#IMWAYR August 9, 2021

 Hello everyone. 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.

In the last couple of weeks my sister and I have managed to get two baby quilts almost completed. Here's the one that's ready to give away. 

Then last weekend my four year old granddaughter was visiting. She kept us busy. Ada adored the quilt I had just finished and wanted one just like it for her doll. While she was here Grandpa helped her make a set of bunk beds for them. Ada chose the colours for the quilts and even sat on my lap while I sewed them. The rest of the time when I was sewing, she played around with scraps of fabric. We ended up making mattresses and pillows to go with them. 

We also built a huge duplo house and played a lot of 'visiting with grandma and grampa.' We went swimming, canoeing, and collected flat rocks that we painted. She was here for six sleeps and wasn't ready to go home. Her little sister, mother, and father insisted it was time because they missed her so much. We were heartbroken (and exhausted) when she left. 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator. 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.


PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Fred Gets Dressed
by Peter Brown May 4, 2021

My granddaughter and I enjoyed this lovely book about a boy who ends up dressing up in his mother's clothes. She is starting to think that there are boy things and girl things. This is a delightful book for eliminating those kinds of budding stereotypes.

5 stars

Bodies Are Cool
by Tyler Feder June 1, 2021

The rollicking rhyme and rhythm in this book begs to be read out loud. It showcases the beautiful diversity in bodies. No matter what age, colour, shape or size, bodies are indeed cool! 


A young girl comes upon her great uncle waiting by an abandoned train station. He tells her of boarding a train from there when he was young. He and his siblings were taken to a residential school. He was there for six years before he came home.
The book doesn’t deal with the horrors of that place, but it does highlight the loss of language, culture and relationships.
Georgia Lesley’s gorgeous illustrations enhance the emotional impact of this story.

3 stars

Spirit Bear: Fishing for Knowledge, Catching Dreams
 by Cindy Blackstock & Amanda Strong (Illustrator) January 1, 2018  πŸ

Essentially this book addresses the underfunding of Indigenous education in Canada. In 2016 funding on reserves was only up to half of what their provincial counterparts received. This book focuses on the reality of the community of Attawapiskat. A school was built in 1976, but three years later, 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked into the ground under the school. Even though children and staff got sick from attending the school, it wasn’t until 2000 that the government set up portables on the playground area. By 2005 the trailers were breaking down and infested with mice and black mold. In 2007, Shannen Koostachin, a grade eight student, began advocating for a new school. Unfortunately she died in a car accident attending high school away from her community. In 2012 the community finally got a new school. Shannen's dream continues through shannensdream.ca, a group working to build schools and ensure equal funding for education for all Indigenous children in Canada.
This book contains an important message. Unfortunately, the fictional component didn’t work for me.


Like this duo's first book, A Family is a Family is a Family, this one showcases a diverse group of characters. It addresses micro aggressions couched as questions. Adults can learn a lot from this book. You can read my full review with images here.

CHILDREN'S NON FICTION


This looks at food across time and space. The content is rich, but the presentation of it leaves much to be desired. You can read my full review here

4 stars

The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging
by Hannalora Leavitt & Belle Wuthrich (Illustrations) Apr 13, 2021  πŸ

This book explores what it means to be disabled. While I have a few quibbles with it, I would definitely purchase it for my school library and encourage teachers to read it. You can read my full review here

CHAPTER BOOKS


When my granddaughter was here we started out reading a collection of books every evening. After a few nights we transitioned into just reading one of the Princess in Black titles. Each night we read a new one. Ada loves them. Hopefully these will shake up her notion of what it means to be a princess.

NOVELS


Nancy Wake was a fascinating character. This was one of those books that I had a hard time stopping listening to once I started. I was so enthralled I would interrupt my partner's reading to tell him about her. At one point I went to read more about her and discovered something that gave away an important part of the story. It didn't change my enjoyment of it.
This is both an historical romance and a thrilling war story. It's written in alternate time frames. One part tells of her courtship and marriage. The other tells of her work in France as one of Britain's Special Operations Executives.

