One World, One Day

I feel so lucky when I order a book and then just love it when I get it.

I can't even remember how I stumbled across this book, but I am happy to add it to my collection. The photographer/author, Barbara Kerley, has captured the most amazing pictures of children from all over the world getting up, eating breakfast, going to school, spending time with their family in the evening, etc. The bonus is the details from each photograph in the back of the book, along with a map with all of the different locations highlighted.

As with Shades of People, this is a fabulous book celebrating a global family.

What to do when you are swamped?

I have been absolutely swamped - Court of Honor dinner to cook for, tons of company over for dinner, All-Region Choir Festival (yea,Jordan!), teaching and lesson plans (huge learning curve), dictation to transcribe (I still work for a therapist on the side doing note transcription and billing), a big wheat workshop coming up on Tuesday, not to mention all of the homework I have yet to read and two huge assignments I haven't even given a thought to. And housework? Don't even go there.

So how do I manage my stress?

Pick up a book and pretend I don't have anything else to do.

I read this book when it first came out, and I loved it. I picked it up this week and read it again. that is what is so great about books, you can read them over and over and it is just like the first time.

This book is touching and authentic, with real, complex characters and it makes you ponder on life. Just a note - this book is for teens and up. The plot involves serious issues. Even though the protagonist is only 12, I wouldn't have a 12 year old read the book.

Go ahead, lift the corner of your universe. You can make a difference!

Dreamer

I woke at 3:30 a.m. this morning and just couldn't go back to sleep. I pulled out of my suitcase a new book I brought to read on the plane but never got to.

First of all, let me say I have loved everything Pam Muzon Ryan has written. Second, Peter Sis' "The Wall" is excellent and my first introduction to his work.

This book is the historical fictional account of the childhood of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. It was excellent. The writing itself is poetical and insightful. I couldn't put it down, I read until the sun came up. Ryan has a way with language and Sis' illustrations were perfect for the prose.

I knew absolutely nothing about Neruda before I read the book, but I really want to read his works now. There is so much to talk about in this book I think middle school readers would gain so much from it. It is a book that needs to be talked about with another readers, though, so grab a friend to read it at the same time.

Megan's computer is giving me problems, so I will put the book in the carousel when I return to Arkansas.

Hot Buttery Toast

Mercy Watson - pig extraordinaire - just happens to love hot buttery toast.

This cute series (there are several books) are great read-alouds for young children and good reads for early readers. Mercy is always up to something.

And don't forget to celebrate with hot buttery toast when you finish the book!

I Grew Up On A Farm

Wow! This book is beautiful. I bought it because it is so versatile in the classroom - there is so much that can be talked about and done around this wonderful book.

The author tells about his life on the farm as a child. The drawings are mixed with real life photographs. The story of dad getting the tractor stuck in a hole would be something I would do!

I was so excited when I read it to Ethan tonight (I have missed our reading sessions - we have been without them for the last two weeks).

Pick it up! Now! You will probably have to ask your librarian to find it somewhere, but you will be doing your library a favor if you ask them to order it for their collection.

Promise!

Memoirs of a Goldfish

(click on picture for more detailed information)

The first time I read "Diary of a Worm" by Doreen Cronin, I laughed out loud. I was reading it to some cub scouts and one little boy just didn't get the humor. My kids laughed, maybe we are all twisted.

Anyway - back to the story - this book is a lot the same way. I laughed. Yes, I know I have a very simple sense of humor, but still.......

On Day One the little goldfish swims around his bowl.

On Day Two he swims around twice.

Day after day more items appear in his bowl and he is not too sure how he likes it.

There is a little twist at the end that surprised me, and made me laugh.

Cute illustrations, very crisp and clear with rich colors.

A Book

Isn't that a great title?

This is such a funny picture book. Probably a bit too complex for kindergarteners, but older primary children, who understand the conventions of picture books, are going to love it. The drawings are done as if we (the reader) are looking from above at the story. The little girl looks up at one point and screams, "Eeeek! What's that huge BLOBBY thing that looks something like a face?"

I admit it, I laughed out loud.

Her family, who all live in the book, have a story. The girl sets out in search of her own story.

It reminded me a little of David Weisner's "The Three Pigs."

Mordicai Gerstein wrote and illustrated another great book entitled "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers." That book is about Philippe Petit's tight rope walk between Manhattan's World Trade Center towers in 1974.

Go on - go to your library and check it. Or click on the picture above for more info.

You won't be sorry.

All the World

This is a new picture book I just got today and I love it! It is a rhyming book and just chock-full of beautiful language.

All the world is here.
It is there.
It everywhere.
All the world is
right
where
you
are.

Now.

The illustrations are pencil and watercolor. It is beautifully illustrated.

It was written by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee. A Caldecott Honor winner to boot.

So here I am with a beautiful book, both in word and picture, and no child to share it with. I guess Ethan will have to give up "Pirate Pete talks like a Pirate" and listen to "All the World" tonight. Actually, he will probably hear both. Each night we negotiate how many books. The earlier he gets ready the more he gets to read. One night last week we were up to 5!

All of the books I talk about will be listed in the carousel above. I like to look at the book covers :-)


Jessica, the books you were asking about are

One Small Square: Woods

The Higher Power of Lucky

I finished this book about a week ago, but I am still thinking about it. When the book was first published, there was a bit of controversy because of a word that is used the first page of the book. It was an anatomical part of a dog. The author said it was a true story (what happened to the dog) - anyway - nothing too bad, promise, but I see how it might catch a reader off guard.

From Booklist: Lucky, age 10, lives in tiny Hard Pan, California (population 43), with her dog and the young French woman who is her guardian. With a personality that may remind some readers of Ramona Quimby, Lucky, who is totally contemporary, teeters between bravado--gathering insect specimens, scaring away snakes from the laundry--and fear that her guardian will leave her to return to France. Looking for solace, Lucky eavesdrops on the various 12-step meetings held in Hard Pan (of which there are plenty), hoping to suss out a "higher power" that will see her through her difficulties.

I am continually amazed at the creativity of writers. The ability to make a fictional character seem is truly a gift.