Cue dramatic internal dialogue

I bought a bulk bag of peg dolls to paint but I didn't really know what to do with the smallest ones. They're really too small to make good people. Or so I thought.

While contemplating the problem one day, I doodled this little lady.

My first attempt at creating her turned out pretty well.

Lately, though, I've been watching the Cartoon Network show Craig of the Creek and I find myself quite taken with the character Kelsey, who is very fierce in spite of her small stature. She also happens to wear her hair in a sort of bun.

her parakeet, Mortimer, tends to ride on her head

 Who knows what else these little pegs will turn out to be.

Books on screen

Paddington

When the Paddington movie was first announced I was, at best, dubious. I was a big Paddington fan as a child. They were my introduction to British humor and I read every volume that my library owned at least 3 times. I owned one and I read it until it literally fell apart, at which point I taped it back together so I could continue rereading. More About Paddington is one of only two books I've actually purchased for my Kindle. Needless to say, I have more than just a passing familiarity with the plot of Paddington's stories. Each story is built on a similar premise: Paddington's misunderstanding, naivete, and general luck lead to misadventure. This works fine for a short cartoon but I couldn't see that working for a feature film. Not to mention, the stories themselves can feel a bit dated. My love for the source material was strong enough I wasn't eager to have it sullied by a mediocre movie. After a few positive reviews, though, I thought I'd give it a shot. 

First, know that the movie plot bears no real resemblance to the books. There are some similar plot elements, some small instances of misadventure, but as one might expect it adds two larger plots. We have the Brown family rather fractured and at odds with one another and the mystery of the adventurer who visited Paddington's family in Peru. The side characters of Mr. Gruber and Mr. Curry are both in the movie though they aren't particularly as I'd have imagined them. I could spend the full length of the movie pointing out the deviations. A little begrudgingly, though, I have to admit I enjoyed this movie. It embraces and adds a modern twist to a beloved story. The cast is strong and does justice to the script.

Book review - The Princess and the Absolutely Not a Princess

Title: The Princess and the Absolutely Not a Princess
Author: Emma Wunsch
Genre: beginning chapter book
Similar books: Ellie, Engineer by Jackson Pearce
                      Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes
Rating:

better than I expected, though not without it's annoyances

Summary (provided by publisher): Princess Miranda does not want to go to school. She wants to shoe shop, plan parties, and decorate the castle.
Maude cannot wait for school. She loves rules and social justice and getting good grades. She also loves hard-boiled eggs, much to Miranda’s dismay.
When a tense first week of school results in Maude getting excluded from the Royal Birthday Party, Maude decides she’s found her first fight for social justice: a birthday boycott.
This hilarious, heartfelt chapter-book series teaches empathy, and reminds us that your very best friend could be one desk away.

My opinion: I didn't realize, going into this book, that one of the characters was a literal princess. I had assumed that she was simply hyper feminine, fond of princess-y things. It actually works better the way it's written. We see the parallels as well as the differences between the two families. The varied parenting approaches and personalities lead the kids into conflict. They see each other as weird, aggressive, noisy, snooty, etc. We see the negatives of judging one another on a single encounter, on a preconceived notion. And I liked the balance between a strict interpretation of justice and the moral right. I had a few problems with it but I can mostly respect the plot. And it provides a number of opportunities to start deeper conversations with young readers.
On a side note, it drove me a little buggy that the glasses that Maude affects to wear just happen to be the exact prescription that Miranda needs. Not to mention the fact that Miranda's vision is poor enough that she needs lenses strong enough to cause Miranda physical pain but no one notices. But that's more of a logistical annoyance than a real problem.

More Information: The Princess and the Absolutely Not a Princess releases August 7.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Every house should have an elf

I was looking to make some new puppets this weekend and was looking for inspiration. And I kept circling back to Dobby. I couldn't think how to make him work as a sock puppet (which had been my plan initially) so I reapproached it. 

I had some plastic balls lying around from something else and I always have bamboo skewers in my supplies.

2 more puppet bases for future projects!

With some scrap plastic and fabric, a pipe cleaner, and a little craft foam, I have a happy little Dobby. He is particularly happy with his sock.

 

Graphic novel spotlight - Three Story Books

BirdCatDog FishFishFish and SheHeWe by Lee Nordling and Meritxell Bosch

To my way of thinking, the real pinnacle of quality graphic novels is a strong wordless book. Any graphic novel that can tell a complex story without any text is worthy of our attention. These three books are built on the same idea: they tell a story, simultaneously, from 3 perspectives. We see through those perspectives how every story has multiple elements, how events seen only in one thread affect the events in the other two. Personally, SheHeWe is my favorite but all three have their merits. 

 

Non-fiction Book review - Unstoppable

Unstoppable by Art Coulson

I'd heard of Jim Thorpe. I'd heard of the Carlisle Indian School and the prowess of its sports teams. I can't say that I'd ever heard the connection between the two. This book is more about Thorpe than about the school. Coulson gets a lot of credit for not whitewashing the reality of the Indian schools or systemic racism, even for a young audience. The reality is softened; Coulson discusses the cruelty of taking children far from their families and stripping them of their culture but doesn't go into rampant abuse and neglect. Readers are told that the schools were "sometimes cruel" rather than truly criminal. The focus is certainly more on the early days of organized sports. Pair this book with something on the history of football.

More information: Unstoppable releases August 1.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Avatar. The good one

I've been rewatching the first season of Avatar: the Last Airbender (for like the third time) and was struck with some ideas for craft projects. This particular craft was inspired by a scene of Aang playfully airbending.

like so

I knew I had some marbles left over from another project. A little polymer clay and now I have my own Aang.