I'm pretty sure that I read more picture books than I kept track of on Goodreads.
BLOG POSTS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS
I managed to get a few poetry posts in but that's all.
Poetry Friday May 17, 2019: Larder
Poetry Friday May 24, 2019: Laundry
Instructions For a River
PICTURE BOOKS
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| 4 stars |
On the surface this is a story of a badger who gets carried away with cleaning much to the chagrin of the rest of the forest inhabitants. It's also an environmental story about what ensues when forests are decimated.
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| 5 stars |
Cyril is a lonely squirrel. When he meets Pat, the two become fast friends. They get into all kinds of fun mischief together. When he is told that Pat is a rat and that squirrels can't be friends with rats, he goes back to being lonely. It turns out that life without Pat, is not only boring, it's also dangerous.
I like that his book addresses stereotyping and racism in a way that is easy for children to understand. The deliberate, almost rhyming text and gorgeous illustrations entertain groups of all ages.
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| 4 stars |
It seems much easier for Hare to find Bear when they are playing hide and seek. Then Bear tries to find Hare and ends up falling asleep. Then Hare becomes frantic trying to find his friend. That hug at the ending when they reunite is one of the most loving images I've seen in ages. Ada, my two year old granddaughter loves this book.
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| 3 stars |
This adaptation of The Contest of the Mountains tells how God choose Mount Sinai to be the mountain where God gave the Ten Commandments to the people.
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| 5 stars |
This might be my favourite retelling of the stone soup story. It makes it clear that happiness is found in sharing what we have with others.
GRAPHIC
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| 3 stars |
When her father loses his job on a planet out in deep space, Amy's family has to go into cryotubes to travel the 30 year distance back to Earth. When they arrive, it's awkward to be so out of step with her peers and she misses her best friend who has grown up without her.
Amy has some kind of synesthesia that results in different people having different flavours. Then she meets a boy who doesn't have any flavour at all.
I'm planning on reading the next in this series to find out what happens, but wasn't happy with this lack of satisfying ending.
NOVELS
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| 4 stars |
This heart wrenching story, written in beautiful verse, is liable to have you crying your eyes out.
After a very bad year, Jett goes to spend the summer with his grandmother. At the start we learn that he did something very bad, but we don’t learn what it was til near the end.
The characters are richly developed individuals with stories that will break your heart. Ultimately it’s about redemption for Jett, and hopefully, someday, for his friend Junior.
Heather Smith is Canadian. 🍁
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| 4 stars |
I enjoyed this fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice. As a hard core fan of the original novel (that I've read more times than I can count,) it was fascinating how Zoboi established the familiar plot in this modern setting with diverse individuals. Elizabeth Acevedo's narration was brilliant!
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| 4 stars |
I just finished this book and need to contemplate it a bit more before writing much. I adored Bahni Turpin's narration. I was mostly fascinated throughout, although I could have done without some of the romantic bits.
NONFICTION
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| 4 stars |
I can't imagine what life was like for Van even before her mother and siblings left her behind to join her father in Canada. She was only four years old and already had more chores than most people can imagine a child that age taking on. My heart ached for her when she wondered what she had done wrong and if she was bad and that's why they left her in Vietnam. Her grandmother was a remarkable women.
Both of these contributors are Canadian. 🍁
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| 4 stars |
I was fascinated by this book. I knew a bit about Sainte-Marie, but had no idea how influential and important she has been in so many ways. I was stunned to discover how many songs she has written that were covered by many well known artists. I knew about some of her songs, but others were new to me. Did you know that Elvis Presley recorded Until It's Time For You to Go seven times!
Buffy Sainte-Marie and Andrea Warner are Canadian. 🍁
CURRENTLY
I am about to start listening to Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. I've just started Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson. I'm savouring The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks one poem at a time.
UP NEXT
I'm hoping to listen to The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman. Children of Blood and Bone took longer to listen to than I thought and of course everything becomes available all at once! I hope to get to Copyboy by Vince Vawter.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2018 12/25
#MustReadNFIn2018 7/12
25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 9/25
25 books by Canadian Authors 30/25
Big Book Reading Challenge 1/4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 172/333
I've got to get to Children of Blood and Bone this summer! I keep putting it off because of the length but summer may be a great time to get to it. So glad you enjoyed time with friends!
ReplyDeleteI’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge it was a bit of a slog
DeleteOooh, I love Piecing Me Together. I'll be eager to hear what you think.
ReplyDeleteoooh...Space Boy and Ebb and Flow both sound so good! I'll have to check those out. And I have heard great things about Pride & loved her first novel, so I definitely need to read that one.
ReplyDeleteI see you are listing the Big Book Summer under your challenges - wonderful! So glad you'll be joining the fun again! Just leave a link on the sign-up page to officially join - and you can leave review links there, too (on a separate links list at the bottom).
Sue
2019 Big Book Summer Challenge
Cyril and Pat is new to me, but it sounds so wonderful -- adding that to my list right away. I don't believe I've read this rendition of Stone Soup, so I hope to find a local copy. And I'm glad to learn of Too Young to Escape. I just finished House Without Walls this morning, a historical fiction book about a similar family that was split as they escaped Vietnam. So I'll have to add this one to my list, as well. Thanks for all the shares, Cheriee!
ReplyDeleteMy 17 year old daughter and I are currently reading both Pride and Prejudice by Austen and Pride by Zoboi - we love contrasting both novels as we discuss while we read. :) have a great reading week!
ReplyDeleteEmily Gravett's books are so sweet. I ordered Cyril and Pat from my library, as I haven't had the opportunity to read that one yet. Also I ordered The Littlest Mountain. Thanks for sharing and have a terrific week!
ReplyDelete