Blog Tour: The Hurricanes of Weakerville by Chris Rylander

Publisher description:

All his life, Alex Weakerman has had one passion: baseball. Specifically, the Hurricanes of Weakerville, Iowa—the scrappy independent-league team owned by his Grandpa Ira.

Even as team and the town have fallen on tough times, there’s no place Alex would rather be than at the ballpark—a hot dog in one hand, a pencil and scorebook in the other, keeping track of each and every statistic. Alex has never been all that great at playing baseball, but that doesn’t matter. For someone as painfully awkward as Alex, being a fan—and a wiz with baseball stats—is all he needs.

When Grandpa Ira passes away, though, Alex is crushed. He’s lost his best friend, and he doesn’t see any way that the team will survive. But Ira, it seems, has one last trick up his sleeve: his will names Alex the new manager of the Hurricanes.

Alex is as excited as he is terrified at the chance to finally put some of his fantasy baseball genius to use. But as he sets to work trying to win over the players, he soon learns that leading them to victory is about more than just stats. Will he be able to save his team, his hometown, and his family legacy?

The Hurricanes of Weakerville by Chris Rylander is The Sandlot meets Field of Dreams meets A League of Their Own. As someone who is not a lover a baseball the sport, but loves a good baseball story, this book fills all the satisfying notes of a good baseball story: quirky characters, a David vs. Goliath trope, and a satisfying resolution. 

About the Author:

Chris Rylander is the author of the acclaimed and bestselling “Fourth Stall” saga, the “Codename Conspiracy” trilogy, and co-author of book three in the New York Times bestselling “House of Secrets” series. He lives in Chicago, where he eats a lot of raspberry jam and frequently tries to befriend the squirrels on his block.

Publishing June 28, 2022

The Hurricanes of Weakerville Blog Tour Stops

6/21 Nerdy Book Club @nerdybookclub

6/22 A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust @bethshaum

6/23 Teachers Who Read @teachers_read

6/27 LitCoachLou @litcoachlou

6/28 Bluestocking Thinking @bluesockgirl

6/29 Walden Tumblr @waldenpondpress

7/1   Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers @grgenius

It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-13-22

 

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.

Join me this Wednesday at 7 PM ET for NCTE's Build Your Stack virtual event: The Best Books of the 2021-2022 School Year. Thanks Jen Vincent for inviting me to participate! You don't have to be an NCTE member to attend, but you do have to register in order to attend. 

I recently read and enjoyed:

The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley

The Name She Gave Me is perfect for readers who loved Robin Benway's Far From the Tree. This book is a reminder that adoption isn't just about saving a life, it also leaves scars and there can be harm, trauma and dysfunction within adoptive families just as much as biological families. This book publishes on June 21st and I'm already planning on ordering a copy for my school library since I have quite a few students who loved Far From the Tree so I know they will devour this book. 

Noodle and the No Bones Day by Jonathan Graziano, illustrated by Dan Tavis

This book is an absolute delight. Jon Graziano and Noodle the pug have stolen our hearts on social media with their daily “readings” of whether it’s a Bones Day or No Bones Day. Jon Graziano has reminded us all what a joy and privilege it is to take care of a senior dog with all their quirks and frustrations. I especially love the message in this book to listen to your intuition and take care of yourself based on what your body is telling you to do rather than just powering through for the sake of The Hustle. For that reason it’s a great book for kids AND adults.  The Blur by Minh Le, illustrated by Dan Santat Minh Le and Dan Santat are required reading. Always. Great book for graduations in lieu of Oh the Places You'll Go. Currently (still) reading: Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd Currently reading with my ears: Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day Purchasing books from any of the above Bookshop affiliate links support independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale.

It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-6-22

 

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.

Join me next week, June 15 at 7 PM ET for NCTE's Build Your Stack virtual event: The Best Books of the 2021-2022 School Year. Thanks Jen Vincent for inviting me to participate! You don't have to be an NCTE member to attend, but you do have to register in order to attend. 

