Crushing it For Kids: 5 Areas to Impact Education in Awesome Ways by Monica Genta

“It’s a quick read and a sleek volume for educators to keep on their desks or even on their clipboards if they need reminders of how they can continue crushing it for kids. It was a pleasure to read and re-read this little powerhouse, not to mention an honor since Genta is a fellow Illinois educator!”

A Little Hiatus…

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted book reviews in the last few months. During times when life goes at a steady pace, I stockpile posts and schedule them for the future. I ran out of those posts around spring break, but – of course – by the end of the school year, my …

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Flavia de Luce #6) by Alan Bradley

“I’ve always had a thing for precocious heroines.”

We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy, a Very Oral History by Yael Kohen

“It’s better. But there is more journey ahead of us. The theory is that the rise of women in comedy parallels the rise of women in America. The same narrative applies to where society is when it comes to its treatment of women.”

The Hollow Land by Jane Gardam

“Books always gift us with something.”

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell

“Vowell’s work is the work of historians — untangling fact from fiction, analyzing both, and engagingly communicating their findings.”

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

“I really appreciate when authors tell stories about people — especially young people — connecting with their identities.”

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl

“I can, perhaps, imagine myself as a food writer in another life. I used to review restaurants for my college paper. I could picture what it would be like to try dish after dish in Chicago, describing it to my readers — the Trib, of course.”

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

“I genuinely believe that Reynolds has magical powers. One of my students (a self-proclaimed “hater” of reading) read this book for book club, finished it in one night and came in the next day to tell us how good it was. As an English teacher, this is the kind of thing I dream about!”

Full Circle: From Hollywood to Real Life and Back Again by Andrea Barber

“You see, Full House (ABC) was popular when I was a kid. The character Michelle and I were around the same age. On Tuesday nights,  I got to snuggle up with my dad to watch the Tanner family in all their crazy antics. So, it’s no surprise that Fuller House filled me with joy and nostalgia.”