Listen with me

 

The June Boys by Court Stevens

What better way to travel into the new year than by listening to a thriller while running? With missing kids, family secrets, and complex plots this one promises to be a compelling listen.

Non-fiction book review - The ABCs of Black History

 

The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez

The reader will not be surprised to discover that this is far from a typical alphabet book. Really, Cortez is using the alphabet as a framework to introduce a wide variety of topics related to Black History and culture. Sometimes this is famous figures (Langston Hughes or Malcolm X). Some letters are represented by important events. More intriguing are the letters represented by concepts, things that can be hard to explain but which Cortez handles masterfully. I mean, I've never seen a picture book that uses the word "diaspora" before. Each letter gets just a few rhyming lines in the main text but is explained in more depth in the final pages of notes. The content is appropriate for young children but doesn't sugarcoat reality. This would be a great framework for a Black History Month curriculum, using each letter's concept as a focus for study.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Escaping Eleven

 

Title: Escaping Eleven

Author: Jerri Chisholm

Genre: dystopia

Similar books: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau 

                      The Seclusion by Jacqui Castle

Rating: 

 

a decent addition to the genre

Summary (provided by publisher): In Compound Eleven, the hierarchy of the floors is everything.
My name is Eve Hamilton, and on my floor, we fight.
Which at least is better than the bottom floor, where they toil away in misery. Only the top floor has any ease in this harsh world; they rule from their gilded offices.
Because four generations ago, Earth was rendered uninhabitable—the sun too hot, the land too barren. Those who remained were forced underground. While not a perfect life down here, I’ve learned to survive as a fighter.
Except my latest match is different. Instead of someone from the circuit, my opponent is a mysterious boy from the top floor. And the look in his eyes tells me he’s different…maybe even kind.
Right before he kicks my ass.
Still, there’s something about him—something that says he could be my salvation...or my undoing. Because I’m no longer content to just survive in Eleven. Today, I'm ready to fight for more than my next meal: I'm fighting for my freedom. And this boy may just be the edge I've been waiting on.

My opinion: We've seen a scant few dystopian teen novels in recent years. It's a shame since they were some of my favorites. Now that we're seeing more of them again, they're more innovative. Authors are finding new approaches to these worlds. Consider the world of Compound Eleven: heavily stratified by economics, limited opportunities for those in the lowest levels, a leader interested only in his own comfort and power. This is a fairly standard set-up. And Eve is a fairly standard protagonist. She's a have-not who dreams of escape. But there are some variations. For instance, Eve is not one of the lowest tier. This is important so that she has something to lose beyond her physical being and allows us to see her as compassionate. The role of fighting in the culture is an interesting twist. This is a world where fighting skills might get you a guard job or just as easily a professional fighting gig. A more interesting twist is Eve's view of her world. She begins the book plotting her escape. Most dystopias have the hero coming to a gradual realization that has them leaving on a whim. Eve plots out every step of her escape. Instead of learning reasons to leave, she's making ties with people and finding reasons to stay. With additional reflections on guilt and responsibility, I find this one well worth the read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Framed print

 Last year my brother brought me a signed print from a comic-con and I've been storing it carefully ever since, waiting for the perfect frame to hang it. Nothing ever really seemed right. And then I bought a large box of Pokemon cards and realized that the inner cardboard was a fantastic shade of teal. 

 

It was just what I've been looking for. It's the perfect frame for my print.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 1

 Usually I draw cards for the people in my department. Of course, this is not a normal year. With people working remotely, I don't know when I'll be seeing some of them again. So I made just one more detailed card that I photographed and sent as a sort of e-card. And now I'm sending it to all of you. A very merry Christmas to all of you.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 2

 Since I learned how to punch needle this year, I really wanted to incorporate that into this countdown. I played with a couple of different images before settling on this one (inspired by this needle felted image I saw on Pinterest). What says Merry Christmas more than a brussels sprout wearing a crown from a Christmas cracker? 

While I was adding the crown, made from felt and some tiny sequins, I went ahead and made a couple of hairpins: another cracker crown and a clutch of pompoms.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 3

 Today's craft is a quick one, a velvet coloring poster. It may not be fancy, but this quirky image amuses me and I have a soft spot for these coloring kits which were fairly popular when I was a kid.