Welcome readers! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. 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. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.
Here in Canada the Canada Reads longlist was announced. Canada Reads is hosted by CBC (our national broadcaster.) While it's an adult challenge, many high school classes also participate. The theme this year is books that “inspire readers to reflect on community.” I immediately went to my library and put all the books (except the three I've already read) on hold. I will read from the longlist until the shortlist is announced on January 26. Then I try to read those before the debate in March.
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
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| 5 stars |
When Langston Dances by Kaija Langley & Keith Mallett (Illustrator) September 07, 2021
The art in this just gobsmacked me. It's drop dead gorgeous. Langston is such an adorable boy you will want to scoop him off the pages and hug him.
But wait, there is so much more to adore about this book. It's in the beauty of the bodies, the relationship between mother and child, the joy in the child's face, the challenging of gender norms.
The first time his mother takes him to see a ballet, Langston falls in love with dance. He practices in front of his mirror. On the way to his first class he shows off his moves to everyone he meets. The end of the book moves us into the future where we see Langston as a young man dancing on a stage.
This book is so beautiful I had to read it twice.
We follow a young girl and her father as they travel through their city on the way to a violin recital. The illustrations provide us with a rich backdrop that highlights the sensory experiences of the young girl, who is blind.
Ashley Barron's artwork was rendered in cut-paper collage, watercolour, acrylic and pencil crayon, with some digital assembly.
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford & Floyd Cooper (Illustrations) February 02, 2021
This is an essential book. That it's beautifully written and illustrated underscores the unspeakable horror of the event. In 1921 a white mob attacked and destroyed the thriving black community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This picture book is an important introduction to this episode in history and a lead into doing more research.
I checked this out of my library to read again to compare it to one of the graphic novels I have been reading. If you haven't read this one, you must.
GRAPHIC NOVELS
These days I'm mostly reading graphic novels for the Cybils awards. I will do a post to share my thoughts on all of them after we pick a winner. From the ones I've finished, that's promising to be a daunting task.
Here's what I read last week. If I previously reviewed the book, I've provided a link to it.
Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby September 07, 2021 🍁
Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre by Alverne Ball, Stacey Robinson (Illustrations) et al May 04, 2021
In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, and Years after the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown August 10, 2021
NOVELS
This was a hard book to read. It is a story about the pain and rage felt by indigenous women. It's about unconditional love - or the lack of it.
It's the story of four generations of women. We see how the actions of one generation reverberate, directly or indirectly, through the following ones. In spite of the terrible things that happened to her, I ended up so angry with Margaret, the grandmother. My heart ached most for the recent generation of women. The foster care system leaves much to be desired.
What I liked most about the end of this book is that it leaves us with a glimmer of hope for their futures.
CURRENTLY
Washington Black by by Esi Edugyan (audiobook) 🍁
Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life by Cheryl Blackford (review coming next week)
What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad will be my next audiobook.
UP NEXT
Since I'm a round 2 Cybils judge, I am busy reading and rereading the finalists in the graphic novel categories. Hopefully I will find time for other books.
READING GOALS
#MustReadFiction 2/24
#MustReadNonFiction 1/18 one in progress
Canadian Authors 5/100
Canada Reads Finalists /5 one in progress
Indigenous Authors 1/25
I admire you taking on all those 'Canada Reads' books, Cheriee. Each one is probably another great one! I loved When Langston Dances as you have. It reminds me of a wonderful but old movie titled Billy Elliot. Have you seen it? And The Tulsa Race Massacre is one, yes, all of us should know. I had never heard of that terrible event until this past year, as many have said. Thanks for all!
ReplyDeleteJacqueline Woodson, in her novel Red At the Bone, wrote about the Tulsa Race Massacre. That was my introduction. In Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre I learned that there were a number of thriving black communities that were destroyed in more or less the same way.
DeleteI have seen Billy Elliot, too! Heartbreaking but life-affirming too. :)
DeleteI hope you enjoy your reading for the Canada Reads challenge—the longlist looks really compelling. And all the books you've been reading look great! I added My City Speaks and When Langston Dances to my TBR list—I had seen the former once or twice, but the latter is new to me. And I can't share any thoughts on Unspeakable, but it is one I just read for my Cybils judging—it must have been interesting to read at the same time as Across the Tracks! I also hadn't seen Cheer Up until it was selected as a finalist, but it's one I'd really like to read. The Strangers sounds really powerful as well. Thanks so much for the wonderful post, Cheriee!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Max. My City Speaks and When Langston Dances are really important books. I figure Unspeakable is sure to win awards. I deliberately went back to reread it after finishing up Across the Tracks. Perhaps it's not fair to compare different formats, but it seemed necessary at the time. If I was still in the library, I would make sure to have both of these books available for readers.
DeleteI loved Cranky Chicken! When Langston Dances and My City Speaks are both new to me. Thanks for the reviews!
ReplyDeleteI hope you find copies of those picture books. They are just gorgeous!
DeleteSooo many great books here! I just found When Langston Dances via Overdrive - and really looking forward to reading it and featuring it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to read this. I know you will love Langston!
DeleteSo many great books!
ReplyDeleteSomeday I'll have a yearly #mustread list. Currently I can't even keep track of what I mean to read next week.
I have learned to leave some room for flexibility and serendipity in my #mustread plans. Keeping track is hard. I have to put my Netgalley titles into my calendar to remember to read them.
DeleteWhen Langston Dances looks amazing! What a gorgeous cover, too. Can’t wait to get my hands on this one. My City Speaks is another I’d really like to read, so I’m adding it to my list. I’ve only “read” Unspeakable as a virtual read aloud, but wow. Essential is right! I would love for one of my local libraries to get a print copy on the shelves, this year. Pretty much everything in your post looks fantastic! I’m excited to hear your thoughts on graphic novels once you’re past judging. I wish we had a better selection of graphic novels in my area. We buy what we can afford because there’s not much here to borrow. Thanks for these shares, Cheriee!
ReplyDelete