#IMWAYR June 8, 2015

Hurrah it's Monday again and the official countdown for June is in place. After today, only two more Mondays until we measure out the days of the last week. I'm ready for holidays. Never mind April, June is the cruelest month, breeding cranky idiots out of once brilliant, kind teachers. I keep reading just to keep me from thinking of all the work I have to do. In the meantime, I'm thankful that Jen From Mentor Texts and Kellee and Rickie from Unleashing Readers are hosting #IMWAYR and the rest of the world continues as it should. 

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

How could I not have read this book before? I am so thankful that it was on my to read list for this year. It's narrated by 11 year old Gratuity (Tip) Tucci. She begins by writing a school assignment on what happened during the alien invasion. It turns into a story involving a wild road trip with one of these aliens, a Boov named J. Lo, and a cat named Pig. As they travel from Pennsylvania to Arizona in search of Tip's mother, they bond while having adventures aplenty. It turns out that this is both a sweet story about cross cultural friendship and a political satire on colonization. It's really funny too. Debbie Reese has articulated some problematic issues with this title here. I get them, but also think that this book has the potential to open readers minds up to what white people have done to indigenous peoples here in the Americas, especially if done as a read aloud with opportunities for discussion. I listened to this one as an audiobook. Let me tell you that Bahni Turpin's narration was just stunning. Tip's voice is authentic, but her interpretation of J. Lo is just priceless. The only downside to listening to this book is missing the illustrations that accompany it. I'll make sure to have a look at it when our library copy arrives. To be honest, I'm a bit worried about reading Smek for President. How can a sequel live up to a book like this?

The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB by Adam Shaughnessy (from netgalley - available in September)

Overall I enjoyed this adventure about a Prue, a young girl caught up in the midst of mythical conflict playing out in her small town. It is a strong debut novel that will appeal to readers who like stories that feature ancient gods. It looks like there is a sequel in the offing so that will be good too.

The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party by Shannon and Bruce Hale and LeUyen Pham (illustrator) (from netgalley - available in October)

The kindle copy I had was kind of wonky and the illustrations and text didn't jive. Once I transferred to book over to Bluefire Reader everything showed up the way it was supposed to. I was a bit disappointed by this sequel because I had anticipated the goat boy joining the princess. In this story it's the Princess' birthday and she has a big party planned. Unfortunately there is a rash of monsters attacking her kingdom and she ends up getting pretty harried what with all the transformations into Princess in Black and battling them into submission. My Princess in Black fans will be delighted with this one. 

I didn't Do My Homework Because by Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud

I think it was Earl Dizon who introduced me to this book way back in March. A young boy is giving his teacher fantastical reasons why he didn't get his homework finished. This book is all about the illustrations which is where the real story takes place. The text was fine, but I wasn't impressed by the font that was used. 

Big Red Kangaroo by Claire Saxby and Graham Byrne (illustrator)

Thanks to Carrie Gelson for turning me on to this one. It is gloriously illustrated with separate chunks of text on each page spread. The narrative text reads like poetry. The information sections are clear and straightforward. I appreciated the index at the back of the book so that it can be used by readers doing research and just searching for specific ideas. I'm not generally a big fan of narrative nonfiction, but I can see how this title will make a fabulous addition to our collection about marsupials. I've ordered this one and Emu (sight unseen) for our library!

The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 objects selected by Paul B. Janeczko and Chris Raschka (illustrator)

I enjoyed this one. Some of the poems resonated more profoundly than others. I think I am more a fan of modern poetry than the earlier ones. Raschka's watercolour illustrations are delightful no matter the era the poem is from.

Harvey by Herve Bouchard and Janice Nadeau

I have no idea how I got turned onto this title, but I'm sure glad I did. It won the Governor General's Award for both text and illustration in 2011. It's a powerful graphic novel of two boys who come home from school only to find that their father has died of a heart attack. The text is often sparse, but this just serves to make the images themselves more potent. After I finished the book I went back to spend more time appreciating these illustrations. What struck me were the illustrations showing Mother Bouillon and how the patterns in her clothing extended 

beyond the limits of them. I haven't returned it to the library because my partner picked it up and wants a chance to go through it. There is nothing in this book that makes it inappropriate for my readers, but it really deserves an older reader to make the most of it.

Currently I'm listening to All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. This line is haunting me, "In this house there's no such thing as being sick unless you can measure it with a thermometer." I've just started reading, in book form, Finding the Worm by Mark Goldblatt. I have that feeling of opening it and just falling in. I enjoyed Twerp and expect to be transfixed by this one as well.

Up next I've got All Four Stars by Tara Dairman and then hopefully, more from my 2015 to read list. I've got so many audiobooks checked out from the VPL and none of them are from THE LIST!

The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB by Adam Shaughnessy

What if you woke up one morning to discover that a strange envelope, with a postcard inside, had been slipped under your bedroom door? If you bothered to open it, you would find that:

On the one side it said,

Be grave in your search, 

and avoid having stones in your head.

And on the other, written in gold lettering,

WHAT IS THE UNBELIEVABLE FIB?

If you, like Prudence (Pru) Potts, want to be a detective, you are compelled to figure out what is going on. And so begins a thrilling and mysterious adventure for Pru, her new friend ABE, and you the reader. 

