Day 9 of Summer 2019 #Bookaday Challenge: Midsummer's Mayhem

Vlog Transcript Below

Slide 1: Hi My name is Kate Narita. I am the author of 100 Bugs! A Counting Book and I’m a fourth grade teacher. Today is day 9 of my summer 2019 #bookaday challenge. I will be discussing Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca.

Slide 2: So I always like to talk about how I obtained a book. This past fall I attended nErD Camp New England for the first time as a participant. I had the pleasure of meeting Rajani LaRocca at this conference. If you have not gone to this conference, I highly recommend it. It’s free, you learn a ton, and you meet a bunch of other educators and authors as well.

Slide 3: I’m so pleased I have a signed copy of Midsummer’s Mayhem for my classroom. It is such a treat to read. It’s really fun. There are so many delectable recipes in the book that it makes you want to start cooking right away. Of course it’s a parody of Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare so that alone is fantastic. Finally, the character is warm, she’s smart, she’s kind just like Rajani herself.

Slide 4: I’ve already talked about these two books previously. So, I won’t spend a lot of time on them. Midsummer’s Mayhem pairs well with Pie in the Sky because Pie in the Sky also has a plot that’s centered around cooking. Midsummer’s Mayhem also pairs very well with Lisa Graff’s A Tangle of Knots. Unlike Pie in the Sky which is a realistic novel, A Tangle of Knots has a bit of magical realism in it much like Midsummer’s Mayhem.

Slide 5: Midsummer’s Mayhem also pairs well with these two novels, Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach has a fun diamond mystery that the main characters must solve, and it also talks about Shakespeare’s Secret which Rajani talks about in Midsummer’s Mayhem as well. I also really like Come Fall by A.C.E. Bauer. Rajani gives a tip of the hat to Puck in Midsummer’s Mayhem and so does A.C.E. Bauer in Come Fall. In fact in Come Fall, Puck is a main character. 

Slide 6: But the book Midsummer’s Mayhem most reminded me of was Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Allison McGhee. This may seem like a strange pick to some of you who know the book because Maybe a Fox is about death and Midsummer’s Mayhem doesn’t have anything to do with death. However, what I love the most about Midsummer’s Mayhem is how it shows the woods is a magical place. That’s exactly how I feel when I’m in the woods. I feel as though anything is possible. When you read Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Allison McGhee you get the same feeling that anything is possible in the woods. Also, there’s a bit of magical realism in Maybe A Fox as well so that’s another reason it pairs really nicely with Rajani LaRocca’s Midsummer’s Mayhem. 

Slide 7: Finally I always like to have a picture book. I’m going with Grandpa Green by Lane Smith. This has nothing to do with Shakespeare, but once again I feel this book portrays the magic of nature, of being outside, and the powerful emotions nature conveys. So, if you’re looking to talk about that with students but you don’t have time for a novel, I highly suggest getting Grandpa Green by Lane Smith.