It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. 

This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. 

I post about my reading here, at the YA blog Rich in Color and as crystalreading at Storygraph. 

The Past Week Or So: I have been out of the habit of posting on Mondays now for a few months, but I won't try to post everything I've been reading since March because that would be too much. ;)

Young Adult: I've been reading several nonfiction books for young adults lately and some contemporary fiction.

Generation Queer: Stories of Youth Organizers Artists and Educators by Kimm Topping illustrated by Anshika Khullar - I'll review this at Rich in Color later this week, but it is an excellent collection of short biographies of LGBTQ+ leaders with great illustrations. 

Future Millionaire: A Young Person's Step-by-Step Guide to Making WEALTH Inevitable by Rachel  Rodgers - nonfiction self help book that has a lot of good advice for creating wealth. I listened to the audio and found a lot of the tips to seem helpful and some of them to seem a little unrealistic, but overall, it would be a good book for someone interested in learning some financial skills and skills for navigating the job market.

Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee was a fun rom-com revolving around an academically motivated young woman getting placed in a culinary arts class against her will and being paired with someone who has less than average grades. It was interesting to see a character who is used to getting A's actually struggle with assignments because they are hands on and she didn't have prior cooking knowledge. She begins to get help with her mother and it really reminded me of Robin Ha's experience with her mom that she shares in the graphic novel Cook Korean! I shared about that here.

A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson is a contemporary story that I really wanted to read because the brother of the main character had a fall while in a climbing gym with her best friend. She is working through the anger and grief and the many emotions around that while traveling along the Pacific Coast Trail. I climb and hike and had to manage a lot of the same emotions after a major climbing fall a few years ago that resulted in a temporary disability (about eight months of braces, crutches, or wheelchair) and a major surgery. The book takes a good look at disability and how we see recovery, but also has a splintered friendship and a bit of a romance. Several characters are Indigenous and there are themes around identity and family. It is complex and was well done.

Run Like a Girl by Amaka Egbe is another contemporary that I was looking forward to. I reviewed it at Rich in Color. The surgery after my climbing injury happened three years ago and in just the past few weeks I had finally started to run again. I had tried off and on over the past year, but it always felt like a bicycle chain that wasn't quite on correctly. My knee is now cooperating and feels smooth, but it sure took a long time to get to that. I enjoyed reading Dera's story though it didn't actually get into a lot of details about running. I still appreciated this story about a young woman who transfers to a school that doesn't haven't a girls' track team so she has to run with the guys and all of the complications that accompany that. There's also a touch of romance. 

Middle Grade: I finally read The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by Grace Lin and it was a delight. The design of the book is extraordinary and the story is, like many of Grace Lin's books, filled with stories within the story and characters that are endearing. 

Currently Reading: A friend has written a really interesting book called Until My Memory Fails Me: Mindfulness Practices for Cultivating Resilience and Self-Compassion in the Face of Cognitive Decline. It comes out tomorrow and I have been reading an advanced copy. Sharon had an early Alzheimer diagnosis and looked for books and couldn't find what she wanted and needed so she decided to write for herself and others who will follow her. She's a former hospital chaplain (who worked with my husband back in La Crosse) and has a lot to offer people going through the same thing or who have loved ones who are traveling this path. 

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa with translator Louise Heal Kawai is one of those that I've found on Japanese and Korean cozy book lists like this one. I have been reading quite a few of these since the election in the fall. They're usually about 200 pages or less, often have tight communities and nice happy endings and often feature cats and/or coffee or good food. It's lovely escapism that feels like getting a hug. Even though I don't drink coffee and am allergic to cats, in a book it works for me. This one has a teen main character so it almost feels like YA, but I think it is marketed to adults.

I've started listening to Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor, but am not sure if I will stick with it because it apparently involves time travel and that's one thing that my mind really rebels at in books. I'll give it a few more chapters at least, but may drop it. 

I was lucky enough to go to the Bay Area Book Festival this weekend and picked up some new books there like Zetta Elliott's prequel to the Dragons in a Bag series, Kaya of the Ocean by Gloria Huang, the Glade by Naseem Jamnia and a few others so will likely be reading some of those next. 

Have a great week full of wonderful reading!

Slice of Life

Today was an art day with my fifth grade students in the library. I forgot to take a photo, but we have five long strands of papel picado banners hanging in the library. On Friday, there will be even more after the sixth graders do it too. We're getting ready for the El día de los niños/El día de los libros celebration on Saturday. Here's a video from when I worked in WI and we celebrated Día eight years ago. 

 

It's really fun for the students to try different ways of folding and cutting to make the banners. We learn from Carmen Lomas Garza in this video tutorial.

I love any excuse to celebrate books and children so I'm always excited for April.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. 

This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. 

I post about my reading here, at the YA blog Rich in Color and as crystalreading at Storygraph. 

The Past Week: I finished listening to Interabled: True Stories About Love and Disability from Squirmy and Grubs and Other Interabled Couples (Adult nonfiction) by Shane & Hannah Burcaw. It was great to hear so many love stories and I am thankful that they shared so much of themselves with the world. We have so much ableism to unlearn.

For the Trans Rights Readathon I read The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation (Adult memoir) by Raquel Willis in addition to Light from Uncommon Stars (Adult Sci-fi) by Ryka Aoki and I Shall Never Fall in Love (YA Jane Austen inspired graphic novel) by Hari Conner.

I finally read Sheine Lende, the prequel to Elatsoe which I loved, by Darcie Little Badger. This was another excellent middle grade/young adult title that had a little mystery, ghost animals, family, and friends.

I read an excellent middle grade novel about chronic pain and fencing - It's All of Nothing, Vale by Adrea Beatriz Arango. 

I finished Fledgling by S.K. Ali which is a dystopian YA and it was part of the Ramadan Readathon. It was great being in a group chat with many people reading it together in four portions so we didn't spoil things for each other. Many of the participants were Muslim so they noticed some things that went past me and it was nice to have that context. Some of them were also fans of S.K. Ali so they picked up on references to characters from her previous books. So cool. 

I read quite a few picture books and one that stood out was Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites by Jamie Michalak & Debbi Michiko Florence with Yuko Jones. I love good books about food. 

Coming Up Next: I am currently reading Another Day in the Death of America for a book club, but I'm not sure what I will grab next. I have quite a stack from the many libraries I visited over break. Happy reading!

Slice of Life - One Last Bookish Post for Now

We made it to the end of March. It was filled with way more thoughts, feelings, activities, and smiles than I would have anticipated. There were also a few more sad, stressful, or frustrating moments than I would care to mention, but having slicers to interact with made the joy more full and the sadness less so. I've very much enjoyed the challenge of posting some bit of writing every day this month. I'm thankful to the organizers and all of the slicers for making this happen. 

I just finished up my Spring Break and am back to school today. It will be nice to see everyone again and chat about the happenings while we were away from each other. I will have so many bookish things to share. On the final day of break, I made a collage to celebrate some of that bookish energy. I was listening to a book podcast, Book Friends Forever with Grace Lin and Alvina Ling, while making it too. It was doubly bookish.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I wish you a wonderful last day of March and the Slicing Challenge for this year.

Slice of Life - Coming to the end

As the Slice of Life Challenge winds down, I am glad to have been a part of this community effort. It doesn't necessarily take up a huge portion of my time, but it has been something to remember each day. I am glad to have done it, but will also be glad to have one less thing to remember to do. I'll miss the daily interactions with other posts, but of course, I can still visit blogs any time I want to, I just know that I probably won't do it quite as often. 

I hope that I continue to look for the moments of joy and fulfillment in my daily life and share them either on the blog or with people around me. I also hope that I continue to write posts at least weekly. I had very rarely been posting this year and last so this has definitely reminded me that I have the ability to post more regularly. Thank you to everyone for visiting each other and supporting all of our efforts. It's been a great learning experience to do this for a second time after a ten year break. 

Do you think anything will change for you as we wrap up this adventure? 

 

Slice of Life - Bookish Adventures

I have managed to have many bookish activities over Spring Break and have even had outings each day too. Because my mother-in-law had a luncheon scheduled at our home today, I thought I wouldn't have time to have a bookish outing, but we finished up early in the afternoon. I was able to run downtown to catch the art exhibit someone at my book club had recommended. It was a small exhibit of June Daskalakis' work in the local art store. The pieces were collages and they each had something to do with books. It made me want to grab my supplies and start making things. I have so many bits and pieces of books available in my two school libraries and at the local public library friends sale, they always have boxes of misc. things that are free because they aren't useful for sales. I have always enjoyed collage, but haven't played with it for a long time. Maybe that could be my final bookish activity of Spring Break on Sunday. 

