I managed to get the binding finished on the quilt my sister and I created. It's going to be really, really hard to give it away! When I showed it off at the gathering, my cousin's five year old quipped, "Dad and I will take it off your hands." I'm going to have to make that kid a quilt.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Poetry Friday July 19, 2019 Invincible
Chirri & Chirra series by Kaya Doi & Yuki Kaneko (Translator)
PICTURE BOOKS
 |
| 4 stars |
Chirri & Chirra series by Kaya Doi & Yuki Kaneko (Translator)
Chirri & Chirra are twins who have adventures while riding on their bicycles. In each book, Dring-dring, dring-dring! transitions the two girls into new experiences as they pedal their way into and through fantastical lands. Thank you Earl Dizon for introducing me to them.
Click on the above link if you want to find out more about them. Go ahead. I'll wait.
Flashlight Night by Matt Forrest Esenwine & Fred Koehler (Illustrations)
This is one of those books that, once you get to the delightful ending, you have to go back and reread. I'm not always a fan of rhyming picture books, but loved the rhythm and rhyme in this one. Fred Koehler's art divinely complements the fantastical adventures a flashlight at night can take you to.
NOVELS
Lost Girl by Anne Ursu
I’m not quite sure how to write about this book. It’s brilliant and multilayered. On the surface it’s about grade five twins who are in separate classrooms for the first time. They have to learn to navigate these small worlds on their own. It isn’t easy. One of them has to learn to vulnerable, the other to be assertive. They have to trust and believe in the other.
All this is played out against a backdrop of magic and an evil shop keeper. On the one hand, this story reminds us how important it is to learn to be independent. On the other is the acknowledgment that as true as that might be, we are stronger together. You don’t ever want to tangle with those Awesome Girls!
I would love to give this five stars, but I’m not sure how this will be received by students.
I had this on my #MustReadIn2020 list. Does this mean I am way ahead of my game?
A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #7) by Louise Penny & Ralph Cosham (Narrator)
In the middle of a murder mystery, Louise Penny reminds us of what it means to be human. The revealing of the culprit wasn’t nearly as surprising as the revelations about the different characters in the Sûreté and in Three Pines. I admit that I read these novels as much to see what they are up to as I do for the mysteries themselves. I can hardly wait to see what will happen next!
Louise Penny is one of Canada's finest mystery writers! 🍁
Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson
I've just finished this. I will be writing more about it, but what you need to know is that it was so good I got caught up in it and forgot to take notes for a review!
Takedown by Laura Shovan
I was slow getting into this book as I wondered how it would compare to There's a Girl in my Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli, a novel about a girl wrestler that I read ages and ages ago. It didn't take long and I was entirely engrossed by Mikayla and Lev. The story is told from both of their perspectives in alternating chapters.
Spinelli's book, about the only girl on a wrestling team was written in 1991. I wish this book showed that things have changed more. Alas, they have not.
I came to care a lot about both of these protagonists and was invested in how their relationship with each other and their families and friends evolved. I appreciate how the book takes a close look at competition and what gets left behind in the lives of elite athletes and lost in the joy of a sport as competitors move up into higher levels of play. I appreciate that our protagonists learned more about themselves in this book, but I'm equally happy that the secondary characters underwent transformations as well.
This book reminded me of my five year old boys playing soccer just for the crazy joy of being on a team and not really even understanding winning and losing. I think of them and other kids who ended up sitting on the bench because a coach doesn't think they are good enough to produce a win. I think with great fondness of the one coach who scrupulously played every kid on my son's hockey team, no matter that they lost every game. It was one of my son's best years of sport.
OCDaniel by Wesley King & Ramon De Ocampo (Narrator)
Daniel is a thirteen year old boy with OCD, but he doesn't know this is what it is. He's successful in many aspects of his school life but struggles with math because the numbers get in the way of thinking logically. He's highly capable as the backup kicker for his school's football team, but his anxiety interferes with consistency.
I liked the secondary characters a lot. His best friend, Max, might be a jock, but he's also a strong, good hearted young man. The two girls in his life, Raya and Sarah, are strong, positive individuals. It wasn't easy to connect to Sarah's belief that her mother and boyfriend murdered her father, but not completely unrealistic either given the circumstances.
