#IMWAYR April 18, 2016


Here we are. #IMWAYR time again. Thanks to Jen at Mentor Text and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers for hosting this weekly event where readers of kidlit get together to share what we have been reading in the previous week.

I have had a truly delightful reading week. It's been all over the place from poetry, to picture books, to novels, to information books and back to poetry again. It has just been perfect. 
INFORMATION BOOKS

Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh & Raúl Colón (Illustrations)

5 stars
This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of how Marie Tharp, a female scientist, struggled to be accepted in a man's world. It shows how she was able to create a map of the Atlantic ocean floor that revealed its landforms, and provided evidence of the theory of plate tectonics and continental drift. In one section Robert Burleigh articulates the way scientists work:
"As I continued working, others wandered in and out of my room, arguing about continental drift. Was it true? Yes, no, yes, no. (Scientists are like that. They question everything. Nothing is for sure -- until it's really for sure)"
I appreciated the section at the end of the work that includes additional biographical information as well as a glossary. 
I loved quote at the end of the endnotes. "Marie didn't just make maps. She understood how the earth works."

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson & Sean Qualls (Illustrations)

5 stars
To say the least, this book is inspirational. It's the story of a young man who overcame a handicap and ended up making changes in his world. Emmanuel was born with only "one leg that could kick." His Mama Comfort supported him and made sure that he was able to do whatever he wanted with his good leg. It wasn't easy, but Emmanual made his way to school, came up with a plan to earn the respect and friendship of his peers. He even learned to ride a bike. Eventually it was this skill that helped him make a difference in his world.
Sean Qualls' expressive illustrations add depth and emotion to this true story.

4 stars

I started out writing a few words about this book, and it became a blog post on it's own. I enjoyed listening to it as much for the information about Steinem's life as for the many connections to my own life that I made while reading it. 

NOVELS

Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

4 stars
This book is a beautiful as Carrie Gelson said it is. I loved this look at Russia on the cusp of revolution. Rundell's words capture the essence of winter and put readers there in that place with Feo, Ilya and the wolves as they flee from the psychopathic General Rakov.  One of my favourite characters is Alexie, the young man who won't accept that he is powerless. As he enlists Feo to help him foment a revolution among the villagers, this just be might my favourite quote from the book:
"People say we can't do anything about the way the world is; they say it's set in stone. I say it looks like stone, but it's mostly paint and cardboard." 


PICTURE BOOKS


3 stars
If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't! by Elise Parsley

This is a fun book that warns readers about the pitfalls of bringing an Alligator for show and tell. Fans of Dory Fantasmagory will enjoy reading about Magnolia's adventures and how she learned her lesson. 
It would be interesting to pair this book up with Linda Bailey's If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur.


3 stars
Time to Say "Please"! by Mo Willems

I wanted to love this book. It's Mo Willems for Pete's sake! I liked it, but it just wasn't up to what I expect expect from him. However, there are some fun aspects to this book and I can see that this will be useful for those teaching children manners.


POETRY

In preparation for A Poem in Your Pocket Day, coming up this Thursday, I went through poetry collections in search of poetry to print out and put in paper 'pockets' around the school. I'm looking forward to sparking this event at our whole school morning assembly this coming week. While I did peruse books I've read before, I also made time to read some I hadn't read before. There might have been more, but I didn't record them....

5 stars
If I Had a Million Onions by Sheree Fitch

I remember meeting Sheree Fitch at an author event a few years ago. Her repetitious  poetry is full of joy and fun. The illustrations emphasize the playfulness of them. This is a book that students check out on their own! 




4 stars

See Saw Saskatchewan by Robert Heidbreder & Scot Ritchie (Illustrator)

Bob Heidbreder, a former Vancouver kindergarten teachers, is one of the kindest and most creative people I know. I love to read nearly everything he writes out loud to children because they are just so much fun. However, since I didn't want to include such a long poem in the pocket, I went to this book which includes many delightful poems about different places in Canada. 

4 stars
Hypnotize a Tiger: Poems About Just About Everything by Calef Brown

I enjoyed many of these poems, but context is everything. I read it following reading poetry by Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. Brown's poems just didn't connect with me in the same we these other masters did. That said, I did include one or two into my pocket collection. 



