#IMWAYR January 6, 2025

Welcome! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. I'm also connecting up with the Sunday Salon. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next!


Hope you all had a fabulous winter holiday and are ready for the New Year. I didn't get a post in over the holidays since we had our children and grandchildren here for Christmas. Then the adults went home leaving three of the little ones with us. We would have kept all four, but one mom and dad were not ready to part with their little girl. We had a delightful time with them, heading off into the mountains to play in the snow, reading books, roughhousing, cooking, and even cleaning. They left New Years' Day. We were so knackered, that my husband and I agreed not to think about cleaning up the chaos until the next day.

This stuffed creature is my favourite Christmas gift. My seven year old grandson, Everett, made it for me. He came up with the idea, created the pattern, cut it out, and sewed it all by himself! Perhaps he's a new Edward Gorey in the making?


I managed to achieve all my reading goals from last year, but  I'm still working on figuring out my reading goals for this one. I'll most likely continue with the same strategy, but still have to whittle my #MustReadIn2025 list down to a manageable number. 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.

PREVIOUS BLOG POST

First Friday Poetry January 2025: Where I'm From

PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall September 13, 2022 

My four year old granddaughter, Ellis, and I loved this book. She was enthralled by the family of 12 children, and regularly counted them. I am of an age where I was reminded of visiting my cousins - a family with ten children who lived on a hobby farm. Unlike the farmhouse in this story, that house still stands, now inhabited by a different family. Both of us were sad that the farmhouse was left to decay, but fascinated by how it was taken over by animals and plants. 

READERS

5 stars

The Great Bunk Bed Battle by Tina Kugler September 1, 2020

This was a big hit with Ellis, who asked me to reread it about three times. It's a story of siblings who argue over who has the best sleeping place - the top or the bottom. The ending surprised both of us. 

NON FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts by Matthew Burgess & Marc Majewski (illustrator) September 17, 2024 

This picture book biography taught me a lot about Edward Gorey. Previously, all I knew was that he published The Gashlycrumb Tinies, a macabre alphabet book.
Ellis and I read this together. She was interested almost all the way through (she loved counting the cats, and looking for the odd creatures highlighted in the beginning.) I was completely fascinated to learn more about this remarkable man. 


I find it impossible not to adore Louis. He's the kind of wise, sensitive, sweet young man I love to read about. He begins his narration with his younger brother, Truffle, and himself staying with their dad in the country. We soon discover that their weeping father is an alcoholic, and that this is most likely why the family is separated. When they return to the city, their mother is there to greet them. She seems to be a rock of stability, but Louis is aware of her fragility. 
Louis and his best friend, Boris, hang out on the balcony watching traffic. At school, he's smitten with Billie, a girl who, "when she does speak, the world ignites and explodes in clusters of honey and fir. Billie doesn't make threats - she makes promises." Billie is a girl who stands up to bullies, a girl who reads a book a week - science fiction, adventure, and biography. Most people don't notice, but Louis sees that when she is upset, her glasses slip down her nose just a bit. 
When the boys return to spend time with their father, Louis is aware that he is trying to not drink. It turns out to be a wonderful time. Then when Truffle ends up in the hospital with a bee sting allergy, their mother shows up. The family is briefly reunited until their father relapses. They drop him off at a detox centre and return to their life in the city. 
I intended to read Louis' story as soon as I finished Forever Truffle. My grandkids were barely in the car headed off home on New Years Day, when I sat down amid the chaos and read. I can't think of a better way to start my new year's reading than with this heartfelt book by this Canadian duo. It is a reminder of how mostly wonderful people are. Jane, the Fox & Me is another book by this team that I highly recommend. 

MG FICTION


This lovely fantasy novel, situated in Thailand, focuses on Plum, a young girl with a special affinity for the natural world - especially plants. She has mixed feelings when she is chosen to attend the Guardian Academy, an elite school where students learn to shape shift and become protectors of others. Once there, she struggles to keep up with her peers who learn to transform into their animal shapes long before she does. 
I liked Plum and most of the other characters. I like the focus on learning to be of service to others. I appreciated Plum's moral dilemma and think readers will too. I think this is just about right for my seven year old granddaughter and grandson, either to read on their own, or as a read aloud.
The Novis siblings, Jakob & Lizzie, have ended up together at Bletchley park. Since Jakob has been away at school, the two of them have grown apart, but working together at the Park, and trying to figure out what really happened to their mother, brings them back together. Having read many adult novels about Bletchley Park, I was aware of the significance of this setting before reading this book. I realized just how important Jakob's job was, and why there was a need for so much secrecy. I especially enjoyed the siblings interactions with the many well known people, like Alan Turing. 

