Category: Books

Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat

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Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat (2003)..
by Stephen Michael King

I don’t know that I ever would have found this book had a friend of mine not tucked it in with a shipment of baby clothes she was loaning me.  She said the book was one of their favorites and one that made her think of me.  I was so touched by that, especially after I read it.  This book immediately skyrocketed to one of my all-time favorites.

Milli is an artist, a creator, but she’s too shy to share her creations with the world.  So, she does her best to blend in with the ordinary world, as a basic shoemaker.  But when two minstrels show up in town and befriend her, Milli suddenly finds the spark she had needed to be who she truly is.

 

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Belinda the Ballerina

Book Scavenger

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Book Scavenger (2015)
by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

I’m such a creature of habit sometimes.  I love re-reading books that I already know I enjoy, so I can be pretty resistant to “new” books.  And so, I almost gave up on Book Scavenger a short ways in.  It was one of those instances where the quotes of praise on the back cover were what actually convinced me to keep going, and I am SO very glad I did.

This book is so much fun.  It’s got riddles and mystery and suspense.  It hits on how friendships and sibling relationships shift and change.  It’s got literary references, San Francisco references.  For a book basically about books, it’s got a lot of technology in it—blogs, forums, online games, video making, laptops…  I think that was a strange concept for me, since I’m usually drawn to children’s literature that lets me escape the here-and-now world.  But, I expect these technology references will help reluctant readers relate and connect to this book.

I encouraged my husband to read this book after me, since we’re both fans of a book with a similar feel, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and he blew through it in a day.  Book Scavenger is Ms. Bertman’s first novel, and I can’t wait to see if there’s another on the way!

Winnie-the-Pooh Day, January 18th

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Winnie-the-Pooh Day is celebrated every January 18th (author, A.A. Milne’s birthday).  Here are some ideas for celebrating Pooh Day at home or with friends:

–Read Winnie-the-Pooh and House at Pooh Corner
–Find a stream and play a game of Pooh Sticks
–Build a house of sticks for Eeyore
–Follow animal tracks and see if you can catch a Woozle
–Play Pin-the-Tail on Eeyore
–Make honey cakes, honey lemonade, or pass out honey sticks
–Serve foods like carrots (for Rabbit), pita pockets (for Kanga and Roo), beverage labeled as “Roo’s Strengthening Medicine” (for Tigger), etc.
–Give guests “B” and “HB” pencils, standing, of course, for “Bear” and “Helping Bear”
–Go on an “expotition” to find the North Pole
–Decorate with a map of the “100 Aker Wood” and other illustrations from the books
–Decorate with at least one big blue balloon
–Wish everyone a “Very Happy Thursday!”
–Hang a sign on the bathroom door that reads, “BISY BACKSON”
–Hang an Eeyore tail by the door and this sign: “PLES RING IF AN RNSER IS REQIRD.”
–Hand out Winnie-the-Pooh quizzes to test people’s Pooh knowledge.  The winner gets an empty pot with a broken red balloon inside.

If some of these don’t make any sense to you, re-read the books.  =)

Winnie-the-Pooh and House at Pooh Corner

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Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and House at Pooh Corner (1928)
stories by A.A. Milne, illustrations by E.H. Shepard

I grew up as a huge fan of Pooh.  But, embarrassingly, I didn’t even touch the actual books until college, when I was able to visit Ashdown Forest.  In reality, the books, like those of the precocious Eloise, are as much, if not more, for adults than kids anyway.  Even still…How could I have gone so long without the real Winnie-the-Pooh?

Even though all the chapters in these books are their own stories, and they were written two years apart, I still think of the two books as one unit.  If you’ve only been exposed to Disney’s Pooh, I highly recommend reading these.  You’ll never go back.  I can’t, of course, speak to these books from a child’s perspective (although I will say that our 3-year old sits and listens to a chapter every night), but the stories are so very entertaining.  They may feel slower-paced than some modern children’s literature, but it’s the subtle humor of these books that makes them such treasures.  Once I finally introduced myself to the books, I also found that my character favorites (and least favorites) changed.  While Pooh had always been my Number One (Oh, boy, this could go very wrong…) as a child, Piglet is definitely my favorite in the books.  I won’t go into least favorites, as I know how attached people become to these characters, but I do highly recommend giving these books a read or a re-read to see for yourself.

Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and House at Pooh Corner (1928)

Celebrate Pooh Day every January 18th!  (A.A. Milne’s birthday)

Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters

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The Forgotten Sisters (2015) by Shannon Hale

(third book in the series)

I’m usually a bit wary of sequels, but I couldn’t help my surprise and enthusiasm when I saw there was a 3rd book in the Princess Academy story.  You know those books that suck you in from the very beginning?  The ones you stay up too late reading, skipping over words (even though each word is so well-thought out) so you can see what happens next?  Books you want to rush to the ending, but at the same time mourn the turning pages that are gone?  Yup, that’s this one.  Adventures, emotion, humor, suspense, surprises, and lots of girl power.  A wonderful book to conclude the series.  (Ms. Hale says it’s done, but does it have to be?)  This one’s a definite re-read and a definite keeper.

 

Book quotes:

“Courage is not fearlessness.  Courage is feeling justly afraid and yet still doing what is right.”  ~remembered words of Master Filippus, Ch. 2

“Reading a book is like going on a great journey.  You don’t know what’ll happen, but something is bound to change.  And for me, that change has always been good.” ~Miri, ch.9

“The point of education is to learn other ways too.  Don’t just assume that all you know is right.  Learn more and then choose.”  ~Miri, ch. 11

“All progress begins with education, and whenever war begins, education ceases.”  Master Trundell’s theory, ch 24