The captivating children's book demonstrates the importance of friendship/citizenship. A young girl moves with her mother to the countryside and she lThe captivating children's book demonstrates the importance of friendship/citizenship. A young girl moves with her mother to the countryside and she loves being outdoors throughout the seasons and drawing the outdoors as well. When her mother and her befriend the older woman who lives close by the young girl finds connection and inspiration as the woman ages and gets weaker, surprising her with drawings to bring the outdoors inside.
This is the kind of gentle children's book that says everything is needs to say with few words and using the tone it sets with the illustrations to bring it all together. Loved everything about it. ...more
Coming off of listening to The Only Good Indians, I'm inclined to love the Indigenous stories that feature multiple characters/multiple storylines becComing off of listening to The Only Good Indians, I'm inclined to love the Indigenous stories that feature multiple characters/multiple storylines because they've been underrepresented historically in literature so when authors create their works, they want to cram as many experiences and voices as they can. It's beautiful how they weave these narratives-- in that one and in this one, both fiction.
In this story, the threads of the story are the roads that lead to the powwow and the discovery of how the characters are connected in big and small ways. Orange addresses alcoholism and adoption, abandonment and missing Indigenous women. It's a panoply of experiences with the intricate voice of an author who knows and weaves a compelling story that blows readers away. ...more
In the vein of other collective biographies, Keene is collecting the biographies to highlight of Indigenous people including and somewhat specificallyIn the vein of other collective biographies, Keene is collecting the biographies to highlight of Indigenous people including and somewhat specifically GLBTQ/Two Spirit, those from Hawaiian Nations, and Alaskan Nations whose work is everything from linguists to advocates.
There's a short biography with an illustrated image and their name with their tribal affiliation. It does its job as outlined by Keene that Indigenous people are not in the past only but the present and the future. ...more
This got a lot of praise and I see why. I read middle grade but it's not my target audience because I'm a high school librarian though I like to read This got a lot of praise and I see why. I read middle grade but it's not my target audience because I'm a high school librarian though I like to read about the myriad of issues that middle grade brings up where the characters have to work through the problem (however quirky or serious they are) and in most cases, have some semblance of a resolution that's usually hopeful. This one does too but I think there were a few too many elements in the story-- and I know it's hard to pick just one-- butd I liked the development of the family story (with the quirkiness of hunting the Midnight Marauder) and thought that those dynamics were what I wanted to read more about.
The depth of the characters and the significance of the family you're born into versus the one that you make yourself and all of the gray in between is where I would have liked to stay in the story because Bug had a great voice right from the start to narrate the story as she discovers her mom's backstory.
Glad to have read it but not one of my favorites to push....more
Artistically drawn goddesses from all corners of the world, religion, and mythology to call forth when you need some romance or strength- Shen organizArtistically drawn goddesses from all corners of the world, religion, and mythology to call forth when you need some romance or strength- Shen organizes these 50 goddesses by giving a short biographical profile of who they are and from where they come from and their origin story and why (particularly) women look to them when they need the strength or power they are said to possess.
It's informative in addition to being a feast for the eyes which Shen does so well. ...more
Using Cree language for some of the text, this children's book features the great outdoors and the children and animals that wiggle, romp, and roll alUsing Cree language for some of the text, this children's book features the great outdoors and the children and animals that wiggle, romp, and roll all over the place as they play around.
It's got adventure and beauty with limited words and more about the mood of the story itself with a more muted color palette that works for the fun. ...more
A powerful story about the Indigenous populations of Colombia who were displaced from their villages with such ferocity and hatred that the people onlA powerful story about the Indigenous populations of Colombia who were displaced from their villages with such ferocity and hatred that the people only had enough time to run without much in the way of "packing and leaving". So when the frustrated, angered, saddened, and mourning Amazona decides she wants to fight back, she returns with her dead baby to bury her on native soil and in the process out the damage and upheaval left on their land by the new people in power while they sleep and live dozens to a small room.
It's a powerful reminder of the injustices in all parts of the world. The only inaccessible thing for a YA audience is that the illustrations are more offbeat, more homegrown sketching that fits the tone and mood, but it's a standard approach to art that they're used to and might turn some students off, however knowing what a significant event and ballsy main character lie within the pages, I would press anyone to read it. Moody, but well-placed. ...more
How do you quantify something this dark and disturbing but absolutely riveting and beautiful? I can see what the fuss is about and am kicking myself fHow do you quantify something this dark and disturbing but absolutely riveting and beautiful? I can see what the fuss is about and am kicking myself for not picking it up sooner.
I listened to the audiobook and I'm sure I would have pulled away even more if I had read the print version but the narrator along with the storytelling was impeccable. The events from the past haunt the future from the men on the reservation. They're all in different places ten years later yet have been overshadowed by the paranormal happenstances that are affecting them now whether it's at home, on a basketball court, at a sweat lodge, and bumming around town.
There is quite a bit of death including animals eviscerated and humans succumbing to the whims and wrath of the elk-headed being that tells part of the story.
