Best Reads T1 2022-2023

Here are my favorite books that I read during the first trimester of the year. Click on the titles to read plot summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

The Book of Rules by Brian Gehrlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this but ... we aren't allowed to have rugs anymore. We'll see what happens next year when I supposedly have one building with a new carpeted library. Or maybe I'll just change the first rule. Definitely a fantastic first K lesson read.

 

There’s A Ghost In This House by Oliver Jeffers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, this would have been a good one for last year's Mock Caldecott. Although if Jeffers only lives in NYC part-time, does he qualify? Nonetheless, will be adding to the collection.




Kindergarten: Where Kindness Matters Every Day by Vera Ahiyya
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Our Ks this year are fairly feral. I'm going to try reading this and see if it helps at all.

 

Lou by Breanna Carzoo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short and sweet. Love all the representation in the background characters.

 

Every Dog in the Neighborhood by Philip C. Stead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love that they took matters into their own hands.

 

Where Is Bina Bear? by Mike Curato
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Awww ...

 

I Want to Be a Vase by Julio Torres
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Is there subtext? Maybe. Would the jigsaw melt in the toilet? Definitely. But ... might as well try, right? I had a silly grin on my face the entire time I read this, and will be using for Mock Caldecott. But not reading the last page, because I am forever telling my students "Books are not hats!"

 

A History of Me by Adrea Theodore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hoo boy. I felt that in my gut. Want to have in my collections for all the girls who are the only brown people in their class. Well, and the boys too I guess. Although I have to say my schools have become more diverse demographically over the years. I still never know where to look when I talk about slavery and the civil rights movement, though.

 

Does a Bulldozer Have a Butt? by Derick Wilder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

K-Fai Steele, why did you have to move to Switzerland?? Now I can't use this for Mock Caldecott!

 

 

The Big Bad Wolf in My House by Valérie Fontaine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Powerful.

 

To Make by Danielle Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Inspiring. But the gnome and fairy distracted me. More kids need to hear the message that sometimes you need to WAIT.

 

Middle Grade Novels

  Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welp. Best book I've read about the 2020 experience yet. Oof. One to read and reread. The text and art work so well together. Some favorite lines:

"and she wipes weary from her eyes / still glued to the no-good / glued to the high-definition glare of low-definition life"

"ain't nothing but a fist with a face that looks like mine"

"and my brother never lifts his head from the game / while his hands jut around moving in a panic as he fights / for an extra life"

"and turns back to the television that seem to say too much / where he watches the same thing my mother is watching in the living room / and I'm wondering why he won't change the channel"

"and can't nobody breathe in a knit sweater in the summer / a turtleneck wrapped around my whole family our necks caught in a tunnel of too much going on / and it feels like I'm the only person who can tell we're all suffocating"

"and that maybe the oxygen mask was hidden on the hinges of my mother's mouth ... and maybe oxygen masks are stocked in the books on the shelf my mother's been begging us to read / but we haven't yet / and I figure maybe there's a breath between the pages"

"and it feels like he might knock the wind into me"

"and I wonder if maybe an oxygen mask is hiding amongst the crumbs of memories caught between the cushions of this couch"

"and I'm sitting here still still still wondering / why my mother won't change the channel / and why the news won't change the story / and why the story won't change into something other than / the every-hour rerun / about how we won't change the world / or the way we treat the world / or the way we treat each other"

I need to go pour myself a drink.


The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful writing; were the "I alone can fix it" references a little too on the nose?

 

Yonder by Ali Standish
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes I let my displeasure with a plot or a character get in the way of my judging a Mock Newbery book for its writing. Happily, this one delivers on all counts. Lots of metaphors and action verbs and "yup" sentences. But also lots of fully realized characters and a bunch of threads that come together nicely.

I liked the flipping between the past and the present, and kudos to the designer who gave the different time frames different backgrounds (but maybe not to the one who gave the exact same cover creative brief to this and "Anyone Here Seen Frenchie?").

The parallels between then and now were sobering ... except now we KNOW what is happening everywhere in the world because of social media. And yet ... do we do anything about it?

p. 317 - "Courage took practice."

 

Surely Surely Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We need more books like this! Old-fashioned in a good way: a kid stressing about kid things like kickball and whether they can communicate with a cat.

