Welcome to Litsy!

If everyone yells,
how will we be able to
hear one another?

Food for thought.

#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry

#JuneSpecials Day 30: from Fats‘ review: If the story of Firegirl were to be divided into sections, there would be a Before, During, and After Jessica Feeney—mostly applicable to Tom. Prior to her arrival, Tom Bender liked to daydream about the beautiful Courtney Zisky, and had high hopes of riding a Cobra, a 1960s #SportsCar, someday.“ Full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-7yY

Here's my halfway-to-the-new-year #bookoftheyearbracket2025
I've moved the placement of my wildcards to make it a little more interesting.

NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center

The NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center is such a great resource for English teachers. I had browsed their website before, but didn't realize that they offer real guidance for dealing with censorship. The action kit and database feel especially useful right now. It's comforting to know there is a place backing teachers up when these tough conversations come into the classroom.

3✨I‘m glad I stuck this one out. Each book in the series followed a different high school student, and this started out rocky for me. Withholding the truth or lying is not something I like in a character, but when the truth came out it was pretty interesting after that. This is the last book in the series. #SeriesLove @TheSpineView @Andrew65

Pen America “Banned In the USA“

Just looked through Pen America‘s “Banned in the USA” report and it's astounding how many books are being pulled, without any real process. Of course, many of the titles deal with identity, race, and queerness. It's not just bans but the quiet removals too. Makes you think about who gets to decide what stories are appropriate and what voices do or don't matter in schools.

I love this #WDNCW. @dabbe I don't care about the Menonite vendor who refused to sell me strawberries before the market opened because she didn't want to not have any before opening time. Meanwhile, I'm also a vendor and needed to be at my booth at opening time. So I bought strawberries at another place on the way home that were nicer. Some people really irk me. 😊

“‘While the meaning of a book may be informed by the author‘s intentions, it isn‘t defined by them” (of 67).
This is a wow statement that I think is important to remember as readers take on a book. It‘s how we interpret and understand books that make them what they are to us, the author does not define everything in it so that the reader is left to their own devices. Students should know and learn that early in their learning journey.

“You learn more about the story and you also learn more about yourself as a reader…” (pg 32).
This is the part where the students are told they‘re going to read Harriet the Spy, some of them had already read it and this is what the teacher had to say about reading books over again. I thought it was such a good takeaway to remember even for us in college, reading books over again can be important and teach you even more than you can imagine