Showing posts with label Beginner Chapter Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beginner Chapter Book. Show all posts

#IMWAYR February 6, 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. 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.

Both fabric arts workshops I attended the last couple of Mondays were brilliant. I learned a lot! I'm now working on a project of my own inspired by the paintings of Alma Thomas. 

Life was busy last weekend and last week so I didn't even try to come up with a post. Instead, I got a caught up on my reading and today I'm sharing two weeks of reading. 

I've decided to join Beverly A Baird & Linda Schueler in their Free Verse Fridays. On the first Friday of the month, we post a poem written on a theme. You can read my February contribution at the link below. 

Even though the shortlist has been announced, I'm still reading books from the longlist of Canada Reads. For those of you who don't know what this is, you can read more about it here. Essentially a number of books, authored by Canadians, are chosen to represent a theme. This year the theme is one book to shift your perspective. Five books are championed by five different celebrities who debate them on CBC across four days. Each day a different book is voted off. 

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.

BLOG POSTS LAST WEEK

FREE VERSE FRIDAY #2 WINTER



Nathalie Dion's illustrations are glorious. Right off the bat this huge expanse of sky and a line of horizon it took my breath away.

Kumo is a small cloud who has stayed away from the spotlight. When she is called upon to provide shade, she is fearful and full of self doubt. She soon learns that closing your eyes is a bad idea, but with the help of others, manages to figure out how to carry out her responsibility. She even ends up making some new friends. 


Blanket by Ruth Ohi August 2, 2022  🍁

Cat wakes up to a grey day. Not even the bluebirds outside their window make a difference. They hide under their blanket until a friend, Dog, arrives. Dog listens, reads, plays and sits with Cat until they feel better.
This is a profound book about sadness and understanding that just being there with someone really helps.


This is a perfect example of a picture book for adults - or at least for older readers. At first it seems like it's going to be about a child excited that their uncle is arriving tomorrow. It's not. Each page shows the child aging and waiting for the uncle who never arrives. Notes in the back matter make it very clear that this is a book about the disappeared.
 

When Gigi's grandfather comes to visit, their language and cultural differences distress her. With the help of her mother, and a grandfather eager to connect with her, they manage to bond. 


MG NOVELS


This is an intergenerational novel full of humour, worry, and love. Two children, Leo and Lizzie, end up alone with their unknown Grampa when their parents go to spend a few days a spa. While they are gone someone steals the farm's beehives. The trio end up on a wild adventure as they try to solve the mystery of the stolen hives. 
I encourage you to go and read my full review of this book. Then you should purchase it. 

5 stars

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger, Kinsale Hueston (Narrator) & Shaun Taylor-Corbett (Narrator) November 09, 2021

It's taken me ages to finally get to this book. I've had it checked out of the library a couple of times before finally getting to it. Maybe adding it to my #MustReadList helped?
It's told from two perspectives. Nina, a Lipan Apache girl, is a story teller who believes there is more out there than just our ordinary world. Oli is a cottonmouth youth who lives in the spirit world. When a catastrophe on earth causes one of his friends to become deathly ill, he and some friends visit in an effort to find a cure.
That summary doesn't come close to explaining how subversive and smart, and how brilliant and beautiful this book is. If it's not on your list, go and add it now! It is really neither a MG, YA, or an Adult read. It's a story for everyone!

 ADULT YA NOVELS

4 stars

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin & Ulka Simone Mohanty (Narrator) April 13, 2021 🍁

I probably wouldn't have finished this except that it was on the Canada Reads Longlist. 
I had a hard time getting into it because I thought it was going to be a romance along the same lines as the movie, "You've Got Mail." I worried that it would be full of angst. 
There is some of that here, but oh so much more! Readers are introduced to aspects of history of the Southeast Asian diaspora - especially as it pertains to the role of women. We see what it's like to deal with Islamophobia and racism.
What I mostly adored were the characters. Even the secondary ones have personalities, backstories and their own problems. The romance, when it really happened, was just lovely. 
I'm glad I read it. 

Nina Totenburg's memoir integrates the story of her own life with that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth was the same age as my mother and Nina is about 10 years older than me. I remember the struggles these trail blazers had to endure as professional women in a male dominated culture. Despite the very real challenges women and girls face today, our lives are much easier because of them. 

CYBILS GRAPHIC


I am unable to comment on these right now, so I'm just sharing quotes the from GoodReads blurbs. As soon as the winners are announced, I will post my reviews of them. 


Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith, Dawud Anyabwile & Derrick Barnes September 27, 2022

"On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. Both men were forced to leave the Olympics, received death threats, and faced ostracism and continuing economic hardships."

"An epic sci-fi graphic novel romance between two non-binary characters as they find one another through time, distance, and war. An amazing story that explores the complexity of human nature and what brings us together."


Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas May 17, 2022

"Bree can't wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees--until she's stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she's forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help."


"a must-have graphic novel about five very different students who are forced together by their school to complete community service... and may just have more in common than they thought."


"A little girl arrives, excited for a beach vacation with her Lao Lao. The girl and her grandmother search for shells, chase crabs, and play in the sea, but when the girl finds an exquisite flamingo feather in her grandmother's living room, her vacation turns into something fantastical."


The Woman in the Woods and Other North American Stories by Kate Ashwin (Editor) et al April 5, 2022

"Tricksters? Rabbits? Rougarou?
Shapeshifters so frightening you shouldn't speak their name? That's just the start of this collection of folklore from the Indigenous people of North America, retold in comic form."

Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship.


"It’s the first day of sophomore year, and now that Winifred’s two best (and only) friends have transferred to a private school, she must navigate high school on her own."

CURRENTLY

Half Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano 🍁
Crunch by Kayla Miller
Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye 🍁

UP NEXT 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 🍁
Greenwood by Michael Christie 🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 3/24

#MustReadNonFiction 0/20

Canadian Authors 9/75

Indigenous Authors 3/20

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 36/200


Posted by 23 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

#IMWAYR July, 11, 2022

Welcome readers! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have beouten 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. 


We enjoyed having our two grandkids visiting with us for four sleeps last week while Mom and Dad got the new house ready to move into. They arrived and left earlier than expected, so I am able to get a post in. The youngest had never been away from her parents before. During the day she was fine, but bedtime was hard. They returned home on Sunday. It was time. I came home, picked five pounds of raspberries, froze them, and crashed on my reclining rocking chair listening to an audiobook. My partner came in saying he already missed them. It will take me a day and getting all the chaos of toys strewn all over the house cleaned up before I do. As I write this, I am just enjoying the quiet down time. 

The best part of having them with us, is reading together. Ada is on the cusp of becoming an independent reader so we read fun pattern books to help her on her way. We also read lots of different picture books, but today I'm mostly just sharing books that are newish to me. 

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 
 
4 stars


A family spends the day at the beach in this wordless picture book. The three children spend their time trying to build a sand castle. Time and again it is destroyed by different things. A toddler totters through it. The wind blows a woman's hat into it. Waves crash into it. The siblings remain undaunted and rebuild after each disaster. Then it's time to go home. 
Qin Leng's artwork is brilliant. I spent hours poring over the illustrations. 
Then I gave it to my granddaughter to try out by herself. I think she isn't ready for this kind of book yet - at least, not all by herself. 

I like how this book is laid out. Each animal is given two full page spreads. In the first, the second page is folded over so we see an imaginary version of the unique creature we are about learn about. 


The inside spread has an illustration showing the animal in its habitat. Information boxes, written in scientific jargon, surround the beast. Each page has a fact box on the bottom right hand side with details about the animal. I like that these show a silhouette of a scuba diver or their mask compared to a similar image of the creature. This is a brilliant way of getting a sense of what the size data means. 


On the right hand side of the spread is large print text written from the perspective of each animal. I read and enjoyed this by myself the first time round. Then Ada and I read a few pages of the book for a few nights til it was done. Those personalized entries were what fascinated her most. 

CHAPTER BOOKS

5 stars

Charlie and Mouse Series by Laurel Snyder & Emily Hughes
Charlie & Mouse (#1) April 11, 2017; Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy (#2) January 1, 2017; Charlie & Mouse Outdoors (#4) March 3, 2020; Charlie & Mouse Lost and Found (#5) August 24, 2021

Charlie & Mouse Are Magic, the newest book in this charming series will be released in August. Luckily, Lost and Found was available at my library so I was able to introduce these two brothers to my five year old granddaughter, Ada. She ended up loving these characters as much as I do. We laughed together at all the same places. I then found some digital versions available at the library, downloaded them, and we binged a bit. We read the first book in the series a couple of times. Ada especially enjoyed the Bedtime Banana story. We both agreed that Grumpy is a lot like her Grandpa. 
I am thinking I will get one entire set for her and another for her cousin who is the same age. 
If you know nothing about these books, they are based on the author's two sons. They capture the joys and humour of everyday life. Emily Hughes' illustrations are the icing on the cake. She captures an innocence in childhood and shows us a diverse cultural community living together in harmony.

