Friday, June 29, 2012

Saturday Snapshot- Races for Kids

Our local running organization puts on six kids races over the course of the spring and summer.  These are free events for children from age 3 to 14.  They compete based on their age with a different distance for each group.  Our three year old runs 1/8 of a mile.  This is him after his race.  He is the least excited about running.

Our five year old loves it but looks so serious the whole time.  This is him coming into the chute after running 1/4 mile.

Our eight year old has to run a 1/2 mile and gets really excited before hand.  This is her (the second one from the right) coming into the chute.

She ran it in a little less than this as I took her picture, then turned to take a picture of the clock.

And this is my oldest finsihing his mile run.

He managed to cut 45 seconds off his time from the first race to the second one.

Upon completion they each get a finshers ribbon.  He is holding it backwards, but it is a nice touch for the kids to all get something whether they were first, last or somewhere in teh middle.

This meme is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

In this irresistible memoir, the New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Anna Quindlen writes about looking back and ahead—and celebrating it all—as she considers marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, faith, loss, all the stuff in our closets, and more.

As she did in her beloved New York Times columns, and in A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Quindlen says for us here what we may wish we could have said ourselves. Using her past, present, and future to explore what matters most to women at different ages, Quindlen talks about

Marriage: “A safety net of small white lies can be the bedrock of a successful marriage. You wouldn’t believe how cheaply I can do a kitchen renovation.”

Girlfriends: “Ask any woman how she makes it through the day, and she may mention her calendar, her to-do lists, her babysitter. But if you push her on how she really makes it through her day, she will mention her girlfriends. Sometimes I will see a photo of an actress in an unflattering dress or a blouse too young for her or with a heavy-handed makeup job, and I mutter, ‘She must not have any girlfriends.’ ”

Stuff: “Here’s what it comes down to, really: there is now so much stuff in my head, so many years, so many memories, that it’s taken the place of primacy away from the things in the bedrooms, on the porch. My doctor says that, contrary to conventional wisdom, she doesn’t believe our memories flag because of a drop in estrogen but because of how crowded it is in the drawers of our minds. Between the stuff at work and the stuff at home, the appointments and the news and the gossip and the rest, the past and the present and the plans for the future, the filing cabinets in our heads are not only full, they’re overflowing.”

Our bodies: “I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and in the years to come. It’s like a car, and while I like a red convertible or even a Bentley as well as the next person, what I really need are four tires and an engine.”

Parenting: “Being a parent is not transactional. We do not get what we give. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward endeavor: We are good parents not so they will be loving enough to stay with us but so they will be strong enough to leave us.”

From childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age, Quindlen uses the events of her own life to illuminate our own. Along with the downsides of age, she says, can come wisdom, a perspective on life that makes it satisfying and even joyful. Candid, funny, moving, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake is filled with the sharp insights and revealing observations that have long confirmed Quindlen’s status as America’s laureate of real life.

My thoughts:

My thoughts:

I listened to this book a month or so ago and somehow missed it on my last list of books to review. I was reminded of it when I read a review on someone else's blog last week. I really enjoy memoirs like this one, women sharing what they have learned from their past in funny and relatable ways. All of the excerpts above resonated with me, especially the one about how our minds are so full that we have trouble remembering new things. I feel like every day I am trying to keep track of so many things that I am often forgetting important deadlines.

Another chapter that made me feel better about some of my recent choices was when Quindlen talked about not enrolling her three children in too many sports activities. Instead of feeling guilty, as I sometimes do when I skip signing one or more of my children up for something like that, she states that she had three children so they could play with each other and she could get some time to herself. It can be overwhelming to drag one or more kid all over town to practice for and play a sport when they seem to get so little out of it in the long run. They enjoy it, but might have enjoyed just as much playing at the park or in the back yard or riding their bike up and down the block, I feel so much pressure to enroll my children in activities but I don't always think the time and energy I have to put into getting them there and fed beforehand and homework done is really worth it. If they find something they love and are passionate about then of course I will support them, but so far I haven’t seen that. When my daughter decided last year, after four prior years of lessons, that she did not want to take dance lessons any more I was at first sad, then I thought about the hour a week we all spent in the waiting room and the month fee and the costume and tights and recital, and I actually felt relieved.

I like no nonsense reflections that affirm life as we live it.

Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781400069347
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 4/24/2012
  • Pages: 208

Meet the Author

Anna Quindlen
Anna Quindlen
Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear. She is the author of six novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, and Every Last One.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction….
Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life. Julia—whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.
Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he's hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about.
Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?
Five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them.
One of Library Journal's Best Women’s Fiction Books of 2011

My thoughts:
This was my ipod audio last week that I listened to while running and cleaning.  I have to admit that, prior to borrowing this from the library, I had never heard of Mary Kay Andrews.  At the end of the book there is a short interview between the author and the reader of the book and I was surprised to find out that this is her seventeenth book!  I really enjoyed it so I guess I will have to look for some more of her books soon.

These three best friends impulsively decided tospend a month at the beach together when they are at a funeral for one of their mothers.  Initially one husband and one sister and were supposed to join then, but that didn't happen.  After a bit of a rocky start, including the fact that the home they have rented is in much worse shape than they were led to believe, they settle in to enjoy their time at the beach and with each other.  As becomes clear, they are all at a crossroads of some sort in their own lives which become easier when they are willing to share the load with each other.  Some parts of the book were easy to predict, like the romance between Ellis and Ty and Dorie's invitation to a strange woman to share the home with them, but it was such an enjoyable story that I just didn't care if parts were formulaic.

This is the perfect summer book, especially if you are already on the beach, so you can read about them being at the beach and feel it at the same time! 

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781429987059
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • Publication date: 6/7/2011
  • Sold by: ST MARTINS / MPS
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 400

Meet the Author

Mary Kay Andrews
Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews is the New York Times bestselling author of The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former journalist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

Percy is confused. When he awoke after his long sleep, he didn’t know much more than his name. His brain-fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight. Somehow Percy managed to make it to the camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he had to continually kill monsters that, annoyingly, would not stay dead. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with him.

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn’t do a very good job of it. When the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her “gift” for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn’t say no. Now, because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother claims he is descended from ancient heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn’t see it. He doesn’t even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery—although not good enough to help the Fifth Cohort win at war games. His big and bulky physique makes him feel like a clumsy ox, especially in front of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely—enough, even, to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Beginning at the “other” camp for half-bloods and extending as far north as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment in the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all of whom are destined to play a part in the most important quest of all: the Prophecy of Seven.

My thoughts:
I am enjoying this new series.  I like that it is taking the characters from the Percy Jackson series and adding in new elements to keep it fun and exciting.  It  has kept the books from getting stale or feeling like the characters are doing the same thing again.

In book one Jason woke up with no real memory of who he is and where he was before being on a  class field trip.  Anabeth comes and take him, along with Piper and Leo, back to Camp Half Blood.  This time it is Percy who wakes up and find his way to Camp Jupiter, the camp for the Roman Demigods.  He is continually thrown by things being not as he thinks they should be.  Fawns as lazy beggars and Centaurs fighting for the enemy.  All campers, regardless of parentage rooming and fighting together in cohorts.  The problem is he can't remember why these things don't seem right.

Jason, Hazel and Frank go on a quest to Alaska to look for the Golden Eagle that was lost decades ago in a different quest.  But since death is being held captive, no one they kill stays dead, monsters and demigod alike, which makes it especially hard to get away from anyone or anything.  Along the way they meet Iris, Amazon's who work for Amazon.com in a plot to take over the world, giants, monsters and ghosts.  The three have to learn to trust each other with their pasts so they can move forward and work as a unit.

The flashbacks are well done and the narrator does a great job with the voices.  I think he is the same one who did the other five Percy Jackson audio books as well.  Book three does not come out until fall, but all of my children can't wait to see what happens on the next quest in the Prophesy of Seven.


Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781423140597
  • Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
  • Publication date: 10/4/2011
  • Pages: 544
  • Sales rank: 183
  • Age range: 9 - 11 Years

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

First Frost by Jennifer Estep

Book Description


July 1, 2011

I am Gwen Frost, and I have a Gypsy gift. It’s called psychometry – that’s a fancy way of saying that I see images in my head and get flashes of other people’s memories off almost everything I touch, even guys. My gift makes me kind of nosy. Okay, okay, maybe a lot nosy—to the point of obsession sometimes. I want to know everything about everyone around me. But even I don’t want to know the secrets my friend Paige is hiding or the terrible loss that will send me to a new school – Mythos Academy, where the teachers aren’t preparing us for the SATs, but to battle Reapers of Chaos. Now I have no friends and no idea how my gift fits in with all these warrior whiz kids. The only thing I do know is that my life is never, ever going to be the same...



