The Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 2/19/12
Dream Hop
I took my best friend to the library with me and Ayla and this was her particular pick. Its adorable and Ayla got really excited every time we yell: “Dream Hop!” It’s definitely worth while.
Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats
Fellow blogger Emily of CoffeeCupsInTrees and I both agree that no child can sit all the way through this one. It’s fabulous with great poetry and cute pictures, but its long and the pictures too pastel to interest growing, wiggly toddlers.
Big Little Elephant
The author of a previous favorite: Molly Who Flew Away, we had to check out this fabulous Ukranian-American man’s elephant piece. Ayla enjoyed it and of course, elephant obsessed me thought it was awesome. We also read Shhh!
It was a Gorbachev week, as you can see, but it was fun and we love his illustrations and stories.
Fairly Fairy Tales
Neither one of us cared for this one. The illustrations are fun and girly, but the story is odd for lack of a better word.
The Kiss That Missed
Love, love, love this book! Ayla liked it a lot also. The illustrations are fun and imaginative and so is the story line. How great is it to follow a runaway kiss blown to a boy prince as he is laid down to sleep? A knight is sent to catch it and a dragon brings it back. This is a lovely bed time story to be read together as a family.
Blue Chameleon
Totally weird and totally awesome. Gravett is an award winning illustrator and its obvious why, if ever I have a boy I’d be all about decorating the nursery to match her artwork. The blue chameleon is adorable!
The Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 2/12/12
Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book
So fun and clever, Ayla and I both enjoyed this one. As a parent, the only thing I didn’t like was that Beverly wasn’t responsible for paying her late fee dues. But overall Beverly is a fun little friend to have and I hope that one day Ayla can be a part of her very own book club.
Beverly Billingsly Can’t Catch
I saw at the library that Beverly was a reoccurring character in a series so I couldn’t resist grabbing both. Full of life lessons and the importance of doing research and practicing to achieve your goals, Alexander Stadler is quickly becoming an author I plan to keep around the house for years to come.
Memoirs of a Goldfish
If Ayla and I were forced to choose a favorite this week, this one would win. Full of fabulous illustrations, Ayla made me read this over and over. We actually skipped over other books we had in our library bag this week because we both like this so much. Fun life lesson and fabulous illustrations!
Can You See A Little Bear?
Ayla liked this one ok, but this was truly more my choice than hers. The story is sweet and the illustrations are beautifully whimsical. I highly recommend this book for bed time or nap times. Its very soothing for both parent and child.
Mice Squeak, We Speak
Tomie dePaola has been hailed as the go to picture book illustrator for years and years. I remember enjoying her work as a child, but it wasn’t until I read this to my own daughter that I realized how wonderful dePaola truly was. Ayla squealed and squealed, pointed at all the bright colors and at the end of the book demanded “more.” We may choose Memoirs of a Goldfish together, but if Ayla’s vote were THE vote, it would be Mice Squeak, We Speak every time this week.
Hercule Poirot, mon ami
Welcome back to my blog, Mes Amis! I have finished yet another book in the Hercule Poirot series, and just as she has done in the rest, Christie has brought a small smile to my face.
Hercule Poirot by Ceska Soda
Poirot Investigates
As with every detective hero, Poirot manages to be cleverer and more astute than everyone with whom he comes in contact. He sees every clue and teases us with it, not telling us what it means until the end. He manages to be both exasperating and adorable, Hastings (and the reader) often want to wring his neck and simultaneously shake his hand while he lectures his younger ally on the use of his “little grey cells” in his brain. In the finale of one adventure,Hastings exclaims: “Poirot was right. He always is, confound him!”
I think my favorite thing about him is how often he toots his own horn. He has no sense of modesty and is constantly talking of himself in the third person, proclaiming his greatness and intelligence. When not speaking in the third person about how happy people will be to see the arrival of the “The Great Hercule Poirot” he’s is busy saying things like:
“I, who have undoubtedly the finest brain in Europe at present, can afford to be magnanimous!”
One would call him pompous, but with his short, round stature and that twinkle in his green eyes, how can you hate him? In fact, if he were real, I’d hope that he would call me ‘mon ami.’
Inhale (And be ready to hold your breath, a lot) – A Review
Title: Inhale
Author: Kendall Grey
Publisher: Howling Mad Press, LLC
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance
Length: 453 pages
Buy: http://justbreathenovels.com
I happened across Kendall Grey on Twitter (kendallgrey1) not too long ago, an exciting day for me because shortly after I was being sent a review copy of her book Inhale. It came with many warnings: could be too graphic for you, rated R, etc. I promised I’d give it a try, and frankly, despite the fact that she was correct on most counts (the girl knows her work, knows what it is) I still enjoyed it.
Grey laments in her blog post titled Bless My Heart:
Not everyone is going to like my book. Some people won’t get it. They won’t like my style or my voice. Others will say the language is too rough. There’s too much graphic sex. Not enough graphic sex. Too much back story, yet they don’t understand the world building. Too many stereotypes. Predictable. The plot has holes big enough to fly a space shuttle through.
Worse, some readers will say, “It was okay.” Or they won’t be able to finish it. *GULP* Twist the knife in a little harder, why don’t ya?
And what I’d like to tell her: “Who cares?!” I’m a reviewer who doesn’t like peoples’ books sometimes, I wrote a whole post about not liking Kostova’s ‘voice,’ I often get irritated at novels with too much graphic sex (The Outlander series, prior to this book, my one exception). I admit that back story has a time and place, even though I’m a sucker for it. Plot holes big enough to fly a space shuttle through are more my husband’s issue with life, not mine… But using stereotypes with purpose rather than laziness and character development are highly important to me.
Photograph by Jemma Milanovic used in the cover of “Exhale” to portray Gavin Cassidy
Grey, you stayed true to your vision, and that, I appreciate. Your characters are believable, and your story engrossing and imaginative. I’m not hooked on the genre, but I’ll definitely be reading more of your work.
After years of working in a bookstore and running the literature section, I see/hear the words “urban fantasy” or “romance” and I expect cheesy, terrible writing. It’s snobbish, I know, but I just assume it will be L.J. Smith with more adult content. I agreed to review this book, however, after perusing Grey’s blog (kendallgrey.com) and discovering that she uses a lot of ‘colorful language’ in the realm of ‘pardon my French’, but her writing is quite good. Plus, I’m a sucker for people willing to use the word “wafted,” it’s one of my favorites.
Reading Grey’s work reminded me exactly of how I felt when I read Twilight. It’s not to my particular taste, I prefer my love stories of the Jane Austen variety and my fantasies J.R.R. Tolkien or Robin McKinley style. It’s not something I want my daughter reading, but I read the thing in nearly one sitting and was captivated by the adventure and Grey’s multi-leveled worlds. Just as I understood why the masses were maintaining an unhealthy obsession with Twilight, I’m actually shocked that Grey hasn’t got a larger cult following. I’m surprised that the next installment in the Just Breathe series isn’t the most anticipated release since Eclipse hit the shelves in August of 2007. I can think of about fifty regulars at my store that would be all over it if they knew about it. (And yes, I plan to share that information with them.)
That being said: it’s far more adult than Twilight. So, don’t go passing this around to twelve year old girls to devour; but if you’re an adult who likes to read paranormal romance, who reads purely to escape real life for two hundred pages (or for 453 pages in this case), Inhale is right up your alley. Just like Grey knows what she writes, you know who you are… it’s worth it to you to go buy yourself a copy.
Right Whale original 5×7 mixed media illustration by Bryan Collins
Now, just because I’m not that person and I speed read through parts that seem like they are getting too hot and heavy (I’m a fan of my fast forward button in movies too), and maybe you’re not that person either, don’t be completely opposed to checking out Grey’s work. Grey has thrown in some awesome stuff that steps outside the urban fantasy stereotype and gives us something to latch onto: Whales. Grey’s love for whales has overpowered all the stuff that I don’t necessarily care for in these books and become something beautiful. Referred to as a “word diddler and whale champion” in the author biographical blurb in the back of the book, the coolest thing about her and this new series is that All profits from sales of the JUST BREATHE Trilogy will be donated to whale education programs. Not something I expected to read at the opening of an urban fantasy novel. That in itself is worth tossing some money Grey’s way and picking up her book the first chance you get, even if you only intend to donate it to your local library for someone else to enjoy.
