#IMWAYR January 31, 2022

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 we are with another week of reading to celebrate!

The Canada Reads shortlist contenders and their champions was announced last week. I had already read four of them and finished the fifth last week. Now I'm just hoping to reread one of them that I read quite a while ago. 

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

Alice & Gert: An Ant and Grasshopper Story by Helaine Becker Aug 15, 2020  🍁

The original version of this tale portrays the grasshopper as lazy and worthless while the ant is esteemed as hardworking. That grasshopper met a sad end.
I prefer this version much more.
In this one, Ant works hard gathering seeds for winter while Grasshopper works hard to keep Ant entertained while she works. When the cold weather comes, Ant invites Grasshopper to stay with her. In return, Grasshopper keeps her entertained throughout the cold months.
Dena Seiferling's gorgeous illustrations paired with Helaine Becker's retelling show us that not only do we need more art in our lives, we need to value the work of artists who bring pleasure and meaning to us.

4 stars

Change Sings: a Children's Anthem by Amanda Gorman & Loren Long (Illustrator) September 21, 2021

This is a beautiful book about how we can come together and change the world. Loren Long's illustrations are absolutely glorious. I adored the message of this picture book.
Be prepared to practise reading this to yourself a few times before reading it out loud to a group. As much as I loved this, the format didn't really work for me.

4 stars

Beautifully Me by Nabela Noor & Nabi H. Ali (Illustrator) September 14, 2021

On her first day of school, Zubi hears all kinds of incidental remarks that cause her to doubt her own beauty.
These are the kinds of comments, probably inculcated over a longer period of time, that lead to internalized fat shaming and self hatred.
I love that Zubi’s reaction to all this, and her family’s response, help all of them, and all of us, think about beauty in a healthier ways.

5 stars

The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler (Illustrator) February 01, 2005

After reading this sequel to The Gruffalo, I went to reread the original. I love how this one revisits it in a new way. The Gruffalo's child heads off in search of the big bad mouse. Along the way she runs into the same animals who wanted to eat the original mouse. Readers will appreciate these interactions best if The Gruffalo is fresh in their mind. The poetry in this is brilliant.

POETRY

5 stars

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson & Nikkolas Smith (Illustrator) November 16, 2021

Just wow! This collection of illustrated poems provides a look into the history of black people before they were ripped from their homes, families, and friends in Africa and after they were enslaved in the Americas. It is absolutely essential reading for people of all ages.

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 so far, 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.

My Last Summer with Cass by Mark Crilley  (Cybil title)

NOVELS

5 stars

What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad & Dion Graham (Narrator) July 20, 2021 🍁
Amir, a nine year old boy is the only survivor of a shipwreck. The boat was full of other refugees from Syria, Palestine, Ethiopia, Egypt and Lebanon. He escapes from the soldiers cleaning up the beach and is rescued and hidden by Vanna, a teenage girl who lives on the island. The story is told in two parts in alternating chapters. Before tells how Amir ended up on the boat and what happened on it. The after section describes their journey to get Amir to safety.
The book is brilliant. It's emotionally terrifying. A review I read used the work harrowing. I think that's a perfect word for it. In spite of all that, I felt hope. 

And then that ending, the Now arrived. 

I'm still struggling with what it all means. I think it's saying a lot about western culture and the difference between who we want to be, who we think we are, and who we really are.

CURRENTLY

Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence by Nicola I. Campbell
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney & Robyn Smith (Illustrator) (Cybil title)

UP NEXT 

History Smashers, Plagues and Pandemics by Kate Messner
Solimar by Pam Muñoz Ryan

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 2/24 

#MustReadNonFiction 1/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 7/100 one in progress

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5

Indigenous Authors 2/25 one in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 33/250