#IMWAYR January 22, 2018

#IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.

Kidsbooks, our local children's book store had a huge sale this week. I went with a friend and managed to spend less than $100 on books. 

I miss my library budget. 

As well as the books I've talked about below, I purchased a copy of The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His A B C's by Patrick McDonnell. I talked about it here. I didn't actually purchase Rot by Ben Clanton, but I did sit and read it and then proceeded to tell my librarian friends that they should have a copy in their libraries.

BLOG POSTS LAST WEEK

Tyson Hesse's Diesel Ignition

New Super-Man: Made In China volumes 1-6

BABY BOARD BOOKS

Unless she is really tired, actually reading books with Ada, my seven month old granddaughter is getting more and more challenging. She wants to be interacting with everything near her these days. If you give her a book she will sit opening and closing it for a good while (in baby time) before trying to chew on it. My partner has given her her own real paperback novel that she loves to fan the pages of. When I am reading with her, she wants to turn pages so I have to 'help' her get the next page to turn. She will turn it back and forth for a while before Grandma gets bored and forces her to go on to the next one.

Here is some of what we have been rereading.

5 stars

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury

We get a bit more actual focus with this one because Ada is fascinated by other babies and fingers and toes these days.

4 stars

Look At You by Kathy Henderson, Paul Howard (Illustrator)

This one works for the same reason that the Mem Fox title does. 

5 stars

Little You by Richard Van Camp and Julie Flett (Illustrator)

There is something about the colour in this one that encourages Ada to calm down, (a nearly impossible task.)

4 stars

Ojibway Animals by Jason Adair

I think it's a combination of the gorgeously coloured images and my making the animal sounds that keeps our little one paying attention to the pages in this book.

PICTURE BOOKS

Dear Girl, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Paris Rosenthal, Holly Hatam (Illustrations)

5 stars

I purchased this book for my son, daughter in law, and granddaughter based on reviews of people I trust. I'm sure glad I did.

This books is a celebration of being who you are. My favourite page spread reads:

Dear Girl,

Find people like you.

Find people unlike you.

That's good advice for everyone!

Rot, the Cutest in the World! by Ben Clanton

5 stars

If I was still in the library I would absolutely purchase this book and read it out loud to every class in the school from K to grade 7. Not only is it hilarious and sweet, it’s got a surprise ending that includes an important message about how beauty is defined. If you don’t fall head over heels for Rot, you probably don’t have a heart.

Love by Matt de la Peña (Goodreads Author), Loren Long (Illustrator)

5 stars

I got shivers right from the first page of this book. I didn't read any more then. I just added it to my shopping cart. At home tears came to my eyes with each page I turned. Loren Long's illustrations take Matt de la Peña's words and together they raise up powerful truths. I can see why people are lauding this book and claiming it will be the book to hand out to graduates.

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers

5 stars

Oliver Jeffers wrote this book for his son, filling it with the things he thought he needed to know. If I were purchasing a book for a graduate, it would be a challenge to choose between this one and Matt de la Peña's, Love. This one also gave me shivers.  It's beautifully illustrated pages are filled with ideas that everyone should understand.

An example is the page spread that reads:

People come in many shapes, sizes and colours.

We may all look different,

act different and sound different...

... but don't be fooled, we are all people.

I love this book so much that I might have to purchase a couple of extra copies, one for each of my grandbabies.

MIDDLE GRADE & YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standosh & Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)

3.5 stars

Emotionally, the book feels like it starts up where Bridge to Terabithia ends. Right from the get go Ethan is dealing with the loss of his best friend Kacey. We don't know a lot about what happened to her at first. We are just thrown into an emotional roller coaster.

The family moves out of Boston to live with his mother's estranged father in a small town in Georgia. Ethan and his brother Roddy manage to bond with their Grandfather Ike, but there is a lot of friction between Ike and their mother. To add to all this, Ethan's parents are keeping secrets from him.

At his new school Ethan makes friends with Coralee, a vibrant young woman with secrets of her own.

It takes a hurricane and near disaster before all the characters start being honest and accepting of each other.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

4 stars

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani (MG)

I'm working on a full blog post for this one. It's the coming of age story of an American girl whose mother immigrated from India. I loved the use of colour to emphasize the magical elements.

5 stars

Suee and the Shadow by Ginger Ly & Molly Park (Illustrations) (MG)

I'm working on a blog post for this one too. It is probably my favourite of all the graphic novels I've read so far for the Cybils. I love the character development, the crisp illustrations, the story arc and the inherent messages for kids and adults.

3.5 stars

New Super-Man: Made in China (Volumes #1-6) by Gene Luen Yang (Writer), Viktor Bogdanovic (Artist), Richard Friends (Inker), Dave Sharpe (Letterer) (YA)

I'm not really a superhero comic fan, so this one was a challenge. Luckily there are layers of meaning and intrigue and I was fascinated by the cultural implications of a western style superhero inserted into a Chinese reality. Also, it's Gene Luen Yang!

4 stars

Diesel:Ignition by Tyson Hesse (YA)

It took me a while to appreciate the protagonist, Dee Diesel in this superhero style comic. While I have some serious problems with this novel in regards to the way the female bodies are depicted and the stereotypical conflict between the only two female characters, the artwork and world building is just stunning.

CURRENTLY

I've just started listening to Turtles All the Way Down by John Green & Kate Rudd (narrator). I'm still working on Maximum Canada: Why 35 Million Canadians Are Not Enough by Doug Saunders for book club. Spill Zone, the graphic novel by Scott Westerfeld & Alex Puvilland is so intense I've had to take a short break or I would have finished it. 

UP NEXT

I'll continue reading from the pile of graphic novels for the Cybil awards and whatever picture books arrive from the library. 

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MustReadIn2018 4/25

#MustReadNFIn2018 1/12 - 1 in progress

25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 1/25

Cybil Graphic Novels 4/12 - 1 in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge 21/333