#IMWAYR January 18, 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.

Good luck to all our American friends this coming week. We wish you a peaceful transition of power on Inauguration Day.

We had glorious sunny weather last week so I am trying to get back into taking daily walks. I used to wait for the afternoon when it would be a bit warmer, but discovered that if I get out first thing I am more likely to actually do it! How do you maintain an exercise regime?  

I am excited that the Canada Reads shortlist has been announced. This year's theme is One Book to Transport Us. The debate over what book best meets the criteria to achieve this will be held in March. As soon as I saw the list I made sure to put holds on copies at my local library. I was already in the middle of one of them, Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehouse. 

There is only one month until #IReadCanadianDay on February 17th. I'm hoping to I will get a post written sharing some of my favourite Canadian titles a week in advance. I should probably start organizing books soon!

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

This is Frog by Harriet Evans & Jacqui Lee (Illustrations)

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

The Barnabus Project by Eric Fan, Terry Fan,  & Devin Fan 🍁

Devin Fan, an artist, poet and youth worker, joins his brothers for the first time in this book. The artwork is as fabulous as everything else the brothers create. Barnabus, half mouse and half elephant, is a genetically modified creature built for the pet market. Unfortunately, he lives under a bell jar on a shelf with other animals like himself. Deemed failures, they are scheduled to be recycled. In spite of being told it's impossible, Eric breaks his jar and frees the rest of the beasts. They manage to escape and find a new, safe place to live.
Underscoring this charming picture book are some significant messages. One is the importance of liking yourself for who you are. Another highlights the power of working together. It's how the band of misfits is able to escape, survive and thrive.

5 stars

Grandmother School by Rina Singh & Ellen Rooney (Illustrator) 🍁

This tells the story of the Aajibaichi Shala, a school for grandmothers in a village in India. The grandmothers are all over 60 and the oldest is 90. They watched their brothers and their children go to school, but until now, never had the chance to go themselves. The first part of the book tells of one grandmother and her granddaughter. Through their story we see the grandmother's passion to become literate.
What I loved most about this book is the gorgeous pink saris the grandmothers wear. Perhaps in India pink is not as gendered as it is here. For me the colour symbolizes liberation and taking back of women's power. That's exactly what is happening here.

5 stars

The Lady with the Books: A Story Inspired by the Remarkable Work of Jella Lepman by Kathy Stinson & Marie Lafrance (Illustrator) 🍁 

Everything about this book makes my heart sing. It's the story of Jella Lepman and her International Children's library. At the end of the second world war she returned to Germany and created a travelling collection of books from 20 different countries. She believed that the books would build bridges between children from different parts of the world and reduce the possibility of another war. She is the founder of the International Youth Library.
The first part of the book is a fictionalized account of two German children who find solace in the collection. The second part provides additional information about this amazing woman.
The graphite and mixed media illustrations by Marie Lafrance provide details about the time. Post war Germany is a hard place. At the same time, there are flowers growing and people are getting on with their lives. She ensures it's a story of hope.

4 stars

This is Frog by by Harriet Evans & Jacqui Lee (Illustrator) 🍁

This is a Netgalley title I read last week. It's a title previously published in Britain that is being released here in February. It's an interactive book that didn't work in my digital version. It would be a delightful ebook if they ever program it to work in that format. I did find a video showing me the entire book with all it's flaps. It looks like it will be a lot of fun. The artwork is gorgeous. You can find out more about this book and the rest of the series on my longer post here.

NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Ocean Speaks: Marie Tharp and the Map That Moved the Earth by Jess Keating & Katie Hickey (Illustrations)

This tells us the story of Marie Tharp. She had to deal with the challenges of not being appreciated or respected for her work because she was a woman. Taking data collected by male scientists, she collated it and created the first map of the ocean showing an underwater mountain range. This provided proof of tectonics and continental drift.
Katie Hickey's artwork is a lovely compliment to this story.
This reminded me of Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor a previous nonfiction picture book about this amazing woman. I think I need to reread it and decide which I like best.

