Belinda the Ballerina

Posted on May 23, 2019July 17, 2020 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Belinda the Ballerina (2001) by Amy Young .

With a daughter who loves ballet and a bagizillion books on the topic at the library, it’s hard to sort through and find the good ones. Fortunately, we stumbled across the Belinda books pretty early on.

Belinda is a hard-working dancer with a passion for ballet. Her feet, however, are quite sizable, especially for a dancer. She doesn’t mind, but the esteemed judges at an audition try to tell her otherwise. Discouraged, Belinda calls it quits for awhile, but her passion won’t let her stay still for long.

We love all the Belinda books (there are four in the series). She is kind, graceful, and best of all, has a true love of dancing.

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The Watermelon Seed

Posted on May 23, 2019July 17, 2020 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

What kid hasn’t imagined the awful things that might happen inside his tummy if he swallowed a watermelon seed? In this book, a watermelon-loving crocodile does just that. After swallowing a seed, this crocodile plays out all the scenarios that must be going on inside.

There’s no heartfelt message or sentimental tears at the end of this book; it’s purely for fun—short, colorful, and silly . My one-and-a-half-year old can’t get enough of this book right now, and our six-year old loves hearing it over and over as well. I’m excited to read more by Greg Pizzoli!

Frindle

Posted on May 23, 2019July 17, 2020 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Frindle (1996) by Andrew Clements

Nick Allen isn’t a bad kid, but he certainly uses his clever ideas and wit to his advantage. So, when he asks his 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Granger, about her favorite book, the dictionary, he’s really only trying to stall that day’s lessons. But what she says in her answer leads to one of his biggest ideas yet. In an experiment with how words are made, Nick creates his own new word for ‘pen’–‘frindle.’ What starts as a 5th grader testing his teacher, becomes something bigger than any of them could have guessed.

This is a super quick read, and I’ve read it far too many times to count. It’s fun, sweet, and a great commentary on how change is created in our world. And, if you’re anything like me, Frindle will leave you with some happy tears at the end. If you haven’t read this yet, please do yourself a favor and do so.

Happy Thoughts

Posted on May 16, 2019April 28, 2022 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

In 1990, there was a book published called, 14,000 Things to Be Happy About. I don’t remember exactly when my family purchased it, but I remember LOVING this book. We had the daily calendar too. I remember delighting in filling blank journals with my own lists of happy things:
–rainy, Sunday mornings
–my stuffed animal, Bunny
–freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
…things like that.

What I’ve come to realize about myself is that if I start worrying or thinking negatively, my mind can take off in that direction at an alarming speed. Scary fast. BUT, the good news is that my mind can just as easily and quickly take off in the opposite direction of happy thoughts, if I just give it the tiniest bit of guidance. When I was a young teen, and even a young adult, I was pretty good at finding that space to encourage myself to look for the good and reframe things. But, in these sleep-deprived, muddled days, I’m struggling with that quite a bit.

It wasn’t recently when reading this lovely post on my friend’s Patreon page that I even remembered my “happy” journals. She created a “jar of joy” full of beautiful, decorated strips of paper that shared her “moments of goodness.” I really love this idea. It seems like a fun, simple way to remember some of the things in life that bring joy. It got me thinking of different ways to create a collection of happy thoughts:

–happiness or gratitude journals
–a weekly chalkboard space for the family to jot down happy thoughts (Snap a pic at the end of the week, if you’d like.)
–a joy jar for yourself or for friends to contribute to, as well
–maybe a gift of a joy jar to a gift recipient (So, maybe have each guest at a party or reception write down a happy thought or memory associated with the guest(s) of honor.)
–a nightly dinner ritual to say something we’re happy about or grateful for in that moment

Anyway, I think the more we can appreciate about this wonderful Life, the more we will treat ourselves, others, and our world with kindness and respect. And, in that way, this small act of finding things to be happy about can start changing the world for the better.

(When I looked up the book, 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, I came across this awesome website! It’s colorful and fun, and when you click each section, including the calendar at the top, you’ll be able to view a list of happy thoughts for that topic. You can also use the refresh button to the right of the list to get more happy ideas. It looks like the author, Barbara Ann Kipfer, has many books of collections to help you find the good in your days!)

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Princess Academy: Palace of Stone

Posted on May 1, 2019July 17, 2020 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone (2012) by Shannon Hale

(second book in the series)

Miri of Mount Eskel is traveling to the city of Danland for a year to help prepare for Britta’s royal wedding and to attend the university there. Joining her are five other academy graduates and Peder. Life isn’t quite as ideal as they had all imagined it would be in the big city. The king has been demanding higher and higher tributes, the people of Danland are hungry and scared, and it seems only a matter of time before a revolution. Miri is caught between her determination for fair change and her loyalty to her best friend, the future princess. She also finds herself confused by feelings for a new admirer and her realization that her world has become bigger than her simple life on Mount Eskel.

As with all of Shannon Hale’s books, this novel is masterfully told. The humanness, courage, intelligence, and humor of Hale’s characters is endearing. Palace of Stone is definitely a weightier story than the first Princess Academy book. Our young daughter begged me to read and tell her the first book and was giddy with excitement about hearing this second one. This book definitely required a lot more edited summarizing, rather than reading. It’s a wonderful book, and I love how Miri is able to find a courageous balance to hold on to all that is important and dear to her.