Kara (00:00):

They don’t give awards to Otters.

 

Kortney (00:02):

They should.

 

Kara (00:03):

Yes. We need more Otter books. We’re starting again. Okay.

 

Kortney (00:08):

Oh wait. No, no, no. I have to tell you one more. I have to tell you a little Otter story first.

 

Kara (00:11):

Okay.

 

Kortney (00:11):

There’s an Otter at the Oregon Zoo who has arthritis and as a part of his therapy, he has a little Portland trailblazer’s basketball hoop in his enclosure. And he can dunk the basketball. He holds it and he lifts up out of the water, and it’s a part of his physical therapy.

 

Sarah (00:34):

Basketball playing Otter is next level. This is an illustration idea for somebody who’s listening, just saying.

 

Kortney (00:43):

Okay. Back to honored books, not books about Otters, even though that would be a great podcast.

 

Sarah (00:58):

You’re listening to the Read-Aloud Revival Podcast. I’m your host. Sarah McKenzie, homeschooling mama of six, an author of The Read-Aloud Family and Teaching from Rest. As parents, we’re overwhelmed with a lot to do. It feels like every child needs something different. The good news is, you are the best person to help your kids learn and grow. And home is the best place to fall in love with books. This podcast has been downloaded 7 million times in over 160 countries. So if you want to nurture warm relationships, while also raising kids who love to read, you’re in good company. We’ll help your kids fall in love with books and we’ll help you fall in love with homeschooling. Let’s get started.

 

(01:49):

Every year our Read-Aloud Revival Team watches the American Library Association Youth Media Awards together. These are the official awards of A-L-A and some you’ll recognize like the Caldecott, The Newbery, the Coretta Scott King Award. And there are others that are not quite as well known. Now, our team has gone to the awards in person before, but this year the event was virtual, so we watched the live stream instead. I always have mixed feelings after the awards, I usually come away with lots of new books to my TVR stack. I also usually feel kind of frustrated that some very worthy titles were not mentioned. Should we talk maybe about Sweep by Jonathan Auxier again, no? Is everybody tired of hearing me say that Sweep should have taken all the awards possible the year it was published? Look, a girl is allowed to have her opinions and I have of mine.

 

(02:45):

Well, the A-L-A awards honor books that have been published in the previous year. So, this year’s award ceremony in January 2022, was honoring books that had been published in 2021. So today I’ve got RAR Community Director, Kortney Garrison and RAR Managing Editor, Kara Anderson, here to chat about some of the books that won, and some of the books we think should have been honored because they are just that good. Courtney and Kara, thanks for hopping on and welcome back to this side of the podcast.

 

Kortney (03:19):

Woo hoo, thanks for having us.

 

Kara (03:21):

Yes. It’s going to be fun to talk about these books. We’re probably going to be dropping a lot of titles, and author or illustrator names in today’s show. So I’ll stay on top of that and you can find all the books we mentioned in the show in the show notes, which are at, readaloudrevival/199.

 

(03:38):

Since this is episode 199.

 

Sarah (03:40):

You guys, this is episode 199. I feel like we should be celebrating or something.

 

Kara (03:45):

Yes.

 

Sarah (03:47):

Our next episode is our 200th episode and I just had to look it up because I couldn’t remember, but the Read-Aloud Revival Podcast is wrapping up its eighth year on air this spring. We Just are about to hit 10 million podcast downloads in over 160 countries. That kind of boggles my mind. All right, let’s talk about awards.

 

Kortney (04:11):

Let’s start with the children’s literature legacy award. This award honors an author or illustrator whose books have made a substantial lasting contribution to literature for children.

 

Kara (04:20):

You’ll know a lot of the previous winners of this award. Tomie dePaola, Eric Carle, Jerry Pinkney, Maurice Sendak, Beverly Cleary, Laura Ingalls Wilder. In fact, Laura Engels Wilder won the first medal and it used to be called the Wilder Medal because of it.

 

Kortney (04:35):

So I think they used to award this one every three years or so, but in recent years they’ve been awarding it to a new recipient each year, which is always kind of fun. And this year the award was given to Grace Lin. That was a fun moment, I think all of us cheered.

 

Sarah (04:50):

Yeah.

 

Kortney (04:50):

Grace Lin has come to Read-Aloud Revival before.

