Monday, December 14, 2015

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12/14/15


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.



Last Weeks' Posts


Picture Books


Tulip and Rex Write a Story (2015) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and illustrated by Sarah Massini. This book is a follow-up to Tulip Loves Rex and features the same main characters. In this book, Tulip and Rex receive a wonderful present - a blank book and a new leash - which prompts them to take a walk. This walk turns into a hunt for new words, which form the beginning of a fantasy story. This is a cute book for encouraging kids to pay attention to their lives for story ideas.


Goodnight, Good Day (2015) by Mary Lyn Ray and illustrated by Rebecca Malone. This adorable bedtime story follows around an amorphous yellow dog who is not ready to go to bed. Aimed at the toddler-set, the book offers some good advice for getting ready for bed, including imagining that you are tired and dreaming up the next morning.


Kindergarten Luck (2015) by Louise Borden and illustrated by Genevieve Godbout. Our librarian shared this book with me this week - she really enjoyed its message about how a positive outlook can impact your day in a positive way. For me, the message didn't come through quite so clearly. Most of things that happen during the day are positive. I think it might have been a stronger book if something actually negative occurred that Theodore was able to work through due to his sunnier outlook.


Two is Enough (2015) by Janna Matthies and illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. This is a new book to add to my collection of books that celebrate the diversity of and within families. This book is a rhyming ode to two-person families (specifically, a parent or a grandparent and a child) and takes you on a journey through the seasons of the year, beginning in winter and wrapping up in fall. I think an Author's Note would have been a welcome addition here, to help children understand how common two-person families might be and to help guide them towards recognizing the commonality of this kind of family rather than just seeing it as "other."

Middle Grade


The Marvels (2015) by Brian Selznick. I have been patiently waiting my turn in the public library queue for this incredible book, letting students pass around the school library's copies. It was well-worth the wait. In this third book in his wordless-picture-book-exploded-into-novel-length style, The Marvels turn meta-narrative as the first story (told solely through the pictures) becomes entwined with the second (told in text), which makes for an incredible read.

The Marvels was also a topic of discussion in a session I attended at NCTE dealing with the lack of LGBTQ books for Intermediate readers (or middle grade - those between picture books and young adults). One of the speakers made the point that some books with LGBTQ characters or issues are "invisible" in many ways, because book summaries, trailers, and even library cataloging schemes fail to highlight or even mention potential links. Book reviews and trailers for this book tend to skip or gloss over the fact that one of the main characters in the book is a gay man who lost his partner to AIDS. I wonder whether some reviews did so intentionally to avoid stirring up potential controversy ...

Happy reading!

13 comments:

  1. I didn't know that about The Marvels! And I've skimmed plenty of reviews! Interesting.... I've been saving The Marvels for rainy day reading, when I have a big chunk of time to read. Maybe over the holidays? I love everything Brian Selznick, so I have high expectations!

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    1. I do not think you will be disappointed. I did not like Wonderstruck as much as Hugo, but I adore the Marvels! (Right after I finished reading the library copy, a student gave me an autographed copy as a present - bonus!)

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  2. I still haven't read any of David Selznick's books. Whenever it occurs to me to try, the books are checked out from my media centers. I was also unaware of the gay character. Here's my week. Happy reading!

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    1. All of Brian Selznick's books are incredible. You should haunt the return bin at the library and snag one on its way in!

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  3. I'm always happy to see new books that reflect the diversity of families in our communities, it's always so exciting for children to see families that they can relate to featured in picture books. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, Jane! It is wonderful how many new books are coming out that celebrate such diversity without making it the main issue.

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  4. Interesting insight on The Marvels. I just finished reading it and as I have been preparing my summary, I have not highlighted or mentioned the main character's sexuality. I'm not sure why, however. Perhaps it's because Selznick does a wonderful job of making a nod to lgbt instead of making it a social justice novel. But maybe I left it out because it wasn't an overt focal point? Your review has given me much to think about on this topic.

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    1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kelsey. It is interesting, isn't it? It isn't a story "about" a gay character, but it is an integral part of the story at the same time. I look forward to reading your review!

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  5. Quiet censorship/omission of details in The Marvels. I haven't read it yet, but it is something I've picked up on. I am afraid that you are likely right. This kind of stuff drives me batty.

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    1. Agreed. I had avoided reading reviews of the book because I wanted the pleasure of discovering it for myself while reading it, but for folks who depend on reviews, it is a sad state of affairs.

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  6. We wondered the same thing when we read The Marvels - Thanks for talking about this in your post. Why isn't it in the reviews? A good question for us to ponder.

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    1. I'd love to hear if you came to any conclusions or hypotheses about it. I really wonder about the intentionality of it all - and what it says about the writers (and readers) of such reviews.

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  7. I love The Marvels for a variety of reasons - one of which is the fact that the inclusion of a gay character didn't seem like a token addition for me, it was not the heart of the story, yet it remained an integral part of the narrative. :)

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