Emma and Kate (Patricia Polacco)

 

After we discussed what genre this story was, my students had many reasons why it was fantasy fiction. However, someone asked why some of the pictures were black and white and some were in color. We went back and looked at it. Suddenly one student brought up the idea that Kate might be imaginary because she told her parents about Kate and they said that she has such a good imagination. After that, we had a great discussion about their imaginary friends.

Goodreads says:

That adorable Emma Kate has an imaginary friend.They walk to school together every morning, and sit together in class.They sleep over at each other’s houses, and do their homework side by side.They even have their tonsils out and eat gallons of pink ice cream together. But a hilarious twist ending will have readers realizing there’s more to this imaginary friend than meets the eye!

Another of Polacco’s immensely popular younger books, Emma Kate is a wonderfully original story of pretend play and real friendship.

The Little French Bistro (Nina George)

 

I wanted to like this book....but I really didn't. There were too many characters. Too many characters were cheating on their spouse. I wanted to find hope in the main character finding herself after a sad and meaningless marriage but mostly I found it depressing. The description of the places in France were compelling and almost seemed like a character itself. That was lovely. However, overall, it just wasn't for me. 

The writing was beautiful. Interspersed all through it were little phrases that did touch me...like p. 99 I have never even noticed that I am alive said by the main character as she works through finding herself after leaving a marriage where she was never really loved or treated well.

Goodreads says:

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop, an extraordinary novel about self-discovery and new beginnings.

Marianne is stuck in a loveless, unhappy marriage. After forty-one years, she has reached her limit, and one evening in Paris she decides to take action. Following a dramatic moment on the banks of the Seine, Marianne leaves her life behind and sets out for the coast of Brittany, also known as the end of the world.

Here she meets a cast of colorful and unforgettable locals who surprise her with their warm welcome, and the natural ease they all seem to have, taking pleasure in life's small moments. And, as the parts of herself she had long forgotten return to her in this new world, Marianne learns it s never too late to begin the search for what life should have been all along.

With all the buoyant charm that made The Little Paris Bookshop a beloved bestseller, The Little French Bistro is a tale of second chances and a delightful embrace of the joys of life in France.

Flat Stanley (Jeff Brown)

 

Last year,  decided that i needed to read my class more books that are accessible for them....and Flat Stanley is one of them. They tend to always lean towards graphic novels (DogMan is always the go to choice)...which is okay. But there are so many other great books they could also read instead of reading those again and again. 

Flat Stanley has a pretty good storyline. It even has a bit of mystery to it when Stanley gets to help solve a crime. We enjoyed it! Hopefully soe kids pick it up and decide to go through the series. 

Goodreads says:

When Stanley Lambchop wakes up one morning, his brother, Arthur, is yelling. A bulletin board fell on Stanley during the night, and now he is only half an inch thick! Amazing things begin happening to him. Stanley gets rolled up, mailed, and flown like a kite. He even gets to help catch two dangerous art thieves. He may be flat, but he's a hero. This is the very first Flat Stanley adventure, updated with crisp new art.

How To Keep House While Drowning (KC David, LPC)

 

I learned about this book from someone i follow on instagram. Can I be honest? I was a little put off by all the lack of upper case letters on the cover....but after reading it I think maybe that was strategic. I don't really have a hard time with keeping house and being organized so I wasn't sure this book would be for me - but the more I read the more I appreciated her thinking. Self-compassion is key and so many of the approaches she talks about would work in many other aspects of my life like teaching school, being a Relief Society president and more. 

Notes:

Setting priorities
She explains a really helpful tool for prioritizing: the 9 square. 

p. 12 Pick an rea of your life: school, activism, parenting, et cetera. Write a list of things you think are important for yourself. First, think of hte items that have the highest impact. Next list the items that have a medium impact. Next, divide them into those things that take low effort, medium effort or a high amount of effort and place the items in corresponding squares on the chart.
Once the chart is filled out, you can it to determine what to focus on When things in your life are ideal, you may strive to d o all he squares. Come under some stress and the black square is de-prioritized without guilt. Come under a bit more stres or for a prolonger period and the dark blue squares are de-prioritized in order to focus on the light blue squares. 

