It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

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.

If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves here. 

Blogpost from Last Week:

Interview with Author Michelle Quach

Books Read Last Week: 

I read A Neighborhood Walk: A Musical Journey by Pilar Winter Hill and illustrated by Olivia Duchess. This picture book is filled with sounds and once I realized it was written by a young musician, I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole. This first video introduces Pilar and her typical practice routine.

   

And in the video, you learn about Lindsey Stirling who is another amazing violinist. So of course, I had to track down one of her videos also. Wow. Just wow.

 

I did finish reading the ARC of the translated novel How Do You Live? and it is a pretty philosophical book. I really enjoyed it and will review it later. 

Halal Hot Dogs is a super fun family and food picture book. Humor and food are two of my favorite things in books. 

Tokyo Ever After was a fun YA rom-com that was similar to The Princess Diaries. It takes place in Japan and was a perfect weekend read.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 was my only adult book for the week, but it was pretty amazing and unforgettable. One of my favorite Korean actors was in the movie made from the book. I couldn't find the movie to watch, but it had such interesting comments in the reviews, I went ahead and found the translated book. It is a book that really examines some of the ways that societal expectations of women can impact people in many ways. I will be thinking about this one for a long time. Here's the movie trailer to give you an idea.

   

This book and the movie stirred up strong feelings in Korea around feminism and gender. Another video that discusses a little of that is here. 

The Coming Week: I'm in between books, but look forward to grabbing something fun from the stacks of books that just came at school. Have a great week. 

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

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.

If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves here. 

Recent Blogposts:

Review: Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach

Interview with Author Alexandra Leigh Young

Books Read Last Week: 

I read two awesome picture books this week. I'm Sorry by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by the amazing and awesome human Debbie Ridpath Ohi was released Tuesday. It's a great book that walks readers through how and why to say I'm sorry. I already have a waiting list for it. Also, I think I've said it before, but if you haven't yet checked out the resources that Debbie provides online, you are truly missing out. Another picture book I enjoyed is Thao by Thao Lam. It's a great way to have a conversation about what it's like to have a name that people are mispronouncing and making fun of daily. This is based on the author's own experiences. The art is fun with interesting fonts and collage. I read it with fifth grade and it generated a good conversation.

I read an ARC of the YA rom-com It All Comes Back to You. I'll write up a full review soon, but did enjoy reading it. 

The Coming Week: I just started reading an ARC of a book translated from Japanese. How Do You Live? was written by Genzaburō Yoshino and was originally published in 1937. Hayao Miyazaki is making a movie of this book so it got an English translation ahead of the movie release. It was Miyazaki's favorite book from his childhood. It's a thinking type of book and I'm enjoying it so far. Have a great week!

It's Monday, What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

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.

If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves here. 

Recent Blogposts:

Mini-Review: Idol Gossip

Review: Pahua and the Soul Stealer

Books Read Last Week: 

Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year is a fantastic middle grade book about being the new kid, family, identity, friendship, and reading. I enjoyed how literature was woven into the story, but do wish that some newer titles had been used as texts in Ahmed's class. The book was one that I read all in one sitting and it made me laugh and also cry so I'll definitely be recommending it to young readers.

The First Blade of Sweetgrass is a quiet picture book about a grandmother and grandchild harvesting sweetgrass. I am happy to have this as it's a great way for students to learn more about this important plant. Our school is on Ho-Chunk land and this is one of the medicines that is used by the Ho-Chunk people. It's also a lovely book about being with and learning from grandparents. 

The Coming Week: I'm still listening to Up All Night and am still working my way through ARCs. Next up is a YA - It All Comes Back to You. Have a great week!

Review: Pahua and the Soul Stealer

Title: Pahua and the Soul Stealer

Author: Lori M. Lee 

Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents

Pages: 432

Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley 

Availability: September 7, 2021 

Summary: Pahua Moua has a bit of a reputation for being a weirdo. A lonely eleven-year-old Hmong girl with the unique ability to see spirits, she spends her summer days babysitting her little brother and playing with her best friend, a cat spirit no one else can see. 

One day Pahua accidentally untethers an angry spirit from the haunted bridge in her neighborhood--whoops. When her brother suddenly falls sick and can't be awoken, Pahua fears that the bridge spirit has stolen his soul. She returns to the scene of the crime with her aunt's old shaman tools, hoping to confront the spirit and demand her brother's return. Instead, she summons a demon.

Thankfully, a warrior shaman with a bit of an attitude problem shows up at the last minute and saves her butt. With the help of this guide, Pahua will have to find her way through the spirit worlds and rescue her brother's soul before it's too late. Little does she know she'll have her own discoveries to make along the way. . . .

My thoughts: I'm so excited for students to get their hands on this book. Like the other Rick Riordan Presents books, this is also jam packed with action and fascinating storytelling. Each book in the imprint is written with inspiration from traditional stories and this one is based on the Hmong stories that Lori M. Lee grew up hearing. 

There are Hmong stories scattered throughout the book and the warrior shaman Pahua meets helps explain a lot of things about Hmong practices and beliefs in between their many adventures. There are also Hmong symbols at the beginning of chapters. Readers unfamiliar with Hmong storytelling and culture may not notice everything, but Hmong readers are sure to recognize the many Hmong symbols, foods, words, and much more. 

The spirit cat and the many other spirits that Pahua encounters are each unique and intriguing. Young readers may find the story to be slightly creepy, but it is not terrifying horror. It seems to be just enough scariness to send shivers up the spine on occasion without overwhelming the typical middle grade reader.

I flew through the story at a fast pace in a hurry to see what would come next. Traveling through the spirit realm with Pahua was quite a ride and I was very happy to be on the journey.

Recommendation: Pahua and her companions are sure to entertain and delight middle grade readers as they attempt to finish their quest. This will be a winner with readers who love fantasy and lots of action. There is also plenty of humor too. I'm really looking forward to sharing it with my students and hope that many readers get a chance to meet Pahua. 

Extra: Schedule of Virtual Events with the Author