It’s been a wild week here! The end of summer always brings a whirlwind of activities and reading is sometimes left in the dust. Slow and steady wins the race. Right?

Finished: Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast: Mission Defrostable by Josh Funk

The newest refrigerator adventure leaves Lady Pancake, Sir French Toast, and their friends dealing with a deep freeze. Whatever will they do? Who can they call to help with the thaw? Honestly, I think this is my favorite of the 3 titles — now that we know the characters, we want to help them solve the latest cold case. Preorder this one now! Available September 25th.

Still Reading: Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Harbor Me comes to your favorite bookstore soon, so preorder now or get to the front of the line for this one on August 28th! Six middle schoolers have a chance each week to talk, without adult supervison, in the “ARTT” Room (A Room To Talk). At first, they wonder what to do and find it difficult to open up the talk to deep conversation. Later, the classmates/friends find that they are brave and can express their feelings freely when they are together, and they have a chance to make life better for everyone. This book addresses timely social issues that affect youth and their families and is a MUST READ for classrooms across the country.

Up Next: The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser

In the sequel to The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (coming September 25th), the family has to (again) make a plan “when catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbor.” They need to turn the vacant lot down the street into a beautiful community garden with no experience, no money, and only 19 days. Otherwise the real-estate developer has another plan! I can’t wait to really sit down and see what the Vanderbeekers do next.

Up Next: There are so many books to choose from!

More picture books, for sure. I’m finding some read alouds for the library, a few banned books for September, and also planning for my newest adventure in reading, Project LIT Community Book Club (#ProjectLITComm)! More information to come on that…soon.

What are you reading this week?

“It’s Monday! What are you Reading?” is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan your reading for the upcoming week. Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jennifer Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts have given IMWAYR a kidlit focus. Join in the fun! Choose a great book, read it, and share your thoughts with us!