March 2021 Reading Wrap Up

 Goodbye March! 

It's been a beautiful month! 
The weather has been gorgeous, which means all the outdoor activities for us! We fit in a couple of long hikes, swimming at the springs, and lots and lots of gardening! 


BOOKS READ IN MARCH

Many thanks to @MacKidsBooks and  @AbramsBooks for the gifted books!

Started But Haven't Finished

I joined an online book club for the first time this year called The Bookstorians that focuses on historical fiction and we are reading Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, which I'm loving so far.

I'm also reading The One and Only Ivan for the 52Weeks Book Challenge prompt 'A book mentioned in another book'. 

READ ALOUD

Challenge Progress

ABC CHALLENGE
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

12/26

E - Elatsoe
L - Long Way Down
I - Inside Out & Back Again
R - The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE

16. Indigenous author
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
29. Set in multiple countries
Inside Out & Back Again

52 BOOKS CHALLENGE

26. An author of color
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
39. Alternative history novel
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
43. A character with a pet cat
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

NEW TO ME AUTHORS
Jason Reynolds
Darcie Little Badger
Thanhha Lai
Dan Gemeinhart
Luciana Cimino
Maggie O'Farrell


READ AROUND THE WORLD

[Elatsoe]
? to Texas

[Inside Out and Back Again]
Saigon, Vietnam
Guam
Alabama

[The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise]
Oregon
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Turquoise Lake, Colorado
Naples, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Petoskey, Michigan
Billings, Montana
Minnesota
Wallowa
Boise, Idaho
Yakima
Poplin Springs, Washington

1001 Children's Books to Read Before You Grow Up list
Feb: 176/1001
March:179/1001
+3

Now We Are Six
Frog and Toad are Friends
Amelia Bedelia

______________________

What was your favorite read of the month?

Keep up with what we're reading at
@LazyDayLit & @LazyDayKidLit

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Your House, My House by Marianne Dubuc (Children's Picture Book Review)

 We originally received an eARC of this book from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

 Your House, My House
Written & illustrated by
Marianne Dubuc
Published by Kids Can Press
on October 6, 2020
Genre: Children's, Picture Books
Length: 24 pages
Ages: 3 -  7 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
There's no neighborhood like a Marianne Dubuc neighborhood--this time in an apartment building!

This multilayered picture book from international award-winning Marianne Dubuc allows readers to peer into the homes of all the charming animal families in the building on every spread. Dubuc's winsome one-of-a-kind illustrations include heaps of clever details for children to pore over, promising something new to discover with every look and encouraging visual literacy in readers and prereaders. 


Our Thoughts:

This oversized picture book features a glimpse into the lives of one apartments' inhabitants on one very busy day that includes a birthday, a brand new sibling, new neighbors, and much much more!  

We fell in love with Mr. Postmouse's Rounds and And Then the Seed Grew which gave us glimpses into the lives of different animals and garden dwellers' homes so we were pretty excited to read this new picture book that takes place in an entire apartment building! 

Dubuc's entertaining picture books have lots going on in them and this one is extra big in size so you can get a good look at everything around the apartment on every page. We have lots of fun following along with the text but also love finding all the extra little storylines and flipping back and forth to see what's different! 

More from this author/illustrator:

Mr. Postmouse's Rounds

And Then the Seed Grew

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Clover's Luck (M.A.A.A. #1) by Kallie George (Children's Fantasy Book Review)

Clover's Luck
The Magical Animal Adoption Agency #1
Written by Kallie George
Illustrations by Alexandra Bolger
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
on February 3, 2015
Genre: Children's, Fantasy
Length: 144 pages
Ages: 7 - 10 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
Despite her name, Clover has always felt decidedly unlucky. So when she stumbles upon a mysterious cottage in the Woods, she can hardly believe her good fortune. It's the Magical Animal Adoption Agency, and it houses creatures of all kinds. Fairy horses, unicorns, and a fiery young dragon are just the beginning! 


My Thoughts:

 When a baseball flies through the very unlucky Clovers' window and her new pet bird, Penny, flies off, she knows she won't find her bird again but she tries anyway and ends up in the dark woods where she comes across an advertisement for the Magical Animal Adoption Agency. Clover decides that helping animals might be better than losing another pet so she volunteers and is hired, but soon after, the owner, Mr. Jams, disappears and Clover is left to take care of the creatures and choose who is or isn't right for adoption, all by herself! Can she make it through her first few days of work? 

This is a wonderful start to a magical children's series about a little girl with little luck but a huge heart and a love of animals... and mythical creatures! You really feel for unlucky Clover but root for her as she learns her way about the adoption agency and stops a wicked plot while also finding the perfect home for some of the magical creatures. 

The illustrations are gorgeous with a very soft and calming quality that really fits the whimsical theme of the story!

I definitely recommend this to any young readers that love fantasy, animals, or mythical creatures such as unicorns, fairies, gnomes, dragons, and more! 

I read this aloud to my 6 year old and she adored it!

More by Kallie George:

The Heartwood Hotel Series
A True Home
The Greatest Gift

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Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (MG Historical Fiction Book Review)

Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Published by HarperCollins
on Feb 22, 2011
Genre: Middle Grade, Poetry, Historical Fiction
Length: 262 pages
Ages: 9 - 12 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Literary Awards:
National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2011)
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Nominee for Older Children (2012)
Newbery Medal Nominee (2012)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2013)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2013)
Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Grades 6-8 (2014)

Synopsis:
For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Ha discovers the foreign world of Alabama; the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food... and the strength of her very own family. 


