Book shopping adventures, plus book reviews of kid lit, literary fiction, and more.
Hello, hello! This isn’t your typical plant or kid lit post, it’s true. But since this is my personal blog, I might as well fill it with stuff that I like, right?! I’m hoping to do more one-off author universe posts as well as style ones. Here’s a little write-up about a newfound obsession of … Read more
Days With Frog and Toad is an understated and humorous collection of stories about love that’s perfect for all ages. My kid lit read today is a deep cut — the deceivingly simple Days With Frog and Toad. The book is notorious for its subtext of Frog and Toad being a same-sex couple. Arnold Lobel, the … Read more
This weekend passed away like a cloud of smoke. Literally, because I smell smoky air whenever I crack open a window! There are fires just half an hour away from me towards the South Bay. The crunchy air quality (yes, it is crunchy to my lungs), combined with the heat wave and the pandemic and … Read more
I’ve been picking up more adult-oriented books lately (lots of romances by Jasmine Guillory and a few thrillers by Megan Miranda), but I’m still reading kid lit! I went on a lovely afternoon excursion yesterday, checking out local mom and pop shops and picking up some books from the library. (I also had the best … Read more
Kelly Yang’s Front Desk illuminates issues of poverty and immigration with a heartwarming story and fiercely self-aware protagonist at its core. Hello, kid lit book hive! I’m back with a review of Kelly Yang’s Front Desk. Yang’s middle-grade novel is extremely my speed — that is, a slice-of-life story that so lovingly invests in its details and characters. The … Read more
Hello, hello, hello, my fronds! It’s me, Count Olaf — just kidding. I’ve been slow to post this week because work has me l-e-v-e-l-e-d. I’m back with a kid lit blog, though. This week, I read not one, not two, but three books, not to toot my own horn. Specifically, those great American classics were … Read more
Meg Medina’s Merci Suárez Changes Gears explores family and school drama with warmth and nuance. I recently picked up Meg Medina’s lovely Merci Suárez Changes Gears on sale for $7. This whim of a purchase turned out to be a great decision because I thoroughly enjoyed the book and devoured all 355 pages of it … Read more
One Crazy Summer is a salient read that illuminates revolutionary ideas and emotional nuance through a child’s perspective. Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer initially drew me in because its setting is Oakland, a city that’s near and dear to my heart. For a whirlwind of a year in college, I covered art and worked at a … Read more
Jacqueline Woodson’s Harbor Me explores systemic American violence with a gentle force. Of all of the kid lit I’ve been reading lately, Harbor Me has been one of the most intense reads. I considered myself a Woodson fan since picking up Red at the Bone, a story geared towards adults, but one that shares salient themes … Read more
Review: Hope remains an unbreakable force in Tae Keller’s The Science of Breakable Things. Tae Keller’s The Science of Breakable Things might be the longest kid lit pick I’ve read in a while, but the length was definitely worth it considering how the book moved me. And it didn’t sway me in a cloyingly sentimental way. I … Read more
