Well. It is now October and I am just getting these up because ...who knows why?! My summer wasn't extremely busy, but I never had time that I wanted to commit to doing some of these 'old' blog posts. I really write them for myself, to remember the books I read and what I thought/felt about them.
This is turning into my 'poetry and comic book' year, as I've read more poetry books and a brand new genre to my reading - comic books, than I ever have before. My kids have always loved comic books but when I found out about Drawn and Quarterly, I immediately put a whole bunch of holds in at the library. One of them even won a nomination on Canada Reads 2023! (That one was excellent...for a later month.)
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong - Honestly, it's been a very long time since I read this one. I think I found most of these poets on Padraig O' Tuama's podcast "Poetry Unbound". The poem shared must have stopped me in my tracks (as the host typically can) with a poem about his mother's death. The majority of this book, however, was pretty sexually explicit and I didn't overly love it. (Sorry) It was about the poet finding his way in a new place, new identity, etc. but I liked his poems to family the most.
The Wild World Handbook by Andrea Debbink - I love Andrea's newsletter (nature related) that comes out once a month and her books great, too. This one was especially interesting to me because it was mini biographies of scientists/activists/ordinary citizens who have a passion for climate change in some capacity, and also just facts about places around the world, activity/adventure ideas, etc. Excellent for middle grade - junior high if your kids are interested in those topics.
Magdalene by Marie Howe - I think this book, also, was brought to me first by a Poetry Unbound poem, and I loved the poems in this book. The 'story' imagines Mary Magdalene - one of the contemporaries of Jesus - as a modern woman. It would help to have some biblical knowledge going into this one because of all the references.
Big Tree by Brian Selznick - This book Ani and I "read back and forth", and it's huge. It also has very, very little text per page, and some pages in a row are just illustrations. It's reminiscent of The Invention of Hugo Cabaret in that sense, but it's about a seedling who is around for the death of the dinosaurs. It's really good. Anikka (14) loved it, and I loved it, and it was just a pleasure to read. It's probably geared for kids 10-12, but I think it's for everyone.
The Hurting Kind by Ada Limon - Another poetry collection found via Poetry Unbound, this one I also really loved. Limon has a great editing intuition and her poems feel just right. I also connected more to this poetry collection because the subject matter was the natural world and human relationship.
Everything Beautiful by Ella Frances Sanders - I wish I knew where I found Sanders' book. I know it was on a podcast (Brave Writer?) but nothing is coming up for me. This is a little bit inspiration book, little bit art book (watercolor), and a little bit memoir (ish?). It was really lovely to sit with for an hour or two, to ponder why we call everything 'beautiful'.
Billionaires by Darryl Cunningham - The comic book that maybe started it all. This is a mini biography of 3 very famous billionaires - all written in comic form: Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, Charles + David Koch (Koch brothers). Let's just say I learned a lot about the history of their lives and their motivations and accomplishments/failures.
Read Alouds:
Louis Riel by Chester Brown - I found this for last year's (2022-2023) Canadian history in the time period we were studying. It is also a large comic book biography of the Metis leader's struggle to win federal rights for his people, and the violence that ensued.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - This book is one of the best books I've had the pleasure of reading in 2023...it will definitely be on my Top 10 list for the year. I read it out loud to Anikka for her Tree/Environmental Science course, and she loved it, too. Kimmerer somehow writes (beautifully) to connect the biologic, social, geographic, and memory of a plant (or place) to the reader while forming an ethos of reciprocity that is understood by Indigenous (rather than productivity/exploitation). It was as beautiful as it was engaging!
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson - This book was also read for Anikka's science course, although it was much more academic. I've always wanted to read this book, and I bought it at Powell's years ago, and her science class was the perfect accountability I needed. These essays - all about the effects of every specific habitat, biome, and species after getting sprayed with DDT - were the reason we have the Environmental Protection Agency and why we don't spray humans (!!!) with cancer-giving aerosols. Every chapter ended with a damning conviction of her meticulous scientific research.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - We read this book as part of our Socials/Lit course (Renaissance, Reformation, Exploration) that ended in about 1800. I've never read a Dickens book aloud. It is tedious to read aloud. The sentences are like never-ending winding roads and the description is sentimental and overwrought. BUT. The ending of this book makes every stone Dickens must upturn and describe worth it. WOW the ending had me sobbing! The kids felt the same way I did with the description, but ended up loving it for the heroic decision made mere chapters before the final period.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - This was a book I had read (and disliked!) in my highschool AP English Lit course, but I wanted to give my kids their own opinion on Jane Austen. Quite frankly, even though I was a reader in high school, I did not get the sarcasm of this book until I recently read it with my kids. I get so much more out of books (and the voices! and the intonation that begs to be there) if I can read them aloud. The funniest part of this book is the father of Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet, whom my kids thought was hilarious. They liked this book, even though it's a romance, and I am happy to report I did not ruin Austen for them. Phew!
Sophie Mouse: The Whispering Woods by Poppy Green - These are adorable early/middle grade novels that Anikka and I read side-by-side in about 40 minutes because they're so stinkin' cute. Who cares what age they are for? She loved them when she was little and she still crinkles up her nose when I bring the newest one home from the library (the face that means, I don't want to like it...but I still do.)
Sophie Mouse: Under the Weather by Poppy Green - See above!
Comments