Some books stick with you long after you’ve put them down. Here are four books I’ve read this month that continue to keep me thinking about the characters I met or mulling over ideas from the author:

You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

You Go First is the new book by Erin Entrada Kelly, who won the 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello Universe. I really enjoyed Hello Universe and even selected it for a 4th and 5th grade book club, but You Go First is her best book yet.  I started reading this during my daughter’s afternoon nap last Saturday and ended up staying up late that same night because I had to finish it. Yet, at the same time, I was savoring every page and so did not want it to end–reader problems! This is one of those books where my husband kept giving me the side eye, as I alternated between laughing out loud to myself, tearing up, and practically hugging the book. (For fans of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin it felt like that!).

This book is told from the alternating perspectives of two middle schoolers, Charlotte and Ben, who have never met. They are online Scrabble competitors. They are not totally honest with each other at the beginning, but we as the reader know they actually have a whole lot in common. Erin Entrada Kelly paints such a realistic portrait of life at school and her writing is spot on. This is a book for anyone who has ever felt alone in the crowd. This is for kids trying to simultaneously wade through the waters of changing friendships and school while dealing with a family member’s illness, divorce, or another tough situation. You will root for these kindhearted, smart, interesting, relatable characters with all your heart. I cannot wait to put this into the hands of as many students and teachers as I can. Highly recommended for upper elementary. This is my favorite kidlit of the year.

Check out the wonderful Erin Estrada Kelly sharing a bit about the book and reading a chapter:

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

When I saw Piecing Me Together win both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award at the Oscars of children’s books (the ALA Youth Media Awards), I eagerly requested it from my public library. When this YA book finally became available a few weeks ago, I happily downloaded the library ebook on my Kindle and proceeded to completely lose myself in sixteen-year-old Jade’s story. (Ten Steps to Get the Most Out Of Your Local Library)

Jade has a scholarship to St. Francis, a prestigious prep school in Portland, Oregon. When she is pulled into her counselor’s office one day, Jade is sure it’s to find out she has been selected to go on the school’s study abroad trip to Costa Rica. To her dismay, her counselor actually wants her to participate in the “Woman to Woman” mentoring program–an opportunity she is eventually convinced to accept given that it promises full college scholarships to mentees. Jade’s observations about race and class in her experiences both in the program and floating between her neighborhood and St. Francis are sharp and compelling and Watson’s writing is stunning. Jade is a character you have to meet–a must read.

To hear more from author Renée Watson on why she wrote the book and how it relates to her own experiences check out this fantastic 5 minute interview:

The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito and Julia Kuo

In the picture book The Sound of Silence, Yoshio is off to school, walking through the streets of Tokyo taking in a “symphony” of sounds. When a musician he encounters shares that her favorite sound is silence, he begins to look for this elusive sound everywhere. Yoshio eventually finds silence by losing himself in a book–the whole world falls away around him. My students loved sharing which books gave them that wonderful reading experience, where you completely enter the world of the book and are taken out of your own life. (You Go First and Piecing Me Together certainly did that for me!). Perfect for a discussion about mindfulness or getting into a state of flow with a particular activity. The illustrations in this picture book are also so detailed and beautiful and Yoshio’s quest to seek out the moments of “ma” (silence), will inspire you to embrace the quiet in your own life. This would be a stellar addition to any picture book collection.

There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom’s Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient and Confident Kids (from Friluftsliv to Hygge) by Linda Åkeson McGurk

I shared that I had started There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather in Reads for the Moms in Your Life. I had really been enjoying it and predicted it would be great for fans of Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman. I’ve since finished and have to say it has stuck with me and really led to a mindset shift. I enjoy books that explore the ways in which what makes you a “good parent” in one culture, might make you a bit of an outlier in another. In this case, Linda Åkeson McGurk explores how in Scandinavia getting your children outside every day (in any weather) and giving them free reign to explore and play in nature is woven into cultural norms. This line about the structure of the day in preschool struck me in particular, “A survey of a hundred preschools in Stockholm showed that the average time spent outside was one and a half hours per day-on a bad-weather day in the winter. On a nice day in the summer, the average was nearly six hours”.  Holding a children’s birthday party outside in the snow, being encouraged by the government to have your baby nap outdoors, and bringing rain gear to school and playdates (because outdoor play happens rain or shine) are just a few examples McGurk mentions from her own children’s experiences during their 6 month return to her childhood home of Sweden. I don’t know if I will quite reach that level, but this book was good inspiration to provide our little ones with a bit more unstructured, outdoor play and exploration–both for the fun of it and for the benefits. For my toddler, that means the joy (and sensory experience) of digging in the dirt and touching the trees and working on her balance as she happily runs around the yard. I’m beginning to think that in our culture of a million and one activities, my providing of “enrichment” could simply include a library card and time outside.