4 stars

Being Frog by April Pulley Sayre

I adore Frogs and since I have appreciated everything else April Pulley Sayre has created, I was predisposed to love this.
I do. 

I adore the photographs of frogs sitting, watching and waiting. I am in awe of the images of frogs leaping, diving and swimming.
Rhyming poetry is hard in picture books. Mostly this one pulls it off although there is a line or two that didn’t work for me. On the other hand, when it does, it’s marvellous.

I really appreciate the author’s note at the end when she writes in more detail about watching, naming, and recognizing the different frogs she knows I her neighbourhood. I also appreciate she articulates the difference between her observations and those of a scientist's.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Displacement by Kiki Hughes

This is a Cybils title so I'm not going to say much about it except this: I've been reading about Japanese incarceration in Canada and the USA for decades. When I started reading I had this idea in my mind that it was just another story about it. I wasn't really enthusiastic to begin, but when I was about 1/4 in, I realized that it doesn't matter how many times I read about this, individual stories always matter. 

NOVELS

5 stars

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehouse 🍁

The best literature slips you inside a character’s soul and forces you into knowing what it means to be the other. Jonny Appleseed is one of the finest examples of this happening. The experience is profound.
Jonny Appleseed, a two spirited Cree person, makes their living selling cybersex. Jonny is so authentic I believed in them and was dismayed to discover this is fiction. The book made me uncomfortable as hell at times, but the raw honesty of Jonny kept me coming back for more. I want a sequel to find out how they are doing.

NONFICTION

4 stars

Strong is the New Pretty by Kate T. Parker

I enjoyed this book. It's a collection of photographs of girls. Each image is captioned with a quote from each person. The book is organized into nine chapters that highlight different traits that make girls strong: confident, wild, resilient, creative, determined, kind, fearless, joyful, and independent. Each section begins with one page of text describing the trait.
I appreciate that there is diversity in the girls in this book. My complaint is that I wish there was more. My half Korean granddaughters will have to look hard to find themselves represented, so will all those healthy bigger girls I worked with across my career. 

DISCWORLD NOVELS

"Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind; it doesn't take you anywhere, but it tones up muscles that might." Terry Pratchett

3 stars

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett

Interesting times is essentially about oppressive governments, revolution and how revolutionaries often don't ask the people what it is they want.
This isn't one of my favourite Discworld novels, but it has huge sections that read like stand up comedy. Cohen the Barbarian and his horde of silver haired old warriors make for some hilarious moments. It is full of delightful references about the difference between and education and learning. I especially loved Ronald Saveloy, teacher turned barbarian, and some of the quotes connected to him - like this:
'I decided to give it up and make a living by the sword.’
‘After being a teacher all your life?’
‘It did mean a change of perspective, yes.’
‘But...well…surely…the privation, the terrible hazards, the daily risk of death…’
Mr Saveloy brightened up. ‘Oh, you’ve been a teacher, have you?'

4 stars

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

I'm coming to realize that I prefer Pratchett's female protagonists over his male ones. Susan, Death's granddaughter is one of them. Hogfather is Pratchett's nod to the Santa Claus myth. It takes jabs at numerous Christmas stories - the Little Match Girl, 'Good' King Wenceslas, Dylan Thomas and Dickens.

The auditors (rulers of the universe) have visited the Assassins Guild and taken out a hit on the Hogfather. The contract is given to Teatime, a creative, albeit ruthless, insane assassin. Teatime realizes that destroying belief in the Hogfather will be the end of him. 

When the Hogfather is missing on the eve of Hogwatchnight, Death and his servant, Albert, take his place. Susan, whose motto is, "don't get afraid, get angry,” ends up searching for the Hogfather. It's imperative that he be found since one of his first jobs is to ensure that the sun rises.