5 + stars

Firekeeper's Daughter
by Angeline Boulley & Isabella Star LaBlanc (Narrator) March 16, 2021

This book is brilliant. It’s a nerve wracking thriller steeped in Anishinaabe culture.
These characters are beautifully written. They are rich, complex and loaded with nuance. I adored all the strong women. Of all the supporting characters, the elders are some of the finest I’ve read. The unraveling of the mystery was fraught with surprises and betrayal. The romance was satisfying and realistic. I loved this ending.
This is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.


This is a highly satisfying feminist fantasy. I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out in 2022.

4 stars

Arsenic and Adobo
by Mia P. Manansala & Danice Cabanela (Narrator) May 4, 2021

This is a delightful cosy mystery. It's chock full of diverse characters making their way in a culinary world. I listened to this, but figure I'm going to have to find a hard copy just to get the recipes at the end of the book.  


Although I finished the print version of this book recently, when the audiobook became available, I had to experience it in this format as well. Kevin R. Free didn't let me down. 

CURRENTLY

The Fabulous Zed Watson! by Kevin Sylvester & Basil Sylvester
Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya (audiobook)
Compulsory by Martha Wells (A Short Story) 
 
UP NEXT

Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer by Leslie Gentile
Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly
My Name Is Seepeetza by Shirley Sterling
Made in Korea by Sarah Suk
I'll try to work at getting the picture book pile under control.

BLOG POSTS PLANNED FOR NEXT WEEK

The Deepest Dig by Mark David Smith

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MustReadIn2021 20/25
 one in progress

#MustReadNFIn2021 8/12

#MustReadPBIn2021 48/100 

Big Book Summer Challenge 8 

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 27/25

Books by Canadian Authors: 78/100 one in progress

Canada Reads 2021 4/5 

Discworld Series 41/41

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 291 /333 

11 comments:

  1. I don't know where to begin! Great post, Cheriee! I love seeing your sweet Ada & all the things you and your husband did with and for her! That is so special. I am excited that The Train is at my library, & I noted other books like Bodies are Cool, too. I loved The Firekeeper's Daughter, certainly always wishing I had more time to read them all! Thank you!

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  2. I've been hearing a lot about Firekeeper's Daughter. It sounds great! Love your photos! What a wonderful visit!

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    1. I hope you can find time for Firekeeper's Daughter. It is soooo good!

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  3. I'm so glad you got to have such a fun visit with your granddaughter, and I appreciate you telling us all about it! And your quilts look lovely as well. All of these books sound great! I keep hearing tons of praise for Fred Gets Dressed, and Spirit Bear sounds really powerful if imperfectly executed. And I'm glad you enjoyed Firekeeper's Daughter—it seems like one I should read, but I don't have a clue where to cram it in! The same goes for The Gilded Ones. Thanks so much for the great post!

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    1. Finding time to read everything I want to read is brutal.

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  4. Oh, what a sweet little dear! I know that feeling of being heartbroken and exhausted at the same time, ha! I feel that way every time I go to work - I miss my dear little whirlwind, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a wee bit relieved to be able to sit still for a moment, ha. :-)

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    1. That's it exactly Jane. My partner and I just collapsed for 24 hours after taking her home.

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  5. Oh, Cheriee, I just loved hearing about your granddaughter's visit! She's adorable, and the doll bunk beds with homemade doll quilts are so awesome! (so is the big quilt - gorgeous colors). Loved hearing about your read-alouds I SO miss that precious time with my sons when they were little!

    Wow, so many great books! I've heard wonderful things about Code Name Helene and Firekeeper's Daughter, and The Gilded Ones, too but haven't read any of them yet. So many good books and never enough time for them all!

    And 8 Big Books so far this summer - way to go!

    Sue

    Book By Book

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  6. Great assortment of books! I loved Firekeeper's Daughter too. I'm glad you had fun with your granddaughter. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  7. I loved Code Name Helene too.
    I’m not surprised your granddaughter didn’t want to leave ;)

    Wishing you a great reading week

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