Hello out there. It's #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.
I have started sewing on the two Gossie and Friends quilts for my youngest grandkids. I'm beginning with the characters first and will do the rest of the little animals next. Then I'll get to all the scenery and background stuff. I will have to embroider eyes and other details eventually. I hope to get them finished at least before they start school!
Here's where I'm at now. After creating a few test pieces, I sewed all the yellow parts. I've created patterns for most of the rest and have started stitching the orange bits (beaks, legs and feet).
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.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
PICTURE BOOKS
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| 3 stars |
Anonymouse by Vikki VanSickle & Anna Pirolli (Illustrations) 🍁
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be published February 9, 2021.
In this nod to Banksy, an anonymous mouse creates art for creatures in an unnamed city. Anonymouse provides a delightfully unique perspective for these animals. Sometimes it makes them laugh. Sometimes it makes them think.
Even after Anonymouse disappears and moves on, the world of the animals is changed forever. They have learned to see and create beauty in their own ways.
Anna Pirolli's palette of hot pink, purples and browns was created digitally.
I really appreciated the idea that art can change how we view the world. I only wish that Anonymouse had been ungendered.
I got this for Christmas from a couple of my grandchildren. Told in rhyming verse a grandmother tells her grandchild how and why she loves them. It's full of universal truths about this special relationship.
I only wish my grandkids were here for me to read this with them.
This is another Christmas gift from the same two granddaughters. Told in rhyming verse, a little bear gives reasons for why they love their grandmother. It sure captures the essence of this special relationship between the generations. I can hardly wait to read this with my little darlings.
The good thing about learning about a new series late in the game, is that you get to read a whole bunch without waiting for the next one to come out. Snail and Worm was instant love for me. As If I don't already miss my grandkids enough, I really wish I could go visit with them just to read these books with them. These two creatures are interesting friends. The three stories in each book are told from their perspective. In the first story here readers learn how they met. In the second, Snail climbs a flower while Worm cheers it on, and in the last one, we meet their pets. Seriously, these are the best!
Snail & Worm Again by Tina Kugler
Here I am, a grown woman devouring early chapter books. I tell myself it's research so I have ideas of what books to get my grandkids, but honestly, they are fun to read all by myself.
Snail and Worm are charming friends. The three stories in each book are full of sweetness and humour. In the first one Snail and Worm think that Snail has grown wings. In the second, they mistake a penny for a mirror and admire themselves in it. In the last one, Snail is sad because they compare themselves to other animals and things. Not only are they hilarious, important messages are shared!
Snail and Worm All Day: Three Stories About Two Friends by Tina Kugler
Oh No! I have come to the last book available in this series aboout the charming Snail and Worm!
The books just keep on getting better and better. Yes they are full of silliness, but Kugler manages to sneak in some important ideas while making us laugh.
Like the others, the book includes three short stories. In the first one here Snail might be having a bad day, but sees that great things are happening around for others. In the second, Snail mistakes a turtle for a dragon in a cave. In the last one, the two friends collaborate on a bedtime story.
I seriously adore these! They are perfect for fans of Elephant and Piggy.
How to Promenade with a Python (and Not Get Eaten): A Polite Predators Book by Rachel Poliquin & Kathryn Durst (Illustrations) 🍁
If I was still working in a school library, I would purchase this in a heartbeat. It's got just the right amount of facts, farce and fear to engage readers of all ages. I only wish I could have found out more about Kathryn Durst's process for creating these vibrant illustrations. To find out more about this title, check out my full review here.
Nesting by Henry Cole
You know how you finish a book and wonder what took you so long to read it? This is one of those.
“A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.”
This book is eerily prescient given the plethora of misinformation and lies being spread through media today.
Moveable type comes to the Discworld and William de Worde, Discworld's first investigative reporter, starts up a newspaper, the Ankh- Morpork Times. In response, the engraver's guild starts up the The Ankh-Morpork Inquirer, a rag filled with fictitious news. William and his team, reporter, Sacharissa Cripslock and iconographer, Otto, a vampire, get caught up in a conspiracy that has been set in motion to destroy the patrician.
Pratchett's Witches miniseries are some of my favourite novels in the Discworld. When this short story showed up next in my reading of the collection, I was more than ready for a visit with Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax. Granny Weatherwax is the most powerful witch on the Discworld. When the Lancre Witch Trials come around, a committee of organizers ask Granny to step aside so that other witches have a chance to win. What Granny does, is become nice, very very nice about it all. It's hilarious and terrifying all at the same time.
