It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-30-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.


Last week I reviewed:

Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans
Tuesday Tucks Me In by Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter, photographs by Dan Dion


I finished reading:

Crafting Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres by Troy Hicks
As I read Crafting Digital Writing, the word I kept coming back to was INTENTIONAL. How do we as teachers make digital writing assignments more intentional and how do we help students create more intentional digital lives? The fact that Troy Hicks will continually leave these questions in my head made this book worth the read. 


Finished reading with my ears:

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King 
The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner  
Both of these books were amazing but for different reasons. Ask the Passengers is one of those books that falls under the category of "books save lives." The Summer of Letting Go is just a beautiful, heartfelt story with incredibly endearing characters. It is a summer read with soul. 


Graphic Novels I finished:

The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown
NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette by Nathan W. Pyle
Well, Since both of these books are nonfiction, I guess I can't call them novels, but that seems to be the catch-all phrase for sequential art books these days, so there you have it. Both the text and the illustrations in The Great American Dust Bowl were extremely compelling and make this book worthy of putting on any social studies teacher's bookshelf. NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette is kind of a graphic novel version of a travel guide but with some voice and humor thrown in for good measure. I kind of dug it.


Picture books I really enjoyed last week:

A Walk in Paris by Salvatore Rubbino
Filled with facts about the City of Light, A Walk in Paris also conveys the stylish spirit of the city in its jaunty illustrations.


Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman 
Oh my this book is truly something special. Not only are the illustrations a feast for the senses, but so is the text. Simply enchanting. This one is going on my Goodreads "Caldecott condender" shelf.

 
Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won  
This book is totally endearing and a perfect read to put a smile on your face if you're feeling grumpy. 


Currently (still) reading:

Breakfast on Mars: Your Favorite Authors Take a Stab at the Dreaded Essay Assignment edited by Rebecca Stern and Bard Wolfe


Currently reading with my ears:

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Coqueta San Francisco & Bottega Napa Valley

My husband and I just returned from a trip to Northern California with some friends of ours and experienced two amazing meals while we were there, both at restaurants owned by Michael Chiarello.

Coqueta is a Spanish tapas restaurant located in San Francisco and Bottega is an upscale Italian eatery in Napa Valley.

While both meals were memorable, the service and food at Bottega were nothing short of amazing; it is a whole dining experience, not just a place for great food. The waitstaff are some of the most knowledgeable and attentive I have ever experienced. And the food? Indescribable. The ricotta

Enjoying our meal at Bottega. You MUST order the ricotta gnocchi!

gnocchi are little pillows of heaven, just as my friend described and has been talking about for the past three years since her first visit to Bottega. She worried that as much as she and her husband have been talking this place up for the past three years that it wouldn't live up to their near mythic descriptions. Turns out it was BETTER than they had described.

Our waiter at Bottega, Scotty, was one of the best waiters I have ever had at a restaurant. He didn't just wait on us, but entertained and educated us at the same time. It felt like we were having dinner with a really great friend who loved food rather than someone waiting on us at a restaurant. I even learned something new from him that night: if you're baking with chocolate and you can smell it, you've already lost a majority of the flavor since it is such a volatile ingredient. Which is why, when you order the chocolate lava cake at Bottega, it comes out to you wrapped in parchment paper, and the server makes a show of unwrapping it and wafting the chocolate scent right to your nose. It is quite a sight to behold.



I don't, however, want to leave out Coqueta from this conversation, which was also an unforgettable dining experience. One of the friends we were traveling with has two severe food allergies that make it almost impossible to eat out. However, the chef, manager, and waitstaff at

Tapas at Coqueta

Coqueta were extremely attentive and vigilant about making sure she would be safe eating there -- even providing her with a personalized menu that the chef went over and crossed out items that would not be safe for her to eat. I could go over every single thing we ordered and tell you how absolutely amazing they all were, but this would be really long blog post. Rather that describe every dish, I'll just say that if you're in Northern California and you're looking for a memorable dining experience, you can't go wrong with either one of these two options. Not only will the food impress and wow you, but you will be well taken care of. The staff at both of these restaurants are passionate about food and want to share that passion with their customers. You get the sense that the people working for Michael Chiarello are not working on fall-back careers. Food IS their career and that is refreshing to see.

ARC review: Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans

Note: This review contains spoilers from book one so if you haven't read The Memory of After yet, you might want to refrain from reading this review until you get up to speed.

I thought one advantage of dying was that you'd finally know what happens to you after you die. But here I am, dead, and I'm still in the dark as to what comes next, if anything. A better place? A worse place? No place at all?

