Happy Monday, friends! It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date, and adapted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts with a children’s/YA focus. The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. These weekly roundups are a great way to discover new blogs and bloggers, share some of the titles you’ve been enjoying, and add to your ever-growing to-read list.
If you missed my exciting announcement, I have a new picture book coming out soon! A Good Day for Ducks launches September 21, 2018, and I cannot wait to share it with everyone! You can already pre-order your own copy on Amazon, Chapters or Barnes and Noble, should you be so inclined.
And now, on to the reviews!
Regular reader will know that I love wordless picture books. I love using them to inspire young writers and get creative juices flowing. I also love cats. I really, really love cats. So, you can imagine how I how excited I was when this wordless cat-based picture book landed in my mailbox.
My feelings about this picture book are….mixed. I found the premise quite interesting – a cat follows a flying fish on a strange adventure across rooftops, through forests, all the way into outer space. It’s imaginative and a bit surreal, and I like it.
What I don’t particularly like is the art style – what’s with the nose on that cat?! It looks like an anteater…..Not that I have anything against anteaters, I just like my cats to look like cats! I also don’t know how I feel about the ending. The inside jacket of the book says “A playful cat, a courageous fish…Where will their adventures take them?”, which makes it sound like the two animals are playing a game of tag or something, but it doesn’t seem to reflect the actual story, especially the final spread.
All in all, I’m mixed. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it, I’m just….mixed. Find a copy at your local library and experience it for yourself!
Source: Raincoast Books
Norman is entirely normal, so imagine his surprise when he one day sprouts a beautiful pair of wings! Norman loves his new wings, but he’s extremely worried about what other people will think, so he hides his wings under an uncomfortable winter coat. Hiding his wings is so much work, and Norman feels like he’s missing out on all sorts of wonderful things. Can he risk being is perfectly not-normal self?
I loved the illustrations in this book, especially Percival’s use of colour as a story element. The story itself is a variation on the “be yourself!” theme, but it is a very attractively packaged variation. There’s one line in particular that I really enjoyed: “It occurred to Norman that it was the coat that was making him miserable, not the wings.” It’s not being different that’s the problem, it’s how we and others around us perceive and react to differences that’s the problem.
Norman’s parents and loving and accepting, and and Norman inspires other children to be themselves and reveal their own wings. Norman realizes that there’s no such thing as “normal”, and that being himself is the most perfect thing he can be.
I really enjoyed Perfectly Norman and its sweet message of self-acceptance, but I can’t help thinking of all the children for whom being true to themselves, especially in our current social and political climate, can be isolating, frightening, even dangerous. Accepting that you’re a nerd, or that you’re the only kid in your class with braces is one thing. Coming out as transgender or non-binary, for example, is quite another. Sometimes hiding your true self isn’t about being self-consciousness, it’s about protecting yourself from a world that won’t accept you, or worse, that wants to correct or even destroy you. Until we can create a world in which all children can safely be themselves, without fear, many children will be forced to continue to hide their wings.
Source: Raincoast Books
And now for something completely different! I have a a long commute, and podcasts are a vital part of keeping my sanity on those endless bus rides. One of my favourite series is Ear Hustle, a podcast from San Quentin correctional facility in California that “brings you the stories of life inside prison, shared and produced by those living it.” It’s eye-opening, hilarious, heartbreaking and absolutely fascinating. For example, the most recent episode looked at the experiences of LGBTQ+ inmates, while previous episodes have looked at the challenges of parenting as an inmate, coping with long sentences, managing loneliness, and the realities of racial tensions in prison. The show isn’t about taking sides or arguing guilt or innocence. It’s about the very real human beings who are, for many different reasons, incarcerated in a correctional facility. These human beings have fascinating stories, and I have learned so much from listening. Ear Hustle is highly, highly recommended, though listeners are encouraged to use discretion, as there is sometimes language and subject matter that might not be appropriate for all audiences.
Have a great week! j
Oh my goodness, Jane!! CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming book. I’m adding it to my TBR pile right now. And that adorable cover is wonderful! I’m laughing at your description of the art style (The Fish and the Cat) — that nose. LOL I’m also looking forward to reading Perfectly Norman. It looks so good! Thanks for all the shares, this week!
Congratulations on the new book! Can’t wait to read it!
Congratulations on your new picture book!
Congrats on your upcoming picture book! I just love Perfectly Norman for so many reasons-the story, the illustrations, the message. I love how you eloquently stated that color was used as a story element. After I read it aloud, we went back and examined the illustrations and discussed the author/illustrator’s use of color.
Marianne Dubuc is an absolute favourite. I have The Fish and The Cat in my own personal library, and I do think I’ve read it at one point. It is definitely different.