December Reads

Children’s

1) Blue Sky White Stars-by Sarvinder Naberhaus 

2) Malala's Magic Pencil-by Malala Yousafzai 

3) Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets-by Kwame Alexander 

4) Jabari Jumps- by Gaia Cornwall 

5) Now -by Antoinette Portis 

6) Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna the Very First Chicken-by Douglas Rees 

7) Accident!-by Andrea Tsurumi 

8) Her Right Foot-by Dave Eggers 

9) Lucia the Luchadora -by Cynthia Leonor Garza 

10) Priscilla Gorilla-by Barbara Bottner

11) Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters-by Michael James Mahin

12) Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut-by Derrick Barnes

13) Wolf in the Snow-by Matthew Cordell

14) A Perfect Day-by Lane Smith

15) Triangle-by Mac Barnett

16) When's My Birthday?-by Julie Fogliano

17) Bird, Balloon, Bear-by Il Sung Na

18) The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors-by Drew Daywalt

19) Town Is by the Sea- by Joanne Schwartz

All thanks to NPR.

https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2017/

Sara

October Reads

Children’s

1) Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez- by Kathleen Krull

2) For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai's Story- by Rebecca Langston-George

3) The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage-by Selina Alko

4) Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World-by Laurie Lawlor

5) Goldfish Ghost- by Lemony Snicket 

6) It Takes a Village- by Hillary Rodham Clinton

7) The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story Of Life For All Ages- by Leo Buscaglia

8) Where Do They Go? - by Julia Alvarez

9) The Tenth Good Thing About Barney- by Judith Viorst

Sara

September Reads

Nonfiction Why We March: Signs of Protest and Hope-by Artisan Press

Graphic NovelsGiant Days, Vol. 2- by John Allison (Kindle)

Children’sSkin Again- by bell hooksFeminist Baby- by Loryn BrantzWe're All Wonders- by R.J. Palacio (Kindle)She Persisted- by Chelsea Clinton (Kindle)We March-by Shane W. Evans

Sara

June Reads

Children’s

Leo the Late Bloomer - by Robert Kraus ****

Blueberries for Sal- by Robert McCloskey ****

Corduroy- by Don Freeman *****

Harold and the Purple Crayon-by Crockett Johnson ***

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs- by Judi Barrett ****

Babar and Father Christmas- by Jean de Brunhoff ***

Sara

May Reads

Fiction

 Thirteen Reasons Why (Audio CD) - by Jay Asher **

Children’s

The Story of Ferdinand - by Munro Leaf ***

Madeline- by Ludwig Bemelmans *****

The Duchess Bakes a Cake- by Virginia Kahl ***

The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day- by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain ****

Sara

April Reads

1) The Sun Is Also a Star- by Nicola Yoon ***

2) Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey- by Margriet Ruurs ****

3) The Hate U Give- by Angie Thomas *****

4) Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3) - by E.L. James ***

Sara

My Love of Podcasts

I listen to a variety of podcasts every week on all sorts of topics. Here is a long list in no particular order.

1. The Fifth Column
2. The Bible For Normal People
3. The Lead with Jake Tapper
4. Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill
5. The 45th
6. State of America
7. The Watch
8. Crossroads Audio
9. Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom
10. The Global Politico
11. PoetryNow
12. SpeakEasy Cafe- Open Mic Poetry Radio
13. The Poetry Project Podcast
14. Probably Wrong Podcast
15. Can He Do That
16. Dunker Punks Podcast
17. Anderson Cooper 360
18. The Read
19. 1A
20. The Hilarious World of Depression
21. Slate’s Trumpcast
22. MSNBC Rachel Maddow
23. NPR Politics Podcast
24. Pastor With No Answers
25. The David Pakman Show
26. Buzz Burbank News and Comment
27. PBS NewsHour
28. Drunk Ex-Pastors
29. All the Books!
30. Millennial Money
31. #Millennial
32. Slate’s Political Gabfest
33. Fighting for the Faith
34. The  Christian Feminist Podcast
35. House for All Sinners and Saints
36. Elevation Church Podcast
37. The Young Turks
38. Citizen Radio
39. Tiny Desk Concerts
40. Pop Culture Happy Hour
41. Serial
42. On Being with Krista Tippett
43. Slate’s  Culture Gabfest
44. Slate's Double X podcast
45. Savage Lovecast
46. iOS Today
47. Nomad Podcast
48. Best of the Left- The best of progressive and liberal  talk
49. Fresh Air
50. W.B. Walker’s Old Soul Radio Show

Sara

March Reads

Only one read for the month of March, but it was a good one.

Milk and Honey -by Rupi Kaur

Sara

February Reads

1) Who Are You?: The Kid's Guide to Gender Identity- by Brook Pessin-Whedbee 

2) Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol 

3) Giant Days, Vol. 1 (Giant Days #1-4)- by John Allison

4) Mama's Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation (Hardcover)- 
by Edwidge Danticat 

5) Teacup  - by Rebecca Young 

6) Oskar and the Eight Blessings- by Tanya Simon

7) Lost and Found Cat : The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey - by Doug Kuntz 

8) The Journey - by Francesca Sanna 

My favorites are #3 & #6.

Sara

January Reads

1) Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between) - by Lauren Graham 

2) The Sound of Silence- by Katrina Goldsaito 

3) Don't Call Me Grandma- by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

4) Let Me Finish!- by Minh Le, Isabel Roxas 

5) My Night in the Planetarium- by Innosanto Nagara 

6) The Beach at Night- by Elena Ferrante, Mara Cerri

7) Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades #2)- by E.L. James

8) The Other Side- by Jacqueline Woodson 

9) Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph- by Roxane Orgill 

10) Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life- by Ashley Bryan

11) Symptoms of Being Human- by Jeff Garvin 

My favorites for the month were number 1 and 11.

Sara

New Year's Resolutions

Note to self.

1) Read 125 books regardless of the format.

2) Write 30 new poems. 

3) Drink more water. (Soda is good, but the doc said cutting back is a must.)

4) Learn how to cook. (Baking banana bread every week doesn’t count.) 

5) Attend church. (I know it’s been hard, but you are no less than a Child of God because some people choose to twist the Word to make you feel like shit.)

6) Stop stressing about my weight. (If need be, buy bigger pants.)

7) Go on a mission trip. (God is so present in these moments for you.)

Sara