So far during break I have had these bookish experiences:

• exchanged books through an even sponsored by our local independent bookstore
• went to an author event at the library down the street
• visited the indie bookstore to buy books
• participated in a group chat on zoom about kidlit
• visited my local library multiple times
• went to the local university library for a tour
• viewed an exhibit of travel diaries at the design department
• met a librarian and visited the Native resource center at the next school district over
• visited five of the libraries in our county
• visited a library in the next county over 
• participated in the Ramadan Readathon by reading and chatting about Fledgling by S.K. Ali
• participated in the Trans Rights Readathon - by reading three graphic novels and two novels 
• worked on the blog I'm a part of - Rich in Color
• read eight picture books, two novels, and one nonfiction book outside of the readathons 

I'll see how many more bookish activities I can fit in before I head back to school on Monday. Is it obvious that I am a librarian?

Slice of Life - Libraries and History

Yesterday was another day filled with libraries and a bit more.

I started by going to another library in our county that I hadn't ever been too. It was a nice space, but I realized it was near a wine tasting room that has a deli I have heard about. Of course, that's where I headed next. 

I stopped by the deli for lunch and it was such a treat and it got me out of the rain for a bit. The soup and fresh bread was really delicious. I didn't want to do a wine tasting, but they also grow olives and I did my first olive oil tasting. They let you taste four different oils and then a few balsamic vinegars and a honey. Yum. The bottles of olive oil and elderberry balsamic cost more than my lunch, but I know it will be fun to cook with them. The business is owned and operated by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation who have been on this land for thousands of years. 

Next, I headed to another library and a small history museum. I learned a lot about the communities near the city where I live. In one city there had been about 100 families of Japanese descent prior to Executive Order 9066 that resulted in their internment. After that time of incarceration, only six families returned. 

I also found out about a city that no longer exists. There is a dam and lake nearby where a city used to be. The town was dismantled and everything was removed or burnt before they built the dam. It reminded me of the picture book by Loren Long called The Yellow Bus. In part of the book a valley gets flooded. The first time I read it, I wondered about the dam near us and if the land under it had been inhabited before it was built. 

Then, the person who had been sharing about these early communities let me know that there was yet another history museum in another small town nearby and I found out that they had a library there too. Happy day. It was another informative place and had even more information about the Wintun people.

There are so many things to learn about the land that we inhabit and who and what has been here before us. We moved to this area almost three years ago and I feel like there is still so much to learn. As an elementary school teacher it seems like these are really things I ought to know so that's how I've been spending a lot of my spring break days. I'm trying to get to know the backstory of this community and the land around it. Some of the history is good, like the way the local Native nation has found a way to diversify and make an amazing company that creates excellent oils and foods. Other history shows the way that humans have made others suffer. I look forward to meeting more people in the community and learning how to work together towards a future where we value each other and the other living and nonliving things in our community. 

Slice of Life - Beautiful Designs & Lovely Memories

Last week a family friend mentioned that his mother, Birgitta Olsen, had designed the logo for the independent bookstore that I visit multiple times a month. He mentioned that there is also a tapestry of hers at the city hall. I knew it would be something special to see.

A few days later, I stopped by city hall and asked when it was possible to see inside the council chambers. Generally it's not open to the public outside of council meetings or events, but someone had a moment and took me over to see this lovely piece of art. Our community is surrounded by farmland, wetlands, and mountains in the distance so this really seems a perfect fit. I've seen many of her tapestries and we even have one in our home that I love to look at. Almost all of the pieces that I've seen have nature involved. Here's a link to an exhibit with more of her artwork. I still remember seeing work on her loom in their home years ago. It was so nice to see this one that I hadn't known of before. I could hear her voice and see her smile as I stood looking at this view. 

And while writing this post, I was happy to find a video about her work along with that of her husband Helge Olsen.

