WWW Wednesdays – May 23, 2012

My bookshelf

- What I’m currently reading
I’m still reading Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West. I’ve been busy working on several projects at night and I’ve had little time to read. The book’s font size is also a little small for me, which doesn’t help with the reading speed.

 

- What I recently finished reading

Nothing new since last week. :-(

 

 - What I think I’ll read next

Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by Luis Carlos Montalvan and  Bret Witter. With almost 600 five-star ratings on Amazon, I have a feeling this book is quite special. It tells the true story of a decorated U.S. soldier who came back from Iraq physically and emotionally injured, and how a golden retriever helped with his recovery. Tissues, please…

 

My kids’ bookshelf

- What they’re currently reading
- Wild & Woolly by Mary Jessie Parker. Wild, a bighorn sheep, and Wooly, a ranch sheep, decide to try each other’s lives for a day but find out they prefer their own after all. At the end of the story, I love asking my kids which sheep’s life they’d prefer to have and why. It gives me great insight on their thinking patterns and personal tastes.
-  Little Monkey Lost by Keith DuQuette. Little Monkey is bored and decides to find adventure in the jungle. There he meets nine different kinds of monkeys who teach him fun new things. The end of the book features many facts about the New World Monkeys pictured and my kids like sharing the names and facts of each monkey type.
- The Birdwatchers by Simon James. “When I go birdwatching, things happen,” Grandad says. After hearing so many stories about birdwatching from her grandfather, Jess decides to join him one day. By the end of the day, she’s had the opportunity to seen plenty of birds, including a pair of dancing penguins! A very sweet story teaching respect about nature.

- What they recently finished reading
- Dinorella : A Prehistoric Fairy Tale by Pamela Duncan Edwards. What a wacky and funny story: imagine Cinderella but featuring dinosaurs. And I hope you don’t have a problem enunciating the letter D because this book is full of Ds! As in, “Dinorella is dying to go to the dance, but her dreadful stepsisters, Doris and Dora, declare she’s too dowdy and dull.” Fairy-Dactyl to the rescue!
- I Dream of Trains by Angela Johnson. This is the poignant story of the son of a sharecropper who dreams of leaving Mississippi on a train with the legendary engineer Casey Jones and his black fireman Sim Webb. My kids are a little too young to grasp all the concepts in this book (slavery, cotton picker, the great migration, etc) but it was a great introduction. I also had no idea who Casey Jones was until then, but the last page of the book gives a lot of information about him and the themes in general, so this was a good lesson for all of us.

- What I think they’ll read next
I got so many books from the library this past week, you wouldn’t believe. I’m sure there’s some good stuff in there! What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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WWW Wednesdays – May 16, 2012

My bookshelf

- What I’m currently reading
Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West. So far I’m enjoying it, especially since I have no idea where the story is going.

 

- What I recently finished reading

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. What a wonderful book, mixing  words, detailed pencil illustrations, even a few photographs so well. What a beautiful story, where strangers find out they’re all connected in one way or another. What a great mystery to be solved, piece by piece, just like the gears of the automaton Hugo tries to fix. And what great homage to the history of cinema. I recommend this amazing works of art to all children from 8 to 99.

 

 - What I think I’ll read next

My to-read bookshelf is almost empty so I’ll have to see if something new arrived at the library or if I need to pick a book from my own collection.

 

My kids’ bookshelf

- What they’re currently reading
- Stuck by Oliver Jeffers. We LOVE this book as it is simply hilarious! Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, so the boy tries to knock it down by throwing increasingly larger and more outrageous things. You’d think when he grabs a ladder, and later on a saw, he’d finally use them right. But no, he keeps throwing them up the tree!
- Bedhead by Margie Palatini. This book is for anyone who’s ever had a bad hair day, and forgot it was picture day…
- Bad Boys Get Cookie! by Margie Palitini. The Bad Boys are back! Wolves Willy and Wally try to satisfy their sweet-tooth craving by chasing down a runaway gingerbread man. Unfortunately they try to attract it by dressing up as Hansel and Gretel, only to run into a witch in front of her gingerbread house who offers them to come inside for some sweets. Very funny!

