Feeling Seen (Jodi Carrington)

 

This book is so timely. Although we have moved on from the pandemic, the affects of it haven't moved on from us and it's something I believe that needs to be worked on. Jody Carrington is a masterful storyteller. The way she expresses herself is very relatable. The book was what I think it may be like to go to therapy. I thought the book was good, but I have misgivings about the author and have for a while. 

I haven't been much of a fan of Jody Carrington. She has been found guilty of misconduct and she talks like she's from red-neck Alberta (oh...she is) and she seems to mess up a lot. It makes her pretty human and definitely relatable. She definitely knows how to have those hard conversations and make amends.

Goodreads says:

Disconnection has become an epidemic, and it may require a revolutionary effort to get us back together — a reconnection revolution.   Staying connected in this human race is the most direct route to happiness. But never have we been more disconnected. A call to simply connect isn’t enough any longer. Connection is what we’re wired for, and it can be waving at your neighbour, going on that second date, buying coffee for the person behind you. The hard part comes when we are called on to re connect, to repair or re-engage, especially after we’ve been wronged, alienated or hurt. We all desperately want to get it right, but this requires another step, which is the magic each of us so often the act of seeing. As simple as it is complex, it all comes down to this when we’re feeling seen, we will rise.   Feeling Seen is a timely work with a timeless message. Written on a blueprint of theory, with a road map of reconnection (including three simple stops) and a way back for when we get lost, it leads to a place where all of those who share the human race will truly see—in ourselves as well as one another—our differences, our sorrows and our joys. 

The Noisy Paintbox

 

Amazing story about a boy whose senses seem to merge. This blew my class' mind! We know a lot about the senses, about sound and about colors and how to mix them. We did not know that they can have such a connection! 

Goodreads says:

In this exuberant celebration of creativity, Barb Rosenstock and Mary Grandpre tell the fascinating story of Vasily Kandinsky, one of the very first painters of abstract art. Throughout his life, Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds, and sounds as colors--and bold, groundbreaking works burst forth from his noisy paint box.

The Last Painting of Sara De Vox (Dominic Smith)

 

I read this book over a short period of time (a couple days) and that was probably was good because I am not sure I would have stuck with it if I was reading it at a more leisurely pace. There is a lot of jumping between time for each character and I found that confusing. Each chapter switches from one character to another and to another time. I enjoyed learning about the art and history of artists and their "union" rules. I read it for book club and this book was a perfect example of why I love being in a book club. I enjoyed the book enough and it is one I would not have read if it wasn't for book club. It got 'meh' ratings from everyone at book club.

Goodreads says:

This is what we long for: the profound pleasure of being swept into vivid new worlds, worlds peopled by characters so intriguing and real that we can't shake them, even long after the reading's done. In his earlier, award-winning novels, Dominic Smith demonstrated a gift for coaxing the past to life. Now, in The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, he deftly bridges the historical and the contemporary, tracking a collision course between a rare landscape by a female Dutch painter of the golden age, an inheritor of the work in 1950s Manhattan, and a celebrated art historian who painted a forgery of it in her youth.

In 1631, Sara de Vos is admitted as a master painter to the Guild of St. Luke's in Holland, the first woman to be so recognized. Three hundred years later, only one work attributed to de Vos is known to remain--a haunting winter scene, At the Edge of a Wood, which hangs over the bed of a wealthy descendant of the original owner. An Australian grad student, Ellie Shipley, struggling to stay afloat in New York, agrees to paint a forgery of the landscape, a decision that will haunt her. Because now, half a century later, she's curating an exhibit of female Dutch painters, and both versions threaten to arrive. As the three threads intersect, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos mesmerizes while it grapples with the demands of the artistic life, showing how the deceits of the past can forge the present.

Coronation Year (Jennifer Robson)

 

I am a big Jennifer Robson fan. I've read all her books and so I was happy to hear about this one coming out and amazed at the timing! King Charles' coronation was just last Saturday. I started it before his coronation and finished it today and have enjoyed it immensely! I've always been a fan of the royal family. I cut out the newspaper clippings from Charles' and Diana's wedding, watched carefully when Fergie and Andrew married and have continued on with the others. This story isn't so much about the royal family as it is about the regular people and their lives during the pending coronation. Having grown up in a family in the hotel industry, I really felt a connection! I love learning about history through historical fiction. As it says in Coronation Year:

London has changed so much since the coronation of the first Elizabeth. I thought that by telling the story of this one place, the sort of place most people pass by without ever knowing its history, we might also tell the story of London.
- Stella

Goodreads says:

The USA Today bestselling author of The Gown returns with another enthralling and royal-adjacent historical novel—as the lives of three very different residents of London’s historic Blue Lion hotel converge in a potentially explosive climax on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.

