New books for babe

I've gone a little crazy reading some of the same stories over and over again so I ordered some new books for the two year old last week from Amazon and I love them all!

Let's go for a Drive by Mo Willems - Ahhh I love this book.  Elephant and Piggie want to go for a drive.  What do they need on the drive? On and on it goes until ummm... they have all this stuff but they don't have a car! Ahhh.. What will they do? I love it and my favorite part is how I can read this book and make it come alive.  I love the lines when elephant sings (ok maybe he doesn't but in my reading voice he does!) "Drive! Drive! Drivey-drive-drive! "and then Piggy answers with whatever they added to their pile to take on the trip.  Cute illustrations.  Highly recommend this and any other Mo Willems book.  Best for ages 2-5.

Diapers Are Not Forever by Elizabeth Verdick - I was looking on Amazon and I saw that there was a series of books about behaviors.  This book, Pacifiers Are Not Forever, Hands are for Helping not Hitting, etc and thought I would give this one a try because we looooove potty books at our house.  Me because they are usually hysterical and the child because well it's something we've introduced to her life that is still a mystery.  I would say this is one of the better ones.  It's not comical, it is very matter of fact about what happens and why we do it and great illustrations of people doing what is expected of a potty training kid.  I would definitely use this to introduce the idea of potty training to a kid.  Best for kids ages 1-3.

Five Little Monkeys jump in the bath - by Eileen Christelow - My child LOOOVES monkeys and loves 5 little Monkeys jumping in the bed so I gave this a whirl.  Great illustrations and it has a great rhythm. "slippy, sloppy, goopy, gloopy!" and other fun rhymes.  Perfect pre-reading skills.  ::cough cough:::  Also, the words are highlighted by different colors that you can point out to your child.  Great connection to counting  How many monkeys? Count them out one by one.  Point to each as you say a number.  Great skills for getting ready for preschool/kindergarten.  Best for kids ages 1-4.

I'm so glad that these were all winners! We love new books! What are some of your favorite children books?

Look Again

Description:

When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops—the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will. Her every instinct tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won’t be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth. And she can’t shake the question: if Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? She investigates, uncovering clues no one was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life—and that of the son she loves.

Lisa Scottoline breaks new ground in Look Again, a thriller that’s both heart-stopping and heart-breaking, and sure to have new fans and book clubs buzzing.

 

I have been meaning to check out Lisa Scottoline for a couple of years but ya know, other books got in the way first.  I checked this one out from the library and it was a very quick read.  Quite predictable with a few extra curves but very fast paced.

 

However, I did not really care for the main character Ellen until after the major climax of the story.  Until then she was written as a character I'm not fond of.  The character that must do it all on their own, ask no help, tell no one what they are doing etc.  It was annoying.  Things could have been different and she wouldn't have had as many issues if she would have done that.  But whatever, I didn't write the book, I just got annoyed by the main character.

 

After that though, THEN she was a character I could like and the story felt better.  If you are looking for a quick read this is it!

 

Have you read any books by Scottoline? What ones would you recommend?

10 Reasons I Wouldn't Survive on Downton Abbey

1. Carson's proclamation that young men will be young men and it's the girl's fault for not saying no and ending up pregnant.

2.  Lord Grantham would get an ear full if he told me multiple times he didn't want to worry my delicate self.

3.  Corsets.

4.  I'd freaking kill Thomas.

5. The whole socially acceptableness of marrying your cousin.  Eww.

6. Ethel and I would get into a nasty cat fight.

7. I wouldn't be able to stay silent on how stupid it is a woman can't inherit Downton Abbey and the money.

8. All the dresses all the time. 

9. I'm pretty sure I'd kill Bate's wife myself.  Stupid stupid woman.

10. The inability who to just marry who you want for love and not being able to kiss, touch or whatever before hand without it being totally unacceptable and ruining oneself.  Whateves.

Basically, I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut and I'd be told too many times that people would start thinking I believed the stuff I said ala Lady Mary.

Do you watch Downton? Why wouldn't you survive?

