I feel ... brain-missing
Sleepy today. Don't know if it's the adjustment from low 60s to mid 80s overnight or what (NOT complaining, but it is an adjustment). Have a busy weekend coming up, should be fun, though. Play Friday, family gathering Saturday and the ballet on Sunday.
Also have read lots of books:
17. Bogus to Bubbly, by Scott Westerfeld. Fans of the "Uglies" books will probably like this guide to that universe, particularly fanfic writers and trivia buffs. I thought it was pretty good -- I liked the illustrations for some of the inventions. Still, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted more. For example, we get the hint that Dr. Cable was a bit of a rabble-rouser in her youth. I would have loved to have seen her entry expand on that. Same with Az and Maddy. And how did Peris and Tally become friends? This wasn't a bad read -- I just wanted more information. Ninty-nine percent of what is in here is covered in the four books.
18. Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator, by Sarah C. Campbell, photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell. 2009 Geisel Honor Book. This is another reminder why we should never discount children's books when looking up information. I had never even heard of wolf snails, which eat other snails. Kudos on the photography, too. I wonder how long it took to get so many good, applicable close-ups?
19. Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum, by Robert Andrew Parker. 2009 Schneider Family Book Award. An easy-to-follow book on Art Tatum, a gifted piano player who was born with severe vision problems. It starts from his childhood and goes to young adulthood, where he is beginning to make a name for himself. I like the illustrations -- they have a feel of being a memory. I like the biographical information at the back, which will be handy for students doing reports.
20. One Boy, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. 2009 Geisel Honor Book. A very charming numbers book. As the reader turns the page, a cutout helps create the story. Very bright and vibrant. Good for 2 years and up, perhaps younger.
21. The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom, by Margarita Engle. Newbery Honor book and 2009 Belpre Author Award Winner.
This was a very powerful book, told through several points of view in a series of poems, about Cuba's fight to become independent from Spain between the 1860s and the 1890s. Much of the story focuses on Rosa, a talented healer who hides away in Cuba's mountains, sheltering the refuges, orphans and soldiers. Rosa is based on Rosa la Bayamesa. Other views include Rosa's husband Jose, an officer who put me in the mind of Javier from Les Miserable in his quest to find and kill Rosa, and an orphan. There's also a nice chronology and author's notes as well. A quick but dense read, good for both the "reluctant reader" and anyone interested in history.
22. The Storyteller's Candle/La Velita de los Cuentos, but Lucia Gonzales, illustrated by Lulu Delacre. Belpre Honor award for author and illustrator. A neat book, told in both English and Spanish (and wow is my Spanish rusty!) about a Puerto Rican family who had just moved to New York in 1929. They are learning to adjust to the cold winters and different environment. But the visit of librarian Pura Belpre to one child's class opens up a new world to them at the library and through getting to know other families like them. They learn things about their new home, while working together to keep some of their traditions alive.
Also have read lots of books:
17. Bogus to Bubbly, by Scott Westerfeld. Fans of the "Uglies" books will probably like this guide to that universe, particularly fanfic writers and trivia buffs. I thought it was pretty good -- I liked the illustrations for some of the inventions. Still, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted more. For example, we get the hint that Dr. Cable was a bit of a rabble-rouser in her youth. I would have loved to have seen her entry expand on that. Same with Az and Maddy. And how did Peris and Tally become friends? This wasn't a bad read -- I just wanted more information. Ninty-nine percent of what is in here is covered in the four books.
18. Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator, by Sarah C. Campbell, photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell. 2009 Geisel Honor Book. This is another reminder why we should never discount children's books when looking up information. I had never even heard of wolf snails, which eat other snails. Kudos on the photography, too. I wonder how long it took to get so many good, applicable close-ups?
19. Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum, by Robert Andrew Parker. 2009 Schneider Family Book Award. An easy-to-follow book on Art Tatum, a gifted piano player who was born with severe vision problems. It starts from his childhood and goes to young adulthood, where he is beginning to make a name for himself. I like the illustrations -- they have a feel of being a memory. I like the biographical information at the back, which will be handy for students doing reports.
20. One Boy, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. 2009 Geisel Honor Book. A very charming numbers book. As the reader turns the page, a cutout helps create the story. Very bright and vibrant. Good for 2 years and up, perhaps younger.
21. The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom, by Margarita Engle. Newbery Honor book and 2009 Belpre Author Award Winner.
This was a very powerful book, told through several points of view in a series of poems, about Cuba's fight to become independent from Spain between the 1860s and the 1890s. Much of the story focuses on Rosa, a talented healer who hides away in Cuba's mountains, sheltering the refuges, orphans and soldiers. Rosa is based on Rosa la Bayamesa. Other views include Rosa's husband Jose, an officer who put me in the mind of Javier from Les Miserable in his quest to find and kill Rosa, and an orphan. There's also a nice chronology and author's notes as well. A quick but dense read, good for both the "reluctant reader" and anyone interested in history.
22. The Storyteller's Candle/La Velita de los Cuentos, but Lucia Gonzales, illustrated by Lulu Delacre. Belpre Honor award for author and illustrator. A neat book, told in both English and Spanish (and wow is my Spanish rusty!) about a Puerto Rican family who had just moved to New York in 1929. They are learning to adjust to the cold winters and different environment. But the visit of librarian Pura Belpre to one child's class opens up a new world to them at the library and through getting to know other families like them. They learn things about their new home, while working together to keep some of their traditions alive.