 

Kara (04:53):

Yeah, when she came we talked about her middle grade novel called Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, but I have been loving her picture books. Her Board Books, just a new Board Book series called Storytelling Math. It’s a Board book so, it’s for the youngest audience, but they are supreme and they’re not just for the youngest audience. My favorite is called The Last Marshmallow.

 

(05:17):

It’s a very simple book, it has about 50 words. But it is packed with conflict and emotion and character development. It is a masterpiece and you’re going to have to drink some cocoa at the end of it.

 

Kortney (05:30):

Oh, I haven’t seen it, that’s fun.

 

Kara (05:31):

It’s so good.

 

(05:33):

Another author that we’ve loved at Read-Aloud Revival who was honored at the awards this year is Jane Yolen. She won the Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award, which recognizes an author who has made a substantial contribution over time in the genre of Jewish Children’s Literature.

 

Kortney (05:50):

So I sort of happened into a Jane Yolen study project this year. I heard about a book of poems that she wrote called Sister Fox’s Field Guide to the Writing Life.

 

Sarah (06:01):

That is a title.

 

Kortney (06:02):

I know it sounded like a book I needed to read. Well, it was a little hard to track down, but in the tracking down, I discovered that Jane Yolen writes a new poem every day. And she’s been doing this for 20 years.

 

Sarah (06:14):

Hmm.

 

Kortney (06:15):

You guys today, the day that we’re recording this podcast, this is Jane Yolen’s 83rd birthday today.

 

Sarah (06:21):

No ah.

 

Kara (06:21):

Aww.

 

Kortney (06:21):

It is yes.

 

Kara (06:22):

Happy birthday Jane Yolen.

 

Sarah (06:23):

Oh my God.

 

Kortney (06:23):

I know.

 

Sarah (06:24):

Happy birthday Jane.

 

Kortney (06:26):

So to celebrate, I’ve gathered up a big stack of poetry books that she’s written. Her craft books about writing and I’ve got a whole project for the year to celebrate.

 

Sarah (06:37):

I love it. A whole project for yourself, [crosstalk 00:06:40] without me.

 

Kortney (06:39):

Yeah, just for me, [crosstalk 00:06:40] because I think she’s doing good work and I want to learn from her.

 

Sarah (06:45):

I love it when you do that. So you’re basically creating a research project for yourself. That’s…

 

Kortney (06:50):

Yeah, I wrote about it on my blog. So if you’re interested or if you want to read along with me, I would love that.

 

Sarah (06:54):

Oh, good. Well, put it in the show notes or Kara, could you put it the show notes please?

 

Kara (07:00):

Of course.

 

Sarah (07:00):

You know, the book of Jane’s that contributes to Jewish Literature that I like best is Miriam at the River.

 

Kortney (07:07):

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

 

Sarah (07:08):

Which is a picture book that tells the story of baby Moses being put into his basket and sent down the river. But it’s told from a unique perspective, because it’s told by his older sister and love the beautiful, bright illustrations and these gorgeous, really rich colors by the illustrator. It’s just a really pretty lovely book.

 

Kara (07:30):

That one won an award last year at ALA awards, right?

 

Kortney (07:33):

Yeah, it did, that’s how I found out about it.

 

Kara (07:35):

And Jane has been RAR Premium actually. She came to talk about Owl Moon, one of the most wonderful, beautiful, lovely, just evokes feelings and warm memories, picture books. When we read that for an RAR Family Book Club and it was extra fun because she brought along her adult daughter, Heidi Stemple, who is actually the girl who goes owling in Owl Moon.

 

Sarah (08:04):

Aw.

 

Kara (08:06):

And is not a little girl anymore.

 

Sarah (08:07):

No.

 

Kortney (08:07):

No.

 

Sarah (08:20):

So let’s talk about the Coretta Scott King, Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. This award is presented for substantial contributions through active engagement with youth, using award-winning African American literature. And this year’s winner was Nikki Grimes.

 

Kara (08:34):

Okay. So Kory, I think you are the one who first turned me onto Nikki Grimes who told me, you should be reading Nikki Grimes and so I knew as soon as they said her name that you had to have been just delighted about this.

 

Kortney (08:46):

Yes, I was very happy. You know, like Jane Yolen, Nikki Grimes is incredibly prolific. She’s an accomplished poet. She’s a wonderful part of the children’s book community. So this award was highly deserved. And you can find her book Talking About Bessie, the story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman on the RAR picture book biography list.