I'm reading Patron Saints of Nothing by by Randy Ribay. I've started This Wound Is A World, a collection of poetry by Billy-Ray Belcourt. I'm listening to a title from Canada Reads long list, All Together Now: A Newfoundlander's Light Tales for Heavy Times by Alan Doyle.
I will be reading and reviewing Super Detectives by by Cale Atkinson. I plan to start Crossing Home Ground by David Pitt-Brooke, a book club title that focuses on the region where I live. If I finish Belcourt's poems I want to start reading Our Corner Store by Robert Heidbreder. The next Discworld title will be
Thief of Time.
Even after Anonymouse disappears and moves on, the world of the animals is changed forever. They have learned to see and create beauty in their own ways.
Anna Pirolli's palette of hot pink, purples and browns was created digitally.
I really appreciated the idea that art can change how we view the world. I only wish that Anonymouse had been ungendered.
I got this for Christmas from a couple of my grandchildren. Told in rhyming verse a grandmother tells her grandchild how and why she loves them. It's full of universal truths about this special relationship.
I only wish my grandkids were here for me to read this with them.
This is another Christmas gift from the same two granddaughters. Told in rhyming verse, a little bear gives reasons for why they love their grandmother. It sure captures the essence of this special relationship between the generations. I can hardly wait to read this with my little darlings.
The good thing about learning about a new series late in the game, is that you get to read a whole bunch without waiting for the next one to come out. Snail and Worm was instant love for me. As If I don't already miss my grandkids enough, I really wish I could go visit with them just to read these books with them. These two creatures are interesting friends. The three stories in each book are told from their perspective. In the first story here readers learn how they met. In the second, Snail climbs a flower while Worm cheers it on, and in the last one, we meet their pets. Seriously, these are the best!
 |
| 5 stars |
Snail & Worm Again by Tina Kugler
Here I am, a grown woman devouring early chapter books. I tell myself it's research so I have ideas of what books to get my grandkids, but honestly, they are fun to read all by myself.
Snail and Worm are charming friends. The three stories in each book are full of sweetness and humour. In the first one Snail and Worm think that Snail has grown wings. In the second, they mistake a penny for a mirror and admire themselves in it. In the last one, Snail is sad because they compare themselves to other animals and things. Not only are they hilarious, important messages are shared!
 |
| 5 stars |
Snail and Worm All Day: Three Stories About Two Friends by Tina Kugler
Oh No! I have come to the last book available in this series aboout the charming Snail and Worm!
The books just keep on getting better and better. Yes they are full of silliness, but Kugler manages to sneak in some important ideas while making us laugh.
Like the others, the book includes three short stories. In the first one here Snail might be having a bad day, but sees that great things are happening around for others. In the second, Snail mistakes a turtle for a dragon in a cave. In the last one, the two friends collaborate on a bedtime story.
I seriously adore these! They are perfect for fans of Elephant and Piggy.
NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS
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| 5 stars |
How to Promenade with a Python (and Not Get Eaten): A Polite Predators Book by Rachel Poliquin & Kathryn Durst (Illustrations) 🍁
If I was still working in a school library, I would purchase this in a heartbeat. It's got just the right amount of facts, farce and fear to engage readers of all ages. I only wish I could have found out more about Kathryn Durst's process for creating these vibrant illustrations. To find out more about this title, check out my full review here.
 |
| 5 stars |
Nesting by Henry Cole
This book is gobsmackingly gorgeous. It follows a couple of American Robins as they meet, build a nest, lay four eggs and raise the chicks. There is a note at the end with additional information about these creatures.
GRAPHIC NOVELS
A young teen brings the issue of lack of menstrual awareness and support to her school. Whether or not this one wins the Cybil award, I would purchase it for my school library.
You know how you finish a book and wonder what took you so long to read it? This is one of those.
It's been called Northern Gothic and that's a pretty good a description. It reminded me in parts of Jesmyn Ward's work written a decade later.
The story focuses on Lisa and her nuclear family. It begins with her brother Jimmy's disappearance on a boat with his girlfriend's uncle. Her parents head south to where he was last seen, while Lisa remains in Kitamaat. While waiting, Lisa's reminiscences cycle round from the present into her past and back again. She revisits her relationships with her Uncle Mick, her grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, and the spirit world. What's fascinating here is how these two people connect her Haisla roots to the modern world of AIM. Eventually she heads off in a boat to meet up with her parents. She ends up on Monkey Beach, and a confrontation with the spirit world.
