The Meaning of Birds/Le Secret du Colibri – YA Book Recommendation

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Joanna

June Pride is upon us. And I am mourning the cancelation of New York’s March for the first time in 50 years. And it is their 50th anniversary! I have attended every year since moving here. But I still have the pleasure of spotlighting lgbtqia+ books on this blog during June. I read this one in French as the author kindly sent me two French copies (one published in Canada and one in France) for our bilingual school library. The original was written in English.

Title: The Meaning of Birds/Le Secret du Colibri

Author: Jaye Robin Brown

 Publisher: Harper Collins, 2019

Ages: 14+/YA

Themes: loss, death, grief, lesbians, lgbtqia+, suicidal thoughts, homophobia, trans phobia, fat-shaming, latin lesbian, sexual assault, #ownvoices

Opening:

Des mains, des coeurs, des câlins.

Synopsis:

Before, Jessica has always struggled with anger issues, but come sophomore year that all changes when Vivi crashes into her life. As their relationship blossoms, Vivi not only helps Jess deal with her pain, she also encourages her to embrace her talent as an artist. And for the first time, it feels like the future is filled with possibilities. After In the midst of senior year, Jess’s perfect world is erased when Vivi suddenly passes away. Reeling from the devastating loss, Jess pushes everyone away, and throws out her plans to go to art school. Because art is Vivi and Vivi is gone forever.

Desperate for an escape, Jess gets consumed in her work-study program, letting all of her dreams die. Until she makes an unexpected new friend who shows her a new way to channel her anger, passion, and creativity. Although Jess may never draw again, if she can find a way to heal and room in her heart, she just might be able to forge a new path for herself without Vivi.

Why I like this book:

If you like sad contemporary YA that still ends with hope, this is the book for you. Jess’s grief is palpable, and you can envisage the initial crush and development of the relationship through to its tragic end. From the cover I was expecting pure romance, which really it isn’t. It is, though, a really special book on grief and loss and one girl’s journey through it.

One of the strengths for me of this novel was the way the story was structured. The author alternates between past and present, revealing the falling in love and relationship evolution, alternating with the chapters after Vivi’s death. This plunged the reader into the moment by moment grief yet with the respite of the chapters about the burgeoning of lesbian love. The book chronicles the whole relationship to the point when Vivi dies. This structure allows for the reader to enter more fully into Jess’s grief process, I think.

Jess as a main character is so wonderfully flawed. She has anger issues and was in therapy for it but after Vivi’s death this not surprisingly flares up again. As with many going though raw grief, she uses good and less healthy means to process, including alcohol and weed. So much about Jess feels authentic, even down to her unhealthy pushing/trying to manipulate her girlfriend into having sex when she wasn’t ready. There are so many different kinds of secondary characters that we get to know during this story and all of them (Jess’ best friend Cheyanne, her sister Nina, her new friend Levi, and even her cat, Emma Watson) are all fully fleshed out and add something to Jess’s storyline.

There are so many different kinds of characters that we get to know during this story and all of them really add something important to Jess’s storyline. I especially appreciated the relationship between Jess and Greer. A healthy, non-familial, adult-teen friendship isn’t something you see in a lot of books. They are employer and employee, but there’s a real connection there, and I think that’s really important. Having this gay married couple be such an important part of the storyline added an important depth.

The relationship with her mom and the mom’s wisdom about grief and how to walk through it is lovely. The diversity of characters is great. There are several people of color, and queer characters. Also one character is ace and gets some flac for that.

I’d highly recommend this book on queer love and loss.

Posted in Book recommendation, Children's literature, LGBTQIA, young adult | Tagged , | 2 Comments

This Raindrop – Perfect Picture Book Friday

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Joanna

Title: This Raindrop Has a Billion Stories to Tell

Author: Linda Ragsdale

Illustrator: Srimalie Bassani

 Publisher: Flowerpot Press, 2020

Ages: 4-8

Nonfiction

Themes: raindrops, water cycle, water, stories, writing tools

Opening:

A raindrop has billions of stories to tell.
In fact, THIS raindrop has been here since time began.!

Synopsis:

This picture book follows a raindrop’s journey on Earth; from the time of the dinosaurs to the creation of the earliest cities and beyond. It explains how Earth has depended on the same water supply throughout its existence by flowing and falling all around us, fueling and forming much of what we have seen and used for millions of years.

Why I like this book:

The book cover is from stunning arlin paper with foil text enhancements, which makes for an exquisite feel to it and sets the scene for a nonfiction text full of feeling. Do let your children touch the cover. The text is lyrically educational, introducing a new understanding of the continuity of life and our planet’s natural journey, through the imaginary life trajectory of a drop of water. The fascinating potential life of a droplet and the melodious text will help inspire more curiosity and care for the natural world. It manages to be concrete and abstract in a child-friendly way and is a super creative introduction to the water cycle. I love how the author begins with how a droplet might have begun its life on the wing of a pterodactyl.

The author uses some words which won’t be familiar to young children, but the illustrations give supportive context. And while the alliteration may be lost on the youngest listeners, it is a great intro to this literary device for older students.

A terrific text to use about the water cycle and for imaginative writing.

Resources/Activities:

The back matter includes an explanation of the water cycle, the importance of water conservation, and resources for further reading,

In partnership with Trees for the Future (TREES), each book sold plants a tree. One sweet memory I have with my dad is planting a bunch of fruit trees with him when he move to France. Plant trees if you have a yard with your kids. Otherwise, find out about tree-planting in your city.

Older children might draw or write the journey of their own droplet of water.

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher for review purposes. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

Posted in children's books, Children's literature, nonfiction, Perfect Picture Book Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Plenty of Hugs – Perfect Picture Book Friday

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Joanna

Title: Plenty of Hugs

Author: Fran Manushkin

Illustrator: Kate Alizadeh

 Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2020

Ages: 3-5

Themes: moms, children, hugs, parenting, lgbtqia+

Opening:

Look up, 
The sun shines on everyone
There are plenty of fish in the sea
There's a buzz for each bug,
a breeze for each tree,

and plenty of hugs for you and me.

Synopsis:

Two mommies spend a sunny day with their toddler in this cozy, rhyming picture book that is a loving celebration of family. 

Why I like this book:

This is a book of the wonder of family intimacy. Fran’s rhyme and rhythm are stellar and makes it a sweet read-aloud again and again for the preschool crowd, any time of the day. 

The world is full of wonders. 
Just look around: It's true. 
There are seas for ships, 
and kisses for lips, 

so I can say that I love you. 

The rhythm of a typical family day will be very recognizable to toddlers. This toddler spends a rad day with their (we don’t know the toddler’s gender) and their mommies: a bike ride to a farm stand; a visit to the zoo in the afternoon, and in the evening there’s the bath time and a bedtime story before being kissed goodnight. This is a wonderful family day full of exploration, playfulness and a ton of hugs, of course. Boy, reading this at the end of seven weeks of solo quarantine during COVID19 and all I wanted to do was jump into the family and enjoy some of those hugs!!

This is an adorable cozy picture book of a two-mom family with illustrations as joyful as the text. Another great addition to your lgbtqia+ shelves.

Activities/resources:

Get your kids sharing what a best family day would look like for them.

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

Posted in Book recommendation, children's books, Children's literature, LGBTQIA, Perfect Picture Book Friday | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments