“It Starts with a T” / Theme: Coffee or Tea?
This should come as no surprise to those who know me. Tea all the way for me!
What about you?
THIS 2023 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is YEAR SIX of doing this photography challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2023picoftheweek
Book: Surely Surely Marisol Rainey (2022)
Author: Erin Entrada Kelly
Genre: Lower MG, Contemporary
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Sequel to: Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey
Opening lines from the book …
Marisol Rainey keeps a list in her head. She calls it her List of Favorites.
1) It was fun to be back with Marisol Rainey and her best friend Jada. This book primarily deals with her Least-Favorite Thing to Do … Gym Class. Can I relate? You betcha! And in this case, she has to learn how to play kickball. Poor Marisol.
2) Marisol’s friend, Jada, is great. I love how she supports her friend. She’s not particularly great a Gym Class either, but together they will learn kickball.
3) I love how encouraging Coach Decker (their teacher) is. However, the big thing is that he only ever seems to say: “Nice try, Marisol!” And what she really wants him to say is: “Way to go, Marisol!”
4) Peppina (the tree) makes a little guest appearance in this book. That’s always fun to see former challenges that make it into the story.
5) I love how Marisol connects with her dad who works so far away on the oil rig. He has a great sense of “dad” humor.
6) I always smile at the art! They’re adorable!
I really enjoyed this second in the Marisol Rainey series. Looking forward to more. (Definitely for the younger MG crowd.)
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…
“Feathers!” / Theme: Starts with F
F is for feathers! Here’s a nest of four baby robins. Yes, there are four of them in there. You can’t see all four, but I did count them. Their feathers are coming in quite nicely, I think.
THIS 2023 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is YEAR SIX of doing this photography challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2023picoftheweek
Book: Dark Cloud (2023)
Author:
Illustrator: Penny Neville-Lee
Publisher: Kid Can Press
Genre: Picture Book
Opening Lines of the Book…
Abigail had a dark cloud. One day, it just appeared. She shut the door, but it followed her in. The rain made everything damp.
I loved the muted tones in this book as they are very appropriate to the topic of depression. But there’s a little color here and there, like the bright yellow bow in Abigail’s hair. Even though the story does not rhyme, there is a wonder, lyrical rhythm to the text on the page.
This story made me want to reach out and give Abigail a big hug! I love her parents and the little boy she meets. I love how the story gets progressively more and more colorful. And those endpapers are very clever!
Last but not least, the art by Penny Neville-Lee is so lovely.
12 CHALLENGE
12 months to feature 12 picture books…
This picture book review is part of a monthly challenge I’ve set for myself. Have a recommendation for me? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. (Published within the past 3 years, please!). I may just feature your pick one of these months!
Book: Squished (2023)
Author: Megan Wagner Lloyd
Illustrator: Michelle Mee Nutter
Genre: MG, Contemporary/Graphic Novel
Publisher: Graphix
Opening lines from the book …
Welcome to beautiful Hickory Valley, Maryland, home to my family, the Lees. This is me, Avery Annie Lee. And I’m in my own, totally amazing room. Just kidding, this is my real room. And what life is like as one of seven kids.
1) I love the big family dynamics. As someone who comes from a big family myself, this is SO true to life.
2) The little moments between the older brother, Theo, and Avery are great. Theo is so moody, wanting to be alone with his books. Avery remembers when they used to do everything together. AND he gets his own room while she has to share with the little kids! Lots of nice tension and then moments where they have each other’s back.
3) There’s a scene where Avery and her next oldest sister, Pearl, team up to get their little brother to sleep. Loved it!
4) There’s a chapter that deals with Avery’s friend where Avery sees the friend pulling away. That was very poignant. I liked how realistic it was, and yet it didn’t necessarily cause a rift in the friendship. It was like a natural progression.
5) The big news (slight spoiler) is that Mom has a job interview all the way across the country in Oregon. Poor Avery doesn’t want to move. I love how this book deals with that. And I especially love how the book deals with the end result. The final image is very satisfying.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel! I love stories about big families. I love how it shows the ups and downs of living in such a household. Highly recommend this book!
