Each week I join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! I just got back from Seattle, which inspired one of my reads for this past week.
Picture Book
I loved this creative picture book mystery based on the joke. This book is going to be a big hit with elementary schoolers.
Cute story about the origin of the rock, paper, scissors game.
Middle Grade
Kirby "Zig" Zigonski is a normal kid leading a normal life with a single working mom and a dad who is mostly out of the picture. But when his dad stops being able to send money, his mother's salary isn't enough to keep them in their home. This book will be a window book for many readers and will open many eyes.
Adult?
This historical fiction novel is considered adult, but I think it's a must read for upper middle grade readers. Henry Lee is a Chinese American man who lives in Seattle's Chinatown in 1986. When he learns that the belongings of many Japanese American families has been uncovered at the local Panama Hotel, he thinks back to his past and to a girl he knew when he was a boy living in Seattle in the 1940s. He was a scholarship kid at a private white school, which was challenging, especially since his father made him wear a large button that said, "I am Chinese." As a scholarship kid, Henry had to work in the school's cafeteria. There he met Japanese student, Keiko Okabe. Keiko lived in Seattle's Japanesetown. The two formed a friendship in spite of the distrust of Japanese people by Henry's father and the American government. When Keiko's community was forced to leave their homes because of the Japanese interment, Henry followed her until their lives moved too far apart to stay in touch. But he never forgot his first love and the findings at the Panama Hotel bring it all back. Told in flashbacks, this book is based on the real belongings found at the Panama Hotel which I was fortunate to visit during my trip to Seattle last week. Reading the book after seeing the "museum" of items left by the actual Japanese families forced to go to the interment camp made the book even more powerful. This is a piece of America's history that we all should take the time to remember.
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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. It's Monday, what are you reading?
I love both those picture books. The Exact Location of Home is on my trb list. The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a great read. The author has a new book that will be coming out soon, Love and Other Consolation Prizes, that I read on NetGalley. It's a good story, but not as good as Bitter and Sweet.
ReplyDeleteI read The Exact Location of Home when it came out as an e-read. I wonder if Kate changed anything in the published version?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to add Corner of Bitter and Sweet to my TBR list - it sounds like an important book coverieng a period in history that we don't seem to read much about.
ReplyDeleteThe Exact Location of Home is new to me, I'm looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteWe had a similar experience of Japanese internment here in Canada, too, and this sounds like an important read.
I have the Exact Location of Home on my to read list. It is Kate Messner after all! I loved The Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I can see it as high school reading for sure.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that I have The Exact Location of Home as an ARC from Book Expo. The book doesn't release until the fall.
ReplyDeleteThanks for including 7 ATE 9 in this wonderful list. I have heard great things about HOTEL and need to finally get around to reading it!
ReplyDeleteI've added 7 Ate 9 to my TBR list, as it is paired with The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, which I really liked. Thanks for sharing!
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