Christmas ornaments (already!)

Now that October is upon us, the Christmas rush has begun. Not only is it time to be getting to work on handmade presents, it's also the season to be preparing for Christmas craft fairs. To that end I've been making Christmas ornaments. Here are four I've made recently out of polymer clay.

My Viking face

Here is a flash-back to last Halloween when I dressed as a viking. It was a very easy costume to put together and not too hot to wear. I did get some weird looks from the little storytime kids, though. I'm pretty sure I scared one of them.

Book review - H2O

Title: H2O
Author: Virginia Bergin
Genre: sci-fi/post-apocalyptic
Similar books: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
                     Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Rating: 

You'll never look at rain the same.

Summary: Seven years ago, scientists blew up an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Problem solved, right? Now the last remnants of the asteroid are falling to earth and they are bringing with them deadly bacteria. It is in the water and there is no cure. How will 15 year old Ruby survive when the people she cares about are dying and everything she knows is falling apart?
My opinion: This book is somewhat reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, the idea of taking a journey, looking for something better, even though you know there is no "better" to find. It was fascinating to see the way society collapsed, how some people went completely lawless while others clung to rules that no one was enforcing. I really appreciated that Ruby didn't really fundamentally change. Sure she does things that she never imagined doing, but she still obsesses about her looks. She is selfish, self-centered, shouts when she is stressed, and refuses to listen to other opinions. She is territorial about possessions and about boys. She doesn't become more brave, more honorable, more heroic simply because she finds herself in a desperate situation. She remains essentially herself through it all. So, even though it is a very bleak plot it is much easier to read than many other post-apocalyptic novels. These kids remain, at heart, kids.
More information: H2O releases October 7.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Graphic Novel Spotlight: Foiled and Curses! Foiled Again

Foiled and Curses! Foiled Again by Jane Yolen

Fencing and magic combine in this tale of a teen girl trying to find her place in high school. The real appeal, beyond an awesome fantasy plot, is the art. The illustrations are highly stylized and mostly in greyscale (the main character, Aliera, is color blind). Then Aliera encounters magic. Anything magical in origin is illustrated in full color. Backgrounds remain grey but the foreground is peppered with yellow fairies, red dragons, green trolls, and more. Visually, that element alone sets these books apart. The second book takes this idea of a regular girl thrown into a magical world and complicates it, the magic intruding on her non-magical life more and more. 

Aliera sees the magical creatures in full force

 

WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander
Charlie is a self-professed nerd. He's been dreaming of attending MIT since the fifth grade. He treats love as a math problem to be solved, his attraction to girls as a series of experiments. Then he meets Charlotte. Charlotte who has a tattoo on the back of her neck and who believes in hope and art and beauty. Charlotte who may be the only one capable of making him see life beyond science and math. Through his relationship with Charlotte, Charlie may finally stand a chance at understanding love.
I enjoy books that have nerds for main characters (maybe because they seem more real to me than popular people) and this is certainly no exception. Charlie is this loveable awkward dork. A little self-righteous and close-minded at times, but in a way that makes him more human rather than insufferable. The breakdown into short chapters/sub-chapters makes it feel like a quicker read than it actually is. So far, this gets a big thumbs up from me.
 
What did you recently finish reading?
A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond
Claire and Ella have been best friends since they met as small children. They shared everything. Things are beginning to change. Their final year of school has begun and they expect to be headed in different directions before too long. Then they meet Orpheus, a wandering musician who enchants both girls (as well as most of their friends) with his good looks and haunting music. Ella, in particular, is entranced by Orpheus and he returns her feelings. Claire tries to be happy for her friend, not knowing that worse things than losing Ella to love are coming.
Almond approaches this retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice with his typical, mystical style. He finds both the eerie and the lovely in this tragedy. In typical Almond style, there is a level of emotional distance that lends the book more of a mythological sense than your typical modern novel.
 
What do you think you will read next?
H2O by Virginia Bergin
Dystopias/post-apocalyptic societies definitely make for interesting reading. Given the focus of this one on the lack of drinkable water, it could be pretty exciting.  

Book review - Meet the Bigfeet

Title: The Yeti Files #1: Meet the Bigfeet
Author: Kevin Sherry
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Kung Pow Chicken series by Cyndi Marko
                     The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson
Rating:

Silly fun

Summary: Blizz Richards' life mission is to protect cryptids from human detection. Cryptids like himself. Blizz is a yeti. Along with his assistants (a goblin and an arctic wolf) Blizz is headed to a family reunion in Canada in hopes of finding his cousin Brian, a bigfoot who has been in hiding since being spotted by a photographer, putting the whole family at risk of discovery.
My opinion: How cool is it to have a kid's book starring cryptids?! Ashely Spires' picture book Larf (the story of an isolated sasquatch, if you're unfamiliar) is already a hit with our young patrons and this book seems like the next logical step for kids beginning to read independently. The plot is pretty simple, making it easy for the youngest readers to understand. Mostly, it is just a lot of fun. The illustrations are cute and silly. The Bigfeet have these really cool, involved, lairs. Each character has a distinctive personality,even the supporting characters. This is a fun start to what should be a pretty cool new series.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

A slouchy beanie

A friend recently asked me for a slouchy beanie made out of Lion Brand Homespun yarn. A little bit of searching lead me to this pattern. It is really simple to follow and gives instructions for DK, Worsted, and Bulky weight yarns. I'm relatively pleased with the results.