- What they recently finished reading
I’d like to recommend a few books for the younger crowd (age 2-4) we recently read because we really liked them, even though my kids are getting too old for them.
- Jazzy in the Jungle by Lucy Cousins. In this book full of die-cut pages, the jungle animals help Mama JoJo find her baby lemur Jazzy.
- Wow City! and Wow School! by Robert Neubecker. We’ve read them before so this was a request for seconds (probably thirds). In Wow City! Izzy takes a trip to the big city with her father, and in Wow School! she starts her first day at school. In both books, a yellow dog is hiding somewhere in the picture on every spread. My kids just requested Wow America! again and I just saw that a brand new Wow Ocean! is coming out tomorrow. I’ll have to check my library for this one…

- What I think they’ll read next
I ordered a whole bunch of early reader books so we’ll find out if they’re any good soon enough. What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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WWW Wednesdays – May 2, 2012

My bookshelf

- What I’m currently reading
The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. The book is very interesting so far, pulling data from various studies and Achor’s own observations of human behavior. I’ll have a more complete review after I finish the book.

 

- What I recently finished reading
Michael Scott’s The Warlock (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel). The last book of the series is coming out in the next few weeks and I can’t wait to see how it all ends!

 

- What I think I’ll read next

 Two Truths and A Lie by Sara Shepard, the third book in The Lying Game series. Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to read what happens in this one, even though I know I’ll probably anxiously bite my nails and lose a few hours of sleep staying up to read it.

 

My kids’ bookshelf

- What they’re currently reading
- Captain Flinn and the pirate dinosaurs by Giles Andreae. This book is PERFECT! Where else can you find not only pirates AND dinosaurs, but pirate dinosaurs? Add a battle on the seas and swordfights and you end up with delighted children.
- Purr-fect Pete by Samantha Hay. Pete is the new acro-cat addition to the circus team. He’s very little, doesn’t eat fish and smells like stinky cheese, but he’s the best on the team. Is Purr-fect Pete keeping a secret? My kids LOVED the surprising twist.
- Are you going to be good? by Cari Best. Robert is attending his first night party to celebrate Great-Gran Sadie’s 100th birthday, and his parents request him to use his best manners. Things don’t go as planned, but Robert is the one who ends up entertaining the guest of honor best.

- What they recently finished reading
- Badness for beginners : a Little Wolf and Smellybreff Adventure by Ian Whybrow. Little Wolf and his brother Smellybreff get a lesson in badness from Mom and Dad, and Little Wolf is having a hard time being bad…
- What’s the time, Little Wolf? by Ian Whybrow. Little Wolf and his brother play a naughty trick on a few rabbits in their quest for dinner. We loved the shocking ending (stuffed rabbits for dinner, anyone?), as it shows life as it is, at least for a family of hungry wolves.
- If A Chicken Stayed For Supper by Carrie Weston. Five little foxes promise their mother not to leave the den when she goes out hunting for a chicken for supper. Unable to resist going outside to play in the dark, they meet a chicken who will lead them safely back home. Oops, what will they do with the chicken who just helped them out?

- What I think they’ll read next
I have no idea, but I’m sure it will be lots of fun books!

What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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WWW Wednesdays – April 11, 2012

I’m working on a way overdue 101 in 1001 update and I hope to post it before the end of this week. In the meantime, here’s my WWW Wednesdays weekly update. Quite a mix of literary genres this past week… 

My bookshelf

- What I’m currently reading
Last week I mentioned my next book would be Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West. That was before I got Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith from the library, which I need to read for my April book club meeting. I’m a huge fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series because of its action-packed episodes with a high dose of humor and wit. But reading a serious book about vampires is a different story, something I’ve never done before. I’m a quarter into it and I like it so far (note I said “like” it, not “love” it). Let’s hope the rest is just as entertaining.

 

- What I recently finished reading
My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire by Michelle Goodman. If you want to read a book on freelancing, this one contains everything you need to know. I’ve read a few before so I didn’t really learn anything new. I wanted to hear about this topic from a woman’s perspective but I quickly realized Goodman is not married and doesn’t have children, so she didn’t offer much advice on balancing work and super-busy life.

