A Carolina Wren; Learning Japanese; and Five Wonderful Fiction Books Read in January

 

In our state, the vaccine is set aside first for health care workers, those over 65, and people with medical conditions. My husband won't be 65 until June and I won't be 65 until November, and both of us are in excellent health. I want to go ahead and sign up to get the vaccine, but my husband is the good person who tells me that we should wait our turn. So I will.

My fiction reading this year is going much better than last year. I've finished five novels in 2021---Transcendent Kingdom; A Gentleman in Moscow; Miss Benson's Beetle; The Pursuit of Love; Before the Coffee Gets Cold---and I have loved them all. I'm not sure if I read five novels I loved in all of 2020.

The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane by Nikki Shannon Smith (early chapter book)

Hello, Mandarin Duck! written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Dion MBD (picture book)

Ex Libris: 100 Books to Read and Reread by Michiko Kakutani (book-about-books)

How to Be Happy (or At Least Less Sad) by Lee Crutchley (book about happiness)

The World's Poorest President Speaks Out by Yoshimi Kusaba (picture book; nonfiction)

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (fiction)

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (fiction)

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (Chapter-a-Day Read-along)

Yes, and...Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr (Daily Meditation Reading)

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (Naturalist Book Club)

The Atlas of Happiness by Helen Russell (Nonfiction)

On the Narrow Road to the Deep North by Leslie Downer (Japanese Lit Challenge; Nonfiction)

The Disappearing Spoon and Other True Tales of History and Madness from The Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (Nonfiction)

BLOG POSTS

I published several blog posts last week including New-to-Me Authors I Read and Loved in 2020 and my last post about our hiking trip to Sedona, Sedona Panoramas. I also read and reviewed three books for Multicultural Children's Book Day 2021: Hello, Mandarin Duck!, TimTimTom Personalized Books, and The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane.

2021 CHALLENGE UPDATE

Good Thing #1:

I'm learning to identify a lot of birds now after participating in Project FeederWatch for six weeks now. I fell in love with this little Caroline Wren.

Good Thing #2:

The Japanese Literature Challenge runs January through March, and I have a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone for 24 languages, so I decided to learn a little Japanese this year. I've learned Spanish, French, Italian, and now Japanese, and there's no contest---Japanese is the most difficult for me. 

Good Thing #3:

My dad and his wife...my sister and her husband...my brother...my friends...lots of people have now gotten the vaccine.

How are you doing? Is 2021 slowly becoming different from 2020? Have you read any books you'd recommend to me? 

I'm happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. It's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.

Multicultural Children's Book Day 2021: The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane by Nikki Shannon Smith

I was gifted a copy of The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane, written by Nikki Shannon Smith @nikki2smith and illustrated by Gloria Felix @GloriaFelixArt, from Capstone @CapstonePub. The opinions expressed are my own.

"Mama always said cooking for someone was like giving them a gift."

When Mama and Daddy head out of town to a food-truck festival, their three daughters, Tiana, Azaleah, and Nia, are delighted to get to spend the weekend with their Auntie Sam. Azaleah gets the idea to make cookies for her parents, so with Auntie Sam’s permission and little sister Tiana’s help, she carefully makes a batch. But the cookies are awful, and it takes all of Azaleah’s skills of solving a mystery to figure out what went wrong.

The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane is a refreshing book, with its story of a family of people who have occasional little difficulties in their relationships but who genuinely care about each other. There’s no over-the-top drama; the story is a gentle look at regular life. The little details---instant oatmeal for breakfast, buying groceries at a convenience store---offer windows and mirrors to contemporary readers. The characters are charming without being unbelievable, and that’s a difficult tightrope to walk. I especially loved how the characters are persistent at working to change their behavior when they fall short. The aunt, especially, is a model of ideal behavior. She spoils the children just a bit but she always draws the line at going too far. The story’s heart is a little mystery that draws the reader in, and I don’t mind admitting that I, happily, didn’t figure it out before the reveal at the end. Yes, I’d call The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane completely refreshing and delightful.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 (1/29/21) is in its 8^th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Eight years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues. Read about our Mission & History HERE.

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Prgamaticmom) and Valarie Budayr’s (Audreypress.com) Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages, Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media Gold Sponsors: Barefoot Books, Candlewick Press, Capstone,  Hoopoe Books,  KidLitTV, Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. Silver Sponsors: Charlotte Riggle, Connecticut Association of School Librarians, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Pack-N-Go Girls Bronze Sponsors: Agatha Rodi and AMELIE is IMPRESSED!, Barnes Brothers Books, Create and Educate Solutions, LLC, Dreambuilt Books, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin Real Estate, Snowflake Stories, Star Bright Books, TimTimTom Bilingual Personalized Books, Author Vivian Kirkfield, Wisdom Tales Press, My Well Read Child  

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Poster Artist: Nat Iwata Authors: Author Afsaneh Moradian, Author Alva Sachs & Three Wishes Publishing Company, Author Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, Author Anna Olswanger, Author Casey Bell , Author Claudine Norden, Author Debbie Dadey, Author Diana Huang & Intrepids,  Author Eugenia Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Green Kids Club,  Author Gwen Jackson, Author Janet Balletta, Author Josh Funk, Author Julia Inserro, Karter Johnson & Popcorn and Books, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, Author Keila Dawson, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Author Mia Wenjen, Michael Genhart, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Natalie Murray, Natalie McDonald-Perkins, Author Natasha Yim, Author Phe Lang and Me On The Page Publishing, Sandra Elaine Scott, Author Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher,  Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids, Author Theresa Mackiewicz, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Author Toshia Stelivan, Valerie Williams-Sanchez & The Cocoa Kids Collection Books©, Author Vanessa Womack, MBA, Author Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!

Check out MCBD's Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit Gallery of Our Free Posters FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

TWITTER PARTY! Register here!

 

Join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party! This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas. We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. ** Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter! Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Multicultural Children's Book Day: Hello, Mandarin Duck! written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Dion MBD

I was gifted a copy of Hello, Mandarin Duck! written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Dion MBD @DionMbd, from Capstone @CapstonePub. The opinions expressed are my own.

It’s time for the May Day Parade, and twins Hue and Hoa are waiting for the parade to begin when they see a duck who appears to be new to the neighborhood and confused by all the goings-on. How can the duck get to the pond? Lots of neighbors stop by and offer suggestions, and, by working together and supporting each other, the duck both arrives at its destination and is welcomed warmly.

The May Day Parade is a delightful celebration of peoples and cultures, with an explosion of colors and talents. In the midst of the celebration is a lost and lonely duck who can’t find the pond the duck seeks and who doesn’t feel like it quite fits in. But it’s the exuberant welcoming stances of all the other neighbors that help the duck feel accepted in its new environment. I loved this celebration of a multiplicity of talents and skills and cultures, and I loved the way the duck found a place in a new community by taking the lead as the head of the parade. What duck wouldn’t love becoming part of this diverse and joyful community?!

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 (1/29/21) is in its 8^th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Eight years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues. Read about our Mission & History HERE.

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Prgamaticmom) and Valarie Budayr’s (Audreypress.com) Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages, Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media Gold Sponsors: Barefoot Books, Candlewick Press, Capstone,  Hoopoe Books,  KidLitTV, Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. Silver Sponsors: Charlotte Riggle, Connecticut Association of School Librarians, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Pack-N-Go Girls Bronze Sponsors: Agatha Rodi and AMELIE is IMPRESSED!, Barnes Brothers Books, Create and Educate Solutions, LLC, Dreambuilt Books, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin Real Estate, Snowflake Stories, Star Bright Books, TimTimTom Bilingual Personalized Books, Author Vivian Kirkfield, Wisdom Tales Press, My Well Read Child  

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Poster Artist: Nat Iwata Authors: Author Afsaneh Moradian, Author Alva Sachs & Three Wishes Publishing Company, Author Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, Author Anna Olswanger, Author Casey Bell , Author Claudine Norden, Author Debbie Dadey, Author Diana Huang & Intrepids,  Author Eugenia Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Green Kids Club,  Author Gwen Jackson, Author Janet Balletta, Author Josh Funk, Author Julia Inserro, Karter Johnson & Popcorn and Books, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, Author Keila Dawson, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Author Mia Wenjen, Michael Genhart, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Natalie Murray, Natalie McDonald-Perkins, Author Natasha Yim, Author Phe Lang and Me On The Page Publishing, Sandra Elaine Scott, Author Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher,  Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids, Author Theresa Mackiewicz, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Author Toshia Stelivan, Valerie Williams-Sanchez & The Cocoa Kids Collection Books©, Author Vanessa Womack, MBA, Author Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!

Check out MCBD's Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit Gallery of Our Free Posters FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

TWITTER PARTY! Register here!

 

Join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party! This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas. We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. ** Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter! Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Multicultural Children's Book Day: TimTimTom Personalized Books

I was gifted a copy of Annie and the Dolphin/Annie y el Delfin written by Saskia Reusens @saskiareusens and illustrated by Katrien Van Schuylenbergh by TimTimTom @Timtimtombooks. The opinions expressed are my own.

Annie is my granddaughter and she has long brown hair and brown eyes and she is the hero of this story. Is your child the hero of a story? This is his or her chance.

