#IMWAYR November 5, 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.

Working everyday last week cut seriously into my reading life. Not only did I not have time, but when I had time, I was too exhausted to read! At least what I did get to was mostly fabulous! 

My partner and I did find time to finish rewatching True Detective. I managed to get some knitting done during that time, although to be honest, I also ended up pulling my work out and starting over a few times. I am scheduled to work three days this week. Then we are heading off to our place in the Okanogan for about a week. I hope to catch up on my reading life then. 

PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung

OMG I love this beautiful book!

It's about what happens when you mix different colours, but it's so much more than this. It's a story for our times. It shows us how different kinds of peoples need each other and how beautiful our children are when we mix with each other. This is a must purchase for all school libraries!

5 stars

Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Pena & Christian Robinson (Illustrator)

A young girl is finally old enough to go out with her brother as he does his chores and makes his rounds. She makes all kinds of wishes that tell us about their lives. There is subtle sibling conflict throughout the book, but by the end we are shown how much love they have for one anther.

This beautifully illustrated book gave me shivers!

4 stars

Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins

I read this to a few groups of kids while working in a school library. They were delighted with it and happy that it all worked out for the stemless pumpkin. Of course given that it was Halloween, pretty much everything made them happy, but they did settle down and were engaged completely in the drama of the story. Heck, so was I.

3.5 stars

Black and Bittern Was Night by Robert Heidbreder & John Martz (Illustrations)

Don't start to read this book out loud before you practice it first! I can see that it will frustrate some readers. It does have that jaberwocky feel. Yet, bizarrely, it makes sense. I know this author and can easily visualize him reciting this to a group of primary students and enthralling them. This probably helps me get over the tongue twistiness of it all.

5 stars

The Day War Came by Nicola Davies & Rebecca Cobb (Illustrator)

This book will break your heart a bit. It's the story of a young girl who loses her family when war comes. She is forced to flee by herself to a refugee camp. I spent a lot of time unpacking this with a couple of groups of grades 3/4/5 students last week. The first time through all we did was look at the images and talk about what we saw and felt. By the time we finished, we all had a richer understanding of how much we all have in common and what it means to be a refugee. This week I'm going to introduce them to Feathers by Phil Cummings & Phil Lesnie.

GRAPHIC

4 stars

Vacation by Blexbolex

This is a hybrid kind of book. It's a cross between a picture book and a graphic novel. In addition to all this, it's wordless.

To be honest, I went through it a couple of times, and I'm still not sure I understand the story. This doesn't interfere with my pleasure in the artwork and what I am able to figure out. It's confusing in places, but I think it's meant to be. There are times when reality and fantasy seem to collide. I ended up reading other reviews and notes about the book. I'm not sure that was a good idea because I liked my understanding better, even if it was confusing. 

NOVELS

4 stars

Breakout by Kate Messner

“I believe people are never as perfect as their best days. But always more than their worst.”

These lines from this book are sticking with me.

There is a lot going on in this book! A young black girl, Elidee, and her mother move to a small east coast town as school is gearing down for the summer. Then there is a breakout at the prison near the community. As the days go by the tension ratchets up and the town that at first glance seems idyllic, is shown to have a darker underbelly. Elidee is befriended by two white girls, Nora and Lizzie, when they join together to create a racing relay team. It's through their friendship with Elidee that Nora and Lizzie come to understand how privileged being white makes them. 

NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker & Dow Phumiruk (Illustrator)

Helaine Becker's narrative tells the story of Katherine Johnson. This brilliant black woman overcame numerous obstacles to become an important person in the NASA Space program. I ended up rereading this book in order to fully appreciate Dow Phumiruk's gorgeous illustrations. They bring Katherine to life and make the book shine!

CURRENTLY

I'm still listening to Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. I've been carrying Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch around with me, but haven't even opened it! I will start it ASAP!

UP NEXT

I've got a pile of novels, picture books, and two audiobooks checked out of the library. I'll see what appeals most and dig in.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MustReadIn2018 22/25

#MustReadNFIn2018 10/12

25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 22/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge 376/333