Touch of Frost is an intriguing start to an exciting new series!”
—Award-winning author Jeri Smith-Ready
11,000 Words

My thoughts:
I read this book in October, but then got sidetracked before reading more in the series.  I reviewed it at the time but then I was afraid that I had forgotten some of the details so I just reread it since it was pretty short. 

I do this a lot and then find out that I really do remember what had happened and feel a little silly about rereading in the first place, but it is nice to get back into the world of the characters and know that you aren't missing out on any details.

It will be interesting to see where the story line goes with the gods and monsters.  I am listening to Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan in the car so I am already immersed in a story about gods, it will be neat getting another authors take as most of the ones I've read have been by Riordan.  If you want a fuller review click on the link above and it will take you to some deeper thoughts from the fall!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

It's Monday, What are you reading?

Last week if felt so good to get caught up on the reviews for books I had read in the previous months.  I wrote them and scheduled them so that they were set to go one a day and then I knew I had a cushion built in in case I got busy again and didn't get around to writing them again which, managed to happen again.  I thought that now that it was summer and I didn't have to go to work every week I would manage to have more time, but keeping up with  my kids keeps me pretty busy so that hasn't exactly been the case!  Thank goodness for audio books or I wouldn't be getting much reading in still!


Finished this week:
Son of Neptune by Rich Riordan
Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews
Throwaway by Heather Huffman
Undead and Unstable by MaryJanice Davidson
Christmas Wedding by James Paterson (audio)

Some reviews I plan for this week are:
First Frost by Jennifer Estep
Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Son of Neptune by Rich Riordan
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

Still working on:
Marathon: You Can Do It! by Jeff Galoway
Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe (audio)
Inkheart by Corneila Funke (audio)

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

My thoughts:
I really wanted to like this book, everyone at work raved about it and how much they enjoyed it, but I didn't.  I had to force myself to finish it.  The first few chapters dragged and did not feel very well written.  I can see where the comparisons to Twilight came from.  Shy, pale, clumsy brunette who meets a rich, cool ,aloof, attractive man who keeps telling her that he is dangerous and she should stay away from him.  While it was graphic it was not as bad as I feared. 

How many about to graduate seniors have never had a crush on anyone or any kind of interaction with someone even if it is just a kiss or two?  She seemed too old to be so naive and inexperienced.  He seemed to young to be so rich, cool and aloof and so sure of himself.  He seemed more like a scary stalker at times and the whole contract for their relationship was off putting.

I tried to get into their story, to look past the contract and demands and see how Ana and Christian really fit together.  Were they good for each other?  Could they each get what the needed out of a relationship?  I got 64 pages into book 2 and got stalled and decided that I have given it enough of a try.  Many people told me they liked book two more and that it is different, but it wasn't grabbing me and there are so many books out there that for now I am done with this series. 

I read a really amusing review, or more of a back and forth exchange about the book at The Book Lady's Blog and she did a great job, along with her fellow reader, of putting a lot of my frustrations with the book into words.  Check out what she had to say!

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780345803481
  • Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 4/3/2012
  • Pages: 514
  • Series:Fifty Shades Trilogy , #1

Friday, June 22, 2012

Saturday Snapshot-CSA

This year we joined a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture.  Our family has been on the waiting list for a few years now and this year we got an email saying that we had the opportunity to join if we were still interested.

Each week we go to the barn on our assigned day and pick up our share of vegetables.  Some of them are in the barn with clearly marked labels of how much we can take while others are in the fields to pick for ourselves.  My children love the picking part the most.  Last week we saw a family in a buggy go by

I'll have to share some of the recipes we've tried so far.  We've made Kale Chips, Country Cabbage Soup, Amish Coleslaw, Bokchoy and more.  Not all of them have been hits with my children, but we are all being exposed to vegetables we wouldn't normally be picking up.  Honestly I'm not sure I've even seen Bokchoy at the grocery store and I've never looked for kale.

The last two weeks they have been able to pick snap peas and strawberries, most of which are gone by the time we drive home.

Later on in the summer our fruit share starts, this is just our vegetable share, so I have a feeling once we are getting more fruit they may be finding more that they like.