Now that Felicia Ward has defeated the Morati in Level Two and been reunited with her boyfriend Neil, she is ready to move on to Level Three and begin what she thinks is her long-awaited, peaceful afterlife.

Oh how wrong she is.

Upon arriving in Level Three, Felicia soon discovers that the Mortai have infiltrated this new level and are sabotaging it with powerful and deadly explosions. Felicia realizes that she must make a choice between seeking answers to the past that she is desperate to remember or defeating the Morati yet again in order to move on to the next level. Another risky choice she must make is realizing that Julian, her complicated former love interest, may be the only person who can help her figure out what to do. Afterlife-changing choices are all around her in Level Three, and it seems like no matter which one she makes, she is going to lose. Will Felicia choose to find answers to her past and risk losing Neil? Or will she follow her heart and risk losing herself?

*~*~*~*~*
As I did when I wrote my review for the first book and in the interest of full disclosure, I want to put it out there that the author is a friend of mine. Feel free to use that information to determine as you see fit, the legitimacy of this review.

Chasing Before is a strong sequel to The Memory of After but it is also quite different from book one. Gone are the white, hive-like pods of Level Two where inhabitants are drugged up on memories of their past, and  we now enter a world where the deceased begin training for an afterlife career. The dystopia label that I felt was a misnomer in the first book, in my mind has gone to straight-up fantasy here in book two. I don't see any signs of sci-fi/dystopia in Chasing Before.

Lenore's strength in both her first book and now Chasing Before is her fierce desire to build a world that readers can immerse themselves in. While I think the world-building in The Memory of After was more vivid and unique, I can still see in this sophomore release that Lenore will always be an author who puts a great deal of passion into  creating a new world for readers to escape to. As I did when I first began reading The Memory of After, I started questioning how some of the things in this created afterlife were possible (how someone who was already dead could die again for instance), but I needn't have worried, because those questions eventually get answered.

If you are a fan of fantasy and afterlife thrillers, I highly recommend you give Chasing Before a try. It's not absolutely necessary to read The Memory of After first since Lenore gets you up to speed as to what happened in book one in the prologue, but just because you don't HAVE to read book one to understand book two, doesn't mean you SHOULD skip book one.  Put this book (and book one if you haven't read it yet!) on your TBR piles come August!


Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans
Expected Publication: August 26, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 359
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: ARC provided by the author

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

Tuesday Tucks Me In by Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter, photographs by Dan Dion

Former Army Captain Luis Carlos Montalvan was wounded both physically and emotionally from his two tours in Iraq. Suffering from a traumatic brain injury and also post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Montalvan eventually stopped leaving his apartment and withdrawal caused him to turn away from friends and family.

But all that changed when Tuesday came into his life. As a service dog, Tuesday helps Montalvan with basic tasks of everyday life that his physical and emotional wounds have made difficult for him, such as walking down stairs and boarding a crowded subway. Tuesday can even sense when Montalvan is about to have a panic attack and is there to help get him through it. But Tuesday gives Montalvan so much more than support. He is a companion in every sense of the word and together they help educate communities about people with disabilities and the need for wounded veterans returning home to be given the care they deserve for serving their country.

About a year ago Luis Carlos Montalvan came to my town's public library to talk about his memoir, Until Tuesday, and it was so heartwarming to see the impact service dogs are having on these physically and emotionally wounded soldiers. I am elated that Montalvan has adapted his story into this beautiful book for children. I have and always will be a dog person, so I know what a comfort these animals can be in times of sadness, as evidenced by the spate of places that are now using therapy dogs to help with things as simple as helping people feel less stressed (like at nursing homes and even college campuses) to libraries, bookstores, and even teachers using them to help kids read, to helping victims of tragedies grieve, dogs truly are man's best friend.

If you are a dog-lover, this book will melt your heart. But even if you're not a dog-lover, books like Tuesday Tucks Me In and also Montalvan's memoir, Until Tuesday, are still important reads because they bring to light the need for us as a country to take better care of our veterans. Providing them with service dogs is a step in the right direction.

For more information about Luis Carlos Montalvan and Tuesday, check out their website. 

Also read this beautiful review of Tuesday Tucks Me In by Margie Myers-Culver.


Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond Between a Soldier and his Service Dog by Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter, photographs by Dan Dion
Published: May 27, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Pages: 40
Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
Audience: Primary/Middle Grade
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-23-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.

Last week was a slow reading week for me, but an exciting week in general, as two major things happened:

1) I was offered a job to teach 8th grade English part-time at the school that I attended from 5th-12th grade. This job seems perfect for me since I was hoping for a part-time gig to go along with my part-time social media coordinator job for NCTE.

2) My husband and I traveled to Northern California with some friends. While we were there we visited San Francisco, Napa, Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel, and a host of other places in the Bay Area. And the best part is we rented Jenni Holm's condo while she and her family were away on vacation. So not only were we on vacation, but we got to stay at a Newbery author's house. Is that not a totally #nerdybookclub thing to do? ;)

Needless to say, I perused her bookshelves and couldn't pass up the chance to read these lovely books while I was there:

Comcis Squad: Recess! edited by Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, and Jarrett Krosoczka
Squish: Fear the Amoeba by Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm

I also read her newest novel that comes out in August that I got from NetGalley:

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
That sneaky Jenni Holm. She always writes novels that I initially think I'm not going to like and then every time manages to make me fall in love with them. Not only will kids love this book, but there is a lot of worthwhile discussion to have about what it means to grow old and what a privilege it is to do so.

As if that weren't enough, yesterday, on our first full day home from our trip, I got to meet the second part of the dynamic Holm duo, since Matthew was at an event here in Michigan called Kids Read Comics at the Ann Arbor District Library. It was like the week of Holm for me. :)


Matt even drew Squish on my iPad cover to go along with the Babymouse that Jenni drew on it back at NCTE in November:



I didn't just read Holm books last week though, I also finished:

Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans 
A great sequel to the book The Memory of After.  I'll be writing a full review of this one soon.


I'm currently reading:

Breakfast on Mars: Your Favorite Authors Take a Stab at the Dreaded Essay Assignment edited by Rebecca Stern and Bard Wolfe
I'm really looking forward to using this with my 8th graders this year. I think it will be a great teaching tool.


I'm still reading with my ears:

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King 
The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner  
I've been listening to both of these books for a while so I hope I'll be able to finish them up this week.  


Current giveaway:

Vintage Attraction by Charles Blackstone

Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop: Vintage Attraction by Charles Blackstone

For my portion of this blog hop, I am giving away a copy of:

Vintage Attraction by Charles Blackstone
Published: October 22, 2013
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 294
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Adults

Goodreads summary:
Before Peter Hapworth meets Izzy, he knows the difference between Pinot Noir and peanut butter, but that's about it. Lonely and frustrated with his academic career--as well as with dating--his life takes a sudden turn one night when he turns on the television. He's transfixed by the woman staring back at him, a glass of wine swirling delicately in her hand--Isabelle Conway, one of the preeminent sommeliers in the world. There's something about her. Somehow, he feels like he already knows her.

On a whim, he pitches himself as a guest on her popular TV show, and the two embark on a whirlwind courtship. But relationships require a delicate balance of nurturing and belief, much like winemaking. Hapworth and Izzy must navigate the complex mysteries of wine--and the heart--from glamorous social events and domestic travails in Chicago to the vineyards and rocky bluffs of Santorini in Greece.


Terms and conditions:
Must be 13 or older to enter and have a U.S. mailing address
One winner will be selected
Use the Rafflecopter widget to enter

It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-16-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.


Last week I reviewed:


Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan
The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka


I finished reading:

Nerd Camp 2.0 by Elissa Brent Weissman
This one didn't work for me. I'm glad I read it because I have in mind the type of reader this book would be good for, but it just wasn't my kind of book. Plus, I wasn't a fan of how abruptly everything ended and was tied up in a neat little bow. There was resolution but there wasn't really any denouement, as everything was resolved and it just ended. I was kind of expecting another chapter or two and all of a sudden I was at the last page.  


Currently Reading:

Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans 
I like how the prologue immediately gets you up to speed from what happened in The Memory of After.

Still reading with my ears:

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King 
The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner 

The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka

Sun Ra (born Herman Blount) claimed he was from Saturn. Since he was from another planet, the things of earth intrigued him, especially music. But he was also confounded by earthly traditions, such as that of earthlings insisting on "sorting themselves into two varieties: the white variety and the black variety."

Sun Ra was a talented musician who marched to the beat of his own eccentric drum. He was one of the first people to ever play an electric piano, and he released all of his music independently rather than with a record label. Before Sun Ra died on May 30, 1993, he said "You may think that it is gravity that holds us all together but it is not -- it is music."

Chris Raschka's words and illustrations all add to the intrigue of this eccentric musician known as Sun Ra and make you want to learn more about what made this guy tick. My one disappointment is that this book did not come with an accompanying CD to listen to Sun Ra's music. For that reason, I recommend checking this book out from the library while also checking out any and all of Sun Ra's recordings that your library might have. If you've never heard his music before, Raschka will undoubtedly pique your curiosity.

