Review: Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: May 2018
 

   

Claudia and Monday have been friends forever. You never see one without the other. When Claudia returns from spending the summer with her grandmother, she looks forward to hooking back up with Monday to see how her summer was. But Monday is no where to be found. She doesn't even show up for school, the first week or the first month. No one but Claudia seems to care that Monday is no longer around. Where is Monday and why won't anyone tell Claudia.?

I have heard so many mixed emotions about this book I had to read/listen to it for myself. Usually I just listen to books during my commute to and from work, but I found myself wanting to listen whenever I could.

What would you do, if you couldn't find your best friend and no one seemed to care? You asked teachers, her family, friends, but no one could tell you where she could possibly be. It drove Claudia absolutely crazy with worry trying to figure out what was going on. The story takes you back and forth from when Monday was around through the time when she wasn't. Claudia has to remember herself all the things that happened in the past to find her friend.

This book will leave you with your mind swirling at the end. Highly recommended.

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A Love of Reading = A Love of Learning

Reading the Kindle while listening to a book(staged)

Last week was Children's Book Week.  With that in mind, I have been thinking about how much my kids enjoy reading.  My daughter who is 7 and in the 1st grade is currently reading on a 3rd grade ready to enter 4th grade level. Her favorite series right now is The Magic Tree House. My son who is 5 and is on the Autism Spectrum is also reading above his level.  I have one other child(4), who I am hoping will follow suit...if not, she will be my artist as her coloring is amazing

During Book Week, my oldest came home and told me something that stuck with me and inspired this blog post.  Her teacher had told her that people who read are the smartest people.  Of course that is true.  The more you read the more you learn.  You don't have to read just educational materials to learn.  There is some much to gain from almost every book you read.  Even Fifty Shades of Grey taught us to not be afraid to express who we are, right?  

I'm very thankful that we live in the area that we do.  Our school system is one of the best in the country and definitely one of the best in the state.  I love my daughter's teacher and wish she could follow her through her school career, she has a Master's in Education with a focus on reading...how wonderful.

I'm also thankful that my kids aren't too big into technology.  I know the above picture doesn't reflect that, but we staged that picture to show kids today.  They love to go to the library.  My daughter has started on a reading challenge for this summer.  Yes, I know it's a little early, but how can I stop her.  She is going to read all the books that are in her reading level from the Scholastic Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for Kids.  We have already started on Charlotte's Web.  I can't wait to see how many she  will read and hope by the time she has entered high school, she has finished the entire list, or maybe before she leaves elementary school.

If you have children or children in your life please encourage them to read.  One thing no one can ever take from you is your education and as long as you can read, your learning has no limit.  

Review--Shakespeare Saved My Life by Dr. Laura Bates

Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura  Bates
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Dr. Laura Bates is an English professor at Indiana State University.  She is given to opportunity to teach inmates in Indiana's Correctional System.  She decides that she is going to teach them Shakespeare.  She was discouraged by others thinking that Shakespeare would be too much for inmates to handle.

Dr. Bates was surprised at how well the inmates were able to, not only understand the material, but also apply it to their own lives.  One inmate in particular, Larry Newton, took the material and really changed(saved) his life.  Larry was really able to relate to Shakespeare's works, especially MacBeth.  He used the material to look back on the choices and decisions he had made and was able to better understand the right choices to make.

When I saw this book as part of the Big Library Read, I was very excited.  It seemed like an interesting book that would hold my attention.  These days, I tend to do a lot of reading before bed.  Even though the chapters were no more than a few pages long, I fell asleep frequently.  I thought I would have been able to finish this book in a week because the subject matter was so interesting.  But, I felt as though it continued to go over the same thing.  I enjoyed the subject matter, but I thought I would be a little more engaged.


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