Do the book a favor and read a few of the reviews linked below.
Rating: 3/5 ........ 399 pages, 2012
more opinions: Ardent Reader
who else? I know some of you've read it!
Sep 28, 2012
Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins
I feel like there's no real way I can do this book justice, particularly as my mind has been very distracted lately, but here's my impressions anyways. Catching Fire takes off directly where The Hunger Games left off. Having survived the brutal Games, Katniss should have a life of ease now, with a house of her own, more money than she knows what to do with, friends right next door. But of course since she blatantly thwarted the Capitol in her move to win the Games, they've got their eyes on her. Unwittingly she finds herself mixed up in the throes of a rebellion, and thrown into danger when she least expects it. Once again forced into the arena of the Games, she must depend on her wits to survive, hopefully to pull her friends through as well. Things are in turmoil, danger is looming, the government is seething with corruption, people have hidden agendas etc etc. It's always hard for me to write about sequels without giving too much away so I think I'll just stop there. Honestly I was quite surprised at the turn this book took, I wasn't expecting the events that rose up, at all. And even though it was my escape-read of the moment, which meant I didn't really get lost in a gripping story but instead used it to distract myself before going back into the real (lately often unpleasant) world, the last page had me immediately wanting to pick up Mockingjay to see what happens next. It's got that kind of cliffhanger, to grab my attention even when I wasn't really trying to give it. Yeah, I've been a pretty lame reader of late. And still I can tell you this is a good read. It's got angst, rebellion, love, action, suspense, intellectual challenges, survivalist moves, futuristic weirdness (which always intrigues me).... I just wasn't in the mood to give it all my appreciation. For that reason probably going to wait awhile until I read the third in this series. So I can give it its due. Properly.
Do the book a favor and read a few of the reviews linked below.
Rating: 3/5 ........ 399 pages, 2012
more opinions: Ardent Reader
Do the book a favor and read a few of the reviews linked below.
Rating: 3/5 ........ 399 pages, 2012
more opinions: Ardent Reader
Sep 21, 2012
hiatus
This blog is experiencing an interruption of its normal publishing schedule, for now and into an unpredictable amount of time in the future...
Seeing as it's been over two weeks since I last posted and I am still lingering in the middle of a book, I suppose it's time for a notification of sorts. I used to be so good about posting regularly, even finding thoughts to share on past reads when I hadn't recently finished a book. But a lot has changed in my life recently, including the start of a new job and a pending move. I am lucky to be able to work from home, but between the kids and the work hours there is little-to-none "me time" left. I've been reading Catching Fire for weeks now (and its the kind of book I normally would not be able to put down!) For the most part my reading has been in little snatches, mostly simple, entertaining stuff like Thornton Burgess stories (which no one else seems interested in) or fascinating but still relatively short articles from back issues of National Geographic. I have one promised review copy sitting waiting on my shelf but after that will no longer be accepting books for review, until further notice. So my blogging activity is going to be very sparse now, with posts here just once a week or even less frequently. Just didn't want you all thinking I'd fallen off the face of the earth! I'm still here, just very occupied in this new phase of my life.
As a good indication of how upside down things are around here, my blog turned five years old last month and I didn't even notice!
Seeing as it's been over two weeks since I last posted and I am still lingering in the middle of a book, I suppose it's time for a notification of sorts. I used to be so good about posting regularly, even finding thoughts to share on past reads when I hadn't recently finished a book. But a lot has changed in my life recently, including the start of a new job and a pending move. I am lucky to be able to work from home, but between the kids and the work hours there is little-to-none "me time" left. I've been reading Catching Fire for weeks now (and its the kind of book I normally would not be able to put down!) For the most part my reading has been in little snatches, mostly simple, entertaining stuff like Thornton Burgess stories (which no one else seems interested in) or fascinating but still relatively short articles from back issues of National Geographic. I have one promised review copy sitting waiting on my shelf but after that will no longer be accepting books for review, until further notice. So my blogging activity is going to be very sparse now, with posts here just once a week or even less frequently. Just didn't want you all thinking I'd fallen off the face of the earth! I'm still here, just very occupied in this new phase of my life.
As a good indication of how upside down things are around here, my blog turned five years old last month and I didn't even notice!
Sep 6, 2012
The Wake
Sandman Vol 10
by Neil Gaiman
Once again, I'm a bit disappointed to say that Sandman didn't quite wow me like I kept hoping it would. I feel like it's a failing on my part, though, not at all a reflection on the works.
The main part of this book is about the wake held in memory of Morpheus, for he has passed on and his son Daniel taken his place as the new Dream King. Loads of characters from the previous volumes make an appearance, quite a few which I didn't really remember well (wished I had all the previous volumes on hand to flip back to). Morpheus' previous lovers remember him in their own ways (some say a lot, others nothing at all), his family members take turns speaking, many many others have their say but most of them are just alluded to. I did chuckle at the Batman bit, and I haven't even read those, just know what I've picked up from pop culture and a few films. On the other side of this story we see the new Dream King adjusting to his new role, meeting the denizens of the realm, bringing a few servants back to life, etc. The raven gets quite a big part as he grieves Morpheus' end and tries to decide if he wants to stay on and serve the new Dream King (who proves quite soon that he's a different entity from his father, even if in the same role and now bearing the same knowledge...)
There are several shorter stories at the end, one showing Hob (still one of my favorite characters) attending a renaissance fair with his present girlfriend, and complaining about how unlike the past it really is (which made me laugh, as I've often wondered how accurate any kind of re-enactment is to what it purports to remember). Hob is disgusted by the revelry and bad pronunciations of old English (or whatever it's supposed to be) and goes off to get drunk when he meets Death who informs him of Morpheus' passing and offers him the opportunity to end his long existence as well...
Another little tale is of an old man sent into exile. While crossing a vast desert he rescues a kitten, then wanders into the outskirts of the dream realm, where he meets his dead son and then encounters the Dream King himself, has a brief conversation with him, finds his way out again. Lovely brushwork illustrations in that one.
The final story is about Shakespeare writing The Tempest (a play I really like) under Morpheus' inspiration. Interesting stuff. But still, for some reason parts of the book I enjoyed most were the eloquent introduction, and the quirky artwork at the end portraying the artists/contributors! Another thing I really do like about these books is to see how the various artists depict the same reappearing characters in their very different styles. It's really intriguing to see how I can recognize their faces and gestures even when they come from the stroke of a different artist's pen.
This is the last book in the Dream King's story arc, but I find quite a few other companion volumes listed in the back, like The Dream Hunters (which I think remains me favorite)- one that has stories featuring each of the Endless family members, another pair of volumes about his sister Dream, etc. I think I might enjoy those, so going to look for them someday.
Rating: 3/5 ......... 192 pages, 1996
more opinions:
Stella Matutina
Such a Book Nerd
by Neil Gaiman
The main part of this book is about the wake held in memory of Morpheus, for he has passed on and his son Daniel taken his place as the new Dream King. Loads of characters from the previous volumes make an appearance, quite a few which I didn't really remember well (wished I had all the previous volumes on hand to flip back to). Morpheus' previous lovers remember him in their own ways (some say a lot, others nothing at all), his family members take turns speaking, many many others have their say but most of them are just alluded to. I did chuckle at the Batman bit, and I haven't even read those, just know what I've picked up from pop culture and a few films. On the other side of this story we see the new Dream King adjusting to his new role, meeting the denizens of the realm, bringing a few servants back to life, etc. The raven gets quite a big part as he grieves Morpheus' end and tries to decide if he wants to stay on and serve the new Dream King (who proves quite soon that he's a different entity from his father, even if in the same role and now bearing the same knowledge...)
There are several shorter stories at the end, one showing Hob (still one of my favorite characters) attending a renaissance fair with his present girlfriend, and complaining about how unlike the past it really is (which made me laugh, as I've often wondered how accurate any kind of re-enactment is to what it purports to remember). Hob is disgusted by the revelry and bad pronunciations of old English (or whatever it's supposed to be) and goes off to get drunk when he meets Death who informs him of Morpheus' passing and offers him the opportunity to end his long existence as well...
Another little tale is of an old man sent into exile. While crossing a vast desert he rescues a kitten, then wanders into the outskirts of the dream realm, where he meets his dead son and then encounters the Dream King himself, has a brief conversation with him, finds his way out again. Lovely brushwork illustrations in that one.
The final story is about Shakespeare writing The Tempest (a play I really like) under Morpheus' inspiration. Interesting stuff. But still, for some reason parts of the book I enjoyed most were the eloquent introduction, and the quirky artwork at the end portraying the artists/contributors! Another thing I really do like about these books is to see how the various artists depict the same reappearing characters in their very different styles. It's really intriguing to see how I can recognize their faces and gestures even when they come from the stroke of a different artist's pen.
This is the last book in the Dream King's story arc, but I find quite a few other companion volumes listed in the back, like The Dream Hunters (which I think remains me favorite)- one that has stories featuring each of the Endless family members, another pair of volumes about his sister Dream, etc. I think I might enjoy those, so going to look for them someday.
Rating: 3/5 ......... 192 pages, 1996
more opinions:
Stella Matutina
Such a Book Nerd
Sep 4, 2012
Mrs. Peter Rabbit
by Thornton W. Burgess
In this little book Peter Rabbit is suddenly feeling restless and lonely. He needs a change of scenery so leaves his home and visits the Old Pasture. On the way he has a narrow escape from an owl which leaves him injured. Hiding in a strange place with smarting wounds, Peter is miserable for some time but then starts exploring the new environment and his spirits lift somewhat with the adventure of it all. He learns that another, larger and older rabbit, lives in the Old Pasture territory and has a few scrapes with the stranger. Almost ready to give up fighting and go home when he discovers another rabbit lives here as well: a gentle, timid rabbit with soft eyes- a girl rabbit, of course! So Peter is determined to stay and make her acquaintance, and he ends up taking her back home with him as his new mate. The two rabbits set up housekeeping and of course soon start a family, although they try to keep that secret hidden for a while. Having read quite a few of these Burgess books by now, I soon recognized a pattern of a restless young male animal going off in search of adventure and then finding a companion. This one reminded me a lot of the woodchuck's story. None of the usually present moralistic themes jumped out at me (but then I read a lot while tired, and in bits and snatches) aside from the one of minding your own business, as lots of Peter's friends wanted to poke their noses in where they weren't wanted, when he suddenly returned home with Mrs. Peter!