Pratchett takes on belief regularly in his novels. So far, none have felt so profound as this one. Death makes the message clear, we need to believe in things so they can come true. We need to believe in small fantasies, like Hogfathers and Tooth Fairies, in order to believe in larger ones, like justice, hope and democracy. 

CURRENTLY 

I'm listening to Patron Saints of Nothing by by Randy Ribay. I've got All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung on the go. I'm reading You Brought Me The Ocean by Alex Sanchez.

UP NEXT 

Maybe next week I'll get to Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson, but there is that pile of graphic novels that I have to read for the Cybils so we shall see. I expect to start Terry Pratchett's Feet of Clay.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS 

#MustReadIn2021 3/25 

#MustReadNFIn2021 1/12 one in progress

#MustReadPBIn2021 3/100

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 3/25

Books by Canadian Authors: 6/100

Canada Reads 2021 1/5

Discworld Series 20/41 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 22/333 

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be released January 5, 2021, by Bloomsbury Children's Books. 

Nikki Grimes honours and inspires all Black girls and woman in this gorgeous compendium. I am inspired and honoured to be able to review it. I've preordered my own copy. You will want to do the same. 

This swoon-worthy anthology is a celebration of Black womanhood. It is pure pleasure to be introduced to women poets of the Harlem Renaissance and modern Black woman painters through it.

The compilation is organized into four sections. Part 1, Heritage, includes poems that reflect Black women's history. Part 2, Earth Mother, references poets' connections to their environment. Part 2, Taking Notice, deals with the social and political reality of today. Part 4, The Resources section includes short biographies of the poets and illustrators whose work is included in this anthology. There is also a bibliography and an index.

The first three sections are formatted into numerous vignettes composed of three parts. An original poem is presented by one of these poets with a small part highlighted. Grimes uses these highlighted sections to create golden shovel poems. Each poetic pairing is accompanied by a painting that reflects the substance of the paired poems and ties it all together. Each little vignette creates a space of beauty to lose yourself in. 

See for yourself in this example from the second section:

I envision all kinds of uses for this book in schools and wish I was still teaching so I could use it as mentor text for part of a poetry unit. 

Like a child in a candy shop, I highlighted and bookmarked almost too many sections to pick just one to share with you. There are lines like Grimes' Make each stanza strut in response to Gwendolyn Bennett's poem, Advice. I dare you to read the book yourself and try and pick just one best part. 

I leave you with these final words from Journey's End, her poem of thankfulness, 

They lift me

from the smallness 

of other's

expectations,

reminding me 

that I am more

than anyone

gives me credit for.

Purchase at least one copy for your school library. 

The Barren Grounds (The Misewa Saga, #1) by David Alexander Robertson

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It was released September 8th, 2020, by Penguin Random House Canada.  

This middle grade fantasy novel, featuring two indigenous youths, is the first in David Robertson’s Misewa Saga. Morgan and Eli are living in a supportive foster home. The attic of the house contains a painted over door that turns out to be a portal into Aski and the Misewa people. 

Morgan has no memory of her family. She’s been in numerous negative homes and has trust and abandonment issues. This is Eli’s first time away from his family. The two of them are staying with a professional couple who are foster parenting for their first time. They are trying to do a good job, but make mistakes. Morgan has taken Eli under her wing and the two children have bonded.

 

Eli is a gifted artist whose artwork turns out to have paranormal qualities. When one of his paintings is combined with the attic door, the two children end up in the world of animal people. One of them, Ochek, (Fisher) rescues them from the barren ground separating the portal from the community of Misewa. The people in the community are starving because in earlier times a man came through the portal and stole the green time. This left the people in perpetual winter. Food is scarce and it is just a matter of time before they all die.

 

Morgan and Eli end up going on a quest with Ochek and Arik (Squirrel) to find the man and return the summer to the people. Morgan is at first an unwilling participant in this endeavor, but during their journey in Aski she has vision/dreams. By the end, she begins to remember her mother and heritage.

