Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

That’s what I finished listening to last night, folks–Renee Watson’s (imagine an accent on that middle ‘e’) All the Blues in the Sky. I imagine it’s been years since I read a medal winner within three weeks of its win! On the other hand, it’s a seriously short verse novel, so maybe that’s not too surprising.

I was still in the middle of it when our elementary school librarian finished it earlier in the week, and she felt like it was too sad/depressing; oddly enough, I’m not sure I agree. I mean, YES, it’s sad. Sage’s best friend died on her (Sage’s) 13th birthday, hit by a drunk driver, and Watson’s novel follows the first phase or two of Sage’s grief. Her after-school grief group gives us the chance to empathize with her, even while her frequent (mostly secret) dismissal of two of the group members’ experiences illustrates both the rawness of her grief and the limits of her own experience. If this had been a longer or traditional novel I think it would have felt too sad–there is only so much you can vicariously experience of that level of grief without overload–but between its length and its format, it worked for me. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, or even necessarily for most kids, but everyone needs to feel seen and represented in what they read, and there are going to be some young readers who desperately need this book. As for me, I absolutely cried a bit, but I’m not sorry to have read it; it added a dimension to my emotional understanding.

In other news, SEPs meant there was no school today, and my kitchen and dining room are much the better for it. My bookends watched “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” together, and while there were a lot of un-ideal emotions going on over the course of the day, we got to see (and feed!) my oldest nephew tonight, which means we ended on a good note. Here’s hoping for a good long weekend!

Did I mention that pork butt/shoulder was on sale at Costco last week? Because it was, and so we used it in our chili for the ward party on Saturday. Of course, since we still have, say, 20 pounds of pork butt, I tried this Fall-Apart Tender Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork Shoulder recipe today, and I have to say, it was pretty good. I might change a couple of logistical things on my end, but we had it with baked potatoes (and green beans), and I’d say it’s worth making again. The flavor was good and the pan juices made it lovely, although draining a bit of the fat would not have been a terrible idea. I was in a hurry by then, however, and I feel like this level of home-cooked meal on an SEP night was a solid accomplishment.

As far as whose SEP? My youngest had hers at 8:20 this morning, after which she began her school day and I helped pack up the book fair, volunteered with Battle of the Books, and then helped pack up the book fair some more. By the time I got home I was already poopered, but there was dinner to start, exercising to be done, my youngest to retrieve from school, and more to dinner to work on before my son’s SEPs at 4. Now the dishwasher is running and–spoiler alert!–I’m not any less poopered. On the other hand, I feel like I ought to sleep well tonight…

…and between the Book Fair and the teachers’ dinner, I can’t really blame them. Unfortunately, I still need to shower, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go abuse them for a little bit longer. Have a good night all!

My youngest and I have joined my oldest in the ‘I read all 15 Battle of the Books Titles’ club! (Not that there’s an actual club, but still.) My middles both came within 2 or 3 their last year of elementary school–enough to compete on teams and do well–but my oldest read all of hers and was supposed to go on to District competition, thwarted only by poor scheduling on the school district’s part. (She had to choose between performing with Broadway Kids or competing, and she cried over that decision. I was SO upset on her behalf.) Tonight my youngest and I finished this year’s last title together, and so she gets her Book Fair gift certificate and I get–the glory. So to speak.

Anyone who knows me will not be surprised that I put the sci-fi title off until last; that’s not a genre I pick up on my own. Eventually, however, I realized I was too close to reading all 15 to give up within sight of the finish line, and so I started Lee Bacon’s The Last Human on audio. When I couldn’t concentrate on it in audio, however, I asked my youngest if we should read it together.* She was thrilled to acquiesce, and I knew her drive to get to 15 would keep me on target, and so–the rest is history. (As of tonight.)

Anyway. As much as I hope never to read another binary number aloud again (SO MANY CHAPTERS, ALL NUMBERED IN BINARY!!), the story definitely sucked me in. Thirty-ish years previously robots judged humanity–with its propensity for violence, greed, and excess–to be an imminent threat to Earth, and so robots eliminated that threat. Robotkind is thus living in harmony when XR_935 encounters a human girl hiding on the solar farm where he works. It is impossible, and yet there Emma is; she was born in a bunker and lived there with her parents until everyone in the bunker got sick. (Everyone else, that is.) Now she’s determined to reach a spot on a map her father gave her, and XR and his two robot teammates can either assume she (as a human) is a threat and eliminate her, or–help? What follows is a definitely original take on the dangerous journey/quest trope, with threats and a destination that prove to be surprisingly complicated/not complicated at the same time. Hardcore sci-fi fans are likely to find some plot holes, but Last Human is an interesting story engagingly told; I found I actually enjoyed it. Let me know what you think!

