WWW Wednesdays – October 3, 2012

Argh, sorry for the previous messed-up post! Alright, let’s start this again. You’ll see I have my reasons to be messed up…

This is going to be a condensed version of my weekly update because my DSL connection has been slowing dying for the past week and I have very limited access to the internet from my computer. I’m working on a replacement solution so in the meantime, I focus most of my internet access on work projects and get to blogging whenever it fits.

My bookshelf

– What I’m currently reading
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I like it so far and I had no idea about HeLa cells, their origin and their importance for modern medecine, so this is a fascinating subject.

– What I recently finished reading
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. What a lovely book about summer for two brothers, detailing what happens in this small town of Illinois on a daily basis. I love the poetry Bradbury uses to describes every little scene, the humor, the sadness and the frightful moments. It’s a great book to remind you of your own childhood and how you used to spend your summers. I definitely recommend this read, especially anytime during the summer months.

– What I think I’ll read nex
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. This is for my book club meeting at the end of this month and it looks absolutely hilarious.

My kids’ bookshelf
– What they’re currently reading
– Mucky Moose by Jonathan Allen. Mucky Moose is the biggest moose in the forest and the biggest wolf in the forest decides to eat him for dinner. Unfortunately the wolf doesn’t know Mucky Moose really, really stinks. So the wolf tries different things, like putting a clothespin on his nose, or wearing a gas mask. My kids LOVE this story and have asked for it almost every day for the past week.
– Green Wilma and Green Wilma, Frog in Space by Tedd Arnold. We’re big fans of Tedd Arnold, especially his Fly Guy series and we recently discovered the Wilma books, which are not so recent. Poor Wilma is a normal girl who one days wakes up as a very green frog. This seems to bother everyone from her parents to her teacher but her, as she embraces her new life as an amphibian. Two very absurd, yet very funny stories.

– What I think they’ll read next
I don’t know but I’m sure it will be good stuff. What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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WWW Wednesdays – September 19, 2012

Sorry, I’m a day late for this weekly update but sometimes life gets in the way of books. I hate it when that happens.  ;-)

My bookshelf

– What I’m currently reading
Today I’ll (finally) start  Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.

– What I recently finished reading

The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax. It’s unfortunate the first 100 pages of this book go very slow because the story overall is quite interesting and the pace picks up afterwards. I liked the idea of mingling four different writers’ lives, all of whom include pretty big secrets, to entice me to keep reading. I also enjoyed learning more about the publishing industry and what it takes to get a book written and out on the store shelves. The famous writers’ quotes on writing that start each chapter were a very nice touch too.

 

– What I think I’ll read next

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This book has been on my to-read list for quite a while, so I’m glad I finally ordered and received it from the library.

 

My kids’ bookshelf

– What they’re currently reading
– Tumford The Terrible by Nancy Tillman. If you’re a Nancy Tillman fan, plug your ears. I don’t think she’s a great artist and her illustrations look pretty cheesy. I also don’t think she’s a great writer and could use a better editor. But… my kids love this story and it’s easy to understand why. Tumford makes mistakes on a regular basis but never apologizes, even though his owners insist he must. It’s a good lesson for kids who wonder why adults are so insistant on requesting apologies. And Tumford sure makes a lot of funny looking faces.
– I love the Nana Quimby books, Cat Up A Tree and Mouse In The House by John and Ann Hassett. In Cat Up A Tree, Nana Quimby calls the fire department to help get one cat down from the tree facing her house, but they won’t help unless “the cat is playing with matches.” As new cats join the first one, Nana’s calls for help stay unanswered. So when the town gets overrun by mice, do you think Nana Quimby will help? In Mouse In The House, Nana Quimby gets a cat to get rid of the mouse, then a dog to get rid of the cat, etc. I really like the unexpected ending of this book.

– What they recently finished reading
We’re big fans of the Rotten Ralph books by Jack Bantos at our house. Ralph’s attitude and behavior can be quite rotten, but his friend Sarah always ends up showing him a better way. Great, fun lessons about life for all kids.
– Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph – Ralph gets tired of not winning any prizes at the carnival so he resorts to cheating, but his friend Sarah will help him find his way back to honesty.  
– Back To School for Rotten Ralph. Poor Ralph, Sarah’s going back to school and he doesn’t want her to make new friends. Poor Sarah, Ralph shows up at her school and sabotages every one of her attempts to make new friends…
– Rotten Ralph’s Trick Or Treat. Ralph and Sarah go to a Halloween party dressed at each other, which makes for a very rotten Sarah…

– What I think they’ll read next
I don’t know but I’m sure it will be good stuff. What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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WWW Wednesdays – September 5, 2012

My bookshelf

– What I’m currently reading
The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax, for my book club meeting at the end of the month. It’s chick lit, which is a perfect change of pace after reading the Hunger Games series. The only thing I can’t stand is how small the font is, and how tiny the line spacing is too. I need to get me one of those magnifying rulers or I’ll never finish this book in a decent amount of time.