This is hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

My thoughts:
I loved Divergent when I read it a couple months ago and knew immediately that I wanted to read the next book in the series. It was hard to wait for.  I ordered it online, but it didn't come until the end of the week it was released and I eagerly checked the mail every day to see if it was here yet or not.  I thought for sure I had already reviewed it, but it turns out that I never did.  I have recommended it to a ton of people though!

The end of Divergent made me so worried that it was not going to work out as I hoped, not that things weren't bad at the end, but I wanted to know that at least one thing was going right and it did.  Now Tris and her small group must figure out how to clue in other people as to what is going on and get people on their side against the takeover by the Erudite faction.  This book gives you much more of a peek into what Amity is like, a faction we saw very little of in the first book.  People and groups are being forced to take side and the war has gotten just a bit more cut throat.  Tris is visited by guilt over how her parents gave their lives for her so she could continue, but at times she feels like she can't accomplish anything and should have died in their place.

The Erudite have fine tuned their mind control in a deadly, and unexpected way, and more and more Divergent citizens are found and persecuted.  How do you keep going when it seems as though everyone is against you?  How do you know right and wrong in a society in turmoil?  What if even those you think you can trust are actually working against you?  Can you trust yourself and your beliefs in the face of whole groups working against you?

It is hard at times to remember that Tris is only 16 years old and has the whole weight of society on her shoulders.  The end brings about something new to think about and I can't wait to see where Roth goes with the new information in the third book.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780062024046
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 5/1/2012
  • Pages: 544
  • Sales rank: 101
  • Age range: 14 - 17 Years
  • Series:Divergent Series , #2

Meet the Author

Veronica Roth is the New York Times bestselling author of Divergent, the first book in a trilogy that she began writing while still a college student. Now a full-time writer, Ms. Roth and her husband call the Chicago area home.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

It is November. When Meg comes home from school, Charles Wallace tells her he saw dragons in the twin’s vegetable garden. That night Meg, Calvin and C.W. go to the vegetable garden to meet the Teacher (Blajeny) who explains that what they are seeing isn’t a dragon at all, but a cherubim named Proginoskes. It turns out that C.W. is ill and that Blajeny and Proginoskes are there to make him well – by making him well, they will keep the balance of the universe in check and save it from the evil Echthros.
Meg, Calvin and Mr. Jenkins (grade school principal) must travel inside C.W. to have this battle and save Charles’ life as well as the balance of the universe.
With Meg Murry's help, the dragons her six-year-old brother saw in the vegetable garden play an important part in his struggle between life and death.

My thoughts:
This book is the one that provided me with a lot to think about in elementary school.  It inspired a lot of drawings I did and thoughts about whether or not we are just on a small part of some even bigger being, that our solar system is really just part of a larger organism and such.  Once again the narrator was L'Engle herself.  I still think another reader might have done a better job which is so contrary to my usual thoughts that the author often does the best job.  I guess I feel that way more with memoirs and autobiography than works of fiction.

Again, my children really seemed to enjoy the journey with the characters and their trip inside of Charles Wallace to find out what was going wrong with his Mitochondria and Frandiali(sp?).  I love how their imaginations can grasp things that are so complicated on the surface.  Lately I am seeing my children picking up books more and more often when they have free time and I love to see how they are becoming such voratious readers.  Even my three-year-old takes a book to bed to "read".

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780312368548
  • Publisher: Square Fish
  • Publication date: 5/1/2007
  • Pages: 224
  • Age range: 11 - 15 Years
  • Series:Time Quintet Series , #2

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."
A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
A Wrinkle in Time is the winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal.
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

My thoughts:
I loved this book in fourth grade when I read it. It really grabbed my imagination so I couldn't wait to share it with my own children.  This audio book was read by the author, which I usually really like, but this time I didn't.  L'Engle just didn't bring it to life the same way as I recall it when I read it on my own.  At first I thought it was because I am now an adult and am seeing and experiencing it from a different point in my life, but my husbands comment was that the her voice was grating(it was) and that she sometimes mispronounced words (which I had noticed as well).  I worried the whole time that the audio version as going to ruin it for my children, but they really got into it and seemed to enjoy it.  We found a movie version on Netflix, but only my oldest sat through it.  They watched in later in the day after my husband and I had run our first half marathon, so we weren't really in the right frame of mind to watch it with them.  We both kind of wanted to sit and relax after the experience.

Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin O'Keefe and Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Which go on an adventure through a wrinkle in time to save Mr. Murry.  I think L'Engle's reading made Meg seem whinier than I recall her and made her character less likable, but I can see that my older children asking to pick up the copy of the book that we own and reading it on their own.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780312367541
  • Publisher: Square Fish
  • Publication date: 5/1/2007
  • Pages: 245
  • Age range: 11 - 15 Years
  • Series:Time Quintet Series , #1


Meet the Author

Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007) was born in New York City and attended Smith College. She wrote more than 60 books, the most famous of which is A Wrinkle In Time (1962), winner of the Newbery Award in 1963. L’Engle continued the story of the Murry family from A Wrinkle In Time with seven other novels (five of which are available as A Wrinkle In Time Quintent from Square Fish). She also wrote the famous series featuring the Austin family, beginning with the novel Meet The Austins (1960). L’Engle revisited the Austins four more times over the next three decades, concluding with Troubling a Star in 1994. The story of the Austins had some autobiographical elements, mirroring Madeleine’s life and the life of her family. Madeleine L’Engle’s last book, The Joys of Love, is a romantic, coming-of-age story she wrote back in the 1940s, and is being published by FSG.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express by Megan McDonald

Overview from Barnes and Nob;e:

Nearly 600,000 Stink books in print
When three guinea pigs from the local pet shop make a great escape, Stink Moody and his friends Webster and Sophie spring into action. Ta-da! The Fantastic Fur Friends round up the little hairballs and bring them safely back to Mrs. Birdwistle’s shop, where they discover — oohla- la! — guinea pig pandemonium! Time for the Great Guinea Pig Giveaway! Stink and company hit the road aboard the Squeals on Wheels Express in a crazy quest to find good homes for 101 squealing, whistling, chirping, wiggly piggies. FUR-eaky!

My thoughts:
Pets are another big obsession with children.  My kids keep asking when we are getting a dog or cat which leads to requests for smaller pets.  Stink and his friends are no exception.  They love the pet store and can't wait to help Mrs. Birdwhistle find homes for all the guinea pigs she has taken in to save them from being experimented on.  Stink even picks out one he really wants to keep as his own.  Using an old RV the gang drives around trying to give away as many of the 101 pigs as they can.  Pet ownership  is more than just wanting an animal and loving it, but taking care of all the other needs.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763642341
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 2/10/2009
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 144
  • Age range: 5 - 8 Years
  • Series:Stink Series , #4

Stink and the World's Worst Super Smelly Sneakers by Megan McDonald

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

"Stink is a delightful protagonist, and McDonald cleverly imparts information on smells. . . . A funny book for almost any collection." — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
When Stink Moody’s second-grade class goes on a field trip to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum, he learns that his very own nose has amazing sniffing abilities — and that some people have real jobs sniffing stuff for NASA! Soon Stink is engrossed in toilet water, corpse flowers, and all things smelly. But is his fetid footwear foul enough to win a Golden Clothespin Award? Loyal fans will be holding their breath for Stink’s latest outrageous solo adventure.

My thoughts:
What kid isn't obsessed with smells, both finding them and making them?  This book capitalizes on that interest and makes having smelly sneakers funny and even desirable.  For some reason the whole sneaker thing kept making me think of the book Holes even though this one has absolutely nothing to do with that one.  Stink finds out that his ability to use his nose could lead to a career in the future.  Understandably, the rest of his family, and especially his sister Judy are less inclined to view his smell obsession in a positive light.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763636692
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 2/12/2008
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 144
  • Age range: 6 - 9 Years
  • Series:Stink Series , #3

Stink: Solar System Super Hero by Megan McDonald

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

Save the planet . . . Pluto! Stink Moody, wise-cracking champion of everything small, is on a new mission: to reinstate his favorite celestial orb.
Look! Up in the sky! Is it a falling leaf ?
A speck of dust? A speeding mosquito?
No, it’s Stink Moody, Solar System Superhero!
When Stink learns that Pluto has flunked out of the Milky Way for being too shrimpy, he feels like he might just explode with a Big Bang. Stink has no choice but to take a stand for the sake of little planets (and little people) everywhere. Will he be smart enough to defeat a panel of big-shot scientists? Will he be strong enough to beat know-it-all Riley Rottenberger and her "Team KPB"? Will he succeed in rescuing Pluto from a fate worse than being swallowed by a black hole? Start the countdown for a funny (and very informative) out-of-this-world adventure—and prepare to have your universe rocked!

My thoughts:
The debate about Pluto is still fairly recent.  When I was in the classroom prior to my children being born, when we taught he solar system Pluto was still a planet.  Fast forward some years (no need to count them all) and now it is not.  Depending what book you are reading, not everything has been updated so this can be a confusing issue to a child.  How can a planet no longer be a planet?  Does that mean that things I think are true today might tomorrow be proved wrong?  If even big things can change what does that mean for the small things in my life?

Stink is small so he is the champion of small things.  He works as a team with his friends to come up with a compelling presentation about Pluto being a planet and Riley works against him.  In doing so they both learn things about being a team and about being willing to compromise.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763643522
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 2/8/2011
  • Pages: 144
  • Age range: 6 - 9 Years                         
  • Series:Stink Series , #5

Stink and the Super-Galactic Jaw Breaker by Megan McDonald

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

"Like big sister Judy, Stink sports a talent for self-expression. . . . The quick-witted dialogue will keep readers entertained." — BOOKLIST
When Stink buys a huge jawbreaker that doesn’t break his jaw, he writes to the manufacturer — and receives 21,280 jawbreakers for his trouble! Soon he’s so obsessed with getting free stuff that he misses an envelope in the mail pile, until his best friend starts looking as mad as a hornet. Thirty-six idioms are sprinkled through the story, inspiring a search that’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

My thoughts:
Judy Moody's little brother Stink is a character all right, voiced by the same woman who does Bart Simpson's voice for the television series The Simpsons, Stink says and does some of the silliest things.  He buys a huge jaw breaker that, of course, does not break his jaw.  When he writes to complain he gets free gumballs.  That starts his obsession with getting things for free.  The problem is he gets so focused on the free items and the letters that he misses something very important for his best friend, Webster.  A lesson about seeing what is really important is embedded in this funny little story.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763632366
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 2/13/2007
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 144
  • Age range: 6 - 8 Years
  • Series:Stink Series , #2

Sunday, June 17, 2012

It's Monday, What are you reading?

Last week I took the time to sit down and catch up on reviews.  All the books that were awaiting review as of my last few postings have been written.  They are scheduled over the next week or so.  I know they didn't have to be written, but it sure is a nice feeling to know that they are off of the to do list!  To see the overwhelming list you can look at my last post

The books I finished last week are:
First Frost by Jennifer Estep
Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

Books I am still working on are:
Son of Neptune by Rich Riordan
Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews
Marathon:  You Can Do It! by Jeff Galoway

This is hosted by Shelia at Book Journey.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

Doomed to—or blessed with—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing older.

My thoughts:
This is a book I loved as a child, so I decided to share it with my own children as an audio book from the library that we listened to in the car.  I have not read it in years, so I had forgotten that Winnie is only ten in the book.  After seeing the movie I thought she was older as the actress who played her role was older than that in the film.

It can seem so wonderful to have the chance to live forever, to have all the time in the world to do whatever it is you might want.  To never run out of the precious commodity that money cannot buy, but there is the flip side.  The Tuck family drink from the spring by accident and don't find out until years later what the water has done to them.  They have to watch their friends and neighbors and loved ones start to grow old and start to grow suspicious about why they are not aging.  They can never stay in one place too long.  I wonder what will become of them as cities grow larger, people carry identification with them and they have more chances of finding themselves in pictures or video images.  But the setting for this novel is back when most people traveled by horse and wagon, so that was just me wondering.

Winnie's accidental encounter with the Tuck family has far reaching consequences fro them.  She doesn't do any of it in any sense of malice towards them, just curiosity of a sheltered ten-year-old girl who has never been given much in the way of freedom.  When we were listening to this i thought it was funny that the two brothers were Miles and Jesse as I had both a Miles and a Jesse in my preschool class this year.  As my two students both had blond hair I had a hard time seeing the brothers with dark hair as they are described int eh book.

Is the chance to live forever a blessing or a curse, would you choose to do so if you could?  What are the good things about it and what are the bad?  These questions sparked some fun conversations in our car at the conclusion of the story.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780312369811
  • Publisher: CENGAGE Learning
  • Publication date: 8/21/2007
  • Edition description: Reissue
  • Pages: 144
  • Sales rank: 1,441
  • Age range: 8 - 12 Years


Meet the Author

A gifted artist and writer, Natalie Babbitt is the award-winning author of the modern classic Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Kneeknock Rise and many other brilliantly original books for young people. She began her career in 1966 as the illustrator of The Forty-ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband. When her husband became a college president and no longer had time to collaborate, Babbitt tried her hand at writing. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with profound meaning. Kneeknock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor Medal, and in 2002, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into a major motion picture. Natalie Babbitt lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a grandmother of three.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Saturday Snapshot- First Days of Summer

Summer vacation started at noon on Tuesday and my kids wanted to go to the pool, but it was raining.  Wednesday was too cold so we went to a matinee at the second run theater, but Thursday we went.  It was still kind of cool, but the pool was pretty empty.

