iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

My reading in July. I loved In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri. It got me to start writing more in Spanish. Reading The Hunger Games in Spanish was sloooow and a challenge, but it did help me speed up because it’s still compelling even in a language that takes me a long time. #booksky

@crystalreading’s July 2026 Reads summary collage from Storygraph. The books are In Other Words, My Papa has a Red Mustache, Los juegos de hambre, Stream, Luck of the Draw, The Anthropocene Reviewed, Bibliotecario, Short Stories in Spanish , Smiling Eyes and Hairs/Pelitos

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I’m looking forward to baking some of the cookies in Kat Lieu’s book 108 Asian Cookies now that I have the book in my kitchen. #booksky #baking

Copy of book 108 Asian cookies: not-too-sweet treats from a third-culture kitchen by Kat Lieu. It has a purple background featuring a large light green pandan cookie with powdered sugar on it and a nut pressed into the center.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I’m looking forward to baking some of the cookies in Kat Lieu’s book 108 Asian Cookies now that I have the book in my kitchen. #booksky #baking

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Some of my Spring Break reading - Queso, Just in Time and Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros. Wonderful bittersweet middle grade books with hope and lots of love. #kidlit #middlegrade #booksky

The book covers of Queso, Just in Time and Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

So happy to see @vtbidania.bsky.social’s excellent middle grade novel in verse A Year Without Home on display at the local indie bookstore this week. 😊 #kidlit

Four books on display. Two are Moominmland books. One is Scarlet Morning and one is A Year Without Home.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I had a bulletin board with English terms for parts of books and wanted to make a Spanish one also. These are terms a Spanish tutor helped me find. I cross checked with some Spanish pub sites also. Feedback would be appreciated from Spanish speakers. Are these terms typically in use? Thanks!

Parts of book jackets are on a black bulletin board. The back of the book is labeled cubierta posterior. The spine is labeled lomo, the jacket flaps are labeled solapas, front cover says cubierta anterior, and the whole jacket has three words: chaqueta-sobrecubierta-guardapolvo.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

And finally, one more set to share. We had a blast drawing our many potatoes thanks to Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi. #kidlit

Six drawings of potatoes of different shapes. A ghost potato and Lila/my dog potato, a dumpling potato, a moldy potato, a frog potato and a stufy potato.

Drawings of eight different potatoes. One is a typical emoji type of smile. Another is a brown dog. One is slightly squished. One has a hat and there are several other varieties.

Eight different potatoes. They are labeled angry, silly, nervous, worried, bunny, shocked, excited and Harry Potter.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I finally remembered to post more of the emotional potatoes that my students created after watching the author/illustrator video of I’m Bored by @michaelianblack.bsky.social and @debbieohi.com We love the I’m (Bored, Worried, Sad, Sorry, Busy) series. 😊🥔🦩 #kidlit

A page with six different potatoes. One says it looks like it works out. He is a little free and has the label leafy potato. Another is a little
friendly and is called OG post at. There is also a cat potato a lemon potato a doll and a Boibble potato.

Five different potatoes drawn with marker and colored pencil. Three have various smiles. One is frowning and one has a handlebar mustache and is side eyeing the others. The title is da potato gang.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Another great day of drawing emotional potatoes with inspiration from @debbieohi.com and @michaelianblack.bsky.social. #kidlit #booksky

pencil drawings of twelve potatoes with a variety of expressions.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

A torta and a drink by the lake while I read was just what I needed after visiting both a castle and a museum. Still finishing up Frida, el misterio del anillo del pavo real. It’s been nice to read it here in Mexico. 🇲🇽 #kidlit

Some ducks and an egret in water with a paddle boat in the distance and trees above the water.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

It’s really interesting to travel and see places I’ve only read about before. This is the view of Teotihuacán from the temple/pyramid of the moon.