What The Two Year Old Checked Out From The Library

I just recently started letting my daughter bring books home when we were at the library because I feel like she can sort of take care of them better now and because if I read Corduroy or The Little Engine that Could ONE MORE TIME, I may explode.  Now, I LOVE that she can sit through these books but come on, once a day every single day is pushing it, but multiple times? No way. 

Here is what she got this week.  Oh and I must say her method of picking books is awesome.  Grab and keep on walking.  And I may have picked a couple up that looked good to me as we were fast walking through. ;)

Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton - She LOOVES this one.  I almost thought about buying it for her until I had to read it 10 times in a row.  Never mind, staying at a library book. ;)  It has few words, nice illustrations and great vocabulary.  This would be an infant - 2 book.

Description: Can Red Truck make it
up the hill?
Red Truck can!
Red Truck will! ZOOOM!

Truck fans of all ages but especially the littlest ones will love cheering on the hardworking red tow truck that stars in this high energy picture book. Mighty Red Truck splashes and zooms through mud and rain to rescue a stalled school bus on the side of the road, and becomes the hero of a rainy day. Eye-popping quirky illustrations and the fast-paced rhyming text will make this truck story a fast favorite.

Tasty Baby Belly Buttons by Judy Sierra - We actually haven't read this one yet, even though it is the very first one she picked up.  By paging through it looks like it has colorful illustrations and lots of words so probably not the best for a two year old.  But hilarious name.  Probably a preschool and older book.

Description: According to legend, Japanese villagers once lived in fear of great hulking ogres called Onis who considered babies' belly buttons the tastiest of all treats. When they raided a village it was the babies they stole. In a delightful retelling of the folktale, Judy Sierra has added a feminist twist in the person of a fearless young heroine, determined to stop them. Little Urikohme, or Melon Princess, was born inside a watermelon and has no bellybutton. She travels to the Onis' fortress island, and with the help of some animal friends, rescues the babies, leaving the Onis crying for mercy. A wonderful short tale to read aloud, children will gleefully join in the Onis' chant and cheer at the triumph of small over large. In cleverly inspired watercolors, Meilo So outfits the Melon Princess in a watermelon-designed kimono and her humorous depiction of the oversized bullies is sure to elicit giggles. An author's note discusses the origin of the tale and its place in Japanese folklore.

Wolf's Coming by Joe Kulka -  Those poor wolves have quite the reputation.  I LOVE this book.  It has beautiful illustrations and tons of animals that kids can point out.  The wolf is coming, hurry hurry.. with a surprise at the end. ;)  This is a book I'd say good for 2-4 year olds.

Baby Talk by Judy Hindley - Super short read and talks about a baby and uses a lot of the first words that baby's say.  Up, there, out hi and bye etc.. Great pictures and good vocabulary.  I'd say babies through two years old would enjoy it.

Description: Dressing, hiding, sliding,
playing through the day.
Dinner, bath time, bedtime . . .
What does Baby say?

It's such a busy day for Baby! There's hair to be brushed, peekaboo to play, sandboxes and swings, spoons and sleep. And readers are invited to join in the fun - from getting dressed to go OUT! to the park, to eating dinner and having a SPLASH! in the bath.

Please, Puppy, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee - ADORABLE illustrations.  A cute story about toddlers and a very busy puppy!  A good book about manners.  I'd recommend it baby-preschool.

Blankie - Leslie Patricelli - Totally a baby book but it's quick, easy and my daughter loves to point out the baby hiding under the blankie. ;) Great infant board book.

Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire - We haven't read this one yet but the pictures look beautiful.  It does appear to be a book for older kids and a great find and seek book.  I'd say this is a good one for 3-5 year olds.

Description: For the fanciest girl around, the outdoors are out of this world! Fancy Nancy and her best friend, Bree, set out to explore the fascinating world of wildflowers, trees, leaves, birds, and, of course, butterflies in their exclusively glamorous Explorers' Club. With recipes for pinecone bird feeders and extra-fancy lemonade, an official club bird, and an exclusive map of the territory, Fancy Nancy is one Explorer Extraordinaire!

