#king and the dragonflies

[ojforbreakfast]

I participated in a year long Buzzword Readathon for the first time, courtesy of the YouTube channel, BooksandLala (Instagram: @booksandlala). Readers can participate in the challenge however they want, and I decided to read at least one book each month that matched the theme. 

I just finished the reading challenge today and felt so accomplished with myself that I had to post about it. (Lala didn’t have a 2022 book cover template, so I took the one she made for 2023 and edited it a bit.) I also used the star emoji to indicate the books that I gave 4 or 5 stars, but I fairly enjoyed all 12 books.  Out of all 12 books, though, my top 3 favorites are Burn Our Bodies Down, My Dark Vanessa, and Marriage of a Thousand Lies.

I’m very much an erratic mood reader, so it was a new experience to pick my books based on a specific theme, but I enjoyed it. It got me to explore authors and titles that I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise and gave me the opportunity to finally read some books that have been on my TBR for awhile. I’m definitely planning on participating in 2023′s Buzzword challenge. 

#books #reading #ya lit #literature #booksandlala #bookblr #buzzword readathon #2022 reads #when no one is watching #firekeeper's daughter #the paris apartment #burn our bodies down #this is all your fault #library of fates #my dark vanessa #king and the dragonflies #marriage of a thousand lies #ojforbreakfast

[theridgebeyond]

📚 Katelyn’s 2022 Booklist 📚

January

The Change (Animorphs #13) by K.A. Applegate

The Unknown (Animorphs #14) by K.A. Applegate

The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate

Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by David L. Weaver-Zercher, Donald Kraybill, and Steven Nolt

Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and Lily of the West (Bloody Jack #5) by L.A. Meyer (reread)

February

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

The Whole-Brain Child: Twelve Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.

March

Trying Differently Rather Than Harder: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders by Diane Malbin, M.S.W.

Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance by Reggie L. Williams

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (reread)

April

Call Down the Hawk (The Dreamer Trilogy #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater (reread)

May

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate

#booklist #k.a. applegate #animorphs #amish grace #mississippi jack #bloody jack #l.a. meyer #the weight of our sky #hanna alkaf #king and the dragonflies #kacen callender #the whole-brain child #daniel j. seigel #tina payne bryson #fasd #diane malbin #dietrich bonhoeffer #bonhoeffer’s black jesus #reggie l. williams #cinder #lunar chronicles #marissa meyer #call down the hawk #the dreamer trilogy #maggie stiefvater #trc #the raven cycle #the dream thieves #queen of the tiles

[the-merry-librarian]

King and the Dragonflies is a richly detailed, compelling and heartbreaking novel about a young Black boy’s life in a small Louisiana town as he grieves for his older brother and grapples with questions about his own identity. Believing that his brother Khalid has transformed into a dragonfly after his death, Kingston searches the banks of the bayou for Khalid, stumbling across his former best friend Sandy in the process—former because Khalid told him to end their friendship after overhearing a secret; that Sandy is gay, and he doesn’t want anyone thinking his little brother might be gay too. Now that Khalid is gone, King struggles with the prejudices of those around him and the prejudices that he’s learned, attempting to reconcile conflicting lessons about bigotry, race, sexuality, and masculinity.

Genre: Fiction, LGTBQIA+ (National Book award winner 2020)

Target Age Group:

Grades 3-7

Justification:

King and the Dragonflies caught my attention in several ways. I found it on two lists; the National Book Award list, and a list of commonly banned books in school districts. While I review it here to fulfil the LGBTQIA+ category of my project, I chose it for its award status and its status as a commonly banned book—and, unfortunately, as a queer person in the South, I can understand why certain parents believe the material is inappropriate or should be challenged.

Evaluation:

For this review, I will be evaluating setting, character, and theme. Kacen Callender’s description of setting is nothing short of exquisite, with sensual descriptions of the Louisiana swamp that sent me standing on the road next to King. From the very first page of Chapter 1: “I like to look for my brother […] on the long and hot and sweaty walk back from school, down the hard dirt road that weaves between the thorny bushes with their big fluffy leaves, and through the trees with their moss and vines, cicadas making their noise and birds whistling their tunes” (Callender 2020). Callender pours detail into descriptions of locations, marking plastic coverings on favorite chairs and the swell of noise in school libraries. A house with a dead son is a graveyard; the house of a beloved aunt is a church. The characters are just as richly detailed in appearance and in personality. Mikey Sanders, the older brother of King’s former best friend, is introduced as part of a group of other white boys, described with light hair “so pale it might as well be white too” (Callender p. 2, 2020). King’s friend Darrell is “shorter than everyone around but will beat anyone at basketball (and then laugh in their face when he’s won)” (Callender p. 19). As the novel goes on, characters reveal themselves to be flawed and realistic, as King’s father struggles to handle his own grief and the idea that his surviving son might be gay and King himself betrays his friends’ trust in an effort to keep himself and everyone around him safe. Though not all characters are likeable, they are believable, and in a way loveable for that. The theme here is complex and difficult to sum up in one or two thoughts. At its heart King and the Dragonflies is about intersectionality, about the different influences and struggles that a single person can deal with—being Black in a prejudiced white world, being gay in a community that frowns upon it, and processing grief on top of it all. A single sentence to summarize all of these ideas is challenging, and I think that might be the point: King isn’t just overcoming racism or homophobia or mourning. He is navigating identity and discovering strength in himself, in his family, and in his community. I read King and the Dragonflies in its digital version through Axis360, provided by my local library. I personally felt that the digital version didn’t suffer at all from digitization—in fact, it was much easier for me to read since I was able to access it more or less on demand. With a different book, perhaps one with illustrations, I might have struggled more, but I enjoyed the digital version of King. This was the last book I read before posting my reviews, and I think I’m still processing it. It’s bittersweet in a way I can’t identify, and Callender’s lush language and descriptions will follow me for quite some time. Though I don’t know whether younger readers would absorb the book as well, I would definitely recommend King for readers between nine and thirteen. Older readers and adults would likely enjoy it as well.

