#IMWAYR JUNE 22, 2015

Well, here we are, it's Monday again. Time to check in with hosts Jen From Mentor Texts and Kellee and Rickie from Unleashing Readers, to find out what bloggers around the world are reading this week.

It was a surprisingly productive week for me. Everything I picked up was good! I read plenty of picture books, finished a couple of chapter books, completed a number of middle grade novels, managed to read an adult title, and even got some reviews posted!

PICTURE BOOKS

Storm Song by Nancy Viau and Gynux (illustrator)

I enjoyed the sound poem in this this delightful book and know my younger readers will also. The bold illustrations perfectly match the powerful text. I like these multicultural characters and think my readers will empathise with their fear as the storm becomes so fierce, the power goes out. 

Enemy by Davide Cali and Serge Bloch (illustrator)

This is a dark and sad book about war and how we come to see ordinary people like ourselves as the enemy. It's the story of two soldiers from opposite sides of a conflict. Both are ordinary people who have come to see each other as some kind of monster. This is a powerful addition to our Remembrance Day collection. 

My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis

A mother tells the story of her son who likes to wear dresses and doesn't fit the traditional gender stereotype. I hate that this book equates girly with frilly, pretty and pink. I don't particularly care if people are like this or not, it's just not all there is to being a girl. I also don't like the faceless people. On top of this it's preachy at the end and doesn't need to be.  I suppose it has it's place, but I wish I hadn't purchased this one.

Crossing Bok Chitto by Tim Tingle and Jeanne Rorex Bridges (illustrator)

Tim Tingle is a gifted story teller. Every time I read his work, my appreciation of him increases. This picture book tells the story of how the Choctaw helped a family of black slaves find freedom. It begins as Martha Tom, a young Choctaw girl, heads off across Bok Chitto in search of blackberries for a wedding. She gets lost and is returned to the river by Little Mo, a young black boy about the same age as her. The two become friends. When Little Mo's family is about to be separated, he comes to Martha for help. The Choctaw community gathers together to save them. 

Jeanne Rorex Bridges illustrations are so gorgeous I'm tempted to purchase a copy of this book just to cut them out and frame them. See what I mean below. 

 

I appreciated the notes at the back of this book giving the reader more information about the two Choctaw nations on one page, and then information on Choctaw storytelling and how this tale came to be on the other.

I Wish You More by Amy Kraus Rosenthal

This book gave me shivers when I first read it. I've ordered a copy for my great-niece who graduates high school this year. I love this book so much that I've scanned the pages to share and read at our school's end of year goodbye ceremony. 

CHAPTER BOOKS

Piper Green and the Fairy Tree by Ellen Potter and Qin Leng (illustrator) 

I was happily hooked by this book on the first page. Piper is a great addition to the world of strong spunky fictional girls. I love her honesty. I love the adults around her. I've preordered a couple of copies of this and am going to get the next one for sure.

Detective Gordon: The First Case by Ulf Nilsson and Gitte Spee

This is a sweet mystery story with delightful animal characters. It's reminiscent of William Steig's work. The reading level is probably a bit high for this to be an easy chapter book but will make a delightful read aloud for younger children. I admired Spee's illustrations and the ambiance of the forest that comes through. 

NOVELS

Magic Marks the Spot (The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates 1) by Caroline Carlson

This is the perfect novel to read/listen to in June. It is such a fun romp. Hilary Westfield wants nothing more than to be a pirate. Unfortunately, The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates won't take her because she is a girl. It looks like Finishing School is where she will end up. However, Hilary is indomitable and has her ways of getting what she wants in spite of those pesky adults in her life. I'm planning on reading more of this series this summer. 

All Four Stars by Tara Dairman

I enjoyed this book about a young gourmet chef who is banned from her parent's kitchen after setting the curtains on fire. I'm also looking forward to trying out some of the recipes from Dairman's website. The only downside of this book is that I have to wait for the sequel. 

The School Of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

I started listening to this at the same time as I was reading the previous title. What a delightful pairing of books. This adult novel centers around a cooking class and delves into the lives of the different students who attend it. My sister has been bugging to read this one. I'm so glad she didn't let up. I was utterly enchanted by it. If you haven't already read it, you should. 

All The Answers by Kate Messner

I got up Saturday morning earlier than I expected, and after I made coffee, started to read. I didn't stop till this book was done. It's the story of a Ava Anderson, a young girl with anxiety issues. She finds a pencil that will answer any factual questions written with it. To Ava and her best friend Sophie, it seems at first that this is an ideal tool. However, as is the case with all kinds of magical power, there is a downside. The two girls start to become dependent on it and rely on it more than their own awareness of what is going on around them. Ava ends up with more information about her family than she is able to deal with. 

What I liked about this book:
These are full dimensional characters with strengths and flaws. I liked that the two girls used the pencil to help out the people in the home for older people. I liked that there was some examination of the ethical issues of using the pencil and that they tried to focus its use on doing good. 

What I didn't like:

I've taken students to these kinds of adventure places Ava and Sophie went to. When I was a classroom teacher I took my students to an indoor climbing facility every fall. It was the most important field trip we went on, because my students had opportunities to try again and again to reach the top of a wall while their classmates encouraged and cheered them on. For the rest of the year, Remember The Wall, was our reminder not to give up. I tell you this because it influenced how I felt about the latter part of the book. 
That Ava chose to go to the adventure course without her mother's support so that her mother could get her cancer screening test felt realistic to me. On the other hand, her success while there, didn't feel honest. Whereas I think Ava might well have discovered that she had more gumption than she realized, with her level of anxiety, it just didn't work for me that she would manage to achieve the level of success she manages in the book.  

As I read this book, I couldn't help but make connections to Mary Amato's The Word Eater. It would be interesting to have these two books as part of a collection of books dealing with power and how it is used.

Currently I'm listening to Mr Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyea and reading, with my eyes, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King. 

Up next. I'm going to try and get a couple more of the books on my to read list crossed off so that I won't be mortifyingly shamed when Carrie Gelson calls for the next update. Unfortunately, I also have a pile of public library books I have to get to....