 

The book is referred to as an indigenous Narnia, and while there are some similarities, I find the comparison irritating. The Barren Grounds stands out all by itself. There is enough action and adventure to keep all kinds of readers engaged. The group has to outwit and defeat a wolf person, steal the birds of summer from the thief, and then make it back to Misewa. It's a fast paced adventure filled with thoughtful interludes that will appeal to indigenous and non indigenous readers alike. 

 

The Barren Grounds left me full of questions: questions about the characters and their families of origin, questions about the Aski community, and questions about future books. When will the next be published?

 

I can’t help but see parallels between the animal people in the world of Aski who are starving because of one man stealing their green time, and the situation of animals disappearing here in our world because of people causing habitat loss. I wonder what other readers will connect to. 

 

 

 

Obsidian: A DreadfulWater Mystery by Thomas King

Picking up from the previous novel, A Matter of Malice, Thumps DreadfulWater, a Cherokee ex cop, returns from following new leads in his search for the serial killer who murdered his girlfriend and her daughter. All that happened in what seems to be a lifetime ago. After the murder, with no suspects in sight, DreadfulWater quit his job in Eureka California, headed out across country, and by happenstance, ended up in Chinook.  

He settled in to the community and started making a living as a fine art photographer and solving the occasional crime. The community of Chinook plays a significant role in this series. Al's cafe, where characters eat breakfast and banter with each other, puts me in mind of The Dead Dog Cafe, a satirical radio play written by Thomas King and produced by Kathleen Flaherty for CBC radio. (You can listen to the first in that series here.)

While Thumps was away, a community of women met and put together a list of questions for him to answer. The survey deals with his relationship with Claire Merchant, Chief of the local Blackfoot tribe. She wants to adopt a baby girl and while Thumps isn't sure about this, he wants to try building a relationship with Claire and the child. But before moving forward into his new life, he has to deal with the unsolved murder in his past. 

Thumps' friend, Leon Ranger, a black cop who writes romance novels, arrives unexpectedly in town. Ensconced in his brand new motorhome, he is now retired and ready to spend some time with his old buddy. I enjoyed the many conversations between the two of them. 

“You’re still shooting film?” Leon banged his hand against the side of his head. ”Darkrooms and nasty chemicals?”

“Nothing wrong with film.”

“You do know,” said Leon, dropping his voice an octave, “darkroom fumes are what killed the dinosaurs.”

It's a good thing Leon showed up. The serial killer, who the two of them refer to as Obsidian, because he leaves a piece of obsidian in his victims mouths, has turned up in Chinook. As the murders start piling up, local law enforcement drag Thumps and Leon into the case. They have to solve it soon since Obsidian is stalking Thumps and threatening the people he loves. 

Like other books in the series, this novel is rife with Thomas King's signature humour and important contemplations about life. 

“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”

It's full of gorgeous writing with lines that make me swoon. 

"Of course there was no rush, no reason he couldn’t just stand by the car and wait for the dawn to find the river and fill the land. Sometimes doing nothing was the appropriate response to uncertainty.

Sometimes, doing nothing was the answer."

I sure hope this isn't the last in the series. 

#IMWAYR September 7, 2020

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.

Canning and gardening continue here. On a positive note, I almost see the end in sight. Today I will can peaches and put another batch of tomato sauce on to cook before sitting down and reading all your blog posts. 

Maybe the end isn't really in site. My garden still has an abundance of green tomatoes. A friend who is a farmer was over for supper last night. She told me I will be harvesting til the end of September. Next year I am not going to put in so many tomato or cucumber plants! Also, does anyone want any eggplant or basil?

The really really big news from last week is that I am now a Grandma again! I know I am biased, but isn't she the most beautiful newborn you have ever seen?

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

The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Katie O'Neill

NOVELS

5 stars

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! (Elmwood Springs #1) by Fannie Flagg & Kate Reading (Narrator)

I adored this book. The sequel is on my this years #MustRead and so of course I read this first. Although it was written in 1998, the way some media mess with the truth make it eerily prescient for us two decades later.
Baby Girl, Dena Nordstrom, is a successful TV journalist with an even brighter future facing her. She just has to overcome a few obstacles to get there: her health issues and her scruples. I loved her.
Everytime I read a Fannie Flagg novel I am gobsmacked by her characters. Each of them have depth and richness. Elmwood Springs is a town I'm looking forward to visiting again.

5 stars

Yara's Spring by Jamal Saeed & Sharon E. McKay 🍁

I read this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It will be published October 13th 2020 by Annick Press.

"Give what you can, my daughter, even if it is only a smile."

This novel begins and ends in a refugee camp in Jordan. The rest of it reveals what happened to Yara and how she ended up there. It finishes with hope for a better future.

Those in between pages are a hard read. Tears leaked from my eyes more than once. Yara’s life in Aleppo was a happy one with her family in spite of an authoritarian regime. With the Arab Spring uprisings all over the Middle East, conflict in Syria was inevitable.
When her Uncle Sami comes for a visit, Yara ends up asking her father,

What is revolution?
Baba hung his head. “It is another word for war,” he said softly.

Readers see how life changed gradually until their house and family bakery was bombed by government helicopters. Yara's grandmother, Yara, her younger brother, and two neighbour children flee in search of a way out of Syria and into Jordan. It's a treacherous journey with danger coming from everywhere. At the same time, they are helped by many ordinary people.

Add this to your must read list. Read it and give it to your anti immigrant friends to help you and them understand what it means to be a refugee. #CanKidLit

5 stars

Dog Driven by Terry Lynn Johnson & Morgan Hallett (Narrator) 🍁

This was an exciting, fast paced adventure. It's full of heartfelt characters with all kinds of obstacles to overcome. McKenna Barney agreed to enter a dog sled race for her sister who has stargardt disease and is legally blind. They hope to raise awareness of it so that a cure can be found. The route is challenging, but what makes it more hazardous is that McKenna also has the disease. She's been keeping it a secret from her family because she doesn't want to lose her independence.
At the same time as this novel is full of hair raising near disasters, it's full of wonderful compassionate characters. It might be a competition, but for the most part the contestants have each other's backs.
I really appreciated learning more about dog sled racing and stargardt disease. #CanKidLit

NONFICTIOIN

5 stars

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi

What does it mean to be racist? These two authors have brilliantly and beautifully unpacked it in this book. It’s a journey across time and space into the origins of slavery and how it became the economic background of what is America today. It’s examines the historical roots of systemic racism in analyzing the language and behaviour of individuals with power.
This is a must read for everyone. I would purchase a couple for my elementary school library for upper intermediate readers and encourage all teachers to read it.

CURRENTLY

I'm reading Forward Me Back to You by Mitali Perkins and The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson. I'm listening to Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

UP NEXT

I'm blaming Aaron Cleaveley for not getting to David Robertson's Monster last week. (He mentioned Roberston's new book so I found it on Netgalley and I am in the middle of it instead.) I'm planning on getting to Obsidian: A DreadfulWater Mystery, by Thomas King. My next audiobook will be Unplugged by Gordon Korman.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

Big Books Summer 2020 10/10

#MustReadIn2020: 18/25 one in progress

#MustReadNFIn2020: 8/12

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 17/25 one in progress

Books by Canadian Authors: 107/100

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 248/333

#IMWAYR August 31, 2020

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 big plans for what I want to read in the week, but as Robert Burns says,

"The best-laid schemes of mice and (wo)men
Go oft awry."

So it is for me. Between company and canning, by the end of the day I'm exhausted. Instead of reading I put my feet up, pull out my knitting and turn on the TV. At least I have my audiobooks during those times when I'm working and don't have other people around.

Here are a few photographs of what we've/I've accomplished in the last few days. There is more canning but it's already on shelves in the coolroom.

