Completely Full Bookshelf

Hello everyone! It's great to be back to regularly blogging—my life has been a little chaotic the last few days (even without classes), so I haven't read as much as I hoped, but I thankfully read some lovely picture books last week that I'm excited to feature today! Let's dive in! What book is it?   Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle , written by Nina LaCour and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita Add it on Goodreads  or preview the illustrations! Who recommended it?   Earl Dizon at The Chronicles of a Children's Book Writer , Linda Baie at TeacherDance , and Cheriee Weichel at Library Matters ! What does the publisher say?  " For one little girl, there’s no place she’d rather be than sitting between Mama and Mommy. So when Mommy goes away on a work trip, it’s tricky to find a good place at the table. As the days go by, Mama brings her to the library, they watch movies, and all of them talk on the phone, but she still misses Mommy as deep as the ocean and as high a

This is part 13 of Picture Book Pandemonium and I started drafting it on Friday the 13th, so let's hope we don't have any bad omens here! We certainly have one good omen, which is that I'm finally back to blogging—and I'm officially on summer break! I still have some college responsibilities to take care of, but no classes, so I should have much more time to read books and write blog posts and read everyone else's blog posts too. I can't wait! Anyway, now for the post! I checked out 7 picture books from the library, so I'm reviewing 4 today and 3 next week—let's dive in! What book is it?   The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story , written by Tina Cho and illustrated by Jess X. Snow (Here's a link to preview the illustrations.) Who recommended it?   Cheriee Weichel at Library Matters ! What does the publisher say?  " Dayeon wants to be a haenyeo just like Grandma. The haenyeo dive off the coast of Jeju Island to pluck treasures from the sea--gen

I apologize, but it will be one more week before I have a post to share! I have a couple more days of studying for my last final, and I'll also be reading for fun so I actually have something to share next Monday. I'll see you then, and thanks for your patience!

Well, here we are again—the middle of the night with no post in sight! (Hey, that rhymes!) I haven't had a chance to read this week, and I'm caught up in the chaos of finals. But I am so close  to summer, and reading all the time, and commenting on all the blogs —I cannot wait! Thank you for your patience as I get through this last chaotic smidge of the year—I'll see you soon!

As I post this, I have returned from a weekend trip (not a vacation, per se, because my college semester isn't over!) with my family to accompany my younger brother to a conference! I brought three picture books along, and I decided I would read one per night and share each review along with a brief diary of how I spent each day on the trip! Thursday The day began with the, shall we say, intriguing  experience of trying to participate in a Zoom call while sitting in the backseat of a car—my hotspot worked surprisingly well, but unmuting to speak and then hurtling forward when someone slams on the brakes is not ideal for getting your point across. But I made it work—a victory, but whether it's my victory or the victory of college's eternal time suck is another question. But things improved! We arrived at our lovely hotel room and my mom and I unpacked and meandered while my father and brother went to day 1 of the conference. I helped my mom with virtual chores, worked on a s

Well, unfortunately, I won't be able to get a post up this week for you all. I've been a productivity mess this week, and I couldn't quite get myself back on track enough to read anything. Which is a shame, because today for Easter, my wonderful mom gave me two delightful Easter picture books—and a plush bunny, which I have since named Cameron! I was hoping I'd get to post about these today, but it looks like I may have to do it later (when they're no longer timely—although I've reviewed books about Halloween in April , so it could be worse). Anyway, thank you all as always for being amazing, and I'll see you soon for an actual post! The picture books I got for Easter—and Cameron!

I've been so much of a mess lately that I totally forgot it's been 2 years since I first joined #IMWAYR! (And since the pandemic started—it reminds me of when I asked my parents in March 2020 if this might go on for a whole month . Uh...that was a slight underestimate.) But anyway, this is always a wonderful time to just say how much I appreciate the blogging communities I am in—I discover SO MANY  great books through all of you, I gain hope in this world through seeing your inclusive and caring demeanors, and I have people to rant about books with! What's not to love? I look forward to continuing to participate in these wonderful groups. And now, drumroll, please...the review! And what a review it is—today I'm looking at an absolutely FABULOUS  graphic novel, Go with the Flow  by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann! This book is about high schoolers, and I think younger YA readers will devour this book, but it's also completely appropriate (content-wise and complexi

I hope you all are doing well! I've decided to just openly admit that sometimes, I will only have an adult book to review, and even though this version of #IMWAYR is primarily for kidlit, I don't think any of us will refuse a great new book to read! So today, I have an adult novel to briefly review for you all that I think is just delightful: The Story of Arthur Truluv  by Elizabeth Berg! (And I will say, this book has some mature content, but any YA reader who wants to read this too will find absolutely nothing objectionable—in fact, in some ways, it's almost aimed at teenage readers as much as it is at adults!) Arthur Moses is a compassionate old man who visits the grave of his wife Nola every day—and remembers all the others who have passed too. Maddy Harris is a teenage girl who finds refuge from school bullies and her difficult father at the local cemetery. And Lucille Howard is an older woman who "seems to think the world is her classroom" but has just found

This past Sunday, I was visiting a friend who's an artist, and she was saying that she was going to give one of her paintings to Goodwill, so I asked her if I could have it instead—and the result is that I now have a hauntingly beautiful, perfectly moody painting by a friend hanging on my bedroom wall! Pro tip: art is way easier to appreciate when you know the person who made it! But seriously, I'm very grateful. Now for the books! I've got 4 picture books to tell you all about, so let's dive in! ***** What book is it?   Off-Limits  by Helen Yoon (Here's a link to preview the illustrations.) Who recommended it?   Beth Shaum at A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust , and Michele Knott at Mrs. Knott's Book Nook ! What does the publisher say?  " Dad's office is off-limits--which only makes it more intriguing to his curious young daughter. As soon as she sees an opening, she sneaks in to have a look around. After all, there's no harm in just looking, right

I had a wonderfully relaxing spring break this past week, during which I also got to visit a few friends, which was wonderful! Now it's back to college classes once again, but I feel like my priorities were reset a little bit—I'm hoping I'll be able to remember that my free time matters too! (He says, right before totally going back to his frantic, exhausting, boundary-free lifestyle...) I'm writing this post much later at night than I would like, so perhaps we're back to the same chaos. But at least I finished reading a book—that's a win in and of itself! Anyway, before I get on with the post, I do want to mention that the winner of last week's giveaway of The Genius Under the Table  by Eugene Yelchin is... Donna ( who is also a fellow blogger )! Congratulations! And thanks so much to everyone who entered—I hope you all get a chance to try this wonderful book regardless! Now for the post! Today, I'm recommending a wonderful YA novel: The Gentleman'