Mountains in the distance. Nearby is a pyramid/temple off to the right and then square formations with steps up to the top. Many people are on the ground along the path. The sky is bright with some clouds.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

It’s that time. Fighting with the lights time. The song that was playing as I pulled the lights out was I Hate Xmas by Marco Guazzone. I do enjoy the holidays, but the lights are challenging. ;)

Table with evergreen wreath holding four candles. There are three bunches of Christmas lights sitting next to it. Behind is an empty tree with a little skirt beneath it.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

I read No Rules Tonight by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada today. Listened to the banned song mentioned in the story and then a few hours later ran across it rewatching an episode of Healer 😊. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708420...

Man in cap is behind the counter working at a coffee shop. He’s singing and the subtitle says “Give me some water.”

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

I had a fun time revealing that the illustrator of both Sparky and A Greyhound a Groundhog— Chris Applehans also works in film. I wore my K-pop Demonhunters shirt for classes today and they were truly impressed that a co-director of such a movie did picture books too. #booksky

The book cover of Sparky is done in mostly brown watercolor on a cream background with the title in red. A sloth is lying on a tree branch. The book cover of a greyhound a ground has a similar color palate of browns with some additional greys and is also watercolor. The word greyhound is in grey cursive and the groundhog is written in all capitals and in reddish brown. There is a sleek dog on the left and a pudgy groundhog on the right.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Very happy to see Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina on display at the local indie bookstore this weekend. #booksky

The book Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina is in a display on a shelf in the bookstore. There is a girl underwater with a few fish swimming about. There are palm trees at the shore off in the background.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Im looking forward to singing along 😊🎶 #kpopdemonhunters

Three young woman are smiling and wearing white and black outfits and white boots. There are walls of windows behind them and there is a night cityscape with little pockets of neon pink glowing here and there. Under that image is text that says news. A special Kpop Demon Hunters sing-along event is headed to a theater near you.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Yesterday we got to hike by the ocean for a bit. Always makes my heart happy.

Ocean waves hitting rocks on a rocky coast. Fog above with a little bit of blue sky.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Trying to finish reading Robot Salvaje before school starts. I have 80 pages left. It will be the first full length chapter book I’ve read in Spanish. I picked it because the chapters are short & many of my students read it. I’m usually a speedy reader so this has been an exercise in patience.

Cover of Robot Salvaje. Illustration is from the movie and shows a large robot holding a tiny bird in one hand. A fox is looking at the bird.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

It’s really neat to be able to go to an intensive Spanish program in this beautiful place though we are inside a lot of the day.

Sunset over mountains in background. Nearby are waves of Lake Tahoe hitting rocks.

Sign for Lake Tahoe Community College with pine trees and building behind it. Blue sky with a few wispy clouds.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

So excited to get a copy of Leo’s First Vote by @soontornvat.bsky.social today at a Teaching Civics conference. We’ll have a whole lesson about using it in elementary classrooms too. 😊 #booksky

Cover of book Leo’s First Vote. Young brown skinned child holding a ballot up in one hand and a ballot box in the other.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

I’m finally reading Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa and see so many connections to current events amidst the adventure. Quite a page turner but also would love to hear students discuss this one. 📖 #booksky #middlegrade

Book cover of Pilar Ramirez. Shows young girl holding onto a vine while swinging through a forest. She has brown skin and dark brown thick curly hair. She’s wearing rectangular glasses, jeans, a t-shirt and purples tennis shoes. Her mouth is open in surprise and there are three monsters with open snarls looking at her from the ground and a menacing bird flying above. There is also a woman on another vine in the background.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Happy book birthday to Until My Memory Fails Me: Mindfulness Practices for Cultivating Resilience & Self-Compassion in the Face of Cognitive Decline by Sharon Lukert. #booksky

Hand holding book in front of the bookstore window of The Avid Reader. The cover background is calm water with blue and white clouds above.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

I really appreciate the Bay Area Book Festival making time and space for so many excellent author panels. #booksky Thanks @berkeleypubliclibrary.org

