WWRW: The Good, the Bad, and the May Link-Up

Did you miss me on A Seeking Heart with Allison Gingras this past Monday?

No worries. You can still listen to us discuss turkey bacon, tiaras, and technology by clicking here.

I've read lots of fiction for kids this past month, and quite honestly, not much of it is worth recommending.

This is what you do want to read:

Popular: How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence by Maya Van Wagenen.

Maya discovers a vintage book on popularity written in the 1950s and puts each chapter to the test in her 8th grade year at a public middle school in Brownsville, Texas. This book is NON-fiction. An actual 8th grader did things like wear a girdle, put vaseline on her eyelids, and sport a hat and gloves.

Maya is terrific writer, especially because at this time she is only fifteen. I hear that her book might be made into a movie. The chutzpah she had to do what she did...I have to say I really admire her.

Brownsville middle school is not a G rated place. Pregnant seventh graders, drug-sniffing dogs, in-school lock-downs are routine. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Does Maya become popular? It's hard to say. The conclusions she comes to in her year-long experiment are incredibly insightful and can be applied to all ages. Maya is one "swell" kid.

It's no secret that we are bigtime John Flanagan fans over here. I recently re-read the first of the Brotherband Chronicles, The Outcasts. I remember being underwhelmed the first time around but now that I own an autographed copy of Book 5 (squee!) I began again.

Now I remember! I was frustrated that a plot twist in the last chapter or two chops off the story in media res.

This time however I was able to dive right into The Invaders: Brotherband Chronicles, Book 2. Hal and his seafaring friends are still on a long term quest, but I feel more settled now that Book 2 ended on a more positive note.I even got Book 3 from the library, because I must follow this until the end.

For all of you die-hard Ranger's Apprentice fans, Hal and Thorn are like Will and Halt. But with boats. Lots of boats and no horses.

Now for the rest or What Not to Read. I'm not going to bother making Amazon links for these, because they're just not worth my time or yours.

Masterminds by Gordon Korman. Meh. Kids in a seemingly perfect town learn that they are clones in a social experiment (The Truman Show?), and that their "parents" have lied to them their entire lives.

Very angst. Many hurts. Much unhappy with the grown-ups.

Also, the book is one big set-up for a series so the ending is really just the beginning and you know how I get irritated by that. Of all the books that I'm down on, this one is the least objectionable. I was annoyed by it, that's all.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson is about a girl, her quirky family, and the hotel they run in NYC. Could be fun and cute except that on page 1 we learn that it's Scarlett's fifteenth birthday. In the next few chapters, she falls in love with her college age brother's friend. Can you say statutory rape? Also her brother, the 19 or 20 something one is getting involved with one of the guests. A guest who is easily in her 50s. Hello Mrs. Robinson. Ew. I didn't finish it.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is about a girl with a clubfoot in England at the start of World War II. She is abused by her single mother, escapes the apartment she has been confined to her entire life, and gets relocated with other evacuees (including her brother) in rural Kent. In Kent, she finds acceptance and love in the home of her host.

Two problems.

First of all, I have read this book before. Different title. Boy child abused by his single mother, evacuated to rural England, rehabilitated by his host. It was called Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian. Both books are terribly tragic. The abuse story-lines are hard to stomach.

Secondly, in The War That Saved My Life, the woman who takes in the disabled girl and her brother is quite clearly a lesbian. She has suffered depression since the death of her lover. Taking in and caring for two evacuated, underfed, and disadvantaged children pulls her out of self-absorption and despondency.

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles. I want to like this book. The story of two special-ed high school graduates getting a home together and starting their adult lives is touching.

Let me just mention a few of the troubling topics.

Gang rape.

That's probably enough but there's more.

More rape.
And violence.
And abuse.

It was very painful to read.

Yes, the two mentally disabled young women become friends and find support and get their lives in order. But in a kids' book?!

Ok. I can't end on that note so let me direct your attention to my Instagram feed.

La, la, la, la, la...happy happy joy joy! That's Jill reading Perfect Square by Michael Hall.

Looking for picture books? I read far too many to review so I take pictures of the good ones and use the hashtag #housewifespicepicturebooks.

The collection grows every day. Jill is insatiable and my library has no limit on check-outs. Take a gander at the bounty of beautiful books that are actually appropriate for children!

*deep cleansing breaths*

That's better.

Now link up your book reports! I mean book reviews. Here's hoping your reads have been more peace filled than mine. This link up will be open til around May 30th. Perfect for the procrastinating reader.

An InLinkz Link-up

WWRW: April Link Up and Saint Books for Kids

The Life of Saint Benedict by John McKenzie and Mark Brown is told in full page watercolor pictures. The text explains what is shown in each painting. Brother McKenzie did an excellent job making the story of St. Benedict's life accessible to children.

This book is lengthy, however. Not your typical "sit down let's read a story." I used it to supplement Edmund's history studies this month and it meshed nicely with the spread of monasticism/early middle ages unit we are currently working on.

I'm so glad I read this book with Edmund and was able to share my memories of visiting Subiaco and Montecassino, as well as the World War II Battle of Montecassino and subsequent re-building. I think it makes history more real if you can make it a little personal.

I was provided this book in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

The Queen & the Cross: The Story of Saint Helen and The Saint Who Fought the Dragon by Cornelia Mary Bilinsky fit the tiny niche of books that interest both my three year old and my twelve year old.

These faithful re-tellings of the lives of St. Helen and St. George are brief but accurate. Both are lovely additions to any collection of saints picture books.

We've had all of the Fr. Lovasik Book of Saints books for many years.

The illustrations are...shall we say...very stylized? The 12 part series is also lacking many of our more recently canonized saints.

I was delighted to find the Pauline Press Little Book of Saints in six volumes at a nearby shrine giftshop. Jill was thrilled that Book 1 has her patron saint, St. Bakhita as well as Sts. Faustina and Juan Diego.

Other newcomers include Blessed Damien of Molokai, St. Paul Miki, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Blessed Miguel Pro, St. Katharine Drexel, St. Gianna Molla, St. Marguerite d'Youville, and St. Edith Stein, all represented in later volumes, as well as even more newer saints and blesseds that I'm unfamiliar with. Of course all of the "regulars" that you would expect are covered as well.

Would you prefer this St. Madeleine?

Or this one?

The illustrations are in the newer Pauline Press books are fresh, simple yet charming, colored drawings. None of the romantic steaminess of the vintage Lovasik series.

Amazon does not carry the six volumes of Little Book of Saints, but you can buy them online here.

You can link up your April book reviews Here!

An InLinkz Link-up

WWRW: Twitter Style.

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt. National Book Award Finalist. Might be my favorite Appelt book. Holes meets Hoot with raccoons, sugar pies, gator wrestling, and a cryptid. Gotta love a cryptid.

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin. Winner of the first #CharlotteHuck award. High-functioning autistic girl loves rules and homonyms. Loses dog in hurricane. Sad homelife with single dad who drinks. Happy ending makes it worthwhile.

Pi in the Sky by Wendy Mass. very sci fi. Not my fave. Hard to get into another world, species, etc. Protagonist runs around most of the book trying to find a solution to his problem, but not finding it. Enjoyed the afterword.

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh. Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor Book and Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. Little known (to me) story of California's desegregation of Mexican American schools. Fascinating pictures with Aztec? influences? Jill thought the ears were weird.

The Dean's Watch by Elizabeth Goudge. Old favorite. Big time Goudge fan here. First few chapters are rough going. Much description. Very historical background. Stick with it because this book is a treasure. New discoveries every time I read it. Also, Jill may be Bella.

An InLinkz Link-up

WWRW: Three for the New Year

Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt

If you liked The Mysterious Benedict Society or Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library or you just like reading about nice boys doing good deeds and solving mysteries, this one's for you.

The sequel, Mister Max: The Book of Secrets is already out so you know I'm headed to the Library Store (as Jill calls it) ASAP.

A Question of Magic by E. D. Baker

Serafina is a happy girl with a good family and a true love etc.  She goes to collect a mysterious inheritance and ends up as the new Baby Yaga.  She receives the power to answer every person's question truthfully, but only the first question.  And there's a catch.  With every answer she gives, she ages.  Can she escape her fate before she dies?  If you enjoy fairy tales, you'll enjoy A Question of Magic.

The Huron Carol by St. Jean de Brebeuf illustrated by Frances Tyrell

While a bringing the Faith to the Huron people, St. Jean de Brebeuf wrote a Christmas carol with beautiful native imagery, "wrapped in a rabbit pelt"  "born in a house of bark"  "three chieftains". (Am I supposed to capitalize Native?) The book is appropriate for all ages.  Frances Tyrrell's illustrations are inspired by various tribes and serve the text well.

You can listen to it here, sung hauntingly in Huron, French, and English.

St. Jean de Brebeuf is one of the North American martyrs and was killed by the Iroquois in the 1600s. You can learn more about him and see where he lived and died in this video.

There are six more days of Christmas so I'm not remiss in wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Here's to more book reviews in 2015!

Making a Book List, Checking It Twice...

Every Christmas in these parts, one can expect to find the trifecta of book, toy, article of clothing under the tree.  Santa tries to bring what I call "the investment book."

