New Crayons + Happy Mother's Day!

New Crayons is hosted by the amazing susan (happy mother's day!) at Color Online.

Sorry I've been so MIA this week in blogging and commenting. Hopefully I didn't miss anything big. I took an AP exam on Friday and I have a ton of papers and projects and tests to work on/study for this week. I do have some reviews coming up this week. My goal is to write some good discussion posts in the next few weeks, including this topic being discussed in the comments about the group of people that the word Asian applies to (all Asia, everyone who lives in Asia except South Asians and Middle Easterners, not Pacific Islanders?) It's an interesting topic and one that I want to discuss.

Moving on, this was a good week of books and I've also put about 7 books on hold at the library (one for school, the others for me) so next week I'm sure I'll have a ton of books to talk about.

From Book Fairy #1

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Peter Sis

From the time he is a young boy, Neftalí hears the call of a mysterious voice. Even when the neighborhood children taunt him, and when his harsh, authoritarian father ridicules him, and when he doubts himself, Neftalí knows he cannot ignore the call. Under the canopy of the lush rain forest, into the fearsome sea, and through the persistent Chilean rain, he listens and he follows. . . Combining elements of magical realism with biography, poetry, literary fiction, and sensorial, transporting illustrations, Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís take readers on a rare journey of the heart and imagination.

-This is a fictionalized biography of Pablo Neruda, one of the world's most famous poets. I've actually never read his poetry which makes me sad. I would love to be able to read his poetry (along with the works of authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez) in Spanish, their original language. For now, I'll have to settle for reading in English. I love this cover! Thanks so much Lyn :)

From Authors/Publishers

Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Weatherford, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Before the legend of Billie Holliday, there was a girl named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holliday, possibly one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Eleanora's journey into legend took her through pain, poverty and run-ins with the law. By the time she was fifteen, she knew she possessed something that could change her life - a voice. Eleanora could sing! Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Billie Holliday sang as if she lived each lyric and in many ways she had.Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, award-winning poet, Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles Eleanora Fagan's metamorphosis into Billie Holliday and the dream she pursued with passion.

-So I already finished this book and I love it! The poems were beautiful and that's all I will say for now. I have a new appreciation for Lady Day. Review will be up this week. I can't decide if I should rate it or not. It's YA, but it has illustrations? Hmm we shall see. Thank you Carole!

Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced “Shing”) is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

-I'm currently reading this one and it's creepy good. I have no idea who did it and that's good. Although, I can't read this one at night when I'm home alone (I'm such a coward!). This should be my review for tomorrow. You can win a copy at Ah Yuan's blog so go enter! Thank you Amazon Encore!

As always all summaries come from Amazon.com

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers (or all mothers who want to be celebrated)!

My mother was a big influence in getting me to read. I remember we read the first Harry Potter book together, she reading aloud to me. I soon left her in the dust though because I was hooked on the books and wanted to finish the series at my own fast pace. My mother is still trying to finish them (she's on the 5th book). My mother has also introduced me to the wonderful No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series (we also watch this series and a lot of other shows together) and she recommended The Help to me. It's always made me sad that my mother never has time to read because of all the sacrifices she has to make for our family (she's even given up her bookshelf space for my books!). She has an excellent taste in books amongst other things and I truly hope to one day make her proud of me and show that her sacrifices were all worth it.

To all those who have lost a mother my heart goes out to you and I send you a *big hug*. To all those who wish to be mothers and are not having immediate success, don't give up, there's always a way.