Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts for this meme!
Well, if April was a free fall, May wasn’t as bad. Luckily, people’s kindness was like a parachute that helped me not crash completely to the ground. Now, it feels like I’m in the inescapable rough landing part but I guess it’s nice to know that I’ll be on solid ground soon enough.
Be sure to read last week’s post about my Reading the Rainbow Reading Challenge.
So far in 2022, I’ve read 267 books. The breakdown is:
7- Adult novels
5- Adult non-fiction
18- Graphic novels
38- Middle Grade novels (Goal: 52)
197- Picture Books and Board Books
2- Young Adult novels
of which
72- Nonfiction Picture Books (Goal: 104)
28- Audio Books
And, now for the reviews…
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I wish they included the covers.
I do think I will be switching back to Goodreads in July just for the convenience.
Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts for this meme!
For a few years now, a friend and I have been having an LGBTQ+ reading challenge in June as a way to celebrate Pride Month. It’s a fun way to intentionally seek out books I normally wouldn’t even though I do try to read these kinds of books all year long.
What I like to do is create a BINGO board and randomly number it from 1 to 25. I then fill it out in order of what I read until I get five in a row. As an added bonus, I also “win” when I cover all the squares.
Here’s an example of a Bingo board I did for the kids books I’ve read so far this year.
Here’s how it looked completed.
Here’s my game board for June.
I invite everyone to read as many LGBTQ+ as they can in June. Here are some books I’ve read so far this year. I put an asterisk next to the titles that aren’t for kids.
Cinderelliot: A Scrumptious Fairytale-A cute queer retelling of Cinderella with the main character (Cinderelliot) as a baker who leaves his chef’s hat behind at a baking contest being held at the palace.
Bathe the Cat– Hilarious picture book about a family trying to get their household ready for their grandma’s visit- and a cat willing to do everything to avoid getting a bath. I love that it features two gay dads but it’s not made a big deal of.
Mr. Watson’s Chickens– An enjoyable silly story that I definitely to need to pick up again to pore over the illustrations longer to catch all the references to LGBTQ kidlit creators.
Pride In– I first heard of this series last year. I put off reading it once I realized it was a series (I didn’t know it at the time) since I knew with my completist mind-set I would have wanted to read it all at once. As it happened, I was able to check out all four titles. A colorful nonfiction picture book series of biography anthologies featuring LGBTQ+ people each focused on a different category. There are shared texts across the series and each includes a glossary.
Calvin– Inspired by the authors’ transgender child, this is Calvin finding the courage the world who really is. Hopefully books like this will help create a more loving and accepting world.
Love, Violet– A sweet picture book about a first crush perfect for anyone looking- or who remembers looking- for someone to go adventuring with.
Leaders Like Us: Bayard Rustin– Great to see a picture book biography about Bayard Rustin. Unfortunately, the presentation was bland.
The Spectacular Suit– A celebration of being oneself. Frankie is throwing a party and she only has to find the best outfit to make it truly spectacular.
Pink, Blue, and You!: Questions for Kids about Gender Stereotypes– A great kid-friendly book full of questions to help jumpstart conversations about gender stereotypes.
*Rolling the R’s– I was fascinated by this book since it was rereleased a few years ago to commemorate 20 years and I hadn’t ever heard about it before. These are vignettes of mostly fifth graders living in Hawaii in the 70s. As Filipinos and other ethnicities, they realize they can’t play by the rules (even though that’s what’s expected of them) when they aren’t even allowed to play the game. Add to that, the male main characters aren’t afraid to be who they are when it comes to their gender identities even when they get ridiculed and bullied. It’s unflinching and painfully honest at times but also shocking and over the top. With all the sex that was happening, I kept thinking the characters were in high school at least. I guess it’s edgy. I’m sure it definitely was when it came out in the mid 90’s.
Big Wig– Drag kids take center stage in this picture book about a wig that gives its wearers the confidence to be who and what they secretly want to be!
Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle– When one of her moms go away on a business trip, she and her Mama try to fill the days until her Mommy’s return but sometimes the missing is too big for her. Great for having to deal with separation anxiety.
Sam Is My Sister– Based on the author’s own family’s experience when one of their kids realizes they aren’t a boy but a girl and how the siblings- and the parents- learn to navigate this information.
*Silver in the Wood– I don’t know how I learned about this novella duology but I think I just wanted to read gay. A dark fantasy of magical creatures filled with delightful moody writing.
*Drowned Country– The problem with reading more stories featuring characters you’ve enjoyed is that there needs to be conflict. Not as strong as the first one but fascinating nonetheless.
‘Twas the Night Before Pride– A fun picture book about a family looking forward to Pride and what to expect- and why we celebrate it. I love the endpapers and I hope there’s a resource page identifying the LGBTQ+ figures. As of this review, I didn’t see one yet.
Miss Rita, Mystery Reader– A celebration of drag culture and story times.
Strong– I was pleasantly surprised with this picture book. I thought this was just going to be a general positive message type of story. I didn’t realize it was a memoir about a gay strongman defying expectations of who can be great in that athletic field I didn’t know anything about.
Mighty Red Riding Hood: A Fairly Queer Tale– A fun enough reimagining of a familiar fairy tale giving it a queer take and making it a story about being who you and how you want to dress and standing up to bullies. I think readers will enjoy the sass in this one.
If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It– A fun companion to The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish, this picture book is perfect for story time that will get readers celebrating their fabulous selves.
The Pronoun Book– A simple board book about a variety of people and the pronouns they use.
History Comics: The Stonewall Riots: Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights– I wish I liked this more since this was a great way to talk about the Stonewall Riots to a new audience. But it just seemed a bit too confusing.
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I’m trying this new format this week which saves me a bit of time but I wish they included the covers. Not only that but I’m using my phone to post this to get it up today so pardon any other weird formatting issues!
Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts for this meme!
(Note: I’m working on this post on my phone so the formatting will be a surprise for all of us. I apologize.)
I would say April has been a chaotic month. It feels like this past few months has been a sort of free fall, and, at this point, I’m just waiting for it to stop so I can assess the situation and plan from there.
But, another perspective that has helped me is knowing I’m surrounded by kind and generous people who care for me and my well-being. They act like parachutes to help me make sure I don’t crash to the ground.
So far in 2022, I’ve read 215 books. The breakdown is: 6- Adult novels 3- Adult non-fiction 13- Graphic novels 31- Middle Grade novels (Goal: 52) 160- Picture Books and Board Books 2- Young Adult novels
of which 63- Nonfiction Picture Books (Goal: 104) 20- Audio Books
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I wish they included the covers.
Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts for this meme!
I was interviewed for Portland Monthly magazine back in December and the Spring 2022 issue was recently released. It’s been very flattering and humbling to have had this experience and to feel the positive feedback I’ve received from people about it. You can click the image to read the interview.(The print magazine’s title has a less “Let’s punch Earl in the face” vibe to it than the online version’s.)
So far in 2022, I’ve read 182 books. The breakdown is: 4- Adult novels 1- Adult non-fiction 10- Graphic novels 26- Middle Grade novels (Goal: 52) 139- Picture Books and Board Books 2- Young Adult novels
of which 55- Nonfiction Picture Books (Goal: 104) 15- Audio Books
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I wish they included the covers.
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I’m trying this new format this week which saves me a bit of time but I wish they included the covers. Not only that but I’m using my phone to post this to get it up today so pardon any other weird formatting issues!
Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts for this meme!
The biggest highlight for me in February was getting to go on a Library Hop– crossing off two more FVRL libraries on my list part of my 22 For 2022 goals and 22 Places To Visit In
2022. Four more to go!
I also decided to doodle some of the things I saw during the Portland Winter Light Festival.
Lots of reading done therefore making progress with my Reading Challenges.
I’m actually trying or read less in March- and focusing on books I have to read for a reading committee I’m part of- so I can make progress on other goals.
So far in 2022, I’ve read 144 books. The breakdown is: 1- Adult novels 1- Adult non-fiction 6- Graphic novels 21- Middle Grade novels (Goal: 52) 113- Picture Books and Board Books 2- Young Adult novels
of which 43- Nonfiction Picture Books (Goal: 104) 10- Audio Books
What were some of your February highlights?
And now for the book reviews…
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I’m trying this new format this week which saves me a bit of time but I wish they included the covers.
Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts for this meme!
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I’m trying this new format this week which saves me a bit of time but I wish they included the covers.
Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts for this meme!
First of all, I was able to go on a library hop so this book lover is absolutely thrilled. You can read about it here.
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I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I’m trying this new format this week which saves me a bit of time but I wish they included the covers. I wish the covers were showing and I can differentiate between a kid’s book and one for adults and the different genres and formats.
I’ve moved over to The StoryGraph to avoid the Amazon-owned Goodreads. It’s still a learning curve and it doesn’t have some of the convenience Goodreads offers but, at least, I’ve been reviewing again. I’m trying this new format this week which saves me a bit of time but I wish they included the covers. Not only that but I’m using my phone to post this to get it up today so pardon any other weird formatting issues!
You can view all my reviews over on The StoryGraph.
The Chronicles Of A Children's Book Writer - Earl Dizon 
