nothing of importance (my everyday blog)

a smattering of kid stuff...random thoughts

2008-07-25T07:57:00.013-05:00

Mr. Duey Class Dis-Missed CD.

I'm willing to bet that nearly all of my fellow 40-ish crowd remembers Schoolhouse Rock, right? Those fun educational snippets stuck in between Saturday morning cartoons. (Because much to my children's horror, that's the only time during the week that cartoons were available.) Anyway, I, for one, absolutely loved Schoolhouse Rock, and I definitely learned from the catchy little songs as well. I can still to this day recite the Preamble to the Constitution thanks to good old Schoolhouse Rock.

But why am I talking about Schoolhouse Rock when I'm supposed to be reviewing Mr. Duey Class Dis-Missed? It's just that I simply can't help but think back to good old Schoolhouse Rock, when I listen to this CD...the similarities are obvious. But then again, they are two very different creatures. Mr. Duey Class Dis-Missed is an educational CD aimed generally at the upper elementary and possibly even at the middle school set. It contains 17 songs, covering a wide range of subjects...everything from integers to adjectives to atoms to the branches of government.

Our family has listened to this CD a few times now. In general, the reviews are positive. The kids seem to enjoy it a great deal more than Rich and I do. But that's both understandable (as the musical genre is rap, a type of music neither Rich nor I enjoy) and okay (as the CD isn't aimed at adults, but at kids). And despite the fact that Rich and I don't particularly enjoy listening to it, we both definitely see its educational value. In fact, Rich even plans to play a number titled "Cells" to his non-majors biology class both for fun and because they may actually pick up something from it.

Bottom line, while this CD may not be for everyone, we definitely see its potential as a fun, educational tool, both at home and at school. Which for some of us is all the same thing. :)

*****

The Rabbit and the Snowman by Sally O. Lee.

The boys (aged 5 and 7, as most of you know) and I have some differences of opinion on this one. Gray and Max both really enjoyed this story. I, on the other hand, found it lacking that special charm I want to experience with a picture book.

It is a story of a snowman built in the woods by a bunch of children one snowy day. But the children go home at the end of the day, and never come back. The snowman can't help but wonder what is wrong with him that all his friends would desert him. Then he meets a rabbit, and the two of them become friends and enjoy one another's companionship until spring. Then, of course, the snowman melts. And the rabbit is left wondering what is wrong with him that his friend would desert him. When winter rolls around again, the snowman reappears, and he and the rabbit pick up where they left off.

This may sound a stupid thing to say, but I couldn't help but feel that this story either needed more words or fewer. There were passages that I really enjoyed, like this one:

They talked about how the snow made a crunchy sound when it was a few days old. And how the sun trickled through the trees to make streams of light.

They talked about how the birds made their nest high in the trees so that no one could find them.

They talked about how the stars lit up the sky when it was dark.

But much of the book felt quite choppy to me. It also didn't "feel right" to me how the snowman just reappeared the next winter. When I asked the boys if this bothered them, Gray replied, "Mom, haven't you ever heard of magic?!!" Guess he put me in my place, huh?

So, here we've got a story that I found lacking, but the boys enjoyed. But this isn't where our differences of opinion ended. Because I thoroughly enjoyed much of the artwork, and the boys didn't like it at all! In fact, I had to bribe Max just to get him to hold up the book so I could take this photo:

This is an example of the art that I love so much...I wish I had a print of this one to frame and hang in the boys' room. Though they don't like it, so I guess that idea's a bust anyway. :)

Bottom line, the boys (target audience) loved the story but didn't like the art. Mom not impressed with the story, but found much of the art perfectly delightful.

*****

Cat by Mike Dumbleton.

And finally, in one of those last but definitely not least situations, we have this wonderful picture book. I ordered this one on Becky's suggestion. This book was perfect for Max in so many ways, not the least of which, of course, was because it featured a cat!
The story was simple, but very cute! And it was written at the perfect level for Max to read. He hasn't picked up reading nearly as easily as his older brother and sister did, but he enjoys it very much. It's always gratifying to find a book that challenges him without frustrating him. And in addition to all that, the artwork by Craig Smith is positively wonderful!

Bottom line, this was our favorite of all three of these kid offerings! Max and I were in complete agreement that this book is a definite winner!

*****

If you have reviewed any of the above, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I will add it here. Thanks.

Bookfool at Bookfoolery and Babble (The Rabbit and the Snowman)
Mrs. S. at Blue Archipelago (The Rabbit and the Snowman)
Becky at Becky's Book Reviews (Cat)

a little bit of blame

2008-07-22T07:08:00.006-05:00

Well, here it is Tuesday already, and I haven't posted last week's point-earners.

