Welcome to Litsy!

Getting the oil changed before work today and I am SOOO glad nobody else is here to watch me crying! 😭 While my family was never homeless, we struggled so much financially when I was growing up. This one is going to be death by a million cuts.

#LitsyAtoZ #C✔️

This was a sad, but also heart-warming read 💜 I also finished The Royal Rabbits of London, which was absolutely adorable and hilarious! So far, I've read 9 books for #MarvellousMarch 📚 I'm hoping to fit one or two more books in!

@Andrew65

Book 11 of 2021. ❤️❤️ This was a very moving story of the imaginary friend who helps a young boy through a very difficult time for his family. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great for ages 5 and 8. Cute bedtime story. Gives good perspective on poverty and a loving family falling on hard times.

#3books #withanimalsonthecover @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

I'm not completely done with this book, but for what I read so far I will like to use it in my future classroom. This MF New York Times Best Seller novel by Katherine Applegate talks about homeless, eviction, hunger and poverty in a way that is easy to explain to elementary students. This could be a fun book to RA after lunch or recess. #UCFLAE3414SP20

A MF book written by Katherine Applegate won the Young Hoosie Book Award and 2nd place for the Intermediate Book Cybils Award. This book would be beneficial in the exploration of different cultures. rif.org/literacy-central/book/crenshaw. For some kids, their family culture is all they know. They may not notice the poor in the community. It‘d be best to use this book as a RA. UDL 2.2 and the use of graphic organizers (ESOL 7) #ucflae3414sp20

This book was really god at explaining homelessness from a child's perspective. However, that means that it didnt really dive into the seriousness of homelessness. It was nice for me, but my little brother (who I read this with) still does not grasp how serious it all was.
First book of 2020!! ⭐⭐

I was not a huge fan of this book. The content was very heavy for my kiddo & overall mood was extremely melancholy. The story is about a family on the verge of homelessness for the 2nd time & the reappearance of our 5th grade MC imaginary friend, a cat named Crenshaw. I had hoped that Crenshaw was a stronger support & the ending packing a bigger punch to uplift the whole experience, but we were disappointed.

It seems like I should have thought to myself, Wow, a cat is talking to me, and that is not something that usually happens at a highway rest stop. But all I remember thinking is how great it was to have a friend who liked purple jellybeans as much as I did.

Discovered a new, small local book store today!

This book gave me so many Totoro feels whenever Crenshaw was around. But it also could have used more Crenshaw. The amount of time we are given to get to know and understand Crenshaw was very small, but the overall story was great, you follow a young boy who‘s family is losing everything again. The boy is trying to deal with it but has a hard time expressing himself. It‘s a bittersweet story and written so well. I adore Applegate‘s storytelling.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Imaginary friends a like books. We're created, we're enjoyed, we're dogeared and creased, and then we're tucked away until we're needed again."
An enjoyable read about family struggles, and homelessness.
#MiddleGradeMay @SaturnDoo @megnews

Tell me what your favorites are in group 4 for #middlegradeMay. Thanks for your suggestions!

We listened to this audiobook and I was surprised by how much my kids enjoyed it. I had to stop the audiobook here and there just to make sure the 5yo (and sometimes the 8yo) understood what was going on. We haven‘t quite read a book like Crenshaw before, one which talked about hunger and poverty and eviction. I think it may have been an eye opener for my boys, to learn of kids going hungry and families living out of cars. 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟

“Look,” Crenshaw said as he extracted his claws from my quilt, “I can‘t go until I help you. I don‘t make the rules”

Crenshaw is an interesting story that students will relate to and enjoy. Many students have similar problems in their lives.

Crenshaw is a story about a family who are going through a hard time. There is no money for food or rent and they may have to live in their van. Jackson has an imaginary cat named Crenshaw who helps him through the rough times.

Be thankful for what you have.

I‘ve not read this, but the pic on the cover reminds me of my big 18 lb boy.

All the feels!

What a heartwarming story for young readers! Jackson's family is going through hard times -- bills aren't getting paid, food is in short supply, and they may get evicted from their apartment. His imaginary friend, Crenshaw -- a very tall, talking cat -' shows back up in his life to help him navigate a situation that is out of his control. Highly recommend.

After seeing the Harvey quote at the beginning of Crenshaw, I had to watch it!

#classicmovie #beatingtheheat #iwantapookafriend

Mixed feelings on this one. Love the Harvey quote at the beginning- Harvey is one of my favorite plays/movies.

