Snow, snow and more snow....
What part of "uncle!" does Mother Nature NOT understand?!? Yeesh. We just got a couple more inches of snow (at least I'm not further north -- they got socked. Again.) Just in time for the Egg hunts. Yeah, I can just see it.
The Easter Bunny greets the kids: "Hi Kids, how is everyone today? Just keep stamping your feet to keep your toes warm! Are we ready to hunt some eggs? Yes? Well, OK, they are hidden extra well this year. So, here's your Easter basket, and here's your snow shovel. Happy hunting! And if you don't find many eggs today, don't worry. There's always the thaw."
*giggles*
OK, I am officially warped.
Actually, I know where I live, the city is just doing a sort of "drive-up" Easter egg goodie grab. Parents can just drive up and the Easter bunny and volunteers will pass out treat bags of eggs and sugar enough for a buzz that will last all of spring break.
Speaking of Easter Eggs, here is my egg art from the other week that I promised to post:
Not the quality of the professional eggers by a loooooong shot, but I had a LOT of fun, and that's what counts.
Well, one of the advantage with the snow and this stupid bug (still have a slight cough) is... there was plenty of time to read. So, without further ado, books 35-44:
35. Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. Cpennylane recommended this one to me *waves* and it was an excellent read. Thank you! It's very long, so make sure you have some time to dedicate to reading it. But it is worth it. Mind you, this is sort of an alternate historical fiction style book, which I love anyway. This is set mostly in England, in a universe with historical characters, such as Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, the mad King George and others. But they are in a world where magic is real. Mr. Norrell is the first magician to emerge. The timorous Norrell is very conservative and a study of contradictions. He wants magic to flourish again in England, but he wants all the control himself. Later, Johnathan Strange, another talented magician emerges and becomes Norrell's pupil and apprentice. But Strange's ideas for magic and magic education are the polar opposite of Norrell's and eventually they split. The question becomes how far they will go to discredit each other, especially with graver dangers on the horizon?
I just LOVE the detail and though Clarke put into this. There are many footnotes throughout, giving the book a historical document style feel. The footnotes range from a couple sentences to whole new stories, adding a dimension to the already dense book. The author's notes and outlines must have been in the thousands of pages. The characters are great. Mr. Norrell and Strange are both so different, yet the same. They have egos and they have their pride -- just in different ways. There are a LOT of secondary and terciary characters in this, but for the most part it is easy to keep track of who is who -- an impresive feat. For all its length, this book was very dense and flowed well. The settings were beautifully imagined. I found my skin crawling at a couple of the more haunting scenes. This would be an excellent book to listen to on tape or CD, with the right voice actor or actors. I can see this dramatized out.
36. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (illus. by Ellen Forney) Junior is an aspiring cartoonist. But his life on a very poor, troubled reservation ("the rez"), coupled with his medical problems, seem to doom him to a directionless existance. A chance incident with a teacher gives him the idea to transfer to another high school just outside the reservation, in a predominantly white, wealthy neighborhood. Indeed, as he observes, he is the only Indian outside the school's mascot. He is branded a traitor by nearly everyone else in his own neighborhood, including his closest friend Rowdy. Junior also has the traditional problems of being the fish out of water at the new school as well. But he learns to adjust to his new world and learns to appreciate his expanded opportunities, even with the tragedies that occur during the course of that school year. An excellent read, with several of Juniors cartoons and illustrations throughout to emphasize his feelings and thoughts. There is a lot of humor, but keep a couple hankys handy. There is a lot of sadness as well, and the heartbreaking realities of the problems with "the rez," especially alcoholism, are just sad.
37. Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry. Kira is a girl born with a twisted leg, in a society where disability is seen as a liability. But her mother persuades the others to allow Kira to live and thrive. But Kira's troubles -- and a new path -- begin after her mother dies. Kira's special gift of weaving spares her a certain death sentence, and she is appointed by the governing board to complete a task only she can do. But during the course of her work and meeting new people, Kira discovers several unsettling things about her world, which she tries to uncover. This is a companion book to The Giver, and to Messanger (which I have not read yet). This book was just...wow. It's interesting to compare The Giver and Gathering Blue, to contrast the two societies which seem so different on the surface, but are essentially the same. Again, Lowry tells a well thought out, well imagined tale that made me think...still makes me think...long afterwards.
38. The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt. Holling Hoodhood has just started seventh grade, and things don't seem to be going very well. For starters, there is his family. His father insists on everyone being on their best behavior, for the goals of Hoodhood and Associates. There's his older sister, who seems bent on disturbing these goals for her own idealistic dreams. Then there's Mrs. Baker, Holling's teacher. She seems to have it in for him. She wants him to read Shakespeare -- outside of class! Of course, things aren't always as clear cut as they seem, and Holling finds himself of a series of adventures, including working with a Shakeseare company. A very sweet, mostly funny story (LOVED the rats), punctuated by periods of seriousness and reflection (the book takes place in 1967, during the Vietnam war).