It's funny that I never thought of the Mrs. Peter Rabbit character before as Peter's wife. I've read several of the books out of order, so met her before and she was always worrying about Peter's recklessness and chiding him; sounded like a mother to me, I guess! (Also, I have a perpetual image in my head of Peter as the Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter, who was always a young bunny living at home with his mom).
My computer is out of sorts so if you're reading this post with no cover image it's because I'm not working on my own computer; I'll post images up soon as it's fixed!
Rating: 3/5 ........ 64 pages, 1919
It's funny that I never thought of the Mrs. Peter Rabbit character before as Peter's wife. I've read several of the books out of order, so met her before and she was always worrying about Peter's recklessness and chiding him; sounded like a mother to me, I guess! (Also, I have a perpetual image in my head of Peter as the Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter, who was always a young bunny living at home with his mom).
My computer is out of sorts so if you're reading this post with no cover image it's because I'm not working on my own computer; I'll post images up soon as it's fixed!
Rating: 3/5 ........ 64 pages, 1919
Aug 27, 2012
Babies, Babies!
by Debby Slier
A baby book could not be more simple. This one is just baby faces showing a variety of identified expressions and activities: smiling, pouting, crying, looking curious or surprised. My child's favorite page seems to be the one of a little girl peeking through her hands; she always stops on that page and wants to initiate a peek-a-boo game herself. She just loves looking at pictures of other babies her age, something I wish more board-book publishers would realize, as I have trouble finding any more books like this at the library. Of course, it could just be that they're popular with other toddlers as well and so are never available on the shelf. Very cute!
rating: 3/5 ........ 12 pages, 2012
rating: 3/5 ........ 12 pages, 2012
Aug 25, 2012
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
I've had Catching Fire sitting on my TBR shelf for ages, but never felt motivated yet to find the first book at the library and start the trilogy. But then my sister gave me a copy of the Hunger Games, so I've been reading it over the past few weeks. Slow going only because other events in my life have limited reading time of late; the story actually moves very quickly and its one of those books that are hard to put down; you want to just read straight to the end.
So- in case you don't know the brief version, The Hunger Games is a dystopian story set in a future country called Panem where the United States used to be. There's twelve districts all in subservience to the Capital and periodically in order to assert their authority the Capital requires each district to offer up two teenagers to participate in the Games. The kids are prepped and then thrown together into a wilderness arena where they basically fight to the death- it's a game of elimination. The last one alive wins glory, fame, wealth for life, you name it. Oh, and it's all televised and everyone's required to watch. So not only does Katniss (our female protagonist) have to pit her wits against her peers in the Games, she also has to keep in mind how the audience responds to what she does (or doesn't do) as gaining favor with viewers can earn her support. It's really a gruesome thing, this life-or-death reality tv battle. There's plenty of harrowing scenes. But somehow those didn't stick with me. The writing is sparse yet descriptive; I found it easy to gloss over the gory details and instead enjoyed the adventure, the survivalist aspect of it all, the intrigue between the characters. Pretty gripping stuff. I don't think I'd like to see it on the screen, though. I think that would be too much for me.
rating: 3/5 ........ 374 pages, 2008
more opinions (just a few of many):
Maw Books Blog
Jenny's Books
Puss Reboots
I Read a Lot of Books
So- in case you don't know the brief version, The Hunger Games is a dystopian story set in a future country called Panem where the United States used to be. There's twelve districts all in subservience to the Capital and periodically in order to assert their authority the Capital requires each district to offer up two teenagers to participate in the Games. The kids are prepped and then thrown together into a wilderness arena where they basically fight to the death- it's a game of elimination. The last one alive wins glory, fame, wealth for life, you name it. Oh, and it's all televised and everyone's required to watch. So not only does Katniss (our female protagonist) have to pit her wits against her peers in the Games, she also has to keep in mind how the audience responds to what she does (or doesn't do) as gaining favor with viewers can earn her support. It's really a gruesome thing, this life-or-death reality tv battle. There's plenty of harrowing scenes. But somehow those didn't stick with me. The writing is sparse yet descriptive; I found it easy to gloss over the gory details and instead enjoyed the adventure, the survivalist aspect of it all, the intrigue between the characters. Pretty gripping stuff. I don't think I'd like to see it on the screen, though. I think that would be too much for me.
rating: 3/5 ........ 374 pages, 2008
more opinions (just a few of many):
Maw Books Blog
Jenny's Books
Puss Reboots
I Read a Lot of Books
Aug 24, 2012
Funny Farm
by David Doepker
This cute board book is just close-ups of animal faces, all living on a farm. It's the captions that make it so amusing- the horse curling his lip is proclaimed to tell jokes, the cross-looking chickens are declared "pushy", a goat posed regally and shot from a low angle is touted as being "as big as the sky." The "happy hog" really does have a big smile on its face; the only picture that doesn't really seem to fit is the shaggy sheep- he's really not that shaggy. I've seen ones with much longer wool! Regardless, it's really cute and flows with singsong phrases that introduce kids to animals attributed with recognizable emotions or personalities. The pictures are big and bold, which makes it really attractive to my little one.
rating: 4/5 ........ 16 pages, 2004
rating: 4/5 ........ 16 pages, 2004
Aug 21, 2012
Kitten's Summer
by Eugenie Fernandes
I finally got hold of a copy of Kitten's Summer from the library, completing this little quartet of picture books. Lush illustrations made of paint washes, cut paper and modeled clay collages show the little kitten exploring the forest around his farm during a rain shower. We see flowers blooming, baby animals hiding from the rain with their mothers- raccoons, squirrel infants in a leafy nest, a fuzzy robin chick under its mother's wing. My favorite was the darling little nest of baby rabbits under a bush. The details of leaf, twigs, forest litter, raindrops and other tiny things and textures are just exquisite. And there are snails and other small creepy critters tucked into corners just awaiting discovery. It's an adorable book full of woodland wonders to explore on every page. When the kitten comes back home at the end of the book, a basket of strawberries and freshly-picked peas next to muddy boots show the bounty that nature provides in the garden during the summer as well. Lovely!
rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2011
rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2011
Aug 12, 2012
One Moon, Two Cats
by Laura Godwin
illustrated by Yoko Tanaka
I seldom find and read a book so quickly after seeing a review of it online, but this time I did. Something about what Puss Reboots said of this picture book made it sound appealing, so I went and checked it out.
One Moon, Two Cats shows what two different cats are up to at night while their owners sleep. A fluffy white cat lounges on a little girl's bed in a city bedroom; a somewhat sneaky-looking tabby seems to be just waiting for the moment to escape from his boy's room in the country. Both cats stretch and jump out the window, go strolling along high vantage points, sniff about and then chase mice. Even though their environment is different- city streets and grassy countryside lanes- they both delight in the same feline activities. A thunderstorm frightens them home where they curl up to sleep just as the children awake, having no idea what their kitties have been up to. The text is simply, brief phrases that rhyme nicely. The acrylic paintings have a lovely soft texture, and the cats' faces are really expressive with their knowing eyes. I liked it.
rating: 3/5 ........ 32 pages, 2011
illustrated by Yoko Tanaka
One Moon, Two Cats shows what two different cats are up to at night while their owners sleep. A fluffy white cat lounges on a little girl's bed in a city bedroom; a somewhat sneaky-looking tabby seems to be just waiting for the moment to escape from his boy's room in the country. Both cats stretch and jump out the window, go strolling along high vantage points, sniff about and then chase mice. Even though their environment is different- city streets and grassy countryside lanes- they both delight in the same feline activities. A thunderstorm frightens them home where they curl up to sleep just as the children awake, having no idea what their kitties have been up to. The text is simply, brief phrases that rhyme nicely. The acrylic paintings have a lovely soft texture, and the cats' faces are really expressive with their knowing eyes. I liked it.
rating: 3/5 ........ 32 pages, 2011
Aug 11, 2012
Kenneth Graham's The Reluctant Dragon
retold by Robert D. San Souci
illustrated by John Segal
This is the Reluctant Dragon book I found browsing, that made me look for the original. And it is nearly cut in half. The length, I mean. But the text is lifted so easily that the story still reads seamlessly. Having read the first one so recently I recognized passages immediately and could tell where parts were missing- conversations cut short, detailed descriptions just not there. It lost some of its whimsy and charm, but still a good story. The boy has a name here; he's called Jack. He doesn't express glee at the dragon's prospect of a fight, which I noticed right away. Not much else stood out to me as being different. The pictures are charming but rather small, however there are several on each page and the font is one of those that makes you read slow and careful, holding the book perhaps a little closer than usual, which makes you see those bitty pictures up close too. Well, I enjoyed it and so did my seven-year-old who read it after me. But I still prefer the original, it has just that much more character that's missing a bit here.
rating: 3/5 ........ 40 pages, 2004
illustrated by John Segal
rating: 3/5 ........ 40 pages, 2004
Aug 10, 2012
books are my ally
It's become pretty much a regular thing in my house that there's always a little stack of board books by the potty. At first it was just a way to get her to sit still long enough to do her business, but now she insists on having a book read to her (often that's just two or three pages!) even if she's already tinkled. A few times I've taken her potty into the bathroom so she can join me there and she runs out to get a book and brings it back with her. I think it's kind of funny. I have to keep rotating which books are sitting there to keep her interest in them long enough for moments when a bit of patience is needed.
The books have also started helping with my older daughter as well. She's been having some rather late nights and very early mornings of late, and I've been suggesting naps but of course she balks strongly at the idea. Today I was putting the baby down for a nap and handed older daughter a picture book I'd brought home just to read for myself. She started reading, picked up another one, and when I looked back over she'd fallen asleep! And I think she really needed it because she slept for several hours. I know I can find a lot more picture books at the library that are sophisticated enough to hold her attention, even though on her own she'd rather read chapter books. Perhaps I can coax her into some daily quiet time and induce a few more naps...!
Aug 8, 2012
The Reluctant Dragon
by Kenneth Grahame
This is one of those books I just can't believe I never read before! It's a charming little story about a boy who befriends a dragon near his cottage home. The dragon is quite the gentleman, loves poetry, and is also rather lazy- he likes his quiet time, let's say. The local villagers discover his cave is occupied and get quite upset. Even though he's never bothered them or so much as set foot in the village, they ask the famous knight St. George to come get rid of the dragon. When the knight arrives, everyone is eager to see a battle- except that the dragon doesn't want to fight at all. The boy is just as excited as the others about a fight, but of course he wants to help his friend. How can he work out the situation? I thought the solution quite clever, and funny too. The original illustrations by Ernest Shepard (of Winnie-the-Pooh fame) are just lovely.
I really discovered this one because of another, newer edition with colored illustrations that I found on a library shelf. I wanted to read the original before the adapted version. It's really not a long story so I'm not sure why it had to be adapted, but I'll find out soon enough if a lot of text got cut; reading that one next.
rating: 4/5 ........ 48 pages, 1966
I really discovered this one because of another, newer edition with colored illustrations that I found on a library shelf. I wanted to read the original before the adapted version. It's really not a long story so I'm not sure why it had to be adapted, but I'll find out soon enough if a lot of text got cut; reading that one next.
rating: 4/5 ........ 48 pages, 1966
Aug 7, 2012
The Kindly Ones
Sandman Vol 9
by Neil Gaiman
One of the things I really enjoy about these volumes, strange to say, is their forwards and the after-pages that introduce the author and illustrators. The forwards are always written so eloquently and gushing with praise I'm always just a tad disappointed when I read the bulk of the pages. And the parts at the end with all the contributors are just funny. They're always uniquely bizzare and curious. This time those final pages had old-looking black and white snapshots of children with one-liner descriptions. (Another volume had hand-drawn crazily expressive portraits for each, and I can't remember the others now but they were equally amusing). I also enjoy seeing how the artwork changes with each volume- different artists depicting the now-familiar characters in their own style, but still making them quite recognizable even to me, who has trouble following who's who sometimes.
Moving on to the tenth soon.
Rating: 3/5 ........ 352 pages, 1993
more opinions:
Graphic Novels Challenge
Aug 6, 2012
in the bookshelf
I have a small bookshelf in the living room that is just for the little one's board books. She seems to enjoy pulling them all off the shelf just as much as turn the pages or bring one to me to read.
Today she took this activity to a new level and climbed into the shelf herself once it was emptied.
Then tried to pull the books back in with her- and got stuck, of course.
Silly girl!
Silly girl!
Aug 5, 2012
Kitten's Winter
by Eugenie Fernandes
The final book in a little quartet that depicts a kitten exploring the seasons. In the opening scene we see the farm blanketed by winter: the fields covered with snow, the little pond iced over, trees bare of leaves, a snowman in the yard. As Kitten hurries to get home through a mild snowstorm, the reader gets to see how wildlife experiences the winter world. We meet some birds that stay at home: a blue jay and cardinal perched in evergreens, a chickadee on a shrub with some red berries, woodpecker rapping on a tree. We see which animals sleep through the winter: the beaver in its house, raccoon in a tree, turtle burrowed under the ground, chipmunk in its nest, bear in a den. Other animals are out and about searching for food: rabbit, fox, squirrel, even an otter catching a fish. A skunk huddles in a hollow log, a mouse scurries through his tunnel. There are even fish depicted beneath the ice! (Torpid from the cold?) The kitten scampers through the background, sometimes just barely visible as a patch of russet fur, making it fun for kids to try and find him on each page. On the last spread before he gets back home, just his pawprints are seen in the snow. As Kitten enters the house he finds mittens, hats and snow boots on the floor, children's drawings of the animals, books and a mug on the table- nice winter activities I agree! And already there is a hint of spring: some flower bulbs blooming in a pot. The textured illustrations made of sculpted clay, cut paper and paint are just wonderful, something you must see. I'm keeping my eyes out for more Fernandes books now. (And I haven't yet read Kitten's Summer but it's on my request list).
