Showing posts with label #Historical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Historical. Show all posts

#IMWAYR July 22, 2024

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. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.

We've had quite the spell of hot weather here. According to the official record, it's 41º C (102º F) outside while I write this Sunday afternoon. The thermometer on my back deck says it's 45º. Monday is supposed to be more of the same, but on Tuesday it is predicted to cool down. My raspberries are not doing well in this heat. 

Thank goodness we have a heat pump so the house is nicely air conditioned. I was able to to get my unicorn flimsy finished. I've decided to add a pieced border made from the colours of the unicorn. Here's what I've got so far. 

Once this part of the quilt was done, I spent a lazy afternoon reading and reviewing picture books. I don't understand why more adults don't read these. They encapsulate lessons that are important for people of all ages. 

Mostly while I was sewing I watched/listened to some Masterclass sessions on writing because my subscription expires on Tuesday and I don't plan to renew it. 

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


Berry Song by Michaela Goade July 19, 2022

I got shivers reading this stunning book. It tells the story of a young girl and her grandmother foraging for food in their environment. The forest sings to them and they sing back to let the land know that they are grateful. 


The Last Stand by Antwan Eady & Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey (Illustrators) July 19, 2022

This is a poignant story about a boy helping his grandfather out on the family farm. They harvest on Saturday, and then take the produce to a market where they sell to many regular customers. As the grandfather ages, the boy ends up taking on more and more of the work until he eventually takes over the market stall. 
This is one of those stories that is both heart wrenching and uplifting at the same time. This black farmer has spent his life providing for his community and when he is no longer able to do this, the community provides for him. 
I appreciated the authors note in the back matter explaining the history and significance of markets like this. 
Many thanks to Linda Bai for introducing this book to me. 


Circle of Love by Monique Gray Smith & Nicole Niedhardt (Illustrator) January 1, 2024 🍁

This beautifully illustrated book is a celebration of community and connection. It's a testimony to the benefits we receive from the the people in our lives. Ultimately, no matter what, love is love.  


Hockey with Dad by Willie Sellars & Kevin Easthope (Illustrator) January 1, 2024 🍁

This book continues the adventures of the same family we met in Dipnetting with Dad. It is told from the perspective of the same young boy. They are a hockey family. His older sister plays forward and his father is the team's coach. I really like the important messages about playing just because you love to play. "Play hard, be fierce, play with honour, but more important than anything, play because you love it. Remember that any day on the ice is a good day." 
I admit that I both love and hate the illustrations. 


My Little Ogichidaa: An Indigenous Lullaby by Willie Poll & Hawlii Pichette (Illustrator) April 30, 2024 🍁

Although the title indicates this is a lullaby, it isn't a soft lyrical one. These rhyming couplets read like spoken word poetry - an anthem and declaration of hope and promise for the future. 


We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America by Joanna Ho & Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya (Illustrator)

This is hands down my favourite Joanna Ho picture book. I'm absolutely purchasing a copy for my part Korean grandchildren. 
Each stanza shines a light on some aspect of Asian American history. Together they become a litany of rising up in the face of an onslaught of oppression. It's loaded with lessons all of us must learn no matter our background. 

"We who stand in solidarity
    understand the vines of freedom 
must climb arbors of cooperation
to bear fruits of liberation." 

Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya's illustrations are jaw dropping.


Woven of the World by Katey Howes & Dinara Mirtalipova  Feb 07, 2023

Katey Howes and Dinara Mirtaliptova introduce readers to the history, culture, and maybe even the future of weaving fabric. I am not a weaver, but through my other fabric arts work, I understand this rich connection to those who came before me. As I introduce the art of sewing to my granddaughter I reflect on my grandmothers, mother and aunts, and appreciate my place in the continuum. 

NON FICTION PICTURE BOOKS


One Day This Tree Will Fall by Leslie Barnard Booth & Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator) March 26, 2024

The prose in this nonfiction picture book left me aching to have some children to read it aloud too. It's stunning mentor text for writers of all ages. I read it out loud to myself, but it wasn't the same. If I was still teaching full time I would plan a tree ecology unit. This book and Log Life by Amy Hevron would be included - no matter the age of the learners. 

