Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/27/20

July 30, 2020July 27, 2020 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: Paint By Sticker Kids: Dinosaurs from Workman

Thursday: Review, Discussion Guide, and Giveaway: Lulu, the One and Only by Lynnette Mawhinney, Illustrated by Jennie Poh
Giveaway open until Wednesday!

Sunday: Student Voices: Homestruck Webcomic by Morgan M. and Melanie S., 8th Grade

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

Kellee

Educator friends: Are you doing okay? So much of our livelihood is in question right now, and I wanted to check on you. My district still is bargaining and there are still a lot of questions, so I know the stress and questioning and sadness are a lot, so I wanted to just say: I see you, you’re awesome, stay safe, do what is best for you and your family, and you’re not alone.

Also, through all of this, is anyone else struggling to be in the mindset to read?My brain just isn’t able to focus for that long–I read every day, just shorter amounts. You’ll notice that I have way less novels than normal in July because of this. I know this, too, is temporary though, so again, if you are feeling this way know: I see you, you’re awesome, and you’re not alone!

Since I last posted at the end of June, here is what I have read and new books I’ve read with Trent:

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I’ve been writing this week, so I’ll report all of the books next week!

Kellee

The book I hope is going to pull me out of my slump: Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
With Trent: Random picture books
And not listening to anything right now since I’m not driving much.

Tuesday: Shifu Orboot Earth: AR-Powered, Interactive Globe

Sunday: Student Voices: Ten Characters I Would Love to Meet by Brooke A., 7th grade

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

An Introduction to the Webcomic Homestuck by Morgan M. and Melanie S., 8th Grade

July 26, 2020 by Kellee

An Introduction to the Webcomic Homestuck by Morgan M. and Melanie S., 8th Grade

Hey! It’s Morgan and Melanie 🙂 Here’s an introduction to our favorite webcomic, Homestuck!

Let’s start with a summary of Homestuck:

4 kids start the end of the world by playing a video game called SBURB. They have to find 12 trolls who are represented by the Zodiac signs in order to save it. Then we come across Walmart-brand mysterio who likes to mess everything up. They also meet another set of kids and trolls who are all old as heck. Follow these 8 teens and their gray alien buddies as we face death (multiple times), teen drama, emotional issues, and the LGBT community. Thank you, Andrew Hussie.

Thank you, Morgan and Melanie, for introducing us to Homestuck!

Review and Giveaway!: Lulu the One and Only by Lynnette Mawhinney, Illustrated by Jennie Poh

July 24, 2020July 23, 2020 by Kellee

Lulu the One and Only
Author: Lynnette Mawhinney
Illustrator: Jennie Poh
Published June 9th, 2020 by Magination Press

Summary: Lulu loves her family, but people are always asking

What are you?

Lulu hates that question. Her brother inspires her to come up with a power phrase so she can easily express who she is, not what she is.

Includes a note from the author, sharing her experience as the only biracial person in her family and advice for navigating the complexity of when both parents do not share the same racial identity as their children.

Praise for Lulu the One and Only! ★“All children will benefit from this pitch-perfect discussion of race, identity, complexity, and beauty.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

About the Author: Lynnette Mawhinney, PhD, is associate professor in the department of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago helping to prepare future urban teachers for the classroom. She’s written several academic books and articles. LULU THE ONE AND ONLY is her first children’s book. Dr. Mawhinney is biracial, like her character Lulu, and an expert on teaching diverse populations and in urban environments. She lives in Chicago. To learn more, and to download a curriculum guide, visit her website: https://www.lynnettemawhinney.com/for-children.

About the Illustrator: Jennie Poh was born in England and grew up in Malaysia (in the jungle). Pen and paper by her side at all times, she loved drawing princesses and writing stories. At the age of ten she moved back to England and trained as a ballet dancer. After failing her art A-level, Jennie decided the art world was definitely for her so she studied fine art at The Surrey Institute of Art & Design as well as Fashion Illustration at Central St. Martins. Jennie lives in Surrey, England.

Review: Representation matters, and I am so happy that Lulu is out in the word for the readers who need her to relate to and those who need her to learn about others. As Dr. Mawhinney shares in the Author’s Note, there are complexities of being a biracial child because their parents may not “understand the perspective of their children, and sometimes mixed-race children can feel alone in their experiences.” Lulu has her brother in the story to help her with THAT question, and now readers have Lulu if they don’t have a Zane. The book is also great for readers of any race to have an example of biracialism in a book.

Aside from the importance of the book and the brilliance that Dr. Mawhinney dealt with introducing Lulu’s race, it is also a well crafted book. I love Lulu’s voice–I could hear her talking to me as I read. I also liked the resolution because it was a great example for children.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Dr. Mawhinney has a Curriculum and Activity Guide for Lulu the One and Only!

Flagged Passages:

Watch the fun book trailer!

Read This If You Love: Hair Love by Matthew Cherry; The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson; Dear Girl by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; I Am Enough by Grace Byers; I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown; Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

Recommended For:

Giveaway!:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review and giveaway!**

Paint by Sticker Kids: Dinosaurs

July 21, 2020 by Ricki

Paint By Sticker Kids: Dinosaurs
Published July 21, 2020 by Workman Publishing Company

Summary: Create pictures of 10 awesome dinosaurs… with stickers!

Step 1: Find the sticker
Step 2: Peel the sticker
Step 3: Place the sticker

…and watch your dinosaur painting come to life!

Includes everything you need to create ten sticker paintings on sturdy stock––plus, all the pages are perforated, making it easy to tear out each finished work to frame and share.

Features fascinating dinosaur facts on the back of each painting!

Ricki’s Review: This book is a gift to parents. I mean…kids! My 6-year-old spent three hours (no lie) working on three of these. It teaches him to focus, and it is helping him improve his fine motor skills. My 3-year-old, who is almost 4, finds it a bit more difficult. He can place the stickers, but he has trouble with the numbers and peeling the stickers off. I would say the sweet spot for this book would start at about 4.5 years old and continue up through adulthood. I am tempted to buy the adult version for myself, but the kid version would bring just as much joy. As a child, I loved paint by number, and this is paint by number without the mess! I offered to buy paint by number for my 6-year-old, but he said he preferred this sticker version and that it was more fun.

Above, you can see the three pages that took my 6-year-old three hours to complete. He wanted to do a fourth, but I told him to take a break! We’ll definitely be buying the kids some of the other Paint by Sticker books for holidays. 😉

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This is a great book to teach numbers. There are about 60 stickers on each page, and finding the stickers allows children to look at the numerical order of the stickers. My 6-year-old chose to go in sequential, increasing order, so it reinforced his number sense. (My 3-year-old preferred to peel stickers at random, but he was still forced to think about how the numbers were structured.) I could easily see this book at a freetime station or in a fast finishers bin. The pages easily perforate!

Read This If You Love: Interactive activity books filled with fun and educational activities; paint by number

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Workman Publishing for providing a copy for review!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/20/20

July 20, 2020 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: PlayShifu’s Plugo Letters, Count, and Link

Thursday: The Baby-Sitters Club

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

Sunday: Student Voices: Favorite Book Quotes by Duda V. and Angelina D., 8th grade

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

Kellee

While I take my summer break from IMWAYR, you can see what I’m reading by checking out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

Hi! I am working hard on getting a book written, so I’m out today. I hope you all are well!

Tuesday: Paint By Sticker Kids: Dinosaurs from Workman

Thursday: Review and Giveaway: Lulu, the One and Only by Lynnette Mawhinney, Illustrated by Jennie Poh

Sunday: Student Voices: Homestruck Webcomic by Morgan M. and Melanie S., 8th Grade

and

Student Voices: Favorite Book Quotes by Duda V. and Angelina D., 8th grade

July 19, 2020 by Kellee

Favorite Book Quotes from Duda V. and Angelina D., 8th grade

Duda

“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.”– Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows
“Better terrible truths than kind lies.” – Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows
“The way Gansey saw it was this: if you had a special knack for finding things, it meant you owed the world to look.”- Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Boys
“Like calls to like.” – Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone
“What we perceive as art, the universe perceives as directions.” – Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep
“You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk.” – Adam Silvera, They Both Die at the End
“There has to be more to life than just imagining a future for yourself. I can’t just wish for the future; I have to take risks to create it.” – Adam Silvera, They Both Die at the End
Either way, we are going to bring beautiful things into the universe.” – Alice Oseman, Radio Silence
“Everyone has a different way of escaping the dark stillness of their mind.” – Marie Lu, Warcoss
One must always be careful of books,” said Tessa, “and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” – Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel
“Life is a book, and there are a thousand pages I have not read.” -Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess
“I’m used to a world that sells me a lie and pretends it’s the truth.” – Scott Reintgen, Nyxia Unleashed
“To be all right implies an impossible phase. We hope for mostly right on the best of our days.”– Marissa Meyer, Heartless
“It is a dangerous thing to unbelieve something only because it frightens you.” – Marissa Meyer, Heartless
“Soft hearts make the universe worth living in.”– Veronica Roth, Carve the Mark

Angelina:

“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.” ~Kiera Cass, The One
“I’ll love you until my very last breath. Every beat of my heart is yours. I don’t want to die without you knowing that.” ~Kiera Cass, The One
“There’s always room for love. Even if it’s as small as a crack in the door.” ~Kiera Cass, The Siren
“The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.” ~Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen
“Beauty can only fight the truth for so long…” ~Soman Chainani, The School for Good and Evil
“You gave me a dead frog for my birthday! To remind you we all die and end up rotting underground eaten by maggots so we should enjoy our birthdays while we have them. I found it thoughtful.” ~Soman Chainani, The School for Good and Evil
“Every locked door has a key. Every problem has a solution.” ~Marie Lu, Warcross
“You mean people don’t like to see hypocrisy in their leadership? Shocking.” ~Marissa Meyer, Renegades
“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.” ~Marissa Meyer, Cinder
“A villain is a victim whose story hasn’t been told.” ~Chris Colfer, The Land of Stories
“’I might be in love with you.’ He smiles a little. ‘I’m waiting until I’m sure to tell you, though.’” ~Veronica Roth, Divergent
“I want to cry because something terrible happened, and I saw it, and I could not see a way to mend it.” ~Veronica Roth, Divergent
“Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s alright to kiss me anytime you feel like it.” ~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
“I’ll never leave you. Love will keep us together. Or glue. Glue works too.” ~Rick Riordan, The Burning Maze
“I give you my heart. I mean metaphorically. Put away that knife.” ~Rick Riordan, The Burning Maze

Thank you, Duda and Angelina, for these amazing quotes!

Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

July 18, 2020July 18, 2020 by Ricki

Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Ban This Book
Author: Alan Gratz
Published: August 29th 2017 by Starscape Books

Hi!

It’s Sofia Martinez again and I just finished reading this amazing book: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz. You definitely would not want to ban Ban This Book. It is for ages 8-12. Ban This Book won a 2020 Nutmeg Book Award in Connecticut. It is a chapter book.

Amy Ann’s favorite book is banned from the library along with others. She decides to make a locker library of all the banned books: the B.B.L.L, the banned books locker library, but when the principal finds out things start to get ugly. For example her favorite librarian gets fired trying to speak up for her. More things happen but I don’t want to be a spoiler.

I really like Ban This Book because it teaches courage. The girl in the book speaks up for her favorite book, something that I would have never done before I read this book. Another reason why I like Ban This Book is because it gives you ideas on what to read next. For example, From the mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg and Matilda by Roald Dahl. The last reason why I like it is because it is very entertaining. I like how it seems real. For example, there are typical arguments with sisters and a bit of sadness and lots of happiness.

A few months ago I was walking in the library and saw Ban This Book on the Nutmeg Book Award shelf and thought it looked nice so I checked it out. Once I got home I changed my mind about it and didn’t want to read it anymore. I put it back in the library bag and started reading some other books, but now I really regret that.

Here are some discussion questions I came up with.

Would you have spoken up for your favorite book?
Would you run away if you had annoying brothers or sisters?
Did you like Ban This Book? Why or why not?
How much do you think Amy Anne likes books?

If you want a book that teaches you something even if you’re a grown up, Ban This Book is perfect. I hope you have tons of fun reading this book!

**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**