Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 4/15/19

April 16, 2019April 15, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Tuesday: #metoo Literature Circle Books

Wednesday: You Are Never Alone by Elin Kelsey

Thursday: Wake Up, Color Pup by Taia Morley

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Why Mix Fantasy and History?” by Angie Smibert, Author of Bone’s Gift and Lingering Echoes

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

Kellee

With Trent

Circle by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen is the perfect end to the trilogy. I like the open ending that leads to conversation.
Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild is the last of the Dog Man books out, so now we are waiting…
Flubby is the star of a new picture book series, and just love him! I find cats to just be so lovable and hilarious, so this series is perfect for me!
Trent chose Fergus and Zeke the last time we were at the book store, and we got to reading it this week, and I just love the mice friends! We have book 2 ordered!

A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel looks at a teen’s decent into mental illness.
The ending of A Grimm Warning is pretty epic! Now I am just waiting for the audio for the next one to be available.
While I wait, I decided to start Gordon Korman’s Island series. Since I loved the Kidnapped audios so much, I thought this would be a great choice.
Oh, everyone, you are going to love Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo. It looks at the final of the three friends (Raymie Nightingale then Louisiana’s Way Home) and is a beautiful story about finding happiness.
Focused by Alyson Gerber is about a middle schooler who is struggling with focusing.

Ricki

This week, I finished listening to Sadie by Courtney Summers. I am so glad that I listened to this one as an audiobook. I loved all of the voices and the podcast style. This is a powerful book.

I am heading off to maternity leave (ahhh!). I have set up lost of posts and reviews in the meantime. I will miss you all, and I am very sorry that I was unable to comment on the last couple of Mondays. Pregnancy is exhausting! I look forward to seeing you all in a couple of months!

Kellee

Reading: Super Jake & the King of Chaos by Naomi Milliner
Audio: Island Book Two: Survival by Gordon Korman
Audio with Trent: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Ricki

I am reading Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead. It’s an adult book that I missed when it came out a year ago. I am really enjoying it, and it is very different from other books that I’ve read. I will report more later (after maternity leave, likely!).

Tuesday: H is for Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z by Sydell Rosenberg

Wednesday: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Thursday: You Choose In Space by Nick Sharratt & Pippa Goodhart

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Talking Trash” by Donna Latham, Author of Garbage: Follow the Path of Your Trash

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

Author Guest Post!: “Why Mix Fantasy and History?” by Angie Smibert, Author of Bone’s Gift and Lingering Echoes

April 14, 2019 by Kellee

“Why Mix Fantasy and History?”

The Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series is a bit hard to categorize. Set in a small Appalachian coal mining community in 1942, both Bone’s Gift and the newest book, Lingering Echoes, mix history with a bit of folklore, mystery, and fantasy/magical realism. Just as her little community is being changed by World War II, Bone Phillips (12) is going through some changes of her own. She’s coming into her Gift, as her Mamaw calls it. Many people in her family have special ability, or Gift. Bone’s is the ability to see the ghosts—or stories—inside ordinary objects. And she needs to use her Gift—which she’s none too happy about—to solve a few mysteries. Why mix fantasy, mystery, and/or magical realism with history (or vice versa), particularly with middle grade readers?

Lately, I’ve been asked this question a lot! My answer has a few parts. First, these are the kind of stories I love. I adore stories that mix genres, such as fantasy and history (or even alternate history) Think The Book Thief, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, The Night Circus, The Discovery of Witches, or the Golem and the Jinni. When I was much younger, I devoured everything Anne Rice or Chelsea Quinn Yarbro wrote. And I started those books for the magicians, witches, and vampires but stayed for the history–much like today’s middle grade readers do.

Secondly, several teachers and librarians have told me they appreciate these series for this very reason. Many kids might not pick up a straight historical novel—but they would devour one that had a mystery, fantastical, and/or scary element. In Lingering Echoes, for instance, Bone has to use her Gift to solve the mystery of an object—in this case a jelly jar—that has a power all its own. All around her, though, World War II is being waged on the home front as well as in battlefields far away. Hopefully, readers will come for the fantasy and mystery and stay for the history!

