tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6451704644613036672024-03-08T03:33:50.627-08:00Reading Through LifeCrystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.comBlogger1186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-76717938991332325442024-03-03T16:22:00.000-08:002024-03-03T16:28:39.474-08:00Spotlight on Robin Ha<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmdl-6EYUKv7X06dti7KAxOlLBEHW7pbWMUiQ7-Hy4delao8aBY30IY6LGNvyVHMwMi4Ud8b3D91To4Pudq0U0VJ5p8DS2KBqe44gIK2qdz98pbcVmFPLSO8AP2XVcX0Y_JFPxmIhM7gdUCouqhLdJvFKq4fTchGT93Knsmi4DbASoiMS6CdUzDCKCT3W/s5712/IMG_4734.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Three books are sitting together. Cook Korean, Almost American Girl and The Fox Maidens" border="0" data-original-height="4284" data-original-width="5712" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmdl-6EYUKv7X06dti7KAxOlLBEHW7pbWMUiQ7-Hy4delao8aBY30IY6LGNvyVHMwMi4Ud8b3D91To4Pudq0U0VJ5p8DS2KBqe44gIK2qdz98pbcVmFPLSO8AP2XVcX0Y_JFPxmIhM7gdUCouqhLdJvFKq4fTchGT93Knsmi4DbASoiMS6CdUzDCKCT3W/w383-h287/IMG_4734.jpeg" width="383" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><a href="https://robinha81.wixsite.com/robinha/about" target="_blank">Robin Ha</a> is a Korean American author and illustrator and if you don't know her work yet, you'll want to check it out. Earlier this year, I <a href="https://richincolor.com/2024/02/review-the-fox-maidens/" target="_blank">reviewed</a> <i><a href="https://www.transatlanticagency.com/2023/06/27/cover-reveal-for-the-fox-maidens-by-robin-ha/" target="_blank">The Fox Maidens</a></i> over at Rich in Color. It's quite a fun graphic novel especially if you like Gumiho stories. This reminded me that I had also enjoyed Robin Ha's graphic novel memoir, <i><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/almost-american-girl-robin-ha?variant=33007925657634" target="_blank">Almost American Girl</a></i>. I figured I should find her comic book cookbook <i><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/252746/cook-korean-by-robin-ha/" target="_blank">Cook Korean!</a> </i>as well. There was a copy at the library and I read through it, chose some recipes, and got ready to cook. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKARtvv76fXPs_6FUJrW3g_aeLXSOAKQEF4S137DOEoj4FmKtSv9d4T1ng_iocQo1bBYjJt9j62bTJBK7MNGw2_B-tvYWtDQfJQzYTITmzSXKxeDJk0G7Vqv3V2X1QbAfLNf3mYK2AgPqVlDeCQZpItu4x0iUzZWc2ictJEJsmwFjTBTBZOu8QfGpzfXkS/s5712/IMG_4735.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4284" data-original-width="5712" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKARtvv76fXPs_6FUJrW3g_aeLXSOAKQEF4S137DOEoj4FmKtSv9d4T1ng_iocQo1bBYjJt9j62bTJBK7MNGw2_B-tvYWtDQfJQzYTITmzSXKxeDJk0G7Vqv3V2X1QbAfLNf3mYK2AgPqVlDeCQZpItu4x0iUzZWc2ictJEJsmwFjTBTBZOu8QfGpzfXkS/s320/IMG_4735.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>First, I made Pan Fried Tofu. It was relatively easy and quite tasty. The illustrations are super cute and the instructions are clear and easy to follow.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEM3qP_E3owEPSXyEXD8r1gHYguKncQLjFW1ri4PviuzfZZjSG1r6W2gnULj_rg9rqZdhbjh86ypNqVI3zkFCZSiNlpT7E30ErEWDbXJyCYD_jmEQnbDen7AGdXnqhGzQl-MML96CqTNzXphfmqKKUi0msTzqTJ0SAxea5nzYa7Y4m584hq9S7WzLn2KHP/s5712/IMG_4736.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4284" data-original-width="5712" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEM3qP_E3owEPSXyEXD8r1gHYguKncQLjFW1ri4PviuzfZZjSG1r6W2gnULj_rg9rqZdhbjh86ypNqVI3zkFCZSiNlpT7E30ErEWDbXJyCYD_jmEQnbDen7AGdXnqhGzQl-MML96CqTNzXphfmqKKUi0msTzqTJ0SAxea5nzYa7Y4m584hq9S7WzLn2KHP/s320/IMG_4736.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The Rice Cake Soup took longer, but the recipe was also quite easy. Later, I did add an ingredient that isn't in the photo. I dropped in some mandu and that made us all quite happy. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHfChCIvUmESFPdR7DUSNizZ71AHrsGkxxiGxdws_aljHzDl2575g5V99B1oWxTzy_SSZd_wtGpzUeoA0FXva0UvOlh7PE94fgzx5SimNbwou42jxIzIt2zlp0LINYmiS542Ivg1ZaxWSZrT4kfnqLYQJwz7Sl3Y87vNPZqShmR_1XsAdE3uc9HFT4Has/s5712/IMG_4739.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4284" data-original-width="5712" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHfChCIvUmESFPdR7DUSNizZ71AHrsGkxxiGxdws_aljHzDl2575g5V99B1oWxTzy_SSZd_wtGpzUeoA0FXva0UvOlh7PE94fgzx5SimNbwou42jxIzIt2zlp0LINYmiS542Ivg1ZaxWSZrT4kfnqLYQJwz7Sl3Y87vNPZqShmR_1XsAdE3uc9HFT4Has/s320/IMG_4739.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The Spicy Bok Choy was also simple enough to make and was also a delight to eat. We cook bok choy quite often, but usually it is served fairly simply with a broth or chopped up to add to another dish. The sauce was yummy. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiZ9lyqJQDTL3_QRS_4Koqd7iGDvq6MZbH4uEazZ9NzwpDkLhs_HHExCi-47GGR3gicBDC3hsq291vENKcu4NG5yCt9aImTjEqv4qybLDk-TqS1OFbFnyI8mc10oXCUP4PKNqhZSlkYuBFR1-QJSzbCe8-RCE3ApF3yxAnW46_AVLo9kL1AVibKVxMFaR/s5222/IMG_4745.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3672" data-original-width="5222" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiZ9lyqJQDTL3_QRS_4Koqd7iGDvq6MZbH4uEazZ9NzwpDkLhs_HHExCi-47GGR3gicBDC3hsq291vENKcu4NG5yCt9aImTjEqv4qybLDk-TqS1OFbFnyI8mc10oXCUP4PKNqhZSlkYuBFR1-QJSzbCe8-RCE3ApF3yxAnW46_AVLo9kL1AVibKVxMFaR/s320/IMG_4745.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">The Braised Daikon with Saury was very new to us. We've only ever had daikon in a pickled form so it was different to experience it cooked. Also, I had never heard of that kind of fish, but I thought had seen it on the shelves at the local Korean market so this was a good excuse to give it a try. Our market did have it so we were in luck. </p><p style="text-align: left;">When I was finished making this dish, we had extra daikon left over so the next day I made some quick pickled carrots and daikon because that is one of my favorite side dishes. That wasn't in the cookbook, but I had used <a href="https://mykoreankitchen.com/pickled-carrots-and-daikon-radish/" target="_blank">this recipe</a> from My Korean Kitchen before and did it again.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I appreciated the engaging way that Robin Ha illustrated the recipes and it was cool to learn about the process of making the book with her mother's input. My family also really enjoyed the wonderful food we had as a result of this book so to Robin Ha I say 감사합니다! </p><p style="text-align: left;">Here is a video of the author introducing her illustration process. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PAL-8q5TSTA?si=ACqJnQJhBpYSkZEi" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><div style="text-align: left;">Here she talks about <i>Cook Korean!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6u2PXALu0T4?si=_W7CSsdz7dD348mU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/studiojjk/videos/origin-stories-recording-with-robin-ha/1110658999720547/" target="_blank">Origin Stories Podcast with Jarrett J. Krosoczka</a></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-79397966466889573152024-03-03T15:37:00.000-08:002024-03-03T15:37:19.418-08:00Review: A Costume for Charly <p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPs7D9XGeXHqQjImwuC2FpgXAwneohn7L87loVuold9Xa60aF21Zqxr1YWbgkV3amk1TpJ-nVKZMV1JqIF2ZgQZ-UG1mSOin4Om2qLZdoywA8Hx-CpMEu83v3newrXcg2lqIhGUFCp3q9-aHWxd34_iavaV9ZHMqhQ4b5Mg0fzKZD9qNb-Ni2MOg5C_vW/s602/charly.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="516" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPs7D9XGeXHqQjImwuC2FpgXAwneohn7L87loVuold9Xa60aF21Zqxr1YWbgkV3amk1TpJ-nVKZMV1JqIF2ZgQZ-UG1mSOin4Om2qLZdoywA8Hx-CpMEu83v3newrXcg2lqIhGUFCp3q9-aHWxd34_iavaV9ZHMqhQ4b5Mg0fzKZD9qNb-Ni2MOg5C_vW/s320/charly.webp" width="274" /></a></b></div><b>Title:</b> <a href="https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506484051/A-Costume-for-Charly" target="_blank">A Costume for Charly</a><p></p><p><b>Author:</b> <a href="https://www.carlislemalonebooks.com/" target="_blank">C.K. Malone</a></p><p><b>Illustrator: </b>Alejandra Barajas</p><p><b>Publisher:</b> Beaming Books</p><p><b>Review copy: </b>Final copy via publisher</p><p><b>Availability:</b> On shelves now</p><p><b>Summary: </b>Trick-or-treat! Non-binary Charly must think outside the box to create the perfect Halloween costume: one that represents both their feminine and masculine sides. </p><p>Halloween is always tricky for Charly, and this year they are determined to find a costume that showcases both the feminine and masculine halves of their identity. Digging through their costume box, they explore many fun costumes. Some are masc. Some are femme. Some are neither. But all are lacking. As trick-or-treating looms, they must think outside the box to find the perfect costume--something that will allow them to present as one hundred percent Charly.</p><p><b>*Our Thoughts:</b> We are excited to see this book out in the world and are glad to have bi-gender representation for young readers. It's great that it exists and we are hopeful that many people will have the chance to read this delightful and enjoyable Halloween story.</p><p>Before even getting to the text, the illustrations are super fun. They are bright and cheery and the endpapers full of bats are top-notch. Charly's facial expressions support the text wonderfully. Altogether, the illustrations really add a lot to the story.</p><p>We appreciate the blurb on the back that says, "Charly is searching for a Halloween costume that reflects their whole self." That reflection is the goal for Charly, but also for readers. </p><p>The alliteration and word pairings like "fangy delight" add a brightness to the story and will be sure to generate smiles. </p><p><b>Recommendation:</b> Get it soon. This is a great addition to any collection for young people especially around Halloween. </p><p>*One of my adult children also read the book and shared some thoughts with me. </p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-9412611160918081242023-10-29T16:28:00.001-07:002023-10-29T16:28:27.732-07:00Review: Warrior Girl<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Yq9WzjAqlZlMJu8xiBM_Db6HYoiROQ3UBd08WnEzbYwfJ_ZNIs2Rrn5hRkys7MC70Ce6O9Ni5VHj7FID5q8v-XnJSBLnxZm96CzDzilFBTCflOaO-WZFhaSjL4IPU9vnwlMrEUY1GM9vmAlzJ6GuOS57-ItsCr7bUpGQLCmVHJ_NKx8BmKAaXvZeBgjW/s400/warrior.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A girl is standing on one leg with the other bent. Her arms are stretched out and her head is tilted up with streaming dark hair. There is a shield behind her left arm that has a star on it. The background is in purples, blues, and greens with large painted flower shapes." border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Yq9WzjAqlZlMJu8xiBM_Db6HYoiROQ3UBd08WnEzbYwfJ_ZNIs2Rrn5hRkys7MC70Ce6O9Ni5VHj7FID5q8v-XnJSBLnxZm96CzDzilFBTCflOaO-WZFhaSjL4IPU9vnwlMrEUY1GM9vmAlzJ6GuOS57-ItsCr7bUpGQLCmVHJ_NKx8BmKAaXvZeBgjW/w214-h320/warrior.jpeg" width="214" /></a></b></div><b>Title:</b> Warrior Girl<p></p><p><b>Author:</b> Carmen Tafolla</p><p><b>Publisher: </b>Nancy Paulsen Books</p><p><b>Pages:</b> 209</p><p><b>Review Copy:</b> ARC via publisher</p><p><b>Availability:</b> On shelves now</p><p><b>Summary:</b> An insightful novel in verse about the joys and struggles of a Chicana girl who is a warrior for her name, her history, and her right to choose what she celebrates in life. </p><p>Celina and her family are bilingual and follow both Mexican and American traditions. Celina revels in her Mexican heritage, but once she starts school it feels like the world wants her to erase that part of her identity. Fortunately, she’s got an army of family and three fabulous new friends behind her to fight the ignorance. But it’s her Gramma who’s her biggest inspiration, encouraging Celina to build a shield of joy around herself. Because when you’re celebrating, when you find a reason to sing or dance or paint or play or laugh or write, they haven’t taken everything away from you. Of course, it’s not possible to stay in celebration mode when things get dire--like when her dad’s deported and a pandemic hits--but if there is anything Celina’s sure of, it’s that she’ll always live up to her last Guerrera--woman warrior--and that she will use her voice and writing talents to make the world a more beautiful place where all cultures are celebrated.</p><p><b>My Thoughts:</b> From the start, Celina, or Tere as she was called at home, knows that she comes from a courageous and loving people. The poems share the many times when she comes up against people in her schools and elsewhere that don't listen to her or believe that they know her or her name better than she does. With her Gramma and the one teacher that encouraged her and other students to use their voice, Celina is able to keep from having her culture, history, and self be erased. </p><p>Writing is Celina's comfort when she is dealing with difficult things and she doesn't want to burden her family or worry them. So we get to see her inner thoughts as she works through the stresses. When it's not writing or her family, the moon and nature are where she looks for peace.</p><p>In middle school, Celina learns much more about poetry and writing and as a teacher I see all kinds of possibilities for using this book in a classroom. There are examples of great writing in the poems, but there are also lessons about poetry. And the lessons are in Celina's voice and style so they aren't super didactic. </p><p>There are interesting conversations about history too like when they discuss who gets to relax on Labor Day, or why Columbus could claim the land that already had people, or that slavery was a reason for the battle at the Alamo though it often isn't framed that way in classrooms. There are many times when Celina asks questions of her friends and teachers and creates space for thinking about things. </p><p>Part of the story happens during the spring of 2020 so events of that time including COVID come into play. The fear of illness or loss of loved ones and the killing of George Floyd are part of Celina's life even as she is still waiting for her father to return after deportation. There's a lot going on, but she has the support of family, friends, and some teachers who care. </p><p><b>Recommendation:</b> Get it soon. This is a short book that packs in a lot of things to think about around freedom, identity, family, friendship, history, community, and more. </p><p><br /></p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-2081762975703348052023-09-24T14:07:00.005-07:002023-09-24T14:10:24.223-07:00Indigenous Kidlit <p>Indigenous Peoples' Day is coming soon so I thought it would be a good time to highlight some of the Indigenous titles that have caught my attention lately. Obviously these titles are excellent for all times of the year though.</p><p><b>Picture Books - </b>All three of these are lovely in different ways and are definitely books that everyone should get a chance to read. </p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAWtr1I15lqqSw2OMqUqGrP6TM7wH93OphtMbFMHSmEKV1scR5Y9wE7Gdwh0RaFWlkMI7x_4HYprxAeaWWgg7T1juauWCcAPqBicbA31bGr4uKjhStBaxZhdzNRG8OKA20QQUuDn2VN_DxgNB4DwKEsLhT3dHbdtKh5rEZ07KwlgHlWJN82Osb_T9ipIA/s536/dandelion.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book cover. Adult and young child are sitting in the middle of a yellow dandelion. There are two bees flying around them. They are holding a bouquet of dandelions. There are other large dandelions around the one they are sitting in." border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="536" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAWtr1I15lqqSw2OMqUqGrP6TM7wH93OphtMbFMHSmEKV1scR5Y9wE7Gdwh0RaFWlkMI7x_4HYprxAeaWWgg7T1juauWCcAPqBicbA31bGr4uKjhStBaxZhdzNRG8OKA20QQUuDn2VN_DxgNB4DwKEsLhT3dHbdtKh5rEZ07KwlgHlWJN82Osb_T9ipIA/w168-h168/dandelion.jpeg" width="168" /></a></b></div><b>Âmî Osâwâpikones/Dear Dandelion by S.J. Okemow
</b><p>Annick Press Ltd.</p><p><b>Publisher summary:</b> Both a love letter to the dandelion and a call to love ourselves in a difficult world, Âmî Osâwâpikones reminds us that we are not defined as others see us. Following our young protagonist and the dandelions through the seasons, we are reminded that we are resilient, we are healers, we are funny, and we are loved.</p><p><br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNZgvjynXPLgCrllaUP6AsaLwo0d5CSnisEozDHUA4LRBOWG6Z_iPXZPM5d07SoxOd3f83stGgi8mJOaRT4vaNSdABDxzfme0Ots9zCbDy3BUuFbWupKUjsTuX3XS2Mt4rtZaIHZ8f9cQ5xih0eyOR6i5p2mxfuQ1U5KrfA68w2AzknmC-L5XTcRyU6Vy/s2560/remember.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book cover. The overall image is done in different shades of red. There is a young person's face in the center. There are flowers, dragonflies, stars, and many other things surrounding the face. The person is looking up with what seems to be wonder." border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2322" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNZgvjynXPLgCrllaUP6AsaLwo0d5CSnisEozDHUA4LRBOWG6Z_iPXZPM5d07SoxOd3f83stGgi8mJOaRT4vaNSdABDxzfme0Ots9zCbDy3BUuFbWupKUjsTuX3XS2Mt4rtZaIHZ8f9cQ5xih0eyOR6i5p2mxfuQ1U5KrfA68w2AzknmC-L5XTcRyU6Vy/w169-h186/remember.jpeg" width="169" /></a></b></div><b><br />Remember by Joy Harjo, illustrations by Michaela Goade</b><p></p><p>Random House</p><p><b>Publisher summary:</b> Remember the sky you were born under,
Know each of the star's stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun's birth at dawn,
That is the strongest point of time.
So begins the picture book adaptation of the renowned poem that encourages young readers to reflect on family, nature, and their heritage. In simple and direct language, Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke Nation, urges readers to pay close attention to who they are, the world they were born into, and how all inhabitants on earth are connected. Michaela Goade, drawing from her Tlingit culture, has created vivid illustrations that make the words come alive in an engaging and accessible way.
This timeless poem paired with magnificent paintings makes for a picture book that is a true celebration of life and our human role within it.<br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRjRlyRV7jBmw-OIVKAQ6_3lI_gefs57McrYUHG5S232hTKdZ6aXqJu9BnSBU09pXc2k6uI4Yxxopwk2Sz2vrVx4aOBj-uvwA_8uPaBpcmG8eEK9ZNABUjQeMUL6QLmVCHD9lmx4-jS9wDMoJYFUoQFxBAFGYDAf7Mi3wDlf9inXagqk09ULP2pRofsD7/s3174/mitig.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book cover. An animal is in each corner of the book surrounded by green leaves." border="0" data-original-height="2850" data-original-width="3174" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRjRlyRV7jBmw-OIVKAQ6_3lI_gefs57McrYUHG5S232hTKdZ6aXqJu9BnSBU09pXc2k6uI4Yxxopwk2Sz2vrVx4aOBj-uvwA_8uPaBpcmG8eEK9ZNABUjQeMUL6QLmVCHD9lmx4-jS9wDMoJYFUoQFxBAFGYDAf7Mi3wDlf9inXagqk09ULP2pRofsD7/w173-h155/mitig.jpeg" width="173" /></a></b></div><b>It's a Mitig! by Bridget George</b><p></p><p>Douglas & McIntyre</p><p><b>Publisher summary: </b>A fun and colorful introduction to the Ojibwe language through nature It’s a Mitig! guides young readers through the forest and introduces them to Ojibwe words that describe the natural world. Featuring vibrant and playful artwork, an illustrated Ojibwe-to-English glossary and a simple introduction to the double-vowel pronunciation system, plus accompanying online recordings, It’s a Mitig! is one of the first books of its kind. From sunup to sundown, encounter an amik playing with sticks and swimming in the river, a prickly gaag hiding in the bushes and a big, bark-covered mitig . Using rhyme to help readers predict the Ojibwe pronunciation, It’s a Mitig! makes learning new words fun. Anishinaabe author-illustrator Bridget George created this unique book for young children and their families with the heartfelt desire to spark a lifelong interest in learning language. Whether connecting with one’s Ojibwe ancestry or simply opening children’s eyes and ears to the cornucopia of North American dialects, It’s a Mitig! is a useful tool for exploring language.<br /></p><p><b>Young Adult - </b>These are two incredible stories and both were almost impossible to put down. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoMqBT35KfqRtxOGOuXc5CFMrXeLpj9GRU44UeieVGc698Kn7zZVBfNpAIYyOAFazlM1_TkLFjhETkwPqT55VFiuj0tjuIX5x1TKXAULfe5TeQUjw38VJF_9gt3X7bTpfH5anngDEsYQS0TXm2yRMvpsplZASTQ5f7CavWi6oEDX3LHq7hYvIH0QM5du0/s529/rez%20ball.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img alt="Book cover. Young man is standing holding a basketball against his hip with one hand." border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="350" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoMqBT35KfqRtxOGOuXc5CFMrXeLpj9GRU44UeieVGc698Kn7zZVBfNpAIYyOAFazlM1_TkLFjhETkwPqT55VFiuj0tjuIX5x1TKXAULfe5TeQUjw38VJF_9gt3X7bTpfH5anngDEsYQS0TXm2yRMvpsplZASTQ5f7CavWi6oEDX3LHq7hYvIH0QM5du0/w117-h177/rez%20ball.webp" width="117" /></b></a></div><b>Rez Ball by Byron Graves </b>[My Review <a href="http://richincolor.com/2023/09/review-rez-ball/" target="_blank">at Rich in Color</a>]<br /><p>Heartdrum</p><p><b>Publisher Summary:</b> This compelling debut novel by new talent Byron Graves tells the relatable, high-stakes story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be. These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team—even though he can’t help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his dream of playing in the NBA, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. But stepping into his brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana, who he is definitely not falling in love with. After decades of rez teams almost making it, Tre needs to take his team to state. Because if he can live up to Jaxon's dreams, their story isn’t over yet. <br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZKDjCAGAH83r5z1Zji0cExVdQwyNrF-U94VaOlAx2B85RxEMFDwt8dGdiutq_NEk_dUl-X0QyJWbh1VgQ4C-68mdnCrVhLAK3TJNQTdOx1uXMPg4Wz_kUCg35XqorUfFEMok_bkr8hhFRpbfC_aNwvAU4M9jykHE7AT5j9-R9EjN7j1jqh2bdEIaphgg/s2560/warrior.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book cover. A young woman's face is centered. There is a lighter silhouette behind her and the phases of the moon are above them." border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1694" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZKDjCAGAH83r5z1Zji0cExVdQwyNrF-U94VaOlAx2B85RxEMFDwt8dGdiutq_NEk_dUl-X0QyJWbh1VgQ4C-68mdnCrVhLAK3TJNQTdOx1uXMPg4Wz_kUCg35XqorUfFEMok_bkr8hhFRpbfC_aNwvAU4M9jykHE7AT5j9-R9EjN7j1jqh2bdEIaphgg/w125-h189/warrior.jpeg" width="125" /></a></b></div><b>Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley </b>[My Review <a href="http://richincolor.com/2023/08/review-warrior-girl-unearthed/" target="_blank">at Rich in Color</a>]<p></p><p>Faber</p><p><b>Publisher Summary:</b> Perry Firekeeper-Birch was ready for her Summer of Slack but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she’s stuck working to pay back her Auntie Daunis for repairs to the Jeep.
Thankfully she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer doesn’t feel so lost after all.
But when she attends a meeting at a local university, Perry learns about the “Warrior Girl”, an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives, and everything changes. Perry has to return Warrior Girl to her tribe. Determined to help, she learns all she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items. The university has been using legal loopholes to hold onto Warrior Girl and twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors’ remains, and Perry and the Misfits won’t let it go on any longer.
Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline’s perfectionism takes a turn for the worse. As secrets and mysteries unfurl, Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right – for the ancestors and for their community. </p><p>**This last one is probably considered Adult, but I think it would also work with Young Adults.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVM-PKuchiLqcTnPYnLTOqBechrcZ_u56iewcf78Vjcj9KLmjVSufEm2oJ6jesNLZb2-TeGJilvupf3lSQcjGwsCiPQVt--gXdo7PIUk1W-cKhtpDDWSM9xBGJmJzQViH9bCQ2SPbH6NMK8gd1mwYA6ppMS9OYNr-evBhzgurgTZ-XiHbMDMdsRph63mX/s2560/project%20562.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book cover. An elder is standing in a field with a blue sky above her. There are a few puffy white clouds. She is wearing a colorful shawl and glasses and is smiling." border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2560" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVM-PKuchiLqcTnPYnLTOqBechrcZ_u56iewcf78Vjcj9KLmjVSufEm2oJ6jesNLZb2-TeGJilvupf3lSQcjGwsCiPQVt--gXdo7PIUk1W-cKhtpDDWSM9xBGJmJzQViH9bCQ2SPbH6NMK8gd1mwYA6ppMS9OYNr-evBhzgurgTZ-XiHbMDMdsRph63mX/w186-h186/project%20562.jpeg" width="186" /></a></b></div><b>Project 562 by Matika Wilbur </b>[<a href="https://www.project562.com/#2" target="_blank">Project 562 Website with Gallery</a>]<p></p><p>Ten Speed Press</p><p><b>Publisher Summary:</b> In 2012, Matika Wilbur sold everything in her Seattle apartment and set out on a Kickstarter-funded pursuit to visit, engage, and photograph people from what were then the 562 federally recognized Native American Tribal Nations. Over the next decade, she traveled six hundred thousand miles across fifty states—from Seminole country (now known as the Everglades) to Inuit territory (now known as the Bering Sea)—to meet, interview, and photograph hundreds of Indigenous people. The body of work Wilbur created serves to counteract the one-dimensional and archaic stereotypes of Native people in mainstream media and offers justice to the richness, diversity, and lived experiences of Indian Country.
The culmination of this decade-long art and storytelling endeavor, Project 562 is a peerless, sweeping, and moving love letter to Indigenous Americans, containing hundreds of stunning portraits and compelling personal narratives of contemporary Native people—all photographed in clothing, poses, and locations of their choosing. Their narratives touch on personal and cultural identity as well as issues of media representation, sovereignty, faith, family, the protection of sacred sites, subsistence living, traditional knowledge-keeping, land stewardship, language preservation, advocacy, education, the arts, and more.
A vital contribution from an incomparable artist, Project 562 inspires, educates, and truly changes the way we see Native America.</p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-44708916846523106412023-09-04T15:06:00.003-07:002023-09-04T15:06:53.178-07:00Book Review: How Do You Spell Unfair?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlGJk6JSJ6PgiW_CyNOsBEUZ8g0Q0g2swg007JZ-nIvoUogAFKRyiE2kkfjn4BmJmB-Id_oMXNDhutz6lzJ9TQrEkfQOO-EPhE4F6W8b5fiHTfH1MWUZXWBrkvzWPDY9-HtZ6gCjLRvMnenFWwEosfs5beOe36XdVL3GHnJXDwIazhl7YIt5SBR2KMTz6/s1225/unfair.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Young Black girl is wearing a white dress with some kind of small read flower or other object dotted around. She is holding onto a microphone stand and has her mouth open to speak. The title is in gold letters and there is a red curtain behind MacNolia." border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="923" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlGJk6JSJ6PgiW_CyNOsBEUZ8g0Q0g2swg007JZ-nIvoUogAFKRyiE2kkfjn4BmJmB-Id_oMXNDhutz6lzJ9TQrEkfQOO-EPhE4F6W8b5fiHTfH1MWUZXWBrkvzWPDY9-HtZ6gCjLRvMnenFWwEosfs5beOe36XdVL3GHnJXDwIazhl7YIt5SBR2KMTz6/w241-h320/unfair.jpeg" width="241" /></a></b></div><b>Title:</b> How Do You Spell Unfair?<p></p><p><b>Author: </b>Carol Boston Weatherford</p><p><b>Illustrator:</b> Frank Morrison</p><p><b>Publisher:</b> Candlewick Press</p><p><b>Availablity:</b> On shelves now</p><p><b>Review copy:</b> Final copy via publisher</p><p><b>Summary:</b> MacNolia Cox was no ordinary kid.
Her idea of fun was reading the dictionary.
In 1936, eighth grader MacNolia Cox became the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee. And with that win, she was asked to compete at the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, where she and a girl from New Jersey were the first African Americans invited since its founding. She left her home state a celebrity—right up there with Ohio’s own Joe Louis and Jesse Owens—with a military band and a crowd of thousands to see her off at the station. But celebration turned to chill when the train crossed the state line into Maryland, where segregation was the law of the land. Prejudice and discrimination ruled—on the train, in the hotel, and, sadly, at the spelling bee itself. With a brief epilogue recounting MacNolia’s further history, <i>How Do You Spell Unfair? </i>is the story of her groundbreaking achievement magnificently told by award-winning creators and frequent picture-book collaborators Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison.</p><p><b>My Thoughts:</b> There are so many ways people have found to discriminate against African Americans and others over the years in the United States, but young readers may not realize how incredibly pervasive these things were. They may know about separate water fountains, where people could and couldn't sit on buses, or how difficult it could be to be able to vote, but might know that discrimination was baked into so many other areas of life. Here we see how there were many young people, including MacNolia Cox, who faced this unfairness with much effort, determination, and the support of family and community. </p><p>The use of unique and interesting words throughout the text support the context of the spelling bee and provide challenges for readers if they want to practice or learn that vocabulary. The illustrations are rich and add depth to the story without distracting from it. </p><p><b>Recommendation: </b>This is a great picture book that shares part of our history and honors the many who have fought for justice in many areas of life over the years. It is an excellent addition to any library especially if you want to broaden your civil rights collection beyond the more typical buses and boycotts books. </p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-65254338639374327272023-05-15T06:00:00.002-07:002023-05-15T06:00:00.151-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0lFbMHeP2sU4Xy5iXI6mK_664_sl-6QGDMmjoAd4_V18nlg_bZYH1HfGTIZtsj_PqSKU0STkyWENvMHbSWYnqiTcj5SydtQAW5oD51CoFLZJ2hKGJz97V7q1LxSsZLPJ-K3Ca1QIXEoAf2lffIeDemN8-nKa9bLnR_HGANRf058XqkOFH_EE2UT6Bg/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0lFbMHeP2sU4Xy5iXI6mK_664_sl-6QGDMmjoAd4_V18nlg_bZYH1HfGTIZtsj_PqSKU0STkyWENvMHbSWYnqiTcj5SydtQAW5oD51CoFLZJ2hKGJz97V7q1LxSsZLPJ-K3Ca1QIXEoAf2lffIeDemN8-nKa9bLnR_HGANRf058XqkOFH_EE2UT6Bg/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/author/thebookdate/" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>Recent Posts at Rich in Color:</b></p><p><a href="http://richincolor.com/2023/05/review-gloria-buenrostro-is-not-my-girlfriend/">Review of Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend</a> by <span style="text-align: center;">Brandon Hoàng</span></p><p><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://richincolor.com/2023/05/shining-a-light-on-some-early-2023-books/" target="_blank">Shining a Light on Some Early 2023 Books</a> - HarperCollins books we skipped during the strike</span></p><p><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://richincolor.com/2023/04/review-men-of-the-65th-the-borinqueneers-of-the-korean-war/" target="_blank">Review of Men of the 65th: The Boriqueneers of the Korean War</a> by Talia Aikens Nuñez</span></p><p><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://richincolor.com/2023/04/muslim-voices-3/" target="_blank">Muslim Voices 2023</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtczh2phLcjazZUr0oru8wvrxrN1LiE2fvbJo2ja0G_xI3HoB4BJM_sWjtZSPcPcgJeaK3ltSg23Q3oghxpwq8GP481abpsv4xZRK7xaBjZBNSQLf-8wc2Id0KgTjyjZTOK3ZIcg7L_fme7aiWCZnd3qykBk7SaR3FMVpH4_Ntj6RS3olkex0f43mcQ/s1200/san%20francisco.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Beach with water gently rolling in. In the distance the very top of the Golden Gate bridge is peeking out above fog. There is a blue sky and it's sunny." border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtczh2phLcjazZUr0oru8wvrxrN1LiE2fvbJo2ja0G_xI3HoB4BJM_sWjtZSPcPcgJeaK3ltSg23Q3oghxpwq8GP481abpsv4xZRK7xaBjZBNSQLf-8wc2Id0KgTjyjZTOK3ZIcg7L_fme7aiWCZnd3qykBk7SaR3FMVpH4_Ntj6RS3olkex0f43mcQ/w320-h240/san%20francisco.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13mff4ig_1MMzc69eKRj7GyANWpE6t7y3-RVMbO3dJDiBAYoQIJjgad6GhqNDeDEaTKlBbZ13-PdohdifDfE7cnP_-GstEIHJ1lvLB3aY-GA8Q72I_WvPSC5Lk_WMuP0nHkxbBE84Bv21lUVts5HzgcQJPkUBiVR_gyFbTUohYgJ71MpHgGSKFNgccg/s1186/Screenshot%202023-05-14%20at%202.59.58%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="My hand is holding a golden library card that features a young Black girl holding an open book and smiling. There is a full book shelf behind her." border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1186" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13mff4ig_1MMzc69eKRj7GyANWpE6t7y3-RVMbO3dJDiBAYoQIJjgad6GhqNDeDEaTKlBbZ13-PdohdifDfE7cnP_-GstEIHJ1lvLB3aY-GA8Q72I_WvPSC5Lk_WMuP0nHkxbBE84Bv21lUVts5HzgcQJPkUBiVR_gyFbTUohYgJ71MpHgGSKFNgccg/w320-h241/Screenshot%202023-05-14%20at%202.59.58%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Personal Update: </b>It's been quite a while since I posted anything here on the blog. I've been reading less this year too. Having moved across the country last summer, being new at three different jobs (one I just started in Feb), and having a seriously ill mom in another state, my productivity has taken a hit. Taking days one at a time is the only way to function well at this point. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yesterday was a good day. We figured out a nice (free parking) place to catch a ferry to San Francisco. We also found the free shuttle bus to the National Park at the Presidio. It was lovely to walk on the beach and see the bridge and also the many, many dogs that were frolicking. We also stopped by the library that I've popped into many times when we've been visiting. This time, I knew to sign up for a library card! CA residents can sign up for cards in any city and then have access to the digital collections. It's also fun to see the cards from different places anyway. These little joys really make life beautiful in spite of difficulties. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last weekend was another fun time when we got to go the Bay Area Book Festival. Seeing and meeting many authors was a treat. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Recent Reads I'd Recommend</b>: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div><b>Graphic Novel</b></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60316970-a-first-time-for-everything" target="_blank">A First Time for Everything</a> by Dan Santat - such a great memoir of middle school age explorations happening during a trip to Europe<div><br /></div><div><b>Picture Books</b></div><div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60877774-what-your-ribbon-skirt-means-to-me">What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me: Deb Haaland's Historical Inauguration</a> by Alexis C. Bunten with illustrations by Nicole Neidhardt - beautiful current day Indigenous story </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61965433-night-market-rescue" target="_blank">Night Market Rescue</a> by Charlotte Cheng with illustrations by Amber Ren - takes you right into the Night Market in Taiwan and the art is gorgeously lit up in spite of it happening at night</div><div><p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58067218-endlessly-ever-after" target="_blank">Endlessly Ever After</a> by Laurel Snyder with illustrations by Dan Santat - so many interesting results in this choose your own adventure style picture book</p><b>Adult Fiction</b></div><div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53310061-dial-a-for-aunties" target="_blank">Dial A for Aunties</a> by Jesse Sutanto - such a twisty and hilarious murdery book</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Currently:</b> I watched a panel at the book festival that had Ellen Oh and some of the other writers from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61284032-you-are-here?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_23" target="_blank">You Are Here: Connecting Flights</a> and have started listening to in with Libro.fm. I am also eager to get started on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61284032-you-are-here?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_23" target="_blank">Grounded</a> after hearing a panel of all of the authors for this middle grade that also takes place in an airport. Have a great week of reading!</div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-76455119886152652542023-03-20T07:00:00.001-07:002023-03-20T07:00:00.243-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir93xOmV73_Whfz-FCwbB914USktSKTFVUIEZqr540_BZSDITxQeDewPcQURZ9FN1-MwpJzQPrp9RFKMOSO4gfZytfj8F_xNWhfdXKWxcJtWYm-1sPx8dGjAuwItDM77I0GZnZel1mqhaQjaFJ3hcC_HbyuhvYlVgtA49JPUsM27la9FnGy78UiiER4Q/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir93xOmV73_Whfz-FCwbB914USktSKTFVUIEZqr540_BZSDITxQeDewPcQURZ9FN1-MwpJzQPrp9RFKMOSO4gfZytfj8F_xNWhfdXKWxcJtWYm-1sPx8dGjAuwItDM77I0GZnZel1mqhaQjaFJ3hcC_HbyuhvYlVgtA49JPUsM27la9FnGy78UiiER4Q/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/author/thebookdate/" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Week in Books: </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXcwNFQtUY3OemnQwhEgvewxCAzNIqqnPqIPNs_D-yZxukEOZcwzUOSqsSjb6zftRirCH2AvjEkklJtkguNHS_EecIubXGZRhMvW43ZshRFhx6cFEjJaqCzTOoiTq9JiJ404qt5mhszd3doPMLQlw9pBYX4Jh3DQ9PjYKYcKkTkM2z5_yaaW7E66e9g/s400/cartographers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Illustrated cover of the book Cartographers. A young woman is sitting on an escalator. The colors are mostly red with a little bit of orange and blue here and there. Here shoes are green. She has long dark hair and has an intent look on her face. Above the escalator, New York buildings can be seen in the night sky." border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXcwNFQtUY3OemnQwhEgvewxCAzNIqqnPqIPNs_D-yZxukEOZcwzUOSqsSjb6zftRirCH2AvjEkklJtkguNHS_EecIubXGZRhMvW43ZshRFhx6cFEjJaqCzTOoiTq9JiJ404qt5mhszd3doPMLQlw9pBYX4Jh3DQ9PjYKYcKkTkM2z5_yaaW7E66e9g/w212-h320/cartographers.