Because of
family stuff, it was an intense week for me. I didn't manage to get in much
reading until Saturday while travelling on a ferry back from Vancouver Island.
I spent Saturday evening and Sunday lazing around curled up with books. Life
will return to normal soon enough right?
PICTURE BOOKS
 |
| 5 stars |
Ocean Meets
Sky by Terry & Eric Fan
This is my
favourite Fan Brothers book so far. Beautiful story and beautiful images. Just
Wow!
 |
| 5 stars |
A Day with
Yayah by Nicola I. Campbell & Julie Flett (Illustrator)
This takes me
back to the landscape of my youth and the times I went gathering wild plants
with my family.
In this book
a group of children go on a plant harvesting expedition with their Yayah
(Grandmother) and other elders. Although I am familiar with many of these
plants, I had no idea that some of them, like the arrowleaf balsamroot, are
edible. The book integrates Nte?kepmxcin vocabulary and way of knowing the world into the story. There is a
glossary with a pronunciation guide at the end of the book.
 |
| 4 stars |
Backyard
Fairies by Phoebe Wahl
These
gorgeous illustrations take the reader into the enchanted landscape of the
Pacific Northwest Coast. I've meandered into these kinds of spaces numerous
times, places I've been certain are inhabited by the wee folk. What is gorgeous
about this book is it begins with this possibility of magic and then moves into
a fantasy where evidence of the fey are discovered all around the young girl's
world. It's written in rhyming poetry that works delightfully.
NONFICTION
PICTURE BOOKS
 |
| 4 stars |
Who Says
Women Can't Be Computer Programmers?: The Story of Ada Lovelace by Tanya Lee
Stone & Marjorie Priceman (Illustrations)
I found this
in my book bag after finishing up Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer
Chiaverini. There are some conflicts in the two narratives, most notably in
that Chiaverini's version has Ada introducing the idea of punch cards to
Babbage. What is clear in all the many books about Ada Bryon, is how she was
able to envision the potential for the analytical engine even beyond that of
Babbage himself.
CHAPTER BOOKS
 |
| 5 stars |
Dory
Fantasmagory: Head in the Clouds (Dory Fantasmagory #4) by Abby Hanlon
Oh so
fabulously hilarious! I adore Dory more with each new book. In this one she
meets the tooth fairy and saves her from Mrs. Gobble Gracker, Dory's arch nemesis.
NOVELS
 |
| 3.5 stars |
Enchantress
of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini
I want to
give this 3.5 stars. This fictional account of the life of Ada Lovelace gives
readers all kinds of insights into how she became the remarkable woman who is
know as the world’s first computer programmer. I especially enjoyed reading the
sections of this book that pertained to science and mathematics. It hasn’t been
(and still isn’t) easy to be an intelligent woman in a patriarchal society.
GRAPHIC
 |
| 5+ stars |
The One
Hundred Nights of Hero (Early Earth) by Isabel Greenberg
Five stars is
not enough for how much I love this book. It's epically mythic. I became a fan
of Isabel Greenberg's work when I read The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, the
first of her Early Earth series. If you haven't yet read either of these, you
need to fix that soon. I can hardly wait for her next book, but in the
meantime, I'm going to see what other works of hers my library has.
CURRENTLY
I switched to
a text version of Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the
Climate because I couldn't stay focused in the audio version. I'm reading The
Sweet Spot by Stacy Barnett Mozer. I just started listening to The Ghost Boys by
Jewell Parker Rhodes.
UP NEXT
Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot is ready to go as my next audiobook. Other than that
I'm planning on reading You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly and finishing up the pile of picture books.
PROGRESS ON
MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2018
17/25
25 Books by
Canadian Indigenous Authors 11/25
Goodreads
Reading Challenge 233/333
A terrific lineup of books. I also really enjoyed Ocean Meets Sky and A Day with Yayeh (Nicola Campbell is a former student of the school I currently teach at so its a really important book here). I love reading Dory with my kids at home, but we haven't bought this one yet. No library in the area has it. I was tempted to buy it yesterday when we were in Kelowna but they were out of stock. It is such a great series. Backyard Fairies looks good too.
ReplyDeleteI have Ghost Boys and Hello Universe in one of my larger piles (the one I plan to read through this summer), I look forward to hearing what you have to say about them as I am sure it will influence the order of that pile. I should probably check out Greenberg's books as well. Happy reading!
That is amazing about Nicola Campbell! So far Ghost Boys is intense. You should absolutely check out Greenberg's books!
DeleteI'm embarrassed to admit this, but I've not yet read any of the Dory Fantasmagory books (hides head in shame). We don't have any copies locally, so just today I requested three via ILL (including the one you mentioned in your post). And I really appreciate that you were able to read the two Ada Lovelace books simultaneously for comparison. I've checked out Who Says Women Can't Be Computer Programmers, so I will read that (probably with my oldest son, who's really into computer coding) this week. And I'm going to go check, right now, to see if we have One Hundred Nights of Hero locally. Sounds GREAT! Thanks for all the shares this week, Cheriee!
ReplyDeleteDory Fantasmagory is one of my favourite literary characters for the younger set! She's right up there with Piper Green. Hope you enjoy One Hundred Nights of Hero!
DeleteThe One Hundred Nights Of Hero sounds amazing. I can’t wait to find that one. All four picture books sound interesting, especially A Day with Yayeh. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt really is Stacy. A Day with Yayeh has Julie Flett as the illustrator too, so that makes it even more amazing!
DeleteI just love Dory! I agree she is hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI know! She's one of my favourite literary characters. You can sure tell that Abby Hanlon was a primary school teacher!
DeleteBackyard Fairies is one I'll need to be on the lookout for! My girls are very into fairies right now. I also keep meaning to catch up on the Dory Fantasmagory series. Thanks for sharing all these titles!
ReplyDeleteThe illustrations in Backyard Fairies are just stunning so you really need to get that one.
DeleteI loved the new Fan Brothers' "Ocean Meets Sky" too, Cheriee. Their books hold so much to look at, again and again. Thanks for sharing about 'The One Hundred Nights of Hero'. It sounds so interesting. I've enjoyed the several Ada Lovelace picture books out, probably won't read the longer one. Her life certainly is interesting. Thanks for all!
ReplyDeleteI think "Ocean Meets Sky" is their best so far. It was their easiest for me to become completely immersed in the story and images.
DeleteI also am a huge Dory fan. She is the best! I need to read this new Fan Brothers title - saw it yesterday at the bookstore but other titles distracted me. Loved sharing A Day with Yayah with my class this year. So much writing resulted.
ReplyDeleteHurrah for Dory! I can imagine the writing that A Day With Yayah would inspire.
DeleteI love Dory so much. She's even more fun to read out loud with children! And Mrs. Gobble-Gracker... and Mr. Nugy with his banana phone... So fun!
ReplyDeleteI can hardly wait for my grandchildren to be old enough for me to read chapter books to them!
DeleteI still need to check out the Dory series! I know they’re very popular! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou are living a deprived life Jana if you haven't experienced Dory Fantasmagory!
DeleteDory is another great transitional chapter book series. I have not read them all but need to make it more of a priority.
ReplyDeleteI lovedlovedloved 100 Nights of Hero - reviewed it here: https://gatheringbooks.org/2018/03/10/saturday-reads-33/
ReplyDeletebut haven't gotten around to reading her encyclopedia of early earth yet - just found it in our library! Borrowing it NOW! :)
I have not read any of these!!! Ack! And it looks like everyone likes Dory. I have heard the Fan Brothers speak, and that was awesome. I need to remedy this--off to Goodreads!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading :)