Mini-Reviews! Graphic novels are so beautiful and the perfect slump buster. I also love that they can make a text more accessible for young readers. These are some I have read recently and enjoyed. In the picture the following graphic novels are featured: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Displacement, Mooncakes, Magic Fish.

Laura Dean: This is a beautifully drawn graphic novel and I loved this gentle story about young love. We have all been there in some capacity, a relationship that feels one sided but you’re just not ready to let go. But there are consequences to staying with someone that does not love you the way you deserve…you can lose friendships and a sense of yourself. Highly recommend this one.

Displacement: If you have read Kindred by Octavia Butler, the inspiration for this one will be easy to see. A young half-Japanese girl keeps getting transported back in time to the 1940s when anyone with Japanese ancestry was forced into an American Internment (Concentration) camp. This is marketed as middle grade and I think that is appropriate. This is a great introduction for any young reader into that time of history. It is a launchpad for further learning, and I’m glad it exists for young readers everywhere.

Mooncakes: Gifted to me by @nerdtasticnoms . This is a really fun one. A teen witch named Nova and a werewolf Tam Lang must fight the evil they find in the nearby forest. Just a fun ride and I hope there is a sequel or something coming out because I am honestly just interested in knowing more about this world!

Magic Fish: Ugh my heart, a gorgeously told story about a young boy trying to come out to his mother. Subtle but powerful. I loved this one about the unconditional love we have for our kids. It snuck up on me. It’s a middle grade one too, so I will definitely be keeping this one in my classroom library.

#GraphicNovels #ReadingSlump #AlwaysReading

Palimpsest (noun): 1. Writing material (such as parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased. 2. Something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.

Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom is one of thousands of adopted children from South Korea around the world between the 1970s and 1980s. Adopted by Swedish parents when she was two years old, she goes to South Korea to try to find her birth mother and father. Throughout her investigation she uncovers some horrifying truths that definitely left me aghast. She is consistently subverted and lied to. The injustice of it all was heartbreaking and felt intimate. With each documentation she finds there are only more questions and less answers.

Graphic memoirs are truly a special genre, and this one is a standout. The pages emanate a certain warmth although there is nothing comfortable about her journey to discover this part of her past. But it melts your heart to know the people who fought for her to find the truth, understanding that everyone has a right to know their past.

I recently saw something on teacher twitter, someone asked what is something every child should know and study when they go to school and another educator said, “the space and knowledge to be able to research at least three generations back into their family tree.” And I don’t know I felt like there was something powerful in that. Would some of us feel more grounded if we had more knowledge of our ancestral history? What if we were given the space, freedom, and most importantly the safety to research that? I do think it is within everyone’s right to be able to know where they came from, and whether they take the opportunity or not is up to them and it is nobody else’s business. Thank you to Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom for sharing your journey with us.

[ID: The graphic novel Palimpsest resting on a bed of green shrubs]
#palimpsest #graphicnovels #graphicmemoir #bookstagram #alwaysreading #bookstagrammer #losangelesreaders

Oooh. I loved this one. So much. Thank you to @andreabeatrizarango for always highlighting great MG lit that is also accessible for all students.

I think this book is onto something special. Maybe I’m biased but a story about a half Filipino girl living her very normal life and going through relatable hiccups? Yes please. The other thing that makes me so happy about this book is that it is a planned series. There are so many middle grade series because kids LOVE THEM. But a lot of them feature all white characters. Don’t get me wrong I loved Judy Blume, Junie B Jones, Harriet the Spy and the like when I was a kid, but I can’t imagine how stunned I would’ve been to see a little girl like me within the pages of a book at such a young age. Dear children’s publishers, more of this please. I want to see middle grade series featuring kids of color from all backgrounds, religions, and don’t forget about LGTBQIA+ kids. ALL OF IT. It’s not hard. There are authors out there, but for goodness sake give them a chance. And yes. There is room for everyone.

If you’re a middle grade teacher I highly suggest you add this to your library and please give @andreabeatrizarango a follow. She has a great eye for amazing middle grade lit and is a writer herself!!

[image description: The book Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly resting on other middle grade books like Junie B Jones and The Boxcar Children] #WeLoveMGLit #ErinEntradaKelly #ITeachFourth #Bookstagram #AlwaysReading #FilipinoAuthors #FilipinoKidLit #MiddleGradeFiction #MiddleGradeLit #MiddleGradeBooks #BooksForFourthGraders

PLAIN, BAD HEROINES is a book about a haunted place called The Brookhants School for Girls. It is told through two interwoven timelines, one in 1908 and the other in 2014. From the beginning the narrator breaks the fourth wall and consistently refers to you as “Dear Reader.” There are also sometimes funny footnotes throughout the book to add more context to situations or different characters. I know there is a specific word out there for a book within a book but I can’t seem to find it. There is also a metaphor in this book having to do with a Russian Matroyshka Doll, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone here. That being said, it definitely gave this book an odd feeling of being somehow real. It’d definitely make a good movie, which is funny because the 2014 timeline is about filming a movie.

I personally enjoyed the tone and overall feel of this book. It was definitely an escape from reality that I really appreciated at the beginning of this year. I felt like the author did a great job of creating some eerie, gothic feelings that gave the book a unique vibe. I was genuinely creeped out at some parts.

(MILD SPOILERS) My only critique is that it felt sort of rushed at the end and it didn’t quite stick the landing the way I was hoping for. I did have a fun time reading it, but proceed just knowing that this book is definitely more about the journey, not the ending. (Which I get is like the point of, well, LIFE, but I was expecting more of a cleaned up ending from a story about a cursed book and a haunted house). Anyways, get this book if you’re looking for a fun but creepy romp with a unique narrative voice.

ID: The book Plain Bad Heroines in a garden with orange flowers next to it.

#PlainBadHeroines #HauntedHouseStories #AlwaysReading #Bookstagram #gothicbooks