Celebrate!

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on weekends where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week and I appreciate the community we have through this link-up.

This week I've really been appreciating my co-workers. They make me laugh every single day. We are able to vent and encourage, support and distract. There are so many ways they make school a great place to be every day. 

This week we had a few who made a special lunch for everyone for no particular reason. There is also one staff member who had an important role in a comedy. My husband and I were able to go watch the play last night and it was fabulous to see my colleague sparkling on stage. The play was Calendar Girls so we also had quite a few belly laughs. 

I wish you a week filled with smiles and laughter.

Review: The Poet X

Title: The Poet X
Author: Elizabeth Acevedo
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 368
Genre: Contemporary
Availability: On shelves now
Review copy: Digital ARC via Edelweiss


Summary: A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

Review: The writing in this book is phenomenal. Acevedo paints rich pictures with her words. They are not only detailed and vivid, but they also include the emotions of the scenes. With very few words, readers are brought into the world and mind of Xiomara.

In her home, school and community, Xiomara uses her knuckles to talk. People see her body, but don't see who she is and they don't listen to her voice to discover anything more. She finds this true even in the church which is a large part of her life because her mother is devoted to God. In church, Xiomara says that her worth is under her skirt. On top of that, she thinks that listening to the commandments shuts down her voice.

Where Xiomara finds her voice is in her writing. She begins to feel heard through her poetry. Spoken word poetry opens up her world. 

As she's working out who she is and who she wants to be, Xiomara gets into serious conflict with her mother. Theirs is a complicated relationship. Her mother wants what is best for Xiomara, but their ideas of what is best are very different. They exchange some harsh words and actions, but figuring out their relationship is a crucial part of Xiomara's growth.

There are many important relationships in the book. Xiomara's twin is also dealing with his own issues. They are there for each other sometimes, but they also disappoint each other. Aman is a bright spot in Xiomara's life and sees her beauty, but isn't blinded by it. He wants to know her. They also have struggles though.

Recommendation: Get this soon especially if you love poetry. Xiomara's story is well suited to the format. Hers is a wonderful story of identity, family, faith and love.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 

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

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you want to know more about what I've been reading, visit my Goodreads shelf.

Past Week on the Blog:

Celebrate!

Last Week in Books:

 

Ms. Marvel is a fun comic series and I really enjoyed reading Super Famous. In it, Kamala is finding it difficult to balance school, family and being part of The Avengers. I can totally relate - at least to the balancing thing, not the super hero thing. Betty Before X is a great middle grade historical fiction story featuring four years of the life of Dr. Betty Shabazz. It's a nice view into her life. Poverty and Hunger is a nonfiction title that attempts to explain these terms and some of the issues and effects of both. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir was not easy to read. It is truly a memoir and gives some context to the Black Lives Matter movement and what types of events and situations led Patrisse Khan-Cullors and others to stand up and say enough. I am Enough is an inspirational picture book that encourages the belief that we are enough as we are. The Poet X was a re-read for me as I prepare to write up a formal review. I loved this novel in verse and want to share it with others. It's a story of identity, family and faith among other things.

The Coming Week: I started reading Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi. I also need to read Big Little Lies for a book club. I went to see A Wrinkle in Time (made me cry multiple times) so I may also re-read that. Have a great week!



Reading Challenge Updates: 
Goodreads Challenge 2018 - 51/800
Diversity on the Shelf 2018 - 32/300
#MustReadin2018 - 9/30

Celebrate!

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on weekends where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week and I appreciate the community we have through this link-up.

Earlier this week we had another big pile of snow drop on us. This is a blessing in many ways. It was beautiful for one thing. I was warm and snug on the couch watching it fall. We were dismissed from school early that day and that felt like a gift. All of a sudden there was free time in the day and we could safely get home before the snow started flying. I had cookies, tea and watched the snow and a Korean drama. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

This week I also celebrate the smiles of children. During my days I hear a healthy does of noise and see some frowns, but most of the time smiles are being shared by the staff and students at our school. Seeing the smiles and joy on the faces of students is truly a lovely gift.

On a related note, our art teacher and some of our students worked together on a mosaic project. It is beautiful and there are still many pieces of tile left. Some of the students are now making individual mosaics. They stay after school chatting with each other. I love to hang out in the art room when they are there. One day when I was stressed, I stopped by after school and sorted through the tiles and put some of them together on the tabletop. It wasn't meant to be anything permanent and just sorting, moving and enjoying the textures of the tiles changed my mood. Creating is a soothing thing especially when there are no expectations at all.