GRAPHIC NOVELS


Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd & Michelle Mee Nutter (Illustrator) March 02, 2021

This has been on my to read list for ages, but I had forgotten about it til Elizabeth Ellington wrote about it a couple of weeks ago. 
Like Maggie, the protagonist, I too am allergic to things with fur and feathers. Luckily I don't react as intensely as she did. We live in a pet free house if you don't count the spiders that live in places I can't reach. 
Maggie desperately wanted a dog, but on her 10th birthday when the family went to choose a puppy, she started reacting before they left the dog shelter. She really wanted any kind of pet, but her younger twin brothers ended up bonding with the lizard she brought home. Maggie is heartbroken when her best friend and neighbour, Claire, gets a pet dog. It's an important lesson for both of the girls to learn to listen better to each other, and clarify when something goes awry. With the help of Claire, Maggie purchases a small mouse that she keeps hidden from her family. Her health deteriorates because of it.
While Maggie's allergies are part of the issue here, she's also struggling with feelings of isolation in her family. Her brothers have a special connection. Her parents are absorbed with the new baby soon to arrive. It leaves Maggie feeling on the outside. The special magic of a newborn baby transforms Maggie and the whole family. 

ADULT/YA FICTION


A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur (Author), Greg Chun (Narrator) & Michelle H. Lee (Narrator) May 14, 2024  🍁

Reading a June Hur novel is the best kind of education about Korean history. She doesn't sugar coat or avoid the brutal depravity of the time she writes about. Each of her novels includes a strong female protagonist, mystery, and romance. This one had a bit too much romantic angst for me, but it was still satisfying. 
King Yeonsan, ruler in 1506, Joseon, was a brutal tyrant. When his people kidnapped Iseul's older sister, Suyeon, to be part of the king's harem, Iseul is determined to bring her home. 
Prince Daehyun, the king's half brother, is appalled by the king's predatory behaviour and is working with others to plan a coup. After an inauspicious first meeting, he and Iseul work together. 
I liked the prince right from the get go, but for the most part, Iseul irritated me. She's mostly a spoiled brat who is responsible for Suyeon being kidnapped in the first place. Thankfully she does eventually grow up enough to be tolerable. 


Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea, Mindy Kaling (Introduction) September 5, 2023 🍁

I'm really not the target audience for this since it has way to much teen angst and miscommunication for me. Neither did I care very much for the two main characters. I very nearly abandoned it, but went to read how the story ended and decided to give the book another chance. When the two protagonists finally started talking honestly to each other, I figured there was hope for them.

CURRENTLY 

A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver 

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story by David Alexander Robertson & Scott B. Henderson (Illustrator) April 27, 2015 🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustRead2024 13/25 

NonFiction 20/24

Canadian Authors 43/50 

Indigenous Authors 22/25 one on the go

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 139/200   

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#IMWAYR February 19, 2023

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. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.


Happy Family Day to everyone! Here in British Columbia, it's a day off. I hope you all find time to spend with the ones dear to you.
 
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.

FICTION PICTURE BOOKS


"Six people from different corners of the world celebrate the history, culture, and beauty behind their names."
This summary from my library's website tells nothing about how gorgeous and important this book is. I struggled with the pronunciation of many of the names. It's a good thing Joanna Ho shares how to say them so people like me can practice them before reading the book to a group of students. 



A young boy wakes up to discover snow outside. As he waits to go out and play in it, he imagines himself going through the steps to build a perfect snowman. At last he is dressed and heads off to start. Things don't go as planned, but in the end he realizes that his creation is good enough. 
As I read this book, especially the step by step snowman building process, I wished I was still teaching so I could use it as mentor text for procedural writing. 


This beautifully illustrated book taught me things I didn't know about the moon and how it influences different creatures on our planet. 

Henry likes routines. He likes things to stay the same. He likes to know what is going to happen when. So when their regular class schedule is disrupted and share time is switched to a different time to make space for a parade, he isn't happy. 
Thankfully, Henry finds a way to participate in the parade on his own terms. 
 
Henry's anxiety ratchets up as the week progresses and the day of change draws nearer. Bailey and Song show us how his dread affects him at a physical level. He has volcanoes in his stomach and not even his friend Katie can help him feel better. 
I appreciate the diversity of Henry's classroom. I can't recommend this book enough!

GRAPHIC NOVELS

This is is a graphic adaptation of the book by the same name. It's a brilliant retelling of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, who kept books alive while living at Auschwitz. The artwork is just brilliant.
I haven't read the original book, so I can't compare the two versions of the story. I really appreciated this one. Even though I have read many other narratives about the camps, I had no idea that the Nazi's kept a separate compound of Jewish prisoners to trick the Red Cross into thinking that all were being treated fairly. 


