Joint Review: Ghost Text {231} & My Family’s Great Smoky Mountains Adventure

I received these books for review for Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020  

231: Ghost Text

Best friends Jared, Curtis, and Nick are ready to face the world – but what about the underworld? When a text message from an unknown number hits all of their phones, the boys find themselves faced with a strange figure and a mystery to solve. However, it’s Nick who must find the solution or risk losing his life! Will the boys’ friendship be enough to save him, or will he spend eternity in the afterlife?

Pros: Has well done pictures, horror chapter book with black main characters, it is a modern horror (text messaging), the idea around horror (reasoning and etc) was interesting, black male friendship, the author is an eight year old who wrote this

Cons: My issues probably have more to do with the category, chapter books, this book is written in than the writing. I don’t like chapter books for the most part because of the format they are written in can feel choppy and quick. 

My Family’s Great Smoky Mountains Adventure

Sometimes family vacations can be more work than fun, but that’s not the case this time. The Barnes family is headed on a week-long vacation, and you are invited! Come along with the Barnes family as they go on an adventure exploring Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Pros: The photographs, depicting a black family on vacation

 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. 

Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.

MCBD 2020  is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

 

Super Platinum

Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings,

Platinum

Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls,

Gold

Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,

Silver

 Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,

Bronze

Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books,  TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books,  Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales

 

Author Sponsor Link Cloud

Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture GrooveLauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson  & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series  Green Kids Club, Inc.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

TWITTER PARTY! Register here!

 

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

 

(synopses from amazon )

233: You’re Not Listening

Cover Image for You're Not Listening

Synopsis 

At work, we’re taught to lead the conversation.
On social media, we shape our personal narratives.
At parties, we talk over one another. So do our politicians.
We’re not listening.
And no one is listening to us.

Despite living in a world where technology allows constant digital communication and opportunities to connect, it seems no one is really listening or even knows how. And it’s making us lonelier, more isolated, and less tolerant than ever before. A listener by trade, New York Times contributor Kate Murphy wanted to know how we got here.

In this always illuminating and often humorous deep dive, Murphy explains why we’re not listening, what it’s doing to us, and how we can reverse the trend. She makes accessible the psychology, neuroscience, and sociology of listening while also introducing us to some of the best listeners out there (including a CIA agent, focus group moderator, bartender, radio producer, and top furniture salesman). Equal parts cultural observation, scientific exploration, and rousing call to action that’s full of practical advice, You’re Not Listening is to listening what Susan Cain’s Quiet was to introversion. It’s time to stop talking and start listening.

The Good 

The act of not listening is deeper than cellphones, internet, and was an issue way earlier than the invention of technology. I think to dismiss every conversation/discussion about listening to cellphones is missing history. Even if we took away all technology we would still have to address that our society has a listening crisis. 

  • Saying that I do think it gets into a lot of valid things about technology & listening.
  • It made me very self-reflective which is the highest praise I think a book like this can do. 
  • Connected in my mind some of the things I have felt here and there. It highlighted a lot of problems we have in terms of listening, discourse, discussions, and spaces where there is a expectation of listening/talking (listed below are just some thoughts I had when reading it):

-there is not safe space for discourse without judgement or a place to grow. I definitely agree that a lot of discourse is dying on the cutting room floor because there is no space to talk without immediately getting angry, cutting in and the like. 

-all the conversations that are happening are quick which does not leave room for people to get to what they are trying to say. Sometimes it takes people a bit of time to get to how they feel/what they want to say. 

  • Interesting enough as much information and ideas that it brought up it never felt heavy.  

The Bad

  • Makes certain conversations simplistic= I think the author needed to do more research into listening/discourse when it comes to race, politics and other tough discussions specifically. I feel that when discussing these type of conversations you have to bring in a bunch of other factors such as: power imbalances and history. 
  •  Furthers this weird idea that every opinion is valid. I actually sampled another book, Talking to Strangers, while reading this that had the same idea.We need to actively work to dispel this idea because it is incredibly damaging to us as a society. 

I won this on bookishfirst 

(synopsis and cover image from bookishfirst)

All Bookish Posts I Did In 2019

I organized the posts by newest to oldest.

Reviews

234: The God Game

Library Checkout Reviews: The Deep (& Thoughts On Depicting African Enslaved Trauma)

237: Shark’s Edge

240: The Good Luck Girls (ARC Review)

242: Pet (ARC Review)

What Caught In My Web: Spiderman Day Reviews

247: Little Demon in the City of Light: A True Story of Murder and Mesmerism in Belle Epoque Paris

248: Harmony House & Horror TBR 👻

253: The Perfect Date

Library Checkout Reviews: Mirage & Girls of Paper and Fire (Spoilers?)

249: With The Fire On High

256: The Proposal⚾

259: A Princess In Theory(&Black💜Romance Novels TBR)

258: Here And Now And Then

260: Into White

Library Checkout Reviews: The Poet X & Forest of Thousand Lanterns

 So undoubtedly reviews are what I have done the most of in 2019. I think I like reviews because talking about books is fun but also I get to explore some of the things going on in my mind.

Readalong

Slay Readalong: Chapter 1&2 🎮

Slay Readalong: Chapters 3-6 🎮

Slay Readalong: Chapters 7-11 🎮

Slay Readalong: Chapters 12-17 (Finale)

Since doing doing the Allegedly Readalong all the way back in 2017 there was this desire in me to do another readalong so this made me happy to do. 

Blog Tours

236: Grimworld

Grimworld Blog Tour: Excerpt

249: With The Fire On High

This is my first year ever doing blog tours.

Themes/Memes

Asian Readathon: Young Adult Color Trend

Novelization/Tie-Ins: Update, TBR, Book Haul

Black Young Adult Cover Trends

Black Big Books: 5 Read & 5 Unread

Link Up & Sync Up: Coffee Do Me A Favor & Into White

In 2020 there are so many post I hope to do but overall I want to have even more fun reading than ever. 

 What do you bookishly hope to do in 2020?