What are the books you can’t stop thinking about right now?

During another recent snowstorm here in the Boston area, I escaped into the lovely Perennials by Julie Cantrell (What I’ve Been Reading (Part 2)…). As I was soaking up all of the beautiful flower descriptions, I kept thinking back to the book I pored over last spring: Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest & Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms. This is not your typical gardening book. The photos in here are absolutely stunning and you will you want to start digging up your yard immediately.

Here’s a peek at Floret Farm from when owner and Cut Flower Garden author Erin Benzakein was interviewed after winning Martha Stewart’s “American Made”:

Last year I discovered I don’t exactly have the greenest thumb (I’m really better at the planning and research phase!), but I’m going to try again and this year I want to involve my toddler in the flower garden. She did just receive her own set of gardening tools from a family member, so my little helper will be all set to help water and play in the dirt!

If you have an older child, they could look at Cut Flower Garden or another gardening book with you and help choose what you’re going to plant. Reading a gardening book together would also be a great example for kids of a “How To” book, which I know students at my elementary school practice writing. Check out the gardening section of your local library and bring home a stack!

There are also so many wonderful picture book read alouds with gardening inspiration for this time of year that you can read together:

I adore My Garden by Kevin Henkes and for fans of Perennials, this is the perfect children’s book pairing! A child likes to help her mother in the garden, but also dreams of her own magic garden where things like jelly beans, chocolate, and seashells would grow. When I read this book to my students and ask them what would grow in their own magical garden their imaginations run wild–book trees, candy flowers and more! The illustrations in this book are also so bright and colorful. Highly recommended.

 Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney is a recent favorite that I received from another librarian as a baby shower gift. As a child listening to her grandfather’s stories, Miss Rumphius says, “When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea.” And she does–traveling the world and having many adventures before settling in Maine and deciding it’s time to “make the world more beautiful” with the simple act of planting many, many lupines. A lovely, inspiring read.

Set in the 1930s, this historical fiction picture book by Sarah Stewart is told in a series of letters. The Gardener is a Caldecott Honor winner that tells the story of Lydia Grace, who is sent to go live with her uncle in the city after her father loses his job. She uses her gardening skills, a passion of hers, to help brighten the world around her and hopefully cheer up her curmudgeonly uncle.

Do you have a favorite read with “May flowers”? Share it in the comments!

Are you on your way to your 2018 reading goals?

I’ve currently reached 13 out of 61 books for 2018 (Check out What is your 2018 Reading Resolution? for ideas on setting your own resolution). To track my books, I’m trying out keeping a reading journal with the list of books I’ve finished, plus any quotes I’ve marked with book darts, short descriptions, and a “To Be Read” list.  I was inspired to try this after listening to Sarah Mackenzie’s podcast episode on “Delightful, Simple Reading Journals for Kids”. I also still add a batch of books into Goodreads every so often to have a digital record. Do you have a way to track your reading that works for you? I’d love to hear it!

Here are some of the books I’ve added to my reading journal lately:

At Home in the World is a travel memoir from Tsh Oxenreider, a writer who spent a year traveling the world with her husband and three young kids. This book is the perfect inspiration for parents who haven’t gotten the travel bug out of their systems and want to continue to explore and have adventures with their families–which could even just mean taking a short road trip. You may have heard of Tsh from her work on the “Women’s Work” or “Simple Show” podcasts, which I only realized were the same creator after devouring the book and looking to see what else she had written. It is a wonderful feeling to finish a great book and then realize you have a whole backlog of the author’s podcasts, articles and books you can catch up on.

Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly was this year’s Newbery winner. Give this middle-grade title to fans of Wonder by R.J. Palacio or Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea. Told from alternating points of view, at its core this is a relatable coming-of-age story with a lot of heart. It’s the start of summer for four neighbors who are all trying to find their way in the world, from fitting in and accepting themselves, to navigating relationships with their parents. Their stories become intertwined when something goes terribly wrong in the woods near their houses. I enjoyed this one so much I suggested it for my school’s next parent/child book club. Empathy building, thought-provoking middle grade fiction at its best.

Green Eggs and Ham was voted my school’s favorite Dr. Seuss book this month, but The Lorax was a strong second and the one students’ kept begging to hear read aloud.  This is a crowd pleasing read aloud, from the littlest ones up through at least fifth grade. Children are captivated by this story and now more than ever we could use some inspiration to take care of our environment–truffula trees, bar-ba-loots, and humming-fish might just do the trick!

Mom & Me & Mom was a wonderful audiobook experience that I was able to enjoy during commutes or while cleaning up the house. The book centers on Vivian Baxter, Maya Angelou’s complicated, strong mother. The book is read by Angelou herself and it feels like you’re sitting in a room with her, hearing the story of her life. This book is beyond inspiring as you see the depth of a mother’s love, together with Vivian Baxter’s stumbles, and for me it shed light on how Maya Angelou overcame astounding adversity and took a winding path to become the wise, successful poet we now know.

