To kick off the school year and prepare for Banned Books Week (September 23 – 29), I’m revisiting these two 2017 fabulous titles:

Our Story Begins, edited by Elissa Brent Weissman

I sat with Elissa at dinner during Nerd Camp Michigan this summer, and she is amazing! She put together stories and snippets of work from now-famous authors from when they were kids. The subtitle of the book is Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew As Kids. Authors include my friends, Kwame Alexander and Chris Grabenstein. I love their stories!

Ban This Book, by Alan Gratz

School boards are in charge. Of reading. Of books that are allowed in the libraries of schools. Wait, what? Amy Anne Ollinger isn’t going to let Mrs. Jones, the school librarian, or her mom, or the school board, tell her that she cannot read her favorite book of all time, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (by E. L. Konigsburg)! Amy Anne and her friends defend their books, and their right to read them. Alan Gratz has an Author’s Note stating that all the books mentioned in Ban This Book have been challenged or banned at least once in the last 30 years. Sad. Makes me want to read Coraline (by Neil Gaiman) again before Halloween.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, at Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.