It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 7/20/18

#IMWAYR

The weekly post where I recap some of the KidLit books I've been reading. Ocasionally, I'll also talk about some adult fiction books as well.

Be sure to check out Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers to see what other Kidlit readers are reading. Because, you know, we can never have too many books in our TBR piles.

____________________

Board Books

La Catrina: Emotions - Emociones

by Patty Rodriguez & Ariana Stein

Lil' Libros, 2017

We. loved. this. book. The illustrations are so bright and wonderful. Each page has an emotion in both Spanish and English. In the 3 weeks that I had it home from the library, I bet I read it at least 50 times (I'm not kidding). Now my 20 month old son toddles around the house making all the hand motions to accompany the emotion (hand to the cheek with a shocked expression for surprise/sporendido, scratching his head for confused/confundido). He even walks up and says "amada" while giving us hugs. We will be buying this one for our home.

Animal Colors

by Christopher Silas Neal

little bee books, 2018

This was a fantastic read and a very creative color concept book. I love the mash up of both the colors and the wacky animals. What does a blue whale and a yellow lion make? A green whion of course!

Picture Books

Hank and Stella in Something For Nothing

by Damian Synadinos 

Proving Press, 2018

I haven't ever seen a book that introduces kids to improv before. It was a fun read that would make for a great rainy day book. I especially like the improv games included as back matter to get the creative juices going. You can read my full review here.

Poetry 

Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs

poems by Carol Murray

illustrations by Melissa Sweet

Henry Holt and Co., 2017

This was a wildly fun read. The poems were playful and informative. And the illustrations were fantastic too. My daughter and I both loved the nonfiction tidbits that accompanied each poem. 

Middle Grade

The Wild Robot

by Peter Brown

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016

I cannot heap enough praise on this book as a read-aloud. My daughter and I read this together and it is simply wonderful. The chapters are super short, which make bedtime (or classroom) reading perfect because there is always an easy stopping point. The characters are all so lovable. My daughter especially enjoyed Chit Chat, the squirrel, who talks exactly how you'd picture a squirrel to talk. We cannot wait to pick up the sequel.

Circus Mirandus

by Cassie Beasley

Dial Books, 2015

Cassie Beasley is one of my new favorite authors. I read Tumble and Blue earlier in the year and thought it was wonderful. Circus Mirandus is just as good. I love a good circus story and Beasley does such a fantastic job of bringing the magic to life. She also does a magnificent job of taking serious, sorrowful topics (like the death of a loved one or a parent abandoning a child) and wrapping it in a story filled with magical realism and tangible characters so that the topics can be easily digested by a young reader. She doesn't pander, but delivers real emotions in a way that young readers can understand.

Young Adult

The Hate U Give

by Angie Thomas

Balzar + Bray, 2017

narrated by Bahni Turpin

HarperAudio 2017

I feel like I am late getting to this one, but I am so glad I finally read it. This book needs to be read and anyone and everyone. Sometimes I worry when tons of hype is put into something but the hype is absolutely well deserved. I listened to the audiobook and it was one of the best performed audiobooks that I have ever listened to. So so good and impactful. This book has the power to make change happen. I cannot wait to see the movie. 

Adult Fiction

The Supernatural Enhancements

by Edgar Cantero

Doubleday, 2014

I read Cantero's Meddling Kids last year and really enjoyed it--it's probably my favorite adult fiction book from the last few years. So I picked up this one and really liked it as well. It is basically a Victorian gothic horror story set in Virginia in the 1990s. Cantero walks the line of giving the reader just enough information to push the story forward while leaving a lot in the dark until the end. All around a fun read. His next book, This Body's Not Big Enough for the Both of Us--a hard boiled mystery where the protagonist detective is a set of twins stuck in one body--comes out in two weeks and I'm really excited to pick it up.

The Great Alone

by Kristin Hannah

St. Martin's Press, 2018

Excellent, excellent book. A lot about this struck home for me, which made it quite personal. I could really relate to Leni's circumstance. The descriptions of the Alaskan frontier were beautiful and wild. I felt like I was right there with the Allbrights. I especially liked how it is a very satisfying ending , but it's not wrapped up in a pretty bow and perfect. It felt real. Highly recommend. 

