Hooray!
More books for you!
Every Friday I recap what I’ve read during the week.
I post the picture of the book
that I took when I finished reading it,
and underneath, my thoughts.
This week I didn’t get a ton of reading done until Thursday. I’ve been reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and I’ve almost finished it. Also, I went back to work this week and that took most of my reading time away. I hunkered down and had a short reading session on Thursday which really helped, reading wise and stress wise. And filling up my reading week wise.
IN REAL LIFE
By Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang
Anda is a teenage girl who loves playing an online role-playing game called Coarsegold Online. She discovers pretty quickly that she is really good at this game. She joins a guild and meets some friends, and plays it with most of her free time. She even does missions where she makes actual money.
She befriends a gold farmer, who is a person in the game that collects valuable objects and then illegally sells them to players to make money. This is against the rules, but Anda realizes it’s more complicated than that; this boy, Raymond, is making a living in the real world by doing this in the game. And apparently a lot of other boys in China are doing the same.
Anda tries to figure out a way to save him, while also maintaining the friendships she has already made. A lot of the missions she went on in the game included attacking and killing gold farmers.
I love this graphic novel. I have never played role-playing games, but got into it quickly. I like that it is about the game, but also addresses more important issues that we have as a society. The art is awesome, and I really like the juxtaposition between the real world and the world of the game. Check this one out; it’s really fun.
SPOOKY POOKIE
By Sandra Boynton
Little Pookie is not sure what he wants to be for Halloween. In this board book, he tries on a lot of costumes, but none seem to be the right fit, until the very last one, which is indeed spooky!
This little board book has great illustrations, rhyming text that effortless to read, and just enough of a story to entertain a little one. I love Sandra Boynton and this is a great little Halloween read!
We finished reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! (I am reading a chapter or so a night aloud to Danny, since he’s never read them!) On to Goblet of Fire!
ARE YOU MY BROWN BEAR? ERES MI OSO PARDO?
By Harriet Ziefert
Illustrated by Christina O Donovan
This is an easy reader in the HOLA ENGLISH series. The sentences on the page are in English first, then Spanish. Each language is in a different color too. It’s more of a concept book but also has a story to it; someone is searching for brown bear!
Because it’s an easy reader, the text is very basic, but it’s still entertaining. I don’t know much Spanish at all, so it was fun to read along with this one. One the back there’s a vocabulary list too, which is great.
I really like the illustrations! The beats look so fuzzy and the soft colors and loose lines bring you right in. This was a great random find at the library! I’ll look for more!
10 LITTLE FISH 10 PECECITOS
By Harriet Ziefert
Illustrated by Elliot Kreloff
Another easy reader, each sentence in English and Spanish. The color is different depending on the language, and it covers lots of colors and adjectives as well as numbers. I love the illustrations; I think they would inspire a kid to want to draw, because they look very childlike but are still very fun.
Even though it is a concept book, there is still a story that you can follow in the illustrations. There’s even rhyming text in the English version of the story. The pages are bright and colorful, and there’s another word list on the back. So great!
BALLET CAT: THE TOTALLY SECRET SECRET
By Bob Shea
Oh man, am I glad to see a new easy reader series. I am a huge fan of books told entirely in dialogue, and this one does not disappoint. Ballet Cat and Sparkles The Pony are good friends, and they’re trying to decide what to play. Sparkles suggests lots of great things, but Ballet Cat keeps saying no. Initially she thinks each one sounds fun, but then she realizes they can’t do those things AND ballet at the same time.
That’s when Sparkles decides to tell Ballet Car that he has a secret. A totally secret secret.
The story is simple, but also relevant to kids this age dealing with friends. There are some really funny parts; I laughed out loud at least four or five times. The illustrations are pretty simple too.
I like the line of the characters, the speech bubbles, and the bright backgrounds. There’s even some sparkle and texture on the cover! I feel like I already got to know the characters in this first story really well, and I can’t wait to see what else they do together. Here’s a not so totally secret secret: this is going to be a great series!
IT’S ONLY STANLEY
By Jon Agee
This is a great little rhyming picture book. It opens with Stanley, the family dog, hearing a howl, and he decides to do something about it. His family, the Wimbledons, are asleep, until one of them hears a noise. The dad (Walter) always goes to investigate and comes back saying it’s only Stanley, then following that up with what he thinks Stanley’s doing.
The pacing of this book is so awesome. When Walter goes to investigate, there is a full spread of him looking at Stanley doing something, then he reports back saying what he thinks Stanley is doing. It is fun to try and guess what he’s going to say, since there’s a predictable rhyme pattern.
I did not see the end coming; but it is awesome. There are little hints in the illustrations that would lead you to the conclusion. Speaking of illustrations, I also really like the little storyline of the cat. He goes to investigate too, but always ending up having something spilled on him or something funny happening to him.
This is a quick read, and I think kids will find it really funny about what happens at the end. And about Stanley essentially running the show. I really love the lettering in the illustrations too. I love the simple line in the drawings and the simple colors. The illustrations feel very inviting, like you can picture really being there.
STEVE, RAISED BY WOLVES
By Jared Chapman.
This is a great book in the going-to-school-is-tough-genre, but a fresh spin on it that you have never seen. Steve was literally raised by wolves, so of course he has a hard time fitting in at school. He does some really funny things, but they are true to his character. Eventually he figures out how to be himself and be a contributing member of his classroom.
There are really funny parts too; I especially love what he brings to lunch on his first day. The colors are very bright, and the illustrations are crisp and fun. I love all the other kids in his class, and I also love the couple of times in the book where there’s a little dashed line to document the part he has taken. There are some cool textures in the book, and even if you’re not sending your little wolf to school, I think you would enjoy this book. But if you are, it could be a good way to talk about the first couple days of school. Even though he’s a wolf, Steve’s plight is very relatable. This is a fun one!
Have you read any of these?
I’d love to hear what you thought of them!
See you next Friday with more books!
Bye for now,
KE
P.S. Full disclosure: The links above go to Indiebound and are affiliate links. If you buy at Indiebound, I’ll get a little kick back. That would of course be nice, but really I’m happy to be linking to an Indie site 🙂
