Cheers to January

January, the month that still feels long, even as time seems to pass quicker and quicker. Artist Mari Andrew gets it:

A post shared by Mari Andrew (@bymariandrew) on Jan 26, 2018 at 5:02am PST

Perhaps it's because I'm coming off several months of overeating, celebrating everything, and travel (wedding+honeymoon+holiday season), but I'm truly appreciating this crawl back to "real life" that January has been. It's been the perfect month to weed out my closet and to start buying groceries and cooking for myself again - with no events to plan for or attend and no visitors to entertain, just me, my husband, and stacks of YA novels to read.

Cheers to long nights, long socks, and long books.

2Birthdays & 2Cellos

Yes, our birthdays are in the summer...but our birthday gift from Mom & Dad got postponed until last weekend - a sold out 2Cellos concert!

Neither Jesus nor I have ever seen a show at the Chicago Theatre, so we enjoyed seeing the inside of this landmark building. The music was pretty alright too. ;) 

The Witch Boy

The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the graphic novels I read last semester for my children's materials class was a new release by Molly Knox Ostertag. I book-talked it in class, and though I was nervous (as a book talk newbie), most of my classmates seemed really interested in reading the book after hearing what I had to say about it. Fans of colorful and fantastical graphic novels will also want to add this one to their TBR piles.

Imagine knowing exactly what (or who) you want to be, but not being able to show it because of rules created long before you were born. Such is Aster's predicament - he wants to be a witch, but in his family, only women are witches. Men become shapeshifters. When his boy cousins start disappearing, leaving him behind, Aster's secret talents at witchcraft just might save them. Will he risk exposing his secrets? Besides all the real life parallels that can be drawn with this tale, it's wonderfully written and illustrated, and features a wide variety of characters - in personality, looks, sexual orientation, and magical abilities.


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Welcome to the Jungle(s)

In the dead of winter, sometimes what you need is a total escape in the form of a movie. What's a total escape from dry, cold Chicago? A hot, humid jungle filled with giant monsters.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

The most recent of my jungle movie picks, this indirect Jumanji sequel (takes place in the same world, but only barely references the original movie) sends its characters into the game, which has been updated from board to video for a 21st century audience. Once in the jungle, our four protagonists become the avatars they play - so a nerdy teen becomes a ripped explorer (Dwayne Johnson), the football player becomes a much smaller zoologist (Kevin Hart), the brainy overachiever becomes the sexy martial arts expert (Karen Gillan) and the vapid selfie-taker becomes the overweight cartographer (Jack Black). Learning how to work together, and growing more comfortable with their new personas, they play to win the game - the only way back to real life.

I found this movie hilarious, and all the actors did a great job of showing us their distinct personalities, which were usually at odds with their outward appearances. The video game rules made sense and were followed (mostly) consistently, and while the ending is predictable, the journey there is lots of fun.



Godzilla (2014)

We've seen several iterations of Godzilla in recent years, but this reboot marks the beginning of a MonsterVerse series with several films to follow, and because of this makes an effort to build a complete world with characters we are invested in and writing that gives depth and variety to the plot. This movie reveals Godzilla's origin through a narrative that stretches back to the 1950s and carries into present day, and introduces other MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), and while only a portion of the movie actually takes place in a jungle, it's still worlds away from a Chicago winter.



Kong: Skull Island (2017)

This King Kong reboot fits into the MonsterVerse franchise along with Godzilla as an origin retelling and a way to introduce future (upcoming) monsters. Set primarily in the 1970s, the story shows us scientists and soldiers traveling to an uncharted island and discovering Kong, along with other larger-than-life monsters. Plot-driven action and dynamic characters advance the story and keep it from getting bogged down with monster fights, and the gorgeous cinematography matched with a setting-appropriate soundtrack make this movie both visually and aurally appealing.

While You Are Sleeping

While You Are Sleeping by Mariana Ruiz Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If I've learned anything from my time working with children's literature, it's that there's something to be said for wordless picture books (silent books). They're accessible to children of all ages and speakers of any language, and because different things stand out during each read, the story is stays fresh. The ability to tell a story with illustration alone is not a skill all authors/illustrators have, so it's a treat to see it done well.

