Monday, January 9, 2012

The Reading Life

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Our local library had a winter reading contest, so if the kids read five books and then brought in their list they would be entered to maybe win a $20 gift card to a local bookstore. That motivated Carbon to cruise through some picture books. It motivated Hypatia to start making a book list, but for some reason the idea of being in a contest is very upsetting to her, so she doesn't want to turn in her list at the library. As there is really no reason to stress, we'll just take Carbon's in and let her keep hers.

Samantha on a Roll reminds me of the illustration styles I knew when I was a kid, and there is a sort of vintage-feel to the book even though it is a 2011 book. A little girl takes her skates out by herself, while Mommy is busy, and ends up rolling out of control through some crazy situations before winding up back at home again. It's like Curious George, without getting in trouble at the end.

Poor Scrawny Cat used to be loved and have a home, but now all anyone calls him is "Get outta here!". Taking refuge on a little boat, the scrawny cat is blown out to sea in a storm, and washes up on a little island. But never fear, all is well in the end.

Press Here is the low-tech response to all those "interactive" books where you push buttons. The book instructs the reader to push, tilt, shake, and clap, and in response the dots "move about". My kids loved it, and "highly recommend it".

The Teeny Tiny Woman is just weird. A teeny tiny woman finds a bone on a grave (?!!!) and decides to take it home to make soup (!!!!!????), but after putting it in a cupboard it speaks to her (!!!!!!!) and keeps waking her up saying "Give Me My Bone Back" (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Weird and creepy.

Nina, in That Makes Me Mad taps into the basic childhood frustrations and how they make children mad. It's pretty cute.

For our Five in a Row studies, we read The Giraffe that Walked to Paris. It's based on a true story, of the first giraffe to ever be seen in France, and both kids enjoyed it. I was only moderately impressed by it.


1 comment:

  1. We love "Press Here" too. The vintage-style illustrations of Samantha on a Roll make me want to pick that one up the next time we're at the library. Thanks for sharing!

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