Since I had a little time, I also rode over to the bookstore to look at her logo. I'm so glad that now I can think of her when visiting the store. I've also discovered that there may be another tapestry in one of the halls at the university so it looks like I have at least one more place to visit. 

Slice of Life - Sunlight

I'm so thankful for the sunlight streaming into our office. 

As I sit at the computer with thoughts of heading outside, 

I'm glad that we can at least enjoy the sun beaming in when we are at the desk busy with tasks. 

The shadows from the blinds, the bushes outside, and the delightful mobile that hangs within are also entertaining. 

Without the sun, there would be no dancing shadows. 

Slice of Life - Dashing Out

Dashing out.

Line dancing calls.

I could stay to write a longer post,

But movement and music is pulling me away.

TTFN.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. 

This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. 

I post about my reading here, at the YA blog Rich in Color and as crystalreading at Storygraph. 

The Past Week: I just finished two books for the Trans Rights Readathon. Lunar Boy by Cin & Jes Wibowo is a lovely middle grade sci-fi graphic novel and Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa is a young adult Pride and Prejudice retelling. They were both great and I'm glad that books like this exist.

I read a picture book called Cosmic Wonder: Halley's Comet and Humankind by Ashley Benham-Yazdani. It shows the comet and what was happening in different locations during the various times that it has come near the earth. There is a lot of history in the book and the night sky is beautiful. I'm very excited because the author/illustrator may be visiting at least one of my schools this spring. 

I read two nonfiction adult books. One was Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec. It's a really good look into the past and how to be in right relationship with the land, our world, and each other. 

The other nonfiction books was Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal which I listened to. It was a nice self help book that had a lot of good advice, but I think I missed out on the drawings. He did describe them, but I kind of want to see a physical copy of the book sometime. 

I read an adult Pride and Prejudice retelling called  A Second Look by Hannah Matus. The main characters are Muslim and have Libyan roots. It's set in the current day and was pretty satisfying. I read it for the Ramadan Readathon. I was happy to give another Austen retelling a try. 

Have a great week!

Slice of Life - Libraries & Books

Libraries are generally places of wonder, exploration, and all kinds of loveliness. Today, I started off my day meeting someone at the local university library for a guided tour. I had been there a few times before, but hadn't been back in a few years. Now I know where the children's, YA, and graphic novels are and have found some places to read. I renewed my library card and was set to go on my next adventure. 

Next on my list of things to do was visiting an exhibit that is only open when I am usually working and ends after this week. I went to the design building to look at the travel journals that students made while on tour in Europe. What kind of amazing class is this? They were to look for designs as they traveled and record them in these amazing art journals. So fun. I have only kept a travel journal a few times that included art and it was very fun so now I want to go on a trip and try this again with their inspiration. 

Next, I went to a middle school in the next school district over to visit their Native resource room and it was really nice. They have a great collection of books and realia. 

My final library/display type place for the day was a small library on the outskirts of our county. It has a beautiful mural outside and it is a cozy little space. 

To top off this day of libraries and books, I went to the local ice cream shop and got a cone to eat while I read a digital book. I did get a little reading done, but multiple students from one of my schools were there and wanted to chat so I did that too. The topic of books and libraries did come up. :)

  

Slice of Life - What's saving your reading life?

Inspired by Akilah--who was inspired by Elisabeth-- I will share some of the things that get me and keep me reading.

Reading Challenges: One of the big inspirations for what I pick up next is challenges on Storygraph (I"m crystalreading over there - let's be friends). I made the move from Goodreads to Storygraph near the beginning of the year and that's one of the things I love most. I am participating in the Onboarding Challenge that helps get you familiar with the format of the app. I also found the Decolonize Your Bookshelf Challenge hosted by the owner of an Indigenous bookstore called Paperbacks & Frybread. Currently I am also in a Ramadan Readathon and I am about to start reading for the Trans Rights Readathon. Yesterday I started gathering my books (the stack in the image at the top of the page) and today I have started reading. 

Book Clubs: There is an amazingly awesome book club here in town that has mostly people who were teachers or librarians or still are. We meet at the home of a woman who doesn't really eat sweets, but loves to bake so she makes lovely desserts for us every month and there is always enough that we can take some home to our loved ones too. We read YA or Adult fiction and nonfiction. Another one here in town is hosted by the indie bookstore and a local organization that works to fight intolerance and prevent hate. These two groups help diversify my reading and I love chatting about books with them. 