Mariana Ruiz Johnson's While You Are Sleeping is an example of wonderful storytelling through imagery. She helps children imagine what goes on in the world right outside their windows while they sleep - and it's a world many parents will recognize as neighbors walk their dogs, go out for dinner, have a glass of wine before bed, and pursue hobbies late into the night. Of course, adventures await the later it gets, but when morning comes, we're back and safely tucked in bed, ready to face the day (and ready to read the book again and again).


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Still in the Honeymoon Phase

In celebration of two months of marriage, here are a few photo highlights from the first day (evening) of our honeymoon!

We flew into Tokyo the Monday after our wedding (Sunday night in Chicago) and stayed awake as long as we could to battle jet lag, which meant going for a long walk around the neighborhood our hotel was in (Ueno) and checking out Tokyo Skytree for a view of the city from above.

Since we left for Osaka the next afternoon, our first night in Tokyo feels much different from the few days we spent there at the end of our trip. That, plus airplane sleep deprivation, a smidge of culture shock, and leftover wedding elation means my memories of that Monday evening will always be a bit hazy, so I'm extra grateful for these photos!

Our first hotel had all the space we needed for the night!

The walk to the Skytree was serene & surreal. 

Lit up green for Christmas!

 

The first of many shoe pics, this one featuring the streets of Tokyo.

Our exhausted "We Made It!" faces.

Novel Novels: Two Reviews

Last semester, the Butler Center hosted a Mock Pura Belpré Award event. I somehow found the time to read all but one of the books on the reading list, and I'm so grateful I did. Two of them, novels for middle grade readers, don't let traditional "novel" formats limit them, which helps to show instead of tell their stories. The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez includes zines (homemade mini-magazines) created by the story's protagonist and Forest World by Margarita Engle is told in dual-narrative poems, allowing the reader to see into both protagonists' thoughts.


The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

MaLu is exactly the type of kid I would have wanted to be friends with in middle and high school - she knows who she is and what she stands for, and she's not about to let any sort of authority tell her differently. The adult in me had a few moments of "yeah, I don't think so honey," but middle school Rachel loved MaLu's artistry, earnestness, and fashion sense. What really makes The First Rule of Punk stand out is the inclusion of zines, collage-style mini-mags that show just how passionate MaLu is about being her most true self.

Forest World by Margarita Engle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Edver isn't quite sure what to think of his older sister Luza when he meets her for the first time during a visit to Cuba, made possible by relaxed travel laws and his mother's hope that Edver spend some time with his father, away from his precious cell phone. Luza, though, remembers Edver and their mother, and wants to reconnect with the family she was forced to say goodbye to so many years ago. Told in a series of poems from both Edver and Luza's perspectives, Forest World is as beautiful and stunning as the Cuban forest it's set in.

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The Lob

Turning the page on my calendar wasn't all the motivation I needed to get my hair cut, but it does help to be in a clean slate kinda mood. Also, being so. totally. done. with winter static and dry, damaged ends and zipping my hair into my coat and having to wash AND brush all of it just to pull it back into a ponytail and do it all again in 2-3 days...yeah, I needed to chop it off.

Much thanks to Nina at the Hair Cuttery in Skokie for seeing my desperation to have something new and taking charge! She said "I love transformations" as she tied my hair into four sections and chopped each one off, holding them up for me to see.

I'm loving my wonderful Lob (Long Bob)!

1.8.18

Eight years blogging has meant wildly different things in each year: travel journal, cookbook, confessional, poem diary, photo album, review site, scrapbook...what I appreciate most about this space is its adaptability. Cheers, As The Romans Do, and here's to another year of failing big and following curiosities.

Greenglass House & Ghosts of Greenglass House

Milo Pine lives with his mom and dad in an inn called Greenglass House, and he's looking forward to a quiet winter break, thank you very much. Unfortunately for him, the inn has guests - two winter breaks in a row! Greenglass House, and its follow-up, Ghosts of Greenglass House are both super fun novels to lose yourself in during your own winter break, or snowed-in weekend, or even on a quiet Friday night when you refuse to wander into freezing temperatures. Plenty of mystery, quirky characters, and a protagonist any introvert can relate to make these books great for middle grade readers and adults alike.

