Favorite August Reads Part 3

 August Isle by Ali Standish (Juvenile Fiction)

 

 

There's an intense and rather heavy vein running through the story of August Isle. Miranda isn't sure her Mom, Beth, really loves her anymore and can tell her mom is pulling away from her. Initially I wasn't sure about such a heavy theme in a book about a thirteen-year-old, but it's sadly something some kids have to wonder about so it's a great book for kids struggling with this. I think Standish does an excellent job portraying the adults as people who don't have all the answers and who may be forever dealing with the choices they've made and/or the tragedy that's occurred in their lives. There are lots of fun moments though as Miranda learns more about herself while spending the summer with friends of her mom. She befriends two kids who are also dealing with heavy things in their life - racial prejudices and divorce, but they eventually open up and talk about these things with each other. I was surprised by lots of things, which doesn't happen too often when I read books for tweens. There was a plot twist that snuck up on me. And when the reason for Beth's behavior is revealed, I was truly floored. I was a little upset with the mom for how she handled her personal problems, but then I realized that just because we become adults, it doesn't mean that we magically know how to handle everything life throws at us. So yes, this is equal parts fun summer vacation and major family complications. It's not for everyone, but for the small group of people that it is for, I think it's incredibly reassuring and hopeful. I will leave you with a favorite quote: "'Sometimes,' he said, 'change is just discovering something that's been inside us all along...'"

 

After Squidnight by Jonathan Fenske (Picture Book)

 

 

Oh how I adore the mischievous, punk expressions on the squids' faces! The artwork is really something else. The colors are both emo and electric. I immediately started thinking of the squids as taggers, which gives me the serious giggles. The story is hilarious, the language is dynamite, and it's just so much fun to read aloud. I definitely want to read this for a storytime. I think it can get a bit creepy but my plan is to interject "oh those silly squids" every now and then to lighten things up.

 

Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley (Juvenile Graphic Fiction) 

 

 

 

Jen's reluctance to jump enthusiastically into farm life baffles me, but I definitely can understand how much she misses her city life and her dad when she moves from New York City to upstate New York. As always, I enjoyed Knisley's artwork immensely. She does an extra super duper cool thing by placing herself in a comic that she's reading. The comic that she's reading kinda just morphs into her life. It's one of the coolest things I've seen in graphic fiction. I enjoyed the characters, but never really connected with the almost-stepdad. His character doesn't evolve much, but I'm hoping that the sequel shines more light on his character. The best part for me though, was the note from the author at the end. The story was great. The artwork was ridiculously spectacular. But the author's note is what completely melted my crusty heart. I will be recommending this to everyone.

Favorite August Reads Part 2

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (Adult Nonfiction)

These simple yet powerful statements about friendship, kindness, and cake combined with magnificent illustrations give me the feeling of coming home to a place that only existed in my dreams. My favorite quote, one that I need to remind myself of often, is "One of our greatest freedoms is how we react to things." Mackesy's book feels as if Brian Andreas and A.A. Milne invited Mackesy to a party down a rabbit hole. It's definitely a portal to a totally unique world.

Walking by Erling Kagge (Adult Nonfiction)

This is a meandering read, much like walking without a clear plan of where you're going. I enjoyed the observations and quotes and jotted down a handful of books to investigate further. 

Here are a few of my favorite quotes/moments: 

"Journeys of discovery are not something you start doing, but something you gradually stop doing." I think this is something we're all definitely struggling with at the moment - keeping that sense of wonder alive while rooted firmly in one place. 

I also hadn't ever heard of Arne Naess' formula for joy and was wowed by the simplicity of it. It's a reminder that a small increase in your "glow" or joy can outweigh a lot of pain. 

 

Kagge's book was also my first experience with shinrin-yoku (tree-bathing) and how phytoncides from certain trees can benefit humans too. 