Five people on a stage next to a screen that shows the title All Bodies All Selves. Author Zetta Elliott, Maya Kobabe, Sarah Peitzmeier, Seems Yasmin and a moderator are looking at each other.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Went to the bookstore before wandering down to the festival and have been stopped and asked about The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by @authorgracelin.bsky.social many times. The spredges get soooo much attention. All want to know more about it and of course I gush about it. 😊 🐉 #booksky

Holding two copies of the gate the girl and the dragon. Shows a girl to the left of a stone dragon with a ball in its mouth. There is a golden dragon along the right side. There is a large red gate behind with a green roof.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

We read En cada vida in my Spanish class today. So beautiful. #kidlit #booksky @marlafrazee.bsky.social

Cover of book is golden with sunlight shining through trees. A person is pushing a stroller and a young child is running ahead on the path.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

I had a nice time at the UC Davis Powwow. Our school district Title Vl program coordinator and a few other folks had a table with some of their books and a few from one of the school libraries I work at. I love seeing great books out and about. #booksky

Table with native blanket as tablecloth. Title Vl brochure, book called q̓apkiǂ, another book My Heart Fills with Happiness and another called Notable Native People are all on the table.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

My final bookish activity of spring break was making a book collage inspired by the work of June Daskalakis readingtl.blogspot.com/2025/03/slic... #booksky

Collage that has images of books, a quote from Peter Rabbit, the word mindful, the definition of commas, the definition from a dictionary of literary and a few other related words. There’s also a quote that says books let you travel without moving your feet by Jhumpa Lahiri.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

I found some great titles at the university library today. I had a tour and now can find the Kidit, YA, and graphic novels. Also, educators get free cards. 😊

Cover of Prince and the dressmaker showing one person with braids a dress and an apron using measuring tape with another person who is wearing pants, a shirt, and a cape.

Person with short dark brown hair and glasses holding a book. The person is wearing a coat and pants and the skin tone and clothes are all mostly the same light brown color. Behind the person is green water with a mermaid swimming through.

Books on a shelf. Spines say Ember in the Ashes, Cemetery Boys, Lost in the Never Woods, the Sunbearer Trials and The Hate U Give.

Cover of the book the Moon was ours by Anna-Marie McLemore. Bright yellow moon with gray and blue clouds above below and some slightly covering the bottom of it.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

If you see this, quote with flowers from your photo gallery. #flowerreport Photo taken in Butchart Gardens, British Columbia last summer.

About 12 daisy like flowers that have purple centers.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

I had forgotten about this page in There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds and illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarret Pumphrey. Way too appropriate right now. #kidlit #booksky #freadom

It’s a two page spread with the illustration of a fire. There are black books scattered with words making up the spines. One says some folks think. The next says by burning books. Then another they burn and the final book says freedom. There are letters scattered in the fire some spell out the word free and the word love. The text on the left page says But not everyone understood Langston. Some people thought it was better to be word breakers, thought his spelling deserved yelling, wanted to take words like free and love and cut them in half, pull them apart, keep all the letters from touching and sharing. On the right page it says Keep the big H’s with the little h’s and the big A’s with the little a’s.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Couldn’t help but note that the chancellor of UC Davis had to explain his job in simple terms for our elementary school and he came up with principal, CEO & mayor of a small city all rolled into one.

A Black man is sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind him and a large window. Words are superimposed saying principal + CEO + mayor

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

I got some Woobles beginner packs and started crocheting over winter break. 😊

Two crocheted stuffies are sitting in a sunlit window. On the left is a blue round frog with a smile. On the right is a mushroom with yellow at the bottom and blue and purple glitter thread for the cap. It also has a smile.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Fun care package from friends in Japan has meant so many yummy snacks added to our celebrations this year. #snacks

Many snacks on a table including gummies, pocky, potato sticks, chocolate etc.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

And then, we opened our care package from Japan today and found castella that I don’t even have to make. ;) #booksky

Japanese package that shows three slices of castella and says Castella sponge cake in English.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

So happy to be part of #MDEAR - Midwinter Drop Everything and Read today and tomorrow. Lauren sent delightful tea along with some great reading. 😊 Thanks @cottonquiltsedi.bsky.social for making this happen.

