I cannot believe that the first half of 2021 is winding down this week! It has been a busy week with my educator friends wrapping up what many will say was their most challenging year. My youngest sister also retired this year after teaching French Immersion for thirty years and shocked me a bit when I realized that two years have flown by since I retired.
We also launched the Bit About Books Summer Reading Challenge on June 21st. I am again going back to what I did with our winter challenge and have a slower pace, which is the intention. I did begin reading some books that would fit into the challenge and highlighted below. I hope you will join us and do what works for you, and the details for the challenge are here.
So four books later, here is what I read.
Digital and Print
Summer of Brave by Amy Noelle Parks. Lilla is the child of two academic parents who recently divorced; her father is all about the arts and works in a museum, while her mom is an entomologist and all about girls in science. Lilla’s two best friends Knox and Vivi are similar; Knox loves the arts, especially music, while Vivi likes coding and the sciences. Lilla enjoys both the arts and the sciences, not one over the other. After Vivi wins their annual summer dandelion blowing contest for a summer wish; Vivi decides this summer they will tell the truth. For Lilla, it will mean speaking up rather than appeasing others and sharing her true thoughts and emotions rather than remaining silent. Lilla will have to be honest and tell her parents she does not want to go to the magnet school, where she has to choose between the arts and the sciences. It means questioning a dress code where girls must be careful about what they wear so that boys are not distracted. It means standing up for herself when one of the counsellors makes inappropriate comments and the director of the camp blows it off, and it means being honest with herself about her feelings for Knox.
Summer of Brave is a powerful read for our older middle-grade readers, dealing with parental pressure to be high achievers, friendships, crushes, and sexual harassment. Fans who enjoyed Laurie Morrison’s Saint Ivy: Kind at all Cost and Carrie Firestone’s Dress Coded will enjoy this similar read.
Franklin Endicott and the Third Key by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. Although the sixth book of the Deckawoo Drive series, this is the first one I have read. Franklin Endicott worries a lot. So much so that he has a journal where he lists the various worries he has. Franklin worries so much that sometimes he has nightmares that his younger sister will find his book and is up in the middle of the night. On one of these occasions, Franklin visits his neighbour Eugenia Lincoln who also is up. After sharing a cup of warm milk, he ends up making plans to help Eugenia get a key made the next day. Buddy Lane’s thrift store is not what Franklin expects, and he will be adding new items to worry about in his book. After Franklin finishes the errand and opens the envelope, there is a mysterious third key. Eugenia knows it is not hers and insists that Franklin return it the next day to Buddy Lane. Buddy insists the key does not belong to him, and when Franklin begins to worry about it, Buddy makes hot chocolate, tells him a story and gives him a book to take home. Thus begins Franklin’s new journey and the brilliance of this story. I loved the eccentric characters and know that kids will relate to Franklin’s worries and be riveted by how Eugenie and Buddy quietly remove Fanklin’s worries, replacing them with a love of story. Now I need to go back and read the other five. I strongly recommend it as a read-aloud and mentor text in the primary grades with its many possibilities.
Audio
Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and narrated by Christie Moreau. I listened to this book again when I discovered the second in the series The Hawthorne Legacy release date is in September. Avery is an orphaned teen with both intelligence and empathy. Living with her sister and her less than desirable boyfriend, Avery plans to get through high school, get a scholarship and get out. Suddenly summoned to a will reading of billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, she discovers he has left her his entire fortune with one condition – she must live in the Hawthorne estate with the family he denied of his wealth. The family is upset, but the four grandsons realize this is just another puzzle from their grandfather for them to figure out. Why would their grandfather leave his entire fortune to someone who claims never met him? Avery also wants to know the answer to this, and so the race is on to see who will solve Tobia’s puzzle first.
I enjoyed the strong character of Avery and her love of chess and things related to puzzles. There are puzzles that fans of Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Book Scavenger and the older Chasing Vermeer will enjoy. It is great to see more versions of these books for these readers as they grow into YA.
Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty Readers follow Dara McAnulty’s life the year he is fourteen, turning fifteen over the four seasons in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Dara McAnulty also happens to be autistic, along with his two siblings and his mom. His close-knit family chooses to embrace and explore the nature surrounding them in a true inquiry fashion. The result is a glimpse into the passion, concern, and despair that Dara feels about the environment. His use of language to describe the flora, fauna and wildlife provide such intimate details made me pause and reflect if I ever really noticed the true beauty of where I walk.
Dara also shares his vulnerability regarding the bullying and the anxiety he feels speaking and sharing his ideas and observations. He is a role model as he lets readers experience his struggles to step outside his comfort zones by speaking at public events and starting an Eco Group at his school.
Diary of a Young Naturalist is gorgeous and poetic and reminds us about the beauty of nature and the exquisite way we can have with words. I always love when an author narrates their book as we listen to how the author wanted us to hear their words. His Irish accent with the incredible depth of the details added another level to the experience and made it all the more enjoyable. It is a book that I will need to read to see the words that provided vivid images in my mind. Dara McAnulty has given me and those who love nature a tremendous gift, and I cannot wait to read his Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature out in July.
UP NEXT
I am still in my mystery phase and reading a backlist title, Under the Egg, and then will read debut author Shakirah Bourne’s Josephine Against the Sea. I just downloaded the audiobook, Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen and am looking forward to starting this book.
Picture book highlights this week are:
I want to acknowledge the two that started this all. It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? changed from becoming a meme for adults but also to including children’s lit. This idea came from Unleashing Reader blogger Kellee Moye and Jen Vincent from the Teach Mentor Texts blog. They thought there should be a children’s lit focus too, and hence a version for #kidlit began! So join in on the fun every Monday by sharing what you just finished reading, currently are reading, or are anticipating reading. Use the hashtag #IMWAYR on your social media sites to share, follow what others are reading, and show support for #kidlit bloggers by reading and commenting.
Laurie
Bit About Books 