Libby: Here in California libraries in almost all cities allow state residents to get a library card. Some people collect them like Pokemon cards or baseball cards. I strategically collect those that have robust digital collections and add them to my Libby app. It makes it easy to get those books that the library may not have on hand yet or those that have a long waiting list.

Libro.fm: As an educator or librarian (or media reviewer or influencer), there are free audiobook ALC downloads available every month. It's awesome and I usually have one going so if I am caught without a book to read, I at least have something to listen to. I also use them on long drives. 

My students: I'm a teacher librarian in two elementary schools and sometimes my students recommend books or I read books so I can recommend them to my students.

Colby Sharp: Colby is so excited about books. Every time I watch one of his videos, I add books to my TBR. His enthusiasm is incredible and he is great at book talks. He's a fifth grade teacher and I often neglect reading middle grade so he helps me keep up. 

It's Monday! What are you reading?: This group of bloggers also makes me add books to my TBR. They share so many excellent titles every week. 

What keeps you reading? 

 

Slice of Life - Bookish Times

Today was the official first day of Spring Break and as promised, I was busy doing bookish things. 

My first bookish happening was eating toast and drinking a cup or two of tea while reading and finishing A Second Look by Hannah Matus which is a Muslim a Pride and Prejudice retelling. 

The second bookish activity was an actual phone call (don't have those so very often anymore) with a  library co-worker from my previous job back in Wisconsin who works in another library there now. Of course books and library things were part of the conversation.

The third bookish event was a book exchange organized by our local indie bookstore. They offered ARCs and then we could bring up to three books to trade and then we get to go home with ARCs or gently used books. I got a used hardcover book and the ARCs of Legendary Frybread Drive-In and Get Real, Chloe Torres. Yay!

The fourth bookish thing I participated in was an author event for Women's History Month with Nikki Shannon Smith. One of our students interviewed her earlier this month. You can see that video here. 

Would you believe there was a fifth bookish interaction? It's true. I met virtually with a group of folks to chat about Kidlit.

Now I am finishing up my post and will begin reading. Shocker right? Are books a big part of your life? I can't imagine my life without stories and books. 

 

Slice of Life - Spring Break!

It's finally Spring Break for me. I helped close up two book fairs today and am ready to relax. I'll be going to a line-dancing event tonight and have plans for recharging for the week. I'll visit a few libraries, read some books, and catch up on blogging here and over at the young adult blog I contribute to Rich in Color. I hope to be rested and ready to go when we start back on the 31st. Happy weekend everybody and happy Spring Break to all participating. :)

Slice of Life - Taking a Walk Seeing Myself

Tonight I took a walk. I've been thinking about taking a walk after dinner for a lot of days. For a lot of months actually. Five minutes into the walk an owl was calling, "Whoo, whoo, whoo." I stopped to chat with the owl for a bit, but it just kept repeating "Who?" I said it was me and walked on. 

About five minutes later I ran into a colleague who was also out for a stroll. When I said I was walking because I had been too sedentary today she was shocked and expressed that I was a very active person. 

It's funny how other people have an image of us that may not match our own image of ourselves. The people who know me where we currently live, don't know the me I was just a few short years ago. I guess our longer term knowledge of self affects our opinions of ourselves. We have all the other years as comparison and newer friends just accept us as who we are right this minute. 

In some ways it's nice to be in a new place with new people because my reflection looks a little different in the mirror of new friends. 

Slice of Life - Inspired by Frog and Toad

It's book fair week so I have been wearing t-shirts with books on them every day. On Monday, it was And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, on Tuesday it was an Eric Carle shirt that said Love and had the Hungry Caterpillar crawling on the words. Today I am wearing my Frog and Toad shirt. It had an image of Frog and Toad at a table with a bowl of chocolate chip cookies. The text says, "We must stop eating!" cried Toad as he ate another. That one really works for me. Frog and Toad are so incredibly relatable.

Today on Bluesky, the Frog and Toad Bot account has a great image that unsurprisingly also works for me. I do love a list of things to do. Mostly I love having things on the list so I can cross them off. I have even added something to a list after I have done it just to cross it off. In that spirit of list making, here's a list of things I will do tonight before sleep.

1. Leave comments on other peoples' slices

2. Finish reading Girl Decoded by Rana El Kaliouby 

3. Update the book on StoryGraph

4. Get my breakfast and lunch ready for tomorrow

5. Put on my pajamas

6. Get ready for bed - brush teeth, wash face, etc....

7. Set my alarm

8. Get in bed

9. Fall asleep

Slice of Life - I could be line dancing

I could be line dancing. It's line dancing night, but it is also book fair week and we have only three more school days until spring break. I'm hanging on by a thread.

I could be line dancing, but I feel a little bit like a zombie. Yes, I'm aware that if I was dancing, I would probably become energized, but I just could not get myself out of the house for that.

I could be line dancing, but instead, I will ride my bicycle six blocks to the library and pick up the book on the holdshelf. I will be pleased with myself for moving a bit, but not too much. Then, I will ride home and read until it's time to crawl into bed. 

I will be line dancing next week during break, but for now, it's just going to be me and my book with some soft background music and a cup of tea. 

Slice of Life and It's Monday! What are you reading?

Reading is a huge part of my life every week. I just returned from a book club. We read a nonfiction book called Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men since it's Women's History Month. It was nice to meet with other folks in the community to chat about it. I still feel a little new here after almost two and a half years so it's nice to have ways to meet people beyond my jobs. 

I'm also reading several other books at the moment and it's book fair week at both of my elementary schools so I will be seeing, selling, and sharing books every day. Then it will be spring break and I will have some time to read even more books. I love books. If you don't believe me or want to know more about my reading, check out the books I've been reading lately through my It's Monday post below. 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. 

This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. 

I post about my reading here, at the YA blog Rich in Color and as crystalreading at Storygraph. 

The Past Few Weeks: 

Picture Books: Because it is Ramadan, I try to pick up books by Muslim authors when possible. I had somehow missed Ibtihaj Muhammad & S.K. Ali's The Kindest Red which is a follow up to The Proudest Blue. The art for both was by Hatem Aly and it was delightful. 

I also read the hilarious and very clever Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor along with Cougar Crossing by Meeg Pincus and illustrated by Alexander Vidal. They are both nominees for the California Young Reader Medal. 

Middle Grade: I really enjoyed Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa which is a graphic novel with a main character who is Two Spirit and is getting ready to wear a ribbon skirt. 

Another book by Muslim authors is Grounded. It's a group effort by S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Aisha Saeed, and Huda Al-Marashi. It is a novel that takes place in less than 24 hours in an airport where the planes have been grounded. All of the main characters meet each other following a Muslim convention they have all attended. Each of their individual stories connect and reconnect in interesting ways. 

Young Adult: Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Adiba Jaigirdaris is a rom-com told in two perspectives. The main characters are ex-best friends who are forced to work together dealing with a lot including a fire at the local Islamic Center. 

I also read and reviewed Divining the Leaves over at Rich in Color.

Adult: I read two heavy hitting nonfiction books including the one mentioned above Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Pérez and Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society by Arline T. Geronimus. Both really look at many of the things in place in society that are negatively impacting people especially those with certain identities in disproportionate ways. 

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza was a novel that follows a Muslim family and how they try to love each other and how that goes awry at times. 

Currently Reading: Girl Decoded by Rana el Kaliouby is a memoir of an Egyptian born woman who has done some pretty cool things in the tech world. I'm also reading a young adult fantasy Fledgling by S.K. Ali as part of a Ramadan Readathon so we're reading about a quarter of the book each week of Ramadan. Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman is a middle grade book I am reading for a Bookelicious online book club event this week.

I wish you happy reading!

Slice of Life - Breakfast Fun

This morning my breakfast happened in a most unique place. I was at the Chicago Cafe which is the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in California. I looked at a menu from February of 1917 where nothing cost over a dollar and saw so many other interesting little bits of history. There are even pipes and bottles from the opium den that used to be out back.

The booths and barstools are old time diner style. The kitchen also has this amazing old wood encased  refrigerator. It's a family friendly space and we were given a tour of the whole place after eating. The grandchildren were playing and at home there wandering about and chatting with the diners.

A group of us who know one of the children of the owners had come together and it was a delightful time to hear the stories about this restaurant that has been part of their family for generations.

Getting to tell our stories and hear those of others is such a gift and I feel lucky to have had a look into the past today.

 

Slice of Life 2025 - Out and About

This weekend started off with my first community Iftar. It was a wonderful event with many people I knew and others who were new to me. I saw a family from one of my schools and colleagues from our school district. We learned a lot about Ramadan and I was able to listen to and try playing some middle eastern instruments. Speaking of which, two of the drums are in this really cool video of Ahmed Alshaiba doing a cover of Perfect by Ed Sheeran. 

I watched the video this afternoon while reading Fledgling by S.K. Ali (a character in the book plays this song on the oud) as I was relaxing after a morning full of activity.

First, I went to a professional development class out at a nature conservancy. We were learning about the Wintun/Patwin Homeland and the plant and animal relatives from this area. We learned about the California pipevine swallowtail butterfly and the plant it needs to eat which is a specific kind of pipevine. 

A fun moment was when I ran back to the barn to grab my tea, I saw a student from one of my schools. whose mom happens to work there. It was a fun moment. We were both happily surprised.

When I left, I hit a few stores to get materials for school and then stopped by to see a cool mural at a middle school. 

The school has a Native resource center that I would love to see some day, but I knew I could at least see the mural. I'll have to go back sometime when I can see the resources and how the center is organized.

Next I stopped by the public library and visited the book sale. I made a huge pile of books and then the person in charge found out I was taking them to a school library and let me have them for free!! So awesome.

Now I need to run and get ready to go to one of my school's yearly dinner and auction. More fun and more people. I wish you a great weekend!

Slice of Life 2025 - En español

I'm learning Spanish for several reasons, but the main one is so I can communicate better with the students at the dual language immersion school where I now work. My reading and speaking skills are pretty much at the Elephant and Piggie level right now. 

Thinking and writing in Spanish takes an enormous amount of brain power and it is painfully slow, but it is a great reminder of what the students are experiencing. Here's my attempt to write in Spanish. 

Aprendiendo español no es fácil, pero Elefante y Cerdita me ayudan. Soy bibliotecaria en una escuela primaria. Me gusta leer mucho los libros de Mo Willems. Los libros son muy divertido y tienen palabras fáciles. 

Yuyi Morales es una excelente autora también. Sus libros son tan hermosos. Me gusta leer sus libros con mis estudiantes. 

Slice of Life: K-Dramas

Korean Dramas have been part of my life now for a little more than seven years. As I'm sitting here listening to my "Slow and Quiet" playlist, it's cycling through many songs from drama soundtracks. I love that because aside from enjoying the sound or rhythm of the music or the words in the lyrics, it also brings back memories of the characters and moments from the dramas. And since dramas typically have between 12 and 16 one hour episodes, you really get to know the characters. Some of them are even 20 episodes and the characters feel like old friends by the time it's over. 

I started watching Korean dramas back in 2017 a year after we had hosted a Korean student for one year of high school. I wrote about the first few dramas I watched here. What I didn't know then is that I would visit Korea the next year, would start studying Korean, and we would host another student from Korea who would live with us for her final three years of high school. 

K-dramas are a bit of a guilty pleasure, but I tend to rationalize it by calling it language practice for a future return visit to meet the family of our second student. The shows make me smile, laugh, and sometimes cry. I'd much rather cry because of a make believe tragedy than from the stress of real life. It's a nice way to have some emotional relief in a way that seems like a choice. Whether it's for comedic moments, escapism, or emotional release, I'm glad K-dramas exist. I wasn't someone who watched much television so I am thankful someone convinced me to give them a try. 

Beware: Once started you may not be able to stop. Also, there aren't commercials, but product placement works y'all. I have purchased: automatic door locks, a cute bunny hairband for when I wash my face, Kopiko candy, snacks, soju, food, books, beauty products, and I don't know what else as a result. I've also learned how to cook a LOT of Korean food (some of that here). You have been warned.

Slice of Life 2025 - Flowers

Flowers are currently blooming all over town so fresh flowers will now be out and about in our home through winter. This is a good thing because they are gorgeous and cheerful and smell delightful. This is also a challenging thing because my head, eyes, and nose don't seem to be big fans. 

Today I decided to simply appreciate them for a bit in the fading light. They were a great accompaniment to the book I was reading. Divining Leaves is a young adult book that is centered in flowers, trees, scents, spring, and magic. Spring is not here yet according to the calendar, but it has most definitely arrived and I appreciate the reminder that nature continues to gift us with so many things.

 

Slice of Life 2025 - Making and Sharing School Videos

A topic wasn't coming to mind immediately so I looked at the first and only other time that I participated in SOL back in 2015. What I found was a post about video announcements at the elementary school in WI where I was a teacher librarian. I am still helping students make them. Some things have changed a bit like the fact that I live in CA, but they are mostly the same. 

Yesterday we posted our latest video on our school YouTube channel. It's so fun watching the sixth grade students create these videos. Their personalities shine and they get to do some really cool things. Some students want to edit, others are excited to be in front of the camera, and others like being behind the camera. Our latest episode included a clip from a recent interview with author Nikki Shannon Smith.

The interviews are super fun. We interview different people in the community which I really love. It's great to have a guests on campus because then our school is getting to be known around town, but also because we learn about the many different ways that people work and participate in our community. It's also just fun to meet them. We've interviewed our district superintendent, several people involved in the city government, an artist, an author, and the chancellor of the local university. 

Yesterday we had the director of our local landfill come to chat with our sixth graders and she stayed after her presentation for an interview so our next episode will feature that conversation. Every time we meet someone new we all have the chance to learn something. I'm so glad that this school lets us have these opportunities and that we can share these videos with our school and community.

 

Slice of Life 2025 - Sleepy

I got the correct amount of sleep. I even took a nap and yet sleepiness has overtaken me. I fell asleep sitting up in my chair. 

One day perhaps the United States will stop fiddling with the time, but until then, twice a year we have to adjust. One hour does not seem like such a big deal, but change is hard. Change is uncomfortable. 

I took a brief nap yesterday afternoon. I slept eight hours and will hope for the best. Perhaps my Monday will be energetic and lovely. Or sleepiness may chase me all day. We shall see.

  

Slice of Life 2025 - Reading Together

Reading is often a solo activity--at least when we are adults. Fortunately, I'm a teacher librarian so reading in community is a common occurrence for me. This week I read Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor with six different classes of first and second graders. I read Cougar Crossing by Meeg Pincus with illustrator Alexander Vidal with four different classes of fifth and sixth grade students and I read The Gardener of Alcatraz by Emma Bland Smith with illustrator Jenn Ely with four different classes of fifth and sixth grade students. I also read Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan and illustrated by Mercè López with three classes of kindergarteners and one class of third graders. Whew! We are reading the picture books for the California Young Reader Medal and are almost finished. With so many eyes and ears on a book, lots of things are noticed and shared. 

I've found ways to read in community outside of work too. There is a local group called Books that Blaze and we're reading Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Pérez for Women's History Month. 

I'm also in a book club that is mostly library and education related folks and we met this week to talk about A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. That group is a lively one and I don't like to miss it since the host loves to bake and makes a cake or pie every time we meet. She even makes enough so we can take some home afterwards! We talk about the book we read together and then we share about all of the other good books that we've been reading. 

Storygraph also has a some cool ways for us to read and engage around a book. They have buddy reads to set up for you and a friend or two and they also have readalongs for bigger groups. I've done a few of those and will likely do more. 

I also write for a Young Adult blog called Rich in Color. There, the other bloggers and I do group book  discussions several times a year and that's always fun too. 

I also participate in a blog hop sometimes called It's Monday! What are you reading? where we share the books we've been reading over the past week - or longer if it has been a while since posting. 

And finally, this month I'm also participating in the #RamadanReadathon on Instagram. We're reading Fledgling by S.K. Ali. I've read and enjoyed all of her other books and am excited to be reading at the same time as others so we can share what we notice, wonder, love, and know about the book. 

Sometimes I just want to fly through a book and enjoy it by myself, but I find that sharing books with others is also extremely rewarding. Having a space to talk about the books and share enthusiasm or even our lack thereof makes me happy and lets me enjoy the book beyond the pages. Happy reading to you whether alone or with a group!