#IMWAYR July 27, 2015

It's Monday again, my favourite day of the week. Time to check in with hosts Jen From Mentor Texts and Kellee andRickie from Unleashing Readers, to find out what bloggers around the world are reading this week. My partner and I head off early this morning into high country. There will be no internet once we arrive, but I'm going to try to read as many blogs as I can while on the road before it disappears. 

A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

5 stars
Sometimes I wonder how authors can consistently wow me with their writing. Cynthia Lord is one of them. I admire her for fitting relevant social issues into everything I've read so far. In this one, two girls from different backgrounds become friends as they paint boxes for mason bees. I fell head over heels for all these characters. This is a book that deals with prejudice, loss, friendship and finding out what is really important.



The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

3 stars
This book didn't wow me, but it did manage to draw me into its world and get me to care about the characters somewhat. In the world of Quill, when children reach a certain age, they are labelled wanted, necessary, and unwanted. The unwanted are sent away to die. Only it turns out that the unwanted are the lucky ones who end up in the magical world of Artimé. This is a land where magic, emotions and the creative arts are celebrated.  

Twin boys end up separated and find themselves in these different worlds. Aaron remains in Quill where he begins to climb the social ladder towards a prestigious position. Alex, on the other hand, ends up in Artimé where he longs for his twin to join them. He finally figures out a way to contact Aaron, but instead of saving him, ignites events that may well bring about the downfall of Artimé.

I like the ending of this book - it was satisfying, but tantalized readers to want to find out more. 

I struggled with this strange dichotomy of creativity in this book. It breaks my heart that as education funding gets strangled, it is the fine and performing arts that get axed, but I believe that creativity is a much deeper concept that this.

The Great Good Summer by Liz Garton Scanlon

4 stars
This is another sweet middle grade novel about a girl who's mother takes off with an itinerant preacher one summer. Eventually Ivy and her friend, Paul, decided to take off in search of her. It's a journey fraught with suspense and near disaster. The two find help in unusual characters. This is a book about friendship, loss and finding out who you are. 

I really came to care about Paul, Ivy, her father, and even her mother. As a parent I could really connect to her father's anxiety and fear when the two children run away. I liked the contrast between Ivy and her faith in God and Paul and his faith in science. I think that as they grow, these beliefs will mature and change with them.

3 stars
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (audiobook)

I downloaded this book because I have readers who like this series. I wanted to see what it was that drew them in. Maybe it is because I have been listening to Skulduggery and The Unwanteds, but this book was too slow for me. It is a thoughtful, academic mystery that just didn't get me excited, although I did manage to finish it. I'm going to be looking at readers who like it with some awe and appreciation when they next come asking me for more like this.

4 stars
Loula and Mister the Monster by Anne Villeneuve (netgalley)

I love Loula and Gilbert, the family's lovely chauffeur. In this adventure they do their best to teach Mister, the rambunctious hound, how to behave.


5 stars


Water is Water by Miranda Paul & Jason Chin (illustrator)

This beautiful book tells the reader about the water cycle all the while revealing our personal relationship to its many incarnations. Chin's glorious illustrations embrace and enhance the patterned poetry of Paul's text.

enormous smallness: a story of ee cummings by Matthew Burgess & Kris Di Giacomo (illustrator)

5 stars
although the cover doesn't use all lowercase letters in the title of the book, I feel compelled to change it here. i read my first cummings poem in high school, lo these many years ago, and entered into an infatuation with his work that has lasted till this day. for a few years i refused to use capital letters, even into my first year of college. there, one of my beaus gave me a collection of cumming's love poems. he is long gone, but i still have the book.

i like the choices of poetry here in the book, but there aren't enough of them. It does include in just spring which gets posted on our library poetry wall just about every year. i would have a hard time choosing a favourite of his poems, but somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond, resonates for me about the transformational power of love.

I didn't know how much i had been waiting to read this biography until i had it in my hands. it feels like uncovering the secrets of an old friend.

i didn't know that cummings
         wrote his first poem when only three
         painted
         wrote screenplays
         loved elephants
         cherished Paris
and
         drove an ambulance in the first world war

after finishing this book I went to read more about his work. one of the interesting facts i discovered was that cummings was influenced by Amy Lowell, another of my favourite poets.

i'm getting this book for our library for those teachers planning on making writing a focus this year.

3 stars
A Tale of Two Mommies by Vanita Oelschlager & Mike Blanc (illustrator) (netgalley)

This is a charming story of a group of children playing. Two of them ask questions to a friend, who has two mothers, as to which mommy does certain things. Ultimately what this book shows is a young boy who is well loved by his parents.


A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius by Stacey Matson

4 stars
One of my goals was to read more Canadian authors this year. With books like this, it's pure joy. 

Arthur Bean has big dreams. He plans to grow up and become a famous author. In the mean time he has to get through the many challenges of grade seven. 

Told through journal entries and emails back and forth to different characters, this story takes us through the year following the death of his mother. His father has kind of checked out of life and isn't paying much attention to anything. Then there is the writing contest due April 1. He's certain he will win if only he can come up with a story idea. The ideas, however, just don't want to come. He's got a crush on his writing buddy, but she's already got a boyfriend, even if he is a jerk. On top of all this, he has to tutor Robbie Zack, a bully who threatens him regularly. 

Arthur tests the patience of all his teachers, but for the most part, they recognize his creative brilliance and do their best to rein him in. It isn't easy. It requires an expert sense of humour. When his regular teacher breaks her leg, the substitute doesn't cope well with him, leaving both of them unhappy. 

I suspect fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid will like this book. It has some drawings but is much more text based. It would also be an interesting book for teachers to use as mentor text since Arthur has to complete a number of writing assignments.  

Currently I'm listening to Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School #2) by Gail Carriger. I've in the middle of More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera on my device and I'm in the middle of Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley as a hardcover. 

Up next, I've got Shadow Scale by Rachel Harman, a pile of paperbacks, and a whole mess of titles on my device. I am so looking forward to being where my options are hiking, fishing, or reading. I'm hoping there won't be any hiding from, or running from, bears. 

15 comments:

  1. Wonderful assortment of books. I'm intrigued by the one about e. e. cummings and will have to look for a copy. Here is my weekly report. Happy reading!

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    1. Enjoy e.e. cummings Kathy! Happy reading this week!

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  2. I was surprised to read that you have students who like the Chasing Vermeer series because I, too, found it slow and a bit overly intellectual for middle grade readers. I think the books can certainly appeal to a certain demographic of reader, but I don't think they are universally likeable books.

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    1. Exactly, and these readers are the ones who like them, keep asking me to get the next one!

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  3. I too have a love for ee cummings and loved this new book, Cheriee. You've shared so many good books today. I want to get to Water Is Water and The Great Good Summer soon. I did enjoy A Handful of Stars, have just recently also read Half A Chance. Cynthia Lord writes wonderful stories, I agree. Have a good week!

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    1. I am sure you will love both of them Linda. Happy reading this week.

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  4. You've read quite a few books lately! I need to read Handful of Stars to prep for our Twitter chat on it next month. I really want to read The Unwanteds. I've head so so things, but I'm so tired of the 4th grade students reading The Hunger Games and Divergent. I've heard this would be a good series to hand off instead.

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    1. They are mostly devouring The Unwanteds and making certain I get the next book in the series. A great series for that age group is The City Of Ember.

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  5. Wow! So many great books! I read the Great Good Summer this past week too and I thought it was lovely. I can't wait to read A Handful of Stars. Ever since Rules, I have tried to read every book Lord publishes. Such a talented author.

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  6. We had great fun with Chasing Vermeer the year it was on the Bluebonnet. Set up a campuswide missing art project where they had to use the databases to figure out clues and find (in my case) the Yoda READ poster. That said ... the series kind of went downhill after that. :( Loved the entire Finishing School series! Must figure out how to find a copy of enormous smallness.

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  7. Some wonderful books Cheriee. Loved reading all of your thoughts about each of them. Oh the histories we bring to books! You will have to join our twitter chat for Handful of Stars. I love this author too! Have a lovely holiday. We are currently on the Sunshine coast!

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  8. So many books! I'm anyways in awe of how many you read! Love reading your thoughts on them all!
    Handful of Stars is our next Twitter book club book--you should join us!

    Happy reading this week! :-)

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  9. I love the variety of books you have here. I haven't read any of Cynthia Lord's novels yet but Handful of Stars sounds really special. Enormous Smallness just captivated me - such a beautiful beautiful book. So glad to see another Jason Chin picturebook title! Will definitely look for Water is Water.

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  10. Thanks for recommending the Stacey Matson title. I am always looking for books for the Wimpy Kid crowd that might graduate them to another kind of reading. Really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the cummings bio. I, too, was annoyed by the choice not to use lower case for his name--WHY? Makes no sense to me. Otherwise, good book. And yes, I learned a lot of interesting stuff about cummings. I loved Handful of Stars. I was disappointed to miss out on the virtual book club discussion but glad to have been spurred by my intention to participate to actually get the book read! My son and I started Unwanteds as a read-aloud but he decided he didn't like it and wanted to abandon it. I wouldn't mind going back and finishing because I'd become intrigued!

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  11. You've got an incredible list here of some titles I've read and many on my TBR list! I do love Cynthia Lord, and A Handful of Stars is definitely in my stack to be read soon. I'm also very interested in The Great Good Summer-- lots of discussion about that one, and NEED to get Water is Water and Enormous Smallness (enormous smallness). I appreciated your take on how that e.e. cummings book should be written! :) I have read Chasing Vermeer, and I liked it. I think it is probably a better read-from-print than audiobook, just because there are so many things done with codes and the illustrations (if I remember correctly). The one title you mentioned that was new to me and very intriguing is A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius. I'm heading over to Goodreads to add that one to my list right now! Thanks, Cheriee! Have a great week.

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