Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian Author and or Illustrator.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.
PICTURE BOOKS
I enjoyed this story about a little quail who is distracted by the world around her. Consequently, she is always trailing behind her siblings. This turns out to be a good thing when she is diverted by a flash of orange and tracks it to find out what it is. Queenie ends up being a hero and her family come to appreciate the way she sees the world.
I live in the middle of quail country and watch them scuttle around my neighborhood everyday. So here's the rub, the quail in this book are cute, but they just don't look enough like my real ones.
This is an introduction to all the different things you can find on beaches around the world. It discusses shells, animals, sea glass and garbage. I appreciated the informative bits about the different kinds of flotsam and jetsam to be discovered on seashores.
I appreciate how this book translates our solar system into common everyday objects. It provides readers with a way to relate to the immensity of the planets and our sun. I like the diversity represented in the two children camping out in a backyard.
This will make a fabulous addition to a collection of books about space for primary school readers.
This book is full of layers of meanings. It's the story of Dog, who can't live up to the commercial portrayal of a superhero, Ultra Dog. His doubts about his worth are exacerbated by the neighbor's cat. Dog tries his best to compete with Ultra Dog with mostly distressing, albeit hilarious results.
NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS
Elsie MacGill was one heck of a woman! She lived a life of many 'firsts.' Born in 1905, she was the first Canadian woman to get an engineering degree and the first woman in the world to to get her master's degree in aeronautical engineering. Getting polio in her twenties might have slowed her down a bit, but it sure didn't stop her! In 1938 she became the chief aeronautical engineer in charge of all airplane work at the Canadian Car and Foundry Company. During WW2 she was in charge of a team building Hawker Hurricane planes for the airforce. In 1942, children got to read about her in a comic called 'Queen of the Hurricanes: Elsie MacGill." After the war Elsie became involved with the UN as technical advisor to the International Civil Aviation Organization. In the 1960's she was active in the women's rights movement and became one of the commissioners for the 1967 Royal Commission on the status of Women.
Elsie MacGill is a role model for young women all over the world. She received many awards and honors during her lifetime and now has an award named after her. The Elsie MacGill awards are given out to recognize achievement of women in aviation.
Mike Deas' comic style illustrations are the perfect match for this biography. They provide context to Elizabeth MacLeod's words. I especially appreciate the use of text bubbles to add humour and reality to the story.
This book is a brilliant introduction to this amazing woman's life.
NOVELS
If you are searching for a read that gets your adrenaline pumping, look no further than Pam Withers. Do not read this book before going to bed because you will either stay up all night reading, or not be able to sleep because of all that epinephrine coursing through your system.
Owen and his parents live on an island off the coast of British Columbia. His is a solitary life without peers nearby. Eventually we learn how and why this came to be.
When his folks leave him alone for a week, Owen connects to Arturo, a young man who, with his 'uncle,' have sheltered at their marina. When Owen stows away on what he thinks is Arturo and his uncle's friendly boat expecting to get dropped off at the nearest center, is he ever wrong. He finds himself caught up in an international human smuggling syndicate.
Pam Withers takes her readers from one hairbreadth adventure and escape to the next. I like how she alternates the two perspectives of Arturo and Owen in different chapters.
This surprised me. I'm not much of a horse riding fan, but was completely engaged by this coming of age tale.
Gillian is nervous to be attending a horse riding/training camp for the first time. It seems to be going fine until the thoughtless actions of another girl damages her horse. She ends up paired with The Beast, a horse who challenges even more confident riders. When Gillian loses control of The Beast, she lands in a raging river where she is pulled downstream through rapids and over a waterfall. At this point it becomes a survival story with Gillian and The Beast coming to terms with one another.
I appreciated that all the characters end up being thoughtfully rendered with authentic back stories.
I loved this audiobook. It has the feel of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series. Aggie Morton is a precocious, imaginative twelve year old writer growing up around the turn of the century in 1902. Many of the characters Agatha Christie would come to write about are integrated into this murder mystery for middle grade readers. Aggie's newest best friend, Belgian immigrant Hector Perot, and her perceptive Grannie Jane, help solve this mystery of the murder in a dance studio. I especially appreciate the depth of characters here and the complexity of the plot.
I can hardly wait for the next one in the series. Unfortunately that won't be until September of this year!