Like Marisol, I, too, have a Brain Train. ("I wish ... I wonder ... If only ... Maybe ... I should ... Surely ...") And yes, "Sometimes it helps to focus on the right nows so you don't get lost in the what-ifs." (p. 72)


Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, I hope my kids give this one a chance. I liked it way more than I expected. Realistic portrayal of family drama, friendship woes, stressing about an activity ... and I really want to learn how to play spades now.

 

Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not a Newbery, but a solid middle-school stress and friendship book that alternates between two narrators and shows that we all have problems.

 

Bea Is for Blended by Lindsey Stoddard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The family situation was a bit run-of-the-mill, but the soccer team drama bumped this up a star for me. Wow, Principal Meesley sucked. Loved that the team took the situation into their own hands and received so much support - but not interference - from their families.

I did think it was weird that the season seemed to have consisted of only four games before the semifinals? I guess there aren't a ton of teams floating around rural Vermont?

Nonfiction

 

Pizza!: A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just the right balance of facts and whimsy. Did you know that in the U.S., "we eat 350 slices of pizza every second"?


Pink, Blue, and You!: Questions for Kids about Gender Stereotypes by Elise Gravel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Would absolutely buy for a public library or child of my aquaintance, but not sure about a school library pretty much only because of the illustration with the little baby penis. Other than that, the content is presented sensibly and easy for a kid to understand, and I like that the text asks readers questions.


June Almeida, Virus Detective!: The Woman Who Discovered the First Human Coronavirus by Suzanne Slade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Suzanne Slade is becoming one of my favorite nonfiction authors.

 

Harriet's Ruffled Feathers by Joy McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I never knew that the Audubon Society was named after James Audubon, but not created by him! Will be a nice tie-in to PBL to show that one person can effect change.

 

The Fastest Girl on Earth!: Meet Kitty O'Neil, Daredevil Driver! by Dean Robbins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short enough that maybe a 5th grader would actually read the whole thing for wax museum?

 

The Girl Who Could Fix Anything: Beatrice Shilling, World War II Engineer by Mara Rockliff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Only one thing I didn't get with this book ... in the picture of taking apart a motorcycle, was that her in the pants?

 

Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand by Jennifer Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My one issue ... Nek was out in the park all night making statues while his wife was home with the kids?

 

Young Adult

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A bit overlong, but the clues were laid out well ... I just didn't see them until p. 350 or so.

For Grownups

 

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Totally called one of the twists early on, but it was so well done. I usually rotate my pile of books by reading one chapter / 25 pages of each one in turn, but I finished this in three sittings. Truly a page turner. Fern and Wally's characters are wonderfully depicted.

 

Things to Look Forward To: 52 Large and Small Joys for Today and Every Day by Sophie Blackall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Getting this as a Christmas gift for a few people ...

p. 83: "The museums we create tell the story of who we are and the people we have loved."

p. 84: "Finishing something means that you can begin again, and that's something to look forward to."

 

RICBA Nominees 2023

I already finished all 20! It helped that I had already read 6 before the list was announced. Here's what I thought of them ... favorites at the top. 

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Should be required reading in every school.

 

Bartali's Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali, Italy's Secret Hero by Megan Hoyt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(NOTE: I wrote this review last year before it was on the list.) WOW. Amazing. And to think Bartali never told anyone about what he did. True bravery.

 I don't think my 2nd graders would have enough background knowledge for this book to resonate with them, but this would make an excellent readaloud in higher grades to highlight a heretofore unknown resistance fighter. 

 

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(NOTE: I wrote this review last year before it was on the list.) I am thinking about doing a Mock Sibert with my 2nd graders this year, but this one might be too traumatizing for 7 year olds. Maybe I'll read it to 5th grade? Unbelievable that it was covered up for so long.

 

The Adventure Is Now by Jess Redman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally! The new go-to book for every time a kid asks me for a book with an "adventure." Short chapters, lots of action, some feelings, and silliness. Also I think I might use the list of misspelled words on p. 118 as a brainteaser for my students.

Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, I hope my kids give this one a chance. I liked it way more than I expected. Realistic portrayal of family drama, friendship woes, stressing about an activity ... and I really want to learn how to play spades now.

 

Bea Is for Blended by Lindsey Stoddard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The family situation was a bit run-of-the-mill, but the soccer team drama bumped this up a star for me. Wow, Principal Meesley sucked. Loved that the team took the situation into their own hands and received so much support - but not interference - from their families.

I did think it was weird that the season seemed to have consisted of only four games before the semifinals? I guess there aren't a ton of teams floating around rural Vermont?