39. My Name is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, by Monica Brown, illustrated by Raul Colon. This is a children's book that tells about the life and imagination of Columbian storyteller Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or "Gabito." It emphasizes imagination, and Gabito's ability to tell colorful tales, which are emphasized by the lush, colorful illustrations. A neat book for younger school age children, either for single, quiet reading or for a story time.
40. Frida: Viva La Vida! Long Live Life, by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. A good book for older elementary schoolchildren on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It includes pictures of her, her poetry, her paintings and a biography and timeline. Kahlo's life, her pain (she died tragically young, she was in a terrible bus accident as a teen and her marriage to artist Diego Rivera as quite tumultuous) and her ultimate optimism are seen in her writings and her work.
41. Kami and the Yaks, by Andrea Stenn Stryer, illus. by Bert Dodson. Kami is a young Sherpa boy who lives in the Himalayas. His family takes care of a heard of Yaks, which are used for carrying packs for mountain climbers (among other things, I'm sure). One day, Kami, who is deaf, realizes that the yaks have not come back from the mountains. Despite a brewing storm, Kami goes to find them. A neat story on persistance and bravely, and beautifully illustrated in sepias and blues. A couple times, the text was a bit lost, especially the white text on a lighter or "busy" background. It's not a problem with a single, or one-on-one read, but may make this book a bit of a challenge for a larger storytime.
42. Good Masters! Sweet ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz, illus. by Robert Byrd. This was such a neat book, and I love the story about how it came to be. It was born out of a classroom project, where the author, a librarian at a school, wrote a series of monologues for a class studying the Middle Ages. The characters in this collection of mini-stories, which are loosely linked, range from a lord's nephew, to working class children such as a falconer and a glassblower's apprentice, to a beggar. There are useful notes in sidebars throughout to explain Medieval terms that may be unclear or obscure. The illustrations really make this book -- done very much in the fashion of Middle Age miniatures.
43. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green. Colin Singleton, a brainy high schooler with a passion for anagrams and girls named Katherine, has been dumped 19 times. All of them who were named Katherine. After being dumped by Katherine XIX, Colin goes on a road trip with his best friend, Hassan. Together, they travel to Tennessee, in search of finding their place in the world. On the way, Colin attempts to work on a mathematical formula to predict the future of a relationship (The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability). A sweet, quirky coming-of-age story, with a lot of chuckles (love the pig incident), a lot of thought and even a working math theorem (at least, for the story).
44. Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson. Frannie's winter when she is in sixth grade proves to be eventful. First, a new boy, whom everyone nicknames Jesus Boy, comes into their class of predominantly black students. Frannie wonders why his family has moved to "their" side of the tracks. Other people in Frannie's life -- her brother, Sean, who is deaf, her mother and father, her best friend and the school bully -- are are shown to have surprising weaknesses, and strengths. A short, hopeful and thoughtful story.
Three books I also read, but am not counting towards the challenge:
* Hello, Bumblebee Bat, by Darrin Lunds, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. A great book for children ages 3 and up who want to learn more about bats. It's very easy to read, and would be good for one-on-one or a story hour. Each page starts out with a question a child may ask, followed by a short, easy to understand answer. I really like how the one end page has a life-sized drawing of a bumblebee bat -- which really is about the size of a large bumblebee. The illustrations are clear and simple. The bats are so ugly, they are cute (which is kind of how bats are, anyway). I wonder if the authors may consider adding "sidebar" information that may appeal to older children (such as information on echolocation). As it stands, it's age range is 3 years to about first or second grade. But it is a cute book.
* There is a Bird on Your Head, by Mo Willems. An Elephant and Piggie book. Elephant is horrified to find a bird on his head. He asks Piggie for advice and help, and her assistance is, shall we say, limited. Very cute and silly, good for younger children (3 to first grade) who will like the funny pictures and simple vocabulary.
* Jazz Baby, by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie. This book, about a Jazz loving family and their cute baby, puts me very much in the mind of Baby Danced the Polka (which is an amazing book). Fans of that book will like this one as well. There isn't a story line, per se, with the emphasis on the rhythm of the words and sentences, along with the free-spirited art.
Whew! That's a lot of books! Now, off to the library to return them...
I also watched a couple movies -- a couple episodes of the anime Ah! My Godess (very cute, love the animation) and a silent movie by Cecil B. DeMille (The Cheat). That was neat. It's amazing the filmography and artistry that could be accomplished then. Wanted to watch his silent "Carmen," but after I get done with this, I have a lot of errands to run today, and of course there's Easter tomorrow. I borrowed several DVDs for grandpa, who tends to get bored in the evenings.