Nonfiction - Craft

Writing Irrestistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers

by Mary Kole 

Writer's Digest Books, 2012

One of my writing group members lent me this book and it is fantastic. Because I have such a small amount of time to write, I have been looking for a book that could help me outline my current work-in-progress. This book was helpful during the planning stages of my novel and I believe it will also be very helpful during the revision stages as well. I will be adding this to my bookshelf for future reference. 

SOMETHING FROM NOTHING by Damian Synadinos - Informational PB Review

Hank and Stella in Something from Nothing

by Damian Synadinos

At a Glance

Genre(s):

Informational picture book

Age Range: 

ages 5-10, but can be enjoyed by anyone who is interested in improv

Plot:

"Hank and Stella in Something from Nothing" is an engaging story with cute characters that introduces children to improv principles and skills that are as useful on stage as they are at play and in life" (source).

The story follows two stuffed animals as they make a boring rainy day more fun by learning about imrov.

Strengths:

• makes improv easy to understand for young children
• illustrations are bright and engaging
• a great tool when children say "I'm bored"
• a great tool to teach that it's okay to make mistakes

Would I recommend this title:

Yes, especially to those who are interested in improv

Full Review

I have seen various books on how to do improv, but they have always been geared towards adults or older teens. Enter Something from Nothing by Damian Synadinos, a picture book that teaches children the principles of improvisation in a fun and engaging way.

Hank and Stella show young readers how to play together, how to build their confidence and how to develop their imaginations. I especially like the fact that the book teaches children that it is okay to make mistakes and that we can grow and build on those small accidents.

One concept in the book is the "Yes, And" rule. It teaches a skill that I think is invaluable throughout life. Part of creativity and brainstorming in a team is building on what others say. Instead of shooting down and idea, you say "yes" and then continue to add your own input. This promotes innovation and collaboration.

I also love that the book comes with a list of improv games to get kids going. I can't wait to try them out with my own kids as I think that they will have a blast trying them out.

Overall, this is an excellent book for showing kids how much fun improv can be, and  that it doesn't have to be scary. The idea of standing up and performing on the spot kind of terrifies me. Maybe it wouldn't be so scary if I had something like this when I was a kid.

Reset Refresh Rebound

2 months without a post. What have I been up to, you may ask?

Read 5 books. All were good. Really enjoyed What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by  Randall Munroe. It is basically the book version of Randall’s blog and is hilariously informative. I also enjoyed reading with my daughter Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa. I picked up Bird Box by Josh Malerman because I was nominated for a Bram Stoker award. It was entertaining and a bit creepy. I am actually excited that this one is being made into a movie because the book is very streamlined and adaptable, in my opinion.

I also went and saw Alien: Covenant. I know a lot of people are not happy with the direction that Ridley Scott has taken the prequels, but I am loving them. Watched Boss Baby with the family too. Enjoyable and funny.

Writing over the past few months has been hit or miss. I’ve submitted 4 pieces to various magazines over the past few weeks. And I have a writing conference coming up that I am excited about. I failed abysmally at my poem a day goal back in April and I don’t have any final book drafts completed. But at least I’ve been working.

Here are my June goals:

• Go to writing conference
• Get draft of picture book done before conference
• Have final draft done by end of month
• Write 3 poems for an instagram poetry competition
• Get caught up on my reading goal

Books, Movies, and Non-Newtonian Fluids

Two months into the year and I am already behind in my reading. February was an all around slow month. I felt like I was moving through a non-Newtonian fluid most of the time. But we all have rough patches, so hopefully I’ll perk up a bit and get some more writing and reading done.

Of all the books I read in February, I can definitely say that James Herriot’s All Things Bright and Beautiful was my favorite (it’s the only book I finished last month). I loved the 1st book in the series and the 2nd was just as good. When I was younger, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Not sure what changed, but reading Herriot’s books makes me slightly regret the shift.

 I love the outdoors and I love animals, so reading about the rolling hills and green grasses of Yorkshire kind of makes me pine after that lifestyle. John’s always talking about how he would love to move back to Europe. Maybe it’s not to late!

The Oscars have come and gone. We ended up making it through 5 of the 9 Best Picture nominees. My favorite of the 5 was Manchester by the Sea. Not a happy film by any stretch but it did feel real, grounded and satisfying.

I also got in a few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Every time I put one on, it just makes me happy. Can’t go wrong with some Star Trek. And I finally watched an episode or two of Supernatural. I was actually surprised that it was kind of creepy and not really cheesy. I plan on slowly making my way through the series.