Borrowed from the public library.
rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2011
Borrowed from the public library.
rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2011
Aug 4, 2012
Kitten's Autumn
by Eugenie Fernandes
This little book is just as charming as the first. In the opening farm scene we see the pumpkins in the field that was green leaves before, tilled bare earth in the flowerbed, a rake leaning against the house, leaves falling, an empty nest in the tree. As Kitten explores his surroundings he meets birds and caterpillars, finds pinecones and nuts on the ground, sees squirrels busy gathering food for winter. There's a porcupine chewing on a shoe, a bear getting into a stump for honey, a big fish eating a smaller one. Raccoons are after the corn, a skunk slurps worms, a chickadee picks seeds from a sunflower. When the kitten comes back inside, stuff just inside the door indicate what people have been doing: gathering apples and pears, baking pies. Lovely book that shows all kinds of indications of the season, how animals live and find food in nature, with beautiful textures and the Kitten himself hiding throughout the scenery. The illustrations, as I noted before, are made with clay modeling, paint and cut paper- a wonderful combination of colors and textures.
rating: 4/5 ....... 24 pages, 2010
more opinions:
Kiss the Book
Jean Little Library
Puss Reboots
rating: 4/5 ....... 24 pages, 2010
more opinions:
Kiss the Book
Jean Little Library
Puss Reboots
Aug 3, 2012
Kitten's Spring
by Eugenie Fernandes
I saw one of these little picture books on display and was intrigued by the charming illustrations so then I searched out the entire set. The concept is very simply; a kitten wanders through the woods near his home seeing what other animals are doing during different seasons of the year. At the end of the book Kitten returns home where a warm meal or cozy bed is always waiting for him. The text is just two-word rhyming phrases, it is the pictures that make this book. They are so rich in detail I sat looking through the book several times just to take it all in.
As the kitten wanders through the forest we see birds singing and nesting, insects crawling about, frogs near the water, a ducking hatching and a new baby calf, a lamb gamboling and a horse running in a meadow, as well as many other things. I like that the book doesn't tidy up nature; the owl is shown feeding her baby something obviously fuzzy and limp (dead mouse?), the piglet is nursing as his mother lies in a mud wallow. But the pictures are so charming that I don't think these details would bother anyone on the contrary they would encourage children to learn about those kinds of realities. The pictures are just amazing. They're made from a combination of modeled clay, cut paper and cloth, painted backgrounds (looks like watercolor to me but might by acrylic washes.) The cow's tail is yarn threads. It's just lovely and wonderfully engaging to look at. As a plus, each book begins by showing the farm scene and you can look at them altogether to observe how the garden, pond, flowerbed, etc change with the seasons. As the kitten enters the house at the end of each story, there are things scattered about evident of what people have been doing at that time of year; in this spring book there are seed packets and seedlings in trays, bulbs flowering in pots. For most of the pages the kitten is in the background or peeking through leaves, so it can turn into a find-the-kitty exercise too, which is always fun for kids.
rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2010
more opinions:
BookAndAGarden
Young Readers
Kiss the Book
As the kitten wanders through the forest we see birds singing and nesting, insects crawling about, frogs near the water, a ducking hatching and a new baby calf, a lamb gamboling and a horse running in a meadow, as well as many other things. I like that the book doesn't tidy up nature; the owl is shown feeding her baby something obviously fuzzy and limp (dead mouse?), the piglet is nursing as his mother lies in a mud wallow. But the pictures are so charming that I don't think these details would bother anyone on the contrary they would encourage children to learn about those kinds of realities. The pictures are just amazing. They're made from a combination of modeled clay, cut paper and cloth, painted backgrounds (looks like watercolor to me but might by acrylic washes.) The cow's tail is yarn threads. It's just lovely and wonderfully engaging to look at. As a plus, each book begins by showing the farm scene and you can look at them altogether to observe how the garden, pond, flowerbed, etc change with the seasons. As the kitten enters the house at the end of each story, there are things scattered about evident of what people have been doing at that time of year; in this spring book there are seed packets and seedlings in trays, bulbs flowering in pots. For most of the pages the kitten is in the background or peeking through leaves, so it can turn into a find-the-kitty exercise too, which is always fun for kids.
rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 2010
more opinions:
BookAndAGarden
Young Readers
Kiss the Book
The Good Luck Cat
by Joy Harjo
illustrated by Paul Lee
I'm anticipating the time when my fourteen-month old will sit still long enough to read real picture books. I do like good children's books and now sometimes when we're in the children's section at the library, she's pushing chairs around and playing with the few toys they have there; I'm idly looking at titles and covers on display and sometimes I bring a few home to read myself, or share with my older child.
The seven-year-old is into Ramona books right now, so she declines whenever I offer a picture book. Last week she read the episode where Ramona's elderly cat dies, and started talking to me about how cats have nine lives. I saw this kitty title on the picture-book shelf and when I saw the beautiful rich paintings and that it was about a cat with nine lives, I had to bring it home.
The Good Luck Cat features a Native American family and their beloved tabby cat Woogie. A young girl narrates the story, telling how her aunt said Woogie brought them good luck, and explaining how cats have nine lives. She recounts how Woogie lost each of his extra lives, in narrow escapes from the neighbor's dog, a car in the street, falling out of a tree etc. The best picture is when he momentarily gets shut in the clothes drier and tumbles around yowling before someone rescues him! (This part of the story could be distressing to younger readers, as the cat also gets threatened by boys with BB guns) Then Woogie disappears and the girl worries that he's lost his ninth life and will never come back. She puts out food on the porch for him and worries anxiously until he returns, missing part of his ear but apparently a happy cat, and certainly glad to be back home.
