What I've Read in 2013

This will be my running list of books I've read this year. I'll link to it in my sidebar, and keep it updated.

For me:

1. The Cursing Mommy's Book of Days (Ian Frazier)

For/with Skye (grades 8-9):

1. A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel (Hope Larson)
2. Chiggers (Hope Larson)

With Skye (grades 8-9) and Felix (grades 2-3):

1. Knight's Castle (Edward Eager)

With Felix (grades 2-3):

1. Rosalie, My Rosalie (Jacquelyn Mitchard)
2. A Dog on His Own (Mary Jane Auch)
3. Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye #5: Raining Cats and Detectives (Colleen AF Venable & Stephanie Yue)

+ Picture Books:

• Step Gently Out (Helen Frost & Rick Lieder)
• The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (Eugene Trivizas & Helen Oxenbury)
• Moose, Goose and Little Nobody (Ellen Raskin)
• Creepy Carrots! (Aaron Reynolds & Peter Brown)
• Black Dog (Levi Pinfold)
• Chloe and the Lion (Mac Barnett & Adam Rex)
• Extra Yarn (Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen)
• A Home for Bird (Philip C. Stead)

For Kids Book Club (ages 8-12):



For Teen Book Club (ages 12+):

1. Everybody Sees the Ants (A.S. King)
2. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
3. Reached (Ally Condie)

Maud Hart Lovelace nominees, 2012-13 (for Kids and Teen Book Clubs):

Picture Books with Felix

One of my reading goals for 2013 is to read more picture books with my kids again, especially with Felix.  They both still enjoy them, and I hope they will throughout their lifetimes.

So far this January, Felix and I have read three together:

Step Gently Out by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder

"Step gently out, be still, and watch a single blade of grass."

Helen Frost wrote two novels in poetry for young people that my daughter and I loved:  Diamond Willow and Hidden.  When we looked for more information about her, we found this picture book.  Step Gently Out uses beautiful photos by Rick Lieder as illustrations for a gorgeous poem by Frost about insects.  Felix was a little intimidated -- he's hated insects ever since being stung by a hornet a couple of years ago -- but the photos are so up-close and detailed that he couldn't help but be intrigued.  The last two pages give more information about each of the tiny creatures that are mentioned in the poem.

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury

"Once upon a time, there were three cuddly little wolves with soft fur and fluffy tails who lived with their mother."

I always cheer when I see Helen Oxenbury's illustrations!  She is marvelous, gentle and fun.  In this twist on the story of the Three Little Pigs, there are lots of funny changes to talk about and predictions to make.  The wolves start by building a brick house, but the Big Bad Pig knocks it down with a sledgehammer.  What will they all try next?  And how will this tale end?  Felix and I had fun spotting the china teapot the wolves saved from the pig's destruction on many of the pages.

Moose, Goose and Little Nobody by Ellen Raskin

One day a big wind blew.
Trees fell and a gas pump flew.
From somewhere a red roof
spun through the air
and came down with a
BUMP!

"What is that?" said Moose to Goose.

Felix loved this one!  Ellen Raskin is silly and adores playing with words.  For more about this book (and to see some of the great illustrations), check out this review on one of my favorite blogs, Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves.

Today

Last night

Little Free Library, Day 3

Two books were taken today:  If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (Pseudonymous Bosch) and Frankenstein (Mary Shelley).

People left these today:  How the Tiny People Grew Tall, a hardcover picture book by Nancy Wood & Rebecca Walsh; In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories, an I Can Read book by Alvin Schwartz & Dirk Zimmer; a big, fun book – one of those with lots of flaps and envelopes and such -- called Ghost Files:  The Haunting Truth; The War of the Flowers, a fantasy novel by Tad Williams; and the four Amulet graphic novels by Kazu Kibuishi!

And later, If You're Reading This, It's Too Late was returned.  (I wonder if these quick returns are taken by parents, and returned when their child says, "I'm not interested in that," or, "I've already read that.")

Also:
~ I found notes in two of the books that were left.
~ I talked to two more neighbors and a few people I saw passing by, encouraging them to use the Library.
~ I posted a quote in the window of the Library, the same one I recently posted on the sidebar of my blog:  "The beginning is always today." -Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
~ I made a welcome note, telling how to use the Library, and put some copies of it inside. (See photo above.)

It's fun to host a busy Little Free Library!  I'll update more at the end of the week.

Little Free Library, Day 2

Here's a photo of our Little Free Library.  Gorgeous, eh?  My dad does great work!

When I checked it around 10:30 on Saturday morning, the following books had been taken:

Ten, Keith Haring
Miss Child Has Gone Wild, Dan Gutman
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Gary D. Schmidt
Will Grayson, Will Grayson, John Green & David Levithan

And the following books were left inside by others:
Pooh’s ABCs – a board book
All the World, bilingual version (English/Spanish) by Liz Garton Scanlon (Author) & Marla Frazee (Illustrator) – one of those little books that comes in a Cheerios box, I think

Cool!  I wonder if the people who took/left the books will be back.  I expect so.  I saw my neighbor outside today, and she said, “Everyone’s admiring your Little Free Library!”  I should have said, “It’s not mine, it’s ours!” but instead I excitedly told her that people were using it already.  She said she knows someone in Milwaukee who has one.

