Welcome to Litsy!

Spring prompts for #booked2019 are complete!

This middle grade novel in verse is about Mimi Oliver, who in 1969 is excited about the moon landing and wants to be an astronaut. Many people judge her for this dream because she is a girl and is Japanese- and African-American. She has a strong voice and supportive parents, and she makes good friends in her new home in Vermont, but she also makes waves in her strict school when she excels at the science fair and wants to take shop class.

This was really REALLY good. A Japanese-African-American girl in the 1960s moves to Vermont and dreams of becoming an astronaut. Racism, friendship, family, forgiveness, and a bit of school based feminist activism all feature in this lovely verse novel.

On a cold (12 degrees!), snowy night, you bet I‘m putting on my hat, coat, gloves and boots to head out to book club. Along with another school librarian, I started a book club which focuses on YA, and occasionally MG, to highlight the great writing available to young readers. Tonight‘s discussion is the tagged book. Next up, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. Book people are the best people and I am looking forward to a great conversation.

The year is 1969. Mimi Oliver moves with her family from Berkeley to Vermont. No big deal except Mimi is half-black, half-Japanese & stands out in her new community. Mimi also wants to take shop class, not home ec, and dreams of being an astronaut. Mimi is a marvelous character with a strong voice. She ignores the people who ask her what she is because she knows the real question is who she is & finding the answer makes for a powerful story.

“...angry words are like minutes on the clock—once you use them, you can‘t get them back.”

So far, I‘m really enjoying this book. Mimi is a great character with a strong voice.

First new book of 2018 is a book club read.

Today‘s book haul—which includes The Girl in the Tower, the sequel to Arden‘s exceptional The Bear and the Nightingale—is courtesy of the always fabulous @ElishaLovesBooks. (And an extra special shout out to Elisha who was particularly excited to learn she read The Bear and the Nightingale before I did! I‘m catching up! 😉)

A beautiful coming of age story told in verse with a setting in Vermont in 1968, Mimi is the daughter of a Japanese mom and African American dad who struggle with the kind of racial discomfort that characterized much of society in the 1960s.

Just finished The Red Pencil (great story!!) and now there's talk of a red pencil in Full Cicada Moon (also a great story so far!!). That's what I call a #bookception 😱

New books for my classroom library!

New books for my classroom library!

Wonderful deep meaning and has amazing message in small parts of the book

Full Cicada Moon is about Mimi, a biracial girl in 1969 who wants to be an astronaut, and her move from CA to Vermont. It's in verse, and heartbreakingly beautiful. Girl Power!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A quick but beautiful read with a main character whose innocence isn't her weakness.

Mimi from Full Cicada Moon.

I feel like I need to be twice as smart and funny at school and twice as nice and forgiving in my neighborhood than everyone else to be acceptable. But everyone else can be only half to fit in.