52 Books in 52 Weeks

I have been a bit behind on my reading due to January's end of year tax season! So this post is actually going to have 2 book reviews in it. The first book is Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson. This was a touching story about an elderly woman who lives alone and just despises her back-door neighbor. She is troubled by a sermon she heard at church about loving your neighbor and just knows that the Lord doesn't mean Jack. Out of the blue, a dog shows up in her yard to do his business, how rude! She is sure that the dog belongs to Jack so she brings him "home". In the mean time her step granddaughter, a runaway, shows up on her doorstep for a visit. I won't spoil the ending but it is a great "feel good" read.

The second book I finished was The Witness by Dee Henderson. This is the first book I have read by this Christian Fiction author but I will definitely be reading more of her books. This book opens in a mall where a police officer is summoned to a bathroom where he finds a woman who is shaken up and bleeding. He is led to a jewelry store where he finds a troubling site. This book is just too good to give away any more of the plot. Suffice it to say Henderson weaves a tale with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.

Five For Fun

We have finally gotten back into the swing of things around here and that means Five For Fun has returned to our daily reading! Abi was so excited this week to read these "surprise" books again. First on the list was The Adventures of Kitty Tom and Blossom written by Megan Bernadette Harrison. This is a collection of memories written by a local Eastern Shore author of her beloved cat "Kitty Tom" who was given to her when she was just 4 1/2 months old. This is book one in a three book series. Each page brings a funny new mishap for Kitty Tom and Blossom as they go through their days together.

 

Tuesday's read was a very funny book called My Sister's Rusty Bike by Jim Aylesworth. This book combines the elements of a tall tale with rhyme. The "hero" in this book borrows his sisters rusty bike to ride around America. In each state that he visits he meets "some folks I think you'll like." He also gets to meet the most interesting "critters too!" You 'll have to judge for yourself if "it's all true". This was a great way to sneak some funny geography into our day.

On Wednesday we were introduced to Lively Elizabeth by Mara Bergman. No sooner did the title spring from my lips I heard Abi say "That's just like Me". Well lively Elizabeth is quite the active character who chooses to do "what she knows she should never do" and starts quite a chain reaction. In the end, amends are made, and everything is OK again. I think my dear little girl saw herself first hand on the pages of this book which led to a great discussion on the effect of wrong choices even in jest.

Thursday we read The Curious Garden by Peter Brown. Liam lives in a very drab gray city. One day when he is out exploring he happens upon a struggling little "garden". Liam decides to secretly care for this little patch of green. One season leads to another and bit by bit the whole city is transformed. The illustrations are charming but the best tid-bit is found in the Author's at the back of the book!

Last but not least is Mrs. Mctats and her houseful of Cats. Mrs. Mctats and her cat Abner are living in a cozy cottage together.Every day Mrs. Mctats leaves the house at 8:00 sharp to go to the market to buy something to make for dinner. When she returns home there is a scratch at the door and two cats walk in....and then....a few more...and then...a few more....and...just how many cats will come to Mrs. Mctats? Find out in this enjoyable rhyming ABC book.

Abi's pick of the week is My Sister's Rusty Bike. (Shhh...don't tell her it was actually a geography book for school) My top pick this week is The Curious Garden and it is all because of the Author's note at the end!

Happy Reading!

52 Books in 52 Weeks

This week...The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This book is a compilation of 12 short stories told from the perspective of Dr. Watson as he records these 12 cases. Each story is typical Sherlock Holmes....what seems to be is not... and it takes this brilliant sleuth to put everything aright again.
I am a lover of mysteries so this was right up my alley.

52 Books in 52 Weeks

This week I read "Daughter of Joy-Brides of Culdee Creek". It is book 1 in a series by Kathleen Morgan. The book takes place in 1895 in the highlands of Colorado. Abby Stanton finds herself at a fork in the road after the loss of her husband and son. Having to provide for herself, the young widow takes a job as a housekeeper and tutor for the cantankerous rancher Conor MacKay and his young daughter, Beth. When things look bleakest Abby learns to hold fast to her faith to get her through. At first, I thought this was going to be a very predictable book but the author throws a few curve balls at the end that really added to the story line. This was the first book that I read on an e-reader and it was free at Amazon. The next books in the series are not free but I can see I will be paying for them so I can complete the saga.

52 books in 52 weeks challenge

Well- I did not meet my goal of 52 books in 52 weeks for 2011. I didn't even come close! but...I had a feeling that this was not the year to keep up with that challenge- with planning a wedding for our oldest daughter in August the year just got away from me. I did read a few more books than I posted on the blog but not what I intended. I am going to attempt this again this year because I like the challenge! So...."the game is afoot!"

Five For Fun

The books we read this week were very...um..different. Monday's read was Honey...Honey...LION! by Jan Brett. This was an African folk tale sort of a story about a bird called a honeyguide and a honey badger who are partners and work together to get honey. The honeyguide finds the honeycomb and the honey badger breaks it open and they share the sweet treat. This is the way it has always been until one day, when the honey badger decides not to share and gulps down all the honey! But tomorrow is another day....where will the honeyguide lead the badger to today?!! The art work in this book was wonderful showing all of the exotic animals that live in the Okavango Delta of Botswana.

