Picture Book Review: Penny and the Plain Piece of Paper

Penny and the Plain Piece of Paper 

Miri Leshem-Pelly

Overall Rating: 4/5 <- genuine average
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 4/5

Summary: Penny, a colorful scribble of a little girl, is bored on her plain, white piece of paper, so she strikes out to visit other kinds of paper. She visits a newspaper, a map, graph paper, wrapping paper and a coloring book before returning to her original home, dissatisfied with the restrictive rules each other paper has. She decides instead to be herself on her plain paper and invite everyone she met on her journey to make a world of their own rules with her.

Impression: The illustrations are adorable, simple and fresh. Penny is unique in her world and each different paper world has its own stylistic look. You know Compass is from the Map because his lines and shapes are the same. Knowing the bears are from the Coloring Book goes beyond their black outlines and lack of color: they have the same rounded style as the rest of their world. Everyone fits where they start and show themselves to be clearly different from Penny.

Conclusion/Recommendations: Penny's story is cute, fun and flexible. An excellent story for early readers and story-times.

Blog Post: Picking Up Sticks

 

In the process of the last few years, I've been finding and losing myself. I've written my own fiction, reviewed a lot of other work, did some beta-reading for friends. I lost my way, learned some things about myself and generally feel like I've done a lot of growing up in a very short period of time, long after I should have.

One aspect of this is that I realized I'm not well-suited to keeping a regular blog or YouTube channel, obviously. I'm trying to get back into the habit of reading and reviewing, even if it's just for here and GoodReads. Reading and writing about that reading seems to help me with my own writing, too. 

Another major aspect of this introspection is a jarring realization of how much I still need to learn. My perspective as a public service worker has shifted with the pandemic and moving to a more personally-oriented public library. My perspective as a white person in a white-made society made for white people has shifted as I read more about history and the experiences of other people. I want to learn more and I want to share what I learn.

I'm also painfully aware that I'm exactly the kind of earnest, well-meaning, (nearly) middle-aged white woman who so irritates some of my friends of color. It's difficult to find ways to say what I mean without reinforcing the stereotype and further frustrating or earning their dismissal. 

One thing I've taken away from finally starting to listen is that it's been my privilege to not think about this. My privilege paved the way for me to not need to think about race growing up. It's my duty as a responsible adult with an interest in being supportive and equitable to think about it now, to read about it and learn about it now. Sometimes, it's been hard to read some of what I've read and then I stop and think, "Yeah, it's hard. It sucks. And some of my friends didn't get to wait until they were in their 30s to learn about it. They've lived it first-hand and didn't get the choice." I fell like I owe it to them--and all the other people of color who have suffered and continue to live and die here--to educate myself and respect the differences between what I experience and what they have experienced. 

And when it comes right down to it? What I think doesn't matter. What I do doesn't matter. What I say doesn't matter and shouldn't matter except to highlight what they think and do and say. This isn't my fight. It's theirs and I just want to help.

Nonfiction Review: Soul of an Octopus

Soul of an Octopus
by Sy Montgomery

Overall Rating: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 5/5

Summary: Sy Montgomery explores the science around octopuses while sharing her emotional and sometimes philosophical experiences volunteering with New England aquariums and her own personal diving trips. 

Impression: Most of the time I was reading this book, my husband got used to me wandering out into the living room to say, "Hey, listen to this! Did you know..." and then reading something randomly amazing about octopuses. Montgomery's prose is engaging and colorful, mixing both hard science and personal observation in a manner that keeps your attention on how incredible these animals really are.

Conclusion/Recommendations: I thoroughly enjoyed the book, though it was heavier on the philosophy and lighter on the science for my personal tastes. It's definitely a great book to whet your appetite for deeper exploration into cephalopod research.