Take a look at Nancy's very own enlightening discoveries and find out just how fancy the outdoors can be!

It is so fun sharing my love of books and the library with my daughter! What is something you liked to with your mom as a child? What books did your child pick from the library? What have you recently checked out from the library? Do you use the library? Have a great weekend!

The Wednesday Daughters

I think it is well documented how much I LOOVED The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton.  It's one of the books I always recommend and if I could remember who I gave my copy to I'd totally re-read it.  To say I was looking forward to The Wednesday Daughters is putting it mildly. I put it on hold at the library and got it as soon as it became available, dove in that night and quickly was disappointed.

Description: It is early evening when Hope Tantry arrives at the small cottage in England’s pastoral Lake District where her mother, Ally, spent the last years of her life. Ally—one of a close-knit group of women who called themselves “The Wednesday Sisters”—had used the cottage as a writer’s retreat while she worked on her unpublished biography of Beatrix Potter, yet Hope knows nearly nothing about her mother’s time there. Traveling with Hope are friends Julie and Anna Page, two other daughters of “The Wednesday Sisters,” who offer to help Hope sort through her mother’s personal effects. Yet what Hope finds will reveal a tangled family history—one steeped in Lake District lore.

Tucked away in a hidden drawer, Hope finds a stack of Ally’s old notebooks, all written in a mysterious code. As she, Julie, and Anna Page try to decipher Ally’s writings—the reason for their encryption, their possible connection to the Potter manuscript—they are forced to confront their own personal struggles: Hope’s doubts about her marriage, Julie’s grief over losing her twin sister, Anna Page’s fear of commitment in relationships. And as the real reason for Ally’s stay in England comes to light, Hope, Julie, and Anna Page reach a new understanding about the enduring bonds of family, the unwavering strength of love, and the inescapable pull of the past.

I just could NOT get into this book.  There were bursts of OMG this is beautiful writing and I shed tears twice over parts where I don't even think they were THAT emotional but they were just so well-written.  However, I never got hooked.  I never felt engaged and sometimes it was down right hard to finish this book.  But I sooooo wanted to finish this book.  I  adored The Wednesday Sisters and wanted to know about their children. 

The things that made it not happen for me.  1) Beatrix Potter.  I'm not a fan and it was just boring boring and boring to me and sadly she is intermingled into the entire dang thing.  2) Poetry.  Try as I might, I'm just not into poetry.  It does nothing to me.  More skipping around happened when Robbie and Julie were quoting.  However, the stuff Robbie himself wrote? Was beautiful and the conversations he and Julie had about his OWN work is about the time I cried first I think.  3) A bunch a talk about stars.  Yeah, another topic I find boring.

"You pour a cup of your grief  out into a line of poetry, or twelve lines, or two hundred, and this thing, you can't swallow yourself becomes a thing others want to drink."

So, sadly, I didn't like it.  I will say that Clayton is a BEAUTIFUL writer who kept me finishing it and made me cry.  So, please read it if you loved The Wednesday Sisters and I hope like hell you love it more than I did.  Please let me know if you do. ;)

"In the gesture, I remembered my mother's soft voice saying that some things in life, you just have to know.  Someone tells you and remember it, and you tell it to someone else.  Sometimes you tell it directly, and sometimes you tell it through stories.  It's one of the ways we show our love. "

Have you ever be so sadly disappointed by an author of one of your favorite books?

A few of my favorite links..

It's that time again, where I share what I've read and enjoyed this past week...

Let's Call a Dog and dog would probably offend those who have pets and no kids, but it's the dang truth.  Dogs are not children.  I hate the comparison and agree with Law Momma, even though I admittedly do not like pets and have none of my own .;P

A Bookworm's World shared this review of The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood and I really want to read it now!

And then it was World Breastfeeding Week...


I read what could possibly be the most moving and important book of all 2013.  Seriously, you all need to read The Almond Tree.


What was the best thing you've read this week?

The Widows of Braxton County

When I got the email about this book I was intrigued by the description.  The book did not disappoint.

