What am I reading today?

The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros

Total read in March thus far: 11

Sometimes things can be fun and practical

Socks are one of my favorite craft supplies. My stock is a combination of feet from unused socks (left over from doll clothes) and whole socks with worn spots. I was sorting through them and found a couple of pieces that coordinated rather well.

I had in mind to make a snail and this seemed like a good combination. I cut the top of the foot and front of the leg from the striped sock and a narrow strip above the heel of the purple sock and stitched them into pillows, coiling the striped one as I went.

 
 A pipe cleaner and some pompoms gave the snail eyes. I wanted a practical use for the snail, so I've tucked a small sewing kit into the snail shell and use the top as a pincushion. It sits on my desk at work, decorating it and storing supplies at the same time.

 

What am I reading today?

The Runaways by Ulf Stark
Total read in March thus far: 9

What am I reading today?

Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Total read in March thus far: 5

What am I reading today?

Clean Eating for Busy Families by Michelle Dudash

Total read in March thus far: 3

Read with me this month

Every March, to celebrate Reading Month, I make it a point to read more. And also, to carefully track every book that I read. I'll be tracking those books this year here, with an extra post every morning. The plan is to simply post a cover image of whatever book I'm currently reading. I'll also keep a running tally of my total books for the month (all books - picture book, graphic novel, audio book, etc). Why this attention to numbers? I'll be making a donation to RIF (Reading is Fundamental) and the end of the month based on that total. And March is a great time to make a donation to RIF as they're matching all donations made in March. You can learn more about RIF here. 

So what am I reading today?

The Bigfoot Files by Lindsay Eagar

Total read in March: 0
 

Book review - Recipe for Disaster

Title: Didi Dodo Future Spy - Recipe for Disaster
Author: Tom Angleberger
Genre: humor
Similar books: The Bolds by Julian Clary
                      Claude in the City by Alex T Smith
Rating:

cleverly silly

Summary (provided by publisher): In this series opener, Koko Dodo the cookie chef has a big problem. Today is the day of the royal cookie contest, and someone has stolen his top-secret fudge sauce! Luckily, a spy enters the scene just in time (or rather, crashes in on her roller skates): Didi Dodo! This might be Didi’s first case ever, but she has a daring plan to help Koko. Koko would prefer a safe, simple, sure-to-work plan, but without another option, he and the amateur sleuth take off on a wacky caper full of high-speed chases and big belly laughs that could only come from the mind of the inimitable Tom Angleberger. Each book in the series will focus on a food-related mystery.

My opinion: Angleberger certainly has a talent for developing unique characters. In the case of an early chapter book like this one, unique characters are what make it enjoyable and memorable. The mystery of the stolen fudge sauce follows a pretty obvious story arc but it includes some great elements. First we have this wild adventure with crazy exploits, constantly adding to the cast of characters. Secondly, there's a message about fair play and competition. Not just the standard message about not cheating, but the idea that a contest where the same competitor always wins entertains no one. Not knowing, anticipation, is what makes a contest worth doing/watching. Making that the final conclusion elevates this above the standard early elementary story.
More information: Recipe for Disaster releases March 19.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.