A trip to the library netted me:

*Panic in Level 4 by Richard Preston (I've wanted to get a hold of this one since I first heard it was coming out. And it fits right in with this infectious disease kick I've been on lately.)

*Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn

*Sonny's House of Spies by George Ella Lyon (I knew I had to read this book after reading Medbie's fabulous review. In fact, I was at the library and had it in hand about an hour after reading her review! So, point for Medbie!)

And a trip to B&N sent me home with:

*The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman (I first wrote this title on my wish list back in January, when I read about it in Alice in Sunderland.)

*Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. From the sounds of it, I may be the only person unfamiliar with this book, but when I read Stephanie's beautiful review, I absolutely knew I had to have it. Of course, when I'll actually get it read it a whole separate question. Anyway, point for Stephanie!)

a pleasant surprise

2008-07-20T18:35:00.002-05:00

Yep, that's just what I got when I went to link up my review of Death: The High Cost of Living to my challenge list...because I realized that I'd actually finished a challenge! WooHoo!

Many, many, many heartfelt thanks to Dewey for hosting The Graphic Novels Challenge! This was a brand new world to me at the start of this year, but it's a world I've become quite enamored with. I feel quite confident in stating that my graphic novel reading for the year isn't over just because I completed the challenge.

*The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
*Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman
*The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
*The Books of Faerie by Bronwyn Carlton
*The Borden Tragedy by Rick Geary
*We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin

The books I read for the challenge were so varied, it's hard to even think about picking a favorite. The two that stand out the most though, would have to be The Complete Maus and Death: The High Cost of Living. I would highly recommend both of these, but they are two very different experiences.

Death: The High Cost of Living...random thoughts

2008-07-20T17:34:00.009-05:00

Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman.

I must start out by saying that I loved this book! I loved it, I loved it, I loved it!

I first heard of it when I read Nymeth's post about her favorite books. I thought it sounded wonderful, but despite the fact that she said that you didn't need to read the whole Sandman series first to enjoy and appreciate this book, I kept telling myself that I should. (Read all of The Sandman first, I mean.) That is, until I happened to see Death in the library...and then Nymeth's review started dancing around in my head and I simply couldn't resist.

I'd already met Death at the end of Preludes and Nocturnes, and was quite intrigued with her. And she only became all the more likable in this book. You really want to be her friend...she's not only incredibly sweet and down-to-earth, but owing to who she is and her circumstances, she comes off a bit crazy. And what are her circumstances? Well, once every hundred years, Death gets to take human form and come be amongst mortals as a mortal herself. And this is where we see her in this book.

The story is actually told by a teenage boy named Sexton, who happens to contemplating suicide. Not because his life is so horrible. But because it is so meaningless. Death (a.k.a. Didi, to the people she meets this day) saves Sexton when a refrigerator falls on him in the garbage dump. In so many ways, the day Sexton and Death spend together is incredibly ordinary. Getting just this one day per century as a person, Death truly appreciates the things we take for granted. Like what she has to say about eating an apple..."I said, don't apples taste great? I mean the way they taste. And the texture. And the way when you chew them they kind of crunch and the juice runs out in your mouth. Isn't it amazing?" And you know what, it is amazing...but how often do I stop and think about it that way? Sadly, not enough.

Anyway, back to their day. As I said, in many ways, their day was quite ordinary. But in others, well, definitely not. I mean how many of us have a woman claiming to be 250-years-old threaten to carve our face with a broken bottle if our friend (that would be Death, in this case) doesn't go find her heart for her?

And through this ordinary, yet so definitely not ordinary day, Sexton begins to rethink the gift that is life. Was this Death's intention all along? I'm not sure...I've been mulling this over in my mind since I finished the book yesterday, and I can't decide what I think. Maybe I don't want to make up my mind.

Anyway, in case you didn't catch it earlier...I really, really loved this book!

*****

If you've also reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I'll add it here. Thanks.

Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot
Rhinoa at Rhinoa's Ramblings

*****

Read for:

Graphic Novels Challenge.

A-Z.

Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them...random thoughts

2008-07-20T12:54:00.005-05:00

Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them by Mark Jerome Walters.

I was inspired to pick up this book at the library after reading New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers by Robert S. Desowitz. The basic theme of that book had been how we as humans were exacerbating many infectious disease problems in the world through our altering of the environment. And while I enjoyed that book, it was, at times, a bit much for a non-scientist as myself to get through. Not to mention that it was written in the 1980s. Six Modern Plagues sounded as if it might be a nice follow-up on the subject. And I'm pleased to say it was. I honestly had a hard time putting this book down...it was a truly fascinating look at the relationship between human actions and infectious disease.