We were without the car for the day so we walked over.  On our way we saw sights we would have missed had we driven, like a dead bird on the Pub porch and minnows in the creek.

I can't wait to settle into summer and our routine of regular pool visits.

This is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

Judy Moody Goes to College (Judy Moody Series #8) by Megan McDonald

Overview from Barnes and Noble:


Judy Moody is in a mood. Not a good mood. And definitely NOT a math mood. The substitute teacher in Class 3T thinks Judy's math skills need improving. So Judy has to start meeting with a math tutor. Does this mean flash cards? Does this mean baby games? Does this mean school on weekends? But when Judy meets her tutor — a sick-awesome college student with an uber-funky sense of style — and gets a glimpse of college life, Judy's bad math-i-tude turns into a radical glad-i-tude. Pretty soon, Judy's not only acing her math class; she's owning it. Time to say good-bye to Judy Moody, old skool third-grader, and say hello to Miss College! Small-tall upside-down backward non-fat capp with extra whip, anyone?

My thoughts:
It is hard for a student to hear that he or she needs extra help, it can really sap their self confidence and make them feel like everyone is better than they are and that they are stupid, so this is a great book for a student who might be struggling a little bit with something.  Not all students grasp concepts at the same rate or learn at the same speed, which in this time of no child left behind and benchmarks that are supposed to be achieved within six week time frames, can make children feel bad about themselves.  I like how McDonald turned needing a tutor into a positive rather than a negative thing and showed how sometimes, we just need to see something a different way to gain an understanding of the concept.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763648558
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 1/26/2010
  • Pages: 160
  • Sales rank: 46,879
  • Age range: 6 - 10 Years
  • Series:Judy Moody Series , #8

Judy Moody, M. D.: The Doctor is In! (Judy Moody Series #5)

Overview by Barnes and Noble:

Reissued in a way-cool paperback design
She took her own temperature. With the fancy thermometer that beeped. It was not normal. It was not 98.6. Judy's temperature was 188.8! Judy's temperature was 00.0! Judy's temperature was beep-beep-beep-beep-beep. She, Judy Moody, had the temperature of an outer-space alien!
Judy Moody has a mood for every occasion, and now, she, Judy Moody, is in a medical mood! It's no secret that Judy wants to be like Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman doctor, when she grows up. So when Class 3T starts to study the Amazing Human Body, Judy can hardly wait to begin her better-than-best-ever third-grade projects: show-and-tell with something way rarer than a scab, a real-live ooey-gooey operation, and a cloning experiment that may create double trouble for Judy and her friends. RARE!

My thoughts:
Judy is a fun character to read about, she is so full of life and strange ideas.  From thinking they can clone the guinea pigs with a dish and some hair, to stealing something from Stink for show and tell and wanting to cut open Toady to find out how he worked she was always getting into something.  I liked that her hero is the first woman doctor too.  It is nice that our children are growing up knowing that there are plenty of male and female doctors now, but to know that someone at some time felt strongly enough to fight to make this possible is important for them to know.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763648619
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 1/26/2010
  • Pages: 176
  • Sales rank: 60,806
  • Age range: 6 - 10 Years
  • Series:Judy Moody Series , #5

Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

Reissued in a way-cool paperback design
Judy Moody did not set out to save the world.
She set out to win a contest. A Band-Aid contest.
It all started with the Crazy-Strip contest - and the dream that she, Judy Moody, might one day see her very own adhesive-bandage design covering the scraped knees of thousands. But when her "Heal the World" motif merits only an honorable mention, Judy Moody realizes it’s time to set her sights on something bigger. Class 3T is studying the environment, and Judy is amazed to learn about the destruction of the rain forest, the endangered species (not) in her own backyard, and her own family’s crummy recycling habits. Now she’s in a mood to whip the planet into shape - or her name isn’t Judy Monarch Moody!
When Judy Moody gets serious about protecting the environment, her little brother Stink thinks she is overdoing it, but she manages to inspire her third grade class to undertake an award-winning, environment-saving project.