I’ve seen personalized books in the past, and they can be disappointing, with amateurish illustrations and weak storylines. But this personalized book did not. The illustrations are bright and colorful. The child is the center of the story and she does heroic things---swimming to the bottom of the ocean, facing sharks, acting courageously---to save a turtle tangled in a net. I’m not an expert in Spanish, as Spanish is my second language, but the translation appears to be faultless. The text is easy to read, but also contains some strong new vocabulary. 

Annie and the Dolphin is one of the personalized, bilingual books published by Timtimtom Books. What child wouldn’t enjoy seeing herself as the star of a story? What child wouldn’t love to hear a story about himself written in his own first language? 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 (1/29/21) is in its 8^th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Eight years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues. Read about our Mission & History HERE.

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Prgamaticmom) and Valarie Budayr’s (Audreypress.com) Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages, Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media Gold Sponsors: Barefoot Books, Candlewick Press, Capstone,  Hoopoe Books,  KidLitTV, Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. Silver Sponsors: Charlotte Riggle, Connecticut Association of School Librarians, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Pack-N-Go Girls Bronze Sponsors: Agatha Rodi and AMELIE is IMPRESSED!, Barnes Brothers Books, Create and Educate Solutions, LLC, Dreambuilt Books, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin Real Estate, Snowflake Stories, Star Bright Books, TimTimTom Bilingual Personalized Books, Author Vivian Kirkfield, Wisdom Tales Press, My Well Read Child  

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Poster Artist: Nat Iwata Authors: Author Afsaneh Moradian, Author Alva Sachs & Three Wishes Publishing Company, Author Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, Author Anna Olswanger, Author Casey Bell , Author Claudine Norden, Author Debbie Dadey, Author Diana Huang & Intrepids,  Author Eugenia Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Green Kids Club,  Author Gwen Jackson, Author Janet Balletta, Author Josh Funk, Author Julia Inserro, Karter Johnson & Popcorn and Books, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, Author Keila Dawson, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Author Mia Wenjen, Michael Genhart, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Natalie Murray, Natalie McDonald-Perkins, Author Natasha Yim, Author Phe Lang and Me On The Page Publishing, Sandra Elaine Scott, Author Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher,  Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids, Author Theresa Mackiewicz, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Author Toshia Stelivan, Valerie Williams-Sanchez & The Cocoa Kids Collection Books©, Author Vanessa Womack, MBA, Author Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!

Check out MCBD's Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit Gallery of Our Free Posters FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

TWITTER PARTY! Register here!

 

Join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party! This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas. We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. ** Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter! Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Sedona Panoramas

My sister taught my husband and me how to take panorama shots when we were in Sedona last fall. After that, every very time we turned a corner..."Panorama!" Here are some of our favorites.

New-to-Me Authors I Read and Loved in 2020

Christina Soontornvat. I first ran across Soontornvat's All Thirteen, a middle grade nonfiction book about the rescue of the Thai boys' soccer team trapped in a cave, and I enjoyed it so much that I picked up her elementary/middle grade speculative fiction book, A Wish in the Dark. I loved them both so much that I nominated them both for their respective categories in the Cybils, and they both ended up as finalists! @soontornvat

Matt Haig. A friend recommended A Reason to Stay Alive, a memoir by Matt Haig about his time with depression. I thought it was marvelous, and I immediately picked up The Midnight Library, an adult speculative fiction novel. Marvelous, too. @matthaig1

Simon Barnes. No beginning birdwatcher could resist Simon Barnes' How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher. I followed it with A Bad Birdwatcher's Companion. Now I'm eager to read his book, Wilding and A History of the World in 100 Animals. @simonbarneswild

Robert B. Reich. I heard Robert B. Reich speak at Houston's Progressive Forum and was delighted to find that one of his books, The Common Good, was at my public library. I've got his latest book, The System, which I hope to read soon. Reich is one of the first people I've heard speak in a long time who calls it like it is, and yet offers hope. @RBReich

Richard Rohr. How have I missed renown Christian mystic Richard Rohr? I read his book, The Naked Now, last year, and I'm reading a book of his daily meditations, Yes, And... this year. @RichardRohrOFM

Elizabeth Acevedo. I missed her first book and I haven't read her most recent book, but if With the Fire on High is any indication, I should get both of those and read them as soon as possible.

Krista Tippett. Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living not only led to a great author, Krista Tippett, but it also led me to her wonderful podcast, On Being. @kristatippett

Sy Montgomery. How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals, a work of elementary nonfiction, is my first Sy Montgomery, but I couldn't let it be my last. I sought out and read The Soul of an Octopus, adult nonfiction, next. I hope to read more. @SyTheAuthor

Antoine Laurain. I've read Antoine Laurain before, but this year I enjoyed his book, The Reader's Room, so much that I decided to try and read all of his clever stories.

Maggie O'Farrell. I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death, a memoir of her close calls with death, was my introduction to Maggie O'Farrell. Later in the year I read her fabulous historical fiction novel, Hamnet. More please.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.