From the introduction:

So closely are many new epidemics linked to ecological changes that they might rightfully be called "ecodemics."

Intensive modern agriculture, clear-cutting of forests, global climate change, decimation of many predators that once kept disease-carrying smaller animals in check, and other environmental changes have all contributed to the increase.

Each chapter focuses on a different disease, Mad Cow Disease, HIV/AIDS, Salmonella DT104, Lyme Disease, Hantavirus, and West Nile Virus. In addition, the author also talks a bit about SARS in the epilogue. He discusses in a very down-to-earth manner how these diseases have come to affect the lives of humans, as well as the reasons why we are dealing with them in the first place.

*****

If you have also reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I'll post it here. Thanks.

*****

Read for:

Non-Fiction Five '08. (substitute)

photo fun

2008-07-17T06:42:00.005-05:00

Oh how excited I was to see Medbie's post this morning! Seriously, you should pop over and see the exquisite photo she took! I just love, love, love viewing other people's photography. And I love to dream that someday when I grow up I'll be able to take gorgeous pictures myself. And no, I'm not being self-deprecating here...I just know I have a long way to go.

Anyway, I not only got to see Medbie's beautiful photo, but I learned about a photo meme, Lens Day, that I hadn't previously heard of. I used to play along with a couple other photo memes from time to time, but I really like this one, because it gives you a week to post your photo for the theme. The other one's were supposed to be posted on a certain day, and well, that's just not always feasible.

This week's theme: flower

(Taken Sunday at Tinker Nature Park.)

Becoming a Superhero...random thoughts

2008-07-15T17:18:00.005-05:00

Becoming a Superhero by William D. Smith.

I have to admit that when I read "William D. Smith tells the story of young Billy, a boy who wants to grow up to be a superhero" in the info on this book, I figured it could go either way. Of course, that's true of any book, but I really thought this one had the potential to be a real winner or a real loser. And I'm now happy to report that it definitely falls in the winner category.

It really is a delightful little book, one that both the boys and I enjoyed. Those recommended ages they slap onto books said it was for kids 8-12, but it was quite suitable for my 5- and 7-year-olds. Max wouldn't have been able to read it to himself, but it was perfect for our read-aloud.

The story is a semi-autobiographical telling of the author's life as a boy in a Pennsylvania coal town in the mid-1940s. Billy comes from a somewhat dysfunctional family, but is still surrounded by love. His constant sidekick, and oft-time nemesis, is William, his shadow.

It's a very family friendly book, and yet Billy isn't always an angelic little boy. What kid is, right? William does his darnedest to keep Billy out of trouble, but isn't terribly successful. In chapter after chapter, we get to read about the episodes that make up this 10-year-old boy's life, everything from the soapbox derby to his attempts at flying to "funeral vacations" to his first job as a paperboy to flushing his harmonica down the toilet.

As an added bonus, we get to see a slice of life during the last year of WWII. From a kid's perspective. Billy talks about how he had to save his allowance to buy war bonds, and how he collected scrap metal to help the war effort, and how he loved collecting war trophies, including his prize German army helmet.

And throughout the book, through all the stories, runs this theme of heroes. Billy wants badly to be a superhero. Hence his attempts at flying. He spends a lot of time trying to figure out how one attains superhero status. But as he grows, he learns a lot about who the real heroes are in life. And in one very scary incident, he even proves that he himself is a hero, though that was the last thing on his mind at the time.

Okay, now I have one small complaint to make. The cover really bugged me. The book is about a 10-year-old, and is supposedly aimed at readers aged 8-12. So why does the little boy on the cover appear to be about 3-years-old?!! And don't think this fact escaped Max and Gray either...they were not thrilled about the fact that I was going to read them this book "for babies". I know, I know, the whole judging a book by its cover thing. But why look for trouble, if you know what I mean.

*****

If you have also reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments, and I will include it here. Thanks.

*****

Read for:

Read-aloud to the boys.

For review.

where in the world?

2008-07-15T13:08:00.008-05:00

Ever since I first heard of RaiderGirl3's It's Tuesday, Where Are You? meme-ish like feature, I've been wanting to join in. Despite the fact that I'd be reminded every week when I popped over to Somer's, I still couldn't seem to get my act together enough to join in. Until today, that is!

So where am I?