 

- What I think I’ll read next

Besides Mermaids in the Basement, I just got new books from the library I’m sure I won’t be able to renew in three weeks because of their popularity. So I think my next pick will be the #5 in Michael Scott’s The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, The Warlock (yeah!). I’ll probably read it in just a few days (and lose precious hours of sleep along the way), and then move on to the rest of the books on my shelf.

 

My kids’ bookshelf

- What they’re currently reading
- National Geographic for kids First Big Book of Why. This is a great book for kids ages 3 to 7, answering their most common questions, such as “Why do donuts and bagels have holes?” or “Why do owls throw up?” I too have learned a few things, including that ice worms melt if they get too warm, and the longest type of worm is 3 feet long (yikes!).
- Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka. A HILARIOUS story on the joys and delights of the fall season, described in mixed-up verse and illustrations. “Bears gather nuts. Geese hibernate. Squirrels fly south in big figure eights.” My kids love this book!
- The Useful Moose: A Truthful, Moose-Full Tale by Fiona Robinson. A young girl finds out a lot of moose are vacationing in her city. She invites three of them to rest at their home, and her family quickly discovers how useful moose can be. Who knew moose had such great housekeeping skills?

- What they recently finished reading
Little Bunny Foo Foo : The Real Story by Cori Doerrfeld. A very funny twist on the original story. Find out why Little Bunny Foo Foo had a good reason to bop those field mice on the head, and why the Good Fairy should have been more careful threatening to change the bunny into something else.
Humbug Rabbit by Lorna Balian. We read this book last Easter and again this year. This is probably the funniest book on Easter. Above ground, Gracie the hen hides her eggs from Grandma, causing an egg hunt dilemma. Underground, Father Rabbit insists on telling his children he’s not the Easter Rabbit. Will everything be fixed by Easter morning?
- Ice Cream Larry by Daniel Pinkwater. Larry the Polar Bear spends an afternoon eating an 1/8 of a ton of ice cream at a local ice cream shop, attracting the attention of the Iceberg Ice Cream Company. He happily becomes their spokesbear, inventing new ice cream flavors (blueberry & cod, anyone?) and their new slogan, “I do not feel sick.”

- What I think they’ll read next
I just ordered a whole bunch of books on dinosaurs, good manners and some for early readers, so I’ll see what comes in first.

What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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WWW Wednesdays – April 4, 2012

My bookshelf

- What I’m currently reading
Tonight I will start My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire by Michelle Goodman. I’ve read several books on freelancing as a professional writer already, but few of them were written by women, so this one could be interesting.

 

- What I recently finished reading
The Necromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott. This series just keeps getting better and this book was no exception. I can’t believe they haven’t made movies out of this series.

 

- What I think I’ll read next
Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West. I read Gone with a Handsomer Man a few months ago and loved it. It was definitely one of the funniest murder stories I’ve ever read, so I’m hoping this book won’t disappoint either.

 

My kids’ bookshelf

- What they’re currently reading
Lots of books with an Easter theme!
- Max’s Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells. We love Max & Ruby and this has to be one of our favorite stories. Max and Ruby go on an egg hunt, the prize for the most eggs gathered being a chocolate chicken. Max can’t find any eggs but he really wants the chocolate…
- The Easter Bunny That Overslept by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich. Poor Easter bunny sleepts past Easter so he tries to distribute his eggs on Mother’s Day, the Fourth of July and Halloween. Nobody is interested until dear old Santa Claus manages to get him back on track.
- Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs by Janet Morgan Stoeke. When she notices several unattended, colorful eggs, Minerva Louise decides to gather them and keep them warm. Can you imagine the surprise on the faces of the East egg hunters when they can’t find any eggs?

- What they recently finished reading
- Too busy Marco by Roz Chast. Marco the parrot is way too busy having adventures to go to bed. My five-year old and Marco share the same aspirations: they both want to be deep sea diver artist-inventors when they grow up…
- Where Is The Cake? and Where Is The Cake Now? by T.T. Khing - two wordless books with many stories within the story. And only sharp eyes will figure out what really happened to the cakes in both books.

- What I think they’ll read next
I have no idea but the surprise effect is part of the fun.

What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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