Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.
Last Week on the Blog:
Last Week in Books:
I read a lot this week, but there were several that really stood out from the rest. Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera was amazing. I loved Juliet and really appreciated hearing her voice and watching her grow. She is figuring out her cultural history and finding out what feminism means for her. As she meets new people and researches women from history, she navigates ideas, vocabulary and relationships. I will definitely be recommending this one and re-reading it too.
Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak was intriguing. I went into it thinking it was a simple contemporary romance between Aidan and Jarrod. It has a whole other plot going on though. There are stories within the story and supernatural happenings. I loved that it was complex and really delved into the idea of story.
For our African American Read-In, I read I, Too, Am America illustrated by Bryan Collier with my fourth and fifth grade students. In just a few words Langston Hughes conveys a powerful message. The book is also gorgeous and the excellent author's note teaches some history of the Pullman Porters. It's a book I use and revisit almost every year.
The final two that really made an impression are both about sound and the absence of sound. The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin is a fabulous story that is exactly what I was looking for this week. I wanted to find a good picture book to introduce freedom of speech. This is about a village that has been very noisy. The new mayor creates increasingly strict rules that require residents to be quiet. The rooster defies the rules even when the consequences become more and more restrictive. It's a story that will inspire much discussion.
The other book about sound is The Sound of Silence written by Katrina Goldseito and illustrated by Julia Kuo. In it, the young child is trying to find silence, but when listening, always hears sounds everywhere. It speaks to mindfulness and inner peace.
Reading Challenge Updates:
Goodreads Challenge 2017 - 72/550
Diversity on the Shelf 2017 - 33/225 (goal = 50% of my books by and/or about POC)
LGBTQIA Challenge - 6/30
ReadPOC Challenge - 22/125
#MustReadin2017 - 7/24
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge - 16/100
I just read The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet to my young granddaughter, Crystal, & she understood what was happening, thought it awful that someone couldn't speak out. She's five. I imagine the finer nuances would be more appreciated by older kids, but it certainly is one for today's world, isn't it? Thanks for sharing about Juliet Takes A Breath, sounds great.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great list of books! I keep hearing about The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet--I've got to check it out. I'm curious about how Short was--I love Counting by Sevens and am anxious to read this one.
ReplyDeleteUpon reading your list here, I regret that I do not have more hours in a day and more days in a week. I am so sad that The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet isn't yet available from my library. I'm compiling a list of picture books adults should read, and this sounds like it should be on the list. Thankfully, Juliet Takes a Breath is available and I've added it to my list. I appreciated reading your review of American Street. It's one of my must reads for this year and it made me look forward to it even more.
ReplyDeleteWell, I will definitely be reading The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet now.
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