 

Kara (09:08):

I think we should share a few of the individual books that won this year that we were excited to see when I think that there are 18 different awards given out and youth media awards, and most of them have multiple winners, but which stood out to you guys, what were you excited to see? When, who wants to go first?

 

Sarah (09:29):

Me, I want to go first.

 

Kortney (09:32):

I just sat right back.

 

Sarah (09:37):

Okay. So I was so excited that Mel Fell a picture book by Corey Taber won a Caldecott honor. Have you ladies seen that one?

 

Kortney (09:46):

I haven’t read it yet.

 

Kara (09:47):

I haven’t on hold at the library, hasn’t come in yet.

 

Sarah (09:50):

So, I read it with my kids just a few weeks before the awards and we absolutely loved it. Now, I kind of think… Well, here’s the thing. The Randolph Caldecott Award is usually given to an artist who created what they say is that year’s most distinguished American picture book for children.

 

(10:10):

That sounds very official. There’s a gold medalist for the winner. And then there are several honors. And the committee can choose as many or as few honors as they want. So sometimes there’s two honor books and sometimes there’s 10. True confessions, I’m still holding a grudge against the 2019 committee for not giving Eliza Wheelers Home in The Woods, at least an honor. I was so annoyed, I’m still annoyed, I love that book. It is so stunning. Truly, I think it’s a practically perfect picture book. There are a few books, three or four that I would say, they’re so perfect I cannot think of a possible way this book could be better in any way. And Home in the Woods is one of those, so grumble. It’s a missed opportunity, anyway.

 

Kara (10:59):

I think that Eliza Wheeler, her year is coming. I don’t think you need to worry. Her work is just stunning and the committee will have a chance to give her something wonderful.

 

Sarah (11:11):

You’re right, you’re right, you’re right. And in the meantime, we can all love Home in the Woods, which in fact, I just ordered a giant print from that book to hang up on my wall because I love the greens and blues so much. I just love her illustration style. Okay. So Mel Fell, that’s where I started talking about right? I think that book was kind of an underdog here because, the Caldecott committee just has this tendency to choose weighty books, like sad books or heavy books or books that are meaty in some kind of important way. Not always, of course, but Mel Fell is hilarious. It is just a fantastically good time.

 

(11:53):

It’s really lighthearted and it’s very spare. So the illustration style, I think looks deceptively simple. And I say deceptively simple because I think it’s very purposeful on the part of the creator, and I think that sparsity makes it look or helps the illustrator tell the story better than a lush illustration would have. But anyway, the kids and I read it, we loved it. We were all laughing. And so I was just delighted to see it honored. It feels like the kind of picture book that a kid would pick to with a medal, not an official words committee. So that was kind of why it was extra fun. That one made me happy.

 

Kortney (12:32):

That’s what I call my kids, my homemade Caldecott Committee, because really, I can tell how books are doing just on how often I have to go round them up if I can’t find them [inaudible 00:12:44]. [crosstalk 00:12:44]

 

Sarah (12:44):

Yeah, that’s true, that’s good. [crosstalk 00:12:47]. Well, and if I read a picture book myself and I think I’m pretty sure this is really good, but I’ll always read it to my kids to get the real deal [crosstalk 00:12:55]

 

Kortney (12:54):

Yeah. [crosstalk 00:12:56]

 

Sarah (12:55):

Test and see if it actually can hold the attention of my eight year old twins.

 

Kara (13:00):

Okay. Funny, funny, you mentioned that. Have you seen Snail Crossing by Corey Tabor?

 

Sarah (13:06):

I have not.

 

Kortney (13:08):

No.

 

Kara (13:08):

Okay. I bring it up because I haven’t even read this to my kids yet. I read it to myself as I was making dinner one night, I was stirring something and I’m reading it on this side. And I started laughing out loud so hard that my husband came over and he was, “What are you laughing at?” And I ended up, like the story book style, where you hold it up and you turn the page and you turn the page. I was like reading it to a well I’m stirring dinner because it is so funny. [crosstalk 00:13:35].

 

Sarah (13:35):

You’re reading a picture book to your husband, while making dinner, [crosstalk 00:13:37] I love it.

