Bodies, Ice cream, frozen turtles, libraries, and houses: this week in books.
And see my ninja skills in action!
Big
By Vashti Harrison
(Heads up, when you click the link, it’s out of stock on Bookshop.org because this book is the Winner of the Caldecott Medal, a Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor book, a National Book Award finalist, and a New York Times bestseller! Everyone wants it. Your local indie bookstore may have it though; I got mine at Scrawl Books and they had a few copies left!)
I know my daughter loves a book when, after I read it to her, she insists on bringing it up to her room and taking it to bed to read it again.
She did that with Big.
Vashti Harrison draws the most beautiful characters; you feel like you can just reach out and hug them. And you want to hug this main character, this beautiful big ballerina who is praised for being big until suddenly one day…she’s not. Instead she’s called names and expected to act older than she is, and when all the words that everyone puts on her become too much, she rediscovers the amazing words that she knows are true about herself.
We have loved Vashti from the very beginning and are so happy with all the success this book is bringing her; it’s so well deserved. Here we are nearly FIVE years ago meeting her in California (yeah we used to live there!)
My oldest (now nearly 7.5) and I talked A LOT about being kind to people, how words can hurt, how there is no one right way to be in a body and to be a person in the world, though a lot of people think it’s being thin.
We talked about how people can put their own words on you but you know deep down the words that come from you and actually define you. And we cheered at the end (I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s a very satisfying ending). She looked closely at the illustrations and was entranced by this book.
I bet you will be too.
Check this one out for a gorgeous look at defining yourself and pushing back against anti-fat bias and adultification.
Ice Cream Man
By Glenda Armand, Kim Freeman, and Keith Mallett
Did you know Augustus Jackson is the father of the American version of ice cream?
It’s true! If you like your ice cream without egg, thank Augustus!
He also discovered how to make ice cream faster and keep it cold for longer so he could ship it around the country!
But I think the thing I love the most?
He created this new version of ice cream while he was working at the White House, and then decided ice cream was so awesome that everyone should have access to it, not just people living in the White House. So he went back to Philly and brought ice cream to everyone.
I feel like everyone loves ice cream, so everyone will love this book.
And I think they do, because it’s currently on backorder!
Check this one out for an awesome look at ice cream innovation and a great story of an inventor!
The Day That Froze The Sea Turtles
By Lauren Darnell and K. Rose.
A friend that I met on TikTok wrote this book,
and we love it in our house!
It really gets us thinking about climate change, how we can help in our communities, and what’s going on all over the world. We also love the illustrations!
Check this one out for an animal rescue story unlike anything you’ve ever read!
Apologies about the blurry cover; I couldn’t get a good cover photo from Amazon. And yes, if the only place to get the book is via Amazon, I will link to it there (though I won’t like doing it!)
Did you see I changed this? I don’t want to limit myself to books that I’ve read, in case I come across a book I’m excited about that I want to share right away!
I am currently reading this one from (where else?) my library, and I’m really loving it.
It has cozy vibes, and so far the two chapters I’ve read (different characters) have resulted in those people moving towards their dreams and goals thanks to something that happened at the library.
I think anyone who loves books will love this one, but I HAVE to put it on the radar of anyone who works with libraries. I bet they’ll SUPER love it.
Check this one out for cozy feel good vibes with a library and librarian you’ll want to visit!
Update: from me drafting this to finally sending it, I’ve finished this book, and it is spectacular! Each chapter focuses on one character, yet they weave into the others’ stories as well. It’s like you’ve been tossed into a community, at the library, and someone is whispering in your ear about all the lives the library has changed. It is pure delight and I can confidently say every reader will love it!
I just started this one and I absolutely love it.
I’m reading it on my phone; thankfully I can zoom in and look at all the little details, but I’m already looking for a print copy. I think my kids would love it and it would be a fun book to pour over. Plus I can imagine my kids making up stories about these characters and then designing houses of their own!
I was always very excited about having my own house when I was a kid, mainly so I could decorate it the way I wanted! (As an adult have I decorated our house at all? Not really!). So little kid Kathy Ellen really loves this one too!
Check this one out for lovely little houses and the characters that live in them, plus plenty of info about different house features!
I’m getting ready for my the World Ninja League’s Tier 2 Worlds event in Austin Texas in April. Yes, I’m going to worlds again!
You can see how I did at worlds last year here if you’re curious.
This was my first run:
And my second
I am so proud of 2023 Kathy Ellen. I had only been doing ninja training for 3 months and my audacity and spunk took me to worlds and I did so good!
This year I am SO MUCH STRONGER!
And my little ninja is coming with me to compete for the first time at Worlds!
I’ve been jump roping, working on pushups and pullups and grip strength, practicing ninja moves, getting lots of steps in, AND doing some shoulder yoga moves to help with flexibility and strength.
If you too carry your stress in your shoulders?
You may like this video.
You only need a scarf or a yoga belt.
I started doing this video ten years ago and still love it.
I should be doing it every day, because every time I do it I feel better.
Let’s chat in the comments (about this or anything else!)
How has a library experience made your life better?
See you in the comments and
happy reading until next week,
Kathy Ellen
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