A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust: February 2019

Monday, February 18, 2019

It's Monday! What are you reading? 2-18-19

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.

These are the picture books I really enjoyed last week:

The Story of Rock and The Story of Rap illustrated by Lindsey Sagar

Adorable rhyming baby board books for the budding musicians in your lives. My only criticism is that the author and illustrator are not mentioned. The illustrator is listed in very tiny print on the back of the book with the copyright information, but authors and illustrators should get a prominent place somewhere on the book.

The New Neighbors by Sarah McIntyre

When rats move into the building, the bunnies are excited to meet their new neighbors. All of the other animals in the building put ideas into their heads about how untidy and inconsiderate rats are. An important book to read and discuss with kids about how our preconceived notions and prejudices can do more harm than good.

How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison
At NCTE in November, I had the privilege of meeting Carole Boston Weatherford. I wish I had known about this book at the time so I could've thanked her for it. The fact that she not only included how and why this song was originally written, but a few historical moments when Amazing Grace met the Zeitgeist of what was happening in our culture, specifically with Mahalia Jackson and Barack Obama.

Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Steve Salerno

Hey kids, let’s learn about irony today. Here’s an example: a woman who invented a game to teach people the injustices of capitalism, only to be swindled out of millions of dollars for her own invention so a bunch of greedy men could make that money by asking her to sign off on her patent so they could sell her game.

Oh wait. I better not teach THAT for fear of being accused of being a loser teacher who indoctrinates her students as socialists.

Currently reading:

Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell
Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

Monday, February 11, 2019

It's Monday! What are you reading? 2-11-19

I have one more day on my The Lost Girl giveaway.

I recently finished reading:

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
An important book that addresses the difficulty of being LGBTQ in a Muslim family. We hear so much about Christian intolerance toward the LGBTQ community, but not as much Muslim intolerance. This book will help a whole lot of teens in Muslim families feel seen and heard.

Picture books I enjoyed the past few weeks:

Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings

A sweet story, told epistolary style, about a dog looking for his family. The visual clues in the illustrations make the ending rather predictable, but no less heartwarming.

How to Be a Lion by Ed Vere
There is no one way to be a lion. A lovely book that subtly subverts toxic masculinity.

Dad By My Side by Soosh

Speaking of toxic masculinity, this is one of the sweetest father-daughter relationships I’ve ever seen in a book. The father is a gentle giant and represents the exact opposite of toxic masculinity. He shows readers what gentle masculinity is about.

Currently reading:

Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell

Currently reading with my ears:

When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Book Giveaway: The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu

Thank you to Walden Pond Press for providing a free giveaway copy of The Lost Girl to one lucky blog reader.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Once upon a time, there were two sisters, alike in every way, except for all the ways that they were different.

When you’re an identical twin, your story always starts with someone else. For Iris, that means her story starts with Lark. Iris has always been the grounded, capable, and rational one; Lark has been inventive, dreamy, and brilliant—and from their first moments in the world together, they’ve never left each other’s side. Everyone around them realized early on what the two sisters already knew: they had better outcomes when they were together.

When fifth grade arrives, however, it’s decided that Iris and Lark should be split into differentclassrooms, and something breaks in them both. Iris is no longer so confident; Lark retreats into herself as she deals with challenges at school. And at the same time, something strange is happening in the city around them: things both great and small going missing without a trace. As Iris begins to understand that anything can be lost in the blink of an eye, she decides it’s up to her to find a way to keep her sister safe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anne Ursu is the author of Breadcrumbs, named one of the best books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly and the Chicago Public Library, and The Real Boy, which was longlisted for the National Book Award.

She is also a member of the faculty at Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Anne lives in Minneapolis with her family and an ever-growing number of cats. You can visit her online at www.anneursu.com

PRAISE FOR THE LOST GIRL

“The Lost Girl is a jewel of a book—hard, bright, sharp, and precious. It reminds us of the boundless and subversive power of sisterhood and the inherent magic of girls.”—Kelly Barnhill, Newbery-Medal winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon

“I raced through The Lost Girl, breathless. And when I was finished, I found myself full of hope. It’s a beautiful, riveting, important book.”—Laurel Snyder, award-winning author of Orphan Island

“When the world makes no sense, I read books by Anne Ursu. When the world makes all the wrong kinds of sense, I read books by Anne Ursu. If you crave a story with the wit, wisdom, and magic to unriddle the world, then you need to read The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu.”—William Alexander, award-winning author of A Festival of Ghosts

Ù“A beautiful, timeless tale of love conquering darkness in the midst of mystery and the angst of change. A must-have for any middle grade collection.” School Library Journal (starred review)

Ù“This suspenseful mystery offers a story of empowerment, showing how one girl with the help of others can triumph.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Ù“National Book Award nominee Ursu laces her story with fairy-tale elements and real-life monsters, while taking great care to cast girls in an empowering light and as authors (and heroes) of their own stories.” Booklist (starred review)

GIVEAWAY!