In the meantime, this week I got my hair cut, went to the temple, took my son to the doctor and the orthodontist, and spent three of five weekday mornings at the school. I did survive our PTA meeting and book fair setup, but I have various children emotional over various things, tomorrow will be busy, and Monday and Tuesday will be even busier. Wish me luck!

*I’m fully aware that I used ‘however’ in two consecutive sentences, but it’s 9:38 and nothing else is coming to mind. My bad.

Did everyone have a good weekend? Because ours went fairly well, except that my poor hubby was not feeling at all the thing (he probably slept for half of the weekend). Some solid cleaning happened, we watched “Glory Road” for our family movie night on Saturday, and yesterday was family dinner in Clearfield, complete with February’s impressive dessert offerings. (We have more birthdays in February than in any other month.) And once we got home yesterday evening and I got my youngest into bed, I spent some time listening to an audiobook and then sat down and finished Mika Song’s newest graphic novel, Night Chef: An Epic Tale of Friendship with a Side of Deliciousness.

It was a little out there.

The thing is, it’s out there in the best possible way. Night Chef is a raccoon (or raccoon-like mammal?) living in the walls of a restaurant/diner, only one night when she comes out (after close) to start cooking, the cupboards and refrigerator have been locked. Luckily, she knows how to improvise, only the egg she’s planning on using for her ramen hatches on her, and soon she’s off on a quest to find the baby crow’s parents. Adventures ensue that involve a crazed owl, an animal diner, a train, and Night Chef’s considerable cooking skills (among other things), but all comes right in a most satisfying way by the end. Song’s illustrations have an interesting watercolor-y quality, which works for the story rather well. If you have a graphic novel or an animal lover, you should most definitely give this one a try!

In other news, the next two weeks are also going to be busy. Oh, for a row of empty boxes on the calendar!

I had a seriously hard time getting out of bed this morning, maybe because I didn’t have a teenage boy anxious to leave for jazz band in “five or ten minutes”. (No jazz band on Fridays, meaning he can take the bus to school. Wahoo!) I finally managed, however, and recognizing the likelihood of dozing off if I tried to read on the couch, I waited to eat until all the kids were off and finished The Truce of the Wolf and Other Tales of Old Italy over breakfast. (It has no link because it appears to be out of print. I’m not saying you couldn’t find a copy somewhere, but it would take some digging.) It’s been a while since I used interlibrary load to get my hands on an old Newbery, but I got the itch a month or two ago, and Truce of the Wolf was the result. It was a Newbery Honor book in 1932.

Rating a book written for children of the 1930s is always a challenge, because it was a very different world back then–my grandparents were all in the near vicinity of 20, the US was solidly in the Great Depression, and I imagine readers were looking to escape to other times and places when they could. The seven stories in Truce of the Wolf would certainly accomplish that goal; St. Francis of Assisi makes an appearance, as do a witch and a goblin, and some of the animals speak with humans. My favorites were the first two, wherein St. Francis effects the truce of the title and an exceptional donkey named Nanni saves the life of a padre. The others, however, weren’t not enjoyable, and overall, Truce of the Wolf is a nice little collection of tales that evoke old Italian culture. I don’t know that it has a broad appeal for children in the 21st century, but curious and skilled readers may enjoy it. I’m going to give my youngest the option of reading it before it goes back, so I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, it’s been a crazy week–what with covering recess duty for the teachers and a doctor’s appointment and regular volunteering hours– and I’m desperately glad to have a minimum of responsibilities for the day. May we all get a good chunk of the sleep we need this weekend!

It’s official, folks–I finished my second-to-last Battle of the Books book (if only adults could be on teams, right?!). Last night I finished reading Spy School: The Graphic Novel, which my youngest daughter is going to POUNCE on as soon as I finish this review and make it available to her. (We’ve had the same two left for the last few weeks, and since we’re reading the one together, she’s especially antsy for the other one.) Normally I wouldn’t read the graphic novel version of a book that was originally published as a regular novel–at least, not before I read the regular version–but needs must. (I’ll have to see if the regular version is available in audio, but I probably want to wait a bit first; if the details are too fresh in my mind it’s going to feel awfully repetitive.)