Description: Family secrets can bind and destroy

Kate is ready to put her nomadic, city-dwelling past behind her when she marries Joe Krause and moves with him to the Iowa farm that has been in his family for more than 140 years. But life on the farm isn't quite as idyllic as she'd hoped. It's filled with chores, judgmental neighbors, and her mother-in-law, who—unbeknownst to Kate until after the wedding—will be living with them.

As Kate struggles to find her place in the small farming community, she begins to realize that her husband and his family are not who she thought they were. According to town gossip, the Krause family harbors a long-kept secret about a mysterious death that haunts Kate as a dangerous, unexplainable chain of events begins.

From the beginning I wanted to smack Kate's husband Joe.  Here's this woman who has married him barely knowing him and she HANDS OVER her savings account to him and he treats her like crap.  His mentality towards his wife in 2012 was NOT that far off from his great-great-grandfather's in 1890 where the book keeps flashing back too. 

Basically, Kate moves in realizes she will be living WITH her mother-in-law who is so not nice and resents her because she's married her baaaaaby.  Any time Kate offers up advice or constructive criticism she is chastised,, made to feel dumb and then finally physically hit.  Thankfully, she did not stay the victim for long and realized her husband was a tool and shacked up with her mother-in-law's enemy to try to work things out.

Then, after a break through I had high hopes for Joe that he was actually turning it around and making an effort to treat his wife like an equal partner and then he didn't get the chance to redeem himself.

Braxton County is a lovely little small town full of small town gossips and I giggled over the little old ladies trading stories and the scenes when conversations would stop when Kate would walk in.  Small town USA.  Gotta love it.

Back to Joe's great-great-grandfather, Joseph.  He was murdered in his bed and ever since the family has been cursed with bad luck.  Is it him or is it Hannah is wife, who not unlike Kate speaks her mind and doesn't stay silent.  Unfortunately for Hannah the 1890s were a lot different in Braxton County than it was in 2012 for Kate.

This book is a great look at how a woman's role in the community and home have changed so much so fast.  And how Kate comes into her own to stand on her own two feet and make her own choices for herself

I read this book in one day, so you know its gotta be good. ;)

Do you know any stories about your great-great-grandparents? Does your family have a family farm or homestead that's been in your family for years? Do you have any special family heirlooms?

I received this book from HarperCollins but all thoughts and feelings are my own.

Time Bomb

I'm so glad I decided to stick with the Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman.  The books have been picking up and getting better. ;)


Description:  By the time psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware reached the school the damage was done: A sniper had opened fire on a crowded playground, but was gunned down before any children were hurt.   While the TV news crews feasted on the scene an Alex began his therapy sessions with the traumatized children, he couldn't escape the image of a slight teenager clutching an oversized rifle. What was the identity behind the name and face: a would-be assassin, or just another victim beneath an indifferent California sky?  Intrigued by a request from the sniper's father to conduct a "psychological autopsy" of his child, Alex begins to uncover a strange pattern of innocence, neglect, and loss. Then suddenly it is more than a pattern � it is a trail of blood. In the dead sniper's past was a dark and vicious plot. And in Alex Delaware's future is the stuff of grown-up nightmares: the face of real human evil.

This book is full of very interesting characters that all get the Alex Delaware psych once over.  Not only are there interesting characters there is a very iinteresting plot.  Why would a very dull nineteen year old girl who kept to herself shoot up a school? Her super weird father doesn't think she did it and wants Alex to prove it.  The book is full of connections to the Holocaust, radicals from the 60s, local politicians, a grocery store owner, a loner black kid very interested in the Holocaust, and of course the verrrry interesting to Alex, Dr. Overstreet.

There are just so many very interesting characters and through it all you see the best in humanity and the worst.  And nobody is who they first appear.  Just my type of book.  I flew through it!

Have you ever been interested in psychology?