References:

Callender, K. (2020). King and the Dragonflies. Scholastic (US). King and the Dragonflies. The Scholastic Teacher Store. (2020). https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/king-and-the-dragonflies-9781338129335.html

#tag: children #a: kacen callender #king and the dragonflies #g: fiction #g: lgbtqia+ #national book award winner #nba winner 2020

[elizabethgrofskyramos]

I read this book for my book club for work. It was very well written but I don’t think it would work for high school. But I liked it. It would probably work with 8th grade.

Heavy LGBTQ issues and the crap young gay people deal with.

These babies need to be protected more.

#50 books in 52 weeks #reading and books #King and the Dragonflies #Kacen Callender

[the-dust-jacket]

#Mariama Lockington #Kacen Callender #Ashley Herring Blake #King and the Dragonflies #Love That? Read This!

[queerographies]

[King e le libellule][Kacen Callender]

"King e le libellule" di Kacen Callender è un viaggio alla ricerca della propria identità contro i pregiudizi di una comunità che non accetta ciò che è diverso.

In una cittadina della Louisiana ancora attraversata da forti contrasti fra bianchi e neri, King, dodici anni, deve affrontare il lutto per la morte del fratello maggiore Khalid. La perdita lo fa sprofondare nella disperazione tanto da credere che il ragazzo sia diventato una libellula, dopo averne vista una posata sulla bara durante il funerale. Inizia così a cercarlo in riva al fiume ogni…

View On WordPress

#2022 #Feltrinelli #Feltrinelli UP #fiction #gay #Kacen Callender #King and the Dragonflies #King e le libellule #letteratura gay #LGBT #LGBTQ #Maurizio Bartocci #USA #YA #YA Books #Young Adult

[wagner-fell]

Sleep over asks!

Would you rather have a connection to the sun or the moon?

Also.. could i perhap get book recs?

Hmmm that’s a complicated question because the moon has a cooler aesthetic but I’d rather be a fire bender than an water bender

*remembers blood bending*

Yeah I’ll go with the moon-

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender!!!!! The most beautifully written, heart crushing, sob-through-every-page book you will ever read, I promise. It’s about a middle schooler named King who thinks his older brother Khalid has transformed into a dragonfly when he died. Ik it sounds like a basic premise but Zia I promise this is in my top five favorite books for a reason-

#zia!!! #zia’s ask #king and the dragonflies

[dozydawn]

Kirsten Dunst attends the premiere of Drop Dead Gorgeous, 1999. Photographed by Barry King.

#kirsten dunst #barry king #drop dead gorgeous #dragonfly #body paint

[mylittlefusions]

Fanart of Mod Dragonfly's Sombra, Discord, and Queen Chrysalis fusion!

#my little fusions #mlp #king sombra #discord mlp #queen chrysalis mlp #mod mars #my little pony #fusion #mlp villains #mod dragonfly #mod fanart month

[king7artist]

[The Palace]

Have some more Pandora content

#artists on tumblr #digital art #digital illustration #original character #character design #king art #king ocs #king7 #procreate #clip studio paint #dragon #dragonfly

[ssomepersonn]

underrated dynamic these three

very good

#hollow knight #hollow knight fanart #lurien the watcher #herrah the beast #monomon the teacher #the pale king #hk #i see a lot of butterfly lurien which while a cool concept makes less sense to me design wise #i do like the 3 eyes thing though #i picked dragonfly because 1. rain association is tastey and 2. they objectively have some of the best eyesight in the bug world #would the watcher not have good eyedbarls #and i so badly wanted herrah not to be a tarantula but theres literally no large spider out there with that body to leg proportion that isn #to my knowledge #so purple fuzzy spider it is #anyways expect more doodles of these three they are so fun to draw #my art #q

[cup1d-cafe]

Yuki, my oc, as different personality quiz results!