 

Kortney (13:39):

So, good. I just absolutely love it. And I can’t imagine kids not just absolutely adoring the book there’s… Oh yeah it’s terrific. You have to check it out.

 

Kara (13:49):

Okay, I definitely will. Okay, and then another one I was very excited about the one, was Jason Chin. Of course, he took home the Caldecott Medal for his book, Watercress. The Caldecott Medal, the medal, the gold one, the big winner, right? We are huge fans of Jason Chin around here actually, the last time, or one of the times, he’s come to our RAR Premium a few times to paint live for our families and answer kids questions, which is skill beyond skill, because he can paint these gorgeous paintings while I’m peppering him with questions from the audience and he can answer them and keep painting and it’s fabulous. Anyway, the first time he came here, he painted a spring tree and a winter tree and I have them. Then he sent them to me. And so I have them framed up on the wall because I just love them so much. And his illustration style’s amazing.

 

(14:47):

But the book, that won this year is Watercress. It was written by Andrea Wang. And I saw this picture book, right when it published and the illustrations totally took my breath away. So I understand why it won, totally get it. So this is a story based on Andrea’s childhood and in the book, Chinese American families driving through Ohio in this old Pontiac, and then the parents suddenly stop the car when they spot some watercress growing in a wild ditch by the side of the road. So they get out of the car and they wade into the muck to collect this watercress so they can take it home and eat it. And the girl is just horrified. She wants a normal American parents who buy food at a grocery store. But then as the story goes on, the girl and this family, she’s the main character.

 

(15:35):

She learns a bit more about her mother and her family heritage and where they came from and the situations they have experienced and where they are now. It’s a lovely story, but I will say there is one illustration that gutted me. It is a sad, tremendously sad book. It involves the death of a child. So I just want you all to know it’s a beautiful book, totally think it deserved to win the Caldecott. I also think you might want to preview it before sharing with your kids just to make sure you’re ready for any conversations that might come up and just so you can make sure that the kids you’re reading with ready for that one. Lovely, lovely book, Jason Chin, totally deserved to win the Caldecott. Wouldn’t call it a light picture book or easy on the heart, that’s for sure. Okay. Actually, did you two have anything to say, or should I just sit here and keep talking on the [inaudible 00:16:26]all day long?

 

Sarah (16:36):

I was pretty excited to see Emmanuel’s Dream. The true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. It won an Odyssey Award Honor for being one of the best audio books produced for children and young adults. And it’s a wonderful story whether you listen to or read it aloud. There’s some music and the narrator is so good. Okay. So I have a kiddo here who has always loved non-fiction books best. So I like to pay particular attention to the non-fiction books that win. And so we have been to devouring one of those books, it’s called Ambushed, and it’s about the assassination plot against President Garfield. So right there you know, this is intended for older kids. My kids are 15 and 18, so this is not something to hand to your littlest ones. But, my older kids who again, 15 and 18, they love presidential history and they’re not squeamish about medical stuff anymore.

 

(17:40):

So they have just been devouring it. It’s a large picture book format, but it’s got like 196 pages. It’s got chapters, it’s also part of a book series called Medical Fiascos? So let that inform your decision about whether you want it in your home or not, but it’s got spies, it’s got super beefy back matter.

 

Kara (18:11):

How many illustrations are there?

 

Sarah (18:12):

Oh, pretty much every page.

 

Kara (18:14):

Oh great.

 

Sarah (18:15):

It’s one of those… Lots of little, I don’t know how to describe it.

 

Kara (18:24):

Like pullouts and…

 

Sarah (18:27):

Yes, it’s got pullouts, it’s got charts, it’s got graphs, it’s got newspaper clippings, it’s got letters.

 

Kortney (18:35):

Cool.

 

Sarah (18:35):

So for, again, my really big kids, we like it. And if you read it, you will maybe start to begin to wonder like us exactly why Garfield hates Mondays, ahem.

 

Kortney (18:50):

Wow.

 

(18:52):

I audibly gasped when I heard that Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer won a Caldecott medal, it was a Caldecott Honor. This book, it was on my list of favorites, but I was totally surprised when it won. Because [crosstalk 00:19:08].

 

Kara (19:08):

And you said something about it beforehand, at a meeting you had said just in passing said, oh, I just love this book by Micha Archer, but I can’t, I don’t know if it’ll win anything. And then, so when it won something, I was oh my gosh, Kortney called it.

 

Kortney (19:22):

Well, like Mel Fell, it’s not a heavy book. It just didn’t seem like it was the sort of book that usually wins, but it’s a book about two kids going for a walk and wondering what they see. Micha Archer’s work reminds me a lot of Cathryn Falwell. She wrote Feast for 10 and We Have a Baby. They create this really whimsical work that shows a deep respect for children.

 

Kara (19:52):

I love Catherine Falwell. So yeah.

 

Kortney (19:55):

Yeah, I think Micha Archer is a treasure.

 

Kara (20:00):

Well, what about, we’ve talked about some, that won. What are some that weren’t honored at the Youth Media Awards that were published in 2021, that maybe we think should have been honored there?

 

Sarah (20:13):

I have opinions.

 

Kortney (20:15):

No, no, no, no. I’m going first. I can’t wait to tell you about Bartali’s Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali, Italy’s Secret Hero. Written by Megan Hoyt, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno. Have either of you read it?

 

Sarah (20:30):

No.

 

Kara (20:30):

No.

 

Kortney (20:31):

Okay. So as you might have guessed, Bartali’s Bicycle is a picture book biography about an Italian cyclist named Geno Bartali. He won the Tour de France, two times. But he also used his cycling skills as a part of the resistance during World War II. So, like almost every kid has the experience of riding bike, going fast, feeling free, Geno Bartali used that everyday experience to do truly heroic work.

 

(21:00):

I love that God used his inborn genius as a cyclist to change the world. The design and the artwork of this book are just phenomenal. The end papers are beautiful. It’s just all around an absolutely inspiring book. And it’s for sure going to go on the RAR picture book biography list because it is super high quality.

 

Sarah (21:23):

Oh, I cannot wait to read it.

 

Kara (21:25):

Okay. Kortney and I, we are on the same page. That’s a reading joke there. We’re on the same page here because my book I wanted to win is also set around World War II. It’s Nicky and Vera by Peter Sis. Have either of you seen this?

 

Sarah (21:45):

No, but I’m the fan of Peter Sis.

 

Kara (21:47):

Yeah, okay. Wow. All right. It is lovely. Does Sis do this with his [crosstalk 00:21:53].

 

Sarah (21:52):

Is it a picture book? Sorry.

 

Kara (21:54):

It is, yes.

 

Sarah (21:54):

Okay.

 

Kara (21:55):

Does he do this with his other illustrations?

 

(21:57):

Because I haven’t seen this a lot before where he creates almost these silhouettes and then there’s relevant images tucked inside? It’s really neat. It’s really beautiful to look at. And you know how we always talk about that the best picture book illustrations make you want to linger over the page and look closer and closer. This book absolutely does that, but the story or actually the stories are even more beautiful. So I don’t know if you remember seeing videos of a man featured on the BBC who evacuated children out of Czechoslovakia just before World War II? As they were filming, they asked people in the audience to stand whose lives were saved by this man, Nicholas Winton and the now adult children began standing.

 

Sarah (22:48):

Wow.

 

Kortney (22:48):

Wow.

 

Kara (22:48):

And, he’s saved a total of 669 children and never told anyone. And his wife uncovered this information years and years later.

 

Kortney (23:04):

Oh my God.

 

Kara (23:04):

And helped to organize this reunion. So he didn’t even know he was going to meet all these children who helped save again.

 

Kortney (23:15):

So when they started standing, you’re saying he didn’t know that…

 

Kara (23:17):

Yes, it’s just…

 

Kortney (23:17):

I’ve got chills.

 

Kara (23:20):

I get chills just thinking about it. So this is that story told from two angles, Nicholas Winton, who helped evacuate all those children and also Vera who’s one of the children be helped evacuate. Again, it’s a heavy book. It’s a lot, but oh, it’s just so beautifully done. I wish it would’ve won something.

 

Sarah (23:44):

I also have a World War II book.

 

Kara (23:46):

That’s funny. It’s our running theme, we didn’t even know that.

 

Sarah (23:51):

First of all, A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus. It should have been honored by the Newbery Committee. Hello, it is so well written, it is so well done. I am convinced that if kids were picking this award, A Place to Hang the Moon, would’ve brought home a medal. I really think it is easily one of the best middle grade books I have read in the last decade. So let alone just last year. So how’s that for a humble opinion. Hi, Newbery Committee, I’m sure you’d like to add me to your ranks with all of my Jim [inaudible 00:24:24] humble opinions over here.

 

(24:25):

You know, I was part of a call earlier today and a woman held up the book that she had just finished reading, an adult woman knew it was A Place to Hang the Moon. She had just finished listening to it on audio, and she said, her library just recommended it.

 

Kortney (24:54):

Yeah.

 

Sarah (24:55):

And she said, people always think, picture books are for little kids, and middle grade books have to be for middle grade kids and everything else. And she’s like, but this is one of the best books I’ve run a really long time.

 

Kara (25:08):

Yes.

 

Sarah (25:08):

Yeah. So it’s such a good example of a book that really will appeal to readers no matter what their age is. So sorry, Kortney, I cut you off.

 

Kortney (25:18):

No, it’s okay. I was just going to say that there’s a retired gentleman at our church who used to teach elementary.

 

(25:24):

And one day he told us about what he was reading and it was Sweet by Jonathan Auxier, which we’ve already mentioned today. And so we were like, oh my gosh, that’s a great book. So we knew that we had similar tastes. And at Easter last year he told me that he had read Astrid The Unstoppable by Maria Parr.

 

Kara (25:42):

Oh wow, you’re right, that’s some great taste.

 

Kortney (25:43):

So I was like, oh, have you read Adventures with Waffles? And he hadn’t, and so I may him up a little package and sent him a copy of Adventures with Waffles and then tucked in A Place to Hang the Moon as well. So at Christmas, when I saw him, he said that he had read and loved both of these books and that A Place to Hang the Moon had sent him back to re-read all of Narnia because of the Narnia connections to A Place to Hang the Moon.

 

Kara (26:09):

I Love it.

 

Kortney (26:09):

I know.

 

Kara (26:10):

Oh, I love it.

 

Sarah (26:11):

Oh, well, yeah. We featured A Place to Hang the Moon as our family book club. So we got to meet Kate Albus in RAR Premium. That was one of our… Maybe was, one of our most anticipated?

 

Kara (26:25):

Wait, hold on. That’s called [Desert 00:26:26].

 

Kortney (26:26):

That’s probably My Weird Sense, yeah.

 

Sarah (26:28):

That was one of our, maybe it was the most anticipated event at RAR Premium because so many families fell in love with that book. I think we’re hitting on it too. It’s cross-generational. The moms love reading it, well and older retired gentlemen and everybody in between.

 

Kortney (26:50):

Yeah, that’s right.

 

Kara (26:52):

And it’s a great audio book too.

 

Kortney (26:53):

Yes.

 

Sarah (26:55):

Okay, there’s another middle grade novel. Well, the publishers call it middle grade, I really think it’d be better classified as a YA book, a young adult novel, but it is, Just Like That by Gary Schmidt.

 

(27:08):

So this is a companion to the Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now. And he calls it a companion because it’s not a sequel. You don’t have to read the books in any order. They just all happen in the same world. And there’s this thing though. The thing about writers like Gary Schmidt, maybe there is only one writer like Gary Schmidt, which is Gary Schmidt. The problem with Gary is that if you’re going to be honest, you’d have to just give him a medal. Almost every time he releases a book, because it’s sort of ridiculous. He is phenomenal and his stories are layered and tug on your heartstrings and break your heart and then put them back together again. And I think, Just Like That, might be one of his best written yet, I think.

 

Kortney (27:56):

But wait, isn’t this the book that you threw across the room after you read the first page? I’m only asking because this is the next book on our, to be read list. So, help me out here.

 

Sarah (28:07):

You’re going to make me admit this? You’re going to make me admit this on air? Okay, confession is yes, I did, I threw it across the room after I read the first page. And I told Gary that because I spoke with him not too long after that, and I said, I read the first page, I threw the book across the room and I’m sorry, but I was justified. Then I finished the book and it was astounding, and he was chuckling nervously. He said something about always hoping he’ll impact a reader, so his job was done or something like that but. I would probably recommend Just Like That for, gosh, I don’t know, I’d say a 12 and up, probably if they’re going to read it alone. Now, if you’ve read like Court, you said you’ve read The Wednesday Wars and okay for now with your kids.

 

Kortney (28:53):

Yeah, yeah.