At any rate. Spy School GN is a fast read with more popular appeal than serious depth; I’d hand it to a reluctant reader and/or almost any middle grader (except, perhaps, for my son, who isn’t much of a graphic novel fan). In it we have Ben Ripley getting picked to attend the CIA’s Academy of Espionage, albeit under somewhat different circumstances than he is lead to believe. Once there, he tumbles headlong into a jumble of training and real-life spy experiences, with Erica Hale (descendent of Nathan) as his mentor-of-sorts. He’s half bumbler, half walk-on success story, and the action moves swiftly. I had some trouble with the art–as in, I had trouble telling certain characters apart, which was not ideal–but overall Spy School GN is fun, action-packed, and accessible for a wide range of readers. Fluffy, but not romance fluffy, you know? It’s more like a potato chip–not much there from a nutritional standpoint, but a satisfying eating experience while it lasts.

We’ll see what my daughter thinks. In the meantime, I have to decide whether I want to continue with the graphic novels or go with the regular versions. Decisions, decisions…

Some people have the Super Bowl. I have the ALA Youth Media Awards Broadcast.

Seriously, though. I’ve been watching the whole broadcast for years now (instead of just tuning in for the Newberys at the end). And even though it just adds to the TBR pile/list that only gets longer (no matter how much I read), I love seeing what new and exciting books there are to enjoy. I put a few on hold today (that’s all I had space for on my library card) and was immensely pleased to realize that I already had this year’s Newbery medalist on hold. I’d read at least two other award winners and there were quite a few more on my radar, so that’s fun. If you’re reading this in early 2026, you can find the list of winners here; if it’s later than that, you probably just want to google the Youth Media Awards press kit/list of winners for 2026.

In the meantime, I did afternoon recess duty at the elementary school today, and between that and the broadcast, well–it’s a basics kind of day. We’ll see what tomorrow looks like!

Seriously, though. Kevin Henkes’ Still Sal was yet another book that I had a hard time reading because being in Sal’s head was painful. She’s still dealing with the upset of her little sister moving into her room (no more personal space!) when she finds out that she and her best friend are in different classes for first grade. Griffin has Ms. Flowers, who is young and has curly hair and red shoes like Sal; Sal has Ms. McCormick, who is not young and doesn’t do some of the fun things Griffin’s class does. Sal is a big, creative personality, and for a good three quarters of the book, she spins scenarios in her head about Ms. Flowers and herself. True, the book itself only covers a week or two, but I so wanted Sal to move past the Ms. Flowers thing sooner. I suspect, however, that Henkes’ target audience will relate; I also suspect that their empathy for Sal will be more practical than painful. There are more wonderful things about parenthood than I can count, but the sudden ability to hurt for a fictional child on two different levels is not always one of them.

In the meantime, it’s yet another crazy week. Last night was 9th grade course selection; tomorrow night is our PTA’s STEM Night; I think History Fair projects are due next week. I’m so ready for a week of no extra things!

I finished Shannon Hale’s (and LeUyen Pham’s) Friends Forever last night, and let me tell you what–it’s going to be a while before I read another graphic novel that focuses on the junior high experience. I don’t want to relive the wishing a boy would like me, the worrying about having someone to sit with, the uncertainty of the friendships–nope nope nope. Add that to Shannon’s undiagnosed anxiety and OCD, her awkward relationships with her siblings and parents, the mall Santa, and the talent agent–ugh. Friends Forever is moving and realistic and chockful of feels, but I’m 46. I’m done with most of those feelings, and I’d most definitely like to STAY done. (As for the feelings I’m not done with? I’m a parent of more than one child with anxiety, and I’d prefer to escape those worries when I read, not exacerbate them.)

Interestingly enough, Shannon’s parent and sibling relationships bugged me more in this third book as well. I really just wanted to be a fly on the wall so I could evaluate them myself, rather than only seeing them through Shannon’s point of view. (Of course, that’s very much the parent in me, so I doubt my girls will care.) Ultimately, this is a well done graphic novel that middle graders will likely appreciate–I just didn’t enjoy sharing Shannon Hale’s experiences. That isn’t a reflection on her, however, but a reflection on junior high itself.

Once was enough.