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…
“A Little Frill” / Theme: Timeless
It’s time for the yearly tulip parade from my neighbor’s tulip bed. So lovely to see these beautiful tulips. I didn’t plant them, but I do get to enjoy and share this timeless delight with the world. And with a friend or two!
THIS 2023 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is YEAR SIX of doing this photography challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2023picoftheweek
Book: The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones (2016)
Author: Wendelin Van Draanen
Genre: MG, Contemporary
Publisher: Knopf Books
Opening lines from the book …
Ruby Hobbs came out of her room, dancing and singing, buck naked, again. “All I want is a room somewhere, far away from the cold night air,” she warbled, her old body jigglin’ and wigglin’.
I read (and reviewed) this book back in 2017, and I really enjoyed it back then! And while I remembered parts of it, there were other parts that I had forgotten. A little Reading Amnesia, if you will. So, it was fun to re-read this book.
I still love books that bring the generations together… Where young kids get to know their elders in a real way. (Usually it’s grandparents—although in this book, it’s the residents of a nursing home.) It’s nice to see Lincoln’s viewpoint change on “oldies”. The one part (with the neighbor) I remembered taking up more of the story. After finishing the book, I was surprised that the neighbor wasn’t in the book as much as I remembered.
Now I also remembered liking the ending. Well, when I finally closed the book, I was like: Yep, that’s why I liked it. There, some six years later, I still highly recommend this book!
If you want to read my original review, check it out here.
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…
“We All Scream for Ice Cream” / Theme: Sweet Tooth
It isn’t often that we eat ice cream in spring. That’s usually a summer thing. But as the weather warms up, and a road trip takes us out of our normal routine … this was a pleasant break to stretch our legs and have a sweet treat. (For curious minds who want to know, I got Cotton Candy ice cream!)
THIS 2023 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is YEAR SIX of doing this photography challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2023picoftheweek
Book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
Author: Roald Dahl
Genre: MG, Contemporary
Publisher: Puffin Books
Opening lines from the book …
These two very old people are the father and mother Mr. Bucket. Their names are Granpa Joe and Grandma Josephine. And these two very old people are the father and mother of Mrs. Bucket. Their names are Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina. This is Mr. Bucket. This is Mrs. Bucket. Mr. and Mrs. Bucket have a small boy whose name is Charlie Bucket.
1) Two words. Chocolate Factory. I mean, this is what makes this story. It’s so fun to see all the inventions. The chocolate waterfall and, well, everything!
2) The beginning really shows Charlie and his family in poverty. I felt so bad for him! I mean, the family is practically dying of starvation by the time of the factory visit.
3) Then there’s the contest. This takes up quite a bit of the first part of the book. It’s fun to see each of the golden tickets get discovered. We can already see that the children who find them have something about them that’s off-putting. It’s agonizing to follow Charlie’s own attempts to find a ticket and failing several times before he finally succeeds.
4) Each of the four other children is so unlikeable! One by one, they get eliminated. We don’t really know until the end what that’s all about. I do find it interesting that Willy Wonka and the others watch the four children leave the factory at the end of the book, each one slightly changed from their experience.
5) Grandpa Joe and Charlie are very likable in this. Basically, they get to take in all the wonders of the factory.
I’ve read this book before but it’s been a long time. I probably know the movie better. (We’re talking Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder, although I have seen the Johnny Depp one too.) The chocolate factory setting is awesome and it’s nice to see the underdog win. It certainly wouldn’t quite be written in the same way if it were written today. But I think that’s okay. I think it’s good to read old books and enjoy them for the story they tell in their own way, knowing that they were influenced by the time period they were written in, just as books today are influenced by today’s world.
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…
“Early Morning Blossoms” / Theme: Your Sky
Saw the light on the blossoms of this tree early in the morning. Snagged the shot. What a beautiful blue in the background.
And with this final prompt, I got my two more bingo lines completed! The bottom line and on the diagonal!
THIS 2023 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is YEAR SIX of doing this photography challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2023picoftheweek
Of Maria Antonia 