#IMWAYR April 25, 2016


Hurrah! #IMWAYR time again. This weekly event is sponsored by the inimitable Jen at Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers. Check out their sites for links to other bloggers writing about kidlit. It's a great way to get ideas for what to read next. (Although be warned, it can be a tad expensive)

Poem in your pocket day at Dickens was a smashing success! 
The pockets full of poems I put out on Wednesday were emptied before the end of day. (I forgot to take pictures of them full) In a mad frenzy I printed off more and came in early Thursday morning to cut them out, fold them and refill the pockets. Through it all, children, (mostly boys) came to show me the poems they were carrying with them. Some had poems they had copied themselves. Others were poems they had pulled from the posted pockets. A few carried poems they had written themselves. Everyone was excited even if they couldn't read them! One seven-year-old came and recited from memory, The Creature in the Classroom by Jack Prelutsky. Actions accompanied it. The library was crowded during open book exchange with children searching through poetry collections hoping to find a just right poem. One of our grade seven girls sat in the library and read Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones. It was then passed around by a group of girls and eventually made it's way to me. 

Aside from that, I have been reading and listening to many kinds of books this week.

PICTURE BOOKS


4 stars
Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer

This is a delightful book about a boy discovering that poetry abides in all aspects of ordinary life. These beautifully coloured illustrations are filled with details to get lost in.





Friday afternoon, in preparation for retirement at the end of June, I started cleaning out my work room. I'm not sure why I call it that, as there is too much junk in it to do anything! I have been keeping a collection of older picture books (and some information titles) that I wasn't ready to weed completely. I went through them and put a few aside to keep and put the rest of them in the hall to give away. This meant I had to read or at least peruse them. Here are some of the ones I read and will keep.


INFORMATION BOOKS


4 stars
When Jackie and Hank Met by Cathy Goldberg Fishman

The only sport worth watching is Baseball, but not on TV. You have to be there in the stands. Baseball fans are a culture unto themselves. It's a relaxed party atmosphere where strangers chat with other strangers. There is barbeque and beer. I bring along my knitting and a book, because the game leaves spaces for other activities. I also love to read about baseball. The important thing about the best baseball narratives is that they regularly deal with bigger philosophical issues.This book shows us how two very talented players, Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg, grew up, dealt with prejudice, and became friends. 
PS If you haven't read The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles, you better go and do it ASAP! 
4 stars

Traveling Butterflies by Susuma Shingu

This is an excellent introductory book on the migration of monarch butterflies. I read it twice to really appreciate how much information is in the simple text. The illustrations that accompany it are flat out gorgeous, and enhance a reader's understanding of this remarkable creature's journey.


NOVELS


3 stars
Raymie Nightingale by Kate Dicamillo

I'm a little bit heartbroken. I wanted to love this book, but it just didn't quite work for me. Yes, there is some beautiful writing, and I even had moments where my eyes filled with tears. The problem is that I just couldn't really connect to the characters, so I didn't care enough about them. It felt like the novel skimmed the surface of what might otherwise have been a powerful read. 


4 stars

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein narrated by Jesse Bernstein

This one started out slow for me, but then, just like in Grabenstein's last book, before I knew it, there I was, right inside the story. Everything I loved about the last book was here: great characters, the connection to children's literature, the gaming, the puzzles and riddles, the sense of creation and wonder! I especially appreciated the connections to banned (and missing) books.


5 stars
Salt to the Sea by Rutya Sepetys narrated by Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, Michael Crouch

I'm still kind of gobsmacked by how stunning this book is. It's the story of a group of refugees from different backgrounds trying to escape the advancing Russian troops at the end of the second world war. This exquisitely written book reveals to us the humanity of strangers against a backdrop of evil, and what horror, terror, and brutality that entails. These different narrators brought the characters to life for me as I listened to this book. 

CURRENTLY


I started Famous Last Words by Katie Alender, but it is too creepy and scary for me. (I'll try reading it with my eyes since it's easier to skip over the really nasty bits.) I abandoned it and started listening to The Book of Kings by Cynthia Voigt. I'm in the middle of Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. Books in verse seem like you can read them quickly, but I find I need to take a bit of time and savour them. 

UP NEXT


I still haven't started those coding books. Maybe I should just accept defeat and return them to the library. Otherwise, I've got a mess of audiobooks that should be available soon from the public library and I just picked up Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar, so maybe that will be next. I've also got Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke and The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner ready to read from Netgalley. (I'm actually amazed they let me read anything at all after the long list of books I didn't get to before they were archived)

25 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. I have at least one more year but should start clearing out my office too. Come see what my reading week was like. Happy reading!

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    1. My 'office' is so full of stuff, it is impossible to work in it!

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  2. You make me feel better about the NetGalley thing, Cheriee. I too don't get to all of them! I just went through the cleaning out last year when I retired. What a challenge. I brought home many books, & weeded at home, then had a sale, then donated the rest. I still have kept a lot. Best wishes to you! I love hearing about your Poem In Your Pocket day success. Sounds wonderful. And, I read another review similar to yours about Raymie Nightingale-interesting. I loved Salt To The Sea, too-fabulous story. Thanks for all!