Sometimes, priorities that do the most good with the least amount of energy is what you should focus on. 
This tool will give you permission not to feel guilty about what you don't do. 

Handling criticism:

 p. 115 Even as we become comfortable giving ourselves kindnessa nd compassion in the midst of struggle, we often still have to contend with friends or family members who are at different parts of the journey of moral neutrality. How do we respond when someone criticizes the state of our home or tries to "help" us by giving advice that really doesn't fit?

My favorite phrase for well-meaning family is, "I know you want to see me in a fictioning environment and I want you to know that I want that for myself also. I am on my own journey to find aht works for me and what I need most from you is a nonjudgmental support. One thing that could really help me right now is ________."

And give them a tangible task that they can do! "Take these bags of clothes to the donation bin," "Sit with my while I clean my room," "Help me call a cleaning service or make a doctor's appointment." Sometimes all our loved ones need is to be redicrected to a way they can actually help. If after you give them ways to help they decline, it's okay to say, "Then teh most helpful thing you can do for me is not make comments about my space."

If you have a particularly rude or pushy person in your life, you can use my favorite boudary phrase, which s "thank you for your concern, but I am not taking any feedback on that issue right now."

Or my personal favorite "The key for me being able to given to run a functioning home was when I stopped talking to myself the way you are talking to me right now."

On weight:
your weight is morally neutral (capitals left off on purpose because the author did that...even though it pains me)

p. 139 One night I was lying in bed and cuddling my eighteen-month-old. She was asleep in my arms with her angelic face resting in the crook of my elbow. We were lying next to my husband, a man whom I love deeply and who loes me. On the floor on a little pallet was my three-year-old, a spitfire little sprite who brightens my world. I realized that I only ever wanted to be skinny because i wanted to be loved and happy. But I already have that. Skinny hasn't seemed very important to me since then.

Goodreads says:

How to Keep House While Drowning will introduce you to six life-changing principles that will revolutionize the way you approach home care—without endless to-do lists. Presented in 31 daily thoughts, this compassionate guide will help you begin to get free of the shame and anxiety you feel over home care.

Inside you will learn:
· How to shift your perspective of care tasks from moral to functional;
· How to stop negative self-talk and shame around care tasks;
· How to give yourself permission to rest, even when things aren’t finished;
· How to motivate yourself to care for your space.

Gentle Giant (Michael Morpugo)

 

The story really captivated my class. They felt sad for the giant. 

We talked about how fiction stories (this is a fairy tale) can also have facts in them after reading the afterword that said that water really can be cleaned by stitching straw together.

I've never read a Michael Morpugo book I didn't like.

Goodreads says:

A tale of compassion, love, and the healing powers of nature from an awardwinning team. On a small island in the middle of a silver lake, there once lived a sad young man. He was sad because he had grown up into a giant of a man—very big, very strong, and very frightening. Because no one liked to go near him, his only friends were the wild creatures that lived around him. Then one day, he saves a girl from drowning. Little does he know that she will change his life forever. Drawing on all the arts of traditional storytelling, Gentle Giant weaves a tale of extraordinary relevance to our world today. Michael Morpurgo is one of the most respected children’s authors working today; a winner of the Smarties Prize and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award, he has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Fiction Award. Acclaimed illustrator Michael Foreman is a winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal as well as the Smarties Prize. The author–illustrator team have collaborated on a number of highly praised books, including Farm Boy.

Ninja Kid: From Nerd to Ninja (Anh Do)

 

This book is hilarious. I chose it as our first read aloud this year. It's a quick read and rea lly grabbed everyone's attention. The illustrations are hilarious.

The author is from Australia and apparently he is an actor and comedian. I'm not surprised!

The end has a big cliff hanger that makes you HAVE to read book 2!

Goodreads says:

Nelson wakes up on his birthday to discover that he has gained ninja powers overnight! This funny, heavily-illustrated series from Anh Do is action packed, with an appealingly grounded heart.
Nelson's a nerd. Unfit, uncool . . . totally awkward! But when he wakes up on his tenth birthday, he discovers he's a NINJA!

THE LAST NINJA ON EARTH!

How's he going to SAVE THE WORLD when he can't even get his undies on the right way?