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.
Hello friends. I feel like every time I write an "It's Monday!" post I always lead with, "It's been a while." The truth is, I've kept saying the past couple of years that once my tenure with the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award was over, I'd have more time to blog. Well now that my tenure with Walden is over, I haven't gotten my footing back into the blogging world.
Is blogging still a thing? Or are we just posting on other social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok?
Speaking of social media, I used to love Twitter. It was where I met so many wonderful and passionate educators whom I now consider dear friends. But these days I consider Twitter a cesspoll of trolls and people just shouting to be heard and not really looking for dialogue. I barely use my Twitter account anymore. And truth be told, I've locked down both my Twitter and my Instagram for personal and professional reasons.
So where does that leave me with this blog? I hope I can find my footing again and start to find some more motivation to write some more longform book reviews, but in the meantime, here are some of the things I've been reading and loving over the past month.
We Shall Overcome, illustrated by Bryan Collier
A stunning visual interpretation of the beloved song “We Shall Overcome” the that has a young girl walking in the present time past well-known places in African American history. Escape: One Day We Had to Run by Ming & Wah, illustrated by Carmen Vela
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 Grandad's Camper by Harry Woodgate
 What Happened to You? by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George A touching and lighthearted story that helps start conversations with kids about how to talk about disability.  Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Loren Long A wonderful book that looks at the professions that do the physical work of artistic people with dreams and vision, such as architects, engineers, even authors.  Oh Look, a Cake! by J.C. McKee
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I noted a few picture books, Beth, like Escape. I shared Wishes today, another about an escape of refuges. They are sad to read about but so necessary for people to understand. I'm looking forward to the new John Green & What if It's Us. Glad to see you back sometimes! I've struggled with some of the social media, too, but I don't want to give up my private groups on FB. They are fun! Happy Summer!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have you back on #IMWAYR! I definitely know what you mean about blogging vs. social media—I'm not actually on any social media at all (except for a personal Twitter account that I don't post on or share with other people). Blogging is definitely a smaller community than social media, but I like that you get to know the same people, and people are actually genuine and want to have dialogue (as opposed to some kind of peer-pressure everyone-saying-the-same-thing situation). It's nice to know that I'll see the same people in my comment section each week. So blogging really works for me!
ReplyDeleteAs for the books you've been reading, We Shall Overcome and Grandad's Camper both look wonderful! I appreciate you sharing this week, and I look forward to future posts from you whenever you post them!
You'll find your footing again. I've found that regardless, I always find something to do that isn't sitting down and writing a blog post or a book review (lately it's been calligraphy). Truth: I think I blogged more when we were reading for Walden, so I'm eagerly anticipating it starting up again.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week, happy reading and DFTBA. :-)
Welcome back to IMWAYR! I understand with the blogging--it is kind of a middle land right now, but the community is definitely here! And I love what was said above. I have trouble even thinking of leaving because this is one of the few places I get the best book conversation!
ReplyDeleteHUGS, Beth! And happy reading :)
I have quite a few of those picture books in my stack! Looking forward to reading them.
ReplyDeleteBlogging is something I am still toying with. I am not a writer and it takes me a long time to put posts together. In the last year, my readership is really down. I think people want to just know about a book quickly and they can get that through social media. Sometimes I wonder if I blog less and not try and keep up with everything. But I really enjoy the IMWAYR community so I am keeping on for now!
Welcome back! I think of blogging as a reading diary that is harder to lose. I like looking back and seeing what else I was reading when I read particular things, or what I thought.
ReplyDeleteI like the looks of those picture books. I hope to find Escape and What Happened to You at my library.