Welcome to Litsy!

I have so many thoughts about this book. The first thing I noticed was that in a public middle school in literal Chicago, the kids got dress coded for wearing makeup, having any holes in their jeans, and for having “non natural” colored hair. Nothing in the plot was not reliant on having the book set in Chicago specifically so it would have been really easy for the author to just migrate it like an hour out of the city. After the little dress ⬇️

About The First Rule of Punk
The First Rule of Punk is a wry and heartfelt exploration of friendship, finding your place, and learning to rock out like no one's watching. ... Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.

This wall of wonder is full of gems donated to my library - my favorite here is the First Rule of Punk. I like to ask my dot to play the artists referenced in a book... and I like punk, so there's that.

National Hispanic Heritage Month in the US is Sept 15 - Oct 15, so I‘m reading this adorable middle grade. This book features a 7th grade Mexican American girl adjusting to a new school. Super cute!

I needed a break from murder. This book is excellent.

Also, I couldn‘t figure out how to unfollow people so I blocked them, but listen— fuck transphobes! Fuck JK Rowling! Trans women are women and trans men are men and trans rights are human rights. If you disagree, go away and eat bees.

It is 🥶 this morning! We haven‘t turned the heat on yet, so I made some special drinks to warm us up! PSL for me, hot cocoa for Maya, both drizzled with caramel syrup. 😋 ☕️ 📖

I barely had time to snap a pic before the cocoa was whisked away. 😝 We‘re reading:

Me: Turn of the Key
Maya: Tagged 📖

My hygge mug was a gift in my first Litsy swap from @TrishB and it is still a favorite! 😍

I *loved* this middle-grade novel about a biracial girl, Malú, who moves to a new city with her mother (whom she calls the “SuperMexican”). Kids will get a crash course in punk rock, Spanish 101, & zine-making. And they‘ll learn valuable lessons along the way, such as “turning an insult into something you embrace is a good way to empower yourself” & “Day of the Dead isn‘t just Mexican Halloween.” ??

“Been working on a story.”
“What‘s it about?”
“A family of Mexican vampires,” he said, and hissed. “They gotta figure out how to keep a tan and avoid the sun at the same time. But it‘s, like, the 1800‘s, so there are no tanning beds...”
“Like I said before, you‘re weird,” I replied.”

100% would read. 😅🧛🏻‍♂️🧛🏻‍♀️📖
btw, we started watching “What We Do in the Shadows.” Thanks for all of your #spookymovierecs!

“She was always paranoid that I‘d break a bone if I so much as looked at my skateboard. Or, maybe even worse, fall and show my underwear to the world.”

#currentlyreading “The First Rule of Punk” in preparation of my next grad school assignment. It was an Honor book for the Pure Belpré Award in 2018.

“Mom says my music is a racket, but to me it‘s like the theme music to my life.”

This book is adorable! This would be a great book to start off the school year!

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez, 2017. Pura Belpré Award Winning Book. I really enjoyed this novel. The story really exemplifies the idea of being ones self! I enjoyed how their were pictures at the end of each chapter as well. The first day of school can be tough and this book really relates to all children in that aspect!

Such a week. Hoping to do very little today and tomorrow!

Maria Luisa (MaLu) loves punk music, clothes, attitude, and making zines. She and some of her friends are called Coconuts 🥥 (brown outside, white inside) in their Chicago middle school. But that doesn‘t stop MaLu and friends‘ band The Co-Co‘s...

So excited to start planning our first author visit of the 2019/2020 school year!!! Celia Pérez is going to stop by & talk about her new MG book Strange Bird: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers which is a story about four friends who form an alternate Scout troop & then adventure ensues. It‘s out September 2nd & this will be a great way to start the school year! The tagged book was her first for young readers & is now going on my TBR stack.

#bookmail going in my #classroomlibrary! My book buying ban went out with a bang! 😂

#riotgrams June 15: maps, legend, or bonus art (awesome MG read filled with the MC‘s zine pages)

#riotgrams june 11: naked hardcovers

#Juneitselectrifying #talentshowcompetition

What do you do when you and your punk rock band do not make the school talent show because you are too loud and unconventional? Why you have your own alternative talent show!