But Jackson about made me weep and not for the reasons you want to cry. (See his quote about stories above).

If you have kids, I would recommend reading it first to see if your child can handle the harsh life realities that backdrop this story.

Read my full review on GR:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2440802800

What a beautiful little book full of imagination. Katherine Applegate just GETS childhood.

🐈🐈🐈

🐱🐱🐱

#AprilBookishMadness | April 5: book 🌈

I organize my books by genre, so I had to pull from several shelves to get a 🌈!

I love readathons! Probably won‘t make it to 25 but it will be fun to make some progress on my current reads! Crenshaw is this month‘s middle grade pick for #diversebooksclub and I need to start #theodysseybuddyread 📚
#25infive

Hold #1 that came in from the Library today!! Technically this is considered a YA fantasy book. This author is a Newberry Medal Award. Anyone already read this one?

Sharted this today. 😭

#thisremindsmeof #🐾

Tonight's bed time reading.

5 stars
This is one of my favorite midgrade books ever. It is about a family going through major financial struggles. The little boy's way of coping with the stress is seeing a 6 foot tall purple cat. It reminded me of Harvey when I saw the cover. This is so good and I had a good cry. It also has a realistic ending not a, everything is fixed ending which I liked. This is a must read for everyone.

I loved this story! A quick and easy read. I couldn‘t help but fall in love with Jackson and his family. A great book for children who may carry the burden of financial struggles at home. It‘s nice that such a story exists for children facing these issues to relate to.

This amazing story is about friendship between a young boy and his imaginary friend. Jackson‘s family is going through a difficult time and Crenshaw appears from thin air to help him out. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Especially on page 111, it made him and I laugh hysterically. “Then I told the policeman how Mr. Vandermeer was teaching his rats to play basketball with a teeny ball for a science experiment.”🐀 +🏀 =🤣

Crenshaw is a New York Times Bestseller MF book written by Katherine
Applegate and it would be best used as a PR. It is about a boy named
Jackson whose family has fallen on hard times… again. They‘ve been
homeless before and during that time his imaginary friend, Crenshaw,
who is a talking cat shows up but goes away once everything went back
to normal. Now that his family is struggling again, he needs Crenshaw
to help him get through it.

Preparing for family book club with my daughter ❤️

Currently reading with my kids. pretty cute. Not as good as The One And Only Ivan by same author though. #currentlyreading #middlegradefiction #novemberreads

A very happy 9th birthday 🎉🎂to my Mina! She squealed when she saw this book- “They have this at the library. I‘ve been wanting to read it!” ❤️❤️ #raisingareader

This is really good! An honest and sometimes heartbreaking middle grade novel on being homeless and hungry. Jackson has to deal with a lot, not the least of which being his parents' desire to keep conversations light rather than just being honest about their situation. I have never been homeless and can't attest to the accuracy of how he's feeling or what he's experiencing, but it all sounded likely to me. (Ctnd in comments)

Why yes, I would love to read to them!

I‘ve started substitute teaching (I did it in undergrad too and loved it) while I work on getting the necessary credentials to be a school librarian. I love it when teachers leave me books to read.

Finished this one during a work break. A nice story about a boy who is mature enough to understand the difficulties of being and adult, but that at the same time relies on his imaginary friend for support through tough times. I feel like Crenshaw (the 🐱) could have been more developed.

"'Here‘s the thing, Jackson. Life is messy. It‘s complicated. It would be nice if life were always like this.' He drew an imaginary line that kept going up and up. 'But life is actually a lot more like this.' He made a jiggly line that went up and down like a mountain range. 'You just have to keep trying.'" - Katherine Applegate, Crenshaw.

Such an amazing read. Absolutely loved this middle grade story. Of course, well-written and covers important topics like homelessness, hunger, and loneliness, but with perfect words that all can read and love. And relate to. Sweet story. Real story. Highly recommend. #crenshaw

It's a sad book. Crenshaw the tubby cat only appeared when Jackson was down because of his family financial's problems.
.
#crenshaw #katherineapplegate

A beautiful book about imaginary friends, family, friendship and the inportance of fantasy. Although I believe this book is for parents--so they understand that choldren see and feel everything that's happening around--and they also need to know, understand and talk about what's happening to the family. Highly reccomended!!!

Here is Lucy, our resident expert #MiddleReader with just a few of the books that she has read and loved recently.

#ReadingWomenMonth