Soldier, poet, king:

Poet

Mbti:

INFJ

Percy jackson cabin:

Cabin 6 - Athena

Hogwarts House:

Slytherin

Patronus:

King Cobra

Spirit Animal:

Wolf

I used quizes and I answered them as Yuki, I highly suggest doing this as it helps get in tune with your characters!

All quizes are linked above 🫶

#ninjago #ninjago headcanons #lego ninjago #ninjago oc #yuki dragonfly #mbti personality types #mbti #hogwarts houses #sorting hat #patronus #soldier poet king #spirit animal #percy jackson #percy jackson cabins #athena #cabin 6 #athena cabin

[comparativetarot]

Winter of Wands. Art by Caitlin Cordell, from the Unruly Beings Tarot.

Winter is the time for deep rest, reflection and restoration. A positive side effect of creating space in our lives, is the expansion of the creative and generative parts of ourselves that have been dormant during the hustle of the other seasons. Maybe you are finally seeing the habits you’ve been stuck in that aren’t allowing you to be your fully expressive self. Or maybe you’re making time for creative expression that represents the goals and dreams you’ve always wanted to explore. The winter gives us time to dive deep into our truths. Allow the winter to give your mind and body the nourishment it needs for your powerful creativity to materialize.

Pictured is a dragonfly on yarrow during a winter storm. Dragonflies represent power and speed that can only be sustained through lots of food. They can help us remember to fuel up in order to support the sparks and dynamic movement we want to embody. Yarrow is a powerful healing plant. Yarrow reminds us to tend to our wounds and past hurt so that we can move forward with clarity.

#Caitlin Cordell #Unruly Beings Tarot #King of Wands #King #Wands #Minor Arcana #Tarot #Animals #Insects #Dragonfly

[updates-with-photon]

Spyro Against the Almighty Ape Army

Here's a cool little poster I did featuring Spyro and the Ape Army's most fearsome members. Essentially the big bads of the first two games in the trilogy, I did a little tribute to them, including the "The terror of the skies"! Also in prep for a Spyro project of mine!

Posted using PostyBirb

#spyro the dragon #king gaul #legend of spyro #dragon #sparx the dragonfly #cynder #well of souls #the eternal night #apes #terror of the skies #poster

[holdingontodust]

A simple desire to edit a cape onto Toffee resulted in the birth of a Civil War AU I’m calling Moon vs the Forces of Mayhem

In this AU, the day the peace treaty was supposed to be signed, Mina and the Magic High Commission betrayed Queen Comet and crystalized her. During the uproar that followed, Mina accidentally let slip the fact that Festivia was born a commoner, leading to the Mewman kingdoms to realize that anyone could use magic and all start fighting for the wand- including Mina herself, backed by the MHC and an army of monster hating supporters, and Miss Heinous of St. Olga’s who turned her robot staff into an army when she realized that she was the rightful heir to the Butterfly Kingdom.

Meanwhile, after her mother was crystalized, Moon was taken in by Archduke Batwin and the monsters. Wanting to fulfill her mother’s dream of making peace with them, Moon allied herself with the monsters, and changed her name to “Moon Dragonfly” in an attempt to appease Heinous, who takes back her birth name of Meteora. They each realize that the other is a victim and their true enemy is the Commission who deceived them both, but there’s still a lot of bad blood between them and they currently have a tentative truce.

Toffee was going to kill Comet the day of the signing, but was shocked by the betrayal of the Commission and Mina. He quickly decided that Moon’s family was not the problem, but rather the Commission and befriended Moon when the Archduke took her in. After a few years, Moon decided that Batwin no longer had the spine to lead, killed him, and promoted Toffee to the position of “Grand General” and took him as her lover. 

Meanwhile, River Johansen, a former suitor of hers, was pressured by his family to try to claim the Magic Wand for the Barbarian Clans. He tried to explain to her that he was only doing what his family demanded, but Moon refused to listen and later captured his family and fed half of them to her monsters. River has sworn vengeance and is allied with his childhood friend King Ponyhead.

Allegiances

Moon is allied with most Monster clans, but her closet is Septarsis. The Underworld is neutral, but Moon has been actively trying to gain their favor. 

The Johansens and the Ponyheads have an alliance.

The Spiderbite Kingdom, the Waterfolk Kingdom and the Avarius family are allies.

Meteora has her robot army and the allegiance of the Sizeshifters that are her kin. She frequently enlists Rasticore as her bodyguard or to do an assassination for her, but he’s actually on Toffee’s payroll keeping an eye on her and her movements to report back.

#svtfoe #svtfoe au #moontoffee #Moon vs the Forces of Mayhem #Moon Dragonfly #Grand General Toffee #King River Johansen #King Ponyhead

[askrikkaiandhyotei]

Is it only me or i just laugh my ass off when Yanma make a chant to his people, to support Gira 💀

Man, why are he like this lmao

IT’S GAY 💙❤️

#super sentai #ohsama sentai king ohger #yanma gust #otp: evil beetle and punk dragonfly