On a table with a white cloth are a teapot, tea cup on a coaster and a book. The book title is Healer of the Water Monster. In the background are some twinkle lights.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Home to Medicine Mountain is a powerful story by Chiori Santiago about two Maidu brothers sent to a residential school who find a way home. A student drew and wrote about it here. #tlsky #kidlit

The title is centered. Around it there are smaller images. One is a train and says got transported there but…. The next is a house and says not always home. There is an image of a school that says Mission school. A child in a bed says they slept in cots. Another of a building that says in a dormitory. Another shows a child in bed dreaming and says dreams about home. Another is two stick figures with hands in air and says Stanley found a way home.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

The infographics at Storygraph are pretty cool. Not surprised that #kidlt is what I read the most. ;) #tlsky

November 2024 Wrap-up from my @crystalreading Storygraph. Info graph shows Books 43, pages 6,774 Average rating 5.0. Highest rated reads cover images for Built to Latst by Minh Le, Jason Reynolds' Twenty-four seconds from now... and The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Average book length 161 pages. Pie chart shows 82% fiction 18% nonfiction. Bar graph shows Childrens books at 20, Romance at 7, Middle grade at 6, Contemporary at 5 and Fantasy at 3. Pie chart shows 81% print, 16% digital and 2% audio. There is a graph of pages read per day that is ziggity zaggity with the highest on Nov 24 and 25th.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

#hmongnewyear in Sacramento was wonderful. The sounds and food and lovely things that I had expected and had missed since we moved from WI were all around me.

Banner hanging that says Sacramento Hmong New Year NYOB ZOO XYOO TSHIAB

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Optimist: The cup is half full. Pessimist: The cup is half empty. Teacher Librarian: Ooooh! Empty it the rest of the way and let’s use it to build something. #tlsky

A tower of blue and fushia solo cups is on a table by a bookshelf. The bulletin board says “Leer”

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

I made two different sugar skulls. The first time I enjoyed it, but didn't spend a lot of time. The very next day, I made the second. I spent a lot of time on it and found it quite meaningful.

Sugar skull with hot pink sequins surrounded by orange frosting flower petals for eyes. A blue heart for a nose. A mouth of hot pink frosting with orange dots. The word mom is written in green frosting on the top of the skull. There are purple dots on the chin. Yellow dots and swirls are around the eyes. The cheeks are round and yellow with hot pink centers.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

In fourth grade library classes we read the lovely Built to Last by @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social and @dansantat.bsky.social today and then collaborative building commenced. Thanks for the inspiration! #kidlit

Two student from shoulders down building a tower with books. They had two tented open at the bottom with a flat one on top for the first layer, and they were working on a fifth layer.

Lots of Lego bricks on a table and someone’s hand adding another brick to the wall.

Yellow and orange plastic hundred squares are flat and upright to make a maze.

Old style wooden blocks are stacked making a tower with a small door at the bottom.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

Just me sitting in a bookstore crying while reading Built to Last by @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social and @dansantat.bsky.social. 🤣😭🧡💛💚🩵

Cover of book Built to Last featuring two young children. On the left the child is wearing glasses. There are two dragons on the cover. The title is made of pieces of wood or boxes with each letter painted or taped onto them. The child with glasses has a paint can and paintbrush. There are two fish kites, but also two carp swimming along.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 22/07/2024

I have finally made it to the famous Powell’s Books and it is as impressive as expected. 😮

A shelf with Powell’s merchandise such as canvas bags, water bottles, and puzzles.

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Crystal Brunelle @librarygrl2.bsky.social · 30/06/2024

I was soooo excited to see @amedyckman.bsky.social today at ALA! What a great start to the day. 💙

Me and Ame Dyckman smiling together. Ame is holding up her book Silly Boobies. Her hair is pixie and blue and matches the feet of the boobie.

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