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    1. you are most welcome Linda. I just had a young boy come and tell me how much fun Poem in your pocket day was!

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  3. I am about 1/3 through Raymie and having the exact same response, so I ended up putting it down in favor of other books that were more compelling. I think I'm making a mistake by not reading it aloud--I always like Kate DiCamillo's books a hundred times better when I read them aloud. But I don't have anyone to read this one aloud to--my son is very much not interested in that one. I still haven't read The Aurora County All Stars! I know, I know! I need to fix that. I'll definitely buy the Jackie and Hank book--looks like one my son would love. Baseball is actually the only sport I just cannot watch, LOL, but I do love baseball books!

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    1. Well, I've only watched Hockey, curling, football, soccer and baseball. Hockey crowds can verge on hooliganism, football is slightly less so. Curling fans are civilized but it's too cold in those in the arenas. Soccer fans here in Canada (at least the games I've attended are civilized also) but the game is too fast and I've spent too much time watching games in pouring rain to enjoy them much. That leaves baseball. The Aurora County All Stars is fabulous - but what book that Deborah Wiles writes isn't?

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  4. What a fantastic library activity, it's wonderful to see kids getting so excited about poetry!!

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    1. It was indeed. Today I've had students coming to tell me how much fun it was (again, mostly boys)

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  5. I agree with you about Salt to the Sea. I don't know why, but for some reason I wasn't looking forward to reading it at first even though I remember how much I loved Between Shades of Gray. I think I knew I would love this books just like Between Shades of Gray, but I also knew that it would be a hard read, which is why I initially hesitated to pick it up.

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    1. I get it. It was challenging because there is so much loss. I knew they all wouldn't make it, but I still kept hoping.

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  6. I have trouble keeping up with NetGalley! I start feeling bad about it, but then I remember that I signed up to read the books for FUN! Reading is supposed to be fun. So then I relax and read what I can. I try not to get too stressed out about it. I liked Raymie Nightingale because I thought it had excellent advice for those of us who let fear keep us from moving forward in life. I'm looking forward to checking out some of the books from your list of picture books. Congratulations on your retirement! I'm a bit envious! Have a great week!

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    1. I think I will try Raymie again when I have not been reading such powerful books. Sometimes context is everything.

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  7. Oh my gosh, I think the same thing about NetGalley! I really need to figure out a way where I could read instead of sleep!
    Thanks for sharing your Poem in Your Pocket day! I loved Daniel Finds a Poem. Beautiful artwork.
    I'm going to read Raymie again this summer. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. I kept imagining Raymie as being older than 10yo.

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    1. That is how I feel about Raymie. I will try it as an audiobook and see if that changes how I feel about it. I'm so glad I'm not the only one with NetGalley issues!

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  8. I love the excitement you generated with Poem in Your Pocket Day. It sounds like a smashing success! I can't wait to get my hands on Salt to the Sea. I hear such good things about it.

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    1. I'm still amazed about how successful it was! I've had a number of kids come and tell me how much fun it was. Salt to the Sea is a real stunner!

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  9. I can't agree more about Salt to the Sea. It is a beautiful, beautiful book! I love the poem in your pocket idea. SO great! Raymie Nightingale is on my list. Thanks for your honest review. I have heard it is good but it sounds like it might be a taste thing. ;) I feel a bit more okay with the fact that I don't have my hands on it yet.

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    1. I been wondering if maybe Raymie didn't work for me because I was listening to salt to the sea. It's a hard book to stand next to.

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  10. Gobsmacked seems to be a perfect descriptor for how I felt with Salt to the Sea also. Such a fantastic book!

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  11. I started Lemoncello but put it aside because it wasn't grabbing me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood (or maybe, like you said, it just started out slow). I'll give it another go this summer, I think. I really enjoyed the first one.

    I read Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy years ago. I remember really enjoying it.

    My summer book club has picked Salt to the Sea as one of their reads. I have been avoiding WWII lit, but your review is making me a little less hesitant to check it out.

    Happy reading this week! Congrats on your upcoming retirement!

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    1. I listened to this lemoncello and I think it was easy to let it continue because I was doing other things at the time, like driving the car or cleaning the house. These are things that even a not so good distraction help along. Salt to the sea is really about characters set against the backdrop of war

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  12. We had a really fun Poem in a Pocket Day too! My students got together with younger students to share poems and celebrate the words of themselves and others.

    I'm with you on Raymie. I felt like I'd already read the emotional core of this story before (Winn-Dixie) and there wasn't anything new that grabbed me.

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    1. Mixing up the ages sounds like a great idea! Many classes at our school do buddy reading and it would be a great idea to have them all focus on poetry for the month of April.

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  13. I've been reading so many great things about Salt to the Sea - I just might have to pick it up soonest. Too bad about Raymie Nightingale - I just borrowed it from our library and will most likely read next week.

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