I just made my way, along with Larry and Rita, out of the Lincoln Tunnel into New Jersey. Thank heavens that ordeal is over! (Seriously, that "scene" have given me the heebie-jeebies ever since the first time I read it nearly 30 years ago!) --The Stand: Complete and Uncut by Stephen King

I'm sitting in Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor with Major Anderson, who's wondering how on earth this can possibly end well. --The Civil War by Geoffrey C. Ward

I'm headed off to church in Mozier, Alabama with a very reluctant young boy named Sonny. --Sonny's House of Spies by George Ella Lyon

I'm at the Thompson house in Gettysburg, PA looking at a map with Generals Lee and Longstreet. --The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Ah, the exciting adventures to found amidst the pages. Wonder where next week will find me?

Thanks, RaiderGirl3!

will I ever learn?

2008-07-15T08:49:00.007-05:00

If this last month doesn't teach me something about signing up for so many reading challenges, I fear nothing will. Guess what...nothing will. No, I take that back...it's possible that if there were some sort of aversive conditioning, like fines for every failed challenge, maybe I could change my ways. But let's hope it never comes to that.

In the last month, five of the challenges I'd joined, came to end. Once Upon a Time II. Spring Reading Thing '08. The Banned Books Challenge. Book Awards. And just yesterday, The Heart of a Child Reading Challenge. And of these 5 challenges, how many did I actually finish on time? Just one, the Once Upon a Time II. There's no denying that that is one mighty poor track record!

However, failure is relative, right? I enjoyed every challenge, read a pile of books I might not ever have read otherwise, and grew my wish list by leaps and bounds reading everyone else's reviews. Is it any wonder I can't seem to stop getting in over my head?!! Actually finishing a challenge is just an added bonus (on the rare occasion that happens, that is).

Anyway, I meant to make this a mini wrap-up post on The Heart of a Child Challenge, which was hosted by one of my favorite enablers, Becky. It really was a cool challenge, the idea being to revisit some of the books that stole your heart as a child. I can honestly say that I was every bit as charmed with The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams as an adult as I was as a child. Not so much with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume. I still enjoyed reading it, but obviously it's just not the type of book that is loaded with relevance for an adult. And my third choice for this challenge was Stephen King's The Stand. This is the one I didn't finish in time (I'm currently on page 324 out of 1153 pages). But I can honestly say that I do still love it as much as the first time I read it back in my teen years (and as much as the 5 or 6 times I've read it since then). So thank you, Becky, for another wonderful challenge!

time wasting

2008-07-13T14:11:00.010-05:00

I'm in one of those moods...I've got so much that needs done, and yet all I can seem to do is goof off...

Despite that fact that our e-mail is once again not working, and the fact that the internet is still out as much as it's working, and the fact that the computer is still turning itself off from time to time, I've managed to spend a lot of time wasting time on this little technological wonder/annoyance.

I've posted a homeschool happenings post for our first "sort of" week of the new school year.

I got this week's Using the Vocabulary Game post up a little bit early. Anyone interested in playing, just pop on over. There's still plenty of time to get in on the action and try to win the $10 Amazon gift card.

I joined two new reading challenges, the Japanese Literature 2 Challenge and the What an Animal Challenge.

And are you ready for this? I made another blog. Yes, I am sooooo pathetic! I actually started it a couple of weeks ago, but I've been working on updating it. And Jean...you got your revenge!!! In a big way!!! See, it was your mention of your 50 goals to reach by age 50 that got me started. Now I've got a whole blog devoted to it. I still don't have 50 goals stated yet; I just keep adding as I think of them. And they are certainly nothing earth-shatterin...frankly, they're pretty damn boring. But I love a challenge, and I love to make lists. And as I sit pulling my hair out wondering why I ever started such a thing, you can sit and laugh your butt off, Jean!

two week's worth of blame

2008-07-13T13:28:00.006-05:00

Didn't post the Blame Game last week, because there was no blame to be placed. Not a lot this week either...I've been fairly good. I've been trying to figure out if I should award points when I buy a book for someone else, and I decided that I should. Why not, right?

So here's the new books with points where appropriate:

*First of all, I was ordering some books for "history through literature" purposes, and it turns out that Amazon was having one of their buy 3, get 1 free deals. But I only needed to order three books for school (The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, and Dawn of Fear by Susan Cooper). So I checked my handy-dandy wish list to see what might be available as a freebie, and decided to go with Sleeping With Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner. Now, I can't honestly say I've ever read a "chick-lit" book before, so this is new territory...but Jean's review made it sound positively irresistible. So point for Jean!