Milo and his family have moved into a new house. He's busy exploring when his mother asks him to check the basement for his baby sister's missing pick sock that their grandmother knitted.
To be honest, I was terrified along with Milo when he first went down those dark stairs. Then he sees a rat and freaks out for a bit. Soon he discovers a key and a doorway into a new room. He spies the rat with the sock and takes off after it. In the process he discovers it is a "really big basement!" It has multiple levels full of all kinds of treasures as well as a few horrors. He meets and befriends some strange creatures in this underground world. Together they help him search for the sock. One of those horrors is a slimy green gobbler that devours whoever it comes across. When it eats his new friends, he has to come up with a way to rescue them.
This is a brilliant yarn. (pun intended) I couldn't stop flipping through the pages to see what Milo would discover next. The levels are full of stunning replicas of famous artwork. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous.

ADULT/YA FICTION


When Dr. Sophie de Greer, a member of a government think tank goes missing, Anthony Sparrow, a bureaucrat close to the Prime Minister, accuses MI5 of disappearing her. Dianna Taverner, first desk of the agency, is their prime suspect. Meanwhile, the denizens of Slough House may or may not know where she is. 
Confusion, mayhem, treachery, and the usual backstabbing shenanigans ensue. 
I am now almost caught up in Mick Herron's Slough House series. I'm waiting for number 7, and then will have to wait along with everyone else for the next book to be published.


To be completely honest, I did not read all of this book. I don't do thrillers well, and when I came to the part where Pippa (the teen protagonist) figured out who the murderer was, I was too terrified to listen any more. I skipped to the end of the book to see how it all turned out. I do have a reserve on a text version of it so I can skim through the harrowing pages. 
Aside from that, I was completely invested in this debut novel. 
Pippa, who plans to become an investigative journalist, decides to examine a five year old murder for her final high school project. As she digs into the case she discovers that Andie Bell, the murder victim, wasn't the innocent she was purported to be. She discovers that many people close to her are keeping dangerous secrets, and that lies, racism, and corruption flourish under the town's patina of wholesomeness. I adored Pippa, her family, her friends, and her budding romance with Ravi, brother to the alleged murderer. 


This was a delightful respite following the previous novel. It's a mostly cozy historical mystery set in Victorian England. Violet and her sixteen year old half sister, Sephora, live with their Aunt Adelia. When she heads off to the continent with a new beau, she leaves Violet responsible for answering the Dear Miss Hermoine letters for her published advice column. Luckily Bunty, their aunt's housekeeper is there to help her.
One of the letters troubles Violet so she heads off to the village of Willingdale to meet the author, Ivy Armstrong. She arrives in the village just in time to attend Ivy's funeral. Posing as a school friend, Violet determines that Ivy's death was neither accident nor suicide and sets out to uncover who murdered her. There are plenty of suspects.
Meanwhile, Sephora is having a clandestine relationship with a secret beau. When he disappears she sets off into dangerous part of London to find him.
The story is told from the perspectives of the two sisters. Whereas Violet is educated and studious, Sephora is a social butterfly. At first their two narratives seem unrelated, but eventually they weave together. 
Even though this has a number of hair raising episodes, it's also full of humour. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series. 

I am a huge fan of fairy tales of any kind. I tell you this so you know I was predisposed to enjoy this, and I did. 
Emily Wilde is a adjunct professor at Cambridge who specializes in dryadology -  faerie folklore. She travels to the Scandinavian country of Ljosland to be the first person to document the local faeries and complete her Encyclopaedia of these creatures.
She doesn't get off to a good start with the local townspeople of Hrafnsvik. (Emily comes across as someone who might be on the autistic spectrum, since as brilliant as she is, she doesn't do social interaction well.) Then one of her colleagues, the handsome and charming Wendell Bambleby, shows up and offers to help. He is much more than he first seems. The two of them seem like opposites so you know romance is in the offing. 
What I like most about this book is the dark faerie lore and how it is integrated into the plot. It is full of changelings, enchantments, and all kinds of nasty faerie shenanigans.  
While Emily deals competently with many aspects of faerie folk, she also ends up over her head. As experienced as she is, she ends up caught in her own kind of fairy tale nightmare and has to be rescued by Bambleby and the rest of the townsfolk. 
I'm not happy with women needing rescue by men, but I'm still  planning on reading the sequel. 

CURRENTLY
 
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
Stazy and the Magic List by Nancy Hundal October 15, 2023  🍁
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline  🍁

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

The Faint of Heart by Kerilynn Wilson June 13, 2023
Besties Work It Out by Kayla Miller

READING GOALS 

#MustRead2024 3/25 one on the go

NonFiction 4/24 one on the go

Canadian Authors 5/50 two on the go

Indigenous Authors 2/25 one on the go

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 29/200 
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