We Don't Eat Our Classmates

Title: We Don't Eat Our Classmates 
Author: Ryan T. Higgins 
Illustrator: Ryan T. Higgins 
Publisher: Disney Hyperion 
Publication Date: June 19th, 2018 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book
GoodReads Summary: It's the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can't wait to meet her classmates. But it's hard to make human friends when they're so darn delicious! That is, until Penelope gets a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all. . . .
What I Think: When this book came out, Franki Sibberson asked me if I had read it because of our long discussions about I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. Well, I finally got to reading this and I loved it. You can imagine what might happen when a t-rex goes to school! 
     I absolutely loved how the theme of this book look at how we treat others and how we hope to be treated. It's such a hard concept for kids to grasp and I find myself as a mom going over this again and again with my kids. This book offers a fresh look at this ever important lesson. 
     As a mentor text, I spotted the illustrations and the attention Ryan paid to the characters and their facial expression. They stood out because the story centers on Penelope but the children at school convey their own emotions about how the story is unfolding mostly through the looks on their faces. When I read with my kids, we were cracking up at the faces they were making. Kindergartners spend a lot of time drawing as writing and this extends into first and second grade...but it doesn't have to stop there. Any writer can use drawings to help flesh out their writing. In fact, when a writer draws, they have to show the character and the scene and this helps as they develop what they might include in their written text. Taking time to talk to young writers about their drawings is important. Often they draw happy faces or sad faces but there are so many other emotions they could show in their drawings. Looking at We Don't Eat Our Classmates through the lens of a writer who draws gives writers an opportunity to think about how to show emotion in their drawings. This is also an opportunity to talk about visual literacy when you ask students to stop and notice and discuss what they notice in the illustrations.
     This book would also make a great study for writers of any age who incorporate drawings or illustrations into their writing. 
Snatch of Text: 
When she got home, her dad asked about her first day of school. 

"I didn't make any friends!" Penelope cried. "None of the children wanted to play with me!"

"Penelope Rex," her father asked , "did you eat your classmates?"

"Well...maybe sort of just a little bit."

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/12/2018

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Little Bean and I read The Chocolate Touch for book club and then I listened to more of Undefeated with Peanut. I listened to more of Meet Cute and started listening to Love Warrior too. I ended up reading lots of nonfiction this week to prep for NCTE and I also read some of How Georgia Became O'Keefe and highly recommend it!

Last Week's Posts:

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I'm excited to read more of How Georgia Became O'Keefe. I also have Sanity and Tallulah that I'm excited to read and Meet Cute and Love Warrior on audio. I'm super excited to be traveling to Houston for NCTE this week so I should have plane and shuttle time to get some reading/listening in!

This Week's Posts:

Check back throughout the week to read these posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and check out other blogs to see what they're reading!
To help build our community and support other bloggers,
we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you.
Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Julián is a Mermaid

Title: Julián is a Mermaid 
Author: Jessica Love 
Illustrator: Jessica Love
Publisher: Candlewick 
Publication Date: May 22nd, 2018 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world.

While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a periwinkle curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes — and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself? Mesmerizing and full of heart, Jessica Love’s author-illustrator debut is a jubilant picture of self-love and a radiant celebration of individuality. 
What I Think: Kids are amazing. They notice things and they pay attention and sometimes, if you're a certain kind of person who they think they can trust, they'll share things with you. Not a day goes by that I don't find myself in awe of young people and thankful that I get to serve kids as my job. Not to mention that I get to be a mom to two awesome kids. 
     Reading Julián is Mermaid highlights a special moment between a boy and his grandmother and illustrates how easy it is for an adult to see a child and to encourage a child. The snatch of text I pulled below shows two lines of dialogue that I believe are pivotal. Dialogue is a powerful tool for writers. Writers in kindergarten and first grade can add speech bubbles to their drawings. Older writers can make the connection between the speech bubbles in their drawings to the text they write. And even older writers can think about how dialogue is a way to describe and show the reader a multitude of things. 
     In these two lines, we see Julián ask a question and Abuela answer him. When I read these two lines, I see so much about who they are and how they interact. Julián asks a question without revealing what he's thinking. And Abuela responds similarly. She could have dismissed him, she could have shared her thoughts - good or bad - about the mermaids, she could have judged him. But she doesn't. And in not doing so, she gives Julián space to share his thoughts. Asking writers to look at dialogue and think about how much what a character says reveals about him, her, or them helps them then think about how to use dialogue intentionally in their own writing. It's not easy to do but looking at books like Julián is a Mermaid as a mentor texts helps show young writers what is possible. 
    Also! I've been more intentional about talking to young writers about using different languages in their writing. It's important that we let students know that this is okay. If they don't get the message that this is okay, they might not ever try it. 
Snatch of Text: 

"Abuela, did you see the mermaids?"