*Secondly, Dewey earns a second point for The Political is Maternal. Her interview not only made it a must-have for myself, but it convinced me that it would be a great birthday gift for Jean. (I awarded Dewey a point earlier for my copy, but didn't want to ruin Jean's surprise by mentioning it then.)

*And last but not least, Becky earns a point for Cat by Mike Dumbleton, a book I just had to order for the Maxidoodle.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox...random thoughts

2008-07-12T18:04:00.011-05:00

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

First off, let me say thanks to Becky, for it was she would urged me to pick this book up. Secondly, let me say that I have no idea of how to review this book. The problem being that I just don't want to give too much away. This is truly a book where you want to allow things to be slowly revealed to you.

I can say that Jenna Fox is a 17-year-old girl, who is trying to discover who she is. But not entirely in the way a normal teenager must search for their identity and meaning in life. No, Jenna just woke up from a coma and doesn't remember anything about herself. Gradually, she remembers little snippets about her former life, but nothing that gives her a feel for "who she is".

Maybe that is all any life is composed of, trivia that eventually adds up to a person...

I found that to be an interesting thought. But believe me, this book is nowhere as simple as I've made it sound.

It is definitely one those books that gets you thinking about many issues. Most especially, what is it that makes us human?

And there's lots to ponder in the realm of medical ethics.

And I must admit, as a parent, it left me a little unsettled, thinking about the lengths I might go to save one of my children.

Okay, I realize this isn't much of a review...like I said, I really don't want to give anything about the story away. But I loved it. I found Jenna utterly believable. And I loved the interesting way the book was written...in short "not quite chapters". And the way the author made me think about the meaning of words that inhabit our daily lives.

*****

If you have reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I'll add it here. Thanks.

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews

*****

Read for:

A-Z Reading Challenge.

42 Challenge.

The YA Reading Challenge. (a substitute)

consumed with guilt

2008-07-11T12:19:00.002-05:00

Okay, that may be overstating it a bit, but I did just do something that has left me feeling kinda bad...I went and marked everything in my google reader as read. I was stressing so much about catching up, that I just decided, "To hell with it. I'll just start over."

And now that I've got all this free time on my hands (ha!), I think I'll go sign up for a couple more reading challenges. Someone really needs to just shoot me and put me out of my misery. Rich won't do it...he likes my homemade spaghetti sauce too much to live without me.

a dose of useless rambling

2008-07-09T07:16:00.009-05:00

How can it be that you work 18 hours a day and just get further and further behind?!! I'm sure you've all experienced that phenomenon at times, huh? We arrived home from our little trip Sunday evening, and I'm still nowhere near being caught up on my blog reading. I always feel bad when I get behind, like I'm ignoring friends when that really isn't the case.

I've been spending hours upon hours upon hours on school planning and prep. I tell you, it's hard to believe how much I have to relearn before I can even begin putting it all together. I don't really mean to complain though...it's actually pretty fun. I just wish it didn't take soooooo much time.

Our trip was supposed to be a three-parter...first to visit Rich's family, then to Gettysburg, and then to my family reunion. Unfortunately, we ended up having to skip Gettysburg because Rich's mom needed us there. Not that we minded spending the extra time with his mom, but we were extremely upset about "the reason" behind it. I really don't want to go airing family laundry, but let's just say we've got one of those "you can't pick your relatives" situations. (It's not Rich's mom I'm talking about though.) Anyway, we then headed straight from there to my aunt and uncle's house for our annual family reunion, which was fun and relaxing. And then spent most of the day Sunday driving home. So a fairly short, and frankly, fairly stressful, trip. The kids managed to have a blast the whole time though, so that made it worthwhile! Hopefully we'll be able to fit in a few fun weekend trips this summer since we're not really taking a big vacation. For one thing, we're hoping to get in a weekend trip to Gettysburg since we had to scrap it this time around.

The pool is always a highlight for the kids at Grandmother's house:

The kids also love playing with their cousins! And most of us got to enjoy the fireworks show...Rich had to take poor Gray back to Grandmother's house because of the noise. (We should have seen that one coming with his sensory issues.) And we all had fun catching fireflies and eating hot dogs and apple pie. The kids drank too much pop, something we rarely let them have at home. So despite the stress, there was a lot of fun going on, too.

A pile of cousins in a hammock:

Oh, and poor Baker somehow managed to fall in Grandmother's fish pond! He couldn't get himself out and had to be rescued!

In other news, we no longer have a "kinder shark" in the family. Max finally lost his first tooth! The tooth fairy came and collected that shark tooth last night and left Max $5.00. (The tooth fairy is always very generous for the first tooth.) Max was very excited to add it to his Nintendo DS fund...he's been saving for one ever since Gray got one for Christmas, and I must say, I've been very impressed with how well he's doing. Anyway, I hope once some of those other teeth fall out, those permanent ones will move into place on their own. Wishful thinking, perhaps.

