The Last Cuentista | 
so-soI‘ve always been drawn to this cover art, so when I was searching for an impulse read for #middlegrademarch I grabbed it. I drifted in and out of feeling completely engaged in this, but I think it could feel epic to someone the target age so it‘s going on my list to suggest to students. @megnews @sblbooks
Holiday decor all packed up in the bins, hubby on kid bedtime duty tonight so I get to curl up with the cat and book.
This book was the last roll for this months #roll100 hosted by @PuddleJumper
It had been on my shelf since last christmas. I am enjoying how the author is weaving together science fiction and traditional folklore in this tale.
pickIn 2022 this book won the Newberry Medal. This book is very inter and its a story about a girl and her family leaving planet earth and continuing the human race on another comet.
Sprinkled with Mexican folklore, the science fiction tale tells the story of Petra Pena's journey through space and time is a stunning reminder of the power of stories and how those stories shape both our past and future.
Awards won: Newbury Award
Purpose of Award: To encourage original creative work in the field of books for children
Author/Illustrator: Donna Barba Higuera
Date of publication: 2021
Genre: Science Fiction
I never posted my collage I made for October all these months are flying by since I started work. I read 36 books that month and some great standouts were:
Miss Quinces
Swim Team
The Last Cuentista
White Smoke
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
pickKelly V. told me to read this during Book Bites so I read it. ❤️
Dystopian middle grade Krypton last moments × Zenon, Girl of the Twenty-First Century meets WALL-E. Amazing themes showcasing the value of learning from history through storytelling rather than erasing it all as if it never existed.
pickDonna Barba Higuera deftly communicates the importance of stories and the art of storytelling in this absolutely beautifully written MG science fiction. (This cover is stunning!)
"A world without story is lost."
(I love books that are gorgeous without the jacket too!)
Perfect. I adore it when I come across references to other authors and/or books in books (especially ones I love!)
pickThis was fabulous. The awards & praise was well placed. I loved the weaving of English & Spanish and clear ardor of folklore old & new. Another must for middle/high school English classes to pour over in my opinion.
pickFinished The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera which I borrowed from our local library. It certainly deserves the Newberry sticker that I will remind them to put on when I return it. The story was very different than I expected since I heard buzz about the book, but not about the story before I read it. I say it is a modern story about old things and their value. I enjoyed it very much. #89 #BookSpin #BFC22 #SuperSeptember #MGReads
#OnThisDay in 1922 the first Newbery Medal was presented to Henrik Van Loon for his book The History of Mankind. Awarded annually for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", it is yet another award named after an Englishman that only an American can win. In the 100 years of the award, only 6 authors have won the Medal more than once, and no one has won three. #HistoryGetsLIT
I have gotten to meet so many amazing authors at ALA. I was so excited to meet Donna Barba Higuera tonight! I was so excited when she won the Newbery this year! Such an amazing book!
so-soA thirteen year old girl named Petra leaves a dying Earth with her family in the hopes of colonizing a new planet. But when Petra wakes from hyperspace, her family is missing and she is the only traveler who remembers Earth‘s past. Dystopian ✨ Sentimental ✨ Galactic
Petra dreams of being a storyteller like her grandma but a comet is about to destroy earth. her family gets chosen and she gets put to sleep for 300 years & wakes up in space an orphan & seems to be the only person to remember Earth & anything at all about the past. she tells other children her stories, cuentos, to try to rouse their memories and get them to escape with her. interweaving of Mexican folklore and a mythical stand of science fiction.
March and April reads read. Not pictured: the Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill.
pickAt times, I thought it was too similar to Beth Revis's Across the Universe. Eventually, it became its own and I began to appreciate it. And, knowing Beth's mother personally, I think Beth would appreciate the similarities.
Look what came in the mail today! I've been really looking forward to reading this after I learned it just won the Newbery Award! 💕📚💕 It sounds amazing and look how beautiful not only the dust jacket is, but the naked cover as well! 😍
💯 would recommend. Deserves all the awards. #MGFantasy dystopia awesomeness. Should have a sequel or partner or... just more.