The Easter Bunny greets the kids: "Hi Kids, how is everyone today? Just keep stamping your feet to keep your toes warm! Are we ready to hunt some eggs? Yes? Well, OK, they are hidden extra well this year. So, here's your Easter basket, and here's your snow shovel. Happy hunting! And if you don't find many eggs today, don't worry. There's always the thaw."
*giggles*
OK, I am officially warped.
Actually, I know where I live, the city is just doing a sort of "drive-up" Easter egg goodie grab. Parents can just drive up and the Easter bunny and volunteers will pass out treat bags of eggs and sugar enough for a buzz that will last all of spring break.
Speaking of Easter Eggs, here is my egg art from the other week that I promised to post:
Not the quality of the professional eggers by a loooooong shot, but I had a LOT of fun, and that's what counts.
Well, one of the advantage with the snow and this stupid bug (still have a slight cough) is... there was plenty of time to read. So, without further ado, books 35-44:
35. Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. Cpennylane recommended this one to me *waves* and it was an excellent read. Thank you! It's very long, so make sure you have some time to dedicate to reading it. But it is worth it. Mind you, this is sort of an alternate historical fiction style book, which I love anyway. This is set mostly in England, in a universe with historical characters, such as Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, the mad King George and others. But they are in a world where magic is real. Mr. Norrell is the first magician to emerge. The timorous Norrell is very conservative and a study of contradictions. He wants magic to flourish again in England, but he wants all the control himself. Later, Johnathan Strange, another talented magician emerges and becomes Norrell's pupil and apprentice. But Strange's ideas for magic and magic education are the polar opposite of Norrell's and eventually they split. The question becomes how far they will go to discredit each other, especially with graver dangers on the horizon?
I just LOVE the detail and though Clarke put into this. There are many footnotes throughout, giving the book a historical document style feel. The footnotes range from a couple sentences to whole new stories, adding a dimension to the already dense book. The author's notes and outlines must have been in the thousands of pages. The characters are great. Mr. Norrell and Strange are both so different, yet the same. They have egos and they have their pride -- just in different ways. There are a LOT of secondary and terciary characters in this, but for the most part it is easy to keep track of who is who -- an impresive feat. For all its length, this book was very dense and flowed well. The settings were beautifully imagined. I found my skin crawling at a couple of the more haunting scenes. This would be an excellent book to listen to on tape or CD, with the right voice actor or actors. I can see this dramatized out.
36. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (illus. by Ellen Forney) Junior is an aspiring cartoonist. But his life on a very poor, troubled reservation ("the rez"), coupled with his medical problems, seem to doom him to a directionless existance. A chance incident with a teacher gives him the idea to transfer to another high school just outside the reservation, in a predominantly white, wealthy neighborhood. Indeed, as he observes, he is the only Indian outside the school's mascot. He is branded a traitor by nearly everyone else in his own neighborhood, including his closest friend Rowdy. Junior also has the traditional problems of being the fish out of water at the new school as well. But he learns to adjust to his new world and learns to appreciate his expanded opportunities, even with the tragedies that occur during the course of that school year. An excellent read, with several of Juniors cartoons and illustrations throughout to emphasize his feelings and thoughts. There is a lot of humor, but keep a couple hankys handy. There is a lot of sadness as well, and the heartbreaking realities of the problems with "the rez," especially alcoholism, are just sad.
37. Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry. Kira is a girl born with a twisted leg, in a society where disability is seen as a liability. But her mother persuades the others to allow Kira to live and thrive. But Kira's troubles -- and a new path -- begin after her mother dies. Kira's special gift of weaving spares her a certain death sentence, and she is appointed by the governing board to complete a task only she can do. But during the course of her work and meeting new people, Kira discovers several unsettling things about her world, which she tries to uncover. This is a companion book to The Giver, and to Messanger (which I have not read yet). This book was just...wow. It's interesting to compare The Giver and Gathering Blue, to contrast the two societies which seem so different on the surface, but are essentially the same. Again, Lowry tells a well thought out, well imagined tale that made me think...still makes me think...long afterwards.
38. The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt. Holling Hoodhood has just started seventh grade, and things don't seem to be going very well. For starters, there is his family. His father insists on everyone being on their best behavior, for the goals of Hoodhood and Associates. There's his older sister, who seems bent on disturbing these goals for her own idealistic dreams. Then there's Mrs. Baker, Holling's teacher. She seems to have it in for him. She wants him to read Shakespeare -- outside of class! Of course, things aren't always as clear cut as they seem, and Holling finds himself of a series of adventures, including working with a Shakeseare company. A very sweet, mostly funny story (LOVED the rats), punctuated by periods of seriousness and reflection (the book takes place in 1967, during the Vietnam war).