Well, I suppose I've babbled on more than long enough here, and I've certainly managed to waste enough time. So I'll let you all off the hook now and head back to the Civil War.

a new game is starting

2008-07-07T15:18:00.002-05:00

Want a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card? Well, Game 2 of Annie's vocabulary challenge is beginning over here. And please don't think you have to be a talented writer to play. I swear, the best strategy in this game is to play to our young judge's interests...fantasy, animals, history, books. Oh, and humor is always a good bet, too. You have until Thursday to get this week's entries in. Hope we get some more players this game...the more the merrier, right?

Sky Burial...random thoughts

2008-07-07T10:38:00.000-05:00

Sky Burial by Xinran.

I've been awfully irked with myself lately for joining so many challenges. So many that I rarely seem to finish them. But this book was truly an example of the good that comes from reading challenges. What would the chances have been that I would have read this book without Joy's A-Z Reading Challenge? I can honestly say, practically zero. But I needed an "X" author, so I picked this one up from the library. And wow...am I glad I did! This may well make my top five reads of the year.

But you know, it's hard to explain what I loved so much about it. I've read that it's a love story. And it is, but it's so much more than that. It's one woman's journey from China to Tibet to search for her husband who is supposedly lost in the war. Young doctors in China, Shu Wen and her husband, Kenju, are married only a few weeks before Kenju heads off to Tibet with high hopes of helping the people there. Just a couple months after this Wen receives word that her husband is killed. But no one seems to have any more information than that. Wen decides that she must go to Tibet to find her husband, so she joins the army as a doctor.

What follows is a thirty year journey to the truth. It is a heart-breaking, fascinating journey. Early on, Wen is separated from her fellow Chinese. But not before saving the life of a young Tibetan woman, whose story is equally as interesting as Shu Wen's. Because of Wen's kindness, this young woman then helps keep Wen alive. They are taken in by a nomadic Tibetan family who truly live off the land in this very beautiful, but very harsh land. Wen very slowly learns their language and their religion and their way of life.

You know what...I am really not doing this book justice. It's such a touching story. It's rich in culture. It's rich in beauty. It's rich in emotion. And yes, we do finally learn of Kenju's fate, which is a powerful story all on its own.

*****

If you have reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I'll be happy to add it here. Thanks.

Natasha at Maw Books
Medb at Medb's Montage

*****

Read for:

The A-Z Challenge.

can't catch up

2008-07-01T17:53:00.002-05:00

Well, I sooo wanted to get caught up on my blog reading and book reviews before we headed out of town for the rest of the week, but it just ain't gonna happen. Oh well. Hmmm...just think how far behind I'll be come Monday...

Anyway, Happy Canada Day to all of you up north! Happy Birthday, Jean!!! (And by the way, there's something in the mail on the way to you...and I apologize that it's late!) And Happy 4th to all in the U.S.! Hope everyone has a wonderful, wonderful week!

We Are On Our Own...random thoughts

2008-07-01T10:03:00.009-05:00

We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin.

Another Holocaust story. Another personal story. Another thought-provoking story. Another story that left me counting my infinite blessings.

I don't mean to say that this book is a rehashing of stories I've read before. It most definitely is not. It is yet another unique look at a slice of the horrors of World War II. Instead, the idea I meant to convey is that this period in world history is so full of stories. Of heart-breaking stories. Of hopeful stories. Of stories that seem so hard to comprehend, and yet shockingly are all too true.

We Are On Our Own is the story of a very young girl and her mother told in graphic novel form. Her courageous, intelligent, determined mother. This was quite a unique viewpoint. For the events most significant to a young child are probably not the events that would stand out most to an adult.

While her father is off fighting in the War, Miriam and her mother are home in Hungary. Certainly life is different than it had once been, but the sheer terror that Jews elsewhere had been facing hadn't quite reached them yet. But then, of course, that changes. Through some very smart, very brave actions taken by Miriam's mother, they avoid being deported by the Germans. They escape Budapest, and the book follows their survival through the next year as they run and hide.

One of the aspects that touched me the most in this book was the way she dealt with God. I don't know how to quite explain it, but watching the way a child tried to fit God into the reality of the horrible existence she was living was incredibly powerful.

*****

If you've reviewed this book, please feel free to leave a link in the comments and I will add it here. Thanks.

Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf
Natasha at Maw Books

*****

Read for:

Graphic Novels Challenge.

