D
ear Reader,
If you subscribe to my newsletter, you received a request today to help me add to my to-be-read pile as we approach this long winter. Please enter your recommendation in the comments below. If you don’t yet receive my occasional newsletter, you can sign up for it here. There’s always news of what I’m up to as far as writing goes and there’s usually a giveaway.
I look forward to learning which books you recommend.
Avi
14 thoughts on “Your Reading Recommendations”
Allan Wolf’s newest—The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep
Hello!
If seeking a book for professional learning, I’d suggest Equity by Design by Chardin & Novak 2020 (Corwin). The book helps educators design lessons with equity for ALL learners through the lens of UDL.
If seeking a book for use with learners in your classroom, I’d suggest the graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy by George Takei 2019. Mr. Takei is well known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu on the old series, Star Trek. During WW2 he and his family were placed in the US prison camps for the Japanese. The novel describes those experiences. It’s a great read to learn about a part of US history that is not taught nearly enough in our schools.
Thanks to everyone who works with our youth and who continue to grow as readers and writers!
And THANK YOU to Avi for your sharing of your experiences.
I love Shannon Hale.
Since my husband and I are both teachers and parents of teens, we tend to read middle-grade and young-adult novels these days. Some of our more recent faves:
1. Lauren Wolk (Wolf Hollow and Echo Mountain)
2. Margaret Owen (Merciful Crow and Faithless Hawk)
3. Joni Sensel (Farwalker’s Quest)
I can’t wait to read Perloo the Bold to my current class this winter!
Wishing you health and safety, Avi!
Several books I’ve read recently: Wonder Boys (pretty good but too many $100 words. Watched the movie just after & really liked it better than the book). Giver of Stars by Jo Jo Moyes & similar subject The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek byKin Michele Richardson. Both t fiction about the women on horseback who delivered library books to people in the remote areas of KY in the 30’s
I found Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda around the same time I found your amazing books as a child. I also recommend 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami for an long book for adults.
I would suggest Canadian Indigenous writer, Cherie Dimaline’s “Bone Marrow Thieves”.
I recently read and recommend The Homing Instinct : Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration by naturalist Bernd Heinrich. It seemed very relevant to our own current situation. He also wrote One Man’s Owl, which I hope you were able to get a copy of and see if it was indeed that long-lost inspiration for Poppy.
At the beginning of the pandemic I re-read Theodore Taylor’s Cape Hatteras trilogy. This middle grade set has always been lovely to me and met the need when I couldn’t focus very well–like visiting an old friend. Other favorites are The Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, Still Life by Louise Penny, Writing Places by William Zinsser, and I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda. That’s an eclectic list, but each scratched a literary itch for me. Enjoy the vacation.
It’s been awhile since I’ve read an Avi book, but I always keep an eye open for them as the ones I’ve read in the past were thought-provoking, funny, or just enjoyable. Another teacher recommended this adult (or older teen) book to me, “The Mountains Sing,” a novel by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. Situated over a few generations through many wars in Vietnam, it is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. (It takes a close second to my all time favorite, “To Kill A Mocking Bird.” Happy reading, stay safe, and I’m looking forward to your new endeavors.
Two books you might find entertaining:
Swamp Thing by Maggie Stiefvater
Tuesday Mooney talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
Have you read anything by Leigh Bardugo? For adult fiction I recommend Independent People by Halldor Laxness. Recently I finished Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley and I’m reading Beauty by Robin McKinley now.
This retired librarian thanks you all!
Avi, I read your newsletter and enjoy every one. Being a new author, it gives me insight into things I’d never thought to question. So, thank you for that. I love the background stories you tell about your books, too.
I recently finished a fine middle grade book, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. A great narrative read about the 60s is A Hard Rain: America in the 1960s, Our Decade of Hope, Possibility, and Innocence Lost by Frye Gaillard. It’s a long one, but worth every word.
Happy reading!