Malú is moving away from her dad to Chicago with her mom for two years- her “SuperMexican” mom. Malú loves punk and making zines, but she doesn‘t feel “Mexican enough,” struggles to speak español, and she‘s still learning about her culture.

Can Malú make friends so far from home, get her mom to understand her little better, and still be her punk self?
#awardwinner

37/100 #crossculturalstories read

Cute middle grade book! Trying to find books my niece would like to read during the summer and also be about Mexican culture since she thinks it‘s a religion despite being half mexican herself. So if you have any recommendations for a 9 year old Latina who is working on reading better please let me know!

I really enjoyed this middle grade novel! Maria Luisa (Malu) isn‘t thrilled to be moving to Chicago with her mother. Her mom just doesn‘t get her artistic, punk lifestyle, & neither do most of her classmates at her new middle school. But when Malu finds out about the school talent show, she decides to form her own punk band. I loved the main character and think she‘s really relatable. The use of zines throughout the novel added a unique quality.

Really cute book. The writing was maybe a little simple, but it is a middle grade book.

Getting a little reading in with my snuggle buddy. Let's see if this book breaks the slump...

My last book of 2017 is this adorable middle grade book about a girl finding herself through punk. It was so cute!

Edit: Just realized this book came to me through inter-library loan from a tiny rural library. It warms my heart to think of some kid finding it and also loving it ❤️

Cute middle-grade book with an excellent message: Be Yourself

⚡️ Sweet stack of MG spines ⚡️

#weneeddiversebooks #middlegrade

An adorable middle reader about 12 year old Malu, a girl who loves punk rock, zines, and skateboarding, and wishes her mother would stop trying to turn her into a perfect little señorita. This book features so many of my favorite things: Chicago, coffee shops, diverse heroines, and books written by librarians ?

Last book of September, sneaking in just under the wire, and a TRUE DELIGHT.

Perfect page for the first day of fall 🍂🍁🎃

Mom, aka SuperMexican, wants Malú to be una señorita and appreciate her roots. Malú wants to be herself, punk rock, which means hold the cilantro and nix the Spanish. A cute coming of age story in which Malú navigates a new school, new city, and what it really means to be herself--roots and all. #middlegrade #library #diversereads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5⭐️! I loved this story about Malú and her quest to be punk. Joe was a great character (and I ADORE Mrs. Hidalgo), and the way that Perez gives each character a complete "self" -- no one feels flat. (I admit to being puzzled / frustrated by the slowness of the audiobook narrator's speaking voice for Malú, but it was nothing a little speeding up couldn't fix)

My afternoon read today. Super cute, so far. As an adult in my 30s, I enjoy reading YA and middle grade and reminding myself how nice it is to not be in school. Adulting sucks at times, but at least we have wine.

My first post is also one of my top three middle grade books of the year! Looking forward to selling this delightful book tomorrow.

Okay so if like me you enjoy reading MG/kids books --or you know actually have kids-- I love the newsletter The Kids Are All Right: http://link.bookriot.com/view/56a82008e661f06c6e8c3d7e66mfm.6b8/341eb374

Got up early enough to read a little bit and started this! I love this neon bright cover so much and have high hopes for the book. Happy Thursday!

Need something lighter after the last book 😰 and this cover seems promising! 😜#24in48
Not gonna make it to 24 hours but will make my personal goal of 20 hours! 5 books read + most of an audiobook (so far!).

My Fourth of July TBR is very Team Full Circle Literary! I ❤️ my literary agency!

Epic #middlegrade #bookmail today!! So excited to pick these up! (Dinosaur is my own!) #penguinpicks

The first rule about reading the book The First Rule of Punk is that you will LOVE it. This story has everything: emotion, wit, culture, intelligence, heart and a fantastic soundtrack (make a playlist might be rule 2). I can't wait to see the final artwork in the finished copy because I love Malú's zine so much. I learned a lot from reading this while still being reminded of my own childhood experiences.

This was waiting for me when I got into work this morning! I am so excited for this release! #galleybrag

#Riotgrams June 6: number titles

#bookmail this looks soooooo good! (August, Viking)