will feature a Two Nerdy Sisters joint review of a 2016 picture book. Next Wednesday: Salina Yoon's Be A Friend.

Middle Grade Thursday:

So Middle Grade is my first #kidlit love and I have not abandoned it. We will feature book reviews, book lists, author interviews/links, articles, some Middle Grade related content every Thursday.

Young Adult Friday:

The only Young Adult Literature I read as a kid was Sweet Valley High. When I was in high school, I was reading Stephen King. #yalit is so amazing now, and I want to read more because I have a daughter who just turned 13. We will take Thursday's plan, but instead of Middle Grade, it'll be all about Young Adult baby.

See you next week!