I can't begin to gush enough about the beauty of the writing here. I swear I was transported to the Northwest coast in the rainforest of the Haisla and Heiltsuk people. I was swept up into her character's lives.
Just Wow!
Vi by Kim Thúy (Author and Narrator) 🍁
I read this because it is the One Eread Canada book and I adore Kim Thúy's writing.
Like her book Ru, it tells of a family who had to flee Vietnam and ended up in Canada.
Vi is the youngest in a family with three older brothers. Her father, who stayed behind, was brought up as a spoiled, wealthy, young man. He never changed. Her hardworking mother doted on him. Vi is a product of her Vietnamese upbringing and the westernized world of Quebec. This book explores her cultural and family roots. It focuses on the conflict between then and now in both Canada and Vietnam. I was fascinated by the connection between her mother's relationship with her father and Vi's relationships with the men in her life.
Commander Sam Vimes, Duke of Ankh, and his wife, Lady Sybil, are sent off to Überwald on a diplomatic mission to represent Ankh-Morpork at the inauguration of the new King of Dwarfs. Along with them, Lord Vetinari send Detritus, a troll, and Corporal Littlebottom, a dwarf to represent ethnic minorities in the region.
The Scone of Stone, a sacred relic to the Dwarves necessary in the crowning of the new King has gone missing. Officer Angua's werewolf family are involved in the plot. The delegation is caught up in the middle of machinations that may erupt into civil war between different factions of Dwarves. Vimes is cornered by, and has to outrun a pack of werewolves. Through it all, Sam and Lady Sybil learn more about each other and she manages to tell him that they are going to have a baby.
The story focuses on Lisa and her nuclear family. It begins with her brother Jimmy's disappearance on a boat with his girlfriend's uncle. Her parents head south to where he was last seen, while Lisa remains in Kitamaat. While waiting, Lisa's reminiscences cycle round from the present into her past and back again. She revisits her relationships with her Uncle Mick, her grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, and the spirit world. What's fascinating here is how these two people connect her Haisla roots to the modern world of AIM. Eventually she heads off in a boat to meet up with her parents. She ends up on Monkey Beach, and a confrontation with the spirit world.
I can't begin to gush enough about the beauty of the writing here. I swear I was transported to the Northwest coast in the rainforest of the Haisla and Heiltsuk people. I was swept up into her character's lives.
Just Wow!
 |
| 4 stars |
Vi by Kim Thúy (Author and Narrator) 🍁
I read this because it is the One Eread Canada book and I adore Kim Thúy's writing.
Like her book Ru, it tells of a family who had to flee Vietnam and ended up in Canada.
Vi is the youngest in a family with three older brothers. Her father, who stayed behind, was brought up as a spoiled, wealthy, young man. He never changed. Her hardworking mother doted on him. Vi is a product of her Vietnamese upbringing and the westernized world of Quebec. This book explores her cultural and family roots. It focuses on the conflict between then and now in both Canada and Vietnam. I was fascinated by the connection between her mother's relationship with her father and Vi's relationships with the men in her life.
DISCWORLD NOVELS
Rincewind and the rest of the wizards from Unseen University end up in "Australia" which is in the process of evolving. Pratchett messes around with Time Travel in this one.
Commander Sam Vimes, Duke of Ankh, and his wife, Lady Sybil, are sent off to Überwald on a diplomatic mission to represent Ankh-Morpork at the inauguration of the new King of Dwarfs. Along with them, Lord Vetinari send Detritus, a troll, and Corporal Littlebottom, a dwarf to represent ethnic minorities in the region.
The Scone of Stone, a sacred relic to the Dwarves necessary in the crowning of the new King has gone missing. Officer Angua's werewolf family are involved in the plot. The delegation is caught up in the middle of machinations that may erupt into civil war between different factions of Dwarves. Vimes is cornered by, and has to outrun a pack of werewolves. Through it all, Sam and Lady Sybil learn more about each other and she manages to tell him that they are going to have a baby.
This book is eerily prescient given the plethora of misinformation and lies being spread through media today.