.

Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett is the perfect book to curl up with on a snow day (as are many of Jan Brett’s books–you may know her as the author of The Mitten). Annie’s cat, Taffy, has gone missing and she’s very lonely. Annie tries to lure a nice new pet to her home with corn cakes, but wild animals like bears and a moose keep showing up instead. An adorable read aloud and the boardbook version is perfect for my little bookworm, who still wants to nibble the pages!

What have you been reading lately? Leave a comment below to share a recommendation. And stay tuned for Part 2 of “What I’ve Been Reading”.

Is there anything better than “books about books”? This is a genre I can’t get enough of. Turning the pages and spotting references to favorite books and authors, finding out the characters inhabit bookstores or libraries each day, and reading loads of dialogue between characters about the titles they love––heaven!

Here are 10 Bookish Reads for you and the little ones in your life. Happy reading!

1. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

If you are on the lookout for your next bookish read and have not yet picked up this gem of a book, place your library requests or bookstore orders immediately! This is a reading experience to be treasured. I grabbed this book and curled up on the couch with it anytime my daughter was asleep one rainy Saturday and alternated between laughing out loud, reaching for the tissues, and looking for another book dart to mark a passage I loved. A young toddler comes into the life of a thirty-something widower bookstore owner, changing the course of not only their “stories”, but also the entire community’s. Bookish references abound in this one and great reads are at the center of the characters’ lives. This book was also a wonderful fictional look at raising a reader. A.J. Fikry has certainly zoomed to the top of my list of recent favorites–highly recommended.

You can also check out this interview with the author, Gabrielle Zevin from NPR:

2. First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen by Charlie Lovett

I got this book recommendation from a wonderful “Lifetime mother-daughter book club” episode of my favorite reading podcast, “What Should I Read Next” with Anne Bogel. (If you haven’t listened to this book recommendation podcast, this would be a great episode to start with. This book was recommended by the mother and daughter on the show sharing their favorite reads and getting book recommendations.) First Impressions is a bookish mystery for Jane Austen fans and Anglophiles, that alternates between Jane’s perspective and modern day Sophie Collingwood’s, a recent Oxford graduate about to take on the greatest literary puzzle she could imagine. Bonus–it will inspire you to re-read Pride and Prejudice. 

3. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

Little House on the Prairie fans, this is the book for you! Wendy McClure shares her account of immersing herself in the world of the series and embraces all things Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’m fascinated by how Wilder,  like L.M. Montgomery, and Louisa May Alcott blended the real stories of her upbringing and family life with fiction. Like Avonlea and Orchard House, the setting of the various Ingalls’ homesteads is also such a rich part of the story and McClure makes pilgrimages to them all–from the Big Woods of Wisconsin, to Plum Creek, and South Dakota. This is a delightful literary travel memoir and reflection on the series. For a more scholarly look at the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder and reality versus fiction in her work, you can also check out Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser.
4. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

If you’re a fan of Liane Moriarty or Jojo Moyes and haven’t picked up a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, I highly recommend this author. She writes smart, tug-at-your-heartstrings women’s fiction that is impossible to set down. In One True Loves, Emma Blair has spent her twenties with her high school sweetheart Jesse, traveling the world and having adventures far from their small Massachusetts hometown. After being married for only a year, tragedy strikes and Jesse’s helicopter crashes somewhere over the Pacific. Emma moves back home to rebuild her life and takes over her parents’ bookstore. After several years, she falls in love again with Sam, an old friend, and becomes engaged. When Jesse is found alive, Emma’s world is turn upside down. Keep the tissues handy as you’ll be as torn as Emma about how to choose between the husband she lost and the fiancé she has built a life with. This book also dives into Emma’s complicated relationship with her family as well as the world of the bookstore, which she rebelled against growing up.

5. The Losers Club by Andrew Clements

The wonderful Andrew Clements has done it again with another funny, relatable, middle-grade school story–and in this one, he celebrates being bookish! This has taken the top spot as my new favorite Clements book and was a hit when I helped choose it as the 4th and 5th grade parent/child book club pick at my school. Alec is a lifelong bookworm who is actually constantly being sent to the principal’s office for reading too much at school. (Which breaks my librarian heart!) In the after-school program, he’s forced to sign up for a club, but he just wants to spend his time reading. His solution–call the club “The Losers Club” and hope no one else wants to join so he can read in peace. When things don’t exactly go according to plan, Alec makes some interesting discoveries about himself and the people around him. Clements weaves in a stellar book title every few pages and even includes a full list of books read by Alec and his classmates at the end of the story –the young readers in your life will devour this title.