Strange things are happening in the little town of Middleton. Nothing is quite as it seems. The weather with it's dark and gloomy skies is punctuated with rolls of thunder. Heavy fogs, so thick you can hardly see your hand in front of your face, sweep in out of nowhere. There is the odd man, Mister Fox, who roams around the town seeming to be invisible to everyone except Pru and ABE. The churchyard and forested areas have been invaded by giants. The town has been infiltrated by creatures from Norse mythology. There is even a rude talking squirrel!

On top of all this, Pru figures out that someone is lying to her. Who can she trust? 

Then Pru ends up making a big mistake and has to figure out how to fix it and save ABE. You will have to read the book yourself to figure out how, and if, she succeeds.

What I liked about this book:

These are solid characters. Pru, who is dealing with the death of her father, a police detective, is multifaceted. ABE is complex enough to be interesting. I liked that they have strengths that augment each other. At first Mister Fox is a dubious fellow, someone we are not sure if Pru and ABE can trust. Even the Norse gods, Odin and Thor, have qualities that show them to be complicated and flawed beings. Loki, who eventually reveals himself, is not truly evil. 

Shaughnessy has created a believably ordinary town that is infiltrated by magical places and beings. I was right there with the characters in whatever realm they found themselves. I especially loved the idea of the chicken foot house. Honestly, my mind boggled trying to conceive of it. 

This story is well written. Deep undercurrents of wisdom and philosophy abide beneath the surface, while above a saga of giants, witches and gods unravels. I highlighted many quotes:

"There's no such thing as just a story," he said. "After all, we're all stories in the end. Sometimes, even of our own telling. The trick is usually figuring out which bits of the story are true." p 20

“It’s all about belief,” Mister Fox called after them. "People believe too easily, today. When you believe in things, you close your mind to other possibilities." p 44

'There are whole worlds of difference between things that are true and the entire truth." p 218

"The greatest lie of them all. The worst lie of them all, and the one we tell most often to ourselves and to our children - that the world is safe, or that it can be made so." p 207

What don't I like:
This is a book to curl up with and read without interruptions. It's my fault that I didn't do this. I tried to find time to read it at work. (Don't know what I was thinking, I never have time to read at work) When I brought my device home and settled into this story, I easily finished it in one sitting.

There are moments that felt a bit preachy to me - like when Mister Fox is trying to build Pru's confidence up so that she will do things she is afraid to do. But really, that is piddling compared to the great pleasure I took from this book.

I am looking forward to getting this title in my library. I liked that the main character is a young girl with the strength and courage to go beyond what she thinks she is capable of. I think all my readers, irrespective of gender will like this, and her too. Given that it is the first in a series, I'm pretty certain my readers will clamour for the next. 

I read this title from Netgalley. It won't be published until September. 

#IMWAYR June 1, 2015

Well, here we are; it's Monday again. Time to check in with hosts Jen From Mentor Texts and Kellee and Rickie from Unleashing Readers, to find out what bloggers around the world are reading this week.

I managed to find time to get some blog posts done this week. I reviewed a couple of novels (see below) and talked about a strategy for getting readers more involved in recommending books to other readers. We call this student starred books.   

I've been reading lots of picture books this week, but I'm only talking about two that fit perfectly into one of our school's learning teams focusing on social responsibility. 

If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson

This book. This book gave me shivers and left me with tears in my eyes. I was expecting something about agriculture. It is, kind of, but it's about growing whole new kinds of communities and changing the world. The sparse words and glorious illustrations took my breath away.

A Rule is to Break: A Child's Guide to Anarchy by John Sevin and Jana Christy

This is one of those books that you want to read to children and ensure you have time for profound conversations. I like some of the ideas. It begins, ironically, with, The opposite of rules is Anarchy! and then goes on to give ways (that sound like rules to me) for how to be an anarchist.

All of these are laudable no matter what. The most interesting conversations will arise from some of the other pages wherein, for me at least, they beg to ask, but what about people around us? What is the difference between right and wrong and how can we know? 

Bird by Crystal Chan

I just finished this book Sunday, before last weeks post. I adored it so much I had to blog about it.

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

I have never finished one of Nielsen's books without feeling completely satisfied. This one is no different. 

The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson narrated by Kim Mai Guest

It didn't take long for me to be grabbed and held captive by Piper's voice and story. She lives in a world where constant meteor storms bring all kinds of refuse from other places. She dreams of escaping the town she is in and getting a job as a machinist somewhere else. In the mean time, she goes out after these storms in search of salvageable debris to sell. Then she finds Anna, a young girl who has been injured in a storm. She brings her home and within hours both of them are on the run from a dangerous man. 

I liked so much about this steampunk, science fiction book. I can't wait to get a copy for our library! I'll definitely read more by Jaleigh Johnson.

  

Currently I'm listening to The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. (It's so much more than I anticipated) I'm reading Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger on my device and Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked by Jarret. J. Krosocka as an old fashioned book. 

I'm trying to get on top of my to read list, as I suspect Carrie Gelson is going to want updates soon. (I've only got 22 of 58 completed) So whatever I read next, it will probably be at least one or two of those. I'll just have to see what arrives from the library as well.