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This week I have only read the YA book <i>The Cartographers</i> by Amy Zhang. Much of the book is internal dialogue and some of it takes place within an online document between two people so there isn't a lot of action. There's a lot to think about and deals quite a bit with mental health. I got a copy from the publisher and will write more about it for Rich in Color later.</div><p><b>The Coming Week:</b> I am not sure how much reading I will accomplish this week. I have my regular school district jobs - 5o% as a teacher librarian at an elementary school and 25% as a library tech at a K-12 school for independent study. That second one is a newer job and I am still weeding, shifting, and getting used to my duties there. I also have my almost 25% public library job in the evenings. We have a book fair at my elementary school so that adds a bit of extra tasks. And then, it will be Spring Break when I will get to go visit my mother and sister in TX. I just got my copy of Karuna Riazi's <i>A Bit of Earth</i> that's a <i>Secret Garden</i> re-telling and I will likely take that on my trip. Have a great week!</p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-27235710287122695492023-03-13T06:00:00.001-07:002023-03-13T06:00:00.262-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqXiiUwswuDfL4OLIy3sADtqFuTuKE8u6i3NxpgkkJSj6PMRO_Vwjqkhq_8kzKSWmpUayEgchaMxTEOM7gC8JgbHO9jupVwqmOng8D0Y3Sq47grYj9BSNlns8lQ9GGpU-WlWYS_JJJvJdcOFBqLR8ciQFI4DYopIv0g7-3vpNeB6rUTiXm1gFpGHQuw/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqXiiUwswuDfL4OLIy3sADtqFuTuKE8u6i3NxpgkkJSj6PMRO_Vwjqkhq_8kzKSWmpUayEgchaMxTEOM7gC8JgbHO9jupVwqmOng8D0Y3Sq47grYj9BSNlns8lQ9GGpU-WlWYS_JJJvJdcOFBqLR8ciQFI4DYopIv0g7-3vpNeB6rUTiXm1gFpGHQuw/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/author/thebookdate/" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuGQDNgD_W6alE49Ndxc3WB_gx5jEXM5jDufaKkneoHAakE5hfiWEVOF2OGTSyPkcg_FGVGcLCHXOr6nW3txIGOKp2LBD6yK6vTDLR4erLfS3Sp-MonspEw29053NOT3h7gLmWmQx9cxQMjOsLfoSBedWUVPx8gsRsbkhAYCMFx4dhvYT0rNjrdjPKg/s934/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-12%20at%208.59.19%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="three book covers. The first is redefining realness and has a photo of Janet Mock in a peach v neck dress. The second is Drunk on Love and shows a silhouette of a man and woman in an embrace each holding a wine glass. The third is throwback and has one young woman at the top upside down holding a cell phone with an antenna and a young woman right side up at the bottom wearing airpods in her ears." border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="934" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuGQDNgD_W6alE49Ndxc3WB_gx5jEXM5jDufaKkneoHAakE5hfiWEVOF2OGTSyPkcg_FGVGcLCHXOr6nW3txIGOKp2LBD6yK6vTDLR4erLfS3Sp-MonspEw29053NOT3h7gLmWmQx9cxQMjOsLfoSBedWUVPx8gsRsbkhAYCMFx4dhvYT0rNjrdjPKg/w398-h173/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-12%20at%208.59.19%20PM.png" width="398" /></a></div><p><b>The Past Week in Books: </b>This week was not a big one for reading, but I did finish reading the digital ARC of <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59642596-throwback" target="_blank">Throwback</a></i> by Maurene Goo to review on Rich in Color later this week. It's a cute time travel rom-com that made me smile a lot in spite of time travel books being something I usually avoid. </p><p>I also read a Jasmine Guillory adult romance called <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60509874-drunk-on-love" target="_blank">Drunk on Love</a></i>. I enjoyed it okay, but I like her other books better. I am just realizing that both fiction books I read this week take place in CA. This one was in Napa and I think the Maurene Goo book is in the LA area. </p><p>One other book got my attention this week and that was the adult memoir by Janet Mock, <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3191047831" target="_blank">Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More</a></i>. It was on my personal shelf and I had picked it up quite some time ago, but hadn't gotten around to reading it. Writing is already a pursuit that leaves one vulnerable, but a memoir seems to be on the far end of the scale. This was a difficult memoir to read, but it had to be incredibly difficult to write. </p><p><b>The Coming Week:</b> I am not sure what I will be reading this week, but will surely pick up something. Happy reading!</p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-24296233186960904032023-03-06T05:00:00.071-08:002023-03-06T05:00:00.217-08:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl8ABBRHNHsrRMC633shASzS4zE2MxtPEYpPBrPgKpRK529DEnqqFp-psxriGI2KALou-RU6aJXWWr0cv8aUglnWvf1f3q_tKLKRaiQ2SncdEmqV4bVudmHyFPEgQBx3uMkHYbg1H6-Psgfdn1aibQuItv8-ngUo9hIi_pdyY0Em3kafjaHV72jeB1w/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl8ABBRHNHsrRMC633shASzS4zE2MxtPEYpPBrPgKpRK529DEnqqFp-psxriGI2KALou-RU6aJXWWr0cv8aUglnWvf1f3q_tKLKRaiQ2SncdEmqV4bVudmHyFPEgQBx3uMkHYbg1H6-Psgfdn1aibQuItv8-ngUo9hIi_pdyY0Em3kafjaHV72jeB1w/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/author/thebookdate/" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Two Weeks in Books: </b>I've finally started to pick up the pace of my reading. It's been a while since I've been reading large amounts of books. I work very part-time at the public library and I was able to read through some of the newly processed books last week while I was at the reference desk. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-9vStluCstZCKrfEJUN39kw3EwUT3BY7X-MD1qpd-sf-EoObSqj7DLj_qqI_w6fE1SCpQ0qeF6gJCBV4XMi9zus_GwV7obHkGehA_9f_H-J6QWdoGH2V77Muv6Bb4FO8zI45G1_ur44e-_Je3d0WuOucWNIDJff7GkNiTuPhj56zrp4DBojSc0_d-g/s1220/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%206.16.50%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover images of the four books described below. The first shows a child with dark hair that is crying and the title is within the dark shape that is her open mouth. The second is all in earth tones and shows and grandmother and granddaughter leaning their faces together with smiles. The third shows a young girl and an even younger boy sitting on the floor playing on a circular carpet with many brightly colored toys from a box that has the Star of David on it. The final on is called All Aboard the Schooltrain and shows a girl with braids holding up a book with a big smile. Behind her is a line of children walking to the right." border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="1220" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-9vStluCstZCKrfEJUN39kw3EwUT3BY7X-MD1qpd-sf-EoObSqj7DLj_qqI_w6fE1SCpQ0qeF6gJCBV4XMi9zus_GwV7obHkGehA_9f_H-J6QWdoGH2V77Muv6Bb4FO8zI45G1_ur44e-_Je3d0WuOucWNIDJff7GkNiTuPhj56zrp4DBojSc0_d-g/w500-h142/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%206.16.50%20PM.png" width="500" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59787659-this-is-not-my-home" target="_blank">This is Not My Home</a></i> by Vivienne Chang illustrated by Eugenia Yoh depicts a child and her family moving to Taiwan to help her grandmother. Lily is not pleased to be in a place where so many things feel unfamilar. It was very interesting and I think that there are many people who can connect with this specific situation, but there are also those who can relate simply to feeling out of place somewhere. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60980155-just-like-grandma" target="_blank">Just Like Grandma</a></i> by Kim Rogers illustrated by Julie Flett is simply beautiful. The illustrations are lovely of course, but the relationship between the grandmother and grand-daughter is also just a joy to see. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60373300-the-not-quite-perfect-passover" target="_blank">The Not-Quite-Perfect Passover</a></i> by Laura Gehl illlustrated by Olga Ivanov & Aleksey Ivanov is a cute story about Ruby and her family trying to get ready to host the first Passover seder since their Bubbe, who usually does this, broke her leg. Ruby wants it to be perfect, but many things happen, often because of her younger sibling, but they manage to pull it all together with a theme of being not quite perfect. </div><div><br /></div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59806071-all-aboard-the-schooltrain" target="_blank">All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Little Story from the Great Migration</a></i> by Glenda Armand illustrated by Keisha Morris is a story based on things from the author's family history. It is about some families in the south slowly seeing others leave their town. Rather than taking a bus to school, they walk together to school in a line like a train, but there are also trains taking people to other places. It's a good one for introducing the Great Migration.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XMg18cEqIfQbFyDRB-g3syMbLEklEA2irsZFkebxrVOUmmS7VS6iR7TysOhUn06pXgWtnypaioQ2ciIFfWQANgEzd0IA7RfLQFacYdVAeO4b0Hd-_JO1Vf6ey-jktRaGdPFrwIybyYMoGO5_ZoltAQiaWCVB9IFBZItjJsAIa4B6VYOdBLffC6T3jA/s402/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%206.35.35%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Young Japanese woman is wearing a crown and there are cherry blossoms framing her on each side. She is smiling. The background is green." border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="278" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XMg18cEqIfQbFyDRB-g3syMbLEklEA2irsZFkebxrVOUmmS7VS6iR7TysOhUn06pXgWtnypaioQ2ciIFfWQANgEzd0IA7RfLQFacYdVAeO4b0Hd-_JO1Vf6ey-jktRaGdPFrwIybyYMoGO5_ZoltAQiaWCVB9IFBZItjJsAIa4B6VYOdBLffC6T3jA/w90-h131/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%206.35.35%20PM.png" width="90" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I finished reading the young adult novel <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724940-tokyo-dreaming" target="_blank">Tokyo Dreaming</a></i> by Emiko Jean. It's the sequel to Tokyo Ever After and is a nice follow up to the first novel. She and her mother both have to deal with the ever after part of happily. What happens after you find your love and the every day details start to get in the way? </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTbdPpbh8rFA5WWL_LCbJCuNRPGPIYZh1i1vlFYu1cyqV6cRDdlavpV8KJnSDBvWYRsV_pQw4xRqEOvF-VT8vOxQsgmW1YLI2BQdm9Cjb3s8R7HlZaBVrmbuZezlmxKqMYx0zK4-64rEIYjStsMXG3ROowo39fxud0zfSxjxWzCJXeo90xQzThS_OXw/s1214/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%206.39.57%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="1214" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTbdPpbh8rFA5WWL_LCbJCuNRPGPIYZh1i1vlFYu1cyqV6cRDdlavpV8KJnSDBvWYRsV_pQw4xRqEOvF-VT8vOxQsgmW1YLI2BQdm9Cjb3s8R7HlZaBVrmbuZezlmxKqMYx0zK4-64rEIYjStsMXG3ROowo39fxud0zfSxjxWzCJXeo90xQzThS_OXw/w512-h152/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%206.39.57%20PM.png" width="512" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>I was able to go to the California School Library Association annual conference this week and I took along the graphic travelogue <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9722408-tokyo-on-foot" target="_blank">Tokyo on Foot: Travels in the City's Most Colorful Neighborhoods</a> </i>by Florent Chavouet. I figured it would be easy to pick up and put down in between workshops and things and it was a good one to have there. I really enjoyed the maps and remembering different places that we have visited. Some of the authors humor didn't appeal as he has a tendency to make fun of the way people look, but the art is nice and I started to skim the commentary towards the end. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLl9pBI4fwLR0HwASj64lhM4ixaPbR0MAXXhpkqbcEOhm_CiKkN866d7pPmEHZO2I_p2zm7wnHsmxC5MECYy1-_yyTyxgTzwgqbkwxirLuxE7Lit8Z2d5-J7Bksd5HewqpGfY-pRiU68cLyiI0h_0vM7SxtE8SyY1e_JLHsfz7e_rfIZuRVcxXXj-EvQ/s4032/IMG_2557.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="There are some tall flowered plants on the right and a tree on the left. In the middle, the ocean can be seen. There is a small area that is darker and that is the top of the kelp where the sea otters were floating." border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLl9pBI4fwLR0HwASj64lhM4ixaPbR0MAXXhpkqbcEOhm_CiKkN866d7pPmEHZO2I_p2zm7wnHsmxC5MECYy1-_yyTyxgTzwgqbkwxirLuxE7Lit8Z2d5-J7Bksd5HewqpGfY-pRiU68cLyiI0h_0vM7SxtE8SyY1e_JLHsfz7e_rfIZuRVcxXXj-EvQ/w315-h420/IMG_2557.JPG" width="315" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKY-QvF1RFmsmfOH3UVjeVRkkPNqTShTLaxpD96YTGS29sbD0k5R3xgAKMuYeKD4HQBzUK74L93ASzEj4iaHgnGQD6AXzkS7kidAwKBT_ShKMpLVDKdHNb8YZOwFL3bWt1xbE646Rehj43LUVtksCQu4U9jLqAnFaH2KVYggs5GhGHmswRANN_9cCuA/s4032/IMG_2568.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's a beach view with many rocks. There are some trees in the distance on the left. They look like they have been sculpted by the wind. There are waves rolling into the beach. The sky is blue with some white clouds." border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKY-QvF1RFmsmfOH3UVjeVRkkPNqTShTLaxpD96YTGS29sbD0k5R3xgAKMuYeKD4HQBzUK74L93ASzEj4iaHgnGQD6AXzkS7kidAwKBT_ShKMpLVDKdHNb8YZOwFL3bWt1xbE646Rehj43LUVtksCQu4U9jLqAnFaH2KVYggs5GhGHmswRANN_9cCuA/w356-h267/IMG_2568.JPG" width="356" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>The conference was on the California coast and we had some opportunities to walk along the ocean. It was beautiful. In the top photo, it is difficult to see, but there were sea otters out there in the kelp floating around. It was fun to have gone into Pacific Grove to the bookstore and library. I was able to read a board book called <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6001682-sea-otter-pup" target="_blank">Sea Otter Pup</a></i> by Victoria Miles illustrated by Elizabeth Gatt so I knew that it was the kelp that was keeping them altogether so they wouldn't float away. </p><p>In the exhibit area I read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58757379-mommy-s-hometown" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Mommy's Hometown</a> by Hope Lim illustrated by Jaime Kim tells of a young boy and his mother traveling to Korea to visit her childhood home. He has heard many stories about this place, but it many things have changed. It's fun to watch them explore and discover things on their way.</p><p><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58739418-gibberish" target="_blank">Gibberish</a></i> by Young Vo is about a child who has moved to a new country and doesn't understand the language around him. You can really empathize with him and see what that might be like. If that's an experience that a reader is familiar with it could also be affirming. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrkCVIIrT7d2Hb9RXhEsJeat1ckgMlztDi_adQNQWgUYGL52hxwDqcG5DqslyS3eYPf1tSlFwMFZllxSulFwrCbcAig1gp5ebKU7KebZKPXmSnAtUgt0xZF0pQsoDVpB7By1GitCU7Vf3vQEru6YSat9xsTql04i55LUKkpB0nY5JfmSubMg1U0JuHg/s368/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%207.05.57%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A young child is lying in a field of grass looking up at the bright sky." border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="368" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrkCVIIrT7d2Hb9RXhEsJeat1ckgMlztDi_adQNQWgUYGL52hxwDqcG5DqslyS3eYPf1tSlFwMFZllxSulFwrCbcAig1gp5ebKU7KebZKPXmSnAtUgt0xZF0pQsoDVpB7By1GitCU7Vf3vQEru6YSat9xsTql04i55LUKkpB0nY5JfmSubMg1U0JuHg/w143-h142/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%207.05.57%20PM.png" width="143" /></a></div><div><br /></div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55650799-a-kite-for-melia" target="_blank">A Kite for Melia</a></i> by Samuel Narh and Freda Narh illustrated by Valeria Suria was at one of the tables and I was able to meet the author. It's a sweet story about a child wanting to make a kite and her determination as she goes to the library to find out how to do that. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKS5hLvwcniovPNU0eUioQ1nsXXEqw_lIjvgIIyDbaJjpgByqDLZMblL1OnKEQt5fvKCrHOhAfI8b-U76L9AxPl8tumkvTJ8shZgyAoPSrPSEYirEkt-t_Xayb3fKH7ieBdcsJjpjqXjRWsQ819bnHgW8JVQldjrzhAgw2u29aumQPGq2HHZsZ52wQQ/s400/love.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A family is standing together. The father has light brown skin and a short haircut. His hand is on a daughter standing in front of him. Her skin is darker. She has two blue bows in her hair. She's smiling at the baby in her mother's arms. Her mother has dark shin and shoulder length hair. The title says Love is All Around." border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKS5hLvwcniovPNU0eUioQ1nsXXEqw_lIjvgIIyDbaJjpgByqDLZMblL1OnKEQt5fvKCrHOhAfI8b-U76L9AxPl8tumkvTJ8shZgyAoPSrPSEYirEkt-t_Xayb3fKH7ieBdcsJjpjqXjRWsQ819bnHgW8JVQldjrzhAgw2u29aumQPGq2HHZsZ52wQQ/w169-h169/love.jpeg" width="169" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>There were a few other authors there. Nikki Shannon-Smith was there. I had heard her speak at our county library a few weeks ago. She has a relatively new board book named <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60621172-love-is-all-around?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=LLHMAL7V5w&rank=15" target="_blank">Love is All Around</a></i> illustrated by Ronique Ellis.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UVUDQ96taIaIFh9NcnHtDTlHcwNJ89JDSFKoQvqVKF6tpaBpPEGv4PkydqAb0zvmjrAABaMKyeEsdZZEi4MZL7dBddJiw3jVzaS3arZJtF3qKj1e2duN-eDOvv_VA6VnB_Xb1Lx4B6MiM0l3nHiwMxE2wfv0p8ncAwEy5snSK2rFm2A4VRsTQN3M_Q/s1600/image000000.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="1600" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UVUDQ96taIaIFh9NcnHtDTlHcwNJ89JDSFKoQvqVKF6tpaBpPEGv4PkydqAb0zvmjrAABaMKyeEsdZZEi4MZL7dBddJiw3jVzaS3arZJtF3qKj1e2duN-eDOvv_VA6VnB_Xb1Lx4B6MiM0l3nHiwMxE2wfv0p8ncAwEy5snSK2rFm2A4VRsTQN3M_Q/s320/image000000.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">We were also lucky because <a href="http://minhlebooks.com/" target="_blank">Minh Lê</a> was the guest speaker since <i><a href="https://youtu.be/D9o_4YUF-vw" target="_blank">Drawn Together</a></i> won the California Young Reader's Award last year. It was nice to see him again and it's always lovely to hear him speak about that book. It's a treasure.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It was fun to have dinner with many of the other librarians from our school district, but also have the authors <a href="https://nikkishannonsmith.com/home-page" target="_blank">Nikki Shannon-Smit</a>h, <a href="https://www.nadiasalomon.com/" target="_blank">Nadia Salomon</a>, and <a href="https://robinyardi.com/about/" target="_blank">Robin Yardi</a> with us to chat. Nikki is a fourth grade teacher in our school district and we are lucky to have her in our community.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJ-bWHkWCCSgphwlvyscTJTRI9Aw2O39jGlOWjhEIaYGskVRN5R7aH9ZJyBmRV2mWomXPNBXr5e0QbnWL0aHuKCAe9JIBU2SSb-xVz4V9f9x0c906e8-NIznDzJDgS50_n7chNIsDAT-D9YlQWmUp1nwdvQ_17qwjC7DyMUOQKCDJPC7Hc8FVDHjiLQ/s499/ganesha.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two young children are staring out a window. We see them from the back. Out in the stars like a constellation, there is an image of Ganesha. There is a face and trunk of an elephant and four human arms with hands and two legs and human feet. The book has a dark cover with gold and red patterns in the curtains and designs." border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="354" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJ-bWHkWCCSgphwlvyscTJTRI9Aw2O39jGlOWjhEIaYGskVRN5R7aH9ZJyBmRV2mWomXPNBXr5e0QbnWL0aHuKCAe9JIBU2SSb-xVz4V9f9x0c906e8-NIznDzJDgS50_n7chNIsDAT-D9YlQWmUp1nwdvQ_17qwjC7DyMUOQKCDJPC7Hc8FVDHjiLQ/w141-h199/ganesha.jpeg" width="141" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Nadia was right next to me and I got her book <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52746102-goodnight-ganesha?