It is Coronation Year, 1953, and a new queen is about to be crowned. The people of London are in a mood to celebrate, none more so than the residents of the Blue Lion hotel.

Edie Howard, owner and operator of the floundering Blue Lion, has found the miracle she needs: on Coronation Day, Queen Elizabeth in her gold coach will pass by the hotel’s front door, allowing Edie to charge a fortune for rooms and, barring disaster, save her beloved home from financial ruin. Edie’s luck might just be turning, all thanks to a young queen about her own age.

Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, has come to live at the Blue Lion while she takes up a coveted position at Picture Weekly magazine. London in celebration mode feels like a different world to her. As she learns the ins and outs of her new profession, Stella discovers a purpose and direction that honor her past and bring hope for her future.

James Geddes, a war hero and gifted artist, has struggled to make his mark in a world that disdains his Indian ancestry. At the Blue Lion, though, he is made to feel welcome and worthy. Yet even as his friendship with Edie deepens, he begins to suspect that something is badly amiss at his new home.

When anonymous threats focused on Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year.

Reclaiming Our Students (Hannah Beach and Tamara Neufeld Strijack)

 I needed this book. This year, more than ever, I was coming home physically exhausted from problems at school. The authors say: What has changed is the culture in which children are being raised, a culture in which children no longer automatically seek the wisdom and leadership of the adults in their life. This cultural shift has disconnected children from the adults who care for them and it has taken away the cultural context that supports children in naturally being open to the guidance of adults. (p. 18)

As I read, I thought of many things I could have been doing differently this year. My plan is to start right away....and continue next year.

Goodreads says:

Children are more anxious, aggressive, and shut down than ever.

Faced with this epidemic of emotional health crises and behavioural problems, teachers are asking themselves what went wrong. Why have we lost our students? More importantly: How can we get them back? Hannah Beach, a celebrated educator and specialist in the field of emotional health, and Tamara Neufeld Strijack, clinical counsellor and academic dean of the acclaimed Neufeld Institute, provide a thoughtful guide to restoring the student-teacher relationship and creating the conditions for change. Reclaiming Our Students empowers teachers with relationship-based strategies to restore their leadership role and build emotional safety in the classroom.

You’ll learn:
• How to build, feed, and protect the student-teacher relationship
• Why children are anxious or bossy, aggressive or checked out, and what you can do to address these behavioural issues at their root
• How you can help students and classes shift their identity as the “problem student” or “bad class”
• Experiential activities for students of all ages that preserve and restore emotional health and well-being

Plus, you’ll find special considerations and information for parents, principals, counsellors, and home educators for building safety and support in the learning environment.

Combining Hannah’s groundbreaking experiential approach to creating emotional health and community in the classroom with the Neufeld Institute’s insightful approach to building relationships and making sense of children, Reclaiming Our Students is required reading for teachers who not only want to understand and overcome daily challenges, but also re-connect to their calling as educators.

I Love Lemonade (Mark and Rowan Sommerset)

 

The revenge of the turkey from Baa Baa Smart Sheep...almost.

Goodreads says:

The outrageous follow-up to the Award-winning "Baa Smart Sheep."

After being tricked into eating Little Baa Baa's 'smarty tablets', Quirky Turkey decides it's payback time. But has Quirky got what it takes to pull the wool over Baa Baa's eyes?

White Fox (Chen Jiatong)

 

I did this as a read-aloud in my class after a few students had read it and said I HAVE to read this to the class. Everyone did love it. I had some reservations about it but I read it to the end. 

These were my reservations:

- This book was originally published in Chinese and the translation is a little painful. It really needed an English speaker to edit it and make it more like we speak. The translation wasn't wrong, it was just not comfortable and not what we'd say in English. It could have really been tightened up with details that are irrelevant to the main story taken out.
- There is a lot of killing! In the first chapter Dilah's parents die. Later, a young couple is killed. It's a lot for grade three. Dilah meets other characters along the way but then they're gone and don't reappear again.
- The ending makes it impossible to not read the next book. Main issues are not resolved!

I don't think I'll read book two (or any after that). You just never know what kids will love though. The book has potential but if it's going to stick around it will need some editing.

Our sign post tracking was mostly involved with keeping track of all the characters. There are a lot! There are some themes that come up again and again.

Goodreads says:

A young white fox called Dilah returns home to find his mother gravely injured. Before she dies, she tells him about a treasure with the power to make animals human. The clues to its location are contained in a moonstone buried beneath their den. But wicked blue foxes seek the treasure too and Dilah must race to find it first. Along the way, he meets all sorts of other creatures: a friendly seal, an ancient tortoise and a fierce leopard - but can he stay one step ahead?