Angora

 Today I have for you not a craft, exactly, but more of a project.

I have a pair of angora rabbits. If you're unfamiliar, angoras grow long, super-soft fur. Here's how they looked in September, before their fur was at it's longest

This particular breed of angoras sheds that long fur every couple of months and all of that fluff needs to be removed. Here's what they look like de-fluffed.

And because it blows my mind a little bit, here's the collected fur.

But why do I tell you all of this (other than the fact that I love talking about these rabbits) and how is that a project? My plan for this fur is to spin my own yarn. You may recall my diy drop spindle. So look forward to seeing a post about angora yarn in the future.

Picture books for everyone

 

When the Storks Came Home by Isabella Tree

This story is a prime example of how small actions can have a noticeable impact on an environmental issue. In an easy to follow narrative, Tree tells the tale of a small group reintroducing storks to an area, bringing them back from the brink of extinction. It's a tale of people and nature finding a way to live in balance. While it is a fictionalized account of real events, the message is clear. And the afterward lays out how general thrust of the story is true. It's only details that have been changed. Small children will appreciate the simple triumph of the story. For older kids it will encourage thought/conversation about ecology and the preservation of species and habitats.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Non-fiction book review - Sharks Forever

 

Sharks Forever by Mark Leiren-Young

Most of us will admit that we have a single idea of sharks. Even if we understand that most sharks won't attack a person, our metal image of sharks probably strongly resembles the Great White. Leiren-Young paints a far more complex picture of sharks in all their variations. We learn a lot about sharks in general as well as plenty of species specific factoids. The tone of the book is fairly conversational, making it accessible and enjoyable for most middle grade readers.  With plenty o photos supporting the text it's a strong choice for a young reader.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Jack-o-lantern

 Since today is Halloween, it should come as no surprise that the "craft" I'm sharing is my jack-o-lantern. While most of my family went with traditional faces, I decided to try something different and turned mine into a hedgehog. If you turn it around, the back is full of holes as well for additional "spikes".

Book review - The Lost Whale

 

Title: The Lost Whale

Author: Hannah Gold

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelley

                     A Possibility of Whales by Karen Rivers

Rating:

 

mostly solid, though it stretches believability at moments

Summary (provided by publisher): When Rio is sent to live with a grandmother he barely knows in California, he feels completely alone. Then he makes a new friend on the foggy beach—a girl named Marina, who teaches him about the massive grey whales that migrate nearby.

As Rio grows to love the whales, he discovers that his mother loved them, too. He’s suddenly sure that if he can somehow find a way to connect her with these gentle giants – and especially with a particular whale named White Beak – she will get better and come to join him in California. But White Beak is missing—and Rio must embark on a desperate journey across the dangerous ocean to find her.

My opinion: The main plot here, of Rio's drive to find White Beak, is easy enough to follow. And the subtext of his journey adjusting to his new life and coming to understand his mother and grandmother better is pretty straightforward as well. I appreciate too that Gold resists the temptation to make Rio wise beyond his years. He is serious, to be certain, since he has been serving as a caregiver to his mother. But he is still a child. He engages in magical thinking and is only beginning to see adults as real, complex people who don't have all the answers. The whale plot stretches the imagination a bit more than I would like but the characters are strong enough to give this one my approval.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud

In plot alone Stroud has presented us with a strong book. The world of this series is one devastated by climate change and some unnamed disaster. Cities are abandoned and lost to wilderness and floods. The remaining towns are insular and ruled by secretive cabals and strict standards of "purity". The spaces in between are the domain of monstrous man-eating animals and a sort of zombie. All elements that make for exciting reading and would be enough to make this a book easy to recommend. But Scarlett and Albert, the titular outlaws, are phenomenal. Both are keeping secrets and both add charm and quirks to the story. Scarlett is the bandit we love, who commits her crimes with cheek yet seeks to do good in the world when she sees the chance. Albert is a wide-eyed innocent who loves everything, bumbles endlessly, but is so effortlessly charming and guileless that we automatically cheer for him. A charming listen that will engage reluctant readers.

Non-fiction book review - Secret Schools

 

Secret Schools by Heather Camlot

Sometimes we give small children books about how the lives of kids around the world aren't so different. Their school might look different, we say, but they still go to school. As those kids age, it's important to give them books like this one. Books that lay out reality a little more plainly and show them how some basic things that we take for granted in the west, like clean water and education, are not so accessible in other places. Camlot presents the reader with several cases where groups have had to defy authority to obtain education. Several reasons are presented - sexism, racism, and classism being the primary driving forces. A variety of cultures and time periods are presented as well. A solid choice for a social science collection.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.