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=HIl1TrAtns&rank=1" target="_blank">Goodnight Ganesha</a></i> right after dinner. The trailer is <a href="https://youtu.be/MMo_mhHzpy0" target="_blank">here</a>. The book was illustrated by Poonam Mistry and I have really loved her previous books like <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36669778-you-re-safe-with-me" target="_blank">You're Safe with Me</a></i>. Her designs are always vibrant and gorgeous. They used the very slick paper too so the pages are very smooth and shiny. It's a bedtime story and has lots of love.</p><p><b>The Coming Week: </b>I have a newish Jasmine Guillory book on my Kindle and I am also reading a digital ARC of the new Marene Goo young adult rom-com <i>Throwback</i>. What will you be reading? I hope it's a great week for you. </p></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-46509113856492549892023-02-20T21:54:00.004-08:002023-02-20T21:54:42.999-08:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyFHxkL2B_6xoHM0YsuiciEVXnWbxDTw6s_O-WB3H3v83zV0ZoYeAOj48a1dbQrGM8x5Kh-JUQLwMcUe0_L_JMH7KqQtDb6oyhVh_o2AuFoW4jrhjquah6CqgTrn2Jyewh_l8wTHuTlQgKsi55hFlErgt8FN0hgkaoaPLYCEWBTZbx71AaRoRMS6qHQ/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyFHxkL2B_6xoHM0YsuiciEVXnWbxDTw6s_O-WB3H3v83zV0ZoYeAOj48a1dbQrGM8x5Kh-JUQLwMcUe0_L_JMH7KqQtDb6oyhVh_o2AuFoW4jrhjquah6CqgTrn2Jyewh_l8wTHuTlQgKsi55hFlErgt8FN0hgkaoaPLYCEWBTZbx71AaRoRMS6qHQ/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/author/thebookdate/" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Two Weeks in Books: </b></p><p>I've been reading some of the award books and this week that meant grabbing <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58988439-kapaemahu" target="_blank">Kapaemahu</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49603933-love-violet" target="_blank">Love, Violet</a>.</i> They both won a Stonewall and were lovely. In the first, we see Indigenous people who are healers with dual male and female spirit. There is a movie that you can watch that tells this story <a href="https://kapaemahu.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. <i>Love, Violet</i> is a sweet Valentine's Day book. Another award book was <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60420370-seen-and-unseen" target="_blank">Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration</a></i> which got the Sibert Award. It includes photos and commentary about the pictures. It was interesting to see how the perspective of the photographers and their purposes shaped the images and determined what would be captured and what would be omitted. Related to this was the picture book <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57699005-love-in-the-library" target="_blank">Love in the Library</a></i> about two people who fell in love while living in a Japanese incarceration camp. The author talks a little bit about her grandparents that the story is based on <a href="https://vimeo.com/519086404" target="_blank">in this video</a>. </p><p>A new book I listened to via Libro.fm is <i>Finally Seen</i> by Kelly Yang. Her books are always so completely relatable. I'm excited to get this one in the hands of students. It also has a brief storyline related to censorship and I really wish so many US students didn't have to relate to that so much right now. </p><p>I am partial to romance books and since it was Valentine's Day (month) I checked out a few adult romances to zip through. They were all pleasant and entertaining and made me smile for the most part. I read <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57246632-the-singles-table" target="_blank">The Singles Table</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59366188-good-morning-love" target="_blank">Good Morning Love</a></i>, and one very quick one <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55813987-wrapped-up-in-you?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=GPwBMhM9jj&rank=1" target="_blank">Wrapped Up in You</a>. </i></p><p><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/415531.Somebody_s_Daughter" target="_blank">Somebody's Daughter</a> </i>was one I took on my quick trip to TX to see my mother for her birthday last weekend. I was glad I had it since I got delayed at the airport. It's the story of a young Korean American adoptee who travels to Korea to look for her birth mother. It's intense and shows both the perspective of the adoptee and the birth mother. There's a lot to think about especially about international and interracial adoptions and how they can affect the young people.</p><p><b>The Coming Week: </b>I'm listening to the YA romcom <i>Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute</i> again in preparation for our Rich in Color group discussion coming up in March. I started reading <i>Tokyo Dreaming </i>which is a sequel to <i>Tokyo Ever After. </i>I have also started reading the ARC of a new young adult novel by Maurene Goo. Have a great reading week. </p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-8522901554021476042023-02-06T07:00:00.001-08:002023-02-06T07:00:00.205-08:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_HyUmAPmYDnvC5oboKsTYPYd_x75I3pVypUFS0sBw9VEuIZpJ2IpPs-sPHD-utQeR1mwyNwYXgjBRDojCRA3et0rs1YE_pafnSar1D_1SalYIbFsZMuDGnC2mY8s94SdBTf1JxNLixVUHXYH85JDu7GH09I1F92TRhIVBGKKryMoLpn6R07iY2A4HnA/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_HyUmAPmYDnvC5oboKsTYPYd_x75I3pVypUFS0sBw9VEuIZpJ2IpPs-sPHD-utQeR1mwyNwYXgjBRDojCRA3et0rs1YE_pafnSar1D_1SalYIbFsZMuDGnC2mY8s94SdBTf1JxNLixVUHXYH85JDu7GH09I1F92TRhIVBGKKryMoLpn6R07iY2A4HnA/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/author/thebookdate/" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Three Weeks in Books: </b></p><p>I've been reading a lot of picture books for our Mock Award units. For our Coretta Scott King unit, the students chose <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59806061-bessie-the-motorcycle-queen" target="_blank">Bessie the Motorcycle Queen</a> </i>by Charlot Kristensen illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr. We were all enthralled with her story of cycling across the nation. Another one I enjoyed was <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58839259-music-is-a-rainbow?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18" target="_blank">Music is a Rainbow</a> </i>by Bryan Collier. It's full of emotion and the healing power of music. </p><p>For our Sibert Award, the students chose <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58065381-blips-on-a-screen" target="_blank">Blips on a Screen: How Ralph Baer Invented TV Video Gaming and Launched a Worldwide Obsession</a></i> by Kate Hannigan illustrated by Zachariah OHora. His story is fascinating and also, video games are just a wildly popular topic. </p><p>For our Pura Belpré, the students chose <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60097377-my-town-mi-pueblo" target="_blank">My Town, Mi pueblo</a></i> by Nicholas Solis illustrated by Luisa Uribe. We also really enjoyed <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58496725-how-to-hear-the-universe" target="_blank">How to Hear the Universe: Gaby González and the Search for Einstein's Ripples in Space-Time</a></i> by Patricia Valdez illustrated by Sara Palacios. We really had fun learning about sounds in space. I didn't have time to read it with the students, but I also really loved <i>Tía Fortuna's New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey</i> by Ruth Behar illustrated by Devon Holzwarth. </p><p>A student had asked me for a book about early kings in Korea so I had ordered a book called <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35958800-letters-from-korean-history-1" target="_blank">Letters from Korean History 1: From Prehistory to Unified Silla and Balhae</a></i>. It was quite interesting and I think I'll have to get the next one in the series too. What was really cool was that the author included basic history of early humans and not just those in Korea so it helps the reader relate the history in this very specific place in relation to the history of the rest of the world. It would be useful with any class that is learning about early humans.</p><p>I also read a few random books like <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58328436-the-ogress-and-the-orphans" target="_blank">The Ogress and the Orphans</a></i> by Kelly Barnhill. This is a lovely, lovely middle grade book that asks a lot of questions about love, community, and where to put trust. I also picked up the picture book <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59406558-brown-is-beautiful" target="_blank">Brown is Beautiful</a></i> by Supriya Kelkar illustrated by Noor Sofi. It's beautiful both in the writing and the illustrations. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57007688-knight-owl" target="_blank">Knight Owl</a></i> is another book that's a delight for the eyes. It is also just a sweet little bit of fantasy. I got the audio version of Talia Hibbert's young adult book <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75501288-highly-suspicious-and-unfairly-cute" target="_blank">Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute</a>. </i>It's a delightful rom-com and since I already adored Hibbert's adult romances, I was not surprised. </p><p>One adult book landed in my lap - <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57499854-the-love-con" target="_blank">The Love Con</a></i> by Seressia Glass. It's a fun rom-com that involves fake dating and best friends. That's one of my favorite storylines and this one was a winner for me. </p><p><b>The Coming Week: </b></p><p>I am listening to <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53129487-jennifer-chan-is-not-alone" target="_blank">Jennifer Chan is Not Alone</a></i>. Other than that, I am not sure what I'll be picking up next. Have a great reading week. </p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-66518308594922117952023-01-16T21:18:00.003-08:002023-01-16T21:18:35.728-08:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrILUsFcMJP6lsenrcJRhg1S1s3rrhpbtQPGnmUC7lNteWCZ-Qv20NCr5NY7cCxvbdgoIa-avU32aNu2FN4oTONUGfZ6zDLGFygv7EvNJzil37AdYKNU7nI62kqZPCWvWDy53vrOzOsCAUihDEjL9IVQuag-C3PFjoQNSAhvN6W5kW3WlA9ahoA7-YA/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrILUsFcMJP6lsenrcJRhg1S1s3rrhpbtQPGnmUC7lNteWCZ-Qv20NCr5NY7cCxvbdgoIa-avU32aNu2FN4oTONUGfZ6zDLGFygv7EvNJzil37AdYKNU7nI62kqZPCWvWDy53vrOzOsCAUihDEjL9IVQuag-C3PFjoQNSAhvN6W5kW3WlA9ahoA7-YA/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/author/thebookdate/" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Week in Books: </b></p><p>When I read <i><a href="https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/book/tiger/">Year of the Tiger</a></i> by Alice Wong in December (I highly recommend it - really you should read it), one of the chapters involved Riva Lehrer and they mentioned her book <i><a href="https://www.rivalehrerart.com/book" target="_blank">Golem Girl</a>. </i>I looked for it, but our local library didn't have it. Luckily, CA has a program called Zip Books and until the funding is exhausted, they will order one book at a time for you if you want a book that your library doesn't have. So, I requested <i>Golem Girl</i> and it arrived last week. It's also a memoir and was incredibly interesting. Riva Lehrer is an artist and tells the story of her life journey. She was born with spina bifida and the timing of her birth and the advocacy of her mother greatly affected how her medical care proceeded. There is much more to her story than the physical aspects of her life and I appreciate that she has shared so much of herself with readers.</p><p>I listened to a fun young adult romance over the weekend while doing my physical therapy and cooking and various other activities. I was excited to see that Talia Hibbert had ventured into YA since I've enjoyed her adult romances. It was charming and I hope she continues with both YA and adult books. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLvIotwd2KxHpYe5VTYmFg2GQC2uzTl-EqUXi5eRq7u7QDrdk9h9Y-Wbxeg4jFp8TUihzUptVEY4rht277o4HGjtfLQ7HkSbzapxkPUci2AKEViQnIHmdPUuVnAzaTfpceOkRO94ULYbB_Au2JVcmyrb2bodV9ijrxZ48GdoLzAEeoK6Bt2go45ypEQ/s1654/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-16%20at%209.15.25%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover images of A History of Me which features a young Black girl with flowing hair and A Life of Service which features Tammy Duckworth smiling and sitting in her wheelchair with her prosthetic legs showing under her blue dress." border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1654" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLvIotwd2KxHpYe5VTYmFg2GQC2uzTl-EqUXi5eRq7u7QDrdk9h9Y-Wbxeg4jFp8TUihzUptVEY4rht277o4HGjtfLQ7HkSbzapxkPUci2AKEViQnIHmdPUuVnAzaTfpceOkRO94ULYbB_Au2JVcmyrb2bodV9ijrxZ48GdoLzAEeoK6Bt2go45ypEQ/w320-h122/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-16%20at%209.15.25%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>I've read quite a few picture books this week for our Mock units at school. I especially liked Christina Soontornvat's biography of Tammy Duckworth, <i><a href="https://soontornvat.com/books/a-life-of-service/">A Life of Service</a> </i>and Adra Theodore's <i><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/605330/a-history-of-me-by-by-adrea-theodore-illustrated-by-erin-k-robinson/" target="_blank">A History of Me</a></i>. </p><p><b>The Coming Week: </b></p><p>I will continue to read books for the Mock activities I am having at my school this week and I am in the middle of another adult rom-com. Happy reading!</p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-25261050078134169772023-01-08T21:32:00.003-08:002023-01-08T21:37:42.042-08:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtb7WkzgEkPwF3C6cslhj4l7xuX3w3tMgMx4P9s-PN6RkTKjWmM0xmXUT7U0yohiUyIhpArnLTSm2WrxsaOnL_AVkDcDX_ltN8C16NO4LBFimX8dMbvleXXS5mMjTMKHZGvAv7YNkDaZi1RW2oXeEyCvFDcdJbmYdAuvIbt7yd3s-NHhBPTm5-iE0jqQ/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtb7WkzgEkPwF3C6cslhj4l7xuX3w3tMgMx4P9s-PN6RkTKjWmM0xmXUT7U0yohiUyIhpArnLTSm2WrxsaOnL_AVkDcDX_ltN8C16NO4LBFimX8dMbvleXXS5mMjTMKHZGvAv7YNkDaZi1RW2oXeEyCvFDcdJbmYdAuvIbt7yd3s-NHhBPTm5-iE0jqQ/w238-h238/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="238" /></a></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. <a href="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. 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! <p></p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href=" http:="" target="_blank" www.unleashingreaders.com="">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. <p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>The Past Week in Books: </b></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div>Our power was knocked out for 12 hours this weekend, so I read a romance called <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52219879-a-taste-of-sage">A Taste of Sage</a></i> by Yaffa S. Santos while I waited for power to return. It was an easy and pretty predictable story, but I do usually like books with recipes so it was okay.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also finished reading <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/793893.The_Ch_i_lin_Purse" target="_blank">The Ch'i-lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories</a> </i>retold by Linda Fang. I feel like I must have read some of the stories in the past or even the whole book because at least some of them seemed very familiar. They were quite nice. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because I am doing my mock award units at school, so I read several picture books like <i>Daddy Speaks Love</i>, <i>A Perfect Fit</i>, and <i>R-E-S-P-E-C-T</i>. I really enjoyed all of them. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did my first Korean storytime this week too. I paired 괜찮아 (It's Okay) by 최숙희 (Choi Sook-hee) and <i>Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes</i> by Eric Litwin and James Dean. In this Korean book the child meets animals like a snake and basically says hey you don't have legs or to the porcupine that it has so many spines and they all say that it's okay. I had the students help me say 괜찮아 on every page. It was fun since there was at least one student in each of my classes that speaks or at least hears Korean fairly regularly. It made me think of Pete the Cat. Pete basically says it's okay when he steps into things and messes up his shoes. He doesn't get upset and is just calm about it. Sometimes things may seem to be a big deal to someone else, but might be just fine for you. The lesson was a reminder that we have books in languages other than English in our library. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhs4q48U8DNIRmPEa0mgd-Jb229SUIGR5VzSoGl-fUKGChJr4voi47Gm-XJjXC6ZGIylwzCvggWWJSz-tPVFz6XgMqpqBtW2TqNrTM2czSzr6Cr3XkMGzq0GZ2fqXfHBue0ovGb28XdhvAHPQxJhoWsVavgNwTXmeeEW6dWcCcHQIOehyJ-vDN34X7yw/s1200/book.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Girl with very large face is smiling. Her eyes are huge and she has pigtails on either side of her head." border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1023" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhs4q48U8DNIRmPEa0mgd-Jb229SUIGR5VzSoGl-fUKGChJr4voi47Gm-XJjXC6ZGIylwzCvggWWJSz-tPVFz6XgMqpqBtW2TqNrTM2czSzr6Cr3XkMGzq0GZ2fqXfHBue0ovGb28XdhvAHPQxJhoWsVavgNwTXmeeEW6dWcCcHQIOehyJ-vDN34X7yw/w178-h209/book.jpeg" width="178" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Coming Week: </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I will be reading lots of picture books for our Mock Sibert, Mock Coretta Scott King, and Mock Pura Belpré Award units with fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. I'm not sure what I will be reading at home. I really haven't been reading as much since the school year started. I work at two different schools (20 hours each) and also work a few hours each week at the public library. I am also studying Korean and have various other family activities along with blogging at Rich in Color and am still doing physical therapy. Life is fairly busy. </div></div></div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-22280345066931916392022-09-04T22:58:00.002-07:002022-09-04T22:58:36.999-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrV7qMvx7stOUHJLr-ovmmkBylEnvFqTMV2xpNv1zWyejIk5FkPlTwxC__7OHfLJeP_n8_QzOgZo3L1uNxabPcFRBtVolfY3D1kUiX2n6TOfON24LvZOwYRGDtWANxFIi8drcDInpPzrVBZU9vTAXivWj451VVqVaYC-1r1koHkin9lB6zyDouF4q7FQ/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrV7qMvx7stOUHJLr-ovmmkBylEnvFqTMV2xpNv1zWyejIk5FkPlTwxC__7OHfLJeP_n8_QzOgZo3L1uNxabPcFRBtVolfY3D1kUiX2n6TOfON24LvZOwYRGDtWANxFIi8drcDInpPzrVBZU9vTAXivWj451VVqVaYC-1r1koHkin9lB6zyDouF4q7FQ/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a> <b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="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. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. Last Week on the Blog: A plate with a blueberry scone on it is sitting next to the book Batter Royale. The cover has a young man and woman who are both wearing white chef coats. She is Black and is carrying a three tiered cake. He is white with red hair and is looking at her over his shoulder. Review: Batter Royale Last Week in Books: 15 book covers 15 more book covers Here are some of the books that stood out last week. Picture Books-- Luli and the Language of Tea is sweet and shows children connecting through tea. They are from various places in the world and have slightly different names for it, but they can all relate to one another through this beverage. Opposites Abstract by Mo Willems was really clever. There isn't much text, but he communicates so well with very little text and simple illustrations. A Boy Named Isamu is a nice book that shares a bit about the life of the Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi who found inspiration in nature. It's a book to encourage wondering. Big Truck Little Island is a fun story about a road getting blocked by a large truck and the way people deal with that challenge. Calvin is the story of a young transboy and how he lets the people in his life know who he really is. The family and school are supportive. I also read two books that were closely related and noticed a difference. Light for All by Margarita Engle has the Statue of Liberty and immigration as a focus and I is for Immigrants by Selina Alko also speaks to immigration in the U.S. They both celebrate immigration and the phrase "a nation of immigrants" is brought up in both. The difference I noted is that in Engle's author note she addresses an issue with that phrase. "That phrase ignores the true experiences of Indigenous and African American communities who were either here before conquerors and immigrants arrived, or were brought by force, kidnapped, and enslaved." Alko does point out that there are also descendants of African slaves, but doesn't mention Indigenous folks which is a common omission. Early Readers-- Juana and Lucas: Muchos Changes is another fun early chapter book from the Juana and Lucas series. It has humor and realistic situations as Juana and her family prepare to welcome a new family member. Young Adult-- My Mechanical Romance was a very fun rom-com centering on a young woman who is kind of aimless, but begins to find her way unexpectedly through the school robotics team. Sugar Falls is a graphic novel that shares about a young woman who is sent to a residential school in Canada. It's a reissue of a short story by David Robertson that had been published ten years ago. I really appreciated how it showed a focus towards healing. Adult Kamila Knows Best is inspired by Jane Austen's Emma. It's not direct, but it is related enough that I realized that without being told ahead of time. As I read, I was thinking that it reminded me of Emma. It's a fairly light and fun rom-com. The Coming Week: I just started reading Kelly Yang's newest book New from Here and am reading many books for ages birth to 14ish for the class that I will be teaching online in Oct. so I can finish up my reading list for the students. I am not sure how reading will go though since I am simultaneously starting several part time jobs which add up to full time. Onboarding in multiple places means a lot of paper work and meetings. It's exciting, but also there are many details to keep track of and I don't have a lot of extra brain space for other things. Have a great week!" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! </p><p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Week in Books: </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrzbdMuNj9qunBQZyf_kKFymYdw95NkOvHSM7J9YK8I4A4vgkGSjfFxTWPGu23QamLKbIMz024ZOgoh_9KW9P7YjqIABNdPH67tlAxfKG3KDqXoO_cgzzzl7x67QS-kjYyFEobWdElvNVn_7kFc5QOtTbHJm82Y4YKIrkvm3LitbEPxWHsoAtVtXhug/s1230/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%207.40.29%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book covers that go with the books listed below the image." border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1230" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrzbdMuNj9qunBQZyf_kKFymYdw95NkOvHSM7J9YK8I4A4vgkGSjfFxTWPGu23QamLKbIMz024ZOgoh_9KW9P7YjqIABNdPH67tlAxfKG3KDqXoO_cgzzzl7x67QS-kjYyFEobWdElvNVn_7kFc5QOtTbHJm82Y4YKIrkvm3LitbEPxWHsoAtVtXhug/w408-h224/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%207.40.29%20PM.png" width="408" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36478784-the-flatshare" target="_blank">The Flat Share</a></i> was a romantic comedy that I read celebrating three days off in a row. With my teaching jobs and the fill-in job at the county library, I've had six day work weeks for the past few weeks and so this time was an extra special treat. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56631370-notable-native-people" target="_blank">Notable Native People</a></i> is a great middle grade collection of brief biographies. It also has several essays mixed in. I appreciate that the essays add context like with the first one "Settler Colonialism 101." </div><div><br /></div><div>The She Persisted series is a very nice early chapter book set and Kekla Magoon did a great job with the one about <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55873252-she-persisted" target="_blank">Ruby Bridges</a></i>. I was able to hear her speak once and will likely never forget being able to speak with Ruby Bridges. </div><div><br /></div>I'm still having fun with easy readers and board books in Korean. In case anyone else is trying to read picture books, the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.naver.labs.translator&hl=en_US&gl=US" target="_blank">Papago app</a> is excellent for Korean in particular, but has other languages too. It's from a South Korean company. It has a camera feature so you can take a photo of the words on the page and have them translated over the image. I read the book as well as I can and then go back through and see if I was anywhere close and learn a few new words. <div><br /></div><div>I had thought I'd read <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30653731-a-boy-called-bat" target="_blank">A Boy Called Bat</a> </i>before, but it was just that I had read many reviews and heard so much about it. I finally read it because amazingly enough, the public school mentioned in the book is where my husband went to school and the private school in the book is modeled after the one I now teach at. It's a lovely book and was delightful to read as I was noticing things from my everyday life since we now live in the midst of the setting. ;) I followed up with the sequel <a href="http://goodreads.com/book/show/35068570-bat-and-the-waiting-game" target="_blank">Bat and the Waiting Game</a>. They are both lovely middle grade stories of friendship and family. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56733508-the-genius-under-the-table" target="_blank">The Genius Under the Table: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain</a></i> is another gem from Eugene Yelchin and would fit in nicely with Banned Books Week. I have a <a href="http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2017/09/banned-books-week-classroombookaday.html" target="_blank">post</a> from a few years ago that features picture books that touch on censorship in one way or another in case you'd like to read other books like this. There are even more books for a variety of ages here on my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/938799-crystal?shelf=censorship" target="_blank">Goodreaeds censorship</a> shelf. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57468695-to-change-a-planet" target="_blank">To Change a Planet</a></i> is a beautiful picture book about how our planet is changing and how we can be a force for positive change. <br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKMLqGIQxnvFO12QAZNgmgVAsKmYEIs1ghQDx0CirnIGSCd7LCe87Q4nJ_TmZtdklSPJ-5oC9_R1AZ_0Z9OhVOxBgVaZB4h7DIHofYR7KxWOMN6Y4_eUF4DZmIQoMZbmdBuQIbR6nhBDmz1tZsym5s6XqhXwgUyBfbBnYFLVGeOh3xWMmWLrz5h-WWw/s1228/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%207.40.37%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1228" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKMLqGIQxnvFO12QAZNgmgVAsKmYEIs1ghQDx0CirnIGSCd7LCe87Q4nJ_TmZtdklSPJ-5oC9_R1AZ_0Z9OhVOxBgVaZB4h7DIHofYR7KxWOMN6Y4_eUF4DZmIQoMZbmdBuQIbR6nhBDmz1tZsym5s6XqhXwgUyBfbBnYFLVGeOh3xWMmWLrz5h-WWw/w402-h343/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%207.40.37%20PM.png" width="402" /></a></div><br /><i>Swim Team </i>is an awesome middle grade graphic novel about a girl who goes to a new school and reluctantly joins the swim team and learns a lot about history and herself. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53466009-aven-green-sleuthing-machine">Aven Green</a> </i>is an early chapter book series that is fun and features the character from <i>Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53370497-bubbles" target="_blank">Bubbles</a></i> is an adorable board book and <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43865480-may-we-have-enough-to-share" target="_blank">May We Leave Enough to Share</a>, </i>by Richard Van Camp is another beautiful board book with photos of Indigenous babies and their care givers.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are others I read, but I am getting sleepy. I have been working beyond 40 hours a week and was also prepping for the online class I will teach in Oct. I decided on my reading list and may share portions of it over time. Two of the videos that I chose for professional development purposes are the <a href="https://youtu.be/YPWkDliurqo" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spring 2022 Baker Diversity Lecture - Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Amy Breslin, Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen & Becky Leathersich) and </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-73cea4e7-7fff-a340-e660-8ba48a726b32"><a href="https://youtu.be/Pph_gIy4meo" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Native Voices in Children’s Literature</span></a> with Debbie Reese. Both are so helpful when people are choosing and evaluating literature to use with young people. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>The Coming Week: </b></div><div>I'm not sure what I will read this week, but I did just pick up a lot of Korean picture books so likely that's what I'll focus on. I'm also reading the new book As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow. I think it releases later this month. Have a great week!</div></div></div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-3979280633137858172022-08-29T06:00:00.001-07:002022-08-29T06:00:00.244-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrV7qMvx7stOUHJLr-ovmmkBylEnvFqTMV2xpNv1zWyejIk5FkPlTwxC__7OHfLJeP_n8_QzOgZo3L1uNxabPcFRBtVolfY3D1kUiX2n6TOfON24LvZOwYRGDtWANxFIi8drcDInpPzrVBZU9vTAXivWj451VVqVaYC-1r1koHkin9lB6zyDouF4q7FQ/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An image of books has another image on top that explains what It's Monday is all about. You may find the same information in the first two sentences on the post." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrV7qMvx7stOUHJLr-ovmmkBylEnvFqTMV2xpNv1zWyejIk5FkPlTwxC__7OHfLJeP_n8_QzOgZo3L1uNxabPcFRBtVolfY3D1kUiX2n6TOfON24LvZOwYRGDtWANxFIi8drcDInpPzrVBZU9vTAXivWj451VVqVaYC-1r1koHkin9lB6zyDouF4q7FQ/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="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. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. Last Week on the Blog: A plate with a blueberry scone on it is sitting next to the book Batter Royale. The cover has a young man and woman who are both wearing white chef coats. She is Black and is carrying a three tiered cake. He is white with red hair and is looking at her over his shoulder. Review: Batter Royale Last Week in Books: 15 book covers 15 more book covers Here are some of the books that stood out last week. Picture Books-- Luli and the Language of Tea is sweet and shows children connecting through tea. They are from various places in the world and have slightly different names for it, but they can all relate to one another through this beverage. Opposites Abstract by Mo Willems was really clever. There isn't much text, but he communicates so well with very little text and simple illustrations. A Boy Named Isamu is a nice book that shares a bit about the life of the Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi who found inspiration in nature. It's a book to encourage wondering. Big Truck Little Island is a fun story about a road getting blocked by a large truck and the way people deal with that challenge. Calvin is the story of a young transboy and how he lets the people in his life know who he really is. The family and school are supportive. I also read two books that were closely related and noticed a difference. Light for All by Margarita Engle has the Statue of Liberty and immigration as a focus and I is for Immigrants by Selina Alko also speaks to immigration in the U.S. They both celebrate immigration and the phrase "a nation of immigrants" is brought up in both. The difference I noted is that in Engle's author note she addresses an issue with that phrase. "That phrase ignores the true experiences of Indigenous and African American communities who were either here before conquerors and immigrants arrived, or were brought by force, kidnapped, and enslaved." Alko does point out that there are also descendants of African slaves, but doesn't mention Indigenous folks which is a common omission. Early Readers-- Juana and Lucas: Muchos Changes is another fun early chapter book from the Juana and Lucas series. It has humor and realistic situations as Juana and her family prepare to welcome a new family member. Young Adult-- My Mechanical Romance was a very fun rom-com centering on a young woman who is kind of aimless, but begins to find her way unexpectedly through the school robotics team. Sugar Falls is a graphic novel that shares about a young woman who is sent to a residential school in Canada. It's a reissue of a short story by David Robertson that had been published ten years ago. I really appreciated how it showed a focus towards healing. Adult Kamila Knows Best is inspired by Jane Austen's Emma. It's not direct, but it is related enough that I realized that without being told ahead of time. As I read, I was thinking that it reminded me of Emma. It's a fairly light and fun rom-com. The Coming Week: I just started reading Kelly Yang's newest book New from Here and am reading many books for ages birth to 14ish for the class that I will be teaching online in Oct. so I can finish up my reading list for the students. I am not sure how reading will go though since I am simultaneously starting several part time jobs which add up to full time. Onboarding in multiple places means a lot of paper work and meetings. It's exciting, but also there are many details to keep track of and I don't have a lot of extra brain space for other things. Have a great week!" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! <p></p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Two Weeks in Books: </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSX2K5HM01CHRNNZnCD4pyLy1qeuQPEQeEFrLmIQX6JD1T07GG3D_QDlLywbMKMfJLwrHqs-xpYzXTQeQhaW0c-UelmwzLE5V8gXhrNZmAdg2Id3nMc21_70dO4g3q_6KcgviMVO1TJXQp3Qo_wuUKZLB36htlZVFfhuLQyQ64AOkXau4NkVOgTRZ5w/s812/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-28%20at%207.34.05%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="716" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSX2K5HM01CHRNNZnCD4pyLy1qeuQPEQeEFrLmIQX6JD1T07GG3D_QDlLywbMKMfJLwrHqs-xpYzXTQeQhaW0c-UelmwzLE5V8gXhrNZmAdg2Id3nMc21_70dO4g3q_6KcgviMVO1TJXQp3Qo_wuUKZLB36htlZVFfhuLQyQ64AOkXau4NkVOgTRZ5w/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-28%20at%207.34.05%20PM.png" width="282" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">John's Turn by Mac Barnett</p><p style="text-align: left;">Learning My Rights with Mousewoman by Morgan Asoyuf</p><p style="text-align: left;">When We Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clark</p><p style="text-align: left;">Baby, Sleepy Baby by Atinuke</p><p style="text-align: left;">Herizon by Daniel W. Vandever</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzXfHZfy3h59ye_1u2RtqbxCZQFXv0HpRkHLDLP8sX3jLWq1UpGusoqUrkIvcVmz_Y2nwbWxxat7d1GQKPTa6JPB5M9QbaavotfROivwaNIKe8kd_THEapvDRopw1ER8NhaV8wfZbyG30SBXAs8HId2RNUeuXf7DzU0_p0dEfFEObfhLl5HfuPQ67Pg/s1036/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-28%20at%207.34.43%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="672" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzXfHZfy3h59ye_1u2RtqbxCZQFXv0HpRkHLDLP8sX3jLWq1UpGusoqUrkIvcVmz_Y2nwbWxxat7d1GQKPTa6JPB5M9QbaavotfROivwaNIKe8kd_THEapvDRopw1ER8NhaV8wfZbyG30SBXAs8HId2RNUeuXf7DzU0_p0dEfFEObfhLl5HfuPQ67Pg/w287-h442/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-28%20at%207.34.43%20PM.png" width="287" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;">Flip the Script by Lyla Lee (YA and fun)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Triceratopposite by Bridget Heos</div><div style="text-align: left;">Vanmpires Don't Wear Polkadots Graphic Novel by Pearl Low</div><div style="text-align: left;">American Desi by Jyoti Rajan Gopal</div><div style="text-align: left;">Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyF0I9DL2R8wCG9k1pNlFZfHUfS8WlbvxfRHsp6cnc3-fMSZnDG3Uyamedzaci03tTM0ZBMFS-0UNiwMa6PNZR0R4ka6Xgm4ki1IE8GqD7xEXAkGpgpbsbVkw9mLMU9YaR0dZVe1qw19NLk6zaqM6M_jRN9iHxdffqj7bR3Hq03v-i4D9y_1WuNI_Fg/s1282/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-28%20at%207.34.58%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="676" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyF0I9DL2R8wCG9k1pNlFZfHUfS8WlbvxfRHsp6cnc3-fMSZnDG3Uyamedzaci03tTM0ZBMFS-0UNiwMa6PNZR0R4ka6Xgm4ki1IE8GqD7xEXAkGpgpbsbVkw9mLMU9YaR0dZVe1qw19NLk6zaqM6M_jRN9iHxdffqj7bR3Hq03v-i4D9y_1WuNI_Fg/w278-h526/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-28%20at%207.34.58%20PM.png" width="278" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Very True Legend of the Mongolian Death Worms by Sandra Fay</div><div style="text-align: left;">Flubby Will Not Go to Sleep & Flubby Will Not Take a Bath by Jennifer E. Morris</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Bad Seed Goes to the Library by Jory John </div><div style="text-align: left;">Fancy Pants by Dawn Quigley</div><div style="text-align: left;">I Love You More Than Ice Cream by Becky Davies</div><div style="text-align: left;">A Cool Day at the Pool by Lola M. Schaefer</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There were many really excellent books in my past few weeks, but I am just not able to comment on them right now. I am almost falling asleep sitting up. The first week of school is always draining and the second week is just about to start so I need to get to bed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div><b>The Coming Week: </b></div></div><div>I am still working on finalizing my reading list for the <a href="https://ischool.wisc.edu/continuing-education/whats-new-in-childrens-books" target="_blank">What's New in Children's Lit</a> class I will be teaching through UW-Madison in October so I will try to get to a few more picture books and early chapter books. Have a great week. </div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-43757041222057127112022-08-15T04:30:00.005-07:002022-08-15T04:30:00.218-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFFTkMjs4gmNYRTM3oWF1BLusVBzvYiJSMs0veXhbli_hK0EhGs1pvs3ggIGKQbC5_yywxZdPVn_5Mc53KBA868WvvpWoGX9lqDiXeqjMhSFXF_lMez1PslIfBxGHqWYnxSuBA6suD40jl-KCLT7TpwAgtLPUQnIE8EzcsILp416qazyfwKBWUgJ1Hg/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="It's Monday! What are You Reading? information on this image is in the first paragraph on the blog." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFFTkMjs4gmNYRTM3oWF1BLusVBzvYiJSMs0veXhbli_hK0EhGs1pvs3ggIGKQbC5_yywxZdPVn_5Mc53KBA868WvvpWoGX9lqDiXeqjMhSFXF_lMez1PslIfBxGHqWYnxSuBA6suD40jl-KCLT7TpwAgtLPUQnIE8EzcsILp416qazyfwKBWUgJ1Hg/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a><b>It's Monday! What are you Reading?</b> is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="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. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. Last Week on the Blog: A plate with a blueberry scone on it is sitting next to the book Batter Royale. The cover has a young man and woman who are both wearing white chef coats. She is Black and is carrying a three tiered cake. He is white with red hair and is looking at her over his shoulder. Review: Batter Royale Last Week in Books: 15 book covers 15 more book covers Here are some of the books that stood out last week. Picture Books-- Luli and the Language of Tea is sweet and shows children connecting through tea. They are from various places in the world and have slightly different names for it, but they can all relate to one another through this beverage. Opposites Abstract by Mo Willems was really clever. There isn't much text, but he communicates so well with very little text and simple illustrations. A Boy Named Isamu is a nice book that shares a bit about the life of the Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi who found inspiration in nature. It's a book to encourage wondering. Big Truck Little Island is a fun story about a road getting blocked by a large truck and the way people deal with that challenge. Calvin is the story of a young transboy and how he lets the people in his life know who he really is. The family and school are supportive. I also read two books that were closely related and noticed a difference. Light for All by Margarita Engle has the Statue of Liberty and immigration as a focus and I is for Immigrants by Selina Alko also speaks to immigration in the U.S. They both celebrate immigration and the phrase "a nation of immigrants" is brought up in both. The difference I noted is that in Engle's author note she addresses an issue with that phrase. "That phrase ignores the true experiences of Indigenous and African American communities who were either here before conquerors and immigrants arrived, or were brought by force, kidnapped, and enslaved." Alko does point out that there are also descendants of African slaves, but doesn't mention Indigenous folks which is a common omission. Early Readers-- Juana and Lucas: Muchos Changes is another fun early chapter book from the Juana and Lucas series. It has humor and realistic situations as Juana and her family prepare to welcome a new family member. Young Adult-- My Mechanical Romance was a very fun rom-com centering on a young woman who is kind of aimless, but begins to find her way unexpectedly through the school robotics team. Sugar Falls is a graphic novel that shares about a young woman who is sent to a residential school in Canada. It's a reissue of a short story by David Robertson that had been published ten years ago. I really appreciated how it showed a focus towards healing. Adult Kamila Knows Best is inspired by Jane Austen's Emma. It's not direct, but it is related enough that I realized that without being told ahead of time. As I read, I was thinking that it reminded me of Emma. It's a fairly light and fun rom-com. The Coming Week: I just started reading Kelly Yang's newest book New from Here and am reading many books for ages birth to 14ish for the class that I will be teaching online in Oct. so I can finish up my reading list for the students. I am not sure how reading will go though since I am simultaneously starting several part time jobs which add up to full time. Onboarding in multiple places means a lot of paper work and meetings. It's exciting, but also there are many details to keep track of and I don't have a lot of extra brain space for other things. Have a great week!" target="_blank">Book Date</a>. 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! </p><p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/" target="_blank">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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. </p><p>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </p><p><b>The Past Two Weeks in Books: </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9BBDP71Pe64K6ch451GvNc97XS5xg2pS2zhFNNaBvI6JyUWNuGE3WWluOrhjUPXXpB7KmKclNp9BTsCWR_DCm7Np5q6CPXkK2-4-59bQVsYA_Y-rOdSGWRVDA_7UQeyNiTv3805sNSGJBK8D2-ePcf97KVaqAeJvRoZmavYLvg-uJnL9Isu2g-BQwQ/s1404/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-14%20at%2010.01.11%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="20 book covers that may be accessed at my Goodreads page linked above. These are the twenty books read most recently for the 2022 reading challenge." border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1226" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9BBDP71Pe64K6ch451GvNc97XS5xg2pS2zhFNNaBvI6JyUWNuGE3WWluOrhjUPXXpB7KmKclNp9BTsCWR_DCm7Np5q6CPXkK2-4-59bQVsYA_Y-rOdSGWRVDA_7UQeyNiTv3805sNSGJBK8D2-ePcf97KVaqAeJvRoZmavYLvg-uJnL9Isu2g-BQwQ/w450-h517/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-14%20at%2010.01.11%20PM.png" width="450" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4JBDyW06BDh71RCCSKP3Ty-QVHLFWRGhwzOSV1Czgdu9GqxTSQj4S9sL6D5-DGI1Fod5ZYDLkJ4q3rq45NK2ptD9cwj2zbkGtrBXXgoJu3x_zsSmMQoQYJa8bz6bLP5DZJ557ZSCFS8f-1rHH3_psIPezXt-xXqvQUfeNgrBOWPypVfmOWg9CSxhtA/s260/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-14%20at%2010.11.53%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover of Eyes that Speak to the stars" border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="216" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4JBDyW06BDh71RCCSKP3Ty-QVHLFWRGhwzOSV1Czgdu9GqxTSQj4S9sL6D5-DGI1Fod5ZYDLkJ4q3rq45NK2ptD9cwj2zbkGtrBXXgoJu3x_zsSmMQoQYJa8bz6bLP5DZJ557ZSCFS8f-1rHH3_psIPezXt-xXqvQUfeNgrBOWPypVfmOWg9CSxhtA/w80-h96/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-14%20at%2010.11.53%20PM.png" width="80" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have a bunch of work to do tonight and professional development days begin tomorrow at both of my schools so I am going to keep this brief. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have been reading as much as I can fit in around my training at the public library (to be a substitute/extra help librarian) and preparing at the private school where I will co-teach humanities with 3rd-6th graders half-time and at the public school where I will be the half-time teacher librarian. It's going to be fine once it all gets rolling, but right now I am pulled a few directions with odd scheduling. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some of the books I really enjoyed were:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Picture books</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57128961-eyes-that-speak-to-the-stars" target="_blank">Eyes that Speak to the Stars</a> - gorgeous</li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58762243-this-book-is-not-for-you" target="_blank">This Book is Not For You</a> - will be great for class discussion</li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59131636-the-life-of-la-vida-de-pura" target="_blank">The Life of Pura</a> - a board book biography that has a surprising amount of information</li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58437463-climb-on" target="_blank">Climb On</a> - a story of a parent and child and their hike through a distinctive setting</li></ul><div>Graphic Novels</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56060300-heartstopper" target="_blank">Heartstopper</a> (YA) - the whole series was relaxing & often made me smile - then I had to watch the series of course </li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59342979-rabbit-chase" target="_blank">Rabbit Chase</a> is a fun middle grade Indigenous retelling of Alice in Wonderland</li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57796289-threats-and-menaces" target="_blank">Silk</a> (YA) is a super hero I hadn't met before, but I enjoyed getting to know her</li></ul><div>Middle Grade Novels</div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56615077-operation-sisterhood" target="_blank">Operation Sisterhood</a> was a delightful story of family and friendship and dealing with change</li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58201801-new-from-here" target="_blank">New From Here</a> is a story from COVID times that closely mirrors that of Kelly Yang and her children and I couldn't put it down</li></ul><div>Nonfiction</div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58437463-climb-on" target="_blank">Reawakening Our Ancestors' Line: Revitalizing Inuit Traditional Tatooing</a> is an oversize book that could work as a coffee table book. It is filled with amazing pictures documenting an inspiring project that brought tattoos back to Inuit women. </li></ul><div>As always, I am also grabbing many short Korean board books and picture books (not all are on Goodreads so I don't record them all there) and am finding better luck understanding what I'm reading--yay!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Coming Week: </b></div></div><div>I will be preparing for the school year, but I also need to finalize my reading list for the <a href="https://ischool.wisc.edu/continuing-education/whats-new-in-childrens-books" target="_blank">What's New in Children's Lit</a> class I will be teaching through UW-Madison in October. That means I may be re-reading or grabbing some new titles to round out the list. I wish you a great week of reading!</div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-65655253406810394372022-08-01T16:16:00.000-07:002022-08-01T16:16:48.283-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7c8s02wVaRCKoQoOvX6V8-qFWXjLTI3sMr54kHthzQyQYxugfPw95XVMhHsdyqYno8CXvVCmBNCtKXVKzXUdQ-Zm6vJs_R1TNAwku7bAEOQS1qohs9isHoRemgDT36jOAqdMxSJhQWkVI3ttqVGu2ofcm0sp_dRSJps3572gcAPQPS_aoj-mIjHOthw/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's Monday! What are You Reading? information on this image is in the first paragraph on the blog." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7c8s02wVaRCKoQoOvX6V8-qFWXjLTI3sMr54kHthzQyQYxugfPw95XVMhHsdyqYno8CXvVCmBNCtKXVKzXUdQ-Zm6vJs_R1TNAwku7bAEOQS1qohs9isHoRemgDT36jOAqdMxSJhQWkVI3ttqVGu2ofcm0sp_dRSJps3572gcAPQPS_aoj-mIjHOthw/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></div>It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">Book Date</a>. 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!<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. The lists of the books in the images below may be found at Goodreads. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Last Week on the Blog:</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxRvcQE2ESEOzayRTf6V2T9JwnMbw1IjbqRYaYGCD2FGV2HNNFwC2L4EYQx1JYoax1SDLA-rAvWl1CbTyi-kmHsIPPVyLzJQeH2DmDq_L0f2BXbmGcPJYLrCBW7tBtjs_UtQOdyGFTbixPVFNeBf-nvaSM_rWDRBiy3GW0TSyZ3tIfi1vGiYNXHsB8Pg/s4032/scone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A plate with a blueberry scone on it is sitting next to the book Batter Royale. The cover has a young man and woman who are both wearing white chef coats. She is Black and is carrying a three tiered cake. He is white with red hair and is looking at her over his shoulder." border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxRvcQE2ESEOzayRTf6V2T9JwnMbw1IjbqRYaYGCD2FGV2HNNFwC2L4EYQx1JYoax1SDLA-rAvWl1CbTyi-kmHsIPPVyLzJQeH2DmDq_L0f2BXbmGcPJYLrCBW7tBtjs_UtQOdyGFTbixPVFNeBf-nvaSM_rWDRBiy3GW0TSyZ3tIfi1vGiYNXHsB8Pg/w144-h192/scone.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://richincolor.com/2022/07/batter-royale/" target="_blank">Review: Batter Royale</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Last Week in Books: </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqEyA9LYIxEjSMZtd3mY2xBgUHWKp3in4BZAJjR90-bST7-O2TdEovk8s9-Ap02HHe3umTQB4HPzL-YDZiABUrSvgxTgoYl3spj0nWVH4wFWn7H8hw5JFZ_ISQtxRab-aYQWSESktg9FxoBQWelnVxa0iMB-os-SjfZwWwXguLVTYctWbCavSgP0jyg/s1236/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-01%20at%208.54.04%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="15 book covers" border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="1236" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqEyA9LYIxEjSMZtd3mY2xBgUHWKp3in4BZAJjR90-bST7-O2TdEovk8s9-Ap02HHe3umTQB4HPzL-YDZiABUrSvgxTgoYl3spj0nWVH4wFWn7H8hw5JFZ_ISQtxRab-aYQWSESktg9FxoBQWelnVxa0iMB-os-SjfZwWwXguLVTYctWbCavSgP0jyg/w400-h313/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-01%20at%208.54.04%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AW80ibI4K4URXJSDtgT-L-We0it8lvtg26ivdmAwtSPz_kNFk0jssGulmczd1adNXoDrrF2UFrKwGvZzZLCoQcda6QZvPr2YpoBgEPmGgmtvMrVoDZOwH2EnSSWijP1S2m4xb-sAYVUYgXnXiN1FloA_9QRMl_Q7-3lZHrXdOApnhUBpOXU1-b66mw/s1248/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-01%20at%208.54.12%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="15 more book covers" border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1248" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AW80ibI4K4URXJSDtgT-L-We0it8lvtg26ivdmAwtSPz_kNFk0jssGulmczd1adNXoDrrF2UFrKwGvZzZLCoQcda6QZvPr2YpoBgEPmGgmtvMrVoDZOwH2EnSSWijP1S2m4xb-sAYVUYgXnXiN1FloA_9QRMl_Q7-3lZHrXdOApnhUBpOXU1-b66mw/w389-h328/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-01%20at%208.54.12%20AM.png" width="389" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are some of the books that stood out last week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Picture Books--</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58709366-luli-and-the-language-of-tea" target="_blank">Luli and the Language of Tea</a></i> is sweet and shows children connecting through tea. They are from various places in the world and have slightly different names for it, but they can all relate to one another through this beverage. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57089900-opposites-abstract" target="_blank">Opposites Abstract</a></i> by Mo Willems was really clever. There isn't much text, but he communicates so well with very little text and simple illustrations. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55473724-a-boy-named-isamu" target="_blank">A Boy Named Isamu</a></i> is a nice book that shares a bit about the life of the Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi who found inspiration in nature. It's a book to encourage wondering. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59522472-big-truck-little-island" target="_blank">Big Truck Little Island</a></i> is a fun story about a road getting blocked by a large truck and the way people deal with that challenge. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57282212-calvin" target="_blank">Calvin</a></i> is the story of a young transboy and how he lets the people in his life know who he really is. The family and school are supportive. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also read two books that were closely related and noticed a difference. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52654605-light-for-all" target="_blank">Light for All</a></i> by Margarita Engle has the Statue of Liberty and immigration as a focus and <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54017842-i-is-for-immigrants" target="_blank">I is for Immigrants</a></i> by Selina Alko also speaks to immigration in the U.S. They both celebrate immigration and the phrase "a nation of immigrants" is brought up in both. The difference I noted is that in Engle's author note she addresses an issue with that phrase. "That phrase ignores the true experiences of Indigenous and African American communities who were either here before conquerors and immigrants arrived, or were brought by force, kidnapped, and enslaved." Alko does point out that there are also descendants of African slaves, but doesn't mention Indigenous folks which is a common omission. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Early Readers--</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56913618-juana-lucas" target="_blank">Juana and Lucas: Muchos Changes</a></i> is another fun early chapter book from the Juana and Lucas series. It has humor and realistic situations as Juana and her family prepare to welcome a new family member. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Young Adult--</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58857822-my-mechanical-romance" target="_blank">My Mechanical Romance</a></i> was a very fun rom-com centering on a young woman who is kind of aimless, but begins to find her way unexpectedly through the school robotics team. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13432146-sugar-falls" target="_blank">Sugar Falls</a> </i>is a graphic novel that shares about a young woman who is sent to a residential school in Canada. It's a reissue of a short story by David Robertson that had been published ten years ago. I really appreciated how it showed a focus towards healing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Adult</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58340958-kamila-knows-best" target="_blank">Kamila Knows Best</a> </i>is inspired by Jane Austen's Emma. It's not direct, but it is related enough that I realized that without being told ahead of time. As I read, I was thinking that it reminded me of Emma. It's a fairly light and fun rom-com.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Coming Week:</b> I just started reading Kelly Yang's newest book New from Here and am reading many books for ages birth to 14ish for the class that I will be teaching online in Oct. so I can finish up my reading list for the students. I am not sure how reading will go though since I am simultaneously starting several part time jobs which add up to full time. Onboarding in multiple places means a lot of paper work and meetings. It's exciting, but also there are many details to keep track of and I don't have a lot of extra brain space for other things. Have a great week!</div></div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-47538678771659085682022-07-25T23:22:00.004-07:002022-07-25T23:22:52.592-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNE1LqpyI9ORAB-L6kCnqs-tm-MXq7ngnuwjFTnxvB9PPCoPjAWHFm-8khbRCsZwz4JUJfPiOp_5VkP7dz5IqODuQAi6RpLNsw5DXvUBeM3SsN8u-vMlwS4MjT8nEKDXyVFJ-uVWrbSg6mM82Y_Lc6v10bjUIsLkRwNqG7sFh8Y-V0J7phq8S1GRtXw/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's Monday! What are You Reading? information on this image is in the first paragraph on the blog." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNE1LqpyI9ORAB-L6kCnqs-tm-MXq7ngnuwjFTnxvB9PPCoPjAWHFm-8khbRCsZwz4JUJfPiOp_5VkP7dz5IqODuQAi6RpLNsw5DXvUBeM3SsN8u-vMlwS4MjT8nEKDXyVFJ-uVWrbSg6mM82Y_Lc6v10bjUIsLkRwNqG7sFh8Y-V0J7phq8S1GRtXw/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></div>It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">Book Date</a>. 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!<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Last Week on the Blog: </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://richincolor.com/2022/07/want-a-clue/" target="_blank">Want a Clue?</a> (A booklist of YA mysteries)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Last Week in Books:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tBszkG6hiR6_s9jd0fxKcTfbnbhWoefqAuNfysAUaSSMAXq69EYJarWTV74SibaSGpuKqTnEc3zMEJpw3eHMNYuxy8EnCOiQUX2zgwPSUGB44ULMmGJXcbIw6g9RcxKe4IZHuV6RjQU2ZGO-frQGpGsXmiTQGnQh1pEuITvLQsgiuUloJnjEvXIHUA/s978/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%209.21.43%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="978" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tBszkG6hiR6_s9jd0fxKcTfbnbhWoefqAuNfysAUaSSMAXq69EYJarWTV74SibaSGpuKqTnEc3zMEJpw3eHMNYuxy8EnCOiQUX2zgwPSUGB44ULMmGJXcbIw6g9RcxKe4IZHuV6RjQU2ZGO-frQGpGsXmiTQGnQh1pEuITvLQsgiuUloJnjEvXIHUA/w449-h150/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%209.21.43%20PM.png" width="449" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ovuTOY1Jey3uUVnrBqCu-zpya73wP9uzJVqF2jsZIMAYZx0bHS1mk1ZpLDcBOG1nQVajzPvQEpSWanT5fGWxUZZA7CPQ3MAAibRO_hzflpMV5Or19gSrSIg8nEXu8B522YuctheyuLI8yeYZ_Gaand5UGFPOjwb30CVQ3WQDEvLZ-sBFUGl9Tf_3fg/s1442/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%209.22.31%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="1442" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ovuTOY1Jey3uUVnrBqCu-zpya73wP9uzJVqF2jsZIMAYZx0bHS1mk1ZpLDcBOG1nQVajzPvQEpSWanT5fGWxUZZA7CPQ3MAAibRO_hzflpMV5Or19gSrSIg8nEXu8B522YuctheyuLI8yeYZ_Gaand5UGFPOjwb30CVQ3WQDEvLZ-sBFUGl9Tf_3fg/w110-h107/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%209.22.31%20PM.png" width="110" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdC20E6Acjvon_ZsAuQIHWKKT_-ccgo5t9xBE3p0If_yehcxopr1A5FzrtlnYYC63u6dZenJnEERu4-wDfcALTajC1u99hJhBlIpPJsWz-LOeYFWHYxoExc5ETD8nv6W2kEUurlUipkmo_tXWtdw_QcYGrltll_-ywSoVaOPGpWcVrPGEaGIRaUu07w/s290/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%209.21.58%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="230" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdC20E6Acjvon_ZsAuQIHWKKT_-ccgo5t9xBE3p0If_yehcxopr1A5FzrtlnYYC63u6dZenJnEERu4-wDfcALTajC1u99hJhBlIpPJsWz-LOeYFWHYxoExc5ETD8nv6W2kEUurlUipkmo_tXWtdw_QcYGrltll_-ywSoVaOPGpWcVrPGEaGIRaUu07w/w89-h112/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%209.21.58%20PM.png" width="89" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56197423-yusuf-azeem-is-not-a-hero" target="_blank">Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero</a></i> and <i><a href="http://goodreads.com/book/show/57761271-omar-rising" target="_blank">Omar Rising</a></i> were amazing middle grade books. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59447016-the-blur" target="_blank">Blur</a></i> is a lovely book and I can't believe it took so long for me to get to this one. Minh Le and Dan Santat are an awesome pair. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61313950-scrap-metal-swan" target="_blank">Scrap Metal Swan</a></i> was a fun read about a river cleanup with community members and then they use things to create a work of art with things they collected. It reminded me of the cleanups they did on the Mississippi when I lived in Wi. Once I finished reading I found that the author was on the Mississippi. <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55868464-cat-problems" target="_blank">Cat Problems</a></i> is hilarious. The cat is so frustrated stuck in the house, but there is a cute joke with a squirrel about that. I don't want to spoil it for anyone though. The cupcakes book was a little underwhelming, but I know there are young readers that love anything with cupcakes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Coming Week:</b> I'm currently reading a cute YA rom-com My Mechanical Romance and will need to read something else for review at Rich in Color. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I'll be reading. Have a great week. </div></div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-7589740595370352712022-07-18T05:00:00.001-07:002022-07-18T05:00:00.236-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqTy5VCyBs0XTv_GIc-fw4MD-3tdQPYOKtUoGymiARna97mRfBFe5HhpYwaPe0MpVDA5b1bMI_PMG6yfLkO1pHhI0ma-zvtxTz6PWFipUPhOq4qTPQTKklAGWUcgRo40E6g0ReAvAlTEPW3f6xQdwdz0HdpZtjMd_-GSPwpXCP-ONz9LKoxkpouj6gw/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's Monday! What are You Reading? information on this image is in the first paragraph on the blog." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqTy5VCyBs0XTv_GIc-fw4MD-3tdQPYOKtUoGymiARna97mRfBFe5HhpYwaPe0MpVDA5b1bMI_PMG6yfLkO1pHhI0ma-zvtxTz6PWFipUPhOq4qTPQTKklAGWUcgRo40E6g0ReAvAlTEPW3f6xQdwdz0HdpZtjMd_-GSPwpXCP-ONz9LKoxkpouj6gw/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></div>It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">Book Date</a>. 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!<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Kellee Moye, of <a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a>, and Jen Vincent, of <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/">Teach Mentor Texts</a> 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.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/938799-crystal" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Last Week on the Blogs: </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1J7PtnqfAB0-c2FH2JzlkONt5zgnb5VcE-HBXkGW6F574F_A1V8vFqslmNMI8yOb_Ksxx32fKTa_afA6_YJxyFPVMHVj87pLQmbkds0yxiuHOhCyVpmKiXhPhoyVotaGeqmRVzasOtUNpMMx1P4tgpBBWD6ruiAPTD_IXmQkZ2qMxkCH070lQPrWDA/s901/pixels.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Young woman is holding a camera. In the lens a reflection of another young woman is visible. She is looking a bit tense. The title is pixelated. Some of the background is also pixelated." border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="599" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1J7PtnqfAB0-c2FH2JzlkONt5zgnb5VcE-HBXkGW6F574F_A1V8vFqslmNMI8yOb_Ksxx32fKTa_afA6_YJxyFPVMHVj87pLQmbkds0yxiuHOhCyVpmKiXhPhoyVotaGeqmRVzasOtUNpMMx1P4tgpBBWD6ruiAPTD_IXmQkZ2qMxkCH070lQPrWDA/w142-h213/pixels.jpg" width="142" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2022/07/review-pixels-of-you.html" target="_blank">Review: Pixels of You</a> (YA Graphic Novel)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5i5xZo1y6ryQxMTrXOwaK4jMlisNrdZl6aknqOpKznTT6lVSEMc9J44moCOrrzClrKvCOLtLSTEqAn6hYMRRwE6sFEUoY9wa5fwq11GNkS7sbWhT2XCeGRtbHWrcltpxYM3j2r9cq_h6u6qBuWumi6divjjlhP7x05Y5x8PHeshKlFWYEOoU_43pyOw/s648/lupe.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Young girl with pig tails on each side of her head is wearing sunglasses and holding up two pencils. She has a big smile on her face. Books and crayons are in the air above two desks to show that she is banging on the desks." border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="552" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5i5xZo1y6ryQxMTrXOwaK4jMlisNrdZl6aknqOpKznTT6lVSEMc9J44moCOrrzClrKvCOLtLSTEqAn6hYMRRwE6sFEUoY9wa5fwq11GNkS7sbWhT2XCeGRtbHWrcltpxYM3j2r9cq_h6u6qBuWumi6divjjlhP7x05Y5x8PHeshKlFWYEOoU_43pyOw/w182-h214/lupe.jpeg" width="182" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2022/07/review-lupe-lopez-rock-star-rules.html" target="_blank">Review: Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules</a> (Picture Book)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Last Week in Books: </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0frsUezpsmAIxWlDad0uj_iLEGPI-6ydIKqzIma14YgZfmDiABx2JT1byZr3sZboDtZU8u9BaAhJq09D0FdVen5glzKvcHygi8yrOUT3j_Dw3RWlXECPDWf4IZGnC79mSSvZNyJ-AJbFWylG8UrbPJ_Jc5nEAdCGsnbuvUVFMUIlwWgBKeZifSOd0g/s1378/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%202.59.49%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="29 book covers of mostly picture books. They may be accessed thorough the goodreads link up above." border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="1234" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0frsUezpsmAIxWlDad0uj_iLEGPI-6ydIKqzIma14YgZfmDiABx2JT1byZr3sZboDtZU8u9BaAhJq09D0FdVen5glzKvcHygi8yrOUT3j_Dw3RWlXECPDWf4IZGnC79mSSvZNyJ-AJbFWylG8UrbPJ_Jc5nEAdCGsnbuvUVFMUIlwWgBKeZifSOd0g/w457-h510/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%202.59.49%20PM.png" width="457" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbkDrkLcrB4oGjvE_SQNJH0iVp88P27lXN-lj66maKuMKG4GMApo6R2IW9Divm1EY5LstEtexnUUFcQFmBRw0FBy-wjxZE8q93L1vz8Hc7WkM3OUktE_WHRYGfvCj34C0W5HfkhWkXZjehTE8Y-PZxK5_dxq5PVeIzGG7ATl3DDvAcsLH1u29-lsQpg/s976/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%202.59.59%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Four more picture book covers." border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="976" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbkDrkLcrB4oGjvE_SQNJH0iVp88P27lXN-lj66maKuMKG4GMApo6R2IW9Divm1EY5LstEtexnUUFcQFmBRw0FBy-wjxZE8q93L1vz8Hc7WkM3OUktE_WHRYGfvCj34C0W5HfkhWkXZjehTE8Y-PZxK5_dxq5PVeIzGG7ATl3DDvAcsLH1u29-lsQpg/w444-h128/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-17%20at%202.59.59%20PM.png" width="444" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I read <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54373691-before-the-coffee-gets-cold" target="_blank">Tales from the Cafe</a></i> which is the second book in the <i>Before the Coffee Gets Cold</i> series. It's a book translated from Japanese and has related short stories that all happen in and around a cafe where time travel is possible. I don't usually enjoy time travel, but this series is delightful to me. Sad things do happen, but people are able to make meaning from their grief. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Speaking of sadness, I watched the series <a href="https://asianwiki.com/Twenty_Five_Twenty_One"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">스물다섯 스물하나</span></a> -- Twenty-five Twenty-one (Netflix) and after the finale, I had cried so many tears. So many. Ack. I just re-watched the trailer and am crying again. Whew. It's an emotional series as so many K-dramas are and I really enjoyed the friendships. That is when I turned to the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/71026-my-neightbor-totoro-film-comic" target="_blank">Totoro comic series</a> (middle grade). They are pretty brief and if you've seen the movie already, it goes pretty quickly. Totoro is so darn soothing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/92a7Hj0ijLs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I hadn't been reading a ton of English children's literature lately, but I have a class to teach in the fall and I need to read a lot of new material as I prepare for that. Some of the stand outs were: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57994153-star-child" target="_blank">Star Child</a></i> by Ibi Zoboi is a fantastic mixed format middle grade biography about Octavia E. Butler. It's predominantly poetry, but also has prose and some media. It's lovely and worth a read or even more than one read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947654-maya-s-song" target="_blank">Maya's Song</a> </i>is another biography, but is a picture book in poems. The art is stunning and the poetry itself sings. There are traumatic events that are referenced, but the author handles this so well and I think it may be healing for young children who have also gone through things children should never experience. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55261895-keep-your-head-up" target="_blank">Keep Your Head Up</a> </i>is a picture book about a young person who is having a rough day and is trying to keep his head up. Readers can really see the frustration building and can see that he is trying to cope, but eventually he has what he calls a meltdown. I think this could be a valuable book for discussions in classrooms or between caregivers and children. Honestly, I think it would be good for adults to read also to remind them that some people in the world seem like they aren't even trying, but they may be trying everything they know how to try.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A few that revolved around family and cooking were sweet: <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56364345-tomatoes-for-neela" target="_blank">Tomatoes for Neela</a></i> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58484145-granny-s-kitchen" target="_blank"><i>Granny's Kitchen: A Jamaican Story of Food and Family</i></a>. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55977822-we-shall-overcome" target="_blank">We Shall Overcome</a></i> is a beautiful picture book that packs in a lot of history and connects it to the present with an amazingly small amount of words.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58687141-stacey-s-extraordinary-words" target="_blank">Stacey's Extraordinary Words</a></i> is a fun memoir from Stacey Abrams that shows her love for words through and focuses on a spelling bee that she participated in when she was young. It shows that even if you don't win, that isn't the end and also demonstrates how to speak up. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Coming Week:</b> I will continue reading a lot of kidlit because my time is running out to prepare my list of <a href="https://ischool.wisc.edu/continuing-education/whats-new-in-childrens-books" target="_blank">what's new and wonderful in kidlit these days</a>. Have a fantastic week. :)</div></div></div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-79103937162154096732022-07-17T14:47:00.004-07:002022-07-17T14:47:53.266-07:00Review: Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules! <p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ4Te8LnWj59c9UdvA30J0wDj4Y4G9hxJ_S2cGTe4IKukJS1y0Ov5yGgw4czSB92aH2znxIxr5W5IRv2-CSjPUI98uM-aPE2kYRyd10zCUJtTgDXZI9EH1ZCD6rbkL_84wbPZWB7XtvKLmC3lIHh0VxIWJ9iP5f8V_9rGxBMSAu2GvBHevRJnxPQ9tA/s648/lupe.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Young girl with pig tails on each side of her head is wearing sunglasses and holding up two pencils. She has a big smile on her face. Books and crayons are in the air above two desks to show that she is banging on the desks." border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="552" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ4Te8LnWj59c9UdvA30J0wDj4Y4G9hxJ_S2cGTe4IKukJS1y0Ov5yGgw4czSB92aH2znxIxr5W5IRv2-CSjPUI98uM-aPE2kYRyd10zCUJtTgDXZI9EH1ZCD6rbkL_84wbPZWB7XtvKLmC3lIHh0VxIWJ9iP5f8V_9rGxBMSAu2GvBHevRJnxPQ9tA/w225-h264/lupe.jpeg" width="225" /></a></b></div><b>Title:</b> Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules! <p></p><p><b>Authors:</b> e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller</p><p><b>Illustrator: </b>Joe Cepeda</p><p><b>Publisher:</b> Candlewick Press</p><p><b>Review copy:</b> Final copy via publisher</p><p><b>Availability: </b>On shelves now</p><p><b>Publisher summary:</b> When Lupe Lopez struts through the doors of Hector P. Garcia Elementary in sunglasses with two taped-up Number 2 pencils—drumsticks, of course—poking from her pocket, her confidence is off the charts. All day, Lupe drums on desks, tables, and chairs while Ms. Quintanilla reminds her of school rules. Lupe has her own rules: 1) Don’t listen to anyone. 2) Make lots of noise. ¡Rataplán! 3) Have fans, not friends. But with her new teacher less than starstruck, and fans hard to come by, Lupe wonders if having friends is such a bad idea after all. Can it be that true star power means knowing when to share the spotlight? With its spirited illustrations and a simple text threaded through with Spanish words, this picture book is proof positive that being a strong girl moving to her own beat doesn’t have to mean pushing others away. </p><p>When a sassy drummer starts kindergarten, the rules of school cramp her style. What’s a young rock star to do?</p><p><b>My Thoughts:</b> Lupe is full of confidence and excitement as she bounces through the door into her kindergarten. I could help but be entertained by her. Though Lupe and her teacher don't see eye to eye, the teacher does seem to keep a smile on her face even when she was delivering information Lupe wouldn't appreciate. Young readers seem to enjoy mischievous characters and here they will definitely see someone who stands out and pushes boundaries. The illustrations are bright and upbeat and add a lot to the story. </p><p><b>Recommendation:</b> This would be a nice story to use at the beginning of the school year to have a discussion about rules and why we have them and/or why we choose to follow or break them.</p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-24630094178892791062022-07-15T18:34:00.003-07:002022-07-15T18:37:13.758-07:00Review: Pixels of You<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopouKsucYzsYdRVmXB9b0bFIF3gMzSYQK34VQEGH38hTkOrEOfZmcFWNP_QjMGzL02H2Nu2vwlS0NlJ1GuTiRuljyS9Tf3_6jlmPGpDcplyYeyymMi4U44sEIeKzjjbmBxrXZjCzJaRQ6ha1GJfPNBEdlZp1XJdkihFLwmLV2LnmyCmKIBDb000zciA/s901/pixels.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Young woman is holding a camera. In the lens a reflection of another young woman is visible. She is looking a bit tense. The title is pixelated. Some of the background is also pixelated." border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopouKsucYzsYdRVmXB9b0bFIF3gMzSYQK34VQEGH38hTkOrEOfZmcFWNP_QjMGzL02H2Nu2vwlS0NlJ1GuTiRuljyS9Tf3_6jlmPGpDcplyYeyymMi4U44sEIeKzjjbmBxrXZjCzJaRQ6ha1GJfPNBEdlZp1XJdkihFLwmLV2LnmyCmKIBDb000zciA/w213-h320/pixels.jpg" width="213" /></a></b></div><b>Title:</b> <a href="http://johnnywander.com/pixels" target="_blank">Pixels of You</a><p></p><p><b>Authors:</b> <a href="http://www.johnnywander.com/about" target="_blank">Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota</a></p><p><b>Illustrator:</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/theyoungdoyler?lang=enhttps://twitter.com/theyoungdoyler?lang=en" target="_blank">J.R. Doyle</a> </p><p><b>Publisher:</b> Harry N. Abrams</p><p><b>Format: </b>YA Graphic Novel</p><p><b>Pages: </b>172</p><p><b>Review copy:</b> Final copy from publisher</p><p><b>Availability: </b>On shelves now</p><p><b>Publisher Summary:</b> In a near future, augmentation and AI changed everything and nothing. Indira is a human girl who has been cybernetically augmented after a tragic accident, and Fawn is one of the first human-presenting AI. They have the same internship at a gallery, but neither thinks much of the other’s photography. But after a huge public blowout, their mentor gives them an ultimatum: work together on a project or leave her gallery forever. Grudgingly, the two begin to collaborate, and what comes out of it is astounding and revealing for both of them. Pixels of You is about the slow transformation of a rivalry to a friendship to something more as Indira and Fawn navigate each other, the world around them—and what it means to be an artist and a person. </p><p><b>My Thoughts:</b> What is fake? What is real? How much can we even know about ourselves and others? These are some of the wonderings that this story brought up for me. There were also questions about what and how we see the things or beings around us. There is a short and sweet relationship happening, but the AI layer adds a lot to think about.</p><p>I also appreciated the design of the book. Don't forget to check under the cover and the endpapers are lovely. The palette is fairly simple for much of the book and sticks with a lot of deep blues and magentas or pinks though for some scenes there is also an abundance of yellows. Little bits of information about AI is also interspersed between scenes through simple white text on a black page.</p><p><b>Recommendation:</b> This is a relatively quick relationship story that can intrigue and inspire readers to question and wonder. It's definitely worth a read and while not a lot of action happens it's a story that will likely stay with readers for a long time. </p><p><b>Extras:</b></p><p><a href="http://www.johnnywander.com/comic/archive/storyline-40" target="_blank">16 Page Sample of Book</a></p><p>Book Trailer:</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tmTE_HBUd1k" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-1947271141234515142022-07-11T09:32:00.007-07:002022-07-11T09:32:51.995-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu05nLXe_UT6fSaHAmjBmX2w6yfh3aCisTYqAELqHtqOLt7JOmFDl-RScqWCRClVwH0eE4jAd6LcFn8Uv4mDX7xXtUv7-NPYRXeR2K3CXg2jXDBcnGhibGUllzzhzTybUHkowIo0ppdEFSwExsc5k9tFLu5uk0EbQAzOojejUS-55iSNg2v6uR0aVmVw/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's Monday! What are You Reading? information on this image is in the first paragraph on the blog." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu05nLXe_UT6fSaHAmjBmX2w6yfh3aCisTYqAELqHtqOLt7JOmFDl-RScqWCRClVwH0eE4jAd6LcFn8Uv4mDX7xXtUv7-NPYRXeR2K3CXg2jXDBcnGhibGUllzzhzTybUHkowIo0ppdEFSwExsc5k9tFLu5uk0EbQAzOojejUS-55iSNg2v6uR0aVmVw/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />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! <p></p><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/938799?ref=nav_mybooks" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>The Past Week in Books:</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8sSU55UdZb3Vz4d4myzTKsjvF5UDq_2gXnh_RWvWTa5zeJb1XMDKIY8-qvD_Xb7hkFACJjJRPy7-wG4ZC-rIViHVathspSWv_BHCqhjcm6LTWX0yb3a3hphRpBG6toDe_cNUv1VEnbxZHSeBoEOr1uhGRcGoH2z2-dOEvfc8kWc_CRD__3xeUJRIDg/s1230/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-11%20at%2012.29.34%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book covers for five books listed below." border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="1230" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8sSU55UdZb3Vz4d4myzTKsjvF5UDq_2gXnh_RWvWTa5zeJb1XMDKIY8-qvD_Xb7hkFACJjJRPy7-wG4ZC-rIViHVathspSWv_BHCqhjcm6LTWX0yb3a3hphRpBG6toDe_cNUv1VEnbxZHSeBoEOr1uhGRcGoH2z2-dOEvfc8kWc_CRD__3xeUJRIDg/w584-h155/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-11%20at%2012.29.34%20AM.png" width="584" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075663-midnight-at-the-electric" target="_blank">Midnight at the Electric</a></i> by Jodi Lynn Anderson is quite an interesting book. I read it for a YA book club or I may not have discovered it. The main character is alive in the future and is learning about people from the Depression era and the generation just prior to that. It was cool to see the different generations. If I taught high school I think it would be cool to read that with teens and then have them do some kind of project about generations like Millenials, Gen X, Z etc... and how they see the world in different ways based on their experiences. </div><div><br /></div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44421460-before-the-coffee-gets-cold" target="_blank">Before the Coffee Gets Cold</a></i> by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Troussalot) also has an element of history and generations to it. In this book, there is a coffee shop where you can time travel, but there are very specific rules including the fact that you have to return before the cup of coffee on your table gets cold so it's very brief. I found this to be one of the more compelling time travel stories I've read. Each of the stories are vaguely connected and gave me a lot to think about. This was also for a book club, but it is an online one through the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/22251844-july-2022-before-the-coffee-gets-cold" target="_blank">podcast Books and Boba</a>. <div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58667560-wave" target="_blank">Wave</a></i> by Diana Farid is an excellent novel in verse about a young girl and one of her friends. I loved the artwork that accompanied it too. I did end up crying with this one. It takes place in the 80s and since I was a teen then, it brought back a ton of memories. It also has a ton of music references. There is are <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/pbv5t2pnx334jdzhbkuy9ka6b?si=CrmalLRxTlmGAjMtFBOmtw&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify playlists</a> to go with the book if you want to listen as I did. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58782892-caf-con-lychee" target="_blank">Cafe con Lychee</a></i> by Emery Lee is a fun rom-com and it was easy to enjoy.<br /><div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGG6F1qgzo0E9_7yoCIF63C95Bf9G882JmVPY1ukgV-kA95x2-72SkVah4f_u3MUkVGN326c_H6TmtogNPqL_pKuJLnUFmbTJWPWS-wt5Xab8xnWMnOgyFh77BPw__EUdlIGXyWgZnyxRB59xXKtb3yzYmIN7hwljICV1LPs83F979mux7uprpXpNMdA/s3759/IMG_1470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Korean version of It's a Little Book by Lane Smith and a spanish language board book about the forest." border="0" data-original-height="2679" data-original-width="3759" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGG6F1qgzo0E9_7yoCIF63C95Bf9G882JmVPY1ukgV-kA95x2-72SkVah4f_u3MUkVGN326c_H6TmtogNPqL_pKuJLnUFmbTJWPWS-wt5Xab8xnWMnOgyFh77BPw__EUdlIGXyWgZnyxRB59xXKtb3yzYmIN7hwljICV1LPs83F979mux7uprpXpNMdA/w174-h124/IMG_1470.JPG" width="174" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7VaJhrQV1-Hww9xLecxUexk3kbjdfrBryfFHmCpHfjX1kMHHytousXytqbh5UGQtLLckZ9K6vOSeUU5E6nBF73xQgiAeaHi69Kp2I3YaWJI1n9Icv05EIAqu6o5YP9oTX4oO4Nc-_fmR-sb0gsfiW3A6iTwAN7o5V0W0-ZTkWrEhYzN0kcpBULHFxZQ/s3768/IMG_1472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two Spanish board books and three Korean board books." border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3768" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7VaJhrQV1-Hww9xLecxUexk3kbjdfrBryfFHmCpHfjX1kMHHytousXytqbh5UGQtLLckZ9K6vOSeUU5E6nBF73xQgiAeaHi69Kp2I3YaWJI1n9Icv05EIAqu6o5YP9oTX4oO4Nc-_fmR-sb0gsfiW3A6iTwAN7o5V0W0-ZTkWrEhYzN0kcpBULHFxZQ/w189-h151/IMG_1472.JPG" width="189" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy5RF8lhr636kqhtnWUf9rMyzDkrlvIfip_vVg_oDb4kIV4S5JTey-45erV8y8jDbaml_N1GybzEQuFn0l1U0rdRy_EMGWqn-7OCtnf32J71DNcuOXGA8wWhWlr8vg5DcVR19agaM7f1C5JXouSpenv1RhWMQVTKdVzCO1YRD0xzfE85oB2QS4pz_Bw/s2777/IMG_1471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2777" data-original-width="2620" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy5RF8lhr636kqhtnWUf9rMyzDkrlvIfip_vVg_oDb4kIV4S5JTey-45erV8y8jDbaml_N1GybzEQuFn0l1U0rdRy_EMGWqn-7OCtnf32J71DNcuOXGA8wWhWlr8vg5DcVR19agaM7f1C5JXouSpenv1RhWMQVTKdVzCO1YRD0xzfE85oB2QS4pz_Bw/w188-h199/IMG_1471.JPG" width="188" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fyma_QtCSliu5xIWXoJhMBxVQ2_EN3drnYQnvcH5lx4C5VA8zncqJNP02tzHKLSv3HiKh1Dyn3TtM_qYjkejD3JVWWEXFA7qzxaCx0T_fWpMmMmtNTgf8x6DcyHdvC6PtQcvlJ77_XLSZjzr-LXB2EhOWI1ae8ufGgS_8Fq3TXMmjirZxYlzYJuhZQ/s3106/IMG_1484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A Korean picture book. The cover shows the front of a restaurant. The book is about a family. The title means something like This is my (our) family." border="0" data-original-height="3106" data-original-width="2781" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fyma_QtCSliu5xIWXoJhMBxVQ2_EN3drnYQnvcH5lx4C5VA8zncqJNP02tzHKLSv3HiKh1Dyn3TtM_qYjkejD3JVWWEXFA7qzxaCx0T_fWpMmMmtNTgf8x6DcyHdvC6PtQcvlJ77_XLSZjzr-LXB2EhOWI1ae8ufGgS_8Fq3TXMmjirZxYlzYJuhZQ/w166-h186/IMG_1484.JPG" width="166" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like the past weeks, I am still reading a lot of picture books in Spanish and Korean. Goodreads is US based so I not all of the books I am reading are represented there. I am still pretty solidly stuck in board books with my basic level reading skills, so it's great that so many exist. 책이 뭐야? <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10692646-it-s-a-little-book" target="_blank"><i>It's a Little Book</i></a> by Lane Smith is cute in any language. The books about the forest, shapes, opposites, colors, numbers and even homes, were great for me to practice vocabulary words. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The longer picture books like <a href="http://www.yes24.com/Product/Goods/5170014" target="_blank">비야, 안녕!</a> Hi Rain by 한자영 or <a href="http://www.yes24.com/Product/Goods/1790675" target="_blank">우리 가족입니다</a> This is My Family by 이혀란 are still a bit beyond my abilities, but technology is amazing. I have an app called Papago that you can use to scan the text on a page and it will provide a translation. The translations are sometimes rough, but with the combination of the vocabulary I know, the illustrations, and the translations, I make faster progress than when I had been looking up every word that I didn't know. I "read" through the whole book on my own, then I read a page and look at the translation and see if I missed it entirely or got the gist. The Rain book is a cute book about an earthworm wandering during a rain shower who meets up with a snail and a turtle. Nothing major happens, but it's fun. The one about family is a little bitter sweet. They are a family of four and then the grandmother comes to live with them. She has trouble eating, she has leaves dried fish in the closet, she wets her pants, and gets confused and the young child is very frustrated and angry about having to share life with her. At one point though, she and her father talk and she realizes that though it's difficult to have her with them, she is her father's mother and he feels about her like she feels about her own mother. It's then that they finally become a family of five in her mind. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Coming Week: </b>I've mostly caught up on book club books, but I think I need to do some middle grade reading so I'll be looking for some good graphic novels and other MG books for this week. Have a great week!</div></div></div></div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-26631087442355833642022-07-04T08:32:00.001-07:002022-07-04T08:32:05.595-07:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHuvjLkCwq0047YZdyDFkx_gXqMXrM93JAFmdUyIoDg4KksFgV0jXgGfxyzqX64YQ6qY5Dihi23qACbFIDgH_JZEAT5tq4cKrlM-Pi6hrLoLS_jFP7Z5Rj3-c8rQD29ybl4s03Bc2pWv7YCmebKsc6HcPwIcp8_S0lLSpHWdP2bPo71dKm7fm_eItcA/s768/2020-IMWAYR.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's Monday! What are You Reading? information on this image is in the first paragraph on the blog." border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHuvjLkCwq0047YZdyDFkx_gXqMXrM93JAFmdUyIoDg4KksFgV0jXgGfxyzqX64YQ6qY5Dihi23qACbFIDgH_JZEAT5tq4cKrlM-Pi6hrLoLS_jFP7Z5Rj3-c8rQD29ybl4s03Bc2pWv7YCmebKsc6HcPwIcp8_S0lLSpHWdP2bPo71dKm7fm_eItcA/w320-h320/2020-IMWAYR.png" width="320" /></a></div>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! <div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/938799?ref=nav_mybooks" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Past Week on the Blog:</b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">YA Book Review: <a href="https://richincolor.com/2022/07/if-you-then-me/" target="_blank">If You, Then Me</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2022/06/saying-goodbye.html" target="_blank">Saying Goodbye: Blog Post with Tour of the Library</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(at school I recently left in WI)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2022/07/book-review-sarah-rising.html" target="_blank">Picture Book Review: Sarah Rising</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2022/07/review-something-about-grandma.html" target="_blank">Picture Book Review: Something About Grandma</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Past Week in Books:</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEwiNkB8qvDbZGNpfRqPAa6ZmmewqDIpjBmWP9hE5p4DU8R6prUXEuDi1AnR9wjaqtLOkVRPqk7_ac1JkG99JhTlPuLzbb6IicEXewZ5rn4xi_0HpTuo9cEiyAIKcEMTxrus1LH3W6NJ9ojT7aOAaBFBm1alqf5_yavXF6dQ5KGV12vB-yxjoq1Qojw/s3795/IMG_1441.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo of The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog translated into Korean, Yasmin la exploradora, and a Korean storybook with an older lady on the cover sipping a drink through a straw. You can only see her from the shoulders up, but she is nude since the story takes place in a bath house or spa." border="0" data-original-height="2142" data-original-width="3795" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEwiNkB8qvDbZGNpfRqPAa6ZmmewqDIpjBmWP9hE5p4DU8R6prUXEuDi1AnR9wjaqtLOkVRPqk7_ac1JkG99JhTlPuLzbb6IicEXewZ5rn4xi_0HpTuo9cEiyAIKcEMTxrus1LH3W6NJ9ojT7aOAaBFBm1alqf5_yavXF6dQ5KGV12vB-yxjoq1Qojw/w320-h181/IMG_1441.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I am studying both Korean and Spanish and have been devoting the majority of my free time to that so aside from books for review or for book clubs, I am only reading picture books in those languages. It's a struggle and it takes way more time that I would have hoped after studying for almost a year. I am seeing progress though. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog was funny in Korean too and I appreciated Yasmin la exploradora. My Spanish is more advanced than my Korean and I was excited to read something with chapters. I feel like I can relate a bit better to my students as they get to move on to short chapter books. The other picture book is taking me a long time since there are simply too many words that I don't yet know. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also watched the movie that was made based on the book I read last year <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46041199-kim-jiyoung-born-1982?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=sHF0tUCr07&rank=1" target="_blank">Kim Ji-Young Born 1982</a>. It was quite good and I'm glad I could finally see it. My libraries in WI didn't have access to any copies, but here in CA it was right on the shelf at the local library. Yay! That's part of the reason I am studying Korean though. There are many people in our community that speak Korean.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I did also read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53369734-weather-girl" target="_blank">The Weather Girl</a> which is a fun adult rom-com.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Coming Week: </b>I'm really not sure what I'll be reading this coming week, but probably need to start reading some of my book club books. One of those books is Midnight at the Electric (YA) and another is Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Adult). I wish you a great week full of reading. </div>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-38144494132580244352022-07-03T22:10:00.000-07:002022-07-03T22:10:12.191-07:00Review: Something About Grandma<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcmJ7PzpbMhWMy3j2ZtCuV0i7iMPR2Gv2-vCCw4wtXckRHJhnXWYIEyXXdaVEkJgrZQ9Gc6VdFqSdOh7OtemvOPXm3E0HHwfcuo7QofWszEHZjxQYrsMIZftgRQYwRL0fDqsUFW0jX1VcLg_nuIvdnYIGBS-XzjM-HOCvOUyoTrg_dedgXxNFMbytwA/s2048/something%20about%20grandma.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A young girl in blue with blue glasses is holding hands with and staring into the eyes of a grandma with white hair. Grandma is also wearing glasses that match her pink clothing. There are flowers around them and some flowers in their hands. There is a house in the background." border="0" data-original-height="1827" data-original-width="2048" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcmJ7PzpbMhWMy3j2ZtCuV0i7iMPR2Gv2-vCCw4wtXckRHJhnXWYIEyXXdaVEkJgrZQ9Gc6VdFqSdOh7OtemvOPXm3E0HHwfcuo7QofWszEHZjxQYrsMIZftgRQYwRL0fDqsUFW0jX1VcLg_nuIvdnYIGBS-XzjM-HOCvOUyoTrg_dedgXxNFMbytwA/w320-h285/something%20about%20grandma.webp" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>Title:</b> <a href="https://taniaderegil.com/something-about-grandma/" target="_blank">Something About Grandma</a><p></p><p><b>Author and Illustrator:</b> <a href="https://taniaderegil.com/" target="_blank">Tania de Regil</a></p><p><b>Publisher: </b>Candlewick</p><p><b>Availability:</b> August 9, 2022</p><p><b>Review copy:</b> Final copy via publisher</p><p><b>Summary:</b> At Grandma’s house, where Julia is staying without her parents for the first time, the breeze is sweet like jasmine. Mornings begin with sugared bread, and the most magnificent hot chocolate cures all homesickness. There’s something about this place . . . and about Grandma. Like how she can tell when Julia has been quietly picking limes from the garden. Or that she can see the future—and knows when Julia is about to fall off her bike. Or how she can journey back in time through the stories she tells. In the room where Julia’s mother grew up, her grandmother holds her in a warm embrace—an embrace that Julia will pass on to her family when her parents arrive with her new baby brother. With Tania de Regil’s heartfelt illustrations, incorporating poems by her great-grandfather that were handwritten by her grandmother, Something About Grandma offers a tender and playful exploration of the magic of intergenerational love and wisdom.</p><p><b>My Thoughts:</b> This book is like a big warm hug. We see Grandma's home through Julia's eyes as she discovers the interesting things about it like getting bread from a woman who brings it to the house in a basket one her head. We see the happy moments and a few that aren't so happy. When Julia is missing her family, Grandma is there to offer comfort. </p><p>The illustrations really support the story as we see Grandma cuddling with Julia, but also, when the text says that she time travels, there are images of her mom and dad when they are younger so readers can know that the book didn't just flip to science fiction. And there is a continuity in the colors. The characters are always wearing the same clothes no matter the day Grandma in a pinkish outfit and the rest of the family are wearing clothes that are a deep blue. There are other colors on the pages, but those colors are throughout from the very beginning. The leaves on the title page are blueish and the background is a peachy pink. </p><p>The art is mostly in watercolor, but there is also collage scattered. Much of the collage is cursive writing in Spanish and it is slipped in here and there. This made sense because Grandma wrote in a notebook each night and Julia receives a letter from her family. </p><p>There is love seeping all over the pages in the way that Julia and her grandma interact and I just didn't want it to end.</p><p><b>Recommendation: </b>This is a lovely book and would be great for any library serving young people and would be wonderful to have in any home. I know that many times I had students asking for books about new babies so this would definitely address that need, but it is also simply a lovely story for anyone. It is also available in Spanish. </p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-645170464461303667.post-79112264266972838662022-07-01T23:00:00.006-07:002022-07-01T23:22:08.041-07:00Book Review: Sarah Rising<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnhHe20Wtg_d_XnkCpRQ7FkG2dBqYrZKX_maa8_ZEhATXUFpoBCJ0MWCJqmWMk4qGsmfZ69kjpF4sc3r0fA00AAxJrcoa07qzQqCvRpLryCacb0lOnsWZRfv0ynVBGXK6Rw8xS2tGfcpZRe5nezKFEmUYU7SC7OF2V9NEsc7Xj4p3cJG5vE0ve58Pkw/s2108/sarah.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A young Black girl is kneeling down to pick up a Monarch. There is a group of police over her shoulder on the left and a group of community members with signs and raised hands on the right. The title Sarah Rising is at the top of the book cover." border="0" data-original-height="2108" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnhHe20Wtg_d_XnkCpRQ7FkG2dBqYrZKX_maa8_ZEhATXUFpoBCJ0MWCJqmWMk4qGsmfZ69kjpF4sc3r0fA00AAxJrcoa07qzQqCvRpLryCacb0lOnsWZRfv0ynVBGXK6Rw8xS2tGfcpZRe5nezKFEmUYU7SC7OF2V9NEsc7Xj4p3cJG5vE0ve58Pkw/w273-h320/sarah.jpeg" width="273" /></a></b></div><b><br />Title:</b> Sarah Rising<p></p><p><b>Author:</b> <a href="https://tychapman.org/home" target="_blank">Ty Chapman</a></p><p><b>Illustrator:</b> <a href="https://www.deelasheeartistry.com/" target="_blank">DeAnn Wiley</a></p><p><b>Publisher:</b> Beaming Books</p><p><b>Availability:</b> On shelves now</p><p><b>Review copy:</b> Final copy via publisher</p><p><b>Summary:</b> Sarah starts her day like any other day: she eats her toast and feeds her bugs. But today isn't a day like any other day. Today, her dad brings her to a protest to speak out against police violence against Black people. When Sarah spots a beautiful monarch butterfly and follows it through the crowd, she finds herself inside the no-man's land between the line of police and protesters. In the moments that follow, Sarah is confronted with the cruelty of those who are supposed to protect her and learns what it feels like to protect and be protected.</p><p>Inspired by the protests that happened during the Minneapolis Uprising after the police killing of George Floyd, Sarah Rising provides a child's-eye view of a protest and offers an opportunity for children to talk about why people take to the streets to protest racial injustice. Readers will gain a new appreciation for how important it is to be part of a community of people who protect each other.</p><p>Back matter includes a note from the author about his experience growing up as a Black boy in the Twin Cities, information about the Minneapolis Uprising, and practical ways kids can get involved in activism.</p><p><b>My Thoughts:</b> As the story opens, we see a caring young girl who is very interested in her bugs. She's getting ready for school, but Sarah and the reader learn that there is a protest happening. There are starting to be more books for young readers about protests and police violence, but this is definitely an area that could use more representation. A book like this would be helpful to start discussions in a school or home before or after a protest in a community whether or not the children attend. The story explains exactly why the protest is happening and puts a lot of focus on community members being there for each other and how they can support those around them. </p><p>As someone who recently lived in the midwest, I know this will be great for those in MN especially, but also for neighboring states. I appreciated seeing the Hmong 4 BLM sign in one of the illustrations. There are many Hmong Americans in the midwest but they aren't often having representation in children's literature. The author's note at the end also made a point that too many adults in the midwest still need to see. He shared that in living in Minnesota, he "also grew to see that cruelty toward Black people was not just a southern issue." In the note, there are facts that support some of the statements of Sarah's father in the text. And again in the note, he emphasized the point that people came together and were working to keep each other safe. There are harsh realities within the text, but the amount of caring present balances that out a bit. </p><p><b>Recommendation: </b>I would recommend this for any public or school library. I would also recommend it to parents who would like to have a way to guide discussions regarding police violence and protests. There is a list of ways for young people to do something to help and a discussion guide so readers and their caregivers have support after reading and possibilities of actions to take. I can see this being useful for a lot of young people. </p><p><b>Extra: </b></p><p><a href="https://taralazar.com/2022/06/01/sarah-rising/" target="_blank">Tara Lazar interviews the author</a></p>Crystalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662811441487822589noreply@blogger.com0