Ada and I enjoyed the first in this series well enough. Eva is a young owl who tries to organize a festival all be herself. It's an overwhelming task. At first she thinks she can do it by herself, but by the end realizes she needs help. Along the way she learns a valuable lesson about delegating and turns a foe into a friend. 

5 stars

The Princess in Black and the Bathtime Battle by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale & LeUyen Pham (Illustrations)

Ada and I are now caught up in our Princess in Black reading. We might have read this together before, but I didn't keep track of it. In this one the princesses superhero alias' have to work together to give a bath to a very stinky monster.  

NOVELS


This memoir by Jordan Sonnenblick goes a long way to explain why his fictionalized young men are some of the sweetest I've encountered in middle grade fiction. 
A lot happened to young Jordan when he was in grade four. His pet snake had way too many babies. He had bullies to watch out for, drum lessons to keep on top of, and had to take a lot of medication for his asthma. To top it all off, his teacher hated him - really hated him. (This last bit really made me really angry.) When she hit him his parents put him in a new school with a new loving teacher. 
This is an important book for teachers. As someone with asthma who on occasion has to take a lot of medication, I am fully aware of how jittery this makes us. I've always cut kids like young Jordan as much slack as I could. For those who never had to experience this, it gives you insight at what it feels like. The whole book is full of insights to help teachers become better people in the classroom. 
For readers, this book will help struggling students realize that they are not alone. They are sure to appreciate the humour in this.
I loved all the connections to comic books and literature. I managed to miss Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series. (I was in my last years of high school and taking in 'serious literature' when it was first published) After reading this I am convinced that I missed an important reading experience in my youth. 

4 stars

The Crosswood by Gabrielle S. Prendergast January 19, 2021 🍁

This is from the Orca Currents collection. These books are "are short, high-interest novels with contemporary themes written specifically for middle-school students reading below grade level. Reading levels from grade 2.0 to 5.0. Interest level ages 9-12"
Blue Jasper loves his twin siblings, but they are a handful to look after. One day when he is trying to give his mother a break, he takes them for a hike in the forest. Just like that, they disappear. It turns out they have been kidnapped by the Fairy King. Blue discovers that they are actually the children of the Fairy Queen. In exchange for her saving Blue's life, his mother made a bargain to look after the twins. Now the queen wants to take his mother's life for failing to take proper care of them. Blue makes a bargain with the queen and sets off into the dangerous fairie realms to rescue his foster siblings. Along the way he makes all kinds of new friends. 
As is common with these books, the plot zips right along. I was enthralled enough to keep turning page after page. What really impressed me was how much character development Prendergast managed to fit into this novel. I finished up wanting to read the sequels, The Wherewood & The Overwood. 
As a fan of Holly Black's fairie books, I wondered if this book would work for me. It turns out to be like a stripped down version of one of hers. It might not have the rich complexity of Black's books, but I was still pleasantly surprised. 


I am thankful to Karen Yingling, who highlighted this book a number of years ago. Anytime she gives a book 4 or more stars, it goes onto my must read list. I am a sucker for any book with grandparent connections and this book did not let me down. 
Set against the backdrop of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, this story of forged friendships unfolds through the perspectives of three main characters. Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko are two girls who lived in the city at that time. Both lost their fathers through the accident. Rita Grigorievna fled Kiev in 1941, just prior to the Nazi invasion. At first Valentina and Oksana seem to be enemies. Then they end up travelling together and staying in Leningrad with Valentina's grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. As Oksana gets to know Valentina and her grandmother she discovers that her abusive father's anti-Semitic rants were false. As the two girls and the grandmother get to know one another, love grows between them. Then Oksana's mother comes to take her back to Minsk. The man she is now with turns out to be as abusive, if not even more than her father was. It's up to Valentina and Rita to come up with a plan to rescue her. In the end it involves the Muslim family who save Rita in the 1940's. Fans of Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch will enjoy this. 

