#IMWAYR February 2, 2015

It's Monday again! If you are looking for a good read, come join the fun with hosts Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers

These are some new books that have either just arrived, or gone into our new book display cabinet this week. 


Miss Moore Thought Otherwise by Jan Pinborough & Debby Atwell
4 stars
Atwell's folk art illustrations enrich and add atmosphere to the story of Miss Moore, the amazing librarian who pioneered unique library spaces for children. I wish I were half the librarian she was.

The Girl and the Bicycle & The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett
5 stars
5 stars
On Friday I showed these to my end of the day library monitor. Katherine's eyes picked up so much more than I did. She pointed out connections I didn't see, but then, in my defence, I read them in this order, and Katherine read The Boy and the Airplane first. If you haven't seen these two amazing titles, you should run out and find them right now. 

Cinderella's (Not So) Ugly Sisters by Gillian Shields
2 stars
The start was ok, but really this one is better off ignored unless you are interested in doing some work with twisted fairy tales. 


A pile of picture books arrived from the VPL this week for me to peruse before purchasing them. (My budget is nearly zero!) Here are the ones I hope to find money for. 


The Birdman by Veronika Martenova Charles (5 stars)
    
"As much as I appreciated the text, the illustrations by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko & Stephan Daigle, can be described as nothing short of gobsmackingly glorious." 

3 stars
Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty illustrations by David Roberts


I adored the pictures, but have reservations about the rhyming text. I would get in a groove with the rhythm and then it would fall apart. It ended up exasperating me. Its a Yes, because it fits in with engineering units.


4 stars

Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo - illustrations by Dom Lee

This could be a perfect addition to our library for many reasons. It's inspiring, and it connects to units on immigration, sports, multiculturalism and biographies. It pairs beautifully with Wilma Unlimited.

Bad Bye, Good Bye by Debora Underwood & illustrated by Jonathan Bean

5 stars
I loved the simple rhythmic rhyming pattern in the text. Bean's illustrations kick  it up a notch or two by accentuating the emotions rife in the situation. Moving is messy business in many different ways. Underwood and Bean have captured it perfectly in this book.


I happily managed to finish two novels and one information book this week. 



5 stars
The Paperboy by Vince Vawter
"There is much to applaud in this wonderfully written book. As I became the protagonist for a while, I learned more than I could have imagined about what it feels like, and means, to stutter. I also grasped a clearer understanding of what it meant to grow up in the late 1950's in the American South. 
Over the course of the month, as he takes over his best friends paper route, Victor's life is transformed. 
While this is often a gentle book, it is powerful, and at times even frightening. Along with our narrator, we get glimpses of what goes on behind the doors the paper gets delivered to. 
When I was about the same age as him, I too had a paper route. Delivering the papers through all kinds of weather and trying to collect was no picnic I tell you. But I don't recall meeting up with or being so aware of the people I delivered to either."

5 stars
All Alone in the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins
Let's get this out of the way first. I loved this book. After finishing a VPL copy, I discovered that I had purchased a copy for the library, but it wasn't yet catalogued. The exciting bit about this, is that my library monitor at the time told me how much she loved Criss Cross and was delighted to learn about this one. So many of our readers want action and suspense, I forget that there are those who love thoughtful reads. I can't wait to hear from her what she thinks.

4 stars

Tastes Like Music: 17 Quirks of the Brain and Body by Maria Birmingham Illustrated by Monika Melnychuk
I'm trying to catch up to the information members of our book club. In spite of a few quibbles, I liked it. 


These days I'm reading Dance of the Banished by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, another book club book, and listening to Lockwood & Co: The Whispering Skull. Who knows where next week will take me in my reading life? 





16 comments:

  1. When Criss Cross won the Newbery, the teachers at my school and I were all flabbergasted. So many of the books published are slow and thoughtful, but there are so few of my students who want that kind of book! Interested to see what will win the Newbery today. I no longer buy them as a matter of course!

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    1. I wouldn't say I won't purchase them. I read them, and then decide. Will you purchase The Crossover?

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  2. What a great reading week!

    I have to admit, I didn't really like Criss Cross much.

    I loved Miss Moore and The Girl and the Bicycle. I really need to get the Boy and the Airplane too. I haven't yet read The Paperboy, but it sounds like I need to make the time for that one.... so many books, so little time!

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    1. I agree wholeheartedly - so many books, so little time. After you read The Boy and the Airplane, you will have to go and reread The Girl and the Bicycle. You will find all kinds of connections!

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  3. I added the Sixteen Years book to my library holds! Thanks for the titles :)

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    1. It is worth reading. I love these kinds of inspirational stories.

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  4. So glad you loved All Alone in the Universe! Your blog post about it absolutely nailed what's so wonderful about it. I am also a huge fan and very glad I still have a couple of Perkins's books to read (also haven't read any of her PBs so will be looking for those). She is one of my new favorite authors. I love Jonathan Bean's illustrations in Bad Bye Good Bye. I will try very hard not to complain about books that weren't selected by this year's Caldecott committee because I'm so excited about a couple of the books on the list, but.... I was sad not to see this one get an honor because I think it's one of the most distinguished of the year. I know exactly what you mean about Iggy Peck--loved the illustrations, hated the rhyme. I am generally not a fan of rhyming text to begin with, but the rhyme in that one struck me as especially clunky in places.

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    1. Thank you so much for making me aware of it. I just purchased Nuts to You by her. I have so many books to read and get returned to the library, but I'm really eager to see what it is like!

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  5. I loved The Girl And The Bicycle, so need the Boy and the Airplane, too. Also enjoyed The Paperboy very much. I'll look for a few you highlighted, so many to read and enjoy!

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    1. That is for sure! Sometimes the number of books to read and enjoy is overwhelming!

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  6. Well, where to start - love this list of yours! The Paperboy - such a great title and I love both of these Mark Pett titles up down sideways and around in circles. I love Miss Moore. She is librarian gold. But in my books, we are so very blessed to have you at Dickens. I couldn't be happier that YOU are my children's librarian!

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    1. You are so very kind Carrie! Paperboy took me back to my youth and taught me so much about having a stutter. I would walk home listening to the book and feel what it was like to have my mouth seize up as I tried to make certain sounds!

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  7. WOW, you have a selection of books I either haven't read or am not familiar with, so lots to add to my list of must reads. Well, except for The Paperboy, which I did read and love.

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    1. What's not to love about The Paperboy! Hope you've found some good reads to keep you entertained.

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  8. I loved Annouchka Gravel Galouchko's Sho and the Demons of the Deep - have you read that one yet? Absolutely beautiful book too. I have to find Birdman. I loved The Girl and the Bicycle but haven't had a chance to 'read' The Boy and the Airplane yet - I shall have to find it in our library very very soon. Love the middlegrade novels you shared here - I am currently on the lookout for multicultural titles dealing with differently-abled youth, disadvantaged circumstances and such - I am sure the titles you shared here would fit that bill perfectly - will pin them so I won't forget.

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    1. Thank you Myra, I've added Sho and the Demons of the Deep to my to read list. If you loved The Girl and the Bicycle, you have to read The Boy and the Airplane!

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