I wish there were more good sci-fi/fantasy programs that were 30 minutes long. It’s difficult for me to justify sitting down for an hour at a time when I could be writing or reading. Many of the shows that I enjoy, John doesn’t like, so I end up trying to watch an episode here or there during the day. Don’t get me wrong— I know John would sit down and watch something I exclusively like, but I much prefer to see something that we’re both interested in watching.

My goal this month is to read 5 books and see a few films in the theater. Check by the 1st week in April to see if I'm able to do it.

2016 Reading in Review: My Top 3 Books

2016 ended up being an interesting year of reading. Like previous years, I set a goal to read 52 books—one for each week. In that regard, I failed miserably with a mere 21. Between going back to work, being exhausted and sick for 9 months, moving across country, and then having a newborn at home, I just fell short. But it wasn’t a total bust because I broadened my horizons and explored a new format: the graphic novel.

I have attempted to read graphic novels in the past, but found them frustrating. Text heavy panels made the art feel secondary and sluggish. I felt like I spent so much time reading the text that I would only do a cursory glance at the images before moving forward. Simply put, the text was the driving force in the storytelling, which is fine if I am reading a novel, but why have the artwork? Clearly, I hadn’t been reading the right graphic novels.

This year, I discovered a number of graphic novels that had a perfect balance of text and art. In my opinion, a good graphic novel is a lot like a good picture book. All of the fat is trimmed off of the text so that the artwork is able to progress the story just as much, if not more, than the words. In most of the graphic novels I read this year, the text in each panel was necessary to drive the story forward, but allowed the artwork to shine and also further the plot. One graphic novel* even made my top 3 books for the year.

So, without further ado, here’s Becky’s Top 3 Books Read in 2016

Honorable Mention—Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

Normally, my reading preferences are strictly fiction. I am slightly embarrassed to say I do not remember the last nonfiction book I read before this one. Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir of a Yale Law School graduate who grew up in Appalachia and later moved when his family attempted to escape the poverty of the region.

Hillbilly Elegy resonated with me because I saw my own family is Vance’s family. I grew up in Appalachia and my family moved to Florida for many of the same reasons Vance’s family moved to the Rust Belt. And, like him, the Appalachian culture followed my family when we moved. While the book doesn’t present any solutions to the problems facing Appalachian families, it does give insight into a group that is oft-times mistakenly looked down upon and disregarded as a bunch of illiterate hillbillies.

#3—The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden

I stumbled across The Casquette Girls by accident while perusing the new Prime Reading on Amazon. I knew nothing about the book and borrowed it on a whim. My biggest problem-not-problem with the book is that I did not know that it was the 1st in a series when I started reading—and the next book in the series doesn’t come out until May! It is a Southern Gothic set in New Orleans after a massive hurricane demolishes the landscape. I especially enjoyed how Arden weaves New Orleans history into the story. This could have easily been my top choice for the year.

#2—The October Faction—Steve Niles and Damien Worm

So here’s the graphic novel* that made the list.  I loved this! The October Faction is Indiana Jones if he was a monster hunter instead of an archaeologist and if his family was the Addams Family instead of Sean Connery. The artwork is fantastically creepy. Honestly, I debated with making this my top choice of the year, it was that good. I guess I am just a sucker for good horror, and this one fits the bill. I already have The October Faction: Deadly Season (the next story arc) on order at my local comic book shop.

*To be fair, this is a comic book series but I am looking at the entire story arc—and the subsequent compiled volumes—as a completed, stand alone, work.*

#1—Shutter by Courtney Alameda

I picked this book up because it was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and I am glad that I did! I love a fresh take on things that are overdone and Alameda really succeeds in adding some new twists to her paranormal tale. Shutter is a ghost hunter story where the ghosts are exorcised when their energy is captured on film. How incredibly inventive is that?! I can look past mediocre writing if the ideas in the book are highly original. Thankfully, this book was both unique and well written. Since Shutter was so enjoyable, I hope to read a few more from the Bram Stoker Awards list this coming year.


While I didn’t hit 52 books, I feel like I still had a successful year of reading. Below is a short summary of my reading goals for 2017.

• Read 52 books total
• Read 4 nonfiction books
• Read 8 graphic novels
• Read 4 books in genres that I do not usually read
• Read 4 books originally written in a non-English speaking country

What are your reading goals for 2017? Let me know in the comments below!