 

The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting, pretty fast-paced, and most of the questions I had were answered as the book went on. I would like to smack Sai, though. Moral of the story: Don't jump to conclusions.

p. 28 - "Just because everyone says something doesn't mean it's true."

 

She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm by Katheryn Russell-Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had always heard of Shirley Chisholm, but never knew that much about her. What a role model!

 

Maya and the Robot by Eve L. Ewing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We need more books like this! Fast pace, illustrations, non-white characters, large type, just over 200 pages. Extra star for checking these boxes.

 

Allergic: A Graphic Novel by Megan Wagner Lloyd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had the same reaction when I got my environmental allergies test done several years ago ... although for some reason, I can handle horses and rabbits. No trees or grasses, though.

Anyways, good realistic plot threads with situations my students will be able to relate to. So long as they can actually read the print. I have on my glasses and lots of lights and still had trouble reading some of the dialogue.

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My favorite part was Willodeen doing an experiment to test a hypothesis.

Some jarring parts were Mae saying "Moi" and quoting Shakespeare. There was mention of the railways coming through, so is this supposed to be set in rural England during the 1800s? Mr. Burke mentions having seen gas lamps in "the capital." The internet tells me Baltimore had gas lamps in 1814 ... are we set in rural America?

 

Shark Summer by Ira Marcks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wow, that Captain Atwood story was DARK.

 

 

Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A.F. Venable
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(NOTE: I wrote this review last year before it was on the list.) OMG next year's third- and fourth-graders are going to go bananas for this.

 

Unsettled by Reem Faruqi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hoo boy; I'm not one for trigger warnings, but there is a miscarriage and domestic abuse and a hate crime. That being said, this kind of shit happens all too often.

I feel like the "poetry" is once again the kind of sticking returns into sentences, but overall a decent addition to the recent spate of immigrant stories. My suburban students need to be exposed to other cultures and gain some empathy.

 

The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art by Cynthia Levinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am not familiar with Shahn's art at all.
Students will not be familiar with Czar Nicholas.

I wanted more about graphic design and sign painting ... they count as art to me!

How did Ben get the money to travel around the world?

I liked the text a lot, but the illustrations were disconcerting.

Also ... really ... per the author's note, Ben met his FRIEND Bernarda while he was already married? Sorry, Tillie, you get no mention in the book, even though Wikipedia tells me you were his travel companion.

And mentioning Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange as fellow photographers would have been nice. Ben wasn't the only one taking pictures.

Wondering if the art teacher would be interested in a project involving the history of murals ...

 

Chunky by Yehudi Mercado
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Could have done without Chunky himself. Although a lot of Hudi's jokes were lame, I liked that he kept trying to find his place ... and finally found it.





Saving American Beach: The Biography of African American Environmentalist Mavynee Betsch by Heidi Tyline King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gorgeous illustrations, but the information seemed to have some gaps. Who sold the land? Was it taken by eminent domain? How much was developed? The text says "all that was left was a sliver of land." Did George W. Bush actually sign the law?

 

Simon B. Rhymin' by Dwayne Reed
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I found the raps a little cringey, but maybe my students will like them.

I did like that Simon realized that homeless people deserve respect, and I wonder if this book could inspire a PBL project? Not that I want to read the whole thing out loud ...

Also, I was surprised that we weren't told outright that (view spoiler)[Bobby is homeless (hide spoiler)] ... I am correct in reading between the lines here, yes?

 

Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister by Chitra Soundar
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I will have to ask my students of Indian descent if they have naming ceremonies.

 

Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear by Trang Nguyễn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Beautifully illustrated, but the story itself is meh.

How did the girl who got a glimpse through a window of a bear KNOW that that very same bear, Misa, was at the sanctuary?

How does one just go around visiting forests?

Who is caring about the frogs that Sorya is trying to eat?

Did Chang really just hang out in the forest for MONTHS with a bear?

Second book I read this week that told me that pandas are now considered part of the bear family. When I did a report in elementary school, they were not. How things change.

Best Reads Summer 2022

Here are my favorite books that I read during the summer break. Click on the titles to read plot summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

Endlessly Ever After: Pick Your Path to Countless Fairy Tale Endings! by Laurel Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On my first venture, I died. Wah waaaaaah.

Huge props to Snyder for writing rhyming text with rhythms that line up! Like a dork I counted syllables, and most lines are 14 with iambic (I think) feet. I have read too many rhyming books lately that don't bother with meter and they make me cranky.