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.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

4 stars

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju & Ryan Estrada

I was fascinated and terrified by this look into the recent history of Korea. The experiences of numerous real people are amalgamated into the narrative. It tells the story of a group of young readers who meet to read and discuss banned books in 1983. You might be surprised by how dangerous reading is perceived to be under an authoritarian government. Spies are everywhere at the university campus. Many students are paid to go so they can inform on other students. Conflict with police and arrests were common.
The end of the book takes us to a reunion of the book club in 2016. They are in the middle of another protest, but this time the participants are from all ages and all walks of life. I would probably bring this into my Elementary school library for upper intermediate readers. I see it as a real world jumping off point after students have read Ban This Book by Alan Gratz.

NOVELS

4 stars

Parachutes by Kelly Yang, Cassie Simone (Narrator) & Karissa Vacker (Narrator)

This is a rollercoaster of a read. It's the story of two girls from different worlds who come together because of the prestigious private school they attend. Dani De La Cruz and her mother struggle to make ends meet. To help them out financially her Mom sets them up to host an international student, Claire Wang. Claire, a privileged wealthy Chinese foreign student, and Dani seem to have nothing in common.
The story is told from the perspective of both these girls. While they come from different backgrounds, a misogynistic system of rape culture makes both of them vulnerable.

5 stars

Audacity by Melanie Crowder

This novel in gorgeous verse is a fictionalized account of the life of Clara Lemlich. She fought hard to unionize and improve the working conditions of women garment workers in New York in the late 1900's. It follows her and her family as they leave their village in anti semitic Russia and travel across Europe to England. After a time there they manage to get steerage passage to the United States.
Shortly after arriving, Clara got a job working in a sweatshop as a seamstress. Her meager earnings supported her whole family, including her father and brothers who spent the day studying. Clara was frustrated by the unfairness of her situation. Passionate about educating herself she attended classes at night to improve her English. At one point she was offered a scholarship to go to college where she could fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. Still the working conditions under which she and other workers toiled were so horrific, unsafe, and unfair, that she ended up having to choose between that dream, and that of helping all the other suffering women workers. In the end, in spite of the violence she endured by strikebreakers, goons, and police, she continued organizing for the union.
The backmatter contains information about Clara Lemlich and shows that she was an activist up until she died in 1982. It also includes the transcript of interviews with her children and grandchildren. There's a glossary and a bibliography. Alas, there is no recipe for the rugelach her family spoke so fondly of.

CURRENTLY

I'm still reading Yara's Spring by Sharon McKay & Jamal Saeed. (I'm not a fan of reading digitally) My loan for the audiobook of The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue by by Karina Yan Glaser expired before I could finish it. I'm now listening to Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg. I crowdsourced part of my #MustRead list this year and the sequel to it was one of the recommendations so I'm reading this first. Everytime I read a book by Fannie Flag I am in awe of how beautifully she crafts her characters .

UP NEXT

I will make time for Forward Me Back to You by Mitali Perkins. (It will be my 10th big book of the summer.) I hope to get to Monsters by David Robertson. My next audiobook will be Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. There is a pile of picture books I need to get to as well.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

Big Books Summer 2020 9/10

#MustReadIn2020: 18/25

#MustReadNFIn2020: 8/12

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 17/25 100

Books by Canadian Authors: 105/100

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 244/333

#IMWAYR August 24, 2020

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.

Eight days of company really cut deep into my reading life. No sooner did everyone leave, I headed off towards the big city for a medical test and time with my grandkids. At least here I am reading books with the little ones. I'm not including those here because I have already written about most them previously.

Before I leave I hope to get to Kidsbooks to pick up a couple of copies of Old Rock is Not Boring. I read it with my grandkids a while ago and when they were visiting me, my grandson got very irate that I no longer had it. He understands about libraries but wanted me to go check it out right now. 

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.

NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS 

5 stars

Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival by Lindsay Moore

I picked this up from the library, came home and read it. Then my granddaughter joined me on the sofa and we started it from the beginning. She looked at the first page and proclaimed, "It's so beautiful!" I agree. It was my first thought upon opening the book. Lindsay Moore's illustrations are just stunning. Each page is worthy of hanging on a wall. Her poetic text tells the experience of a year in the life of a polar bear from the polar bear's perspective.
The back matter contains additional information about polar bears and other animals mentioned in the book. While climate change isn't mentioned in main body of the text, it is addressed in these notes.
If readers already have an understanding of what is happening in the arctic because of climate change, they will understand why it may well lead to the extinction of this remarkable animal.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

5 stars

The Big Break by Mark Tatulli

This story of two boys as their friendship deteriorates broke my heart a little bit. There are lots of stories about girl friendships disintegrating, but this is the first one about boys that I remember. For this reason alone, it's a must purchase for all school libraries.
Andrew and Russ are working on a video about the Jersey Devil. They plan to enter it into a contest in hopes of winning and getting a head start on their future careers as filmmakers. Unfortunately the two boys end up maturing at different rates. Russ ends up with a girlfriend and Andrew, who lost his father 18 months previously, feels abandoned. Add to that their inability to communicate sincerely with each other and it isn't long before they have a big blow up and stop talking altogether.
It takes a winter campout with others and a near disaster before they mend their fences.

NOVELS

4 stars

How It Went Down (How It Went Down #1) by Kekla Magoon & Narrators: Cherise Boothe, Shari Peele, Kevin R. Free, Avery R. Glymph, & Patricia Lucretia Floyd

Kekla Magoon makes space for multiple perspectives in this novel about the killing of a black teen by a white man. The scenario is all too familiar if you have been paying attention to social media in the past few months. How It Went Down is not only about the reality of the shooting, but about how it is experienced, twisted, and justified by different segments of the community.

4 stars

Light It Up (How It Went Down #2) by Kekla Magoon & Narrators: Landon Woodson, Karen Chilton, Cherise Boothe, Eevin Hartsough, Christopher Carley, Peter Jay Fernandez, T. Ryder Smith, Julian Thomas, Kevin R. Free & Korey Jackson

As in How It Went Down, Kekla Magoon makes space for multiple perspectives. This time she deals with the killing of a black special needs teen by a white policeman. It is not only about the reality of the shooting, but about how it is experienced, twisted, and justified by different segments of the community. What was especially fascinating was connecting with many of the same characters in the first book. The cast of narrators were brilliant.

Both of these books put me in mind of Walter Dean Myers intense and gritty work.

NONFICTION

5 stars

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (Civilizations Rise and Fall #1) by Jared Diamond

This pulitzer award winning book began with the author attempting to identify the roots of inequality in the world. He concludes that it is essentially a function of geographical luck. People who lived in areas with plants and animals that were easier to domesticate ended up having resources to support the development of technology. I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to book club and talking about it! If you don't have time to read it, You might enjoy the three national geographic documentaries based on it. I ended up watching the first 1 1/2 and plan to finish them all. I'm also planning on reading Collapse, the next in the series. 



Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HULhXXnMlww
Part 3: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVShQfYcX28

CURRENTLY

Everything was put on hold while I read Guns, Germs and Steel, but I'm back to reading Yara's Spring by Sharon McKay & Jamal Saeed. I started it all over again. I just started listening to The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue by by Karina Yan Glaser. 

UP NEXT

I hope to get to Audacity by Melanie Crowder. I picked Molly Bang's nonfiction picture books about sunlight and plan to read and write a blog post about them. The art in them is spectacular!

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

  

Big Books Summer 2020 8/10 

#MustReadIn2020: 18/25 

#MustReadNFIn2020: 7/25

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 17/25 100 

Books by Canadian Authors: 105/100 

 Goodreads Reading Challenge: 241/333