I recently read and enjoyed: 

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

A wonderful middle grade novel that delves into the world of the wrongly convicted in both a gentle way but also in a way that pulls no punches. Highly recommend for classroom and school library collections. Moonflower by Kacen Callender An incredibly innovative book by Kacen Callender that turns the experience of living with depression into a fantastical world of going into a spirit realm. For some readers this will be the exact book they need. For others it will be triggering. I found it to be both, which is why, despite the short page length, it took me over a month to complete. As teachers and librarians, we need to be aware that just because students might identify with the main character's struggles, it might be too tender a subject for them to read at a given time. I recently had a student tell me that she really enjoys reading books about other kids' mental health struggles because it makes her feel less alone. But for another student who is in the throes of their own depression, this might not be the right book at the right time.  The Passenger: How a Travel Writer Learned to Love Cruises and Other Lies from a Sinking Ship by Chaney Kwak This book describes the author's harrowing experience on the ill-fated Viking Sky cruise that almost met disaster in March of 2019. What was supposed to be an easy free-lance travel writing gig turned into the most difficult 27 hours of Chaney Kwak's life. The book reads like the plot of a disaster movie. The Passenger is a quick, easy, and satisfying read. Currently reading: Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd Currently reading with my ears: Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain Purchasing books from any of the above Bookshop affiliate links support independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5-23-22

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 and enjoyed:

Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World by Scott Keyes

When a book completely changes the way you think about travel, that warrants 5 stars. While it is full of tips, details, and examples of how to find cheaper airfare, it can be boiled down essentially to this: find a cheap flight first, then build your trip around that rather than choosing the destination first.

While that is an oversimplification of the book, that beginning premise helps the reader with a mindshift about travel and how it's better to approach travel by taking more, cheaper flights than fewer expensive ones.

Too bad the pandemic made me a tad agoraphobic, but now that I have this information in my back pocket, I can start thinking about the potential for travel again.

Gibberish by Young Vo

Gibberish tells the story of a young boy named Dat who is new to the English language and what that feels like to be the new kid at school who doesn't understand everyone. That story arc isn't new, but the way Young Vo tells it and illustrates it is unlike anything I've seen before. His use of black and white cartoonish illustrations for Dat's surroundings along with emojis for dialogue that he doesn't understand really immerses the reader into Dat's world of unknowing. As Dat becomes more attuned to the English-speaking world and begins understanding more, his surroundings become more colorful and less cartoonish.

This book is brilliant and so incredibly innovative. I'm calling it now: 2023 Caldecott medalist. I will be shocked if it doesn't at least win an honor.

How to Hug a Pufferfish by Ellie Peterson

A sweet and humorous book about consent about a good-natured pufferfish who just... prefers a heads-up if you want to hug him. And important book to add to the collection of books that are currently written about consent. Pair with Can I Give You a Squish by Emily Neilson. School is Wherever I Am by Ellie Peterson Learning happens everywhere... it doesn't have to only be in a building we call school. The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Leo Espinosa A tribute to the joys of summer when kids played in the street and always knew to come home when the streetlights came on with not an electronic device in sight. Currently reading: Moonflower by Kacen Callender Currently reading with my ears: From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

It's Monday! What are you reading? 5-16-22

 

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.

Here's a recent TikTok I made of middle grade books to put on your radar:

@bibliophilebeth #booktok #middlegrade #librariansoftiktok #schoollibrarian ♬ Pirates Of The Caribbean - Main Theme - He's A Pirate - Geek Music

I recently read and loved:

We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp, illustrated by Julie Flett

While I am not a parent, even this book made me emotional imagining reading this to my own child. The poetic text is made even more beautiful with the gentle illustrations. A great book to gift to new parents.

See You Soon by Mariame Kabe, illustrated by Bianca Diaz

Queenie must spend the next two years with her grandmother while her mother is in jail. See You Soon is a picture book that asks adult and kid readers alike to emotionally invest in a family story that often doesn't get told in the pages of a children's book. This book is a beautiful testament to the love shown in all kinds of families, particularly the ones that are often othered by those who are part of a "traditional" middle class family who frequently see their stories told in the pages of books.

