#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
am slowly recovering from the plague that kicked me to the curb and nearly knocked me out. Hopefully I'm done with
oral steroids, for which I shall be eternally grateful.
I've
been working in a school library for the last few weeks and am looking forward
to continuing until Spring Break. To acknowledge Black History Month, I have
been creating a display with books written by black authors and black
characters. While students of all ages spend time looking at the picture books,
I've been especially pleased to see older students, even if they don't check them out, reading them. I also started collecting a few books for Pink Day this
coming week. I should have written a blog post about these books but had no energy or time.
Although
I talked about this book last Monday, I must to give another shout out to Otis and Will
Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb
Rosenstock & Katherine Roy. Last week I read it to groups of students
from grades two to seven. All of them were enthralled, but I think the older
students were more engaged than the younger ones.
In
my non-reading life, my daughter-in-law and I have planned and cut out fabric
for a quilt to make for her newest nephew in Korea. I've managed to almost finish a
baby sweater to send to him. I just need to get some buttons to sew on. I've machine stitched the binding on two other
quilts and am in the process of hand stitching those. I've started planning my
next project, a quilt for my other son and his partner. I'll post photo's next week when they are finished.
Clicking on the title of the book will take you to the Goodreads page if you want to add it to your list.
Clicking on the title of the book will take you to the Goodreads page if you want to add it to your list.
PICTURE
BOOKS
 |
| 5 stars |
I
have heard people talk about Pink and Say, but finally got around to reading
it.
It
is a profound story about friendship and courage against the backdrop of the
Civil War. (How can a war be called civil?)
I
was even more impressed to discover that the book is based on a true story.
 |
| 4 stars |
This
beautifully illustrated book shows one black child and one white child
pondering philosophical questions of why we are who we are, and what makes us
this way. It’s their coming together at the end that makes the book for me.
 |
| 4 stars |
I
reread this book while searching for books appropriate for pink day. This one,
that looks at the the consequences of bullying and articulates a possible
solution, is perfect.
Susan Hughes and Carey Sookocheff are both Canadian talent!
NONFICTION
PICTURE BOOKS
 |
| 5 stars |
This
book highlights some of the freedoms that are articulated in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Each brilliantly illustrated page interprets one
of these freedoms along with a quote. World renowned authors and Illustrators
are showcased on each double page spread. A section in the back matter provides
a bit of additional information about each one of them. It also contains
information about Amnesty International and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The book begins with a forward by Michael Morpurgo.
GRAPHIC
 |
| 4 stars |
This
was hilarious. AJ and his friends are just starting grade six. He's sure that
this year will be different until school actually starts and everything seems
to be the same as before. His two best friends, Hunter and Ivy, are always
competing over something. AJ has a hard core crush on Nia, the smartest girl in
the school. She doesn't seem to know he exists. Things look up when their cool
new teacher from England pairs them up on a research project. Because Nia is
obsessed with vampires, AJ begins to take on the persona of one. This nearly
ends in disaster as the real vampire in their midst makes nefarious plans.
Whitney Gardner is an author illustrator from Victoria, BC, in Canada.
Maybe
I wasn't quite as wowed by this one as I was by The Witch Boy, (which won the Cybil)
but I still enjoyed it a lot. It might even be a contender next year. Charlie befriends a new girl at school, Ariel. After years of abandonment and bullying, Ariel is full of anger and distrust. Following a miscommunication, she puts a curse on Charlie, who then goes to Aster for help. I
love how this series is full of magic and adventure, but at the same time, addresses issues
in the real world.
NOVELS
Lucy
Wu is a character I'll be carrying around with me for a while. She's authentic,
complicated, and full of heart.
Grade
six is supposed to be her best year ever. She is looking forward to getting her
room to herself now that her sister is heading off to college. Then she learns
that her grandmother, Po Po, had a younger sister, Li Po, who is coming for an
extended stay with them. Lucy has to share her room with her. To make matters
worse, instead of focusing on basketball, her passion, Lucy is forced to go to
Chinese school. Adding to her troubles, she ends up getting bullied by Sloane,
a girl at school.
Of
course it all ends up fine in the end with Lucy learning a lot, making new
friends, and becoming a better person.
I
loved Lucy's family and friends and readers will too. My only wish is that
Sloane's character was more developed.
As
an aside, I got this book mixed up with another by Wendy Wan-Long Shang, The
Way Home Looks Now, that is on my MustRead List this year. But it's all good
because now I am looking forward to reading that one even more!
 |
| 4 stars |
I
loved this book about Else, a precocious, almost eight year old and her
obstreperous grandmother. Their relationship plays out within the synthesis of
an allegorical fairytale tale world, the Land-of-Almost-Awake, and their
practical day to day reality. What holds it all together is unyielding love.
They
live in a house full of flats. When the grandmother dies, Else discovers that
the stories of the Land-of-Almost-Awake are connected to the other tenants in
the building.
The
book is about love and loss. "The mightiest power of death is not that it
can make people die, but that it can make the people left behind want to stop living.
It's also bout making mistakes and acknowledging them. Maybe seven year olds do
deserve super heroes, but that doesn't mean super heroes have to be perfect.
They are good enough just by being honestly who they are.
NONFICTION
 |
| 5 stars |
Alex
Colville is a world renowned Canadian Painter. I discovered his art through
Horse and Train while still in high school. Horse and Train, which was used as
an album cover by Bruce Cockburn in 1973, remains one of his iconic works,
although apparently, Pacific, a painting of a man and a gun, sells most
reproductions. Both exemplify the tension that is a hallmark of his work.
While
I was still working full time I went in search of a children's book to introduce my
elementary students to his work. I found nothing then and can find nothing now. I'm
still searching and might have to write one myself. In the mean time, I'm
learning as much as I can about him.
The
book is composed of photographs, reproductions, text and even a graphic novel
component at the end. It was written to accompany an exhibition at the Art
Gallery of Ontario. I appreciated learning how societal factors outside his quiet
community influenced his work. It was also fascinating to see how his work has
influenced other artists from different mediums. Although I already knew how
meticulous and mathematical Colville was, I was surprised at how many
studies he completed before finally finishing a painting.
The
writing is nearly as stunning as the paintings themselves. There are two
forwards, one by Matthhew Teitelbaun and the other by Marc Mayer. Andrew Hunter
writes an introduction before the main body of the text. I found that Marc
Mayer captured the essence of Colville's art with these words,
"Although
his scenes were intimate, his subjects familiar, they did not necessarily offer
comfort... In his unforgettably hypnotic paintings, Coville constantly
questions whether we can ever know others, let alone ourselves. He reveals the
false security that is often bred by familiarity."
Next
I'm planning on rewatching the NFB production, Alex Colville: The Splendour of
Order.
Everyone connected with this book is Canadian.
CURRENTLY
I'm
still listening to There There by Tommy Orange and am searching all over for my
copy of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasiy. I need to it have finished by next Monday!
UP
NEXT
I'm still craving middle grade novels. Luckily, The Way Home Looks Now is in transit for me to pick up at my local library. I have Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny ready to listen to next (maybe). Depending on how much time I have, I'll start The Lies
that Bind: Rethinking Identity by Kwame Anthony Appiah.
PROGRESS
ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2018
4/25
#MustReadNFIn2018
4/12
25
Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 5/25
25
books by Canadian Authors 16/25
Goodreads
Reading Challenge 71/333