CURRENTLY

The Body by Bill Bryson
Traitors Among Us by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

UP NEXT 

Three Women and A Boat by Anne Younson
Truckers by Terry Pratchett

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 13/24 one in progress

#MustReadNonFiction 11/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 41/100 one in progress

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5 

Indigenous Authors 12/25

2022 Big Book Summer Challenge 4 one in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 162 /250

Posted by 22 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

#IMWAYR February 1, 2021

Hello out there. 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.

I have started sewing on the two Gossie and Friends quilts for my youngest grandkids. I'm beginning with the characters first and will do the rest of the little animals next. Then I'll get to all the scenery and background stuff. I will have to embroider eyes and other details eventually. I hope to get them finished at least before they start school!
Here's where I'm at now. After creating a few test pieces, I sewed all the yellow parts.  I've created patterns for most of the rest and have started stitching the orange bits (beaks, legs and feet). 



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

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

RECENT BLOG POSTS


PICTURE BOOKS

3 stars

Anonymouse by Vikki VanSickle & Anna Pirolli (Illustrations) 🍁 

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be published February 9, 2021.
In this nod to Banksy, an anonymous mouse creates art for creatures in an unnamed city. Anonymouse provides a delightfully unique perspective for these animals. Sometimes it makes them laugh. Sometimes it makes them think.
Even after Anonymouse disappears and moves on, the world of the animals is changed forever. They have learned to see and create beauty in their own ways.
Anna Pirolli's palette of hot pink, purples and browns was created digitally.
I really appreciated the idea that art can change how we view the world. I only wish that Anonymouse had been ungendered. 


I got this for Christmas from a couple of my grandchildren. Told in rhyming verse a grandmother tells her grandchild how and why she loves them. It's full of universal truths about this special relationship.
I only wish my grandkids were here for me to read this with them.


This is another Christmas gift from the same two granddaughters. Told in rhyming verse, a little bear gives reasons for why they love their grandmother. It sure captures the essence of this special relationship between the generations. I can hardly wait to read this with my little darlings.


The good thing about learning about a new series late in the game, is that you get to read a whole bunch without waiting for the next one to come out. Snail and Worm was instant love for me. As If I don't already miss my grandkids enough, I really wish I could go visit with them just to read these books with them. These two creatures are interesting friends. The three stories in each book are told from their perspective. In the first story here readers learn how they met. In the second, Snail climbs a flower while Worm cheers it on, and in the last one, we meet their pets. Seriously, these are the best!

5 stars

Snail & Worm Again by Tina Kugler

Here I am, a grown woman devouring early chapter books. I tell myself it's research so I have ideas of what books to get my grandkids, but honestly, they are fun to read all by myself.
Snail and Worm are charming friends. The three stories in each book are full of sweetness and humour. In the first one Snail and Worm think that Snail has grown wings. In the second, they mistake a penny for a mirror and admire themselves in it. In the last one, Snail is sad because they compare themselves to other animals and things. Not only are they hilarious, important messages are shared!

5 stars

Snail and Worm All Day: Three Stories About Two Friends by Tina Kugler

Oh No! I have come to the last book available in this series aboout the charming Snail and Worm!
The books just keep on getting better and better. Yes they are full of silliness, but Kugler manages to sneak in some important ideas while making us laugh.
Like the others, the book includes three short stories. In the first one here Snail might be having a bad day, but sees that great things are happening around for others. In the second, Snail mistakes a turtle for a dragon in a cave. In the last one, the two friends collaborate on a bedtime story.
I seriously adore these! They are perfect for fans of Elephant and Piggy.

NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

How to Promenade with a Python (and Not Get Eaten): A Polite Predators Book by Rachel Poliquin & Kathryn Durst (Illustrations) 🍁 

If I was still working in a school library, I would purchase this in a heartbeat. It's got just the right amount of facts, farce and fear to engage readers of all ages. I only wish I could have found out more about Kathryn Durst's process for creating these vibrant illustrations. To find out more about this title, check out my full review here.

5 stars

Nesting by Henry Cole

This book is gobsmackingly gorgeous. It follows a couple of American Robins as they meet, build a nest, lay four eggs and raise the chicks. There is a note at the end with additional information about these creatures. 

GRAPHIC NOVELS


Go with the Flow by Lily Williams & Karen Schneemann

A young teen brings the issue of lack of menstrual awareness and support to her school. Whether or not this one wins the Cybil award, I would purchase it for my school library. 