New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers...random thoughts

2008-07-01T09:39:00.005-05:00

New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz.

No clue how to review this book. None at all. But since I read it for the Non-Fiction Five Challenge, I guess I have to at least make an effort. Though frankly, I do not foresee convincing anyone to go pick up this book. Not because I didn't enjoy it, I'm just not sure how many people who read my blog are looking to brush up on their knowledge of parasites. Then again, who knows. :)

This was quite a different kind of read for me. Aside from stuff for homeschooling, the only science-type reading I generally do is more of a natural history nature. So, this was horizon expanding, to say the least.

I worried a bit before starting that this book might be above my head, not being a scientist myself. There were a few times when I had to reread a page here and there when he got to talking about evolutionary biology and speciation in parasites, but overall it was very lay-person friendly. The above mentioned parts were also the least interesting to me, and luckily didn't take up much of the book.

In fact, really the major focus of the book was more about how man-made ecological and environmental changes have historically been to blame for making infectious diseases worse. The book is full of examples illustrating this. In some instances, these environmental changes have even been made with the best of intentions, yet have still had catastrophic results. And often, the results are unknown to the world at large because they affect the poorest of the world's people.

Unfortunately, this book was written in the 1980s, and things can change a lot in that amount of time...I really hope to follow up on some of these stories if I can. In fact, this book interested me so much, that I ended up picking up a book from the library titled Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them by Mark Jerome Walters.

On an unrelated note, Eva has mentioned in the past that science writers tend to have this compulsion to try to be funny, but often fall short. I think think you could place this scientist in that category, too. But honestly, his attempts at humor never really bothered me.

*****

If you have also reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments, and I'll add it here. Thanks.

*****

Read for:

The Non-Fiction Five Reading Challenge.

The Storm and The Whale...random thoughts

2008-06-30T12:21:00.003-05:00

The Storm and The Whale by Cynthia Rylant.

Since I'd like to get caught up on my reviews before we head out of town Wednesday morning, I'm going to try to keep these short and sweet. Anyway, months ago, when I was choosing authors and books for Becky's Celebrate the Author Challenge, I hadn't read anything by Cynthia Rylant. But I knew she was a well-loved children's author, so I thought she would make a nice choice. I went to the library's website, and picked the first book that caught my eye, The Octopus. What I didn't realize at the time, was that it was a part of series. So this month, when I went to the library to pick it up, I discovered my error and picked up the first and second book of The Lighthouse Family instead. (The Octopus is the fifth one, I believe.)

This series features an unusual family...Pandora, the cat, Seabold, the dog, and three little mice, Lila, Whistler, and Tiny. As the series begins, Pandora was long been the keeper of a lighthouse. It's quite a lonely existence, but one she feels called to. Seabold has long been a sailor, one who enjoys his solitary existence at sea. So when he crashes on the island where Pandora lives, he plans to head back to sea as soon as his leg heals and his boat is repaired. As Pandora nurses him back to health, and they develop a beautiful friendship. It becomes apparent that he can't repair his boat in time to be off before the winter weather sets in, so he reluctantly accepts the fact that he'll be staying until spring. Pandora and Seabold's friendship continues to deepen. And Seabold finds himself admiring Pandora greatly for her hard work and dedication to keeping sailors safe through her manning of the lighthouse.

Months later, they spot a crate floating offshore, and something tells them they should go check it out. And what should they find but three young orphaned mice. Easy to see where this is all going, right? Yep, the five soon become their own little family, and Seabold gives up his dreams of sailing the seas again.

In The Whale, the mice children find a baby beluga whale who has been separated from his mother. The book tells the tale of how the children save the day for mother and baby whale.

At this point, we've decided not to continue with the series. Not because they're bad, but just because there are so many other books out there that we'd like to try. Max enjoyed these much more than Gray. I think that maybe they are just a bit to young for him now. As for me, I thought they were okay. The stories were cute, but nothing spectacular.

What was spectacular, however, was the artwork! Oh, how I adore the beautiful pencil drawings by Preston McDaniels! I couldn't find any examples from this series on the internet to post here, and I'm afraid I've already returned the books to the library. But I did find another drawing of his, that really exemplifies the charm and beauty I fell in love with in his work. In fact, I think I'll now be searching this book out!

*****

If you have reviewed this series, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I'll include it here. Thanks.

*****

Read for:

Celebrate the Author Reading Challenge.

Read-aloud to the boys.

points for the week

2008-06-30T10:48:00.008-05:00

Again, I'm a day late awarding the points. And I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet, as I'm so far behind on everything else as well.