Pair this with Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Pena and use it as a reading ladder to Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.

To Change a Planet by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell

Christina Soontornvat has written a picture book that addresses climate change both with urgency and hope. The economy of language in this book is also worth noting... there are no superfluous words. Everything is so carefully placed and precise without sounding like it's trying too hard. Currently reading: Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World by Scott Keyes Currently reading with my ears: Notorious by Gordon Korman

It's Monday! What are you reading? 5-9-22

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.

It's been a heavy week, friends. I hope you are all taking care of yourselves and have the support you need. 

Since the last time I posted, I decided, after the announcement of the person who will soon be buying Twitter, along with the steady decline of that platform and how people behave and use it, I've decided that I'm likely going to delete my account. I still have my account for now, but will no longer be actively using it. If you'd like to engage with me via social media, feel free to follow me on Instagram or TikTok.

I recently read and enjoyed:

Now What? How to Move Forward When We're Divided (about Basically Everything) by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers

As a longtime and loyal listener of Pantsuit Politics (as well as a show contributor by creating a teaching guide for their infrastructure series and also created an episode for their premium channel for teacher appreciation week called 5 Things Teachers Wish the General Public Knew) I didn't find necessarily anything new in this book. After listening to Sarah and Beth multiple times per week for the past six years, this book was a way to reinforce their greatest hits in writing. I enjoyed reading it and spending more time with them, but I didn't necessarily feel like there were any new revelations. For those picking this book up without having that experience with them, this book will be revelatory. To me it was a nice visit with some ladies who have felt like friends for the past six years. Suggested Reading by David Connis When an elite private school's administration and board vote to put a list of 50 books on their "prohibited media" list (interesting how they don't want the students to use the word banned), Clara Evans decides to run an underground library out of her locker. Welp. This book has become even more relevant and prescient in 2022 than when it was published in 2019. Starfish by Lisa Fipps She had me at: "It's unknown how many students' lives librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch," on p. 31 I finished this book last night and haven't gotten Ellie's story out of my head all day.  The Wild Garden by Cynthia Cliff Jilly and her grandfather love exploring the wild place near their village where they forage for food as well as observe the animals and plant life, so when the townspeople decide to expand their community garden into the wild place, Jilly and her grandfather know they must do something to bring awareness to the community that a bigger garden doesn't necessarily make a better garden. Currently reading: Moonflower by Kacen Callender Currently reading with my ears: Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore

It's Monday! What are you reading? 4-25-22

 

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.

I recently attended my first in-person author event since the pandemic began and it was for 2022 Printz Award winner Angeline Boulley. Here is my recap about the amazing event.

I recently read and loved:

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander

I still need to sit and process what an important book I just read. From Kwame's opening " Note from the Author" to the very last page, I was completely immersed in the story and could feel its gravitas as I was reading. The second I closed the book, I started looking into the history behind the story because I knew from reading it that there was so much I didn't actually know. And that is the mark of a great author of historical fiction: to reveal a moment of history through fiction that many people didn't know about and inspire them to learn more. I hope this book will also be a catalyst to move beyond Euro-centric history and compel readers, both kids and adults alike, to learn more about African history that is rarely or never taught in school in the U.S.

Abdul's Story by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Tiffany Rose

A beautiful book about a young boy who struggles with writing but loves telling stories and what an impact a visit from an author makes on how he views himself as a writer. I'm Terrified of Bath Time by Simon Rich, illustrated by Tom Toro You think kids are scared of bathtime? Wait till you hear from the bathtub. A humorous story with clever illustrations that is sure to put any kid's mind at ease who is afraid of bathtime by making them laugh out loud.  Anglerfish: Sea Devil of the Deep by Elaine M. Alexander, illustrated by Fiona Fogg A page-turning books with captivating illustrations all about the fascinating creature that patrols the midnight zone of the ocean with its bioluminescence. Currently reading: Now What? How to Move Forward When We're Divided (about Basically Everything) by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers Currently reading with my ears: Suggested Reading by David Connis Purchasing books from any of the above Bookshop affiliate links support independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale.