#IMWAYR August 29, 2016

Hello everyone. I've been reading, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with the piles of books becoming available from the VPL. I'm looking forward to checking in with Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers to see how the rest of your reading lives are progressing. I'm also thinking about the many teachers in other parts of the planet who have returned to work already. 

Here in Vancouver, B.C., over the span of 24 hours we have gone from OMG it's so hot, to should we turn on the furnace?

This week, not only did I get in some serious reading, I managed to get reviews posted for these books last week.


PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars
Max at Night by Ed Vere (NetGalley)

I'm a serious Max fan. In fact, I think Max is my favourite fictional cat. After reading a Max title, my heart aches that I am allergic to felines. This book is a must purchase to add to your shelf of bedtime books. If I was still in the library, I would get two copies, one for the library, and one for my great nephew, Max. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Max and the Bird.


4 stars
Rosie the Raven by Helga Bansch & Shelley Tanaka (translator) (NetGalley)

I adore these illustrations. The message of inclusion, adapting, and acceptance that this book embodies is an important one for people of all ages. Upon completion of this book I hope to read more about Rosie and really want to read In the Night, Bansch's most recent book. 
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NOVELS

3 stars
Clara Humble and the Not-So-Super Powers by Anna Humphrey & Lisa Cinar (illustrator) (NetGalley)

I picked this from Netgalley because I admire Lisa Cinar's work. I'm still working on a review. I liked it more at the end of the story than at the beginning. I'm still trying to figure out why this is. It might be that I started it following Piper Green's Too Much Good Luck.


4 stars
Some Kind ofCourage by Dan Gemeinhart

I truly enjoyed this book. It's a western (think Louis Lamour and Zane Grey) for the younger crowd. The orphaned kid, Joseph, is adorably strong and sweet and softhearted all at the same time. This is a book I know my brothers would have loved when they were younger. I've told James, the one who is a teacher, that he better get a copy for his grade seven classroom. I was hoping to read something from Debbie Reese about the section at the Indian Camp, but couldn't find it. So all I can say about that section is that it felt unrealistic, but then, this whole book has that tall tale feel to it (in a most delightful way.)

3 stars
The Secret Place by Tana French & narrators, Stephen Hogan & Lara Hutchinson

I enjoyed this murder mystery well enough. The story is told through alternative points of view. The police perspective is told through the eyes of Stephan Moran, a young detective who wants to move from cold cases to the murder squad. His chance comes when a young woman, Holly Mackey, brings him evidence in an unsolved murder that occurred at her school. The other perspective is told through the eyes of Holly and her group of friends. I enjoyed reading the police perspective more than the teen one, but that is probably because the teen one was loaded with all the stuff I hate about some YA fiction (mean girls, girl rivalry over boys, etc etc)

4 stars
The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy & Dan Woren (narrator)

Sam, Jax, Eli, Frog and their fathers, are back with more adventures and troubles while on vacation at a resort community on the ocean. The Fletcher family is one of my top five fictional families. They are right up there with the Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall and the Gaither sisters by Rita Garcia Williams. If you haven't read, The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, the first in this series, then you should. You probably won't need it to enjoy the second installment, but it will help you appreciate these characters more fully.

CURRENTLY

I'm listening to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (one of my #MustReadIn2016 titles) and reading with my eyes, We Were Here by Matt de la Pena.

UP NEXT

I'm overwhelmed by books that have become available from the VPL all at once! I am going to have to do some serious prioritizing. See what I mean? And this doesn't even include the digital titles and the ones I have to pick up this week!



20 comments:

  1. The Secret Place seems like an interesting novel. Congrats on a good reading week!

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    1. It was good. Gotta read some adult stuff once in a while!

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  2. I adore books about ravens, will find Rosie the Raven for sure-looks great. I still need to read Six of Crows, too, have so many books I want to read, just busy with many things, as I imagine you are, too Cheriee. Some Kind of Courage is also on that list! Have a great week!

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    1. Rosie The Raven is beautifully illustrated as well as being an important book.

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  3. Impressive reading and reviewing this week! I'm not familiar with Max, but I love cats and books about cats, so....It's too bad my husband is allergic to them. I have to make do with reading about them.

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    1. I wasn't always allergic. When I was younger I had a black cat that I adored. All my allergies came on after I had children.

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  4. I am terribly allergic to cats, which for a librarian is especially heartbreaking! I love Max too, such a wonderful character.

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    1. I agree. I had a charming boggle headed cat in the school library!

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  5. I loved Some Kind of Courage, too - it's our first readaloud of the new school year!

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    1. I think it will be a fabulous read aloud, and I would want copies for lit circles as well.

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  6. I put Rosie the Raven and Max at Night on hold at the library. I really need to read Some Kind of Courage, I loved The Honest Truth. I have The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher in my classroom library, but I haven't gotten around to reading the other books in the series. I'm looking forward to it. Have a great week!

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    1. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did Jana. Those Fletcher boys are like next door neighbours!

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  7. I think it always happens that way - all holds come in at once!
    I'll have to check out the new Max book.
    The first Family Fletcher book is on our state list this year. I need to read it!

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    1. They are both just as charming as heck. That is exciting that it made the state list.

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  8. Ahh! I didn't know about Gemeinhart's other book. I loved The Honest Truth. I will certainly be reading that one. Thank you!

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    1. It's lots of fun and full of action. It reminds me of one of those old time melodramas I used to attend with my mother.

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  9. I need to read Gemeinhart's other book. Like Ricki, I loved The Honest Truth, so I need to pick it up.
    I never got to the first Max book, but saying he is your favorite fictional cat is really a seller!

    Happy reading this week :)

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    1. Max reminds me of the black cat I once had long before allergies invaded my life.

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  10. Rosie the Raven needs to find its way into my library! Thanks for the reviews!

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