Growing Bookworms Newsletter: May 1: Crossword Puzzles, Picture Books + Reading in the Car

Today, I will be sending out a new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter contains content from my blog focused on growing joyful learners, mainly bookworms, but also mathematicians and learners of all types. The newsletter is usually sent out every three to four weeks.

Newsletter Update: In this issue I have two posts with my daughter's latest literacy milestones. The first is making her own crossword puzzle. The second is reading 50 of her favorite picture books in a 24 hour period. I also have a post about our recent experiences reading in the car, with some tips for fellow bookworm-growing parents. I also have three posts with literacy and reading-related links shared over the past few weeks on Twitter. I have a summary of our recent reading below. 

Reading Update:  In the last four weeks I finished one middle grade title, two young adult titles, and seven adult titles (four fiction and three nonfiction). I read/listened to: 

• Jeff Kinney: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School. Harry N. Abrams Books. Middle Grade Fiction. Completed April 4, 2019, read aloud to my daughter.
• Paul Griffin: Skyjacked. Scholastic. Young Adult Thriller. Completed April 27, 2019, print ARC. I read this book in basically one sitting, and liked it enough to immediately download the author's earlier book (which I also read in one sitting). 
• Paul Griffin: Adrift. Scholastic. Young Adult Thriller. Completed April 27, 2019, on Kindle.
• Cal Newport: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Penguin Portfolio. Adult Nonfiction. Completed April 5, 2019, personal copy. This book is excellent, and continues my efforts to learn about focus and cut back on screen time. And yes, I read the print copy. 
• William Kent Krueger: Vermilion Drift (Cork O'Connor, No. 10). Atria Books. Adult Mystery. Completed April 6, 2019, on MP3. I like this series better and better all the time, and have passed over many other audio choices. 
• Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson: Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts. Mariner Books. Adult Nonfiction. Completed April 9, 2019, on MP3. This book is excellent. It helped me considerably in understanding how people think and (hence) behave. If I can find the time I will share some notes from the book. 
• Jacqueline Winspear: The American Agent: A Maisie Dobbs Novel. Harper. Adult Mystery. Completed April 11, 2019, on Kindle. Another great installment in a top-notch series. 
• Susan Pinker: The Village Effect: How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier and Happier. Vintage Press. Adult Nonfiction. Completed April 26, 2019, on Kindle. This book took me a long time to get through because it's quite detailed, but had a lot of interesting and useful material. It's hard for me as an introvert to prioritize face to face  (or phone) time, but both Cal Newport and Susan Pinker have made me believe that I do need to do so (at least to the extent that my introversion allows). 
• William Kent Krueger: Northwest Angle (Cork O'Connor, No. 11). Atria Books. Adult Mystery. Completed April 28, 2019, on MP3. Also good. 
• Jessica Barry: Freefall. Harper. Adult Thriller. Completed April 28, 2019, on Kindle. This was a thriller that a friend who knows me well recommended I listen to on audio. As I am immersed in the Cork O'Connor books, however, and needed something fast-paced to read this weekend, I ended up downloading it. I read it in one day, and found it compelling. 

I'm reading The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon  and listening to Trickster's Point, a Cork O'Connor novel by William Kent Krueger. I'm reading Dork Diaries 13: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday aloud to my daughter. I have to confess that I don't enjoy reading the Dork Diaries books aloud. I really have no desire to return to the embarrassments of being a middle school girl. But it's not about me. At least we are reading together. 

In terms of her own reading, she recently brought home a classroom copy of The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. She read that one cover to cover over break, after watching the movie in class. Apart from that, she mostly read picture books and graphic novels over break, though, leaving her three school library books (two nonfiction and one Boxcar Children book) untouched. She especially enjoyed Kayla Miller's Camp, at least in part because she will be going to camp for the first time this summer. (Hmm, I'll need to start saving up a few books for that.) 

The big news on her reading front, though, is that we are going to a book signing event this weekend featuring Raina Telgemeier. You should have seen her eyes widen when I told her that this was actually something we could do. It's a little bit of a drive, but worth it for my young bookworm to meet one of her heroes. And I know that we have at least two of Raina's books that are beyond battered from over-use and in need of replacement. I will report back on that next time. 

Thanks for reading, and for growing bookworms! 

© 2019 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage.