The majority of Monday was rainy and windy after a beautiful Easter Sunday. By mid afternoon there were thunderstorms ready to roll in too. So I made a pot of tea, grabbed a stack from by TBR pile, and cuddled up for some reading time underneath a blanket.
Isn’t that what rainy days are for?
Just last week, Laura Lee Gulledge published her third graphic novel and solidified her place as one of my favorite author illustrators. Let me take you back to my obsession with 2011 publication of Page by Paige which I talked about in 2016 after finishing it to which I turned around and shared it with several students immediately who loved it as much as I did.
Fast forward to 2020 and my digital reading of The Dark Matter of Mona Starr which I had on my TBR on Goodreads since it was announced she’d be releasing a new graphic novel. Then boom. I sat down and in one sitting didn’t move an inch while I poured over the illustrations and words. I knew I’d be writing about it. My initial reviews always go up on Goodreads which are usually fresh and raw after reading (and as soon as I can string a somewhat coherent sentence together after being awestruck) and in that review I said that I needed Gulledge to do a series focused on female character struggles that can be used as guides just as both of these are.
Mona Starr is the protagonist and certainly the book’s most memorable character. She has depression and anxiety, using space imagery to work through verbalizing her issues because she refers to this internal messaging as her matter. There are psychological and medical professionals working with her and her parents to identify what Mona needs providing much needed help after her best friend moves away. Then Mona befriends a new girl that’s causing rise to additional anxiety too.
It’s hard to pin down any one memorable scene but I’ll share one specific page that provides all you need to know about how Gulledge creates magic on the page graphically. And I won’t even explain it because I don’t have to. Because she doesn’t have to.
It’s the transportation of any reader in the heart, mind, and soul of the character and just the kind of experience that we want when we read anyway– it’s that Gulledge does it better. Every. Darn. Time. From reading the Author’s Note, Gulledge shares her own doubts about her creative energy while managing stressful situations leading to memorable quotes like this to provide inspiration amidst anguish and a definite contender for one of the strongest YA graphic novels of 2020, hands-down.
This time around I’m going to take care of this freckled potbellied imperfect weirdo overly sensitive body of mine… hang up my hangups. And shed my excuses. Because I want to actually LIVE this life.
The graphic novel is much more than words on a page and more than the illustrations too, it’s a feeling and a whole mood she can sweep me up in anytime. I advise everyone to get themselves a copy or three to read and share. But spend as much time as you need, with a cup of tea or chocolate or in the bathtub or on the blanket in the backyard, folded up in the story that Gulledge shares of Mona Starr. It feels like a personal invitation to look inside yourself and empathize with others. Then once you’re finished with all of those feelings, check out Gulledge’s website and her other work.
I’ll be celebrating Easter today but absent of physically attending mass and not driving to get together with my extended family, I will be feasting on an Easter meal. This is in addition to preparing pierogies, babka, and hardcakes in the tradition of my Polish heritage this past weekend. Food is also one of my favorite topics to read about too. Here are several books I’ve read in the past few weeks that would be worth taking a look at if you’re one of my tribe of food-loving readers.
This fun “little book about little cakes” is exactly the cool interactive story to introduce future chefs to the kitchen with our favorite sweet treats: cupcakes. It asks the readers to shake things up and move things on the counter while reading then enjoy the feast visually with the bright colors and delicious-looking sprinkles by the end.
Moving on to an informative picture book, this one details the life of Ruth Wakefield, inventor of the chocolate chip cookie. Ford provides the three versions of how people think the cookie was created and has fun providing you with a well-rounded tale of her passion for food and how her toll house became part of the “Nestle’s Toll House Cookie” recipe stamped on each chocolate chip bag you buy.
Faruqi and Shovan are publishing A Place At the Table next month and I couldn’t be happier that this book exists. When I read it, I felt a warmth for the characters and the food that filled me up with love. Sara is Pakistani American and Elizabeth is Jewish and they both end up in the Southeast Asian cooking class run by Sara’s mother after Sara moves to the school. They befriend one another and find that their connections run a bit deeper as both of their mothers are not naturalized American citizens. But as the title implies, the girls work through typical middle grade angst by finding a place for each other at the table.