4 stars

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now... by Jason Reynolds & Guy Lockard (Narrator) October 8, 2024  

Neon Benton and Aria Wright have been together as a couple for two years. They have a plan for when they will move their relationship to a more physically intimate level. That time is coming up. Told from Neon's perspective, we meet a young man full of nerves about this upcoming event. He reflects on the history of their relationship and so we learn more about both of them and their families. 
Teenage me fell in love with Neon a bit, just like I have with all of Jason Reynolds young men. I appreciated his older sister, Nat, who gives him good advice about being honest in how he is feeling. It's good advice for all of us. 


One evening when I was putting my granddaughters to bed, they wanted a story. I tried to retell this one. Even though I've read this three times, it turns out I only remembered the highlights and so I decided that this year I would reread Terry Prachett's Tiffany series. You can read my whole review here, but the essentials are 
"Tiffany, only nine, manages to rescue her little bother, Wentworth, and the Baron’s son, Roland, from the Queen of the Elves. It is a gripping adventure wherein a talking toad, the Nac Mac Feegles and a frying pan play important roles in the rescue."

ADULT/YA FICTION


"These visions of modern life wrestle with themes of death and technological consequence, guilt and sexuality, and unmask the contradictions that exist within all of us."
This surreal collection of short stories took me way out of my comfort zone as a reader. Illness forced me to stop and take a break from them for a bit, but I was still compelled to come back to finish them.

5 stars

The Masquerades of Spring (Rivers of London 9.2) by Ben Aaronovitch & Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Narrator) September 5th 2024 by Orion

Gussie (Augustus) Berrycloth-Young, a graduate of the Folly, is an independently wealthy, gay Brit who moved to New York during the roaring 20's. He landed smack in the middle of the Harlem Renaissance: a time when black and queer culture flourished. Gussie is living his best life in a loving relationship with his black partner, Lucy (Lucien) Gibbs. 
Then Thomas Nightingale arrives. Nightingale is searching for the creator of a magical saxophone. Gussie and Lucy end getting pulled into his quest. 
Magic doesn't play as much of a role in this one, but it's there and underlays the purpose of Nightingale's visit. There is a joyful energy in this book. Aaronovitch's research brings the history of New York to life in this novel. I knew a bit about the Harlem Renaissance, but was unaware that queer culture thrived at this time. The drag balls sound brilliant. 
I hope Aaronovitch writes more adventures for these characters. The brilliant Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is one of my favourite narrators!

Ent

CURRENTLY 

Louder than Hunger by John Schu

Sunshine: A Graphic Novel by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Lavender Clouds by Bex Ollerton July 4, 2024 

Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham April 5, 2024

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy April 2, 202

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan April 23, 2024

2025 READING GOALS

#MustRead2025 0/25

NonFiction 0/24

Canadian Authors 0/50

Indigenous Authors 0/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 2/200


Posted by 18 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

First Friday Poetry January 2025

I'm joining Beverly A Baird & Linda Schueler again in a year long poetry practice. On the first Friday of each Month we, and anyone else who joins, writes a poem and shares it. This year the focus is going to be on using poems to inspire us.


"January's poem is called “This Living” and comes from the Substack called “The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad” but is actually written by guest poster Amber Tamblyn.

In general, we are playing around with repetition, so you could use any template you want. If this poem doesn’t appeal to you, consider using another one like Joy Harjo’s “Remember”.

I know it's actually Saturday today, but I lost track of what day of the week it is! Luckily, I've been working on this for a bit. My son wrote an "I Am From" piece when he started teacher training last fall, and suggested my husband and I write one as well. I decided this was the time to do it. It turned out to be pages long, so I've only posted the beginning of it.