CURRENTLY
I'm reading Embrace the Chicken by Mahtab Narsimhan. I'm listening to The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead.
UP NEXT
I started listening to Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee, but my life has been already so full of anxiety, that I put it aside. Maybe I will get back to it this week, or I might just try and find the book in text format. This coming week I'm planning of reading Tick Tock Terror by Melanie Jackson, Dressed to Play by Jennifer Manuel, and Cold Falling White by G. S. Prendergast.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2020: 8/25 one in progress
#MustReadNFIn2020: 4/12
25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 9/25
100 books by Canadian Authors: 87/100
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 166/333
Wow, something for everyone, Cheriee! I love the look of Seaside Treasures and If Pluto Was A Pea, have never heard of Elsie MacGill, so love that new bio, & Stowaway sounds great, as do the others, too. Thanks for all. I'm glad your move is settled, but already starting renovations? You are brave! Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteFoolhardy is closer to the truth! Our original plan was to have the renovations finished before we moved!
DeleteAll these picture books sound great!
ReplyDeleteThey mostly are. The jewels are Meet Elsie MacGill and Ultra Dog.
DeleteThat's quite a varied list! The cutest one looked like "If Pluto Was a Pea." My four year old might love that.
ReplyDeleteIt's one that is absolutely too much for my three year old grandkids, but as they become aware of our solar system, I can see it appealing to younger ones a lot. Even I, an old gramma enjoyed it.
DeleteI hope your house renovations go well, Cheriee! We've been house hunting for at least two years. Thought we found something last summer, but then there was a roadblock. Then we thought we found another something, but it sold before we could get our cards in order. Then we looked at an adorable house in the perfect location, but the owner decided to keep renting it out instead of selling. So with all the "stay at home" orders, we're now more seriously considering renovations. We own the spare lot next door to our house, so we have plenty of space to build into. It's just that new construction would cost us more than selling and buying. Ugh. Aaaaand you've shared a number of new-to-me titles that I will be adding to my TBR list. I'm not sure I'll be able to find a library copy of Stowaway, but from your description I know I would enjoy it. I'm adding The Body Under the Piano to my "wish" list through Overdrive -- very excited to see if there! Thanks for the shares.
ReplyDeleteI hope you manage to find a new home that fits your purpose Shaye. Adding on sounds like a great deal of work!
DeleteI adored The Body Under the Piano so I really hope you manage to find. It was a delightful audiobook.
Good luck with the house renovations, that kind of thing always freaks me out. I really enjoyed your reading list this week. I kind of had the same reaction to seeing the cover of Queenie Quail, although I still want to read the book at some point. Ultra Dog also looks like it is worth a look too. I haven't read a Pam Withers book in a while, but I have several in my classroom. I might look at for this one. Thanks for all the shares.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find time for Stowaway. I know we are from the same part of the country (we are closer now since we have moved to Oliver, BC) and have been wondering what you would think of those quail.
DeleteLooks like a great line up of books. I'll have to wait until my library opens to get my hands on those. But I went ahead and downloaded an e-copy of Stowaway from the library. Looks like a great read! Thanks for sharing and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy Stowaway! It's a challenge to read these posts and then be unable to access the titles!
DeleteDog Vs. Ultra Dog was so cute. One that kids will flock to, it's an easy book to book talk :)
ReplyDeleteI still have two weeks to go before I get to that relaxing point :) Hope you have a great week!
Dog Vs Ultra Dog would be a fun one to book talk! Hope you have a great two weeks!
DeleteThese books sound great Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up sounds like a sweet story, and Meet Elsie MacGill sounds great as well—MacGill sounds like an incredible person! The first Aggie Morton book also sounds neat—it reminds me of an MG mystery series that I love, the Wells and Wong mysteries by Robin Stevens. I hope you're enjoying The List of Things That Will Not Change—I loved it! And good luck with your home renovations!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up about the Wells and Wong mysteries. Alas my library does not have them as ebooks....
DeleteIf Pluto Was a Pea looks really interesting. I definitely plan on checking that out.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to introduce it to you. I like how it puts the planets into an understandable perspective.
DeleteUltra Dog is a fun read and of course, I love almost any book with a dog. If Pluto Was a Pea is new to me. Kids love the Our Universe series by Stacy McAnulty and other space books. Definitely need to check it out.
ReplyDeleteOf course you love Ultra Dog - and so do I even though I am allergic to critters with fur.
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