– What I recently finished reading

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I found this book the hardest to read out of all three. Not because of the writing (it was well written like the others) but because of the content. I deeply felt Katniss’s pain as she struggles to recognize the good from the evil, and even if there is any good left in her world. This book is excellent at portraying the horrors of war and how quickly people can lose their humanity, no matter when and where the war takes place. A great series with a hopeful ending.

 

– What I think I’ll read next

Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. I swear, this time it will be my next book!

 

My kids’ bookshelf

– What they’re currently reading
John Muth is one of my very favorite children’s book authors and illustrators. Not only can he tell a story beautifully, but his watercolor paintings are simply gorgeous, full of life and emotion. Some of them honestly deserve to be on display in an art museum. We have several of his books on our shelf right now, so I’ll highlight a few of them this week, and a few more next week.
– Stone Soup by John Muth is the retelling of the famous tale, but this one takes place in a small village in China. Three wise monks trick a poor, frightened community into finding happiness through generosity.
– The Three Questions by John Muth is based on a story by Leo Tolstoy. Nikolai asks his three animal friends to help him answer three important questions: “When is the best time to do things?” “Who is the most important?” and “What is the right thing to do?” But the true answer will eventually come from an old and wise turtle. This is a very philosophical book I enjoyed more than my kids, so I’ll need to reread it with them when they’re a little older. Do you know the answers to these three questions? You can take a guess in the comments box!
– Blowin’ in the Wind by John Muth, which comes with a CD of Bob Dylan’s original recording and displays the words on each page spread. At the end of the book, John Muth explains how he came up with his illustrations, such as including using a flying paper airplane to make it easier for children to get  the imagery of “blowin’ in the wind”.

– What they recently finished reading
– Who’s At The Door by Jonathan Allen.The big bad wolf wears several disguises (an old lady, a police officer and a baby) to make his way into the three pigs’ house. They’re not fooled but quickly get annoyed. So they decide it’s time to get rid of the wolf by wearing their own disguise (a bigger badder wolf). My kids LOVED reading this book over and over, using the flaps to open and slam the door in the wolf’s face.
– Fartiste by Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer. Ironically my six year old enjoyed this book a lot more than his little brother. I was personally fascinated to read the real story of French performer Joseph Pujol, who as a little boy realized he could control his farts. Pujol grew up to become “Le Petomane” at the turn of the 20th century, making audiences at the Moulin Rouge laugh with his animal noises, songs, etc. The book even includes a short biography of Joseph Pujol.

– What I think they’ll read next
I don’t know but I’m sure it will be good stuff. What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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WWW Wednesdays – August 22, 2012

You may have noticed I skipped this week’s WordPress photo challenge. The theme was “merge” and I was very uninspired. I’ve also been dealing with some growing health concerns for the past few weeks with no diagnostic yet. I’ve realized that worry can really put a damper on creativity. Even reading doesn’t bring as much relief as I’d like it to.  :-(

My bookshelf

– What I’m currently reading
Tonight I’ll be starting Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, the last book of The Hunger Games series. I can’t wait to see how it all wraps up.

– What I recently finished reading

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the sequel to The Hunger Games. Wow, I never saw what happened in the last 30 pages of this book coming. I’m so glad I’m finally reading this series.

 

– What I think I’ll read next

Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. Eventually I’ll get to it, right?

 

My kids’ bookshelf

– What they’re currently reading
– Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth by Alison McGhee. On her first day of school a first grader becomes scared after a second grader tells her that her teacher is a 300-year-old alien with a purple tongue who steals baby teeth from her students. And our first grader has a wobbly tooth, oh no!

–  Simply Delicious! by Margaret Mahy. A father tries to take a double-dip-chocolate-chip-and-cherry ice cream cone home to his son, but a whole bunch of jungle animals chase his bike to get to the ice cream first. This is a very funny book, in which you get to say “double-dip-chocolate-chip-and-cherry ice cream cone” about a dozen times. Go ahead, try it.

– What they recently finished reading
I just discovered the Fluffy book series by Kate McMullan and the kids love the stories. Fluffy is the classroom guinea pig and he’s got a big imagination (and a big ego). Our favorite books so far are:
– Fluffy Plants a Jelly Bean: you’d think nothing will grow when you plant a jelly bean, but leave it to Fluffy to actually manage to sprout something out of the ground.
– Fluffy Meets the Dinosaurs: Fluffy sneaks in at the Natural History Museum with his class. When he finds out his cousins are rats and mice and his ancestors were skiddish wild cavies, he decides to rewrite history and make the T-Rex his legitimate ancestor. My four-year old asked me to read this book every night for several nights in a row – a big hit.

– What I think they’ll read next
I don’t know but I’m sure it will be good stuff. What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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