Kellee – Page 66 – Unleashing Readers

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

January 25, 2022 by Kellee

Tidesong
Author and Illustrator: Wendy Xu
Published November 16, 2021 by Quill Tree Books

Summary: Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and The Tea Dragon Society, this is a magically heartwarming graphic novel about self-acceptance and friendship.

Sophie is a young witch whose mother and grandmother pressure her to attend the Royal Magic Academy–the best magic school in the realm–even though her magic is shaky at best. To train for her entrance exams, Sophie is sent to relatives she’s never met.

Cousin Sage and Great-Aunt Lan seem more interested in giving Sophie chores than in teaching her magic. Frustrated, Sophie attempts magic on her own, but the spell goes wrong, and she accidentally entangles her magic with the magic of a young water dragon named Lir.

Lir is trapped on land and can’t remember where he came from. Even so, he’s everything Sophie isn’t–beloved by Sophie’s family and skilled at magic. With his help, Sophie might just ace her entrance exams, but that means standing in the way of Lir’s attempts to regain his memories. Sophie knows what she’s doing is wrong, but without Lir’s help, can she prove herself?

* Featured on the Today Show * An SLJ Best Book of the Year * A Nerdist Best Comic of the Year * A BookRiot Best Book of the Year *

About the Author: Wendy Xu is a bestselling, award-nominated Brooklyn-based illustrator and comics artist.

She is the creator of the middle grade fantasy graphic novel TIDESONG (2021 from HarperCollins/Quilltree) and co-creator of MOONCAKES, a young adult fantasy graphic novel published in 2019 from Oni Press. Her work has been featured on Catapult, Barnes & Noble Sci-fi/Fantasy Blog, and Tor.com, among other places.

You can find more art on her Instagram: @artofwendyxu or on twitter: @angrygirLcomics

Review: Whenever I read that something is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, I get skeptical because Studio Ghibli’s work is just so magical; however, I had no reason to worry when it came to Tidesong. I can see why the publisher compares it to the Studio’s work–it is similarly illustrated (but with a Wendy Xu touch, which I love!), colorful, magical, and has that little extra sense of whimsy that’s hard to describe that I love in fantastical stories.

Sophie is such a great character, too! She represents so many who want to meet the expectations of those around her and whose positivity is crushing under that pressure. And Lir doesn’t seem like he will help her because he is PERFECT, but as we know, you can’t judge people without actually getting to know them.

What a fun and meaningful graphic novel–it is a favorite, and I am so excited to share it with students!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book will be in my school library, and it should be in yours, too! (Or your classroom library or public library!) Your fantasy/magical loving readers will devour this!

Discussion Questions

Why does Sophie not feel confident in her magic?
Why is Sophie forced to move to her great aunt’s house?
How does Lir make Sophie feel? How does Lir change the narrative of the story?
What was your first impression of Sophie’s great aunt? What do we learn about her that changes that impression?
How did Sage and Great Aunt Lan differ in their welcoming of Sophie?
Why is this graphic novel compared to Studio Ghibli?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine by Jo Rioux, Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani, Long Distance by Whitney Gardner, Little Witch Academia by Yoh Yoshinari, This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews, Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson

Recommended For:

**Thank you to SparkPoint Studio for providing a copy for review!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/24/22

January 27, 2022January 24, 2022 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Review & Giveaway: Playing with Lanterns by Wang Yage, Illustrated by Zhu Chengliang

Thursday: Snow Angel, Sand Angel by Lois Yamanaka, Illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

To see what books I’ve been reading, check out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads. I’ll be back next week 🙂

Ricki

I finished Black Canary: Breaking Silence by Alexandra Monir. I love this book, which tells the story of DC Icon Black Canary, whose alter ego is Dinah Lance. There are rich themes related to government control, feminist, and social class. Monir reinterprets the story to connect Dinah’s world with that of Monir’s grandmother’s experiences in Iran (although this is not explicitly stated in the book).

This book! Jason Reynolds writes, and Jason Griffin illustrates Ain’t Burned All the Bright. But it is so much more than this. The writing and illustrations work together in an incredibly powerful way. This book was written in a moleskine and begs to be taught in classrooms. I’ve never read a book that was so connected to the current sociopolitical context of the world.

You Are Not Alone by the Alphabet Rockers (Pictures by Ashley Evans) explores the many instances in which children might feel different from others. At the end of each child’s story, the reader states, “You are not alone.” I really loved the repetition of this story. It felt like a song. My kids really enjoyed shouting YOU ARE NOT ALONE at the end of each story, and it really cemented the message in their brains. I would love to read this to a large classroom of students.

Ricki

I never read Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo last year and have felt like I’ve really missed out. So I am reading it now.

Tuesday: Tidesong by Wendy Xu

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger

Sunday: Guest Post from Punam V. Saxena, Author of Parent Power: Navigate School and Beyond

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

Review & Giveaway: Playing with Lanterns by Wang Yage, Illustrated by Zhu Chengliang, Translated by Helen Wang

January 18, 2022 by Kellee

Playing Lanterns
Author: Wang Yage
Illustrator: Zhu Chengliang
Published January 11, 2022 by Amazon Crossing Kids

Summary: Zhao Di wishes the New Year would never end!

Zhao Di and her friends are excited to go out at night with their paper lanterns and celebrate Chinese New Year. Each holding a unique colorful lantern with a lit candle inside, they admire the breathtaking colors while doing their best to avoid the wind and the sneaky boys in the village. Every night, until the fifteenth day of New Year, Zhao Di and her friends take part in this fun tradition, experiencing the thrill of nighttime in their village. And then—it’s time to smash the lanterns!

In this cheerful book first published in China, readers are invited along with Zhao Di and her friends as they experience all the joy and excitement of this folk Chinese custom. Details about the paper lantern tradition are also included in an author’s note at the end of the book.

Praise:

“A colorful wintry tale ushers in Chinese New Year over two weeks…A charming illustration of childhood memories during the holiday season.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Quiet, elegant passages stud the text…Tenderly detailed gouache paintings by Zhu render the children as small, patterned bundles frolicking against expanses of snow…A quiet celebration of a Northwestern Chinese tradition.” ―Publishers Weekly

About the Creators:

Wang Yage was born in Shaanxi, a central and historical province of China, where the custom of playing with lanterns was once a popular Chinese New Year tradition. A doctor of classical Chinese literature, she teaches at the University of Tibet. Playing with Lanterns is her first picture book. First published in China, the book made the prestigious White Ravens international book list.

Zhu Chengliang is an award-winning Chinese illustrator. Born in Shanghai and raised in Suzhou, he studied at the Department of Fine Art, Nanjing University, and has worked as an author, illustrator, editor, and designer. He was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016, which is the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children’s books. His books have been named one of the Ten Best Illustrated Books by the New York Times and to the IBBY Honor List.

Helen Wang is a writer and translator from the UK. In 2017 she was given a Special Contributor of the Year honor as part of the Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Awards for her work in bringing Chinese children’s literature to English-speaking audiences. Wang has translated novels, picture books, and graphic novels, including Cao Wenxuan’s Bronze and Sunflower, which won the Marsh Christian Award for Children’s Literature in Translation.

Review: What a beautiful celebration of the Chinese New Year and the sharing of a folk tradition! The author takes us through all of the celebrations with imagery that makes the reader feel they are celebrating too as the cracking and popping of fireworks explode, the colorful lanterns swing, and the lantern fire glow in word and in illustration.

I also loved learning about a new tradition that I did not know about! Learning about others’ celebrations and lives is one of my favorite things, and I think it is so important for kids to build a world and empathetic view–Playing with Lanterns will do that as well!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: What a brilliant mentor text for imagery as well as how illustrations & words work together as one to create mood and tell the full story. All of this will make it a wonderful read aloud and an addition that all elementary school & class libraries need!

Discussion Questions:

How did the author use color in the text? How does it affect the reading?
How did the author’s use of imagery add to the story?
How did the imagery and the illustrations work together to create the celebratory mood in the book?
How was the author’s note at the end of the book important for the readers?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Picture books about celebrations or winter holidays

Recommended For:

Giveaway:

One lucky winner will receive a copy of Playing with Lanterns, courtesy of Amazon Crossing Kids (U.S. and Canada addresses).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review & Amazon Crossing Kids for providing a copy for giveaway!!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/17/22

January 17, 2022 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Kellee’s #MustReadin2021 Recap & #MustReadin2022 Intro

Thursday: The Faith of Elijah Cummings: The North Star of Equal Justice by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Laura Freeman

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I am so sorry, but I am going to take a couple more weeks off. I am just a bit overloaded with everything: just my normal life then never knowing how the day is going to go at school, my new UCF course, writing teaching guides, etc. My reading hasn’t been the best right now either because of everything. Thank you for understanding, and I’ll be back on Mondays soon!

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

Snow Angel, Sand Angel by Louis-Ann Yamanaka is such a good book. My kids have asked me to read it so many times now. I will be reviewing it in detail this Thursday!

I reread Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith for a project that I am doing. My goodness, I love this book so much. It confronts stereotypes and erasure head-on and does so unapologetically. If you haven’t read this book yet, I recommend it highly.

Ricki

I am rereading Black Canary: Breaking Silence by Alexandra Monir for the second time this month to prepare for a project. It’s a fantastic story, and I recommend it.

Tuesday: Review & Giveaway: Playing with Lanterns by Wang Yage, Illustrated by Zhu Chengliang

Thursday: Snow Angel, Sand Angel by Lois Yamanaka, Illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs

and

Kellee’s #MustReadin2021 Recap & #MustReadin2022 Intro

January 13, 2022January 11, 2022 by Kellee

I love the Must Read challenge! I took part in 2015-2019 & 2021, so I am happy to join again! It helps me remember to read certain books!

Thank you to Carrie at There’s A Book for That for starting this challenge and to Leigh Ann of A Day in the Life and Cheriee of Library Matters for co-hosting the revival.

For those of you new to the challenge, it has you take a look at the books you wanted to read, but for whatever reason, you have not gotten to them. You then make your own personal list of books you want to commit to (trying to) read.

There is no set number of books and books can be published from any year, in any genre or format, and in any category. These books will not be the only ones you read this year but will be the ones included in your personal challenge.

Visit HERE to see the #MustReadin2021 year end updates!

Visit HERE to see the #MustReadin2022 Roundup!

2021 was my most successful #MustRead challenge I’ve had so far! I finished all but 2 books (40/42)!

For my #MustReadin2022 I let my students choose some titles for me! The ones marked * below are the ones they chose for me; the rest were chosen by me 🙂

The Accidental Hero by Matt Myklusch*
Alice in the Country of Hearts by Quin Rose
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman*
Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Brave Enough by Kati Gardner*
Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester*
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller*
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik*
Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly*
Delirium (and sequels) by Lauren Oliver*
Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie*
The Fire Within by Chris d’Lacey*
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart*
Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
Hunter X Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The Inheritance Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes*
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover*
The Magi by Kevin M. Turner*
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
The Million Dollar Race by Matthew Ross Smith*
Moving Target by Christina Diaz Gonzalez*
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart*
The Nerdy Dozen by Jeff Miller*
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leaderdale
Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney and Robyn Smith
Paradise on Fire by Jewell Parker Rhodes*
Randoms by David Liss*
The Resolutions by Mia Garcia*
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid*
A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams Garcia
Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger*
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo*
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart*
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
The Whisperer by Fiona McIntosh*
Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/10/22

January 16, 2022January 10, 2022 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Kellee’s Favorite Books Read in 2021

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I start teaching my first UCF course, Children’s Literature, this week, so I used this weekend to get ready *SQUEE!!*

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

This week, I reread Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith. It’s such a clever reinterpretation of the Peter Pan myth. I am very excited to be using it in a paper that I am writing. It is written for a middle grade audience but would be appreciated by readers of all ages.

Ricki

I am reading Black Canary: Breaking Silence by Alexandra Monir. So far, it is great!

Tuesday: Kellee’s #MustReadin2021 Recap & #MustReadin2022 Intro

Thursday: The Faith of Elijah Cummings: The North Star of Equal Justice by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Laura Freeman

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

and

Kellee’s Favorite Books Read in 2021

January 4, 2022 by Kellee

2021 is in the books, and I am here to celebrate my favorite books read during the year!

I’m excited for this post because I haven’t done one in a bit since I was on an award committee, but this year I can celebrate!

Here’s a summary of my year in books

Here are my favorites separated into picture books, middle grade, young adult, early readers, kid lit, older nonfiction, and graphic novels/manga!

And there they are!

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

I, obviously, recommend these books wholeheartedly, but they are just 50 of so many amazing books I read in 2021–check out my READ bookshelf on Goodreads to see these & more!