MONDAY FUNDAY – May 22, 2017

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.

Happy Victoria Day to all my fellow Canadians!!

My goodness, what a week!

First, I was offered a full-time, permanent job as a librarian specialising in services for school-aged children. My first full-time job in FIVE YEARS! I’ve been working as a librarian for almost three years, but always in temporary contract positions, or on-call as a substitute, filling in for absent colleagues. For the past year I’ve been bouncing around the system as a substitute librarian, which to be honest can get a bit tiring at times, so it will be nice to finally have my very own library to do with as I please, and to be settled in a community I can get to know. A regular schedule, paid vacation, professional development, a pension plan – I finally feel like I’m becoming an adult (again)! I’ve been working predominantly with toddlers and preschoolers since January, so I’m going to be looking for all the middle-years book recommendations you can offer!

I was also finally given approval to announce my biggest news yet – my very own picture book! Internet, please meet Wild One!

I’ve been keeping this a secret for over a year, so you can imagine how very relieved, not to mention thrilled, I am to announce that my debut picture book, Wild One, will be released in Canada in November of this year, and in the United States in March 2018. I have dreamed of being a published author since I was a little girl, so to see my name appearing on the front cover of a book, and an absolutely adorable book at that, is an absolute dream come true. Stay tuned for more writing/publishing posts in the months leading up to Wild One’s release date! I’m new to the world of children’s publishing, so I’ve been learning so much through this entire process, and I look forward to sharing some of these experiences here on my blog!

I can’t thank my partner and my parents enough for encouraging me and keeping me sane throughout this entire process – I have received so many rejections over the years that I was truly starting to doubt myself and my abilities, but they never let me give up, not even for a minute. So, thank you Aaron, Mum and Dad!

Wow, what an insane week! I still feel a bit overwhelmed, it’s all happened at once, and I’ve been floating on a cloud for the last few days! That doesn’t mean I have neglected my reading, though. Here are a few books I read this week:

I was very kindly sent a review copy of Mixed Me, a jazzy picture book featuring a proud, positive and fearless little boy named Mike. Mike comes from a mixed family, but he doesn’t let the opinions of others ever get him down – he knows who he is, and he’s proud of his family! This is a jazzy, energetic story that encourages readers to celebrate all the amazing things that make us unique and special. Be sure to check out the full review!

Oh Bark, George. I have shared this book so many times over the past three years that I know each page like the back of my hand. In fact, there have been times when I’ve had to take a break from Bark, George, because I’d read it so often that I couldn’t stand to look at it one more time! I shared it with a preschool group this week, and one of the preschoolers completely surprised me with his response. SPOILER ALERT – If you haven’t read Bark, George, the basic premise is that instead of barking, George meows, quacks, oinks, and moos. His worried mother takes him to the vet, where it’s revealed that he has inside of him a cat, a duck, a pig and a cow. Once these animals have been removed George is able to bark normally, but on the last spread his mother asks him to bark, to which he responds, “hello!” Depending on your audience, some children look confused, while others immediately grasp what has happened. The implication is that George has swallowed a person, and the preschooler in question cried out, “he’s eaten the vet!” Well, readers, that does indeed make perfect sense. It’s never explicitly shown, and George could’ve eaten someone else off screen, but this interpretation is both logical and practical. Sometimes little ones really can surprise you!

And be sure to check back later in the week for my review of the soccer-themed verse novel Booked, by Kwame Alexander. Spoiler alert: I LOVED it.

Have a great week, everyone!!