Yesterday I wrote about how I have been sharing books with my class. Here I want to share a bit about what I have been reading.
Black Light Express – Philip Reeve: I enjoyed this mostly for the ongoing discussion of humanity Nova, a very human artificial intelligence, provokes. This was the strong point of the book, its mystery was weaker than Railhead which thrived on a sense of moral ambiguity. This was still present but necessarily lessened by the more familiar nature of the world, both to the reader and the characters. I love the universe that Philip Reeve has created here but again the most interesting world-building was done in Railhead.
Hole in the Heart – Henny Beaumont: A beautiful and thoughtful graphic novel that really gets you into the mind of a parent of a child with downs syndrome. It is really well drawn and reminds me of the many subtle and not so subtle ways culture and language support normalisation of limited metrics for success. The book gets much of its power from its honesty, the author is unafraid to explore complex feelings. The fact this is a graphic novel adds simplicity to this exploration and allows the reader to develop their own understanding. As a teacher it also reminds me that all parents are experts in their own child.
The Moomins and the Great Flood – Tove Jansson: The Moomin books are books I often feel like I should have read. I decided to take the fact I hadn’t read any to read them in chronological order. This puts me on the other side of a thought experiment I have often had about how my perspective of a series would be different if I had read the prequels first. The series I most often think about this with is The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordon as the prequel there gives a previously unknown perspective. I enjoyed this book without loving it, the production values are amazing and the illustrations lovely but the story didn’t carry me away. I will be interested to see how it effects how I read the other books.
Sweet Pizza – G.R. Gemin: This is an uplifting infectious book that remind me of a Frank Capra film. It provides a positive, excited vision of community and the acceptance of immigrants. It links the past and present beautifully, everyone I have given or lent a copy has read it very quickly. My class are also very keen to try the recipes at the back.
The Seamstress and the Wind – Cesar Aira: This comes from the independent publisher And Other Stories who translate literature into English. They have a lovely participatory model of book selection and work on a subscription basis. I have read lots of brilliant books from them but wasn’t enthralled by this one. There were some nice ideas about the power of language to modify expectations and a wonderful pursuit scene but the overall story never caught me.
Inside Out and Back Again – Thanhha Lai: Probably my favourite book of the year so far. It is a beautiful free verse exploration of the journey of a girl from Vietnam to America in the Vietnam war. The isolation the character feels in America is beautifully done and little touches emphasise her nostalgia for Vietnam. One of poems inspired me to write the blog post
Feeling Dumb and I love the complexity of the main character’s feelings about her new and old homes. Definitely a book I will read to a class in the future.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – Kate DiCamillo: I love the concept behind this book. The total lack of agency of Edward Tulane, only able to act as others determine. This creates a contrast to many books where the reader’s mind is on what they think the characters should do, here there is no choice creating a simplicity of focus on his internal journey. His powerlessness allows him to be a perfect lens to perceive those he interacts with. This is not only an elegant concept it is beautifully written.
Raymie Nightingale – Kate DiCamillo: A lovely depiction of friendship, the distinct characters interplay beautifully. I went through a period where I didn’t want to read blurbs. I had read Anna Karenina and the blurb had talked about readers falling in love with the character of Anna, I had been quite looking forward to this! When it didn’t happen it coloured my view of the book. In Raymie Nightingale the opposite happened, the blurb really added to the book. I got so caught up in the story I forgot the original premise, a digression that felt very human and led to a lovely surprise.
Skellig – David Almond: A book I thought I must have read but it turned out I hadn’t. I enjoyed Mina’s perspective on education and the way Michael evolves throughout the book. His transformation feels like a response to the increasing complexity of life with increasing complexity of character. I love the curiosity on show throughout the book.
What the Moon Saw – Brian Wildsmith: The art here is a gorgeous collage of colours and life. Curiously the somewhat abstract nature didn’t detract from the realism of the images.
Timmy the Tug – Jim Downer and Ted Hughes: The art again is beautiful and reminds me of the
razzle dazzle Liverpudlian ships carried in the first World War. I also love the printed hole punch binding, little touches in printing can really bring together a book!
This book just ate my dog! – Richard Byrne: My tendency to get obsessed shows here, I often read in groups as shown by the three picture books on this list all being together. This book cleverly uses the physical properties of how books are made to tell jokes with characters literally disappearing between pages.