I checked out one CD of Sun Ra's from the library and now I think I might be a little obsessed. It's not as "out there" as I expected to be, but what I love about it is that it's actually music I can listen to and work at the same time. I have never been able to work and listen to music. It's too distracting. Even Mozart, which is is supposed to make you smarter, prevents me from being able to concentrate. To work, I need silence. But strangely, I listened to the whole CD and before I knew it, it was over. I think he might be my new go-to artist to listen to while I work.


The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka
Published: May 13, 2014
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 40
Genre: Picture Book Biography
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan

 Never be late for a parade.
Never forget the password.
Never ruin a perfect plan.

It's all about the rules. But what if the rules feel completely arbitrary? What if your older brother is the only one who gets to make them up all summer long? And what if he's the only one who can save you when the darkness of winter comes rushing in?

 
I'm glad I read Betsy Bird's review of Rules of Summer immediately after I read the book. I went back and did another read through and I never would have garnered that meaning on my own had it not been for Betsy's insights. I feel like I need an interpreter every time I read a Shaun Tan book, or at least someone who is more adept at reading symbolism than I am. His books completely perplex me, but I also have an intense desire to talk about them with someone to try to figure out all the weirdness.

I liken Shaun Tan to the illustrator version of Neil Gaiman. I know Gaimnan's work is brilliant, but it's a little too creepy and weird for me and I just don't get the appeal. That is my exact feeling about Tan's work as an illustrator. I know it's brilliant, but it just doesn't resonate with me the way I feel it should.

Rules of Summer might be a good book to read with students on the first day/week of school to give them something deeper to reflect on than the traditional "What I did on my summer vacation" assignment. Since the first line of the story is "This is what I learned last summer," that line coupled with the book's strangeness could be a catalyst for students to go beyond the typical "I went to Disney World and it was fun" response, and turn it into something much more detailed and thought-provoking. 


Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan
Published: April 29, 2014
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pages: 48
Genre: Fantasy Picture Book
Audience: Primary/Middle Grade/Young Adult 
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-9-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page. 


Last week I reviewed:

The Selection by Kiera Cass
Edgar's Second Word by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Priscilla Burris
Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by K.G. Campbell


Picture books I read last week:

Naked! by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka
I really enjoyed both of these picture books. Naked! is a book I'm sure all parents of children who don't like to be clothed can appreciate. The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra is a trippy book about a jazz musician who claimed to be from Saturn. I'll post a more thorough review of it later this week.


Currently reading:

Nerd Camp 2.0 by Elissa Brent Weissman


Currently reading with my ears:

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King 
The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner 

Playing with vegetarian/vegan dishes

I am not a vegetarian or vegan, but I have recently become obsessed with making more vegetable-centric dishes. I see it as a challenge. Last week I made two vegetarian dishes that I definitely plan on keeping in my arsenal. I don't have recipes for them per se, I just improvised and threw a bunch of stuff together, as I always seem to do lately in the kitchen.

Curried farro with red pepper, green onion, dried cranberries, and pecans

I love the variety of tastes and textures going on in this dish. Bascially, the dish is what the title says. You can cook the farro in water or broth, then add a sprinkle of curry powder and cumin. Mix in the red pepper, green onions, dried cranberries, and pecans. Serve room temperature or cold.


Grilled romaine with pecorino and red pepper dressing alongside kale and lemon spaghetti

Who says meatless dishes can't be meaty? Any time you grill a vegetable, that smokiness will often give it a meaty quality. I cut the romaine head in half longways in order to get even more char on it and then drizzled the red pepper dressing over it and shaved some pecorino over top. To make the red pepper dressing I used Ajeeka, a raw red pepper and garlic sauce, and just mixed that with extra virgin olive oil. It's very simple but probably my favorite salad dressing. 

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by K.G. Campbell

Flora Belle Buckman is what her mother calls a natural-born cynic. As the child of divorced and somewhat eccentric parents, Flora spends a lot of time in her room reading her favorite comic book, The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto, much to her mother's chagrin, as she thinks Flora should be reading real literature.

One day, Flora notices something very strange outside her bedroom window. A rogue vacuum, the Ulysses 2000x, is out of control in her neighbor's backyard and vacuums up an unassuming squirrel. Not sure if the squirrel is alive or dead, Flora runs down the stairs and out of her house to try to rescue him from his prison, and is compelled to perform CPR on the unresponsive critter. What happens next is nothing short of extraordinary. The squirrel, having been resuscitated by Flora, now seems to have special powers, and Flora is determined to use him to help try to rid the world of evil.  Or something.