But, finally, fantasy isn’t just something to draw the readers in. For me, fantasy (and science fiction, too) is essential to what I like to read and write. Fantasy explores and evokes a sense of wonder, which we all desperately need. Children are born with that sense of wonder, a mixture of curiosity and awe about the world. As we get older, though, we tend to lose that sense. And that process of de-wonderfication (just made that up!) starts in the middle grade years. (At least, I think it does.) So, I like to mix fantasy with history (and vice versa) to remind readers (and myself) that magic can even be found in the ghosts of ordinary places, past and present.

Note: On my website, I have a number of lesson plans and activities as well as historical info for teachers and librarians: https://www.angiesmibert.com/blog/?page_id=1861

Read about Bone’s Gift at https://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=15806.

Summary: Bone has a Gift. When she touches certain objects, images wash over her, and she sees stories—the joyful, surprising, or even terrifying events that occurred as someone gripped those objects.

So when Bone’s best friend, Will, brings her an object unlike any other Bone has encountered, he asks her to tell him its story. It’s the jelly jar he inherited from his father—the same jelly jar his father clutched during the coal-mining cave-in that killed him.

Bone only has to put her hand near the jar to feel the strange power in it, to see flashes of her friend—who has been mute for as long as she can remember—talking with his dad. And when Will opens the empty jar, sounds float out.

This jar isn’t just a witness to history; it’s something more, something dangerous. Could it have a Gift of its own? In this second haunting installment of The Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series, Bone must use her wits and her Gift not only to uncover the truth but to make sure Will isn’t sucked away by long-forgotten memories.

About the Author: Angie is the author of the middle grade historical fantasy series, Ghosts of Ordinary Objects, which includes Bone’s Gift (2018), Lingering Echoes (2019), and The Truce (2020). She’s also written three young adult science fiction novels: Memento Nora, The Forgetting Curve, and The Meme Plague. In addition to numerous short stories, she’s published over two dozen science/technology books for kids. Angie teaches young adult and speculative fiction for Southern New Hampshire University’s creative writing M.F.A. program as well as professional writing for Indiana University East. Before doing all this, she was a science writer and web developer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. She lives in Roanoke with a goofy dog (named after a telescope) and two bickering cats (named after Tennessee Williams characters), and puts her vast store of useless knowledge to work at the weekly pub quiz.

This series is really a fascinating look at a the past with a dash of fantasy! Thank you, Angie, for this look into your creative process!

Wake Up, Color Pup by Taia Morley

April 13, 2019April 11, 2019 by Ricki

Wake Up, Color Pup
Author and Illustrator: Taia Morley
Published March 12, 2019 by Random House

GoodReads Summary: A beautiful picture book about a little pup’s colorful journey through the range of his emotions!

A bright yellow bird promises to bring adventure to sleepy Pup’s gray world. As Pup follows his new friend on a walk, each discovery ignites a new feeling and corresponding color, until Pup is saturated with them. But when a storm comes, Pup’s color is drained as fear sweeps through him. Only his curious yellow friend remains bright, and encourages him to keep his chin up, play, and carry on!

This is a remarkably simple and resonant examination of exploration and resilience, and introduces the idea of abstract association.

My Review: I loved the concept behind this book! The puppy is an energetic, spritely character, and he bounces through life and experiences a range of emotions. With each emotion, the page is lit up with color. The story is very sweet, and the rhymes flow well. My two-year-old loves reading this book and is drawn to the colorful pages. It is a great way to practice colors together. If you aren’t convinced that you need to check out this book, I recommend you check out the page spreads featured below. They are really quite captivating.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Kids would have fun creating their own color-engaged stories. They might find a different metaphor than emotions and demonstrate how colors shift through the metaphor.

Discussion Questions: Which color page was your favorite, and why?; How does the author and illustrator demonstrate emotions through color?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Love: Dogs; Photography

About the Author: Taia Morley has worked as a toy and game designer and is an illustrator whose work appears in books and magazines. Her books include My New Big-Kid Bed and some titles in the HarperCollins Let’s Read and Find Out series. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. To learn more, and to download a curriculum guide for her latest book, visit taiamorley.com.

Twitter: @taiamorley

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!!**

You Are Never Alone by Elin Kelsey

April 10, 2019 by Kellee

You Are Never Alone
Author: Elin Kelsey
Illustrator: Soyeon Kim
Published April 15th, 2019 by Owl Kids

Summary: You Are Never Alone is a picture book that explores how humans are inextricably connected to nature.

Drawing examples from the clouds and the cosmos, the seafloor and the surface of our skin, it explores how we are always surrounded and supported by nature. Whether it’s gravity holding us tight; our lungs breathing oxygen synthesized by plants; the countless microorganisms that build our immunity; or the whales whose waste fertilizes the plankton that feed the fish we eat: nature touches every aspect of how we live.

Using lyrical text grounded in current science alongside detailed diorama art, this informational picture book presents the idea that we thrive through connections to the land and sea and sky, and togetherness is key to nature. It encourages inquiry-based learning, inviting readers to wonder, ask questions, observe the natural world, and engage with big ideas.

About the Creators:

Elin Kelsey, PhD, is an award-winning author and a leading spokesperson for hope and the environment. In 2014, she co-created #OceanOptimism, a Twitter campaign to crowd-source and share ocean conservation successes which has reached 90 million users to date. She frequently works on projects with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Stanford University and the University of Victoria and is passionate about engaging kids in hopeful, science-based, environmental solutions.

Soyeon Kim is a Toronto-based, Korean-born artist who specializes in fine sketching and painting techniques to create three-dimensional dioramas. She is a graduate of the Visual Arts and Education programs at York University.

Praise for Elin Kelsey & Soyeon Kim:

“Both important and breathtakingly beautiful.” –Kirkus Reviews, starred, on You Are Never Alone

“The depth of the images and the surprising facts work together to create a lovely connection between the readers and the natural world.” –The Boston Globe on Wild Ideas

“Demands to be read and reread, studied and examined, and thoroughly digested. It is perfect for sparking adult and child conversations about our place in the universe. A remarkable achievement.” –Kirkus Reviews, starred, on You Are Stardust

“This is a work that will be read and examined again and again, with something new to be discovered at every turn. Profound and entirely wonderful.” –Kirkus Reviews, starred, on Wild Ideas

Review: What a beautiful representation of how humans and nature intertwine with each other. Often, when we speak of our impact on our planet and the planet’s impact on us, we focus on very huge ideas that may seem so far away for kids, but You Are Never Alone shows the small things that have a large impact.

The mix of beautiful art and research-based science make for a picture book that covers such a wide range of opportunities for classroom discussions and educational activities including themes, poetic verse, science, and diorama art.

Educators’ Guide:

Flagged Passages:

Behind the Scenes:

Soyeon talks about the process of creating the diorama artwork in the book.

Elin explains the scientific research behind three of the poetic lines in the book.

Read This If You Love: The Perfect Tree by Chloe Bonfield; Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliot; Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayre; Over and Under Snow (and its companions) by Kate Messner

Recommended For:

Teaching Tuesday: #metoo Literature Circle Books

October 28, 2020April 9, 2019 by Ricki

I am in the struggle zone, and I’d love your help. Next semester, I am teaching a co-taught college course with a history professor. Students will be examining several social movements and forms of collective action. The history professor is in charge of the historical background and currency of each social movement, and I am in charge of the stories within the movement. Students will then go on to explore a different social movement of their choosing and read a YA text that relates to the movement. I am VERY excited.

For three weeks, we will be considering the #metoo movement. For whatever reason, I seem to read more books related to issues of race, immigration, sexuality, etc. than books about sexual assault. I’ve created a list of the books I am considering, and admittedly, I’ve only read half of them. Now that I know it is a weak spot, I am going to fix it. However, I’d love your help in narrowing this list to the books that you recommend that I read first.

These are the books that I’ve read and plan to include because they offer a lot of opportunities for discussion:

McCullough, J. (2018). Blood water paint. New York, NY: Dutton.
Reed, A. (2017). The nowhere girls. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.

(Also, excerpts from Kelly Jensen’s Here We Are.)

I need to decide on three more titles. Listed below are the books that I want to read in the next three weeks to see if they will work well within a discussion of the social movement. I am looking for books that are very well-written and that will give much fodder for discussion:

Anderson, L. H. (2019). Shout. New York, NY: Penguin.
Blake, A. H. (2018). Girl made of stars. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Hartzler, A. (2015). What we saw. New York, NY: HarperTeen
Kiely, B. (2018). Tradition. New York, NY: Margaret K. McElderry.
Mathieu, J. (2017). Moxie. New York, NY: Roaring Brook.
Russo, M. (2016). If I was your girl. New York, NY: Flatiron.

I have all of these books on my nightstand, so access isn’t an issue. I plan to read them all within the next couple of months, but I’d love your advice of which I should read first! If I am missing a great book, please let me know. I’d like it to be a book published within the last 3-4 years because students tend to have read books older than that range.

Feel free to message me if commenting isn’t your jam. 😉 Thank you in advance!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 4/8/19

April 14, 2019April 8, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

CONGRATULATIONS
Laura M.
for winning the Yogi giveaway!

Tuesday: Student-Created Interactive Timeline on the Struggle for Equal Rights in America

Wednesday: A Brief History of Life on Earth by Clémence Dupont

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Educators’ Guide!: Bat and the End of Everything by Elana K. Arnold

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature” by Amalie Jahn, Author of The Next To Last Mistake

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

Kellee

I’ll be reviewing As She Fades by Abbi Glines for ALAN Picks, but let me tell you one thing–the twist–whoa!
The Kidnapped series by Gordon Korman was everything I’d want in a series titled Kidnapped. Twists, turns, suspense, surprises, fear, relief… all the best suspenseful emotions!
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus will probably be as popular as her first novel, One of Us is Lying as it keeps the reader guessing just like the first! I will say that the resolution did surprise me, so that is a plus!
Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson was one of those books that you want to throw at the end of it because it is so good yet so heartbreaking and messed up at the same time.
I have a student who devoured Joan Bauer novels in the fall, so I promised her I’d read some of her favorites. I started with Close to Famous and WHOA! Not what I was expecting based on the cover. It is a story about abuse, small town exploitation, chasing your dreams, reading disability, & more.

I just love me some Frog and Toad, and so does Trent. I’ll have to see if we can find another audio to listen to.
Georgia’s Terrific, Colorific Experiment by Zoe Persico shows that science and art go hand-in-hand and neither is better than the other. On top of the message, I adored the illustrations! Look at these:

Ricki

This week, I read On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. I promptly went into my course syllabus for next semester and swapped out another book to include this one. There are so many things that I love about this book. In particular, I really liked how this book tackled the issues of violence against and the assumptions stereotypically made of black females. There are only a few other recent books that tackle these issues, and they are critically important. There are so many other phenomenal aspects of this book. I am sensing a longer blog post…

My students and I read the third edition of Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescescents’ Lives (Edited by Donna E. Alvermann & Kathleen Hinchman). We loved the variety within the book, and each chapter led to rich conversations. The book tackles so many issues that made us think about reforming the practices within literacy classrooms. This book is great for starting conversations and inspiring change.

Kellee

Reading: A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel
Listening: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer
Reading with Trent: Dog Man Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey
Listening with Trent: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Ricki

A few months ago, I started Sadie on my Kindle. I got distracted and forgot to go back to it. I just started the audio, and I am loving it. I think I prefer the audio to the Kindle book for this one.

Stop by tomorrow if you have read several #metoo YA texts. I’d love your advice for my course!

Tuesday: #metoo Literature Circle Books

Wednesday: You Are Never Alone by Elin Kelsey

Thursday: Wake Up, Color Pup by Taia Morley

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Why Mix Fantasy and History?” by Angie Smibert, Author of Bone’s Gift and Lingering Echoes

and

Author Guest Post!: “Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature” by Amalie Jahn, Author of The Next To Last Mistake

April 7, 2019 by Kellee

“Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature”

Kindness, at its very essence, is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Of course, these are all qualities we should all strive to exhibit, but as much as we’d like to think that kindness is something inherent in our society, quite the opposite is true.

Many studies suggest human nature drives us to be competitive instead of kind. It makes sense, since ultimately our very existence is tied to one simple goal: survival based on competition for resources. Our planet has a finite number of these life-sustaining resources so it seems obvious that, as a species, we would do whatever was necessary to make sure we secure enough of those resources for our own survival.

Unfortunately, kindness is actually quite counterintuitive to that.