My thoughts:
It was nice to see characters thinking about doing better for the environment, even if Judy went about some of her schemes in rather odd ways.  Insisting that her mother stop using lipstick and her father stop drinking coffee and her classmates stop using pencils with wood from the rain forest.  But it was a good issue to bring up with children about how little things we do can make a difference farther reaching their our own homes and communities and it made my children laugh along the way.  All very worthwhile.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763648596
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 1/26/2010
  • Pages: 160
  • Sales rank: 42,835
  • Age range: 6 - 10 Years
  • Series:Judy Moody Series , #3


Meet the Author

Megan McDonald
Megan McDonald
Megan McDonald is the creator of the popular and award-winning Judy Moody and Stink series. She is also the author of two Sisters Club stories and many other books for children. She lives in Sebastopol, California.
Peter H. Reynolds is the illustrator of the Judy Moody and Stink books and the author-illustrator of THE DOT, ISH, SO FEW OF ME, THE NORTH STAR, and ROSE'S GARDEN. He lives in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

The dynamite blockbuster that started it all—now a major motion picture starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum!
ONE FINE MESS
Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash—fast—but times are tough, and soon she’s forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family...
ONE FALSE MOVE
Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie’s bail bonding company. She’s got no experience. But that doesn’t matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants, to the time Steph hit him with her father’s Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water—wanted for murder...
ONE FOR THE MONEY
Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn’t. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she’ll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight—and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man...

My thoughts:
I read this book years ago and have worked my way through all the current numbers.  I always enjoy spending time with Stephanie Plum and her brand of wackiness.  her ineptitude fro actually catching her skips, her attraction to two different men, her penchant for having cars in her possession explode.  When I read Explosive Eighteen this summer, the series was starting to feel a little tired to me.  I want Stephanie to choose between Morelli and Ranger, how long are both men going to be willing to hang around while she jumps in between?  With this in mind I decided to go back to the beginning to see what it was like in book one.  I also have a rule for my children that I decided to keep for myself that, if I wanted to see the movie, I needed to read the book again.  Yes, I had already read it and when I read the book too close to the movie I tend to not like the movie as much, but I wanted to read it as it was before seeing the film version.  I guess now it is time to go out and rent it so I can see how it holds up to the book.

Stephanie is down on her luck, she has been pawning any item of value she has to have enough money to keep moving forward.  She no longer has a TV or much in the way of furniture.  Her refrigerater rarely holds any food.  She lost her job as a lingerie buyer months ago and has been looking for something else to do.  When she hears that her cousin Vinny, the bail bondsman, has a filing job she goes to inquire.  Turns out the job has been filled, but if she can bring in Joe Morelli, neighborhood bad boy turned cop, she can get $10,000.  Of course, Stephanie has no idea what she is doing.  Even with help from Ranger, a real bond enforcer, and tips from other cops, she seems to always be chasing her tail in circles. 

With a crazy boxer threatening her, missing witnesses, drugs going crazy in Trenton and more Stephanie ends up working with Morelli to get everything sorted out.  I have to say I liked this first story better than the most recent one.  It was still unbelievable at times, but the characters seemed more real in their skin and the love triangle and jealousy has not even begun.  I don't know if I will continue rereading the series or not, but I enjoyed this reread.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780312600730
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • Publication date: 11/22/2011
  • Edition description: Movie Tie-In
  • Pages: 352
  • Series:Stephanie Plum Series, #1

Meet the Author

Janet  Evanovich
Janet Evanovich
Janet Evanovich is the author of the Stephanie Plum books, including Two for the Dough and Sizzling Sixteen, and the Diesel & Tucker series, including Wicked Appetite. Janet studied painting at Douglass College, but that art form never quite fit, and she soon moved on to writing stories. She didn’t have instant success: she collected a big box of rejection letters. As she puts it, “When the box was full I burned the whole damn thing, crammed myself into pantyhose and went to work for a temp agency.” But after a few months of secretarial work, she managed to sell her first novel for $2,000. She immediately quit her job and started working full-time as a writer. After 12 romance novels, she switched to mystery, and created Stephanie Plum. The rest is history. Janet’s favorite exercise is shopping, and her drug of choice is Cheeze Doodles. She and her husband live in New Hampshire, in house with a view of the Connecticut River Valley.