.jpg)
Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in late May
Worm (graphic novel) by Edel Rodriguez - This graphic memoir was SO good! It is the story of Edel (mostly his childhood) in Cuba and his life from 'before' and then the communist takeover, through his family's escape by boat in the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. Rodriguez went on to become a very famous artist, and has had numerous artwork on covers of magazines. The colors and artwork that Rodriguez layered his frames with was menacing and added to the hopeless tone of the reality of communism. Five stars.
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo - Another Kate DiCamillo book? Another. This one was so cute - I think I read it in one sitting, and I would assume there will be a sequel. Like all of her books, there are lovable characters, excellent writing, heartwarming happenings, and a bit of magical mischief.
Woman, Life, Freedom (graphic novel) by Marjane Satrapi - Here was another fantastic graphic memoir - this time about the Iranian author and artist who paints another vivid picture of what it's like to live under a fanatical regime. Satrapi is also the author of Persepolis, which is about her childhood. Woman, Life, Freedom is about the recent Iranian uprising after Masha Amini was killed in 2022 for a "dress code violation" at the hands of the Islamic Republic. These are very important stories, and I learned so much from both Satrapi and Rodriquez.
Growing Food (graphic novel) by Joseph Tychonievich - This was a graphic non-fiction read that I picked out because I heard it recommended... somewhere. It is actually a book that is a 'novel lite' (nonfic turned into a sort of novel to both tell the information and make it more enjoyable to read) and it's really just about gardening, and the basic steps to growing your own food. (Shrug)
A Celebration of Beatrix Potter: Art & Letters by Various - This was an artistic and interesting 'Thank You' note to one of my favorite children's authors - Beatrix Potter - author and illustrator of the Peter Rabbit series. The authors and illustrators shared their own renditions of the characters which was really so neat to look through - often I could tell who it was before I read their names! Pretty niche but pretty fun nonetheless.
Read Alouds
America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger by Albert Marrin - This was the third and final Marrin biography/non-fiction book we read, and it was SO GOOD. I went into this period of time with the kids not knowing much about the Civil Rights (well, details anyway), the Vietnam War, and US and Canadian history after those events and onward. We always stopped after WWII in school, and so there was a large gap in my education about how the Vietnam War was at home and abroad, the reasons for it, the political implications, etc. Marrin does a phenomenal job. He says in the introduction it took him decades of learning about it himself, and talking to soldiers about their experiences before he was even remotely ready to write about it - and he was a history teacher! 14+ at least; graphic.
Year of the Rabbit* (graphic novel) by Tian Veasna - This was another graphic memoir about growing up as a small child during the Cambodian genocide. It shows the desperation of the people as they were removed from their homes, separated (intentionally) from their families, and made to work in the fields with very little food to sustain their labour, along with loosing all their possessions and often their family members and friends. We followed it up with watching the award-winning movie, First They Killed My Father (netflix). 14+ at least.
The Hope that Remains by Christine Magill - The final book we read for Genocide Studies 12 was this one, which is a unique book I found that connected the Rwandan genocide to our current country of residence - Canada. It's an anthology of Rwandan refugees who have come to Canada as new citizens, and their stories of the atrocities they lived through. It's a very harrowing read, and we only read about half of the stories (I finished all of them after our school year ended). 14+ at least, graphic. We followed up these stories with watching about the true story of the hotel manager who helped Rwandans stay safe during the genocide, in the movie Hotel Rwanda.
*This book my kids read independently and so did I, then we talked about it together.
America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger by Albert Marrin - This was the third and final Marrin biography/non-fiction book we read, and it was SO GOOD. I went into this period of time with the kids not knowing much about the Civil Rights (well, details anyway), the Vietnam War, and US and Canadian history after those events and onward. We always stopped after WWII in school, and so there was a large gap in my education about how the Vietnam War was at home and abroad, the reasons for it, the political implications, etc. Marrin does a phenomenal job. He says in the introduction it took him decades of learning about it himself, and talking to soldiers about their experiences before he was even remotely ready to write about it - and he was a history teacher! 14+ at least; graphic.
Year of the Rabbit* (graphic novel) by Tian Veasna - This was another graphic memoir about growing up as a small child during the Cambodian genocide. It shows the desperation of the people as they were removed from their homes, separated (intentionally) from their families, and made to work in the fields with very little food to sustain their labour, along with loosing all their possessions and often their family members and friends. We followed it up with watching the award-winning movie, First They Killed My Father (netflix). 14+ at least.
The Hope that Remains by Christine Magill - The final book we read for Genocide Studies 12 was this one, which is a unique book I found that connected the Rwandan genocide to our current country of residence - Canada. It's an anthology of Rwandan refugees who have come to Canada as new citizens, and their stories of the atrocities they lived through. It's a very harrowing read, and we only read about half of the stories (I finished all of them after our school year ended). 14+ at least, graphic. We followed up these stories with watching about the true story of the hotel manager who helped Rwandans stay safe during the genocide, in the movie Hotel Rwanda.
*This book my kids read independently and so did I, then we talked about it together.
Comments