Moveable type comes to the Discworld and William de Worde, Discworld's first investigative reporter, starts up a newspaper, the Ankh- Morpork Times. In response, the engraver's guild starts up the The Ankh-Morpork Inquirer, a rag filled with fictitious news. William and his team, reporter, Sacharissa Cripslock and iconographer, Otto, a vampire, get caught up in a conspiracy that has been set in motion to destroy the patrician.
Pratchett's Witches miniseries are some of my favourite novels in the Discworld. When this short story showed up next in my reading of the collection, I was more than ready for a visit with Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax. Granny Weatherwax is the most powerful witch on the Discworld. When the Lancre Witch Trials come around, a committee of organizers ask Granny to step aside so that other witches have a chance to win. What Granny does, is become nice, very very nice about it all. It's hilarious and terrifying all at the same time.
CURRENTLY
UP NEXT
I will be reading and reviewing Super Detectives by by Cale Atkinson. I plan to start Crossing Home Ground by David Pitt-Brooke, a book club title that focuses on the region where I live. If I finish Belcourt's poems I want to start reading Our Corner Store by Robert Heidbreder. The next Discworld title will be
Thief of Time.
I've finished all the Cybil graphic novel finalists that I can get my hands on. I'm hoping to access the remaining three, but am not holding out hope.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2021 4/25
#MustReadNFIn2021 2/12
#MustReadPBIn2021 7/100
Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 4/25 one in progress
Books by Canadian Authors: 9/100
Canada Reads 2021 1/5
Discworld Series 25/41
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 47/333
The Gossie and Friends pieces for the quilt are so adorable! The Snail and Worm books are fun. Even as an adult, I enjoy many early reader books, too!
ReplyDeleteI think it's really important for these kinds of early reader books are fun to read for everyone. I know as a parent I regularly had to read books over and over and over. It the book is decent to start with it's tolerable.
DeleteYou have such eclectic reading tastes! And what a fun quilt. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Augusta. I try to read as diversely as possible!
DeleteOh, Cheriee, I do love those quilts, even unfinished. With them & the books for grandmothers & the early chapter books, lots of grandmother love this week! I guess I missed the Henry Cole book, will find it! Have you read The Nest That Wren Built, also lovely. Thanks for all the books, also noted Go With The Flow. Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind remarks about my little characters.
DeleteI've added The Nest That Wren Built to my list and discovered that my library has a copy!
Oh my @ those quilts. You have the luckiest grandchildren!! <3 On books: You make me want to run down to the library and re-check all the Snail and Worm titles we have. Those are so very fun to read! And Nesting was absolutely lovely. I'm very disappointed we don't have Monkey Beach in any of my libraries. Your descriptions has lured me in! I'm definitely adding How to Promenade with a Python to my TBR list -- thanks for sharing this new-to-me title! And somewhere I thought I read your suggestion that if we want to start reading any of Prachett's works, to start with the Tiffany Aching series. So at some point in time, I bookmarked what I had available through my local Interlibrary loan. But since it crossed over with another of his series, I just want to clarify that you mean the following five books:
ReplyDeleteThe Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30; Tiffany Aching, #1)
A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld, #32; Tiffany Aching, #2)
Wintersmith (Discworld, #35; Tiffany Aching, #3)
I Shall Wear Midnight (Discworld, #38; Tiffany Aching, #4)
The Shepherd's Crown (Discworld, #41; Tiffany Aching, #5)
Lemme know if I'm on the right track. LOL And have a wonderful reading week, Cheriee!
This is the order for the Tiffany Aching series. The Shepherd's Crown was Pratchett's last book. He died before it was completed. It would probably be more developed had Pratchett lived to finish working on it, but it was still a joy to read.
DeleteIf you want to read something a bit more raunchy, I recommend Witches Abroad. You will meet some of the older witches who influence Tiffany's life. When I am next in the used bookstore I will see if I can find a second hand copy of Monkey Beach and mail it to you. It is profound!
I really enjoy Snail & Worm and think I may be behind on the series.
ReplyDeleteSo far there are only three. I am now in the position of anxiously waiting for the next....
DeleteWow—your crafting skills really are incredible! I love what you're doing on the quilts. These books sound so fun—the picture books you got from your grandchildren look wonderful, and I love that you're enjoying the Snail & Worm series! (Honestly, I feel bad for people who are so afraid to read kids' books that they miss out on all kinds of great stuff!) Thanks for the wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteIf only more adults would read children's books, I'm certain the world would be a better place!
Delete