Wednesday, April 30, 2008

What I've Been Reading: March and April 2008

Things have been crazy this year. I have been teaching an undergraduate class, taking a graduate class, teaching fourth graders all day, and my parents have been visiting from overseas. I have had very little time to read voraciously, like I normally do. I have been reading for my classes, with little time or energy to read for other things. But the nice thing is I can see the end of the horizon. By next week, almost everything will be done. Whew! Then I can gear up for the summer class I’m taking and the one I’m teaching. But hopefully, I’ll have more time for pleasure reading.

March

Picture books
Doctor Ted by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre (my review here)
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Middle Grade
Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Young Adult
The Game of Sunken Places by M.T. Anderson
A Pack of Lies by Geraldine MacCaughrean
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (my review here)
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick

Rereads
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

April

Picture books
City Lullaby by Marilyn Singer
Nettie’s Trip South by Ann Turner
Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln by Judith St. George
The Secret of the Great Houdini by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Leonid Gore
Cinderella’s Rat by Susan Meddaugh
Nothing Ever Happens on My Block by Ellen Raskin
Jazz Baby by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Laura Freeman
So Few of Me by Peter H. Reynolds
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco
Dolley Madison Saves George Washington by Don Brown (my review here)
Young Jim Thorpe: Bright Path by Don Brown
Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China by Deborah Noyes, illustrated by Sophie Blackall (my review here)



Poetry
Family Reunion by Mary Quattlebaum
Boshblobberbosh: Runcible Poems for Edward Lear by J. Patrick Lewis
Jesse Owens: Fastest Man Alive by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (my review here)
Mother Goose’s Little Treasures collected by Iona Opie, illustrated by Rosemary Wells (my review here)

Nonfiction
Miracle: The True Story of the Wreck of the Sea Venture by Gail Langer Karwoski
Ox, House, Stick: The History of Our Alphabet by Don Robb, illustrated by Anne Smith
What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? By Steve Jenkins (my review here)
Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Young Adult
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Adult
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Made from Scratch: A Memoir by Sandra Lee
Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

2 comments:

Linda said...

Hi,

Wow -- you've been really busy! I am also a Mom, wife, etc. and only get to read "in spurts" as I like to call it.

I adored "Eat Pray Love" (didn't think I'd like it -- HA!) and have loved everything I've ready Lowry.

Here's one for you -- "Bitter Tastes" by V.B. Rosendahl. My daughter and I just finished reading it together and we had a hoot trying to guess what would happen next. It's a middle grade/YA mystery story and reminded me of all the Nancy Drew books I loved as a kid. The heroine, Kathy, is an 11 year old girl who isn't afraid to do what she thinks is right.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Cheers,
Linda

Marcie Flinchum Atkins said...

Hi Linda,
Thanks for the book recommendation. I will try to get my paws on a copy. I love mysteries (they are pretty much the only adult literature I read), so I can't wait to check it out.
Marcie