What I've Been Reading--July

One of the great things about leaving the country is that you also sort of leave all of your stress behind. Meaning--I thought little about work. I was so far removed from it all that I could really de-stress. I read LOTS of books, many that have been on my "to read" list for years. A few new ones too. Here's what I read in July:



Picture Books

Sadako by Eleanor Coerr (Anyone ever seen this movie? I'd like to hear about it)

** We have missed being near a library. I read a bunch of Little Golden Books to my daughter that my parent had in their collection, but other than that, we have been picture book deprived. I'm heading to the library today to get some more books for her.



Middle Grade

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford (my review here)

Night of the Twisters by Ivy Rickman

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr (I actually read this book first, then read the picture book. Much of the text is the same. I expected the picture book to be a very abbreviated version. It was abbreviated, but not so much that the reader loses the feel of the story. And of course, the picture book has Ed Young's beautiful paintings as illustrations.)



Young Adult

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (I didn't think I would like a vampire book, but I loved this one. I just bought book number 2 and 3 in this series. Can't wait to read them. Thanks to Madeline at Buried in the Slush Pile for the recommendation.)

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult (I'm becoming a Jodi Picoult addict, I just ordered more of her books from the library. I WILL make my way through all of them. She's going to be my new favorite adult/YA author. I still love Patricia Cornwell--the only other adult author I read religiously. Oh and by the way, My Sister's Keeper is going to be a movie!)

The Counterfeit Son by Elaine Marie Alphin

Open Your Eyes: Extraordinary Experiences in Faraway Places edited by Jill Davis (a collection of stories by YA authors)

Kampung Boy by Lat (my review here)

The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book 1 by Rick Riordan

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (Okay, I'm ashamed that I hadn't ever read this book. I read it this summer so I would be ready when the movie comes out. Better late than never, right?)

Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid by Lemony Snicket (weird, didn't love it)



Poetry

Boris by Cynthia Ryant

Something about America by Maria Testa

Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow illustrated by Monica Vaschula

Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing up Latino in the United States edited by Lori M. Carlson

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye

Canto Familiar by Gary Soto

What is Goodbye? by Nikki Grimes (my review here)

Worlds Apart: Traveling with Fernie and Me by Gary Soto

Words Under the Words by Naomi Shihab Nye

Reaching for the Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer (my review here)



Nonfiction

Escape: The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman (If you are looking for an entertaining biography, this is a great one. Boys will love this book about this interesting magician.)

Reflections: Ralph Fletcher, Author at Work by Ralph Fletcher (my review here)



Adult

Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' by Paula Deen and Sherry Suib Cohen

World of Words around the Web

While I was gone I had reviews appear on other blogs.

The Edge of the Forest Summer edition featured three of my reviews.

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford is reviewed here.
Reaching for the Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer is reviewed here.
Reflections: Ralph Fletcher, Author at Work by Ralph Fletcher is reviewed here.

I highly recommended all three books!

Mentor Texts, Read Alouds and More included my review of Henry's Freedom Box during the Picture Book Carnival.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I have just come back from a month-long vacation in Thailand. Boy, reality has hit me hard coming home. I actually have to do laundry, cook, and work again. That stinks. I have had an enjoyable time reading books, touring around, and enjoying the company of my parents. So, I will be posting more regularly again. School is getting ready to gear up again and I have to move rooms again, so hopefully I'll get to post some. I have 2, 222 feeds on bloglines I haven't read. So, I doubt I'll get to touch even 1/3 of those. Sorry if I missed your wonderful post. I'll let you know what's being going on while I've been gone.