6. Another Day as Emily by Eileen Spinelli

This is a quick read that completely warmed my heart. I read it in a few hours one afternoon and couldn’t wait to recommend it to students. Eleven-year-old Suzy researches Emily Dickinson as part of a summer program at the public library. When things don’t seem to be going her way, she decides to channel her inner Emily and live like a 19th-century recluse. Her experiment exasperates her parents and baffles her friends, but left me charmed. This book was in my reading pile because it’s part of this year’s Massachusetts Children’s Book Award program. 4th, 5th and 6th graders across the state are presented with 25 nominated books. If they read 5, they are eligible to vote for their favorite. Many states have reading programs for elementary kids, and the nominee lists are great places to seek out new books for the little ones in your life.

7. Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids, Edited by Elissa Brent Weissman

I flipped through this book gleefully as I saw how many author contributed, from the author of my childhood favorite Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine, to authors and illustrators of incredible contemporary titles like Wonder (R.J. Palacio), One Crazy Summer (Rita Williams-Garcia), Escape from Mr. Lemencello’s Library (Chris Grabenstein), and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Grace Lin). This is a fascinating look at the varying journeys of accomplished authors and illustrators–the childhood sketches, attempts at novels, and encouragement from teachers and parents that got them where they are today. A truly inspirational and entertaining read for kids and adults alike.

8. A Library Book for Bear by Bonny Becker

This delightful picture book makes kids of all ages laugh out loud. Bear is a bit of a curmudgeon and has all the books he could ever need (seven to be exact). Why would he possibly want to go to the library with Mouse? A sweet, funny tale about being open to trying new things and discovering your next favorite book at the library.

9. Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr

Why does reading make us happy? Is it being able to read the signs at the zoo? Or sharing a story with a friend? Todd Parr explores the many wonderful reasons why “Reading Makes You Feel Good”. A perfect book to share with the littlest readers in your life. I love to ask my K-2 students why they love to read after sharing this title. They always come up with adorable reasons!

10. The Library by Sarah Stewart

Elizabeth Brown was born a bookworm. Her piles of books are her constant companions. She even creates a check-out system for lending books out to friends when she is away at school. (I love that she conducts “midnight raids” to take overdue books back from classmates). When others are out socializing, she’s staying in content with her book. She also reads while grocery shopping and vacumming (if only she’d had access to audiobooks!). As she gets older and moves into a house of her own, the piles of books become towers until she eventually runs out of room. The solution? Create a public library for her town. This is a fun bookish read aloud for kids of all ages and certainly pleases us bookish introverts!

Exciting news about an incredible author! Jacqueline Woodson is the new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!

According to the Library of Congress, in this position her role will be to ” raise national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.” Ambassadors have a two-year term and past ambassadors include Gene Luen Yang, Kate DiCamillo, Walter Dean Myers, Katherine Paterson and Jon Scieszka.

The inauguration ceremony was held on January 9th and presided over by Librarian of Congress Carla Haden:

Jacqueline Woodson receives her medal: Photo Credit: Library of Congress http://www.read.gov/cfb/ambassador/index.html

Jacqueline Woodson at her inauguration. Photo Credit: Library of Congress http://www.read.gov/cfb/ambassador/index.html

This is a great time to read a Jacqueline Woodson book, on your own or with the little ones in your life. She has many amazing titles, but here are two favorites of mine I’d recommend starting with.

Her picture book “Each Kindness” is so thought provoking and would be a great read aloud for elementary-age children.I’ve read this one to many classes and it sparks wonderful discussions about the way we treat each other and the impact our kind acts can have in the world.

Her incredible memoir “Brown Girl Dreaming” is technically middle-grade, but I would definitely recommend this one to adults and kids alike:

This book in verse is a beautifully written account of what is was like to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s in South Carolina and New York–told in a series of poems.

One of the reasons I’m so excited about Woodson taking on this role is I’m hopeful the “We Need Diverse Books” movement makes even more progress while she is ambassador. It is so important that kids see themselves in the books they read and that they also are able to put themselves in others’ shoes. More on that to come in the next few posts!

As Woodson said during the inauguration, “I think that books can change us. They can help us begin to have the bigger conversations. They can help us see worlds and identities and ideas that we’d never thought about before…”

You can watch the Inauguration Ceremony here:

It’s a long video and there are a lot of introductions. If you skip ahead to 29 minutes you can see Woodson receive the medal. She is then interviewed by the Librarian of Congress, shares her remarks, and takes questions from children in the audience.

To learn more about Jacqueline Woodson and her books, you can check out her great author website.  The librarian in me loves that she gears sections of it toward what children really want to learn about an author during research: “What is your favorite color?”, “Why do you love writing so much?”, “What are/were some of your favorite books?”, and “What is your favorite food?”. She even has a lengthy list of fun facts about herself. I’ll definitely be sharing this with the kids in my life.