You know how you finish a book and wonder what took you so long to read it? This is one of those. 
It's been called Northern Gothic and that's a pretty good a description. It reminded me in parts of Jesmyn Ward's work written a decade later.
The story focuses on Lisa and her nuclear family. It begins with her brother Jimmy's disappearance on a boat with his girlfriend's uncle. Her parents head south to where he was last seen, while Lisa remains in Kitamaat. While waiting, Lisa's reminiscences cycle round from the present into her past and back again. She revisits her relationships with her Uncle Mick, her grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, and the spirit world. What's fascinating here is how these two people connect her Haisla roots to the modern world of AIM. Eventually she heads off in a boat to meet up with her parents. She ends up on Monkey Beach, and a confrontation with the spirit world.
I can't begin to gush enough about the beauty of the writing here. I swear I was transported to the Northwest coast in the rainforest of the Haisla and Heiltsuk people. I was swept up into her character's lives.
Just Wow!

4 stars

Vi by Kim Thúy (Author and Narrator) 🍁 

I read this because it is the One Eread Canada book and I adore Kim Thúy's writing.
Like her book Ru, it tells of a family who had to flee Vietnam and ended up in Canada.
Vi is the youngest in a family with three older brothers. Her father, who stayed behind, was brought up as a spoiled, wealthy, young man. He never changed. Her hardworking mother doted on him. Vi is a product of her Vietnamese upbringing and the westernized world of Quebec. This book explores her cultural and family roots. It focuses on the conflict between then and now in both Canada and Vietnam. I was fascinated by the connection between her mother's relationship with her father and Vi's relationships with the men in her life.
 
DISCWORLD NOVELS


Rincewind and the rest of the wizards from Unseen University end up in "Australia" which is in the process of evolving. Pratchett messes around with Time Travel in this one. 


Commander Sam Vimes, Duke of Ankh, and his wife, Lady Sybil, are sent off to Überwald on a diplomatic mission to represent Ankh-Morpork at the inauguration of the new King of Dwarfs. Along with them, Lord Vetinari send Detritus, a troll, and Corporal Littlebottom, a dwarf to represent ethnic minorities in the region.

The Scone of Stone, a sacred relic to the Dwarves necessary in the crowning of the new King has gone missing. Officer Angua's werewolf family are involved in the plot. The delegation is caught up in the middle of machinations that may erupt into civil war between different factions of Dwarves. Vimes is cornered by, and has to outrun a pack of werewolves. Through it all, Sam and Lady Sybil learn more about each other and she manages to tell him that they are going to have a baby.


“A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.”
This book is eerily prescient given the plethora of misinformation and lies being spread through media today.
Moveable type comes to the Discworld and William de Worde, Discworld's first investigative reporter, starts up a newspaper, the Ankh- Morpork Times. In response, the engraver's guild starts up the The Ankh-Morpork Inquirer, a rag filled with fictitious news. William and his team, reporter, Sacharissa Cripslock and iconographer, Otto, a vampire, get caught up in a conspiracy that has been set in motion to destroy the patrician.
 

Pratchett's Witches miniseries are some of my favourite novels in the Discworld. When this short story showed up next in my reading of the collection, I was more than ready for a visit with Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax. Granny Weatherwax is the most powerful witch on the Discworld. When the Lancre Witch Trials come around, a committee of organizers ask Granny to step aside so that other witches have a chance to win. What Granny does, is become nice, very very nice about it all. It's hilarious and terrifying all at the same time.

CURRENTLY 

I'm reading Patron Saints of Nothing by by Randy Ribay. I've started This Wound Is A World, a collection of poetry by Billy-Ray Belcourt. I'm listening to a title from Canada Reads long list, All Together Now: A Newfoundlander's Light Tales for Heavy Times by Alan Doyle.

UP NEXT 

I will be reading and reviewing Super Detectives by by Cale Atkinson. I plan to start Crossing Home Ground by David Pitt-Brooke, a book club title that focuses on the region where I live. If I finish Belcourt's poems I want to start reading Our Corner Store by Robert Heidbreder. The next Discworld title will be 
Thief of Time. 
I've finished all the Cybil graphic novel finalists that I can get my hands on. I'm hoping to access the remaining three, but am not holding out hope. 

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS 

#MustReadIn2021 4/25 

#MustReadNFIn2021 2/12 

#MustReadPBIn2021 7/100

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 4/25 one in progress

Books by Canadian Authors: 9/100

Canada Reads 2021 1/5

Discworld Series 25/41 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 47/333 

Posted by 12 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)