CURRENTLY
I'm still reading What Have You Lost a poetry collection collated by Naomi Shihab Nye. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo was delivered to our library on Thursday. I have just started it! I'm listening to Mr Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein.

UP NEXT
I still have all those books on coding for kids that I should get to...
You know those people who get stuff accomplished, only it's not what they have on their list? I'm one of those. 

26 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing so many books! I love narrative nonfiction, so I will be on the look out for the first two. I've put them both in my cart to remember. The Wolf Wilder is also on my list from Carrie. Have a good week.

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    1. You will love Wolf Wilder I am sure. The illustrations in both of those nonfiction titles are fabulous!

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  2. Wonderful to find books I've loved, like The Wolf Wilder, & new ones, like the poetry titles, Cheriee. Thanks for your reviews of all!

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    1. Thanks Linda, I always end up getting excited when others have read books I loved.

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  3. Always so many books :)
    A poetry book I would suggest if you haven't seen it yet is Wet Cement by Bob Raczka. Read it this week and love love love it!
    I enjoyed Alligator - Elise Parsley's illustrations are so fun!
    Emmanuel's Dream is a favorite of mine. Having a child with a similar disability makes it a heart print book for me!

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    1. Thanks Mmichele, I've ordered Wet Cement! It looks great. I love Raczka's work.

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  4. So pleased that you enjoyed Wold Wilder! How I love this one. I love If I had a Million Onions. Fitch is so fantastic! I love Brown's quirky illustrations. I have heard him recite his poems all from memory - it is quite the feat.

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    1. I agree Fitch is an amazing poet. I think I might enjoy Brown more all by himself. And yes, the illustrations are stunning.

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  5. So many great books - Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea and The Wolf Wilder are both going on our TBR list.

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  6. I have If You Ever Want to Bring An Alligator to School in my classroom library, and it was pretty popular at the beginning of the school year. I won a copy of Raymie Nightingale and it's due to arrive any day now. I can't wait to read it! You've got a lot of books on your list that I need to put on my To Read list. Glad the weather's turned nice enough to take my reading outdoors!

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    1. Isn't it lovely! I love to put an audiobook in my ears and go walking. It is amazing how much walking you can do when you have a story in your ears you don't want to stop listening to!

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  7. I loved Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. I find that I am putting it on so many of my lists. The story is wonderfully inspirational, as you said. :)

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    1. Yes, there is so very much to this story. Emmanuel is an amazing role model for so many people.

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  8. We've got a poetry display in our library right now, so I'm going to hunt down some of those poetry titles and add them to my collection!! I love poetry, and I'm always trying to convince sceptical kids that it doesn't stink. ;)

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    1. I know - Next week sometime I am going to have to make a list of my favourite books in verse. I adore Love that Dog!

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  9. I am totally the same way - I sometimes add things to my list of things to do after I do them because I get sidetracked so much, but I still want to cross them off. I need to get my pockets posted around the school too. So much to do! I so enjoy Naomi Shihab Nye's poetry and her collections too. I want to grab the Steinem book now.

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    1. I do that also! Regularly, just so I can see how much I actually manage to accomplish. Enjoy the Steinem.

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  10. I finally ordered What Have You Lost by Naomi Shihab Nye from Book Depository and reserved The Wolf Wilder from our library. :)

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    1. My copy hasn't arrived yet either. The writing in Wolf Wilder is very powerful.

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  11. I loved the Steinem book. I'm still thinking about the connections she made in her life and the connections from my life to her book. I also loved What Have You Lost. Aren't these poems just haunting?

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    1. That is exactly how I felt while reading Steinem. These poems are perfect for where I am now in my life.

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  12. Glad I stopped by to see what you had read, I just put in a request for Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea! Always on the lookout for interesting and engaging nonfiction. And featuring a female scientist makes the book even more exciting to me :)

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    1. I agree! The more strong, influential women I read about, the happier I am.

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  13. I have loved every Robert Burleigh book I've read, and I'm sure this one will be no exception--how gorgeous that cover is! Thanks for the reminder about Poem in Your Pocket Day--I think I'll whip up something for my children's lit class on this day.

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    1. I am new to Robert Burleigh, but will certainly keep my eyes open for more of his work. I'm almost ready with pockets full of poems to post around the school!

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