Anyways, our class periods are getting extended from 35 to 50 minutes next year, and while in the past I may have dismissed this as being too long to get through effectively for Mock Caldecott, I welcome it now!

 

Brave Every Day by Trudy Ludwig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'd like to use for Mock Caldecott, but I also feel there's value in reading it to ALL of the students at the beginning of the year and having them write out:

I worry about what if ...
I worry that I can't ...
I'm scared that ...
BUT
I'll try to ...

Or will I just be opening myself up to dealing with trauma and having to tell the social worker?? Hmm.

 

Let's Find Momo!: A Hide-And-Seek Board Book by Andrew Knapp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Will definitely use with PreK.

Early Readers

Cranky Chicken: A Cranky Chicken Book 1 by Katherine Battersby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I laughed out loud at the evil worm and the various cranky pants.

Middle Grade Fiction

The Adventure Is Now by Jess Redman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally! The new go-to book for every time a kid asks me for a book with an "adventure." Short chapters, lots of action, some feelings, and silliness. Also I think I might use the list of misspelled words on p. 118 as a brainteaser for my students.

 

Thirst by Varsha Bajaj
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The chasm between those that have and those that do not widens every day. Everywhere. This depiction of life in Mumbai illustrates societal problems (including the WATER MAFIA - despicable) without completely traumatizing the reader. The characters continue to cling to hope and work to better their situations. The kind of book more of my middle-class kids need to read.

I may need to do something for World Water Day with my students on March 22. Loved the app idea Minni came up with.

p. 42: "Is this growing up? Learning how dangerous the whole world can be? Learning that not everyone follows the rules. That some people don't care if they hurt others. That they only care about themselves and making a profit."

 

This Is Not a Drill by K.A. Holt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The texts and app were the perfect way to tell this story. Seems like they were in lockdown a lot longer than it should be necessary with just one intruder. But ... Uvalde just happened, so what makes sense doesn't seem to happen that often.

 

Nonfiction

When Cloud Became a Cloud by Rob Hodgson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my favorite water cycle book I ever read.

 
I'm Trying to Love Garbage by Bethany Barton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bethany Barton does it again! Fun, informative, and in this case, very timely.

 

Blips on a Screen: How Ralph Baer Invented TV Video Gaming and Launched a Worldwide Obsession by Kate Hannigan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Zachariah Ohora's illustrations are a great match with the topic of this book, and I love that the back matter encourages kids to protect their own intellectual property. Will use with Grade 2 for Mock Sibert and possibly older grades as well. I can't wait to see their horrified faces when I show them what video game graphics used to be.


My Stinky Summer by S. Bug by Paul Meisel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can definitely use this as part of a library lesson. We can talk about timelines, habitats, diets ... and smelly things.

For Grownups

The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Such fun! The fact that there was kind of no way to figure out whodunit without seeing a photo that we couldn't see knocked it down to a 4, but I can't wait to read the next one.

 

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SO MUCH FUN. Victorian murders! Mysterious societies! Powers! So many characters kept appearing, it was like a party, and the Athena Club's interjections throughout the narrative were entertaining. Can't wait to read the next one.

 

His & Hers by Alice Feeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally guessed who did it in an Alice Feeney book! Could not put down.

 

No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club: Diary of a Sixtieth Year by Virginia Ironside
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm pushing 50, and evidently I'll be just fine when I'm 60, because I related so much to Marie. I too worry about:

- cancer of the esophagus from wine ingestion
- "this baby being weird. And me being the only person who could spot it being weird."
- the fact that "I am so busy pottering about and mooching around, I would never have time to get in twenty minutes of brisk walking."

I too want to:

- be able to "spend a day doing nothing instead of feeling obliged to cram it with diversionary activities to avoid guilt and anxiety"
- wear comfortable shoes ... you know, "the hideousa but comfortaballa shoesa for the olda batsa!"

Unfortunately, looks like I won't be able to read any more books about Marie without buying them used on Amazon. Which I may do as a birthday gift to myself.

 

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
You did it again, Alice Feeney!
The same way!
But I will still read more of your books.
Just maybe not in one sitting until after midnight again.
Because then I don't get out of bed until 10.

 

I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well. Feeney got me again. Never in a million years would I have figured out that twisted, bonkers, nasty twist. Oh, but the ride to get there.

 

Recursion by Blake Crouch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

REALLY engrossing, although I got lost at the end and did not quite understand the solution. Overall, mindbending in a good way.

p. 123 - "He has wondered lately if that's all living really is - one long goodbye to those we love."