#IMWAYR May 25, 2015

Well, it's Monday again: a time to take stock of my reading and check out what other bloggers have been up to the past week. It's also when I'm reminded how precious public libraries are. If I had to purchase all these books I want to read, by the time I was barely started, I would be bankrupt. To see what all the buzz is about, check out Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Rickie from Unleashing Readers, our hosts for this weekly event. 

There are two weeks of circulation left in this school year so I've set out my last display of new books. The rest will have to wait for next fall. Here are a few of the new picture books I read while getting them ready. I'm looking forward to book talking the first two at our Monday morning assembly. 

5 stars

Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward and Steve Jenkins

Holy Crow! This is some gorgeous book! Jenkins' illustrations are absolutely stunning! I love that Ward has a poem about a specific bird's nest on one side of each two page spread and on the other side there is informational text in smaller font.

5 stars

When Otis Courted Mama by Kathi Appelt and Jill McElmurry

This book is as delightful as everyone says it is. Cardell, a lovable young coyote, has to get used to Otis, his mother's suitor. I think many children will empathize with Cardell. McElmurry's illustrations depict the setting and events with glorious simplicity. And the text, well, Appelt can hardly do wrong in anything she takes on. 

3.5 stars

Home by Carson Ellis

There is much about this book I admire, but I'm not exceptionally impressed. Carson's illustrations are lovely and match and enhance the sparse text. My delight, however, is seriously tempered because of the stereotypical ways some peoples are represented.

3 stars

Pierce: A Woodpecker's Tale by Sean Cassidy

There are parts of this book I like and other parts that jarred. Check out the link if you want to read more details about this book.

5 stars

Feathers and Fools by Mem Fox

This isn't a new book to me, but one that I felt we needed in our library. It's an allegory for how war comes to be, and ultimately, the steps we need to take for how to avoid it in the future. 

Ask The Passengers by A.S. King

4 stars

This is my first A.S. King novel. It won't be my last. I came to care deeply for these characters. I'm in awe of King's ability to portray such depth and complexity in all of them, even the minor ones. Devon Sorvari's voice and narration captured Astrid's essence and enhanced my enjoyment of this story. Just when I think I'm done with the gay characters coming of age and into awareness and acceptance of who they are, and want to read about them just living regular lives battling evil and doing whatever fictional characters do, a book like this comes along to make me wonder about this.  

3.5 stars

Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan

I wanted so much to love this book, and I did, kind of. Yet in spite of some brilliant lines and universal truths, it just didn't quite work for me. I think it's the format. I would love to see it performed, but as it is, I kept picking it up and putting it down. I'm the kind of reader who really needs to finish a book before starting another, (except for audiobooks) so this seriously got in the way of my reading much this week. 

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (an adult read)

4.5 stars

I fell in love Sarah Addison Allen and magical realism upon reading The Sugar Queen. I love some of her books better than others, but I especially love the Waverly family. They are introduced in Garden Spells, wherein the two sisters Claire and Sydney, reconnect with each other and against what seem like insurmountable odds, fall in love and set out on the path to happily ever after. 

In First Frost, the two sisters, on the surface at least, seem to be happily married and settled into the town of Bascom North Carolina. Except that neither of them is truly content. As the autumn moves closer to the first frost of the year, the one that sets the enchanted apple tree into blooming again, the whole family is unsettled and edgy. As if this isn't enough, an elderly con man is poking around preparing to disrupt their lives. 

Here are a few quotes that resonated with me:

"when you are abandoned as a child, you are never able to forget that people are capable of leaving, even if they never do."

“She wished she had known back then. Known that happiness isn't a point in time you leave behind. It's what's ahead of you. Every single day.”

I've just finished Bird by Crystal Chan as an audiobook. I'm in the process of writing a post about it. Suffice to say, it's just stunning!

I've got The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson ready to start listening to. Last week I started listening to Five Kingdoms, the new series by Brandon Mull, but it was too creepy for me so I stopped and happily went on to Bird. I'll try to get back to it, but these books where children are in danger can totally freak me out. Currently I'm reading with my eyes, (from netgalley) We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen.

I've got Platypus Police Squad: The Frog who Croaked by Jarret J. Krosoczka waiting for me. I am hoping that All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven becomes available as an audiobook for me this week as I am next up in line for it. I've downloaded Another Day by David Levithan from Netgalley and hope to get to it. Other than that, I've suspended all my library holds until I get caught up on what I've got here at home to read. (It's a tower that's steadily growing!)