Welcome! 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. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. I'm also connecting up with the Sunday Salon. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.
![]() |
5 stars |
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise (October 15, 2024)
Early Bird might not be able to guard the castle during the night, but that doesn't mean, they don't have many other talents.
This book is a celebration of individual differences and strengths. At the same time, in the end, it's also about the power of many.
![]() |
3.5 stars |
Nori and His Delicious Dreams by Jeff Chiba Stearns March 1, 2020 🍁
Nori goes to bed each night dreaming of sleeping with food. What I liked most about this book is that it takes the reader on a multicultural culinary journey. A double page spread in the back of the book explains where all the dishes come from.
This is a book that would work well as an introduction to a more in depth conversation about gender expectations, stereotypes, and social justice.
I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching, #4) by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Briggs (Narrator) September 2, 2010
This book won the Andre Norton Award in 2011.
Amid a climate of suspicion and prejudice, Tiffany, now fifteen, is fully immersed in her role as witch of the chalk. It turns out that the Cunning Man, a demonic spirit, is spreading hatred of witches in general, and is coming for Tiffany in particular. Even when she identifies who is responsible, and learns how it all began, it doesn't stop the monster. In the end, Tiffany, like many witches before her, has to figure out how to deal with him herself.
I appreciate that Pratchett shows us how rumour, hatred, racism and bigotry work in our world. While I value the importance of an individual speaking up, I wish that he had shown a group of individuals working together to overcome this evil, instead of the trope of the lone heroine saving the day. Tiffany might have had only one Cunning Man to deal with, but there are many Cunning Men stoking hatred and division among us today. It is going to take a massive amount of collective effort to defeat it.
It's also a book about tragedy and trauma and how all these people cope with it.
Like Medicine Wheel for the Planet by Jennifer Grenz, a book I talked about a few weeks ago, this book is all about forging a new kind of relationship with the natural world.
Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters by Marlene Zuk August 9, 2022
NonFiction 11/30
Canadian Authors 19/50
Indigenous Authors 6/25
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 38/200