IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop with kid lit co-hosts Jennifer from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It’s a great way to share what you’re reading and get recommendations from others. We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs each week.

We Remember 9/11: I spent the weekend taking it easy and reflecting on the 21 years it’s been since the Twin Towers came down in New York City. September 11, 2001. I was teaching 5th grade and my students were in the gym. A fellow teacher came running down the hall from the office, telling us that “someone bombed the World Trade Center.” Fear and anxiety followed, and I ran to the gym with her to find my students, who were watching TV with the gym teacher. The entire day was surreal – some parents came to take students home, but most of us just talked about how we felt: scared, anxious, curious, even. What had happened? Why? How would this affect us and our families? How would this affect the world?

I re-read two of my favorite middle-grade books on 9/10 and 9/11. It was comforting to know that books are always here for us. Stories matter. People matter. Even in 2022, Nine, Ten by Nora Raleigh Baskin and The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner are still staples of the classrooms and libraries where I work. We remember.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?