"I saw them, mijo."

Updated November 25th, 2018:
After sharing my post, I read this blog post from Dr. Laura Jiménez which led me to think more critically about Julián is a Mermaid. I still believe it is a beautiful book and appreciate the relationship Julian has with his grandmother but I realize now that this might be an over-idealistic representation of reality for many LGBTQ+ people. I invite you to read the ideas shared in her blog post. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/5/2018

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

I listened to more stories from Meet Cute and I read more of Take Joy by Jane Yolen. Peanut and I started listening to Undefeated by Steve Sheinkin together. I also read a fantastic stack of books that I've been collecting from the library and finally had time to read.

Last Week's Posts:

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I should be able to finish up Meet Cute this week and I have Breakout by Kate Messner and The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio to read.

This Week's Posts:

Check back throughout the week to read these posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and check out other blogs to see what they're reading!
To help build our community and support other bloggers,
we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you.
Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Celebrating Process Thanks to Georges Seurat

For the last two weeks we've been exploring Chicago with our family who visited us from Guatemala. Two years ago, when we went to Guatemala, my kids got to meet my cousin's kids and they had a blast hanging out. They played Uno and Rock, Paper, Scissors, Splits and laughed and laughed and laughed. Now they had the chance to visit us and the kids had just as much fun.

We got to take them to one of my favorite Chicago museums, The Art Institute of Chicago. I was a little nervous because we were taking seven kids all under eleven into a place where you have to be quiet, you have to control your body, and you cannot touch things. 

The kids were actually really good and we made it to many of the well-known pieces. My cousin and her husband bought the City Pass which included the audio guide tour at the Art Institute. While he was listening to the description of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, I looked at some of the other paintings nearby. 

Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte 

An iconic piece famous for the pointillist technique

Across the room, I noticed this small painting that resembled the larger painting I know so well. But it wasn't exactly the same. I leaned in and read the description. 

It reads, "This small oil on a thin wood panel is one of 24 painted studies Georges Seurat made while conceiving the large, celebrated painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (also on view in this gallery)." It goes on to outline the differences between this sample and the final piece.

I've spent a lot of time since this summer thinking about how to revise my novel. I've read books on craft, I've sought out mentor texts, I've redone my story arc, I've done a lot of character work, I've processed feedback from agents. I've done all this as a way to mentally prepare for revision. There have been lots of feelings...it's not easy to dive into revisions again. Revision is hard work. I find a lot of solace in the idea of revision. Knowing that I have the opportunity to take my crummy first draft to a better is encouraging. But that doesn't mean revision is easy or that I like it. 

Collecting stories of process and sharing the process is so important. I love learning about others and their process but it also helps me to share my own process because it allows me to reflect. Austin Kleon's Show Your Work is one of my favorite books that celebrates process. 

Seeing this panel was a reminder that even artists who have their pieces hanging in art museums and are recognized around the world still had to go through a process. The art didn't just magically flow from their brush to the canvas. Sometimes it's easy to see the product and forget the process that got them there. 

Ada's Violin

Title: Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay
Author: Susan Hood  
Illustrator: Sally Wern Comport 
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 3rd, 2016 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: From award-winning author Susan Hood and illustrator Sally Wern Comport comes the extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash.
Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option...until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.
What I Think: I fell in love with Ada's Violin right away and for so many reasons. I absolutely love narrative nonfiction picture books. We get to read a beautifully told story that is actually true. This book called to me because when I was in 4th grade, I signed up to play the violin in the school orchestra. Seeing a book about a violin player was very exciting. Reading about the town of Cateura in Paraguy reminded me of my friend Jennifer and her cartonera project inspired from Cartoneras in Argentina. You can read more about it here and here and watch the video below.

When I think about my own kids, I think about how lucky they are to have their basic needs met and how much they have in their lives. We still have fun being creative and have done our own version of Cain's Arcade and the cardboard challenge before. (You can watch more about this below.) We paint rocks and they turn every box that comes into our house into something. But it's so easy to not make time for things like this. Reading Ada's Violin was a good reminder to pause and be thankful for everything we have available to us and to make time for creativity and especially being creative with how we use and reuse materials in our house. 