This could be any family with their pet cat. The identity of them as being Native American isn't really prominent, apart from the mention of the family gathering at a powwow, they really look like any other kids. The little girl is mischievous and irresponsible at times; she shuts her cat in a box and hides it under other things in the trunk to try and sneak him into a party, for example. But when he goes missing she anxiously posts lost-cat signs and frets about his safety. It's a tender, well-told story that appealed to my older kid who was intrigued with the nine-lives concept, as well as the younger one who just loved the cat's faces. And did I mention the illustrations are just lovely?
rating: 4/5 ....... 32 pages, 2000
more opinions:
Book Talks
Reading and Responding to Children's Literature
illustrated by Paul Lee
The seven-year-old is into Ramona books right now, so she declines whenever I offer a picture book. Last week she read the episode where Ramona's elderly cat dies, and started talking to me about how cats have nine lives. I saw this kitty title on the picture-book shelf and when I saw the beautiful rich paintings and that it was about a cat with nine lives, I had to bring it home.
The Good Luck Cat features a Native American family and their beloved tabby cat Woogie. A young girl narrates the story, telling how her aunt said Woogie brought them good luck, and explaining how cats have nine lives. She recounts how Woogie lost each of his extra lives, in narrow escapes from the neighbor's dog, a car in the street, falling out of a tree etc. The best picture is when he momentarily gets shut in the clothes drier and tumbles around yowling before someone rescues him! (This part of the story could be distressing to younger readers, as the cat also gets threatened by boys with BB guns) Then Woogie disappears and the girl worries that he's lost his ninth life and will never come back. She puts out food on the porch for him and worries anxiously until he returns, missing part of his ear but apparently a happy cat, and certainly glad to be back home.
This could be any family with their pet cat. The identity of them as being Native American isn't really prominent, apart from the mention of the family gathering at a powwow, they really look like any other kids. The little girl is mischievous and irresponsible at times; she shuts her cat in a box and hides it under other things in the trunk to try and sneak him into a party, for example. But when he goes missing she anxiously posts lost-cat signs and frets about his safety. It's a tender, well-told story that appealed to my older kid who was intrigued with the nine-lives concept, as well as the younger one who just loved the cat's faces. And did I mention the illustrations are just lovely?
rating: 4/5 ....... 32 pages, 2000
more opinions:
Book Talks
Reading and Responding to Children's Literature
Aug 2, 2012
Tess of D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy
I don't know how or when Tess of D'Urbervilles first got on my reading list, and I really had no idea what it was about before reading it this week. I've been fitfully participating in our public library's summer reading program (yes, they let adults play too) which this year is mostly about familiarizing yourself with the library's many resources- so for the first time I've browsed their DVD selections, and used some of the online databases- interesting stuff! One of the requirements however is to read a classic you've always wanted to and I picked Tess.
This is one of those cases where I don't quite know how to write about a book without possibly giving spoilers, so you've been warned!
It's been a long time since I read a classic and I've never read Hardy before- let me tell you, it was a rich experience! I was drawn in immediately by the descriptions of rural lifestyle and the character of Tess herself. She lives in Dorset, 19th century. Her family the Durbeyfields is poor but her shiftless father discovers one day that they are supposedly connected to an ancient aristocracy named D'Urberville and he immediately starts putting on airs, gets so drunk he can't function the next day so Tess is sent on an early-morning errand. She falls asleep on the road and gets into an accident which kills their family's only horse. They are now facing ruin but the mother urges Tess to visit a well-to-do lady in the next valley who is also supposedly of the D'Urberville line, and ask for help. Tess reluctantly agrees because she feels guilty about the death of the horse. When she arrives at the estate she immediately catches the eye of a certain young man. He's not really related to her- his family assumed the D'Urberville name for their own reasons- so he has no qualms about flirting with her, then practically stalking her, then well- things go badly for Tess- who disliked him from the start- and she ends up back at home with an illegitimate child. Things are miserable for a while but Tess eventually moves on, vowing to never marry.
She takes work as a dairymaid in another part of the country where people don't know her history, and then falls in love with a man who has rejected his family's standing as clergymen to become a farmer himself. This Clare sees Tess as a beautiful unspoiled country girl, even though she repeated tries to tell him of her sullied past he refuses to listen. Tess wants to marry him, but feels unworthy and is afraid of his finding her out. And then- of course- the man who ruined her life in the first place makes a repeat appearance- and things just get worse and worse. I've probably said too much already so I'll stop now. But it has a sad ending. Rather melodramatic, I thought. I mean- really- Stonehenge? I can't imagine anyone sleeping on a slab there, when today you can't even step inside the circle to take photos, it's so roped off (or so I've gathered, never having been there myself)
But regardless, what a story. I really felt bad for Tess. She was a good person at heart, smarter than her family, had her pride, did what she thought best. Some seem to think she deserved her lot and put herself in harm's way with her so-called "cousin" but that guy gave me the creeps from the start. Ugh, what an awful man. What I really enjoyed about the book was all the details about how people lived in rural communities more than a century ago. The tasks of threshing wheat, preparing straw to thatch roofs, digging turnips in the fields, and particularly how work was done on the prosperous dairy farm- all so different from today's operations. The dialect of the people being particular not only to the time and locale- many words out of use- but also to the family's being poor it was often hard to understand what exactly they meant but I was usually able to gather it from the context- I like that kind of reading challenge- and only after finishing the book did I realize there was a glossary in the back.
It's not as long as it looks. The edition I read (borrowed from the library) had appendixes, maps, several different forwards and afterwords written by different people for various other editions, excerpts that had been edited out of early editions (which shocked contemporary readers) and copious notes on the text. It's the first time I've ever read a book which had a note at the head of the forward warning of spoilers! so of course I didn't read that until later, glad I did as it gave away some of the crucial twists in the plot. I didn't read all the extra material, but did find interesting an included article all about the artists who illustrated early editions of Tess (which was first published as a kind of magazine serial). I definitely want to read more Hardy now.
That was rather rambling, apologies. It's late but I wanted to jot something down before sleep while it's all still turning in my head. I could say a lot more but will rest now.
rating: 4/5 ........ 518 pages, 1891
more opinions:
Tell Me A Story
Valeehill
bookreviewsbycharles
Book Puddle
This is one of those cases where I don't quite know how to write about a book without possibly giving spoilers, so you've been warned!
It's been a long time since I read a classic and I've never read Hardy before- let me tell you, it was a rich experience! I was drawn in immediately by the descriptions of rural lifestyle and the character of Tess herself. She lives in Dorset, 19th century. Her family the Durbeyfields is poor but her shiftless father discovers one day that they are supposedly connected to an ancient aristocracy named D'Urberville and he immediately starts putting on airs, gets so drunk he can't function the next day so Tess is sent on an early-morning errand. She falls asleep on the road and gets into an accident which kills their family's only horse. They are now facing ruin but the mother urges Tess to visit a well-to-do lady in the next valley who is also supposedly of the D'Urberville line, and ask for help. Tess reluctantly agrees because she feels guilty about the death of the horse. When she arrives at the estate she immediately catches the eye of a certain young man. He's not really related to her- his family assumed the D'Urberville name for their own reasons- so he has no qualms about flirting with her, then practically stalking her, then well- things go badly for Tess- who disliked him from the start- and she ends up back at home with an illegitimate child. Things are miserable for a while but Tess eventually moves on, vowing to never marry.
She takes work as a dairymaid in another part of the country where people don't know her history, and then falls in love with a man who has rejected his family's standing as clergymen to become a farmer himself. This Clare sees Tess as a beautiful unspoiled country girl, even though she repeated tries to tell him of her sullied past he refuses to listen. Tess wants to marry him, but feels unworthy and is afraid of his finding her out. And then- of course- the man who ruined her life in the first place makes a repeat appearance- and things just get worse and worse. I've probably said too much already so I'll stop now. But it has a sad ending. Rather melodramatic, I thought. I mean- really- Stonehenge? I can't imagine anyone sleeping on a slab there, when today you can't even step inside the circle to take photos, it's so roped off (or so I've gathered, never having been there myself)
But regardless, what a story. I really felt bad for Tess. She was a good person at heart, smarter than her family, had her pride, did what she thought best. Some seem to think she deserved her lot and put herself in harm's way with her so-called "cousin" but that guy gave me the creeps from the start. Ugh, what an awful man. What I really enjoyed about the book was all the details about how people lived in rural communities more than a century ago. The tasks of threshing wheat, preparing straw to thatch roofs, digging turnips in the fields, and particularly how work was done on the prosperous dairy farm- all so different from today's operations. The dialect of the people being particular not only to the time and locale- many words out of use- but also to the family's being poor it was often hard to understand what exactly they meant but I was usually able to gather it from the context- I like that kind of reading challenge- and only after finishing the book did I realize there was a glossary in the back.
It's not as long as it looks. The edition I read (borrowed from the library) had appendixes, maps, several different forwards and afterwords written by different people for various other editions, excerpts that had been edited out of early editions (which shocked contemporary readers) and copious notes on the text. It's the first time I've ever read a book which had a note at the head of the forward warning of spoilers! so of course I didn't read that until later, glad I did as it gave away some of the crucial twists in the plot. I didn't read all the extra material, but did find interesting an included article all about the artists who illustrated early editions of Tess (which was first published as a kind of magazine serial). I definitely want to read more Hardy now.
That was rather rambling, apologies. It's late but I wanted to jot something down before sleep while it's all still turning in my head. I could say a lot more but will rest now.
rating: 4/5 ........ 518 pages, 1891
more opinions:
Tell Me A Story
Valeehill
bookreviewsbycharles
Book Puddle
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)