I will try to read and respond to everyone's blogs, but it might not be till later on in the week.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.
PICTURE BOOKS
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| 5 stars |
I've wanted to read this since I saw a video of LeYuen Pham describing her process of illustrating it.
We adore this book. It is brilliant! My granddaughter dug it out of my book bag for us to read. Later I discovered her with it by herself on the floor turning the pages carefully (because it's a library book) She was telling the story to herself speaking for each of the characters. "Bear, will you be my friend? Of course I will Froggy ...."
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| 5 stars |
What a profound book! Without one word, it shows us how a young boy's anxiety becomes so overwhelming it nearly destroys him. Only when he realizes that he is not the only one to feel this way, does he manage to control the monsters that are ripping him apart. I appreciate that his feelings don't go away, but he becomes better able to manage them. As he sees that other people also have these kinds of demons inside them, he is able to reach out to help them. It's a beautiful ending to a book full of truth.
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| 4 stars |
This book tells of a young boy and his family getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year. What is hinted at is that things have not being going well for them. He is hoping next year will be better. I appreciated that this book acknowledges that many different people now celebrate this event in different ways.
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| 4 stars |
This is a story of how the different animals came to be placed in the Chinese Zodiac. The illustrations in this are drop dead gorgeous, but it's not a book for younger readers. I read it to the grades 5, 6, & 7 groups who came to the library last week.
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| 4 stars |
This also tells the story of the animals' racing to become part of the Chinese zodiac. It's ideal for students in grades 3, 4, & 5. I appreciated Arthur Lee's semi abstract illustrations.
GRAPHIC NOVELS
I wasn't as wowed by this one as I was by The Witch Boy, (which won the Cybil last year) but I still enjoyed this one a lot. I'm not sure it stands alone without having read the first one. The authentic multicultural characters are different colours and ethnicities. Charlie, the one regular human girl, has two dads. The novel has beautiful artwork that is easy to follow. The theme of people becoming monsters because of how they are treated is repeated in this novel, only this time it's a young girl who has been bullied at different schools. I really like how kind Charlie is in spite of this girl's nastiness.
In a small community all the women have special powers. There is a special force field around the town that makes it impossible to leave. Our hero, Bucky, once longed for a power of his own, but then, his sister was kidnapped. As he searches for her he discovers the dark side of having powers.
I sure wish I had had a music teacher like Mr. K. who introduces his students to a gamut of musical genres. When Charlie, one of his students, is exposed to the art of Maria Callas, she discovers the song and music that becomes 'home' to her. Inspired by Callas' story, she begins to make changes in her own life. The art is gorgeous.
The history of indigenous peoples in Canada is rife with violence and oppression. This short graphic novel deals with one aspect of it: murdered and missing women, girls, and two spirited peoples.
Miikwam and Dez are best friends. The two girls spend Saturday together and head on home on separate buses. When Dez arrives home she sees that the social worker is there and rather being taken into care, runs away. When Miikwam discovers that Dez didn't make it home to her Kokum, she is terrified that she will become one more of the missing. The artwork in this is spectacular!
This book captures the essence of the tumultuous time of adolescence. It's all completely believable. I love how earnest Jorge and Olivia are about making their school a safe place. Sure there are the usual insecure, nasty jerks, one of whom is near to them. but ultimately these are great kids with good teachers.
My middle school self has a huge crush on Jorge. I can't help it. He's sweet, honest and exceptionally kind. He’s an athlete, but not into toxic jock culture. Alas Jorge already has a crush on someone else.
NOVELS
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| 4 stars |
I loved the integration of science into this middle grade tear jerker. I loved how the community stepped up to support Lucy and related families when tragedy struck. I especially appreciated how much I learned about sharks.
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| 5 stars |
Kya, a young girl left to fend for herself in a North Carolina marsh, is a sympathetic character. I couldn't help but root for her. I also liked many of the secondary characters, especially her only supporters: Tate, Jumpin' and his wife Mabel. The story is played out in two time lines, Kya's life growing up, and a murder investigation. It all comes together when she is charged with the crime. This is a brilliant book full of all kinds of plot twists and turns.