Where I'm From

I am from two lovers who married young
with me on the way
who started married life in a rough cabin
rocking me in a hammock in a pine tree
while my mother hung laundry in the yard

I am from being a big sister to four siblings
two sisters and two brothers
arriving year after year

I am from my mother’s people
a clan of loggers
felling centuries old giants
as they traversed the continent
from their Menominee homeland
to the Okanagan valley

I am from my father’s people
ethnic Germans
fleeing Russia with their parents
after the little revolution
settling in Saskatchewan
before eventually moving here
to this valley

I am from parents
who set off to make their fortune
logging the great pines of the north
imagining a future of
raising sheep in these brown hills

I am from disaster
and tragedy
I am from
a falling tree
a rebounding snag
a severed spine
and internal injuries
confining my father to a wheelchair

I am from fear
as my father raged
at his wife and children
as my father raged
at his broken body
and broken dreams

I am from years of therapy
learning how to be different from my father

I am from people who did their best


If you want to read the whole thing, click here.


Posted by 4 comments:
Labels:

#IMWAYR December 16, 2024

Welcome! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. I'm also connecting up with the Sunday Salon. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next!

I'm still struggling with whatever it is that ails me. Is it long Covid or something else? Do I start another batch of antibiotics or wait and see? I'm talking to my doctor Monday afternoon to find out what she says. 

Last Monday my husband, cousin and I went trekking into the mountain to cut down a tree. I only hiked half way before turning around. My partner got the tree set up Sunday afternoon. We hope to decorate it Monday night. It's so tall the top of it had to get hacked off to fit it into the living room! 

I finally finished my unicorn quilt! It will go under the tree for my oldest granddaughter this Christmas. 


Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

The Green Baby Swing by Thomas King & Yong Ling Kang (Illustrator) May 28, 2024 🍁

Following his nana's death, a boy and his mother spend a day in her attic searching through forgotten treasures. There are many to be had, but the one that brings tears to his mother's eyes, is a green baby swing. (I always thought they were called slings.) It carried at least two generations of babies: the mother and the boy. The boy uses it to hold Comet, his kitten. The book is full of sweet tenderness and a touch of humour. 


This is a story of two children who wake up early one morning and head off to Lake Superior to go skating.
I am gobsmacked by Todd Stewart's gorgeous artwork! Using a palette of blue, black, white and yellow, he shows us a cold winter morning on Lake Superior alive with magic.


Jean E. Pendziwol's poetic text increases the enchantment. Together these two have created a swoon worthy mysterious tale. No wonder it won this year's Governor General's Young People’s Literature award for best Illustrated Book! 

This is a charming counting book for the little ones. It's written in both
Inuktitut and English. What I really like about it, (besides the fun illustrations,) is that each double page spread includes not only another polar bear, but also a new fact about them! I'm not sure that polar bears really square-dance, but I think they have round bellies!

Linda Bai recommended this as a nonfiction title for my four year old grandkids. I am so glad she did because even though I first read it in 2017, I had forgotten all about it. I agree completely with everything I first said about it. "This one nearly knocked my socks off. Wow! I appreciated this interpretation of how a cat is viewed differently by the many creatures who see it. The illustrations are drop dead gorgeous." I purchased copies for them. 


Skunk longs for a family of his own. When he sees a poster for a missing dog, he comes up with a plan to disguise himself and pretend to be the lost dog. With the help of Squirrel, Racoon and Cat, he is finally ready to go. Then he starts to fret. Why did the dog run away? What if he's lost? The new gang comb the streets to find the missing pet. In the end, Skunk gets what he needs. 
This laugh out loud book is sure to please all my grandkids. Maybe the older ones can even be convinced to read it to their younger siblings. 

4 stars

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas: A Safety Guide for Scaredies by Mélanie Watt January 1, 2012 🍁

I purchased copies of this for my youngest grandchildren because Mélanie Watt and Scaredy Squirrel are Canadian National Treasures. I think it will work best for readers who are already fans of the series. It is more text laden than the previous books since this one is a collection of vignettes showing what Scaredy Squirrel and his friends do to prepare for the holiday. It's full of humour and sweetness, just like the rest of the series. 
If you aren't acquainted with Scaredy Squirrel, you need to know that Scaredy is a squirrel with anxiety issues who is afraid of just about everything. His friendship group is (eventually) a diverse mix of different species of animals. 

4 stars

Pretty Ugly by David Sedaris & Ian Falconer (Illustrator) February 27, 2024

I adore Anna Van Ogre and her family. She is warned that if she keeps making faces, it will freeze that way. Then it happens. How she repairs herself is kind of grotesque, but wonderful. 
This is precious. It's absolutely zany, disgusting and hilarious. It is not for the faint of heart. I'm thinking my eldest granddaughter will laugh, but my grandson might be a bit creeped out by the end. I wish Ian Falconer was still with us so these two could create more picture books together.