 

Sarah (28:53):

So this one will be fine as to read-aloud. It is heavier than the others, it is. But the heaviest thing that happens, happens on the first page. So you could, pre-read the first two pages really quick, and then… But he does this thing, Gary does this thing where he is not afraid of shying away from the dark sad things that happen in life. And then he weaves in hope and light and makes us more grateful to be alive and more grateful to be human and more able, I think to see the way God works in our lives and all these subtle, ordinary and extraordinary ways. But he does take you down first, so you’ve been warned. With that one, you go down real fast on page one, before [inaudible 00:29:35] things back up.

 

Kortney (29:36):

In Wednesday wars, there’s a character who’s reading Romeo and Juliet and she finishes it, and she says, “It’s tragic and beautiful and lovely.” And that sounds like exactly how you’re describing Gary Schmidt’s work.

 

Sarah (29:49):

That’s right. It is tragic and beautiful and lovely. It’s true. Oh, there was a picture book. A new picture book out this year too, that I was hoping might be honored. And that’s The Tree in Me by Corinna Luyken. Have either of you seen that one?

 

Kortney (30:06):

Yes. Yes.

 

Kara (30:07):

It’s on hold at the library.

 

Sarah (30:08):

Oh yes, okay. So she’s another person we invited. Because see, when we love it, author illustrator, we invite them to RAR Premiums. That’s why we can keep saying, they were invited too. They were invited. She came to RAR Premium, I think it was about a year ago. But she’s got this very unique style of illustration and I predict that it’s only a matter of time before we see a sticker, a Caldecott sticker in one of her books. We’ll have to just wait and see.

 

Kara (30:33):

Yeah.

 

Kortney (30:35):

Okay. I’ve been taking notes. So I’ll get all these titles we’ve mentioned today into the show notes, which you’ll find at readaloudrevival.com/199. And yeah, we should have a hot chocolate or party or something for the 200th episode.

 

Kara (30:53):

Woo hoo.

 

Kortney (30:54):

Yes we should. Or maybe something even more festive than hot chocolate. Chocolate with whipped cream.

 

Kara (31:02):

Woo, woo. Lid’s coming off over here.

 

Kortney (31:06):

And sprinkles. We know how to do it right, but it’s time to hear from the kids now.

 

Larissa (31:10):

Hi, my name is Larissa and I am seven years old. I live in Indiana and my favorite book is Pinky and Gerald, There Is a Bird on Your Head! And the reason why I like it, is because it’s funny and these birds go on, Gerald’s head.

 

Alex (31:35):

Hi, I’m Alex. I’m from Greenfield, Indiana. And I’m nine years old. My favorite book right now is A Series of Unfortunate Events by ‎Lemony Snicket, and I like it because there’s always a new mystery to solve.

 

Olivia (31:47):

Hi, my name is Olivia and I’m six years old and I live in Greenfield, Indiana. And my favorite book is Boot & Shoe. And my favorite part is where they lose each other and Mongo’s in the back porch, other girl in the front porch.

 

Logan (32:05):

My favorite book is [inaudible 00:32:09] I’m four years old and I live in Indiana and my name Logan and…

 

Bethany (32:21):

Hi, My name’s Bethany, I’m six years old and I live in California. And my favorite book is the Nut Cracker because I like when they go in the place.

 

Speaker 10 (32:32):

Which place?

 

Bethany (32:33):

The Sugar place.

 

Josiah (32:35):

Hi, my name is Josiah James Rice, I am 10 years old, I live in California and my favorite book is Lord of the Rings series because I like the storyline and I like how action packed it is.

 

Sarah (32:47):

Whew. Good recommendations today, kids. I always love to hear what you are enjoying reading. Show notes for today’s episode are at readloudrevival.com/199. So that’s, where you can find those. Hey today, would you send a Read-Aloud Revival podcast, any podcast that you like, would you send it to a friend who you think would enjoy the show? We love to help families help their kids fall in love with books and fall in love with homeschooling themselves. And when you help us get the word out about what we’re doing here at Read-Aloud Revival, we appreciate it ever so much. All right, that’s it for me today. I’ll be back next week with the team again for episode 200. We’re going to be talking about naming what matters in our home schools this spring and talk about what we’re reading this spring so much fun. I’ll see you here, same place, same time next week in the meantime, go make meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books.