I've heard of and firmly believe in the Hippocrates quote, "If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk.” But I didn't realize there is a similar Inuit tradition of walking in a straight line away from your home and then marking the spot in the snow where your anger leaves you. I've been thinking about how this could be cathartic for people in my life, myself included and maybe a great way to tie in kindness art. For example, walk until I'm no longer upset and then leave a rock with a kind message for another person. There have been a few times I've been walking off some grumpiness and have seen a piece of kindness art. Sometimes that's all it takes for me to turn my mood around. Perhaps the people who left these nuggets of kindness have read Kagge's book. Who knows? 

Kagge's book is a great celebration of an activity that we all do. It's an inspiration for the mind, heart, and feet.

I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn (Teen Fiction)

I smiled so much while reading I Love You So Mochi that my face hurts. I appreciate Kimi's outlook on life and her enthusiasm for pretty much anything silly and beautiful. Kimi wasn't the only character I enjoyed. The boy she falls in love with, Akira, is sweet and thoughtful. Both her grandparents are kind of kooky, with their own interests and personalities, and easy to love. Though Kimi’s friends are across the ocean for most of the book, they are equally important and unique. Kimi's mom is also an interesting character. Kimi wants her mom to be proud of her and wishes her mom could understand her passion for making clothes. But Kimi also thinks her mom understands her better than anyone she knows and admires her mom for who she is. Though the book is about Kimi, it's not just about her issues and her journey. It's also about all the people she loves. I'll often read books where the entire focus is placed on the main character's journey and life, and the other characters are just there to support the main character's journey. I Love You Mochi is not that book. All the characters matter in Kimi's world. I also loved the setting and all the details. I have never been to Japan, but I felt like I was completely there with Kimi, experiencing it for the first time. The attention to detail is incredible. So many new foods, clothing, and places I have never heard of. I was googling just as fast as I was reading. I can't say enough positive things about I Love you So Mochi. I could go on and on, gushing about what a fantastic read it is.

* Fun Fact: Sarah Kuhn is one of the writers who gushes about Claudia Kishi from The Babysitter's Club on the super short, super fun Netflix documentary, The Claudia Kishi Club.  

Favorite August Reads Part 1

When I look back on 2020 I hope I immediately think of August, and what a delightful month it was for reading. One of the best reading months I think I've had actually. Nearly every book I picked up was good, and most were excellent.

This will be a triple post. Be prepared for exciting new words, punk squids, and a journey to Japan.

 Saturday by Oge Mora (Picture Book)

  

Ava and her mom have a really special Saturday routine. It's the only day Ava's mom has off and they make it count. The excitement and joy shown in the illustrations gives me a thrill like I'm heading off on an all-day Saturday adventure. Unfortunately everything goes wrong one Saturday. Does their excitement or joy dim though? Absolutely not. They make the best out of each small disaster and focus on what's most important - spending time with each other. The biggest disaster at the end was actually my favorite moment of the whole book. I won't give it away, but I think that it's a Saturday Ava will remember as one of the best Saturdays ever.

The Bird Way by Jennifer Ackerman (Adult Nonfiction)

 

 

I enjoyed every moment of this book. I learned so much about not only bird behavior, but also human behavior and I’m definitely more observant after reading it. Ackerman’s writing style is simple and engaging, with poetic observations woven throughout, much like the snakeskins flycatchers weave into their nests.

Here are my favorite moments:

* When a zebra finch nest hits a temperature above 80 degrees, mom and dad zebra finches will chirp this information to the unborn chicks, who will curtail their growth and come out smaller, which is an advantage in the heat.

* Black-capped chickadees use the “dee” part of their call to ask other birds to assist with mobbing a predator. When there are more 'dees' at the end of a black-capped chickadee's call it means that there is a "greater menace." So, if you hear a black-capped chickadee singing one dee then everything is probably a-ok. Three dees, however, roughly translates to "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap."

