Tuesday, August 28, 2018

ARC review: You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

Jillian is experiencing growing pains in the form of life lessons. Her new baby sister was born deaf and she is dealing with some racial tensions in her family as well as in a newly forming friendship.

While this is a book written for kids, Gino is very open that it "is consciously written for white people as a catalyst to talk about modern racism and police violence in the United States," as they stated in the author's note at the end.

The part of the book that especially spoke to me was the tension-filled Thanksgiving dinner where Jilly is saddened to learn that some of her family members are racist. That was such a palpable moment in the story.

If I had one criticism of the book is that it's as subtle as a sledgehammer in addressing political issues, to the point where it feels a bit didactic in places. But the book has lovable characters and its greatest strength is that it models the necessity for white people to talk about race and in order to do that, we need to get uncomfortable and recognize that we're going to screw up. But doing and saying nothing speaks just as loudly as saying something offensive. 


You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino
Publication Date: September 25, 2018
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 256
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Advance reader copy provided by publisher


If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

How to Feed Your Parents by Ryan Miller, illustrated by Hatem Aly

Matilda Macaroni is an adventurous eater. But she certainly doesn't get that from her parents.

While her parents only eat things like chicken nuggets, pizza, mac and cheese, and sugary cereal, Matilda would much prefer to eat quiche, jambalaya, miso soup, and sushi. Since she can't get those things from her parents, she resorts to making meals for her more sophisticated palate with her grandmother and babysitter.

When Matilda offers to make her parents a very safe meal of hamburgers and fries for dinner, even that starts off on shaky ground. Will Matilda convince her parents to branch out and try new things?

While this book definitely exaggerates a role reversal of the usual scenario of kids being picky eaters, How to Feed Your Parents is a good conversation starter for parents to have with their kids about healthy food habits and learning to turn on their sense of curiosity rather than fear when it comes to new flavors. As a recovering picky eater, I think had my parents taught me about food from a young age by letting me help with dinner and showing me to have a respect for where food comes from, I might not have been so distrustful of what was being put in front of me at the kitchen table. As a result, I didn't start branching out my food palate until I was in college, sticking to a diet very similar to Matilda's parents.

So for me, the takeaway of this book is: teach your kids about food from a very young age and make it fun and interesting for them to try new things.


How to Feed Your Parents by Ryan Miller, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Published: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Sterling
Pages: 40
Genre/Format: Picture book
Audience: Primary
Disclosure: Finished copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound

Monday, August 6, 2018

It's Monday! What are you reading? 8-6-18


It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.


Last week I read:

Good Rosie by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Harry Bliss
A sweet tale of a dog named Rosie who lives a quiet, routine life with her owner George. One day George decides to change their routine and go to the dog park instead of their daily walk and what results is the awkwardness of making new friends. 

Just like with many of DiCamillo's books, Good Rosie doesn't hit you over the head with a grandiose plot or an obvious lesson. Instead, its quiet simplicity makes you think and just enjoy a good story.


Hide and Seek by Anthony Browne
Cy and Poppy go play hide and seek in the woods to distract themselves from how sad they feel that their dog Goldie is missing. Readers will soon discover there is more to the title than just two kids playing hide and seek.


Currently reading:

Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker: Incognito by Shelley Johannes
You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino


Currently reading with my ears:

The Sky at Our Feet by Nadia Hashimi