Today, I plan to make a little info note for the library, and pick up some flyers about our library’s fall celebration to include for people to take.

Later…

I checked the Little Free Library several times on Saturday.  In the late afternoon, I noticed that three more new books were added:

Save Me, Lisa Scottoline

Blood Canticle, Anne Rice

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

And Will Grayson, Will Grayson was returned.

One neighbor who was outside doing yard work stopped by, exclaiming that she loved the idea, that she'd thought about making one but wasn't sure how to do it, and told me she’d bring some books over soon.

I picked up some flyers at our library about our fall celebration of community that we hold there every year. This year, we are starting the day with a 3K Fun Run. The flyers give the date and information on how to register; I thought sticking some flyers into the Little Free Library could be another way to let people know who might be interested.

I also wrote some little notes on Post-its and stuck them in books, things like “We love Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle! Enjoy!” and “I finally read this classic novel and thoroughly enjoyed it. What took me so long?” I left the pad of Post-its and a pen in the Library and wrote on the top one, “Add a note to a book, if you like!"

Another neighbor stopped by as I was adding notes to books to tell me she’d brought her granddaughter over.  She’s the one who took Ten, and then left the Pooh’s ABCs board book.  I encouraged her to take a book for herself, and we decided on The Magic Thief, as she enjoyed Harry Potter.  She said she’d seen some of our neighbors paying a visit to the library.

Later that evening, I noticed that the Jonathan Kellerman mystery had been taken.

It's so fun to watch its activity every day!  I hope to post more tomorrow about Sunday's Little Free Library excitement.

Little Free Library, Day 1

Sorry I've been gone.  Life got very busy after spring break -- end of the school year and now summer vacation -- and I just haven't figured out how to sneak blogging into my daily life recently.  But we've got something new I am very excited about, and I want to keep a record about it here, at least for a little while.

We just installed a Little Free Library!  My dad made it for us, and it's adorable.  When he was putting it in for us, some neighbors stopped by to admire his work.  Because it's so beautiful, they worried a bit about vandalism.  (It's a common concern; click on the Little Free Library link to read their wise words on this topic.)

"I bet some people will just take a book and never return it," another neighbor worried.  My dad stopped in the middle of his work, looked right at her, and said, "That's the point.  That would be great!  If they keep it, that means they have it in their home to read again and again."  Then he told a story of when he was an elementary school principal.  Everyone worried about books not being returned to the school library.  Money was a concern, of course, but he often chose to look at the silver lining:  "Those books are now out there in the world, in homes where they can be read and enjoyed."

Here's what I put out in our library today:

~ Some board books:  Ten (Keith Haring), *Lola at the Library (Anna McQuinn & Rosalind Beardshaw), and *Max's Bedtime (Rosemary Wells).
~ Some picture books and an early reader:  *Frederick (Leo Lionni), *Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash (Sarah Weeks & Nadine Bernard Westcott), and Piglet Feels Small (Jennifer Liberts).
~ Lots of middle-grade chapter books:  The Sunday Horse (Marie Gibson), *Miss Child Has Gone Wild (Dan Gutman), Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic and Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (Betty MacDonald), Runaway Ralph (Beverly Cleary), The Magic Thief (Sarah Prineas), If You're Reading This, It's Too Late, (Pseudonymous Bosch), The Battle of the Labyrinth (Rick Riordan), Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (Gary D. Schmidt).
~ A young adult novel:  *Will Grayson, Will Grayson (John Green & David Levithan).
~ Several other books:  *50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth, *Gravity: Poems (John Minczeski), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck), An Incomplete Revenge (Jacqueline Winspear).

My parents also left some inside:  Mysteries by Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, and John Grisham, Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter, and The Trellis and the Seed (Jan Karon).

Later in the day, I couldn't resist stopping at the used bookstore and picking up a supply of cheap but good books.  I picked out ones that we'd already read, or that I've heard good things about.  Now I've got a backup stash, to reload the library as people take books.  (The starred titles above are ones I bought there.)  I'd like to keep the selection broad, with books for readers young and old.

When do you think the library will start being used?  Which books do you think will be taken first?  Which one would you take, if any?  Do you think anyone will leave a book?

I will post a photo of our library tomorrow, and let you know it's gotten any attention yet.  I'll try to update daily for a couple of days, and then maybe weekly.  (By the way, this post was written about Friday's experience; I'll post about Saturday tomorrow.)

What I've Watched in 2012

This will be my running list of the movies/television I've watched this year. I'll link to it in my sidebar, and keep it updated.  I'm hoping to do a few posts about my viewing, too, as the year progresses.

For me:
1.  Winter's Bone
2.  An Education
3.  Inception
4.  Downton Abbey (Season 1)
5.  The Hunger Games


With dh:
1.  Doctor Who (Series 3)
2.  Doctor Who (Series 4)
3.  Doctor Who (The Complete Specials)
4.  The Artist

With the whole family:
1.  The Muppet Show (Season 2)
2.  Puss in Boots
3.  Enchanted
4.  The Sound of Music
5.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
6.  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Where I've Been