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| 3 stars |
Jon might be Chinese, but he is not a science and math nerd. He's also not very good at sports. Slam poetry is more up his alley. But when the local bully, Tyler, targets him, he pretends to know Kung Fu. His best friend, Par, goes along with it, and Jon ends up deep into fakery. Luckily, the new girl at school is a real Kung Fu artist and is able to rescue him.
I'm not the target audience here given that Jon is like a Chinese Greg Heffley character. (from Diary of a Wimpy Kid) That said, I liked the multicultural collection of individuals in this book and how it challenged stereotypes. I especially appreciate that a girl is the real hero here.
NONFICTION
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| 5 stars |
This glorious work of art pays homage to the first children's book author to integrate characters with different skin colours in her work. She had to fight with her publishers to do it. We all need to give thanks to Gyo Fujikawa for paving the way for those who followed in her path, and to the creators of this book for telling us about her life.
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| 4 stars |
I ended up on a field trip to Vancouver's Holocaust Museum with groups of students. After the first workshop, I went to explore their library. I was interested in finding out how the Kindertransport came to be. This is a collection of memoirs of a few of those 10,000 children. I had to go elsewhere to discover that the success of this endeavour was the result of the British Jewish Refugee Committee, a collaboration of religious and secular people. It's an important reminder that when we work together with others, we can accomplish great things.
CURRENTLY
I'm almost done listening to The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. With my eyes I'm reading Keepers of the Vault by Marty Chan. I've just started Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson. Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden is the graphic novel I'm in the middle of.
UP NEXT
I will see what kind of headway I can make in my piles of books.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2020: 3/25
#MustReadNFIn2020: 2/12
25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 5/25 one in progress
100 books by Canadian Authors: 10/100
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 46/333
I love the art cover for Small Things. It reminds be of the brilliant Brian Selznick.
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Great books this week! I need to get copies of the Lunar New Year books for new year; we celebrate but I think it would be nice to have picture books for my daughter.
ReplyDeleteWow, each book needs to be on my list, except "It Began With A Page" which I've read and loved! Thanks, Cheriee. I will certainly look for 'Small Things' and note the others. (Glad you'll soon get your days back!)
ReplyDeleteI just discovered, yesterday, that one of my local libraries have Bear Came Along. So I need to place it on hold, today. And Small Things really does look so profound. I don't remember when I added it to my list, but I'm grateful for the reminder (and to see you enjoyed it so much). I've had Where the Crawdads Sing on my to read list for quite a while and was planning to add it to my #MustReadin2020 pile. But I'm still not sure if that community is still happening anymore (let me know if you know anything -- I feel like I might have missed a discussion somewhere in cyberspace). You have me even more excited to read it, now!! And I really need to catch up on the Berrybrook Middle School series by Chmakova. I certainly enjoyed books #1 and #2 (and so did my son). Thanks for the shares, Cheriee, and I hope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteSmall Things sounds like a beautiful book. For some reason, I could never get kids to give The Witch Boy a try, but I enjoyed it. I haven't gotten around to The Hidden Witch yet.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I want to try the Holly Black series. I already own books one and two, just need to read them, lol!
ReplyDeleteGyo Fujikawa was my absolute favorite illustrator when I was little. I poured over her books. I thought this was a very well done biography.
I am hooked. Soon as I finished this, I put a hold on the next one.
DeleteI have Bear Came Along on hold at the library--I am excited to read it! And I love Chmakova's other GNs, but I haven't read Crush yet. Enjoy Holly Black! I love how she writes. I haven't read this series yet, but I love her Curseworkers series.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading this week :)
Bear Came Along looks fantastic! And I have had Grimoire Noir on my list for awhile. I will need to check to see if the library has a copy yet.
ReplyDeleteIt is dark, but beautifully illustrated!
DeleteLots of really great books here. I added Small Things to my list. I enjoyed Surviving the City as a tough, but important read and agree with your comment about the illustrations. I also love Bear Comes Along and really enjoy reading it to groups in the library. I appreciated the video you posted. I am hoping to see Leuyen Pham at the Western Washington Univ. Children's Lit Conference at the end of the month. I need to catch up on The Hidden Witch and Awkward/Brave/Crush series (and probably find a new copy of Awkward as the one in my library has gone missing!). Thanks for the great post!
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