* Black-capped chickadees, as well as other types of birds, also use compositional syntax just like humans! For example, if the "dee" were at the beginning of the black-capped chickadee's call, it would mean something entirely different to other birds. In addition to using compositional syntax, birds are also affected by emotional contagion, which is another thing they share with humans. If one raven is disappointed by a food choice he is offered and a second raven witnesses this, the second raven's "interest in food diminishes." The first time I started thinking about emotional contagion was at a long-ago work meeting when someone said that we’re building a culture of appreciation rather than a culture of criticism. I’ve been working on it ever since that meeting, but it’s a tough thing to do, especially when I’m cranky! The word contagion definitely gives me greater pause when I’m in a fowl mood though (I couldn’t resist the pun).

* Lyrebirds have different dances for different moods. "Just as humans waltz to waltz music and salsa to salsa music...'so a lyrebird will dance a side step in time with a weird buzzing spew, spew, spew that sounds like a laser gun or 1980s video game, and then, with his tail narrowed and wings flapping, jump or bob deeply while singing his more quiet plinkety-plinkety-plinkety song.'"

* Turkey vultures help locate leaks in natural gas lines. "...Engineers figured out that if they introduced ethyl mercaptan into the line, they could locate leaks by the concentrations of turkey vultures circling above the line or sitting on the ground next to it." Why, you ask? Well, ethyl mercaptan is the same chemical that animals emit shortly after they die.

* I learned a few bizarre words and phrases I hadn’t heard prior to reading The Bird Way. The Antbird, as well as other types of birds, is kleptoparasitic, which just means that it steals food that was "caught, collected, or prepared by another." Other birds like raptors start fires so they can feast on the prey fleeing the fire. This is called pyric-carnivory. Meanwhile ducks engage in "coordinated loafing," which sounds a little like what happens with humans when the Chiefs are playing.
 
* When putting on a show for a potential mate, bowerbirds imitate many sounds including other birdcalls, the rasping of branches, and the rolling of thunder.

* Sparrows use cigarette butts as a nesting material, and it is believed that the "nicotine may drive away parasites..."

* Magpies hold grudges and about 10% of the males are hyperaggressive and attack people. One researcher says that, "if it were higher than that, I don't think Australia would be habitable."

* I also appreciated the moment when Ackerman wrote about externalizing internal emotions, which is something else birds have in common with humans. I am watching the TV show, Numbers, right now and there is an episode about looking for someone’s “tell” when playing poker. I realized that’s what I had been doing since I read Ackerman’s marvelous description about externalizing internal emotions. I was looking for humans’ and birds’ tells. Does this person do something when they’re happy? Yes, they sing! Ok, when they start singing, I will talk to them about cleaning up their bathroom. I also have two barred owls who have a nest in the tree outside my office window. I’ve been studying their “tells.” My favorite tell involves finding the mate. Once I’ve spotted the first owl, I pay attention to where they look up. If they’re looking up, it’s usually for their mate, who is usually no more than a few trees away. What an eye-opener for someone who isn’t the best observer!

Ackerman writes, “Just for a day I’d like to experience the world the way they do, to see leaves with ultraviolet light baked into their greens, to hear and understand the minute musical differences and quick shifts in the acoustic structure of their complex calls and songs… To witness bird behavior in its full range is to glean some perspective on our own behavior.” 

123: Early Learning at the Museum (Board Book)

 

This is a great storytime book because there's not only counting but also lots of moments to ask kids and grown-ups questions about colors, patterns, and what something looks like or what we think something is. This book opens doors in so many ways and it's incredibly beautiful and easy to get lost in.

Smiles

Margo's happiness was contagious this morning. She knows how to make even the fiercest jogger share a smile with her.

Paper Quilt

Izzy helped me pick out all the papers and cut them into rounded squares for my first collage quilt, so this is a special piece for me. I'm hoping to get it custom framed once we're no longer social distancing. Robert and I started visiting Izzy, which has been both really nice and also a bit frustrating because of social distancing. I'm hoping we can continue creating things together and have been pondering how to do that while we're still social distancing. 

Papers included in this piece:

* Three chocolate wrappers. Two are Alter Eco, and one of the Alter Eco wrappers came from a friend of mine, who saved all kinds of cool food wrappers for me.

* The paper from a disposable tea cup from Kew Gardens. I carefully peeled the paper off of everyone's cups and tucked them away for the right time. I still have some left for another piece.

* Yogi tea boxes, which are one of my favorite things in the world.

* Dried flowers.

* Perfume sample cards (so it smells good too).

* Shopping bags (including Hallmark's lovely tan and white printed bag).

* Samples from a fabric magazine. Sadly, I haven't found any fabric magazines for awhile, so I've been using the last few I have sparingly. 

Rain Boy

I used to post a random picture from a picture book with little or no context, and I almost forgot about this delightful and weird idea until I was reading Rain Boy.

Rain Boy was just a little too weird to get a stellar review from me, but there were some pee-your-pants funny illustrations going on.

Here you go 😂

Monkey Retrievers

I think it's fair to say we've run out of ways to entertain ourselves around here. Thankfully Margo and Josie are full of ideas. 

Rose and Ella were choosy about textures. They didn't like walking on plastic or rubber and were so terrified of the ramp that led up to the self-service dog bath, we just had to lift them into the bath like the 90 pound princesses they were. Ella thought it was great fun to be lifted gently into her bath by her royal subjects. Rose flailed around like we were going to drop her at any second.

Any time Margo and Josie see a playground they nearly lose it. They want to run over every part of it, jump off every ledge, and now their enthusiasm has even given them the confidence to try the previously-dreaded slide. Margo will actually slide down the slide just like a child will. Josie will start to slide and then make a spectacular leap when she's had enough. It is one of the funniest things ever. I've been laughing too hard to take a proper video but hope to soon.

When Josie saw a child in a tree a few days ago she actually started climbing the tree! Fortunately the child thought it was hilarious and we were able to stop Josie before she got too far. 

There is no such thing as a dull day around here. 

creepy librarian lady

Last week I covered a desk shift at a different library branch, and I had exactly two patron interactions during my four-hour shift. Thankfully I had a lot of work to keep me busy, but I did feel a little unapproachable in the weird librarian-in-a-closet set up they had at the branch.

Can this children's questions desk be any less approachable? 

Maybe if it were in a white van out in the parking lot.

I was a little worried someone was going to walk by, see me, and then promptly piss themselves, or worse, have a heart attack.

Though patrons couldn't find me to ask for assistance I couldn't give, there was always somebody in the children's area during those four hours. So I spent the whole four hours making loud keyboard clacking noises, whistling, and squeaking my chair so I wouldn't scare the crap out of anyone. I'm sure I looked and sounded a little deranged. Especially when I backed myself into a corner of the closet and attempted to eat half an apple out of a Tupperware container without touching it or breathing.

It was hard work being a creepy librarian lady hiding in the closet all night. I was hungry.

Ok

I don't have a lot to write about these days and some days I'm ok with this. Other days I feel a bit concerned I'm not keeping my mind and eyes open.

I think traveling gives us a new perspective, experiences we haven't had, which gives us back our childlike wonder. There have been a few moments when I start to miss the adventures we used to go on, the weekends we took off for some exotic place like Nebraska or Arkansas. I usually scold myself for this because my family is incredibly fortunate. We have been healthy, working mostly from home with all the comforts we sometimes take for granted - adequate shelter, air conditioning, jobs, and enough space in our home to get away from each other for our work. I often think about folks who came to the library for all of these things before the pandemic, and I feel equally grateful and guilty. 

Most days I am content to remain hunkered down and away from people while we get this virus figured out. I know too many people who are at risk, people I adore and already fret over because of their ages and illnesses. I know people who are struggling with the complications from the virus weeks after they contracted it. 