My Thoughts:

Inside Out & Back Again is a semi-autobiographical middle-grade novel told in verse and is about a young Vietnamese girl who is uprooted from her home in Saigon when the city falls to the war in 1975. With her father missing in action since she was a baby, Kim Ha, her mother, and her older siblings all become refugees that first travel to Guam and then to the United States where her family is sponsored by a man from Alabama. Ha faces a new world, a new language, and even bullying but finds strength in her family and memories of her homeland.

This book is beautifully written, told in poetic verse that really submerges us in the Vietnamese culture and the immigration experience. Ha's entire world is uprooted during the Vietnam War and escaping to a foreign country, learning a new language, and dealing with microaggressions and bullying is no walk in the park but Ha and her family persevere. 

This #ownvoices story is a quick read but eye-opening and heartwarming. I loved how Ha reminisced about her homeland and its delicious foods and I loved her rants about the English language. 
I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a read about a new place, culture, or experience! 

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Ella's Night Lights by Lucy Fleming (Children's Picture Book Review)

Ella's Night Lights
by Lucy Fleming
Published by Candlewick
on November 24, 2020
Genre: Children's, Picture Books
Length: 32 pages
Ages: 3 - 7 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Quick synopsis:
Friendship, kindness, and gratitude are all illuminated in a quiet tale of a magical girl with mothlike wings. 


My Thoughts:

This is one of the most beautiful picture books I've ever seen!
 The spectacular cover matches the illustrations within but also has extra shimmer and shine. The end pages are also amazing and worth noting!

 Ella is a teeny-tiny girl with moth-like wings and antennae and because her wings are so delicate, she cannot go out into the sunlight so she gathers bits of light at night and shares it with anyone who needs it. Ella makes many friends with her kind and giving spirit and her friends try to return the favor and help Ella see her very first sunrise!

 This story is so touching. Ella is an incredibly kind and helpful being who shares her light and goodness with all. She befriends many critters that she helps and in turn, helps her deliver her light and return to her home before the sun rises.

 This story is whimsical and is paired with amazing illustrations that really bring Ella and her 'magic' to light. There's tons of detail and texture in every page with lots of extra bits of 'light' that really make this magical. Ella and her animal friends are absolutely adorable and their friendship makes this a truly special story!

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The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare (Adult Literary Fiction Review)

 

The Girl With the Louding Voice
by Abi Dare
Published by Dutton Books
on February 4, 2020
Genre: Adult, Literary Fiction, Bildungsroman
Length: 371 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Quick synopsis:
The unforgettable, inspiring story of a teenage girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village who longs to get an education so that she can find her "louding voice" and speak up for herself. The Girl with the Louding Voice is a simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant tale about the power of fighting for your dreams. 


My Thoughts:

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives with her father and brothers in a small village in Nigeria. She wants nothing more than to become a teacher but her father sells her for rent money to be married to an old man named Morufu. Her new husband already has two wives at home, one of which is pregnant, as well as many daughters, one of which is Adunni's age, but Morufu is determined to have two male heirs. When something happens to the pregnant wife, Adunni knows she will be blamed and killed so she runs and ends up in the employ of Big Madam, a wealthy fabric merchant who gives Adunni a job. Life isn't much easier for Adunni but she is determined to get an education and become a girl with a 'louding voice'. 

This was a tough but hopeful read. Adunni is a young girl with a dream and determination but her coming-of-age story is a rough one. Adunni has many difficult twists and turns ahead of her, most of which are rather unpleasant, but she finds a way to work toward her dream nevertheless. 

This very much reminded me of The Color Purple by Alice Walker, which was a rather life-changing story for me. In The Color Purple, Celie is married young and struggles to find her voice, though she eventually does. Adunni suffers the same fate but is determined to find her voice and teach it to be loud. Both have a happy and hopeful ending. 

I was surprised to see the stark differences in the small villages that Adunni grew up around and Lagos where she is sold as a housemaid to Big Madam. In Adunni's small town an old tv may be used as a decoration though there's no cable to be had, while in Lagos everyone has smart phones and modern internet capabilities. I enjoyed the added facts about Nigeria, which helped to give a bigger picture of the country and the financial disparity between it's citizens. This was definitely an eye-opening and worthwhile read!  

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LazyDayLit's March 2021 TBR & Goals

 Hello March! 

My February reads were a bit heavy so I'm looking forward to lighter reads in March and will be leaning towards books with magic and mythology as well as trying to tackle a portion of my middle-grade tbr stack! 

Here are the books I hope to read this month!


My March TBR

My middle-grade stack includes:
 Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab, which releases on March 2nd,
 Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, which is  an alternate history by an Indigenous author,  
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart,
The Star Dunes (Explorer Academy #4) by Trudi Trueit,
and Nevertell by Katherine Orton.
(The last three were giveaway wins or were sent to me for review.)

Other:

I borrowed Lore by Alexandra Bracken in February because I hadn't heard anything about it yet and quickly fell in love but had to return it so my guy bought me a copy and I will be fnishing it first thing this month!  I'm also hoping to get to The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec, which is also mythology, but Norse.

I will also be reading Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell for the #bookstorians historical fiction book club over on Bookstagram either in March or April. 

What are you looking forward to reading in March?

Want to keep up with what I'm reading or what my daughter and I are reading together?
Make sure to follow us on Bookstagram at 
@LazyDayLit  &  @LazyDayKidLit


Happy reading!!