Greenglass House:

Greenglass House by Kate Milford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What secrets do the stained glass windows of Greenglass House hold, and why are so many guests suddenly interested in them? Milo and his snowed-in friend Meddy create mystery-solving characters for themselves to help his parents figure out which of the new guests is stealing others' possessions and creating havoc in their cozy inn. Is everyone telling the truth about who they are and why they chose to stay at Greenglass House?

I was totally taken in by Milford's world-building and loved the way she incorporated role-playing games and unique takes on traditional mystery tropes. Milo is nothing short of adorable, a kid that young Rachel would've befriended and adult Rachel wants to adopt herself, and Meddy provides just the right amount of snark and wit to keep the very grown-up capers from bogging the fun of the story down.

Ghosts of Greenglass House:

Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Milo's back and ready to finally enjoy a quiet winter break, even though there's no snow yet...and then the guests start to show up. Again. A few old friends plus some new faces appear just as the Winter Solstice begins, and this time of mystery and magic has odd events occurring throughout the house and its surrounding grounds. Milo really hopes Meddy joins him again, as it seems there are a few more mysteries for them to solve, and he could use a sidekick to boost his confidence.

I'm glad I read this sequel fairly soon after finishing Greenglass House, as it helped to place returning characters quicker (and I also didn't have to spend so much time away from the world of Nagspeake & the inn). These books are undeniably winter books, and go so well with a cup of tea or hot chocolate, under a blanket, with a fire by your side (or a radiator hissing steam). It should also be mentioned that while the setting is immersive, the characters realistic, and the story engrossing, the relationship between Milo and his parents is what really makes this book stand out for the middle grade crowd especially. Ben and Nora Pine are loving, but they have their own lives as well. They allow Milo to make mistakes, they answer his questions honestly, and they trust him to make good decisions (because that's how they've raised him). They never hover, but they're also not missing from the story - they are two of the most authentic parents I've read in children's fiction, which always seems to sway too far to one extreme or the other.


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Re.w.or.d.a.ble

What it is: A 2-8 player competitive game. Players collect word fragments (1-3 letters long) and combine them to create complete words, adding fragments to their own or other players' words to "reword" them for extra points.

What it includes: The diminutive box holds 120 word fragment cards, 16 bonus tokens, and rules.

Gameplay: Each player holds 5 cards in their hand, and 3 extra cards are placed on the playing surface, along with 3 bonus tokens. On their turn, a player can either build a word (using at least one card in their hand, and optionally in combination with cards already in play) to add it to their lexicon or discard their hand to get new cards. Once a word is in play, any player can add to it (beginning, middle, or end - but no reordering of letters/fragments) and steal it for their lexicon. The game ends after a pre-determined amount of plays, or when cards run out.

Winning: Players count the amount of letters in each word in their lexicon (each letter is worth one point), then add 4 points for each bonus token earned. The player with the most points wins!

Recommended for: This game could be marketed towards a young crowd - it would definitely help elementary (3rd-5th grade) age kids learn different word variations, could be played cooperatively (using teams) for middle school age, and is a unique challenge for adults as well. Because of how the word fragments are split onto each card, playing this game in other languages is also a possibility. (Spanish seems to work pretty well, at least.)

Positives: Easy to set up and play starts quickly, since there aren't a lot of rules to go over. Super portable, and rules can be adapted to player skills (allowing abbreviations, proper nouns, or words in other languages). Graphics on the cards are readable - good use of size/font/color.

Drawbacks: While the ease of play and small size of the box makes this game perfect for bringing along to parties/on vacation/etc, the cards sometimes feel a bit too small - they are hard to shuffle. Not a dealbreaker, but something to consider if playing with an older crowd.

Overall: Rewordable is like Scrabble or UpWords, but with cards. Common words and word combinations are emphasized over obscure words. Wordies will enjoy its many possibilities and competitive gamers will appreciate the variety of challenges.