5 stars

Just Because by Mac Barnett & Isabelle Arsenault (Illustrator) September 10, 2019 🍁
This is a delightful collaboration between two brilliant artists! 
Before bedtime, a young girl asks her father some big questions. Why is the ocean blue? What is the rain? His responses are sublimely unexpected and hilarious! At first I was surprised by his answers. Then, even when I knew they would be outrageous, I was still thrown off by the unexpected creativity of Mac Barnett's imagination. I really like how Isabelle Arsenault portrays the young girl's bedroom in black and white, but shows the father's answers in glorious colour!


I picked this book to read because I am a hard core Isabelle Arsenault fan. 
Truffle is the younger brother of Louis from Louis Undercover. (I haven't read it yet, but after finishing this, I immediately put it on hold) This book features three short stories. In the first one Truffle and some friends form a rock band even though none of them can play a musical instrument. In the second Truffle has a girlfriend who he is terrified to talk to. The final vignette has Truffle and his family attending his grandmother's funeral where he contemplates the imponderability of life and death.
I love that while Louis is often too busy studying to talk to Truffle, when Truffle really needs him, Louis is there for him. I adore the tenderness in these stories. Isabelle Arsenault's artwork makes them sing with sweetness, but also with enough humour so that they aren't cloying. 

MG/YA NON FICTION GRAPHIC


I adored this coming of age memoir. When he was in middle school, Dan Santat was a good kid. He tried to stay beneath the radar, but was still bullied in school. When it was suggested he go on a school trip to Europe one summer, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go. His nervousness increased when he discovered that some of the people who he would be travelling with were some of the same people who harassed him. Then during the trip, his life began to change. He began to develop confidence and found out his crush liked him back. He became comfortable in his own skin. He returned from the experience prepared to face the rest of his life. 
I liked that those girls who at first terrified him, ended up becoming his supporters. I really appreciated the notes at the end of the book letting us know what happened to them all as they grew older. 

YA/ADULT GRAPHIC 

4 stars

Beverly by Nick Drnaso February 16, 2016

This collection of graphic short stories is dark and existentially disturbing. The white suburban characters live bleak lives - even the most together of them. What is common across the collection is the alienation and despair that persists.  
There are a few characters who show up across the stories: Cara and her brother Tyler. Tyler has some serious mental health issues. There's a good chance he's going to grow up into a serial killer - if he hasn't already done so.  These are not happy people. A review I read called it "white bread American Trump territory." I suspect that these very ordinary people are the dark underbelly of America. 
I adore the contrast between the beauty of the art and harshness of the vignettes.

5 stars

Ash's Cabin by Jen Wang August 13, 2024

Jen Wang's work is filled with ethereal beauty. I adore everything she creates. 
I read this a while ago, but for some reason forgot to add it to my list. Ash is lonely and worried about climate change. In their 15th year, they change their name and outward appearance and make plans to search for their grandfather's secret cabin in the California wilderness. It involves a lot of research and planning. Eventually Ash finds it, and spends almost a year isolated except for their dog, and a brief stint with a hiker they meet out in the wild. 
This is a stunning coming of age tale! 

ADULT/YA FICTION


It was a delight to spend time with Molly again. Molly is now head maid. This time a famous author is murdered at the hotel. She is terrified that her new maid in training might have something to do with it. I wasn't surprised by the reveal at the end of the book, but it was delightful anyway. 


Ent
ADULT/YA NON FICTION


I only discovered James McBride's work this last year, (thanks again to Linda Bai) and this is my third book. Told in two narrative voices, it is a biography of his white Jewish mother. It includes her story and his of growing up as her son. I appreciate that the audiobook is narrated by two different people. It brilliantly differentiates between the two perspectives. 

CURRENTLY 

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu February 1, 2022 🍁
These short stories are dark!

Lavender Clouds by Bex Ollerton July 4, 2024 

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin October 8, 2024

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) by Christina Soontornvat

Sunshine: A Graphic Novel by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.: Our Story. Our Way. by Jason Reynolds & Jason Griffin May 1, 2009
My goal is to read two more books from my #MustRead2024 list to finish off that goal! 

READING GOALS 

#MustRead2024 23/25 one on the go

NonFiction 38/24

Canadian Authors 78/50

Indigenous Authors 29/25 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 219/200     
Posted by 12 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)