39. My Name is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, by Monica Brown, illustrated by Raul Colon. This is a children's book that tells about the life and imagination of Columbian storyteller Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or "Gabito." It emphasizes imagination, and Gabito's ability to tell colorful tales, which are emphasized by the lush, colorful illustrations. A neat book for younger school age children, either for single, quiet reading or for a story time.
40. Frida: Viva La Vida! Long Live Life, by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. A good book for older elementary schoolchildren on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It includes pictures of her, her poetry, her paintings and a biography and timeline. Kahlo's life, her pain (she died tragically young, she was in a terrible bus accident as a teen and her marriage to artist Diego Rivera as quite tumultuous) and her ultimate optimism are seen in her writings and her work.
41. Kami and the Yaks, by Andrea Stenn Stryer, illus. by Bert Dodson. Kami is a young Sherpa boy who lives in the Himalayas. His family takes care of a heard of Yaks, which are used for carrying packs for mountain climbers (among other things, I'm sure). One day, Kami, who is deaf, realizes that the yaks have not come back from the mountains. Despite a brewing storm, Kami goes to find them. A neat story on persistance and bravely, and beautifully illustrated in sepias and blues. A couple times, the text was a bit lost, especially the white text on a lighter or "busy" background. It's not a problem with a single, or one-on-one read, but may make this book a bit of a challenge for a larger storytime.
42. Good Masters! Sweet ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz, illus. by Robert Byrd. This was such a neat book, and I love the story about how it came to be. It was born out of a classroom project, where the author, a librarian at a school, wrote a series of monologues for a class studying the Middle Ages. The characters in this collection of mini-stories, which are loosely linked, range from a lord's nephew, to working class children such as a falconer and a glassblower's apprentice, to a beggar. There are useful notes in sidebars throughout to explain Medieval terms that may be unclear or obscure. The illustrations really make this book -- done very much in the fashion of Middle Age miniatures.
43. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green. Colin Singleton, a brainy high schooler with a passion for anagrams and girls named Katherine, has been dumped 19 times. All of them who were named Katherine. After being dumped by Katherine XIX, Colin goes on a road trip with his best friend, Hassan. Together, they travel to Tennessee, in search of finding their place in the world. On the way, Colin attempts to work on a mathematical formula to predict the future of a relationship (The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability). A sweet, quirky coming-of-age story, with a lot of chuckles (love the pig incident), a lot of thought and even a working math theorem (at least, for the story).
44. Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson. Frannie's winter when she is in sixth grade proves to be eventful. First, a new boy, whom everyone nicknames Jesus Boy, comes into their class of predominantly black students. Frannie wonders why his family has moved to "their" side of the tracks. Other people in Frannie's life -- her brother, Sean, who is deaf, her mother and father, her best friend and the school bully -- are are shown to have surprising weaknesses, and strengths. A short, hopeful and thoughtful story.
Three books I also read, but am not counting towards the challenge:
* Hello, Bumblebee Bat, by Darrin Lunds, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. A great book for children ages 3 and up who want to learn more about bats. It's very easy to read, and would be good for one-on-one or a story hour. Each page starts out with a question a child may ask, followed by a short, easy to understand answer. I really like how the one end page has a life-sized drawing of a bumblebee bat -- which really is about the size of a large bumblebee. The illustrations are clear and simple. The bats are so ugly, they are cute (which is kind of how bats are, anyway). I wonder if the authors may consider adding "sidebar" information that may appeal to older children (such as information on echolocation). As it stands, it's age range is 3 years to about first or second grade. But it is a cute book.
* There is a Bird on Your Head, by Mo Willems. An Elephant and Piggie book. Elephant is horrified to find a bird on his head. He asks Piggie for advice and help, and her assistance is, shall we say, limited. Very cute and silly, good for younger children (3 to first grade) who will like the funny pictures and simple vocabulary.
* Jazz Baby, by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie. This book, about a Jazz loving family and their cute baby, puts me very much in the mind of Baby Danced the Polka (which is an amazing book). Fans of that book will like this one as well. There isn't a story line, per se, with the emphasis on the rhythm of the words and sentences, along with the free-spirited art.
Whew! That's a lot of books! Now, off to the library to return them...
I also watched a couple movies -- a couple episodes of the anime Ah! My Godess (very cute, love the animation) and a silent movie by Cecil B. DeMille (The Cheat). That was neat. It's amazing the filmography and artistry that could be accomplished then. Wanted to watch his silent "Carmen," but after I get done with this, I have a lot of errands to run today, and of course there's Easter tomorrow. I borrowed several DVDs for grandpa, who tends to get bored in the evenings.