“‘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

I really enjoyed reading this book, I was able to pick it up and not put it down until it was over. I can see myself recommending it to students in the future so they can see that everyone, no matter the age, has a voice to use and can speak up. I also think this gave a good inside look on how book bans and challenges go about getting solved, something students may not know too much about!

There are bigger things than the what, learning the why gives so much more context and knowledge to the story of everything. This is one of the parts that I thought was a great life lesson to take away, that most people (including me) don‘t think about all the time. Teaching students this in the classroom and setting the stage with this in mind from the get go will build a strong classroom environment.

I did not think would like this since it‘s a graphic novel, they are not my favorite read, but I enjoyed the book for what it was worth. The funny moments, familial aspect, showing history, and bringing attention to more political aspects all brought the book together and made it a fun, easy, and fast read.

Absolutely loved reading this book, it was such a fast easy read that will absolutely be recommended to students, even if it‘s just showing them one of the many stories in this book. It was a unique way to be able to read so many stories from different authors with varying writing styles but almost all having a main theme of teaching a lesson of finding purpose and enjoying who you are in your family and culture, and where you are put at in life.

A cool thing/side-note from Alexander‘s “Seventy-Six Dollars and Forty-Nine cents” mentioned father, Jack Jackson. My grandfather‘s name is Jackie Jackson and great grandfather‘s name was Jack Jackson as well

“The Beans and Rice Chronicles of Isaiah Dunn” by Kelly J. Baptist is one of the few stories in this that I would love to have more of the story, to know what happens after and maybe even have a blurb of the story the dad had written. The high hopes of Isaiah (publishing the story) given the circumstances surrounding him is admirable and would be a great short read to give students in my future class.

Meg Medina‘s story “Sol Painting, Inc.” was one of the first of these stories to stick out to me. The siblings dynamic is what caught my attention at first and made me think back to my own family life, being the oldest I was able to think about how my younger siblings may have felt about standards that were set for us. The big thing that sticks out is the use of bilingual dialogue that was kept in, it was such an interesting read for me.