Daniel's struggles, especially the sections when he is dealing with his evening routine are brutally intense. I had a hard time listening to it in spite of acknowledging that it must be worse to experience. In the afterward, King explains that much of this is autobiographical. It shows in the authenticity of the book.
Wesley King is a Canadian author from the other side of the country from me! This is the first book of his I've read. There will be more. 🍁
The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart (Tales from the Chocolate Heart #1 by Stephanie Burgis & Jill Frutkin (Narrator)
I adored this fantastic fantasy. Aventurine is a spunky dragon who is tired of being constrained inside her cave with her relatives. She sneaks out with the intention of showing her family that she is not as incompetent as they think. When she is tricked by a man she plans to eat, she ends up becoming human herself. Determined to make the most of her new life, she sets out to become an apprentice chocolatier.
Now that I’ve finished this review, I’m off to see if I can download the next in the series.
I have Ms Yingling to thank for introducing me to this one because any time she give 5 stars to a book, it becomes a must read for me!
POETRY
Salt by Nayyirah Waheed
Nayyirah Waheed has a gift for parsing out significant truths in a few words. Look at this poem here:
good + girl
-- rope
salt. overwhelms with this kind of stark profundity. If you have not yet read it, you should.
decolonization
requires
acknowledging
that your
needs and desires
should
never
come at the expense of another’s
life energy
it is being honest
that
you have been spoiled
by a machine
that
is not feeding you freedom
but
feeding
you
the milk of pain
— the release
My library copy had page after page of dog ears that I assume were marked because someone appreciated the poem on that page. It was a special treat for me to see if I too would be blown away by it. Mostly I was.
CURRENTLY
I'm reading Meet Yasmin! by by Saadia Faruqi and just started Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod. I'm presently listening to The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. I'm savouring my way through poetry by Peter Trower.
UP NEXT
I sent Outside in: A Political Memoir by Libby Davies and With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo back to the library unread, but I did manage to get through some of the picture books in my pile. I am hoping to get to Love From A to Z by S. K. Ali and Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai. If the reading godess is on my side, I might even get to Girl of the Southern Sea by Michelle Kadarusman.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2018 15/25 1 in progress
#MustReadNFIn2018 9/12 1 in progress
25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 16/25 1 in progress
25 books by Canadian Authors 35/25
Big Book Reading Challenge 4/4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 232/333
Chirri & Chirra are twins who have adventures while riding on their bicycles. In each book, Dring-dring, dring-dring! transitions the two girls into new experiences as they pedal their way into and through fantastical lands. Thank you Earl Dizon for introducing me to them.
Click on the above link if you want to find out more about them. Go ahead. I'll wait.
 |
| 4.5 stars |
This is one of those books that, once you get to the delightful ending, you have to go back and reread. I'm not always a fan of rhyming picture books, but loved the rhythm and rhyme in this one. Fred Koehler's art divinely complements the fantastical adventures a flashlight at night can take you to.
NOVELS
 |
| 4.5 stars |
I’m not quite sure how to write about this book. It’s brilliant and multilayered. On the surface it’s about grade five twins who are in separate classrooms for the first time. They have to learn to navigate these small worlds on their own. It isn’t easy. One of them has to learn to vulnerable, the other to be assertive. They have to trust and believe in the other.
All this is played out against a backdrop of magic and an evil shop keeper. On the one hand, this story reminds us how important it is to learn to be independent. On the other is the acknowledgment that as true as that might be, we are stronger together. You don’t ever want to tangle with those Awesome Girls!
I would love to give this five stars, but I’m not sure how this will be received by students.
I had this on my #MustReadIn2020 list. Does this mean I am way ahead of my game?
 |
| 4 stars |
In the middle of a murder mystery, Louise Penny reminds us of what it means to be human. The revealing of the culprit wasn’t nearly as surprising as the revelations about the different characters in the Sûreté and in Three Pines. I admit that I read these novels as much to see what they are up to as I do for the mysteries themselves. I can hardly wait to see what will happen next!
Louise Penny is one of Canada's finest mystery writers! 🍁
 |
| 4 stars |
I've just finished this. I will be writing more about it, but what you need to know is that it was so good I got caught up in it and forgot to take notes for a review!
 |
| 4 stars |
I was slow getting into this book as I wondered how it would compare to There's a Girl in my Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli, a novel about a girl wrestler that I read ages and ages ago. It didn't take long and I was entirely engrossed by Mikayla and Lev. The story is told from both of their perspectives in alternating chapters.
Spinelli's book, about the only girl on a wrestling team was written in 1991. I wish this book showed that things have changed more. Alas, they have not.
I came to care a lot about both of these protagonists and was invested in how their relationship with each other and their families and friends evolved. I appreciate how the book takes a close look at competition and what gets left behind in the lives of elite athletes and lost in the joy of a sport as competitors move up into higher levels of play. I appreciate that our protagonists learned more about themselves in this book, but I'm equally happy that the secondary characters underwent transformations as well.
This book reminded me of my five year old boys playing soccer just for the crazy joy of being on a team and not really even understanding winning and losing. I think of them and other kids who ended up sitting on the bench because a coach doesn't think they are good enough to produce a win. I think with great fondness of the one coach who scrupulously played every kid on my son's hockey team, no matter that they lost every game. It was one of my son's best years of sport.
 |
| 4.5 stars |
Daniel is a thirteen year old boy with OCD, but he doesn't know this is what it is. He's successful in many aspects of his school life but struggles with math because the numbers get in the way of thinking logically. He's highly capable as the backup kicker for his school's football team, but his anxiety interferes with consistency.
I liked the secondary characters a lot. His best friend, Max, might be a jock, but he's also a strong, good hearted young man. The two girls in his life, Raya and Sarah, are strong, positive individuals. It wasn't easy to connect to Sarah's belief that her mother and boyfriend murdered her father, but not completely unrealistic either given the circumstances.
Daniel's struggles, especially the sections when he is dealing with his evening routine are brutally intense. I had a hard time listening to it in spite of acknowledging that it must be worse to experience. In the afterward, King explains that much of this is autobiographical. It shows in the authenticity of the book.
Wesley King is a Canadian author from the other side of the country from me! This is the first book of his I've read. There will be more. 🍁
 |
| 5 stars |
I adored this fantastic fantasy. Aventurine is a spunky dragon who is tired of being constrained inside her cave with her relatives. She sneaks out with the intention of showing her family that she is not as incompetent as they think. When she is tricked by a man she plans to eat, she ends up becoming human herself. Determined to make the most of her new life, she sets out to become an apprentice chocolatier.
Now that I’ve finished this review, I’m off to see if I can download the next in the series.
I have Ms Yingling to thank for introducing me to this one because any time she give 5 stars to a book, it becomes a must read for me!
POETRY
 |
| 5+ stars |
Nayyirah Waheed has a gift for parsing out significant truths in a few words. Look at this poem here:
good + girl
-- rope
salt. overwhelms with this kind of stark profundity. If you have not yet read it, you should.
decolonization
requires
acknowledging
that your
needs and desires
should
never
come at the expense of another’s
life energy
it is being honest
that
you have been spoiled
by a machine
that
is not feeding you freedom
but
feeding
you
the milk of pain
— the release
My library copy had page after page of dog ears that I assume were marked because someone appreciated the poem on that page. It was a special treat for me to see if I too would be blown away by it. Mostly I was.
CURRENTLY
I'm reading Meet Yasmin! by by Saadia Faruqi and just started Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod. I'm presently listening to The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. I'm savouring my way through poetry by Peter Trower.
UP NEXT
I sent Outside in: A Political Memoir by Libby Davies and With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo back to the library unread, but I did manage to get through some of the picture books in my pile. I am hoping to get to Love From A to Z by S. K. Ali and Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai. If the reading godess is on my side, I might even get to Girl of the Southern Sea by Michelle Kadarusman.
PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS
#MustReadIn2018 15/25 1 in progress
#MustReadNFIn2018 9/12 1 in progress
25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 16/25 1 in progress
25 books by Canadian Authors 35/25
Big Book Reading Challenge 4/4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 232/333