These are books so good that we should own them, not just borrow them from the library. Oftentimes, these books happen to be books bout Christmas. Have you ever tried to find your favorite Christmas book at the library in December?  Yeah, me too.

I've come across a some good book lists this month with old favorites and new titles to add to my 2015 reading list.

This list from A Mighty Girl is designed with girl readers in mind, but has loads of crossover appeal. These stories are all about Christmas.

I've had Star Bright: A Christmas Story in my Amazon cart for awhile now after seeing the illustrator's work on Instagram.

I read this list of children's book illustrators to follow on Instagram and now I follow ALL OF THEM!  Their creative and quirky photos fill my feed with joy.

Who wouldn't want to see what Brigitte Barrager, author of Jill's very much loved The Twelve Dancing Princesses is working on now?

Or Jon Klassen, author/illustrator/humorist-genius behind I Want My Hat Back?

Here is a list of 15 Picture Books for Giving. Lots of classics on here.

Here is the New York Times List of Notable Children's Books for 2014. Many of these I have not read, but I'll get on that right away.

Lastly, my mom sent me this list titled Your not-to-be-missed Christmas list of kids' books with both tried-and-true and recently-released reads.  This list is NOT a list of books about Christmas.

I've got Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt in my pile right now.

If you're wondering if I've read a particular book, try googling "housewifespice and {insert title or author here}" or just email me!

If you're looking for a particular age or gender, try clicking on those keywords in my sidebar.  I've tried to be diligent about labeling my posts with keywords for easy searchability.  Or you could email me or use this comment box.

I like to think of myself as the Sommelier of Kiddie Lit. And Candy Corn. And Candy Canes. And Bacon.  And I'll stop now.

WWRW: Five of Our Current Favorites

I'm baaack.  Today anyway.  One day at a time.  Minute by minute.

1.  America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2 is bringing sanity and deliciousness to our dinner table, with lots of "open, dump, walk away" recipes that I can manage in the 3.2 minutes Polly will stay in the Bumpo.

This is my copy.  I flagged every recipe that did not require prep work.

To be honest, the most prep work required is microwaving chopped onions and garlic before adding to the slow cooker.  So for normal people not holding high-need babies, it's totally do-able.

Every recipe we've tried so far has been a hit.  Welllllll, I liked the Spiced Tenderloin with Quinoa. The minions ate it, and proclaimed it "interesting." It's the first time these gringos have had anything flavored with garam masala.

Monday, we had the Chicken Pomodoro.  To. Die. For.  Definitely making a double batch of that next time.

We've also made the Chicken Adobo, the Chicken Tomatillo Chile (yum!), and Thursday, I'm making Easy Beef Stew.

November + Polar Vortex = Comfort Foods

2.

Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild! by Mem Fox is Jill's current favorite.

"Harriet Harris is a pesky child."

Jill snuggles up to me as I read this book daily. She looks up at me meaningfully when Harriet makes mess after mess.

She smiles knowingly when I read, "Her mother didn't like to yell, so instead she said, "Harriet, my darling child. Harriet, you'll drive me wild."

Yup. It's like a day in my life right there on the printed page.

3.

A Life of Our Lord for Children by Marigold Hunt is a family read-aloud for the RC Connecting with History course we are using here at St. Jude's School for Kids Who Want To Read Good and Do Other Things Good Too.

And it's really interesting.  Basically, Hunt re-tells the Gospels with a linear timeline, while including all the background info about Jewish and Roman life of the period.  I enjoy reading it, while Edmund enjoys listening.  I'm even picking up a few new facts. Learn something new everyday!

When we finish A Life of Our Lord for Children, we'll continue with Hunt's The First Christians: The Acts of the Apostles for Children

4.

I began Dear Mr. Knightley: A Novel by Katherine Reay, but kept "misplacing" the book, only to find my high school girls were much further along in it than I was.

So I did what any kind and generous parent would do.  I read the ending, and then handed it over.

Dear Mr. Knightley: A Novel is an ideal book for the young adult reader.  Set in modern times, with a "Daddy Long-legs" type plot, Reay's novel is sweet without being saccharine, and relevant without being raunchy.

I predicted (quite accurately) the entire plot and ending, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment in seeing the protagonist live happily ever after.

5.

I read Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy  by Rumer Godden at least fifteen years ago, and I'm re-reading it for Micaela's Stella Maris online book club.

It's like a completely different novel this time around.

Lise Fanshawe, brothel manager goes to prison for a crime passionnel.  From prison, she enters religious life.  From one enclosure to another.  She finds her freedom behind the walls of a convent.

There is so much to think about in this book.  I am avidly looking forward to discussing Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy with the others who have read it.  You've got time.  Come on! Play along!