On Tuesday we read One Monday Morning by Uri Shulevitz. This story is set in the drab grey tenements of the city, where a little boy imagines a royal company comes to visit him. When the King, the Queen, and the little Prince come to visit on Monday Morning....the little boy is not home. The royal family decides to come back on Tuesday....but....the little boy is not home. Which day will they find him there? and how many members of the royal party will be added to the guest list? Maybe we'll find out on.......

In Brown Paper Teddy Bear by Catherine Allison Jessica is awakened at night by a strange light that reveals an old toy cupboard. As she looks through the old toys she finds a Teddy Bear wrapped up in brown paper. The teddy bear asks her if she wants to meet all his old friends and is whisked away to a playroom filled with toys from long ago. She has a wonderful time playing with them but must leave and return to her room by morning. When she wakes up, she tells Grandpa all about the cupboard and the wonderful old toys. I'll leave you guessing whose toys these are. The neatest thing about this book is that all the pages are brown paper.

Slow Down For Manatees by Jim Arnosky shows how these gentle sea cows live in Florida's shallow canals and really don't have any natural enemies. However, the most problematic thing for them are boat motors. The story tells of a manatee that is injured by a boat motor, rescued, and released back into the wild. A small surprise is also found out about. This book is a fictional story, but in the author's notes he shares about a manatee that was hurt and released in this same way. In the end, slow down for manatee signs are put up in the canals which help remind the boaters to look out for these sea creatures.

Finally we read Pancakes For Supper by Anne Isaacs. This is sort of "fable-esk" story where a little girl meets several wild animals as she is lost in the woods, each one desiring to eat her. With each animal she cleverly figures out how to make each one the grandest in the forest. She escapes from danger just in time to see all five animals fighting over who is the grandest and the next thing you know they begin to chase each other around and around a tree so fast they turn into a brown puddle. Just as Ma and Pa come to find her she has a great idea...Pancakes for supper..covered in sweet brown maple syrup from the tree where the animals turned into a puddle. If you ever have read the book Little Babaja you will recognize some similarities with this tall tail.

 Our hands down favorite this week was Honey....Honey...Lion. Great artwork and the moral at the end of the story says it all. We hope everyone has a great week. Ours will start with a trip to the library for our next set of FFF!

Five For Fun

We had another great week of Five For Fun books. Abi is really enjoying our "fun" read alouds. First up was Henry's Amazing Machine by Dayle Ann Dodds. Henry is a unique little guy who starts "putting things together" as a baby. As he grew so did his "machine". He has "whirling things, twirling things, zipping things, zapping things, thunking things, slipping, sliding, dunking things." But what do all these things do? We think that his amazing machine will surprise you as much as it did his parents, neighbors, and well..everyone!

Tuesday's read was Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola. It is a story that is based on his own childhood experiences. Every Sunday he goes over to his grandmother's house and says "hello" to his grandmother, Nana Downstairs, who is always in the kitchen, and then runs up the back stairs to say "hello" to his great-grandmother, Nana Upstairs, who is 94 years old and mostly bedridden. Then one day his mom tells him that Nana Upstairs has died. The story then follows his grief at losing his great-grandmother. As he looks out of his window one starry night he sees a shooting star and says that reminds him of where Nana Upstairs is now. When he is an adult his Nana Downstairs passes away and he remembers that both of his Nana's are now Nana Upstairs. It was an ok story but it didn't specifically mention anything about Jesus or Heaven, so personally I think there are better stories out there for helping children cope with loss.

Wednesday was Swimming with Dolphins by Lambert Davis. This is a great story about a little girl and her mom that live on an island that go out on the beach early in the morning to wait for the dolphins. Then they put on masks and snorkels to swim with these gentle creatures. The illustrations in the book were beautiful and it really did feel like we were swimming right along with them. The author also includes some factual information on the last page which is great for science/nature study.

Thursday brought us to Thanks a Lot Emily Post by Jennifer LaRue Huget. This funny story is written from the thoughts of the children when mom brings home a little blue book written by Emily Post. Everything was just fine until the book showed up. Now it was "Emily Post This" and "Emily Post That". No more slumping in the chairs & no more shouting. Then a plan hatches. Will the children finally triumph over Emily Post? You might be surprised.

We ended the week with The Great Nursery Rhyme Disaster by David Conway. Just what would happen if Little Miss Muffet got tired of sitting on her tuffet and decided she wanted to try out another nursery rhyme? Find out what happens as she travels from page to page trying to be what she is not. Will she find a good fit in the shoes of someone else or will chaos reign. Why did she want to leave her rhyme anyway? Oh yeah.......

Well Abi's pick this week was Swimming With Dolphins. "Why? I asked". Her answer: "because I wish I could really do that." Good enough for me. I thought that my pick would have been Thanks a Lot Emily Post until we got to Friday. I guess it spoke to me on a deeper level. Enjoy where you are spiders and all. Ok..I'm not into the spider part but learning to accept what God has planned for my life even with the little annoyances that come is a valuable truth to learn and pass on to our children. (The book didn't include that theme but was dropped into my heart by the Holy Spirit). We hope you find something great to read this week. Please share your finds with us by leaving a comment. Blessings- Jodi-Marie & Abi