*Picked up four books of poetry from the library this week, as that's our literature focus for homeschooling this summer. Boris by Cynthia Rylant. How Did I Get to Be 40 & Other Atrocities by Judith Viorst. Big Backyard by Michael Teig. And last but not least, Transformations by Anne Sexton. And Nymeth earns a point for this one!

*Off topic, but I had to return a pile of books to the library unread, too. Oh, how that makes me sad. :(

*Remember how we had a garage sale a few weeks back? Well, we had tons and tons of change from it. We didn't feel like spending the time to roll it all. So instead, Rich took it to one of those coin counting machines. Now if you get cash for it, they keep a portion, but if you get an Amazon gift card with it, you get to keep every cent. Bet you can guess what option we went with, huh? $106, which Rich and I split equally. What a fun splurge that was! I got 5 books...each of which I get to blame on someone:
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson was all Becky's fault. And so was Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle was Chris's fault. The Maternal is Political edited by Shari MacDonald Strong is entirely Dewey's fault. And again, last but not least, Nymeth is at fault for The Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett.

*Somehow, not sure how exactly it happened, a couple more books came home with me from Barnes & Noble. No one to blame though, dammit. I could claim that I only had the kids in mind with these purchases, but I really hate to lie. So I'm just going to have to suck it up and claim responsibility for Once Upon a Crime by Michael Buckley and Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest by Matt Haig.

So, if I've figured right, Nymeth and Becky come away with 2 points each and Dewey and Chris each get 1 point. You all really need to start taking it easy on me, you know.

Read-a-thon Postgame Survey

2008-06-29T19:07:00.003-05:00

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
*I guess that would be between 4:00am and 5:00am, as that's when I fell asleep for a bit.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
*The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
*Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer
*Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
They're all quite, hard-to-put-down, young adult reads.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
*Not really.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
*I liked that most of the mini-challenges didn't take long, and thus didn't cut into reading time too much.

5. How many books did you read?
*Finished three that I had started, read two from start to finish, and got about 2/3 of the way through another. None of these were big reads. In fact, one that I'd had started was a graphic novel and one that I read in its entirety was a short poetry book.

6. What were the names of the books you read?
*Finished--New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmother by Robert S. Desowitz, We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin, and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. Read in their entirety--Sky Burial by Xinran and Boris by Cynthia Rylant. Started--Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume.

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
*Whew...that may be too tough to answer, as I give extremely high marks to We Are On Our Own, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Sky Burial, and Boris. They're very different from one another, and each excellent in their own ways.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
*Probably New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers. But don't get me wrong, it's really not that I disliked it at all, I just didn't love it.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
*Not applicable.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
*Extremely likely that I'll read again, though I may just allow myself a bigger nap next time. I've been so sick all day, so I'm hoping I'll learn my lesson.

Congrats to everyone who participated! And thanks to all who cheered! And biggest thanks of all to Dewey...she's so amazing!

Now, is everyone else feeling as totally behind on life as I am?!! Guess tomorrow will include lots of catching up on blogs and writing lots of reviews, huh? And it probably wouldn't hurt me to read over all the lesson plans I worked on today to make sure they actually make some sense. :)

Read-a-thon: the collage challenge

2008-06-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

Read-a-thon Hour 24

2008-06-29T11:04:00.004-05:00

Minutes spent reading (cumulative): 50 minutes (910 minutes, which if my brain isn't failing me, is 15 hours and 10 minutes)

Remaining time spent: blogging, commenting

Pages read (cumulative): 54 pages (732 pages, not nearly as many as most people, but a lot more than I would have read without the read-a-thon, right?)

Currently reading: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

Completed:
*New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz
*We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin
*The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
*"Where I Live" from Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
*Sky Burial by Xinran
*Boris by Cynthia Rylant

Other info: Is it really over? Well, I'm not really sure why but I feel a lot more out of it than I did last time. In fact, I'm so out of it that I think I just need to leave this computer behind for the day. Well, first I'll go congratulate a few other readers. :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Dewey! And thank you, thank you, thank you to all the wonderful cheerleaders! You have no idea how how much your "cheering" meant!

Read-a-thon Hour 23

2008-06-29T10:01:00.002-05:00

Minutes spent reading (cumulative): 40 minutes (860 minutes)

Remaining time spent: blogging, throwing in a load of laundry, washing dishes

Pages read (cumulative): 39 pages (678 pages)

Currently reading: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

Completed:
*New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz
*We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin
*The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
*"Where I Live" from Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
*Sky Burial by Xinran
*Boris by Cynthia Rylant

Other info: Can there really be just one hour left?!!