#IMWAYR - Sharing The Week's Favorites

          Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up.  

Finished! - From my #MustRead list:  Scythe - Neal Shusterman

         Two memorable characters, others as well, plus those despicable ones that make one nervous, hurrying past their scenes in order to calm down. This is a tough one to share without giving away the many surprises. It's a feat of world-building that hopefully will never happen, yet some of it, in the most gruesome of ways, has already happened, like the wars and murders of those "others" in countries where they are not wanted. This new world, in our world's future, takes science to a different level, for even when one ends up "deadish", off to the recovery center they go to be healed. Small wounds are healed by what are called "nanites". We now live in "the age of mortality" but population growth and extreme science cause over-population, thus a world that needs "scythes", those ordained to kill, to "glean" with compassion. It is a world of immortality.If you like science-fiction that takes what is "now" and gives it a nudge into future history, this is the first of the series. There is still good in this world, as we say about today, too. But there is also bad. "Nature deemed that to be born was an automatic sentence to death, and then brought about that death with vicious consistency." 

           Somehow when this book came out, I didn't read it, so months passed and it became one of those books I knew about but not one I needed to read, until last week. I took my 3rd-grade granddaughter to our favorite Indie store and she chose this one, plus the second one, too. Last week, she brought it to me saying, "You have to read this, Grandma, it's great." And so I did, and I loved it, too. Rozzum, or Roz, a female robot ends up a survivor from a shipwreck that dumped hundreds of crates of other robots in the ocean, but she washed ashore, and when curious sea otters pushing her "on" button, she came alive and decided she wanted to stay that way. Through years of work, which you can read about here, Peter Brown wrote an amazing tale of a robot that became beloved by the animals on a small island, when at first they were alarmed by a "monster". It's a different kind of survival story, but one that shows how much caring for others makes a difference in the way others think of you. There are moments of celebration, of sadness, but most of all, many moments filled with love. I can't wait for my granddaughter to finish The Wild Robot Escapes!

       The magical blue illustrations by Ashley Crowley take this boy on his cat into the equally magical story on the night of the blue moon where "anything can happen" and it does. Wouldn't it be fun if we had these wonderful experiences often? Yet, as you will read, sometimes the wishes that come true need a reversal, a good thing to discuss with those who read the book!

       A young boy happily plays until a knock on the door. It's a bear which he promptly sends away: "Go home, Bear." The bear returns again and again, sometimes with a flamingo. Clearly, this boy does not want company, enjoys his own. But when he finally, emphatically says "no" to the bear, the bear does not return. Discovering what happens next will make a great conversation. Perhaps we do want company sometimes. I love the illustrations by Dan Taylor, using bright and bold colors plus just the right bear and boy pose amid varied places that fit each feeling. There's a feeling of real compassion in this story.

     Oh, this is a lovely and dreamy book, of sadness that is helped quickly by three sweet animals. Isabel has been left at the grandmother's home she's never visited, and in the night, an owl, a frog, and a mouse come to her window. Their meeting, and the kind invitation to come out for a walk helps Isobel talk about her family and what's happening in her life. They walk across the fields down along a creek, visiting, with the owl and frog sharing about the plant life, the stars, and the mouse in various ways trying to get a bit of food. Rafael Yockteng's illustrations are gorgeous, showing the beautiful details of a blue/black night. My favorite is when a breeze comes up, and these four 'new" companions cuddle together. Finally, morning comes, and a colorful world awakens while Isabel's grandmother waits for her. 

        Things are not always what is expected when there's a new telling of an old story. Jed Alexander's wordless story makes this statement so, so true. Surprises await as each page is turned. That wolf is very big, but is its expression frightening or does it mean something else? There's much to see and examine and turning back pages to check on what we thought we knew was a good thing to do! I read this with my six-year-old granddaughter, who does know the old tale. She loved this one. Especially wonderful are the beautiful trees in this forest that sometimes had a few things behind them.  

          Now reading - Thunderhead, that next book after Scythe by Neal Shusterman. It has started even more complex than the first! 

Happy Reading!