I recognize I'm very much an introvert so that's working in my favor too. Pre-pandemic I would go for walks and find myself turning in a completely different direction when I saw another person. I still do this, especially when I'm attempting to take a people break. Pre-pandemic I went from taking days off work because I needed a break from people. Now I work almost every day due to programming and telephone reference, and though it's more exhausting to provide services and programs for patrons in a virtual environment, I have more opportunities to take breaks from people, small chunks of time I can get away. 

Rachel is still set to go back to her university soon, but we've heard stories of schools changing their minds the day before students move back to their dorms. Rachel is more than ready to leave, but Robert and I are nervous about her going. School is such a sticky wicket! 

Izzy is doing well. She is in a long-term care facility and we have no idea when she's going to start school or how it's going to work. We talk to her almost every day and visited with her last week (while social distancing). We're still waiting for answers that may not exist. It's a one-day-at-a-time journey.

But like I said, not a lot is going on here. Today I think I'm ok with that.

Favorite July Reads

July was an excellent month for reading. I read a lot of different books including a teen thriller. It wasn't an amazing book, but I can officially say that I've read some kind of thriller. 

Here are my July favorites:

Picture This by Molly Bang (Adult Nonfiction)

Reading this is like putting on a new pair of glasses after going to the eye doctor and finding out your prescription has been off. Every picture book I've read since reading Picture This has been read with a new perspective. Each page is filled with intricacies I hadn't noticed before. Bang does a great job explaining how each illustration is broken up into shapes that communicate with each other and to the reader. This is a great resource for artists, writers, and educators. In addition to reading picture books with a closer eye, I can't wait to use what I learned in Picture This for storytimes, teen art/writing workshops, and in my personal art. I will never look at shapes the same way!

Like the Moon Loves the Sky by Hena Khan and illustrated by Saffa Khan (Picture Book)

I paused while reading this to look up the word, 'inshallah,' because I hadn't heard of it before. I had an idea of what it meant, but I appreciate any book that sends me on a word search. I think the message is one all parents can relate to, and was delighted to discover that it's a nugget of the Koran. I like when picture books take something huge and sometimes inaccessible to children and help them understand it better (and me too for that matter). I was also completely gobsmacked by the gorgeous illustrations. I can't get over them. Rich, soothing, flowing, and warm. They're deeply comforting and peaceful. This is definitely a book that gives away free hugs.

Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor

Snail is "cabbage bound," and nothing is going to keep him from the crunchy feast. But the cabbage is all the way on the other side of the road with cars and rain and ants and a hungry crow standing in his way. Who knew a craving for cabbage could turn into such a perilous journey? But the snail shelters the ants from the rain, and the ants return that kindness in a beautiful way. It's a perilous cabbage journey paved (and slimed) in sweetness.

A Fire Story by Brian Fies

I'm not sure how a book can be both devastating and inspirational, but A Fire Story is just that. I was amazed that Fies had the presence of mind to immediately begin recording his loss. Also, it's one thing to be vulnerable after you've had time to process something as enormous as losing your home, but to immediately share your hurt with the entire world is really quite brave. Though the artwork was a bit goofy, which didn't match the gravity of the situation, I gradually realized it's probably just Fies' artistic style. There were several eye-opening moments for me. Shortly after the fire, Fies and his wife, Karen, are writing holiday cards and his wife wonders how they're going to find the addresses of their friends without their address book. Fies suggests looking at the envelopes from the previous year and then they both realize they don't have the envelopes either. I also thought the unique perspectives of different neighbors and their fire stories was a thoughtful touch that made this book all the more interesting and heartbreaking. Even after the fire, the sense of Fies' community is still strong. Though neighbors were scattered throughout the area, they still met up with each other. I don't know a single neighbor on my street (with the exception of my mother-in-law) so I found that to be incredibly touching. Fies leaves the story on a positive note, which must have been tough but necessary for him to do. I can't imagine that battle! He leaves the reader with an illustration of daffodils and the hope of building a new house with all the love and memories their last house included.