Visit JustBreatheNovels.com and browse through the series playlist, a little mood music while you read is always lovely. Also check out: www.cetaceanresearchnetwork.com and www.facebook.com/KendallGreyAuthor.
The Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 2/05/12
Moo, Baa, La La La!
We liked the last Sandra Boynton book so much; we had to try these ones. Moo, Baa, La La La! Is wonderful, Ayla had me read it over and over again, even when she wasn’t feeling that well. She’s been sick, diagnosed with Pharyngitis, and lost about 3lbs. That’s a lot of weight for a 15 mo. But Moo, Baa, La La La! kept her in good spirits. But Not the Hippopotamus is cute, Ayla just didn’t care for it as much. It might be an issue of color; Hippopotamus is a dark green, whereas Moo, Baa is a bright teal. Who knows why babies go for the things they do, I just document my kid’s ‘reviews’ because she can’t do so herself!
Celestine, Drama Queen
I didn’t think I’d care much for this, but Ayla grabbed it so I said ok. After reading it though, I think its really cute. Ayla wanted to read this as an ‘I’m sleepy’ read this week. We would read through Celestine and then the usual signal of ‘Nurse me and let me rest’ she’d grab the Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry collection. Ives story is wise and the watercolor illustrations appropriately girly for my little girl.
Which Witch is Which?
This is one we’ll have to grab a few months down the road. It’s a brilliant piece about twins Emily and Ella who are at a costume party and like different things, and its up to the reader to decipher who is who in each illustration: ‘Ella likes pink, Emily blue. Which witch is which?’ and one holds out a pink gift for the host and one holds out a blue one. Between being ill and not really knowing her colors and whatnot, it just didn’t hold her attention this time.
What You Never Knew About Beds, Bedrooms, and Pajamas
This is a great book to put curious minds to sleep. Part of the Around the House History
Finklehopper Frog
With all the bright illustrations by Brian Lies, I thought this one was going to have a shoe in for Ayla’s affections without a doubt. Quite to the contrary, she just wasn’t interested and kept pushing it aside to make me read Moo, Baa, La La La! again. The poetry is fun, the rhymes mimicking the hopping of a frog as he tries to do things like the other animals. In the end a bunny rabbit convinces him to be content being himself.
Geraldine First
I was drawn to the illustrations, but they didn’t really captivate Ayla. The story is definitely geared toward older children with younger siblings, and I think my nieces and nephews would find it quite funny. Ayla probably wont share in this sentiment any time soon, if ever.
Introducing Limelight Larry
We both LOVED Limelight Larry. It’s funny and clever, and the illustrations are exciting and beautiful. The very best part? All the different fonts and the surprise foil additions to Larry’s beautiful peacock feathers. Had I seen this book prior to having Ayla, I may have done the entire nursery in Limelight Larry, maybe Ayla and I can paint her room that way together one day.
Little Monster Friends
Title: My Friend the Monster
Author: Eleanor Taylor
Publisher:BloomsburyChildren’s Book
Genre: Children’s Picture Books
February 1st was the “practice run” and kick off for a weekly gathering at Half Price Books in Humble, a gathering of infants to six year olds for story time. An informal endeavor, I chose a handful of books to read off the cuff and my niece, age eleven, alternated reading aloud with me from her own selections. We tried to pick a little bit of something for everyone, as we had twelve kids there of all ages, both boys and girls. We read from puppet board books, several picture books, a few shiny foil books – but the greatest success was My Friend the Monster by Eleanor Taylor.
My Friend the Monster is the story of a little boy (fox, actually) who moves to a new house and discovers a monster living under his bed. The monster, a large one eyed fuzzy creature is a big old scaredy-cat, and it’s up to Louis the child fox to teach him to be brave and confident.
The pictures are detailed and remind me of something from Highlights for Kids magazine (ie: Richard Scarry). Although the kids were well behaved and sat for all the stories, this one in particular had them leaning in to see the pictures, touching my knee to get a closer look. The story kept them completely riveted and entertained, with only one interruption from a small girl who asked, “Why does the Monster only have one eye?” To which I replied, “Because he’s a monster with one eye. I’m sorry I don’t have a better explanation than that.” She just nodded her head and we continued on with the adventure of Louis and his Monster.
I had flipped through this particular book the day before when I visited the store to get a feel for which books I might choose and make sure my daughter, only 15 months, would be familiar enough to follow directions the next day. Ironically, the page I thought would give me the most trouble while reading to the kiddos was the page that was the biggest success for the entire reading. It was the page where Louis takes Monster to the park for the first time and shows everyone the way… the sentences dance in circles around various images of Louis and his monster along the path. I thought the children would get lost, not being able to see the pictures well enough; they might start to fidget or look away and forget what was happening in the story. Instead, this was the moment I found them leaning in the most, nearly crawling into the rocking chair with me to see Monster and Louis on their merry adventure.
Of course, this convinced me that I had to have this book for Ayla, so as soon as story time was over, I bought a copy. If you’re a book toting mom, I highly recommend heading to the Half Price Books nearest you and grabbing up a copy if you can get your hands on it!
Also, if you’re in the Woodlands/Humble/Atascocita/Kingwood area and you have small children during the day, feel free to come to the Humble Half Price Books at 10:30 am on Wednesdays. I’ll be reading a few books every week as long as we can keep the children sitting (mostly) on their bottoms with bookstore level voices. I hope to make many new, little friends, and hope that all our Monsters can be as pleasant as Louis’.
The Holiday Grind… and its aftermath
A Typical Holiday Clearance Sign
During the Holidays, I get overwhelmed. The decorations, the obligations, the cold… it just gets to me. But after its all said and done, when gift giving, chores, and the extreme traffic isn’t constantly flooding my daily routine, when its ripped away from me and I am denied it, I get a little bit nostalgic for what I previously despised.
Its perfect timing too, because everything is on sale. You go to your favorite bookstore, what do you find? All the holiday titles are on clearance. You check out any of your favorite retail items for winter, and it’s all so much more affordable than it was the previous months.
So, it’s the tail end of January and beginning of February that I find myself reading titles like Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle, and stocking up on Scentsy fragrances like Honey Peared Cider, Comfort & Joy, and Pumpkin Roll before they are replaced by Spring and Summer appropriate smells.
Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mystery Series
Honey Peared Cider Scentsy Bar - only available thru Feb.
When reading these books, whether it’s a holiday edition or not, its always best to have some café-like scents warming in your burner – like Baked Apple Pie or Hazelnut Latte, typically available from Scentsy year round; or just your usual suspects for fall and winter – like Pumpkin Marshmallow, Central Park Pralines, or Cozy Fireside, scents often only offered during the Holidays.
Despite the disappointment I have that these latter fragrances won’t be available to me during the Spring and Summer months, there is one thing that consoles me: During the month of February, a good portion of them will be 10% off. Between a Scentsy sale and clearance holiday books, I’m quite certain that January and February are the best parts of Winter.
Purchase your Scentsy products today at AKKlemm.scentsy.us. There’s a party open.
The Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 1/28/12
Hippos Go Berserk
Excellent kid’s book, whether you get the board book or the picture book edition, as we read from both this week, the kids love this! It’s a great counting book, as it counts both up to nine and down from nine, and it introduces the concept of addition with its final page, referencing the fact that all the hippos mentioned on each previous page put together would make forty-four hippos. Originally copyrighted in 1977, this should be considered a classic.
Little Dog Poems
This is a great introduction piece to different kinds of poems and how often times poetry can get away with putting words all over the page. What is unique about this poetry, is that its all over the page with purpose as its mimicking the dog featured in the over arching story. We have dogs, and Ayla is around them a lot even at other peoples’ houses, so you could tell she really related to this book.
Toot & Puddle
This one made me sad, in that I adore Holly Hobbie, but Ayla wasn’t really feeling it. Which tells me to try again when she’s older. Toot goes on a wild adventure, while Puddle stays at home, so in the course of the book the story happens with what Puddle is doing and then the alternate page has a postcard from Toot. I found these kinds of things really cool at about 5 and up, whereas the postcards were kind of lost on my 15 month old.
Molly Who Flew Away
We read this over and over again this week! Ayla loves the illustrations, and is completely captivating by any story involving mice. I’m not exactly sure what it is she loves about them, but she was in love with this book.