The Almond Tree

“You cannot go back and make a new start, but you can start now and make a new ending”  

Our July pick for book club was The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti.  Two of us had won it in a goodreads giveaway so we all thought, what the heck.  Wow.  It was loved by all and two of us admitted to reacting so emotionally and thinking, "how could I have not known? how does the world not know?"  It's that moving.  I highly highly highly recommend this.  It's going to the top of the list when people ask me what they should read.

" Good things make choosing difficult .Bad things leave no choice”

Description: Gifted with a mind that continues to impress the elders in his village, Ichmad Hamid struggles with the knowledge that he can do nothing to save his Palestinian friends and family. Ruled by the Israeli military government, the entire village operates in fear of losing homes, jobs, and belongings. But more importantly, they fear losing each other. On Ichmad's twelfth birthday, that fear becomes a reality. With his father imprisoned, his family's home and possessions confiscated, and his siblings quickly succumbing to the dangers of war, Ichmad begins the endless struggle to use his intellect to save his poor and dying family and reclaim a love for others that was lost when the bombs first hit."The Almond Tree" capitalizes on the reader's desire to be picked up and dropped off in another part of the world. It tackles issues that many Americans only hear about on World News or read about at The Huffington Post, such as the Israeli Palestinian conflict, the scholasticide that is being imposed upon the Palestinians in Gaza and the current Gaza blockade. But even more, it offers hope.

“Hatred is self-punishment.Do you think they're feeling bad because you hate them?”

This book.  It's almost too hard for me to talk about it because YOU JUST NEED TO READ IT.  Even in the awfulness of the world there is goodness. 
 
“Before you judge a person, try to imagine how you would feel if the same things had happened to you.”  

I would definitely recommend reading the About the Author from her website.  It really helped put the book in perspective as well.

“Courage, I realised, was not the absence of fear: it was the absence of selfishness; putting someone else's interest before one's own.”

This family suffered so much and all of it stemming from the fact that they were Palestinians in Israel.  I just cannot wrap my head around how it seems okay with everyone that they can be forced from their land, especially by a people who were also persecuted and EXTERMINATED.  And the Palestinians had nothing to do with it.  It is a life I cannot imagine and really really really encourage you to read this book.

“He looked me directly in the eye. 'So you live in America?'
'We do.' I smiled.
He stopped, opened his backpack, pulled out an empty tear gas grenade and handed it to me.
'I believe it was a present from your country.' Majid smiled. 'Tell your friends thanks. We got their grenade.”  

And, no, this is not a memoir but it could be.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”   - Desmond Tutu

Have you read The Almond Tree? What do you know about the struggle in Israel of the Palestinians and Jews?

Wicked Business

Every once in awhile I like to read fluff.  Hence, my Stephanie Plum obsession.  While I was at the library awhile ago I saw that Janet Evanovich had a new series, Lizzie & Diesel.  So, being the series obsessed that I am, I had to give it a whirl.

Description: When Harvard University English professor and dyed-in-the-wool romantic Gilbert Reedy is mysteriously murdered and thrown off his fourth-floor balcony, Lizzy and Diesel take up his twenty-year quest for the Luxuria Stone, an ancient relic believed by some to be infused with the power of lust. Following clues contained in a cryptic nineteenth-century book of sonnets, Lizzy and Diesel tear through Boston catacombs, government buildings, and multimillion-dollar residences, leaving a trail of robbed graves, public disturbances, and spontaneous seduction.

First off, this is the SECOND book in the series and I didn't realize that until I had already started it and decided, ehhh..

That being said, if you are looking for a laugh out loud ridiculous reading experience this is your book.  I can totally see similarities between these characters and her Stephanie Plum characters and they all crack me up. 

There is innocent Glo who is determined she is a wizard and that her broom has magical powers.  Hatchett who wanders around dressed like a Renaissance man speaking like that and being ridiculous.  Diesel who is hot and flirts.  Lizzie who bakes cupcakes and cooks and does ridiculous things.  It's just perfect for fluff.

It's not something I NEED to read but if I need a quicky mindless book, I will totally read another.

I'd recommend this for those who are fans of Janet's and maybe like a little magic in there stories.

What's your favorite fluff reading?