Yeah.  I would NOT let my high schoolers read this one.  It's gritty.  She's a prostitute. But it's not graphic.

When I was telling Patrick about it (He lets me "tell" him my books, God made him just for me.), he said that this sounded like a book that I would hate.  And it does.  But like I said, gritty, not graphic.

Since I've been MIA for so long, I'm not going to host a link-up, but rather add this post to Jenna's Five Favorites party.

WWRW: Reading About Math

Ten Orange Pumpkins: A Counting Book by Stephen Savage has amazingly clear illustrations that play with light and shadow and silhouette.  The text is pleasantly simple.  Rhyming, but not too rhymey.  Know what I mean?

I have read it to Jill a dozen times, and I could read it a dozen more.  She loves to find the black cat on every page.  In addition to being a counting book, it's a fun Halloween read.

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman is the picture book biography of the famous mathematician, Erdos (pronounced Air-dish).  He loved math so much, he missed out on learning some basic life skills.

When he leaves home for the first time, he can't butter his bread or do laundry or pay bills.  

No worries.  The mathematicians he visits take care of things for him so he can spend his whole life doing math.

Favorite part:  Erdos refers to the children of his friends as Epsilons and the delightful pictures by LeUyen Pham show children wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the Greek letter Epsilon.  Yes, Jill and Polly would look adorable in Epsilon t-shirts.  Who on Etsy can grant this wish?

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky is not for the pre-school set.  Edmund and I learned from it though.  Question:  If Erastothenes knew the earth was round and measured it like 2000+ years ago, how come Columbus's critics didn't get the memo by 1492?

Anyway, I find it fascinating that someone figured out and actually got a crew of people on board to measure the circumference of the earth BY HAND!  Or actually, by foot.  They weren't off by much either!

I'm a visual learner, so it makes sense that I love seeing math in nature.  Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature by Susan C. Campbell explains the Fibonacci sequence and shows us brilliant photos of the sequence in God's creation all around us.  God is so smart.

Laura, WWRW linker upper, wrote about another Fibonacci picture book last week, over at her space called "To Say Nothing of the Sideshow." Of course, I have to check out The Rabbit Problem myself now, as well as On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein which popped up on one of my Amazon searches.

I love that Amazon knows me and gives me book recs.  By the way, I'm an Amazon Associate and I use affiliate links.  I got a nice little gift card from Amazon recently. Thanks for clicking and looking and sometimes buying.

And as always, thank you for linking up!

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WWRW - Barbara McClintock

Aunt Pitty Patty's Piggy, The Tale Of Tricky Fox, and  The Gingerbread Man  are three well-loved books that have been in our home for many years.  I've written about these adaptations by Jim Aylesworth and illustrated by the fabulously talented Barbara McClintock before.

Recently, Patrick overheard me saying to Jill, "Come closer and speak louder," which everyone should recognize as the line the fox uses to get the gingerbread man close enough to eat..."with a snap and a snick, and a lap and a lick, the gingerbread man was gone!"

Jill recognized the quote and immediately took off, "Run, run as fast you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

These are longer stories, for an older toddler or pre-schooler.  Jill loves the stories with their repetition, I relish the beautiful pictures.

We recently discovered some books that Barbara McClintock has written and illustrated all by her-own-self.

Adèle & Simon and Adèle & Simon in America both have the same plot.  Older sister Adele warns younger brother Simon not to lose his many belongings.  Boys will be boys, and while stopping at various Parisian events, Simon manages to lose every single thing. The same thing happens in America, when Adele and Simon travel by train with Aunt Cecile throughout America circa Teddy Roosevelt.

While I did not appreciate Adele's complete lack of patience and understanding as she chides Simon on every single page, I do appreciate the incredibly detailed Parisian street scenes and the American vistas.

IF you have Very Sharp Eyes, You might find Simon's things before they get returned to him at the end of each story.

Barbara McClintock has also written a charming re-telling of Cinderella.  In this version of the tale, the older stepsister is especially mean and takes to calling Cinderella, Cinderbottom, which I have to say I have called Jill a time or two lately.  When I play the role of evil stepsister or stepmother, and threaten her with the ball, she is far more likely to clean up her messes.

McClintock sets her version of Cinderella in France during the reign of King Louis XIV (a fact that I gathered from a savvy review on Goodreads), and the sets and costumes are simply exquisite.

Dahlia , Animal Fables from Aesop, Goldilocks And The Three Bears, and Our Abe Lincoln are McClintock treasures that we have yet to explore.  Today we are heading to that place of wonder and marvel, the library, and hope to get our hands on a few of them.

Too many picture books in this post?   Check out my review of I, Emma Freke from Monday.  And be sure to check out all of the other well-read bloggers links below!

An InLinkz Link-up