All superheros, however, must have an arch-nemesis, and Flora, to her horror, discovers that her superhero friend's mortal enemy is her own mother. Armed with a band of unconventional sidekicks such as her neighbor Mrs. Tickham, along with Mrs. Tickham's temporarily blind great-nephew William Spiver (who prefers to be called William Spiver, thank you very much), and the philosophizing Dr. Meescham, Flora and Ulysses seek to "conquer villains, defend the defenseless, and protect the weak. Or something."

Flora & Ulysses is a kooky little book. At first, it can be hard to wade through the eccentricities to find a purpose other than just straight-up nonsense, but stick with it. Despite the head scratching that is sure to go on at the beginning of the novel, the writing is what keeps the reader amused and interested. The voice and cadence are quirky to say the least. But a little over halfway through, while the quirk continues, the heart and soul of the story finally begins to reveal itself.

Kate DiCamillo's reaction to the news that she had won the 2014 Newbery medal for Flora & Ulysses through her tears was, "But it's a book about a squirrel!"

Oh no dear Kate. This book is about so much more than a squirrel. This is a book about love and about melting even the most cynical of hearts, which in the end, was Ulysses' true superhero power. 


Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by K.G. Campbell
Published: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 233
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Edgar's Second Word by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Priscilla Burris

Hazel can't wait for her baby brother to arrive. She practices reading aloud with her stuffed bunny Rodrigo, anticipating the day when she and her brother can read and discuss books together. When Edgar does arrive, Hazel must continue to be patient since he doesn't do much those first few months.

Hazel read Edgar stories, but she didn't know if he understood. 
She wished he would whisper questions.
But Edgar didn't speak. 
Mostly, he pointed.
And grunted.
Like a pointing, grunting watermelon.

When Edgar does finally say his first word, both Hazel and her mother are elated. But they soon find out that Edgar's first word causes more trouble than they anticipated. Basically, he turns grumpy and growly and shouts this word ad nauseum. It isn't long before Hazel's patience is tested once again. Not because Edgar can't talk, but because he won't stop saying the same word over and over. Hazel's mother deals with Edgar's tantrums with the patience Hazel lacks, going so far as to say, "I believe you just said your first sentence," to Edgar as he monomaniacally unleashes a long string of first-word rantings. Hazel, on the other hand, does not agree with her mother that "there's nothing sweeter than hearing your baby talk for the first time."

Try as she might, Hazel encourages Edgar to attempt new words, but to her chagrin, he continues to stick with the one he knows. One of these days, Hazel is hoping for the Edgar she dreamed about before he was even born: one who will read and discuss books with her. That day is looking more and more like it may never come... until Edgar says his second word.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Back at NCTE in November, I had the privilege of presenting a session on using picture books as mentor texts with the ridiculously talented Audrey Vernick. She is my picture book author idol, as evidenced by the fact that she is the author whose books I have (glowingly) reviewed the most here on the blog. How she manages to come up with such amazing, clever ideas for books and then reduces that story down to only thirty-two pages is nothing short of genius in my mind. When I had the opportunity to read a sneak peek of Edgar's Second Word back in November, my envy of Audrey's talent continued. Her writing is always clever, sharp, and full of life. Many of her books are downright hilarious, (Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten, Bogart and Vinnie) but Edgar's Second Word, while humorous, is done with a much gentler touch. It still contains Audrey's sharp wit, but it is coupled with equal parts sweetness. Lovers of Mo Willems's Knuffle Bunny books will undoubtedly fall in love with Hazel and Edgar.

Equally as charming as Audrey's writing are Priscilla Burris's illustrations. She finds a way to make the reader fall head over heels in love with a rabidly shouting toddler -- not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. But equally as charming as Edgar's tantrums are the little details she throws in that give you a good chuckle or make you sigh with contentment, such as how Edgar's mom is in the other room grabbing the baby book off the shelf while he is shrieking his first word in the kitchen with Hazel.


There is so much that will make you laugh, smile, and just fall in love with Edgar's Second Word. This would be a lovely gift to give and read with a child who is anticipating the birth of a first sibling -- or perhaps as a way to prove to said sibling that "things won't be like this forever, dear."


Edgar's Second Word by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Priscilla Burris
Published: June 3, 2014
Publisher: Clarion
Pages: 32
Genre: Picture Book
Audience: Primary
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.