Pip & Squeak
Another mouse story, Ayla would get super excited on each page and point to the mice. You could see the recognition on face, “I found it!” her eyebrows seemed to say every time as she jabbed the little mouse illustration with her pointer finger. This was also my personal favorite for the week as well, its got an adorably clever twist ending, which is fun when you’re a parent reading baby books all week.
The Adventures of Odysseus
This is obviously way to old of a book for my kid right now, but I checked it out as research for the classical education I’m planning for my daughter. In the classical education style you present topics to them every four years on age appropriate levels. This book will be the perfect first introduction to The Odyssey, and Ayla already loves the illustrations even if she can’t sit still for the story yet. Its also done by Barefoot Books: Celebrating Art and Story, for which I have a personal soft spot.
Penguin Books bring Human Happiness
Please click to visit the great blog where I got this picture.
Title: Human Happiness
Author: Blaise Pascal
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Non-fiction, Theology, Philosophy
Length: 106 pages
“Men are so inevitably mad that not to be mad would be to give a mad twist to madness.” – Blaise Pascal
There’s something magical about reading the thoughts and opinions of someone who died three hundred and twenty some odd years before you were born. To experience theology, reason, or even the lack thereof, through the eyes of someone so ancient is exciting. That’s why I love Penguin’s Great Ideas series
I’ve mentioned this love before in my Conspicuous Consumption review, but every time I pick up one of these pocket sized source documents, I’m reminded of what a treasure knowledge and books can be.
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves – and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched live – and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. – Penguin Books
I love that Blaise Pacal was included in this group of writers and definitely find his material that of the “enriching” nature. It was extra special, to read this particular author knowing that my oldest nephew was named after him. And as usual, upon completion, I can’t wait to read my next Great Ideas book.
“Bad” Habits and Edna
I have a really bad habit, that I have no intention of breaking, of judging books at a glance, by their cover. This habit our parents and grandparents warned us against, is justified to me by two things: my marketing degree and a blurb Paul Collins wrote in his book Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books
Regardless of that justification, it has led me to some horrible mistakes (I thought Rudolf Steiner
Directly, it led me to Tanya Egan Gibson
You see, I once belonged to an online book club. It was lovely place that I adored, where as a group, we read lots of British things. We had fabulous nicknames (I was Lady Klemm of Deasa Manor) and were only required to read the selections and maintain our character. At first… later there were a whole host of requirements, like reading and participating more each year than you did the last and agreeing with the admin of the group on every particular. I was kicked out- “expunged” the admin liked to call it – indirectly for getting pregnant and having a child, directly for knowing the proper definitions of literary terms.
In this group, the Mitford Sisters
You will laugh when I reveal that instead of Nancy Mitford, I had grabbed a book by… wait for it….
but didn’t realize this until months later as I was reading through my TBR pile, something every voracious reader has stashed about the house and never seems to diminish no matter how quickly you pluck through it.
Alas! It was a biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford. Well, who is this? I asked myself. I can’t read a biography on a person without reading their work first. I want to have a feel for the quotes, I want to understand their mood they were in while writing my favorite piece, and I can’t get the full picture without having a favorite piece!
So, back to the bookstore I went and found myself a hardback of Edna’s poems, a collected works. It’s been heavenly. Reading her poetry has made for some of the sweetest moments with my baby.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Late at night, when she’s teething and can’t sleep, we rock in the glider and in the lamplight of my library I whisper lines from Edna. When the kiddo is at her crankiest, she sometimes crawls into the chair ahead of me and points to the white spine, she is aware that she is soothed by the rhythm of these poems. When it’s raining, like today, and we’re feeling scratchy and feverish, all the singing and hot tea in the world is no match in comparison to the calm that is offered by reading Edna aloud.
Poetry is not something I read often; it’s not my “go to” genre. But I appreciate it, usually the sarcastic and simple like William Carlos Williams, a pre-teen favorite of mine. Edna St.Vincent Millay has changed that for me, I think. I’m prepared to seek out more poetry in the future, especially as I raise this kid, my beautiful daughter, in hopefully the most literary household anyone has ever seen.
Anakalian Whims 