And last is an adult title that was recommended to me by a friend. While the book is over ten years old, it will resonate with those who can appreciate all the ways that food affects our lives be it romance or in mourning, friendship or solitude. It’s a series of vignettes that are all centered around Lillian’s cooking school “The School of Essential Ingredients” that she runs on Monday nights. It follows the attendees in various parts of their lives and how they all came to be together in the class. The languid storytelling is part of the appeal, like savoring a meal, and enriches the understanding. I also found myself pausing and re-reading lines that hit me to my core as a cook, baker, lover of food. As said by two participants in the class: “Here’s to kitchens. And here’s to what comes out of them.”
There you have it, four mouthwatering titles from pre-K to adult that you can enjoy when your pining for a book to capture the magic of food.
I’m listening to more audiobooks as I get older. It’s not because I’ve suddenly become an auditory learner, for sure that’s not the case. If I really want to learn something, I won’t choose to listen to it. But I am finding more time to engage with audiobooks doing household tasks and if it’s really good, even in the car where I typically prefer music.
It started when I did my first twenty-four hour readathon where my goal was to read as much as I could in that time frame which would include listening to an audiobook. Then I found that I was downloading an extra book here or there outside of readathons.
For those that are audiobook fans, I ask
In your work life, who gets you? Like, really gets you? Is it a colleague with the same job title or someone who works in a different building with a different job title? Is it your administrator?
Motivation to do well in work often comes down to who you work for and who you work with, in addition to what you believe about your work. Just like when we talk about building relationships with our students because it’s not about the content it’s about the connection, we can apply this to our colleagues. I wrote a post about my co-librarian last year. She’s the person I spend more time with than anyone. We share the same vision and mission and continually re-calibrate our teaching and learning to improve. She gets me personally and professionally which makes my job a lot easier to do each day.
So if you have someone who gets you, take a minute to thank them. If you don’t have someone who gets you, find someone because it enriches the work you do.
Staying in my lane while reading is usually young adult fiction and nonfiction, but I find myself reading just as many adult and children’s books now than I ever have for both brain breaks but also learning from a myriad of books whose audience shapes the narratives and breeds learning. Suggestions come from various places like professional journals, blogs, book stores, but also good friends. For picture book and middle grade recommendations, I can always count on my good friend Stacey.
Today I’m sharing three newer favorite picture books that actually represent a segment of our intersectional population: Native American, Muslim, African American.
Big fan of books about food. We also know that food can do so many things but one is definitely staying connected to cultural roots. For Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal it’s a story about just that. How fry bread brings people together in the kitchen, it provides sustenance, and while it looks different for everyone, it all started from the same place. The book is absolutely a treasure of a story for the emotional elements and the illustrated ones.
And emotion is a feature of this story as well: a younger sister idolizing her older sister who is now going to be wearing hijab full-time and the first day it’s the brightest, most vivid blue in The Proudest Blue written by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali and illustrated by Hatem Aly. Several of the spreads are connected lyrically and visually to provide a stunning feast for the eyes. Likewise, the underlying elements of strength and power for their family lie in their connection to their faith and one another and that’s such a lovely message for a picture book.
And last, another powerhouse name (in this case two!) attached to a powerhouse book. This one is Sulwe written and inspired by Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by Vashti Harrison. If I could live inside the illustrations and surround myself with the colors of this book, I would which is ultimately what the story discusses: color. Sulwe feels estranged from others because of the darkness of her skin which is the darkest of her entire family and while she hears that her skin is beautiful, she doesn’t feel like it. She hears taunts and connects words with their connotations that are all too often negative. It isn’t until a magical evening that she’s told the story of the day and the night where she sees the importance of everyone’s differences and how they’re dependent on one another like the sisters of daytime and nighttime.
If picture books are written and illustrated like these, I might never read another kind of book in my life but alas, I must. Though I hold these ones dear for their stories and their illustrations. What are some others that I should check out?
