Hope you are all staying safe inside these days and managing to find comfort in books, art, interacting with friends via the internet and whatever other hobbies you enjoy. I have planned out three quilting projects and managed to get one of them cut and ready to sew. Unfortunately I have started packing up my house so I probably won't be doing much sewing other than masks for friends and family in the next while.
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.
PICTURE BOOKS
Light A Candle/Tumaini Pasipo Na Tumaini by Godfrey Nkongolo, Eric Walters, Eva Campbell (Illustrations) 🍁
This is a fictional retelling of an important event in the history of the United Republic of Tanzania. It is told in both English and Swahili.
Ngama is a young Chagga boy who goes against his father's wishes and follows a group of men who were tasked to light a freedom torch at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro to unite their new country. Eva Campbell's art captures the majesty of the country and the culture of the people in her vibrant painting.
The back matter contains additional information about the country and it's origins.
Unicorns 101 by Cale Atkinson 🍁
This compendium of information about unicorns is delightfully hilarious. It’s chock full of important facts that are sure to please the unicorn fan club. The jacket cover even has glitter on it. In the back matter there’s a Unicorn Scientificus Diploma readers can fill in proving they are officially Unicorn Scientists. Cale Atkinson knows his stuff. According to the jacket cover, he studied under Professor Sugar Beard to earn his PhD in hornology. His knowledge shines through in the comical illustrations filled with a riot of rainbow colours.
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Moose by Chrissy Bozik & Scot Ritchie (Illustrator) 🍁
This is a fun retelling on the traditional story. It has a definite Canadian twist to it with all the things the old lady eats. The ending is just delightful!
NOVELS
The Wicked King by Holly Black & Caitlin Kelly (Narrator)
I am just loving everything about this series - the characters, the world building, the suspense and tension both romantic and political. The only thing I hate is having to wait for the next book to become available.
The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard & Xe Sands (Narrator)
This takes us into the lives of numerous characters who worked on the Manhattan Project. Ordinary people had no idea they were working on the atomic bomb. The title is deceptive because it actually introduces us to the reality for multiple characters, not just women. The main focus is a country girl, June, who ends up in a relationship with Dr Sam Cantor, one of the scientists. June shares a dormitory with another young woman, CC. Their relationship starts out positive but deteriorates when CC can no longer control June. I appreciated Dr Cantor's moral dilemma as he worked towards creating a bomb that he knew was going to be horrific. I was also fascinated by the lives of the black men who worked as labourers and janitors.
This is ok as a light romantic story, but didn’t get into enough details about the actual going’s on at the site for me. That said, it's made me want to read this nonfiction title about life in Atomic City: The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II.
Making Friends with Billy Wong by Augusta Scattergood.
This is why I have MustRead lists. Making Friends with Billy Wong has been on my list for the past few years and I finally got to it. It's the story of a girl and her grandmother. It's about making mistakes and reconciliation. It's about friendship. It's a reminder to look deep beneath the surface to understand where others are coming from.
Set in 1953, this historical novel features Azalea as the main protagonist, but Billy Wong's perspective is shown in alternate verse chapters. It's a powerful format that enables readers to learn what it was like to live in an important time in history. The underlying sweetness encourages us to have empathy for those who are different from us.
Finding Cooper by Stacey Matson 🍁
I have mixed feelings about this book. Cooper Arcano and his best friend, Ali, are fans of The X Files and unsolved mysteries. Cooper's grandfather is losing his memories due to Alzheimer's disease. Somehow Cooper ends up engaged in some fantastical magical thinking. He gets it into his head that his grandfather is the famous outlaw, D.B Cooper and is faking his illness. If Cooper can prove it, then he will come into enough money to cover the cost of his grandfather's care and his parents will stop fighting and not get divorced. He ends up getting himself and his friend into all kinds of trouble before it's all over.
I really appreciated the authenticity of the grandfather's decline and the family's struggle to deal with the emotional and financial stress that accompanied it. I liked the authentic characters - especially Cooper's mom and his friend Ali. I liked Cooper.
My quibble is that while I understand that Cooper's belief in his hypothesis about his grandfather is connected to his not wanting to acknowledge reality, it just did't work for me. I can't see any of the 12 year old boys I've met getting caught up in this. I would love to be able to give this to some of them and see what they think. Maybe they will enjoy seeing the mistakes Cooper is making before he does.
CURRENTLY
I've just started listening to Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker. With my eyes I'm reading a graphic novel, The Monster Sisters and the Mystery of the Unlocked Cave by Gareth Kyle Gaudin, and The Three Spartans by James McCann.
