Greek Mythology… with children
(Weekly Low Down on Kids Books)
Unfortunately this awesome image is not from a book. I think it’s from a video game.
The kiddo and I have been reading Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Is she a little young to catch everything, of course, she’s not yet three. Is she following the story? Better than you might imagine. I highly recommend that parents read kids stories that are far outside the child’s reading level. By doing this they are exposed to mature language styles sooner, learn new vocabulary words, and in the case of Rick Riordan, appreciate Disney movies like Hercules that much more.
We’re not finished reading Percy Jackson, so this review isn’t about that. This review is about picture books we’ve been reading during the day in preparation for our before bed time romps with Riordan’s Olympians.
Title: Gods and Goddesses from Greek Myths
Publisher: McGraw Hill Childrens/ Peter Bendrick Books/ Octopus Publishing Group
Retold by: Pat Rosner
Illustrated by: Olwyn Whelan
ISBN: 1-57768-508-3
Typically I provide links and images to the book, where you can find and purchase it, etc. But it seems that Gods and Goddesses lives an off the grid book life. It seems to be extremely difficult to find online and I was in the middle of typing here that I could not find it when I got the idea to check hpbmarketplace.com. I purchased it from a Half Price Books a few years ago, but sure enough the marketplace wins again! As you browse through the prices, you’ll see some are quite expensive. I only paid about $5 for this at the store, I wonder if it is currently out of print. Mine is in mint condition.
The illustrations are delightful, the retold myths thorough but easy to grasp. It’s not kiddo’s favorite book, but I can tell it has helped her grasp what is happening in the Percy Jackson books. Sometimes she just flips through the Greek style pictures while listening to me read Riordan’s work.
If I were in McKinney, TX right now I’d purchase the Fantastic Creatures from Greek Mythology as well, because I like these so much and I think Olwyn Whelan is a genius illustrator. Everything she touches, I think, would be great homeschooling resources.
Other resources we enjoy:
The Labrador Wild
Title: Letters to the Granddaughter
Author: Philip Schubert
Length: 198 pages
Travel books that focus on the adventure aspect of the traveling really excite me. I loved Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, enjoy anything on nature, and was really excited to get a copy of Schubert’s own adventures in my hands.
Schubert took on the hefty project of retracing the steps of Dillon Wallace, a man who took the risks of nature by storm and conquered the edge of death several times. Reading about Wallace and Mina Hubbard, and all the others of the major voyages through the Labrador in the early 1900’s shocked me – how had I never heard of this man before? How was he not mentioned along with other well known explorers like Lewis and Clark?
Schubert’s book is truly incredible, as I suspected it would be. Since its arrival at my home, it has been sitting on the shelf taunting me as I completed other reading assignments and projects that were first in line. My fingers itched to open its pages and my eyes longed to feast on all the many maps and photography both antique and recent.
Despite said maps and imagery, I still had a difficult time picturing just where in the world the Labrador lie. Clearly my geography education is lacking.
Whether or not you enjoy the great outdoors and the sheer adventure of hiking and canoeing, the extensive research and travel done to put this book together is impressive. Whether or not you plan to sit and peruse each and every detail and hunt down Wallace’s original work upon acquiring a copy of Schubert’s book, this title makes for an excellent coffee table book. Already, guests haven’t been able to help but pick it up and thumb through it when coming to my home. The maps, the pictures, seeing the difference between a pair of trees in 1903 versus 2012… it’s all so riveting.
Having read the book, I have no intense desire to trek the route myself (and get killed), but I’d love to find a way to visit the plaque where Mina Hubbard’s husband died. Another especially intriguing location from the pictures is the Three Gorges, on page 117 of the book there’s a stunning photograph of quite an impressive view. I’d love to stand there myself.
To readers who plan trips to famous writers’ houses, don’t miss out on Dillon’s former house in Beacon, New York. It’s gorgeous. I want it.
To Boy Scouts (my husband is an Eagle), this is a must read. After his days of trekking through the Labrador and documenting his time there, Dillon Wallace “established the Boy Scout movement in Dutchess County and was himself scoutmaster of Troop 1 in Beacon.” (pg.185) His books were later included in the Every Boy’s Library Series.
I’m still on the lookout for copies of the original works by these amazing people, there are plenty online but despite supporting online purchases through Good Books in the Woods, HPBmarketplace.com, and lastly Amazon.com, even Abebooks every now and then… I rarely order online myself. I prefer to find that perfect copy calling my name in the brick and mortar store. When Dillon Wallace and Mina Hubbard’s books finally do call my name, I will excitedly scoop them up because I’ll be adding them and Schubert’s own research to the kiddo’s classical education reading list.
Visit the Author’s website.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Kings
The Weekly Low Down on Kids Books/ Adventures in The Magic Tree House
Title: Crouching Tiger
Author: Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrator: Yan Nascimbene
This book was an unexpected treasure from the public library. Kiddo picked this book out herself and I was really excited about it once I was in the middle of reading it.
As a third degree black belt who grew up around a lot of Chinese culture, I love finding unique children’s stories like these. It teaches etiquette, respect for your elders, culture appreciation, diligence, perfection through practice, and each page also has a diagram of a Tai Chi stance.
This was an excellent book to jolt us into our week on Ancient China.
Title: Day of the Dragon King
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Publisher: Scholastic
Although we don’t have a research guide for this topic, we’ve been perusing all things Ancient China while reading this book this week. There are pages from Life in the Ancient World
Although we didn’t do anything crafty with this week’s topic, we did enjoy some stir fry for dinner and kiddo got to practice eating with her toddler chopsticks.
The kiddo’s chopsticks are an orange elephant, but the concept is pretty much the same. These things are so handy and I think they are a great way to give your tiny person an ounce of how other countries live.
The Color Purple… aka Slit My Wrist Blood Red
Title:The Color Purple
Author: Alice Walker
Publisher: Harcourt Books
Length: 288 pages, of which I only read about 75
It is quite possible that if I were to finish this book in it’s entirety without skimming, I might feel like slitting my wrist by the time I made it to the end. So though I only made it 75 pages in, I’m finished reading The Color Purple. I’m weak, or whatever, I can’t handle it.
Regardless of the fact that it is by far one of the most depressing topics out there, I cannot stand reading the dialect. And I’m from the South. Is this how Brits feel when they read Cockney?
I mean, I get it, they spoke that way then. And some people still do. Whatever. But I can’t handle 288 pages of it, on top of all the incest and baby drama.
So while Celie is praying for God to save her from this horrible life, I’m praying for that saving to involve some kind of literacy that will iron out all the times she says “ast” instead of “ask” and turn all the “dats” into “thats.”
God forbid I say this, being that I am a huge fan of reading and I’ve yet to see either of my examples in production – but maybe some stories are better absorbed via a Broadway musical than in a book. (Hearing dialect and reading dialect are very different things to me.) Some things like: The Color Purple and Wicked, for example.
So, since I can’t stomach the book, I’m going to break a rule of mine and attempt the movie or musical soon. I think a story can be important and still not feel the need to suffer through it in certain formats.
What about you guys? Anyone read or seen The Color Purple? Share your thoughts.
Maybe if I can survive the movie, I’ll try again.
The Booktacular Book Club – July 2013
A really awesome twelve year old and her mother came to me and asked if they could start a book club at Half Price Books Humble. Of course! Customer led clubs are definitely welcome, especially from the next generation of readers. Having a twelve year WANT to be in charge of a book club is, in my opinion, one of the coolest things ever.
So, with a little bit of guidance, the girls laid out a plan. Each month they will select a series. Book one of the series will definitely be discussed and each member can read the rest of the series if they are interested or choose to only read the one title. This gives everyone a lot of leeway to discover new things.
Our roster so far:
July’s Discussion = The Cry of the Icemark/ The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill
August’s Discussion = Over See, Under Stone/ The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
September’s Discussion = The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe/ The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Of course, I’m reading as much as I can with these girls as though I were a full-fledged member of the club… and along with that, providing my reviews of both the book and our discussions.
Title: The Cry of the Icemark
Author: Stuart Hill
Publisher: The Chicken House
Genre: Fantasy/ Adventure
Length: 472 pages
For me, this book had a lot of promise, a great story, and not quite as much follow through in the delivery. It’s good, I would recommend it to 12-15 year old girls who love fantasy, but I kept falling asleep.
I honestly believe it is something I would have devoured in the back seat of my parents’ van on vacation had I gotten a hold of it at age 12, I would have craved more and collected the series. But my 29 year old mommy-self felt disconnected from the story and, frankly, was made tired by it. Where Susanne Collins reminded me of my younger girlish desires and dreams, and plopped me right down in the middle of a fantasy I could get lost in, with The Hunger Games – Stuart Hill and I kept playing an awkward dance of “This is awesome and now I shall remind you that you aren’t Thirrin, you’re just reading…” Mostly, I think in the internal dialogue. The characters would start telling me what they were thinking too often and it threw me off. A healthy reminder not to do that in my own writing, because I think it is something I might be guilty of. I would rather decipher a character on my own, thanks. Remembering my 12 year old brain, however, I wonder if this would have bothered me then… would I even have noticed it?
I hoped to include the girls’ reaction to this book before I posted it. But alas, on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm, I was sitting at the table all alone. I wonder if they lost interest in the club they just started, or if some miscommunication in days occurred. We shall see next month. Either way, I AM glad I took time out of my life to read this, even if it wasn’t my favorite.
Spindown
Title: Spindown
Author: George Wright Padgett
Publisher: Grey Gecko Press
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 372 pages
There are books you read and love but cringe when someone suggests they make it a movie. What if they screw with the magic? What if they ruin it? But there are some books that as you read, before you even finish the book, just BEG you to become a movie one day. That’s Spindown.
Visually striking, the novel drops you right into the action from the first page, dripping with images of a future on the largest moon of Jupiter where clones are created to function their entire existence as slaves on a mining outpost. The writing style reminds me of Robert A. Heinlein (author of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) and Gershom Reese Wetzel (author of Teres, which is unfortunately not available for the public yet); and the story reminds me of some of the more futuristic sides of Doctor Who (episodes like The Rebel Flesh, and such).
Always a sucker for dystopian societies, I love the premise and the journey these characters have from mindless machine-like worker bees to passionate beings with more than a vague idea of what is means to be “dormant dead” and no Hemlo to suppress emotions.
I had the pleasure of meeting George Wright Padgett at Comicpalooza this year. His publisher, Grey Gecko Press, had a booth there. In all the hoopla la and excitement, he had a personality that stood out in a crowd and after gathering some information on his book, I was able to set up signings with him at Half Price Books.
The signing at the Humble location was a blast. Grey Gecko Press brought a banner to put up in the store which looked pretty stellar, the book trailer was running on a flat screen in the background, and we had cupcakes from The Martin Epicurean. Pulling off fun events in a bookstore has just as much to do with planning and organization as personality and conversation with the author themselves. Padgett is quite entertaining and could be an event in himself with or without the book!
Here is a little anecdote he shared on facebook from Comicpalooza:
So this past weekend at the convention, I was approached by a guy who said his name was Tom Padgett and that his son’s name was Tommy Padgett. He told me that he saw the banner (pictured) that bore his last name, and was thrilled to see another ‘Padgett’ as the author. I don’t know if he (or Tommy) even cares for the sci-fi genre, but he bought a book simply on the sir name.So here’s my strategy for my next three projects: Each novel will be released under a different pseudonym in hopes of securing higher sales from the consumers that buy books based on their own last names. Be sure to tell your friends, family, and co-workers to be on the lookout for new books from ‘George Smith’, ‘George Davis’, and ‘George Johnson’. We’re gonna sell millions now that we’ve got this figured out!
Happy Fourth of July
The Half Price Books Humble book club read John Adams by David McCullough this month. We discussed it together Monday night, even though I had only read the first 400 pages. The best thing about holidays, for me, though is their ability to mandate what gets read off the TBR pile next. So this week, as I researched for book club, lounged with family, watched fireworks, and read to the kiddo… this is what freedom looked like:
Title: John Adams
Author: David McCullough
Genre: History
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Length: 751 pages
1001 and one things to discuss about this book, and we mostly got caught up in the assessment of the character of John Adams. Was he an ambitious man willing to run off from the family and farm at a moments notice to pursue more exciting ventures of fame? Or, was he a great man of virtue who was gifted with the sight of the big picture, willing to sacrifice personal happiness for the greater good of the establishment of our country? Before reading the book, considering my skepticism regarding ALL politicians, I probably would have said the former. But McCullough has me convinced it was the latter that held true.
Of course, I am biased, mostly by the sheer fact that Adams was a great reader. Nothing romanticizes a person more to me than their love for a good book, for the art of research, and for a passion for knowledge and action. Several times throughout the biography, Adams is quoted saying such excellent things as,
“I must judge for myself, but how can any man judge, unless his mind has been opened by reading.”
Where others in the group found him willing to cast aside his wife and children for politics, I found him endearing. He wrote to his wife avidly. He and Abigail would often refer to each other as ‘dearest friend,’ and their relationship seemed to be what kept him grounded and successful. In addition to that, it also seemed that any chance he had to take his children with him, he did. Off sailing across the pond to Europe, the boys equipped with an educated father and a personal tutor, they got first hand experience seeing how nations make peace and build relationships. Sure, Adams renounced his son Charles later in life and that relationship was never rebuilt before Charles’ death, but in my opinion Charles did not deserve anymore second chances. Charles, the favorite as a child, turned out to be the bad seed in the bunch – possibly spoiled by being the favorite to so many – as he turned to alcoholism and abandoned his family. It was John and Abigail who raised his children and looked after his wife, leaving their own son to his own devices as they tried to do right by all his mistakes.
John Adams was quite the fascinating man, one I have, until now, always overlooked in history. Having shared a birthday with George Washington my whole life, he always got my ‘favorite’ vote as a child. As an adult, the Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaoron Burr phenomena fascinated me – mostly driven by that infamous ‘Got Milk’ ad as well as Joseph Ellis’ riveting storytelling in Founding Brothers
With all this important political talk, I found it necessary to re-read the Declaration. With toddler in tow for nearly all my reading ventures, it’s important to find kid friendly things to read alongside all my own reading. That’s where Sam Fink comes in handy…
Title: The Declaration of Independence
Illustrated & Inscribed: Sam Fink
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Length: 160 pages (but only takes about 15 minutes to read aloud)
I absolutely adore this copy of the Declaration of Independence. As a homeschool mom, I love creating my own curriculum and finding unique ways to share information with my kid. Kiddos everywhere, whether homeschooled or public schooled, should find this a fun way to absorb the meaning behind the declaration and be introduced to the ideas of why it was so important for it to be made and signed.
With large print, clear illustrations, and political cartoons to accompany nearly every sentence – if not sentence fragment – Fink helps walk a kid (and even some adults) through every nuance of our founding fathers’ meaning and intention. If read often enough, you may find you have a kid who has memorized the declaration long before they are ever asked to do so for school purposes. This is just a good old fashioned fun picture book that just so happens to also be an important document to our country’s history. Sam Fink is pretty awesome and I am so glad he tackled this project.
In addition to all that,
Title: George III
Author: Christopher Hibbert
I’ve been plucking through a biography of King George III for awhile now. It’s been loitering on my TBR pile and periodically I get the bug to read a chapter or two.
I am no where near finished reading this book, Hibbert is very detailed but also very dry as a biographer, but I find it a handy reference and do look forward to the times that I decide to sit down with it.
I like having large sweeping views of history as well as the tiny details. Reading through John Adams and peeking here and there at George III this week, I was grateful to have already tackled Napoleon’s Wars recently. It helped me keep straight in my mind what was happening with the French while a few of the Adamses friends were busy getting beheaded. Another handy tool for both children and adults while reading through history is The Time Chart of History of the World
If I Were a Frog… or a puppy…
A Weekly Low Down on Kids Books
Title: If I Were a Frog
Author: Duncan Jones
If I Were a Frog is cute and clever. A detailed journey of constantly trying to see the world as another animal who is wishing to be another animal, Jones teaches children the concept that the grass may seem greener on the other side but only because you’re seeing it from far away – up close it’s still just grass.
The kids at the Half Price Books Humble story time really enjoyed this one. They caught on really quickly that the animal in the background was soon to be the featured subject and they couldn’t wait to find out about the the Lion King and the Bear.
I’m proud to have this as a part of my child’s library. She already picks it up from the stack and asks to have it read. We cheated and have been reading it every day this week before story time, even though the author specifically sent it for us to read AT story time… it was too good to resist.
Title: Tell Me How You Say Goodnight
Author: Teddy O’Malley
Photographer: Angie Dickens
This was another we received from the author this last week to read at Half Price Books Humble story time. The kids could not stop gushing about puppies and how cute they were. Obviously, using puppies to get a kid to go to sleep while teaching them how to say goodnight in languages around the world was a good call!
Kids love practicing saying new words and phrases just as much as they love playing with tiny puppies and snuggling things that are soft. What a cool way to document the lives of a litter of puppies! Have them be household names and teachers to children around the world.
I find it is the simplest books that are the most appealing to kids. My kiddo sees me flipping through ‘the puppy book’ and immediately dictates: Read it again, read it again!
Lost in Morton
Title: The Distant Hours
Author: Kate Morton
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Length: 562 pages
Kate Morton writes my favorite general fiction sub-genre. Did you grow up reading Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and the Mysteries of Udolpho? Just before your reading level allowed the immersion into those worlds were you held captive by The Secret Garden, gothic ghost stories, and possibly some Anne Shirley who was a hopeless book-nerd and romantic? Kate Morton writes these tales, all grown up and contemporary. And they put me out of commission from line one until completion.
I have loved every story I’ve read by Morton. They are each one incredible and amazing, riveting and beautiful.
The Distant Hours was no different.
Except I figured it out far too soon.
I spread a lot of work out by authors to keep this from happening. I have a rule about Morton, that I must give at least a 12 month break between books (which works out well because she takes just the right amount of time to write them and makes this not only possible but necessary). This rule also keeps my husband sane, as I get completely lost in Morton and am completely gone from this world until her stories have ended; and even when they end, I have a nostalgic resignation that is hard to kick.
Morton’s layers are deep and onion-like, piece after piece of the puzzle is laid out for you over the course of the book. Always leading up to the moment when you are presented with the facts of the matter, revealed to you with a shudder of lovely understanding of everything all at once.
But I figured out The Distant Hours too soon, I think around the the two hundred page mark or so rather than the typical five hundred mark. Of course, I still had to read every word after my realization to be sure I was correct. I half expected her to shake me up a bit, and she tried! But in the end, I was right!
I still LOVED this book. It is highly recommended to any gothic loving book fiend, or even World War II reader… if you love castles, are a British bibliophile, or just plain love a good story about people. I recommend ALL Kate Morton books. If I could write half as well, I’d consider myself a success!
I just also had to note that this being the third book I’ve read by her, I felt like I figured her out. Still, looking forward to The Secret Keeper.
Anakalian Whims 