Best way to spend April Fools‘ Day: Fooling myself that I‘ll read all these books this month! 😉 But it‘s spring break this week, so I should at least get off to a great start. 📚🥳💖
#BookSpinBINGO
pickA Latina girl with vision impairment, who dreams of being a storyteller, travels for 3 centuries to another planet, but when she is awakened from stasis, it appears she‘s the only one on the ship who remembers Earth. A dystopian middle grade Newbery winner that kept me from sleeping until it was finished! Audiobook is read by Frankie Corzo. #kidlit Grade 5-up
Len sprints up the ramp like a Jesus lizard across a pond.
pickIt‘s been a long time since I‘ve read anything dystopian! This may be the first dystopian middle grade I‘ve read though (most were YA.) I LOVED the storytelling theme so much. It is such a well-written tale with much in it to contemplate.
I did find it a bit of a stretch how quickly & easily several “reprogrammed” characters regained their memories, but that‘s a small quibble with a book worthy of the awards & accolades it‘s received. #buddyread
P 257 This line, on the other hand, is such a lovely way of describing people, each unique in their own way. #buddyread
I got so absorbed finishing the book over the weekend… now I can look back over the last few quotes I marked! #buddyread @smilingshelves
P 235 This line made my blood run cold. Killing everyone as a means of ensuring “peace”? What?! 🤯 I don‘t know the source, but it reminds me of the saying that goes something like “peace is more than just the absence of war.” Killing everyone in your path sure doesn‘t sound like a pathway to peace to me.
P 165 - I love the richness conveyed in the list of examples Petra gives of art and food and culture. Of course, war and famine are terrible, but making everyone lifeless, identical robots can‘t possibly be the way to address those problems. #buddyread
P 154 — This strikes me as very true! Of course, we‘d all prefer to be the latter, but it‘s hard to say how we‘d really react under duress. Makes me think of all the “quieter” heroes that don‘t always get the credit or accolades, but are courageous just doing what is needed in difficult circumstances, despite their fear. #buddyread
Page 186. I like this Rabbit motif that keeps showing up. It applies to our boring lives here on Earth, as well as a girl on a distant planet surrounded by the Collective. Life is a journey, and you only know what's out there if you try. #buddyread @BucklingBookshelves
P 76 Story generators? What a horrifying thought! #buddyread
P. 63 As I'm sure it's meant to, this applies to so much more than just rocks! #buddyread @BucklingBookshelves
Excited to crack open our first Newbery buddy read of 2022!
@BucklingBookshelves Got my library hold! Are you ready for a #buddyread sometime soon? 😊
pickWhile this Middle School novel shares plot points and themes with by classic YA tales such as The Giver and Life As We Knew It, the author's unique voice and incorporation of traditional Mexican folktales gives this novel a unique spin.
so-soI‘m always bummed when I don‘t fall in love with an award winning book. But this middle grade novel did not do it for me. As a small group of humans manage to escape earth in search of a new home in the hours before a wayward comet hits, the worst type of humans make it onto the ship as well. I found it predictable, undeveloped, and trite. I loved the intention, but was not compelled to care about the outcome or the characters. Maybe it‘s just me?
pick🌟🌟🌟🌟
Now that‘s how you write a YA book! This is an important read for everyone. A strong POC, young woman who is striving to survive and save the human race‘s histories. Highly recommend!
pick"? ???? ??????? ???'? ?????? ???? ????? ???????. ??? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ??????, ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????.”
After reading this book, I can absolutely see why it recently won both the highly prestigious Newbery Medal and the Pura Belpré Children‘s Author Award. Highly recommend!
I know stories can‘t always have happy endings. But if there are chances for us to do better, we have to say out loud the parts that hurt the most.
pickI loved this book! I read it as it may be a contender for the Newbery Medal. I hope so!
Finished my first few books of 2022 this week! Off to a good start.
pickA middle grade science fiction novel where a conformist cult takes over the last spaceship to leave Earth on the eve of total destruction, wiping the minds of all the passengers like 12-year-old Petra so they don't remember anything about like before. But Petra is a storyteller, and she remembers. Full of surprises. I really enjoyed this one.
Can‘t tell you what this book is about but I had to have it after seeing the cover. It is even more beautiful in person! 😍📚😍📚😍📚
