Books I Want to Recommend

Week of July 1, 2024

I plan to regularly share book (and other media) recommendations in this space. My reading life ebbs and flows like everyone’s. Some weeks, I read a lot. Other weeks, I read less. Yes, even I have weeks when I do not read much at all. I will share recommendations when I have them!

When my reading momentum flows from one book to the next and I am reading constantly, I usually have several books going at once. I have rules, though. I rarely read more than one book of the same genre at the same time. I read very little fiction published for adults, so I am extremely picky about it. I binge read picture books and will spend an entire afternoon reading a pile from the library. 

 I usually have an adult nonfiction book going at all times. It might be a professional development book for educators. It might be a book about sociology or botany. It might be Brittany Spears’ memoir. I travel a bit and garden a lot. Listening to audiobooks ensures that I always have something to read and helps me squeeze in more reading time. 

I read a lot of children’s and young adult literature. As part of my work with educators and librarians, I need to stay current on the trends and notable titles published for young readers each year. As a grandmother, tutor and volunteer, I am always recommending books to the kids I know. Beyond matching other readers to books, I love to read good books of all kinds. If I never read any of the wonderful books written for young people, I would be missing out on some of the best literature and most talented authors of our time. 

This week’s book recommendations include an assortment of some recent reads. I hope you celebrate our FREADOM to read whatever we want this Independence Day!

Classroom Design for Student Agency: Create Spaces to Empower Young Readers and Writers by Lynsey Burkins and Franki Sibberson

(National Council of Teachers of English, 2023)

For the past several weeks, I have been hosting meetings for an online book club for The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library: Building a Collection That Inspires, Engages, and Challenges Young Readers (Scholastic, 2022), my second book with Colby Sharp. We were fortunate that several teachers, librarians, administrators, and reading advocates allowed us to interview them about their experiences with classroom libraries for the book. Ohio teachers and NCTE leaders, Lynsey Burkins and Franki Sibberson, offered their insight to The Commonsense Guide and I am thrilled that the two of them have written, Classroom Design for Student Agency. 

This book is filled with practical ideas for constructing learning spaces that invite children into the community, offer emotional and physical safety, foster collaboration among peers, and support student agency. Numerous examples with photographs provide a deeper understanding of the spaces described. Above all, Classroom Design for Student Agency is rich with students’ voices. It is clear Lynsey’s students feel empowered to offer their opinions about what learning spaces work best for them.

The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion by Minda Dentler, illustrated by Stephanie Dehennen 

(Sourcebooks Explore, 2024)

I had the opportunity to meet athlete and author Minda Dentler at the Texas Library Association Conference this spring, and I was not surprised to learn she is also motivational speaker. Everyone in oue group listened raptly while Minda described her experiences as the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman Triathalon. Minda has written, The Girl Who Figured It Out, an inspiring book about her childhood and her experiences while training and competing. This would be a great read aloud for discussing perseverance and goal setting. 

Menopause: A Comic Treatment. Edited by MK Czerwiec. 

(Penn University Press, 2020)

Winner of the 2021 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best Anthology and Best Short Story

Every time I post on Facebook about menopause, I receive a lot of comments offering health information, emotional support, and questions. Lots of questions. It seems that no one feels fully prepared to discuss menopause, much less travel through it. This life stage is a topic of interest and concern for many. In this comic anthology, a range of contributors including doctors, activists, teachers, and artists offer their honest, funny, heartwrenching, and poignant experiences with menopause. While I expected Menopause: A Comic Treatment to be funny and raw, I was surprised at the wealth of accurate health information provided. Check out other scientifically accurate titles on the Graphic Medicine website. 

Thank you to everyone who has already subscribed to my Substack! I am excited about your interest and I am planning some fun bonus content for free subscribers and paid subscribers. 

Happy Reading!