The haunting atmosphere is completely consuming and intricate. Loved the horror and the delicate balance between past and present. ...more
LeZotte's first novel was stellar so I wasn't surprised when this one left me riveted. Mary is asked to help a girl on the mainland because of Mary's LeZotte's first novel was stellar so I wasn't surprised when this one left me riveted. Mary is asked to help a girl on the mainland because of Mary's deafness but also her patience and need to break out a little from the safety (after a harrowing kidnap in the first book) of her home on the Vineyard. She sees her friends starting to make impacts and wants to do the same.
She shows up to the fancy home where she begins to endear herself to a young girl who is chained in a bedroom while the rest of the house staff seem to be trying to cover up the larger story. The girl seems feral but Mary knows there's a girl who has been traumatized (and she doesn't even know her name). The book has some darker elements but it does not sugarcoat anything from the way the girl, Beatrice, was treated to the reality of the Indigenous people in Massachusetts to the views on infidelity. And the history is what is superbly fascinating and is allowed to shine with her capable storytelling and fantastic main character. Even the secondary characters are full of verve from Ezra to her parents and Ben in the stables.
It had hopefulness with the realities of life. ...more
First Second is a pretty stellar company that does graphic novels well. This is one of their series- history comics and this one takes people through First Second is a pretty stellar company that does graphic novels well. This is one of their series- history comics and this one takes people through the history of America's national parks and the hard-fought and downright despicable ways that allowed them to be monetized and trampled until America figured out a better formula.
What I do like is the consistency of the bald eagle and Big Foot representation of the parks that narrate and move readers through the story because it gets a little distracted at times to try to tell so much of the story that in a few places there's a lot of information on the page visually and written because there are threads about Indigenous people, various good and bad men trying to make a buck, the differences between conservationism and preservationists, that even they didn't at some points know what they were doing and what groups it was happening with.
Regardless, it's a peak inside national parks and understanding the value of getting out there and enjoying them and understanding how they came to be.
Fascinating fact: The Indigenous people of the area named the Ahwahnechee called Yosemite the Ahwahnee Valley. The whites who entered the area called it Yosemite because they heard the Indigenous saying it-- Yosemite means "killer"....more
This is definitely the kind of nonfiction I like to listen to because I'm a fan of shows like Hell on Wheels plus I want to know the real story that'sThis is definitely the kind of nonfiction I like to listen to because I'm a fan of shows like Hell on Wheels plus I want to know the real story that's often different than what's romanticized in shows. Clavin does that by focusing on the Earp clan as well as Masterson and of course, the Kansas town that centered it all. It's where the Indigenous groups clashed with the westward bound whites, it's where brothels and saloons and lawlessness liked to coexist. There was upheaval and small and big wars. Romances and men who never wanted to bed down because they wanted to see what was out there, without the fanfare of having to make it sexy because there was plenty of action and adventure to be had. It reminds me of reading the thick book on the history of the Vikings- which is so different than watching the History channel's take on it because there's just a lot we don't know.
Clavin sets up a pretty spectacular series of events with this captivating setting which also made my yearn for those letter writing days. I think about how people looking back at this current time period will be able to know what people were thinking and doing (from Facebook posts?) ...more
A superb juvenile biography about Mary Golda Ross who excelled at math and then went on to excel in the STEM fields after more study to work on classiA superb juvenile biography about Mary Golda Ross who excelled at math and then went on to excel in the STEM fields after more study to work on classified missions, fly planes more smoothly in the air, and always at the end of the day taking time out to support young girls in the field who can look up to her and see that they too can succeed if they have the want, drive, and ambition to do it too. ...more
It's a perfect children's biography because I didn't know Sharice Davids and this was a lovely introduction to her as a take-charge "big-voiced" girl It's a perfect children's biography because I didn't know Sharice Davids and this was a lovely introduction to her as a take-charge "big-voiced" girl who grew into a woman who used that big voice for good as a lawyer and then in the White House and then in Congress as both Indigenous and a member of the GLBTQ community.
The story it chronological and (at times) goofy which her hatred of onions on pizza but allows the readers to get to know her both professionally but personally. And the color scheme for the picture book itself was beautiful. ...more
I've read a few things about the Donner Party and also learned from people like Caitlin Doughty, so this was simply another approach to the story wherI've read a few things about the Donner Party and also learned from people like Caitlin Doughty, so this was simply another approach to the story where Brown kind of centers the narrative of the Donner Party's travails around Sarah. The story still encompasses all of the major players, shares the historical relevancy, maps and travel, food and illness, but always circles back around to how she fared through the ordeal.
Brown is chronological in his approach and straightforward, more notably in the narrators flat affect in reading the book which I got used to. There are pieces that can be emotional, but its best to not truly judge anything that happened especially because so few of them really spoke or wrote down the experiences other than some interviews because of the treacherous journey itself but also the death of animals and people, and their personal struggles with hunger, snow blindness, and weakness. Brown's note toward the end about post-traumatic stress as well as 'what it takes' to be a survivor were thoughtful additions to help contextualize the experience. ...more
This one is going to be a hard one to pinpoint for the type of reader who will love it for what it can be and is. It's like the broccoli reads of authThis one is going to be a hard one to pinpoint for the type of reader who will love it for what it can be and is. It's like the broccoli reads of authors like Lauren Wolk where sometimes the adult readers are the real audience wanting to the middle grade or teen audience to read it but there are nuances to both the story itself and the history behind them that leaves a gap in true appreciate for the intended audience of middle grade or YA.
It reminds me and can be readalikes to stories like Finding Junie Kim and Maizy Chen's Last Chance because there is a nonlinear storyline that merges history with the present day. You have the main character in the real world having just lost a great-great-great grandmother suspected to be 150 years old and of the old way and then you have the other character Oli who is not human but living in a somewhat parallel universe (from how I read the story) with happenings merging their stories to be told together. It's complicated in a way that needs some contextualization that I don't know is there.
However, the storytelling is clearly on point. It is intricately plotted and organized to unfold just as it needs to be. That's a strength of Little Badger's for sure, having read Elatsoe...more
What's not to love about Artie (or Artemis) who has a werewolf mother?
She didn't know and then when her mother tells her she wonders whether she is toWhat's not to love about Artie (or Artemis) who has a werewolf mother?
She didn't know and then when her mother tells her she wonders whether she is too. Well, her father is human but she hasn't shown any werewolf abilities yet... and then....
Artie is exploring what it means to be a werewolf and build her community and connections while also learning the story of her father who she never knew and the mystery surrounding what happened to him leading to a darker element of the story in which readers learn the differences and motivations of vampires versus werewolves, friendship, and the meaning of family. ...more
I usually *love* the books that I've picked up to read of Erdrich's because she's got such a deep style of writing that is measured and beautiful. AndI usually *love* the books that I've picked up to read of Erdrich's because she's got such a deep style of writing that is measured and beautiful. And I was excited for the book based on the summary. However, there was something that didn't click right from the start and I never got the rhythm of the story nor Tookie herself to both continue with the ghost woman at the bookstore during the pandemic and all that she had to endure and overcome after her imprisonment and subsequent relationships.
It might be a try-again-later kind of story however usually I don't circle back around if I didn't feel the connection the first time, which is a bummer for this one. ...more
I don't have much of a foundation for the Navajo code talkers other than a very general, very broad understanding of their contributions so like the sI don't have much of a foundation for the Navajo code talkers other than a very general, very broad understanding of their contributions so like the series does, it breaks it down into a manageable understanding of just who they were. A group of men who decided to serve their country even though the country wasn't necessarily kind to them and who then used their native Navajo language to create a little more complexity for battle and war and then were the main communication between forces during World War II (though they were also starting to be used in World War I).
The men had a secret mission and an unbreakable code that defeated the Japanese and allowed the United States to take Iwo Jima, but even then they couldn't really talk about what they did. But what they did was phenomenal and singularly special because the language that missionaries and the government wanted them to be rid of ended up creating the bridge for a better understanding, though not at first.
Recognition eventually came along with awards, accolades, and memories to share with the world about what they did, even though some did not survive the war....more
This was a robust book (or at least I'd assume it to be) since the audiobook ran about 15 hours. It wove in and out of Kimmerer's life, her professionThis was a robust book (or at least I'd assume it to be) since the audiobook ran about 15 hours. It wove in and out of Kimmerer's life, her profession in botany, and the relationship with her Indigenous roots to create a melodic story (and even more melodic because she narrates the audiobook- always a good choice).
Does it feel drawn out in parts? Yes, but then she brings you back with her astonishment with the way of the world or how we interact within it. I was particularly drawn to her observations with gratitude in Indigenous culture and breaking down the thankfulness, prayers, and wishes which outsiders always complain about being 'too long' but that ultimately help connect all elements of a person's person if only we had more gratitude and quiet with nature and how it speaks.
I'm certainly in the small percentage of people that can't gush over the book because I was mildly confused and distracted during the listening to theI'm certainly in the small percentage of people that can't gush over the book because I was mildly confused and distracted during the listening to the story. This is my own reading of the book, but certainly I can recognize the reasons that this book would appeal to others.
My main frustrations were related to the pacing of the story (it dragged in overcomplicating the elements of the story) and the sense that I never felt connected to Elatsoe in any meaningful way. And having come off of listening to the audiobook for The Firekeeper's Daughter, I thought: are Indigenous stories all about murder and mystery rather than a celebration of Indigenous life and culture? I don't want to fall into the trap of having only stories that celebrate one type of narrative and not have others. So it was likely more timing for these two. And people are labeling it as YA but it read more middle grade with the way the mystery and problem-solving unfolded.
But I'm always a fan of weaving magical realism and a ghost dog, here for it. I also liked that I listened to the story as the narrator did a great job....more
Loading...
