#IMWAYR for September 16

I'm back with my Monday reads! It's been a busy month, so I'm excited to link up with Teach Mentor Texts for IMWAYR!

 

 

I finished Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. LOVED IT. I have to admit I like a little romance and mystery. I can't wait to start the next book which is Tiger's Quest. My upper grade girls will enjoy this one. Had a lot of Indian history and mythology incorporated within the story. I'll give this one 5 stars.  Basically, Kelsey travels to India to try to break a 300 year old curse and save a handsome prince.  (AR reading level 5.4 , Lexile reading level 800)

The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman  This one should appeal to the middle grade students. Coke and Pepsi (the main characters) are young genius who must uncover clues to see who is trying to kill them and why. Really enjoyed this one also. I've had this book for a few months and finally got to read it. 4 stars! (AR reading level 4.8, Lexile reading level 730)

Purchased four title to the Lunch Lady series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
This series is a cute graphic novel series that will the younger students will enjoy. I loved how Lunch Lady saved the kids with gadgets like a spork phone, hot sauce laser, and s'more ninja star! The four I read had reading levels ranging from 2.2 - 2.6 on AR's reading scale, Lexile level around 250. I'm definitely going to try to find some more of these books. The kids are going to love them.

Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend by Melanie Watt
Loved it! 5 stars just because it's Scaredy Squirrel. Another homerun by Ms. Watt. If you don't have any of her books, go get them.

Manners in the Lunchroom by Amanda Doering Tourville. My counselor will love this one. Very cute. Lovely illustrations by Chris Lensch. Will be a great read aloud for the beginning of the year.

When a Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore. Adorable picture book. Howard McWilliam did a terrific job with the illustrations. Great little story about imagination and a day at the beach.

Being Frank by Donna W. Earnhardt, illustrated by Andrea Castellani.  This one gets 5 stars! STINK'IN CUTE. Frank learns about telling the truth and when to refrain from well, being frank! Loved all the play on words.

I also found two more You Wouldn't Want to be .... books. I thought I had them all. OOPs. My students love these books. I found You Wouldn't Want to Be Cursed by King Tut! by Jacqueline Morley and You Wouldn't Want to Be on the First Flying Machine by Ian Graham. So glad I found these.

Check out other great Monday Reads on Teach Mentor Texts with Jen and Kellee.

Keep Reading! I will....

Test Prep?

Before the big TEST, I usually ask my teachers if there is anything I need to review during their library class. This year I think we are all reviewed/tested out. My  poor kiddies have taken benchmark tests, STAR Reading, STAR Math, and CRA tests (I think I left one out!) and now we want them to take the TCAP test.... I think you can guess what I think about that bad boy! Don't get me wrong, testing and gathering data is needed, but Tennessee is going a little overboard. (Be glad your state didn't get those "Race to the Top" federal dollars!) My students are sick of being tested. I had one teacher request this year for help and it was my 6 - 8 grade ELA teacher. Hey, right up my alley. I was just glad it wasn't the math teacher. Bless her heart! If the system wanted to torment me and the students, they could put  me in her classroom. The 8th grade math reminds me of my high school classes! I'll stay in the library. Besides I've got all these cool books. HEAVEN. My upper grade kiddies were having trouble with verbals and reasoning. So I made them some games for review. Yes, I make centers for 7th and 8th graders.  Sometimes they want to "play" with the lower/middle grade games. They're just BIG KIDS. I taught 8th grade before moving to the library. Love my uppers!

Of course I love all my students. There are times when I miss my classroom, then TCAP rolls around. LOVE'N THE LIBRARY. I laugh and say I get paid to read! We all know there is SO much more to the job. Speaking of which I'm going for more hot chocolate and getting my stack of books to read for my SLM Shelf Challenge. I'm a little behind this week.