UP NEXT
Ru by Kim Thúy will be the next audiobook. I'm hoping to read at least three novels and three picture books from my Chocolate Lily Box.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2020: 5/25
#MustReadNFIn2020: 3/12
25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 9/25
100 books by Canadian Authors: 65/100
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 137/333
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.
PICTURE BOOKS
 |
| 4 stars |
This is a fictional retelling of an important event in the history of the United Republic of Tanzania. It is told in both English and Swahili.
Ngama is a young Chagga boy who goes against his father's wishes and follows a group of men who were tasked to light a freedom torch at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro to unite their new country. Eva Campbell's art captures the majesty of the country and the culture of the people in her vibrant painting.
The back matter contains additional information about the country and it's origins.
 |
| 5 stars |
This compendium of information about unicorns is delightfully hilarious. It’s chock full of important facts that are sure to please the unicorn fan club. The jacket cover even has glitter on it. In the back matter there’s a Unicorn Scientificus Diploma readers can fill in proving they are officially Unicorn Scientists. Cale Atkinson knows his stuff. According to the jacket cover, he studied under Professor Sugar Beard to earn his PhD in hornology. His knowledge shines through in the comical illustrations filled with a riot of rainbow colours.
 |
| 4 stars |
This is a fun retelling on the traditional story. It has a definite Canadian twist to it with all the things the old lady eats. The ending is just delightful!
NOVELS
 |
| 5 stars |
I am just loving everything about this series - the characters, the world building, the suspense and tension both romantic and political. The only thing I hate is having to wait for the next book to become available.
 |
| 3 stars |
This takes us into the lives of numerous characters who worked on the Manhattan Project. Ordinary people had no idea they were working on the atomic bomb. The title is deceptive because it actually introduces us to the reality for multiple characters, not just women. The main focus is a country girl, June, who ends up in a relationship with Dr Sam Cantor, one of the scientists. June shares a dormitory with another young woman, CC. Their relationship starts out positive but deteriorates when CC can no longer control June. I appreciated Dr Cantor's moral dilemma as he worked towards creating a bomb that he knew was going to be horrific. I was also fascinated by the lives of the black men who worked as labourers and janitors.
This is ok as a light romantic story, but didn’t get into enough details about the actual going’s on at the site for me. That said, it's made me want to read this nonfiction title about life in Atomic City: The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II.
 |
| 4 stars |
This is why I have MustRead lists. Making Friends with Billy Wong has been on my list for the past few years and I finally got to it. It's the story of a girl and her grandmother. It's about making mistakes and reconciliation. It's about friendship. It's a reminder to look deep beneath the surface to understand where others are coming from.
Set in 1953, this historical novel features Azalea as the main protagonist, but Billy Wong's perspective is shown in alternate verse chapters. It's a powerful format that enables readers to learn what it was like to live in an important time in history. The underlying sweetness encourages us to have empathy for those who are different from us.
 |
| 3.5 stars |
I have mixed feelings about this book. Cooper Arcano and his best friend, Ali, are fans of The X Files and unsolved mysteries. Cooper's grandfather is losing his memories due to Alzheimer's disease. Somehow Cooper ends up engaged in some fantastical magical thinking. He gets it into his head that his grandfather is the famous outlaw, D.B Cooper and is faking his illness. If Cooper can prove it, then he will come into enough money to cover the cost of his grandfather's care and his parents will stop fighting and not get divorced. He ends up getting himself and his friend into all kinds of trouble before it's all over.
I really appreciated the authenticity of the grandfather's decline and the family's struggle to deal with the emotional and financial stress that accompanied it. I liked the authentic characters - especially Cooper's mom and his friend Ali. I liked Cooper.
My quibble is that while I understand that Cooper's belief in his hypothesis about his grandfather is connected to his not wanting to acknowledge reality, it just did't work for me. I can't see any of the 12 year old boys I've met getting caught up in this. I would love to be able to give this to some of them and see what they think. Maybe they will enjoy seeing the mistakes Cooper is making before he does.
CURRENTLY
I've just started listening to Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker. With my eyes I'm reading a graphic novel, The Monster Sisters and the Mystery of the Unlocked Cave by Gareth Kyle Gaudin, and The Three Spartans by James McCann.
UP NEXT
Ru by Kim Thúy will be the next audiobook. I'm hoping to read at least three novels and three picture books from my Chocolate Lily Box.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2020: 5/25
#MustReadNFIn2020: 3/12
25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 9/25
100 books by Canadian Authors: 65/100
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 137/333