As a mentor text, I pulled the very first line from this beautiful picture book because it stood out to me. First of all, there's some alliteration there for writers to notice. But beyond that, it's a first line that orients the reader with just a few words. There isn't much description and we don't have a lot of details but it's still easy to start to visualize the town Ada might live in. I love this is a mentor text because it's short and simple and students could try and write their own version of this opening line for their own stories, whether they are writing nonfiction, personal narrative, or any other kind of narrative. 

Snatch of Text: "Ada Rios grew up in a town made of trash."

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/29/2018

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

We finished Sideways Stories from Wayside School and I also finished listening to The Beauty That Remains. I'm still reading Take Joy and started listening to Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet. It's super cute and I forgot how much I enjoy short stories. 

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I'm excited to listen to more stories from Meet Cute and I started reading Breakout by Kate Messner a while go and then loaned it to a friend. I'm hoping to get back to it this week.

This Week's Posts:

 

Check back throughout the week to read these posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and check out other blogs to see what they're reading!
To help build our community and support other bloggers,
we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you.
Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/22/2018

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

I listened to more of The Beauty That Remains and read more of Take Joy. The kids and I are almost done with Sideways Stories from Wayside School. 

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I have family visiting from Guatemala this week so I know it's going to be a busy week but I hope to still continue reading The Beauty That Remains and Take Joy.

This Week's Posts:

 

Check back throughout the week to read these posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and check out other blogs to see what they're reading!
To help build our community and support other bloggers,
we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you.
Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/15/2018

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

I finished listening to Option B and started The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk. We're still reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School before bed and I also started reading Take Joy by Jane Yolen.

Last Week's Post:

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

I'm excited to listen to The Beauty That Remains and to read more of Take Joy. I'm hoping to get back to Darkroom this week and to start The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu. 

This Week's Posts:

 

Check back throughout the week to read these posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and check out other blogs to see what they're reading!
To help build our community and support other bloggers,
we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you.
Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Octavia Butler Says See To It

Last week when I blogged about Rachel Hollis and Lady GaGa, a friend told me that her dreams are similar to Octavia Butler's so of course, I had to go find out what those were. 

Here's an image taken from The Huntington Library where he work is now housed. You can read more about this letter to herself here and here.

When I read her words, it reminds me that each of us has to be the first to believe in ourselves. I have to be the first to believe in myself if I hope someone else will believe in me. It reminds me that I have to put in the work in order to get to a place where I believe in myself strongly enough that others will too. 

My favorite part is where she tells herself: So be it! See to it!

I really love that. Reading it made me reflect on my own mantra which is: I believe I can and I will. Some days it's harder to live by it...those days when I'm struggling to believe. It's an interesting thing, believing. It's full of hope and faith and but also a bit of knowledge and trust. While I know I have to be the first person to believe, I've had friends lately who have reminded me to keep believing and that has meant a lot. For me, writing is a very social activity. I'm sure it's because I'm an extrovert and most everything is a social activity for me but I truly believe a writing life is better with friends. I can't imagine navigating the writing process or the world of publishing without others to help me along the way. 

Or even without writing mentors like Octavia Butler who remind me to just get it done. I'm off to write out my own hopes and dreams. If I can dream it, I can believe it. And if I can believe it, I can and I will. 

Do you have a mantra? 

What about your dream for your writing life?

Or maybe you have writing mentors in your life?

I'd love to hear about them!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/08/2018

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Announcement:

Congratulations to the

Perilous Journey Giveaway Winner

Cassandra Darensbourg!

*Thanks again Walden Pond Press for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for partnering with me for this giveaway.

Last Week's Book Adventures:

I finished listening to This Song Will Save Your Life and started Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant. I finished The Shape of Ideas by Grant Snider and Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe by Yumi Sakugawa. I also started Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White by Lila Quintero Weaver. 

Little Bean and I started reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School and it was so fun to hear him giggling. I loved it! 

Last week, I forgot to share that I read What It Is by Lynda Barry and I was yet again intrigued by her style. It was a really fascinating way to look at life and creativity and I highly recommend it. I've also been reading the daily inspiration from Daily Writing Resilience by Bryan E. Robinson. My writing life has been super hard lately...but I blogged about it here.

Last Week's Post:

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

This week I'll be listening to Option B, finishing Darkroom and starting How George Became O'Keeffe by Karen Karbo which I got from the library after I saw Jess Keating post about it on Instagram. 

This Week's Posts:

Check back throughout the week to read these posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and check out other blogs to see what they're reading!
To help build our community and support other bloggers,
we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you.
Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!