Maybe it’s because I’m a woman or maybe it’s because I’m a librarian, but either way, I want to take a moment to celebrate books about periods. They’ve been kind of having a moment. And I knew I wanted to share a post about periods two days ago when I finished Lily Williams and Karen Schneeman’s graphic novel published by First Second this past January called Go With the Flow. It’s a celebration of menstruation and friendship alongside actively advocating for rights.
Memorable character: While Sasha is the new girl, she’s not the most memorable. Abby is the one that’s rocking the boat. She’s the girl that wants to get something done and she uses her voice and influence through a blog and face time with the school principal about why pads and tampons aren’t stocked in the bathrooms and why they should cost money in the first place. One of the harsher realities of friendship is ushered in when Abby goes rogue and ends up putting the other girls in a tight spot where their communication sees them through (and a good ol’ fashioned apology), but you can’t blame the passionate girl for her actions when she believes so strongly. It leads to the first of a few memorable panels interspersed throughout the book for a memorable quote Abby uses in her blog said by Gloria Steinem: “If men could menstruate, men would brag about how long and how much.”
But let’s also give it up for the most memorable scene where Sasha’s blood-stained pants are showing as the girls usher her to the bathroom and why the book works so well in its graphic novel format. Most can empathize or sympathize with her situation and it’s the kind of thing that is discussed in other books discussing periods: the truthful portrayal.
I advise graphic novel lovers, middle grade fans, advocates, and the like to read and purchase multiple copies of this book to share. It allows girls to be seen by showing the myriad of experiences with periods.
And once you’re done with Go With the Flow, I urge you to pick up others that cover the same topic. Here are some of my other favorites.
Yesterday a former student posted a picture of a page of a book and posed this question on Instagram:
What kind of feeling does reading give to you?
I admit, my first thought was pride that as a college-aged woman a few years removed from high school when I had known her, she’s sharing about her reading and asking her collective friend group about it too. Sometimes like religion and politics, we’re too afraid to share out thoughts for fear of what others will think. So I was proud that she was still reading. And proud that she was willing to share her thoughts and ask others too.
She described reading as euphoria. I commented that at its most basic for me, I think connection is how I would describe reading.
What do you think?
Anyone else love a good bookish quote? I have an entire board of book and library quotes to inspire me, motivate me, or simply make me smile.
In a few weeks, the Dewey 24-hour Readathon will be running it’s April event which for east coast Americans like myself begins at 8am on Saturday, April 25th and ends at 8am on Sunday, April 26th. I’ve done several of these and blogged about preparing for one and completing my first one (that was actually a reverse readathon) which lines up nicely with Dunham’s quote. How I truly would wish one extra day each week!
I’ve heard comments that it is hard to concentrate on reading with everything going on, but consider it a gift to be with other readers for one twenty-four hour period where they will root you on, talk books, and allow you to peek into the food and drink preferences of other bibliophiles. Sign up here. And let me know in the comments below if you’ll be joining whether it’s your fifth time or your first.
As I sit here on Sunday morning, I’m reading the newspaper. It’s not just Sunday but every day that I read the newspaper, mostly digitally but a few times a week in print. It started in 5th grade when my teacher would give us trivia questions and most often they came from the news.
As I sit by the fire on Saturday night, I’m reading a magazine. Typically when watching a half-interesting show on television or around the fire, I’ll bring out the magazines I buy delivered to my door each month for recipe inspiration, fitness tips, and cleaning and decorating ideas. I’ve always enjoyed the tactile nature of a magazine with their glossy pages and have one too many times created inspiration boards by cutting them up (this was pre-Pinterest).
As I sit on any day on my side of the couch or outside on the patio in the sun, I’m reading a book. I’ve always got a stack upstairs ready to choose what I’m in the mood for, plus a few extra on a reading tablet and my phone.
As I sit on a weekday night in front of the computer, I’ve queued up the blogs I subscribe to and read their commentary on school librarianship, reading, books, entrepreneurship, business, and news because I like learning from others.
As I go for a walk to break up a readathon or when I’m cutting up dinner in the kitchen, I open up my trusty gals Libby and Sora and listen to an audiobook tell me saving rhinos or a Harvard murder mystery.
Reading is reading is reading. However you do it and make time for it.
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Readers Be Advised 