Crystal Brunelle

@librarygrl2

I’m an elementary teacher librarian, avid reader, tea drinker, and co-founder/YA blogger at Rich in Color I also post on a personal blog readingtl.blogspot.com & Storygraph at crystalreading. (she/her) #kidlit #ethnicstudies

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Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· 11d

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

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Apr 24

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Mar 29

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Mar 9

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Mar 8

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Mar 8

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Mar 8

And a few more potatoes int eh style of @debbieohi.com and @michaelianblack.bsky.social. #kidlit

Nine potatoes drawn with red marker. One has a hat. One has horns. One has pointy ears. One has cat ears. Several have open mouths.

Pencil drawings of a girl holding a potato in her hand. There are also two other potatoes off to the side.

Drawings of 16 different potatoes with unique expressions. A red marker was used.

Drawings of ten different potatoes shapes. Seven of them have faces drawn on them.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Mar 8

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Feb 16

Dinner plans. 😊 #bookstagram #kidlit

Book Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang illustrated by Charlene Chua. A young girl is sitting next to a white cat. Both are smiling and are in top of a giant boa on a cloud.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Feb 9

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Jan 1

Here’s our little one 😏

Black dog with a little white on his chest. One ear up and one down. He’s wearing a red, white, and green bow tie collar.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Dec 31

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Dec 30

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Dec 7

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Nov 25

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.”

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Nov 13

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Sep 14

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Aug 20

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Aug 11

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Aug 11

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Jul 29

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Jul 8

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Jun 27

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Jun 4

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· May 31

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· May 10

And here are the gorgeous spredges of @authorgracelin.bsky.social for all to admire. #booksky #middlegradelit #kidlit

My hand holding the books sideways to see the ends of the paper. They are sprayed red with details of a dragon, a ball, and many clouds painted in yellow.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· May 10

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Apr 29

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Apr 19

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.

Crystal Brunelle@librarygrl2· Mar 31

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