White Sand – Brandon Sanderson: I love Brandon Sanderson’s world building and magic systems and some of that is present here in his graphic novel set in one of his Cosmere worlds – many of his works are set in different worlds in the same universe which often bleed into each other, a concept I love. Overall though the drawing style felt cartoony, something that doesn’t really appeal to me and I found myself missing Sanderson’s writing.
Johnny and the Bomb – Terry Pratchett: I enjoyed this in parts but was mostly reading it as a Pratchett I hadn’t read yet. I spent lots of the time I was reading it thinking I would rather be reading something Discworld or Bromeliad. I thought about introducing it to my class as a Pratchett the school has a number of copies of but want their first experience of Pratchett to be one of his best. This is one of the limiting factors of school libraries, sometimes pushing towards books that are convenient rather than the best option.
The Butterfly Lion – Michael Morpurgo: This was a book I didn’t expect to like as much as I did. As with Johnny and the Bomb I was reading it to see if I wanted to use it as a guided reading book, this predisposed me against it as I like choosing what to read independently. This makes me consider how many opportunities I give children in my class to choose books. The Butterfly Lion the book is named for is a beautiful idea and I enjoy books written with the story within a story format.
The Girl Who Walked on Air – Emma Carroll: This was lent to me by a girl in my class, I really enjoy learning about different historical periods through books and this was one I knew relatively little about. The danger of the high wire is really clearly shown but Emma Carroll also gives a sense of the joy of doing what you love. I don’t think I liked this quite as much as In Darkling Wood but I’m definitely keen to read more of her. Strange Star is next on my list of hers.
The Dream Snatcher – Abi Elphinstone: I didn’t really get into this to start with, I couldn’t get my head round a grand adventure on such a small geographical scale. Everything just felt too convenient. It made me think of The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt which did travel as part of adventure really well. By the time I had finished it I had got really into it however, I like the combination of puzzle and adventure and wild magic appeals to me. Someone in my class is very keen to read the sequels when I am finished with them!
Beetle Boy – M.G. Leonard: I really enjoyed this twist on mystery and adventure, particularly the extra details about entomology. Some evocative scenes, particularly battles. I am really looking forward to where it goes next with Beetle Queen. This book is also a great portrayal of various sciences.
Then – Morris Gleitzman: Towards the end of last year I read Once. It, and this, are stunningly good portrayals of The Holocaust. They somehow pull of a heartrendingly sad story with touches of comedy and use repetition of unusual phrase structures to create a distinctive voice. I need a bit of a break each time I read one as they are emotionally draining. I put off lending the first to my class for quite a while because of the challenge of the subject matter but have lent it recently and am looking forward to talking to the children reading it. It needs a conversation afterwards to support those who read it.
Cow Girl – G.R. Gemin: Another by the author of Sweet Pizza, again a really enjoyable feel good book about the power of community and memory. I feel this could be really good for children to have PSHE conversations about peer pressure and bullying.
Who Let The Gods Out – Maz Evans: I am torn about this book, I love the mythology references and the real life problems Eliot is dealing with. At times I felt it was trying too hard to be funny, joke after joke after joke. Some of them are very funny but at times it felt a bit like a rollercoaster. It grew on me as I read, partly because I got used to the style but mostly because the style seemed to fit more when the Gods were involved. Over the top, sometimes ridiculous, humour fits very well with the overblown personalities of Greek Gods so when they are in the story the humour fits. As with The Dream Snatcher I started off disappointed and ended keen to read a sequel.
What have you been reading this year?
The Law of Two Feet – Open space is based around giving people a structure to talk about what they really want to talk to other people about. In this structure it is not at all rude to get up and move from one discussion to another, it is encouraged. If you feel you want to talk about something else use the Law of Two Feet and move.
The Bee: The bee is a great animal to be, it flies from discussion to discussion ensuring a healthy cross-pollination of ideas.
The Butterfly: Not everyone will want to join in one of the Open Space discussion topics. You might want to have a cup of tea, eat a cake, or browse the stalls. This is fine, Open Space is about having brilliant conversations only loosely bound by constraints. The Spree will be full of fascinating people, chat to them however you want.
The Giraffe: This is the animal you don’t want to be. The Giraffe sits in one group and gets distracted listening to another group’s discussion. If you find yourself Giraffing use the Law of Two Feet and move to the discussion you are more interested in.