Because let’s face it, if there are only three apples but four hungry people, what would compel anyone to share with someone else?

The answer, of course, is empathy.

Those people who recognize their own hunger in others are more inclined to share than those who don’t.

Although we are driven to survive through competition, we are also wired to empathize with one another. Empathy is a learned behavior, though the capacity for it is inborn. Think about empathy as an innate ability that needs to be developed. This quality is what ultimately gives us our humanity, but empathetic responses don’t just happen spontaneously. They need to be fostered, and because they aren’t necessarily our ‘go-to’ reaction, this is especially true for those of us who are wired for self-preservation.

Research shows people who value friendships, their social connections, and are embedded in their networks are more likely to display empathy than those who consider themselves outsiders. There’s a caveat to this, of course, and it’s that these empathetic people are inclined to reserve their kindness for the friends who are most like they are. While they show great consideration for the friends they understand, there’s often a limit when it comes to extending that kindness to those they see as “other.”

I believe, if we want to encourage empathy, the first step is to stop dwelling upon these differences and focus instead on those things in life which makes us the same. In essence, we need to embrace the common human experience.

Love, loss, friendship, fear … these are all things every human experiences in life. When we realize that, regardless of age, color, religion, or socioeconomic status, we are all far more alike than we are different and begin to celebrate those things that bind us instead of belaboring the minutia tearing us apart, we’ll be able to achieve our purpose in life – which is to care for one another and to be kind.

This begins with feeling vested in the lives of other people. When we focus on our differences, it’s difficult to experience empathy. However, when we realize just how tethered to one another we truly are, we can begin to see through the veil which separates us and imagine other people’s lives as mirrors of our own.

I firmly believe that simple exposure to other people’s stories through literature will inevitably foster empathy and the capacity for kindness. Because, let’s face it, we all tend to be kindest to people who are most like we are, but if we can see ourselves in people who are different from us and understand that most human experiences are largely universal, we’ll start choosing kindness over competitiveness in our everyday lives. Books are tremendous tools in our arsenal for fostering kindness among the diversity of our world.

Books give us the opportunity to experience life through other people’s stories which often promotes understanding. When we spend 300 pages getting to know a person and their story, we’re more inclined to imagine ourselves in their shoes and empathize with them.

The empathy we develop through reading will inevitably breed kindness in the real world. The connections established inside the stories make it easier to identify and honor the fundamental truths behind our differences.

And when we understand and embrace our differences, kindness becomes our default setting.

About the Author: “Masterful character development and story lines woven with the common threads of human experience make Amalie’s novels relatable to both young and old alike. Her ideas are born from the passions of her own heart which she uses to share her vision of the world with her readers.”

USA Today Bestselling author Amalie Jahn is the recipient of the Literary Classics Seal of Approval and the Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for her debut novel, The Clay Lion. Her latest novel, The Next to Last Mistake, is a character-driven YA contemporary about cows, the power of female friendships, and finding your place in the world. She is a contributing blogger to the Huffington Post and Southern Writers Magazine, as well as a finalist in the 2015 Kindle Book Awards. A TED speaker, human rights advocate, and active promoter of kindness, she lives in North Carolina with her husband, two children, and three extremely overfed cats.

About the Book: The Next to Last Mistake speaks to the beauty and richness that fills life when we cross race and culture to find common ground, forge new friendships, and challenge our own world view. Amalie’s novel speaks to a deep need in today’s America and will inspire young readers to reexamine the relationships in their lives.

Tess Goodwin’s life in rural Iowa is sheltered and uncomplicated. Although she chooses to spend most of her free time playing chess with her best friend Zander, the farm-boy from next door, her skills as a bovine midwife and tractor mechanic ensure that she fits in with the other kids at West Hancock High. But when her veteran father reenlists in the Army, moving her family halfway across the country to North Carolina, Tess is forced out of her comfort zone into a world she knows nothing about.

When Leonetta Jackson is assigned as her mentor, she becomes Tess’s unexpected guide through the winding labyrinth of cultural disparities between them, sparking a tentative friendship and challenging Tess to confront her reluctant nature. As the pieces move across the board of her upended life, will Tess find the acceptance she so desperately desires?

Thank you to Amalie for this post that truly embodies much of what we believe about how reading can help change the world!