Have a wonderful week!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 

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

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you want to know more about what I've been reading, visit my Goodreads shelf.

Past Week on the Blog:

Review of The Serpent's Secret
by Sayantani DasGupta

Review of Fire Song

by Adam Garnet Jones

Celebrating the Sun

Last Week in Books:

Be a King is an inspirational picture book that encourages service and kindness to others.

So You Want to Talk About Race is a very informative book about tools for people to use when they have discussions about race. I found it quite helpful and even took some notes. She is writing for anyone, but some of it is aimed directly at White readers who may not have much experience talking with POC or Whites about race. This is one that was on my MustReadin2018 list.

Our Heroes is a collection of brief biographies of children around the world who have made positive contributions to our world. It's a nice way to show children that anyone can make a difference no matter what their age or backgrounds. 

Fire Song is a contemporary YA novel about teens on a reserve in Canada. Warning - this one involves suicide. It's a tough one to read, but is ultimately hopeful. To find out more, read the review linked above.

The Coming Week:
Today I started the book When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. This is also on my MustReadin2018 list. It's fantastic so far. I wish you a great week filled with books.

Reading Challenge Updates: 
Goodreads Challenge 2018 - 45/800
Diversity on the Shelf 2018 - 28/300
#MustReadin2018 - 8/30

Celebrating the Sun

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on weekends where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week and I appreciate the community we have through this link-up.

This week I'm celebrating the warmth of the sun. During the middle of the winter, we often see the sun, but it is a lie. In January, the sun may look warm and wonderful, but when you walk outside, the frigid air hits you and the sun seems to be unable to make any difference.

 

On Monday, we had warmer temps (48 degrees) and the sun felt lovely on my face. I was like a sunflower tipping toward the light and warmth. I even put my windows down to enjoy the slightly cool breeze too.

We also had a fire drill in the middle of the week and we didn't want to go back in the building. As we were standing there, I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the warmth. While walking the dog yesterday, it was the same. The sun just feels like a caress nowadays. Spring is on the way.

Review: The Serpent's Secret

Title: The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond, #1)
Author: Sayantani DasGupta
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Page: 368
Genre: Fantasy
Review copy: ARC via publisher
Availability: On shelves now

Summary: Meet Kiranmala: Interdimensiional Demonslayer

(But she doesn’t know it yet.)

On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey… until her parents mysteriously vanish later that day and a rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns out there might be some truth to her parents’ fantastical stories—like how Kiranmala is a real Indian princess—and a wealth of secrets about her origin they've kept hidden.

To complicate matters, two crushworthy Indian princes ring her doorbell, insisting they’re here to rescue her. Suddenly, Kiran is swept into another dimension full of magic, winged horses, moving maps, and annoying, talking birds. There she must solve riddles and slay demons all while avoiding the Serpent King of the underworld (who may or may not want to kill her) and the rakkhosh queen (who definitely does) in order to find her parents and basically save New Jersey, her entire world, and everything beyond it…

Review: This book. With the very first sentence readers know this is going to be a wild ride. Kiranmala's birthday is described this way, "The day my parents got swallowed by a rakkosh and whisked away to another galactic dimension was a pretty crap-tastic day." If you are wondering, rakkosh are carnivorous, snot-trailing demons with horns, fangs, and talons who also happen to speak in rhyme. 

The Serpent's Secret is an amazing adventure with princes, flying horses, demon queens and more. Kiran is obviously astounded by this whole series of events, but she is not one to run away from a challenge. She jumps into the fray in spite of fears and with the help of her new friends she goes on a quest for her parents.

I loved Kiran's voice. She has a fabulous sense of humor and made me laugh over and over again. She has a fun way with words. When I would just say hurry up, she says things like, "Let's move it along, haven't got all night here. On a bit of a pre-apocalyptic deadline." She's also loyal to those she loves and will do just about anything for them. I am a fan.

Dasgupta provides a great author's note at the end that includes information about the traditional folktales that were inspiration for this story. They are tales from West Bengal, India and were the stories that Dasgupta heard as a child from her relatives when she visited. 

Recommendation: You will definitely want to get this book as soon as possible especially if you enjoy exciting adventures with plenty of humor. Kiranmala is fabulous and I can't wait to share her with students.