Listen with me

 

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

This is certainly not the first time I've read this book. It is, in fact, the inspiration for the name of this blog. When I first encountered this book after it's initial publication I was blown away by the simplicity and power of the prose. By giving Ivan a straightforward voice, a tone that states things plainly and in as few words as are truly necessary, Applegate gives his lines power. They are more believable as an animal's thoughts and also leave us to draw our own conclusions. They tell us a story of cruelty and pain without becoming maudlin or overblown. The simple statement of fact actually allows the reader to feel the emotional pain more deeply. This is a book that is not only beautiful to read (or have read to you as the case may be) but holds up to repeat reading, allowing us to reflect on different aspects each time. If you have not experienced Ivan yet, do yourself a favor and give this one a listen.

New finger puppet designs

 I have a pretty solid roster of finger puppets that I make for craft fairs so I seldom try new designs these days. When I got a good deal on some large pieces of felt, though, that needed to change. Since I don't have a lot of designs using pink and light blue felt and you can only make so many pigs and song birds I'm trying out some new ideas. Here are my first two: a red panda and an axolotl.

I welcome more suggestions for pink and light blue creatures. Feel free to leave your ideas in the comments.

Just a note

 Hi friends

This is just a heads up. I'm taking a little break this week while I'm away on an adventure. I'll see you in May when we'll talk The One And Only Ivan, Mother's Day, Star Wars, and many, many books. See you soon.

Picture books for everyone

 

I Like This Color by Liz Goulet Dubois

This book is a bit more simple than I typically feature in this segment but frankly, I like this book. The plot is quite simple - Duck and Cluck disagree about what color they should paint a wall. They express their opinions loudly and increasingly aggressively, ultimately resulting in the colors combining into a swirl that neither one expected. The writing is simple and easy to follow. The art is also fairly simple though the characters are quite expressive. And best of all, we have an excellent use of sound effects. Some of the best sound words I've seen used in a picture book in a while. It's not a deep story but it is a lot of fun and would make an excellent read-aloud. 

More information: I Like This Color releases May 1.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions

 

The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions by Anna Goldfield

 This book has solid curiosity appeal for young readers. It's the same drive that leads us to read the Guinness Book of World Records or Ripley's Believe it or Not. This book has a similar tone, focusing more on factoids than an in depth exploration of any one topic. Reading it reminded me of books like It's Disgusting and We Ate It. The reader won't learn much from this volume, necessarily, but it might encourage further reading on a topic.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Making Friends With Monsters

 

Title: Making Friends With Monsters

Author: Sandra L Rostirolla

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Lolo's Light by Liz Garton Scanlon

                      Rain Rising by Courtne Comrie 

Rating: 

 

an honest look and big ideas for a middle grade audience

Summary (provided by publisher): Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why? Monsters! That’s why! They stick their scungy little noses into everything.

Twelve-year-old Sam learns this lesson the hard way. His fact-finding mission about Monsters starts off with the best of intensions. He just wants to help his older brother, Ben. After a terrible accident awakens his own Monster, Sam’s behaviour starts causing problems with everyone, including the girl he loves. He discovers the family secret that caused Ben’s downward spiral and realizes that someone else also has a Monster. And the hideous beast did something really bad.

If Sam is to get through this mess, he needs to find a way to make friends with his Monster before the ravenous beast turns around and swallows him whole. 

My opinion: Most middle grade fiction does not approach such big ideas with such such straightforward, brutal honesty. There is no delicate dancing around the desperation and depression involved here, the high stress levels and destruction of relationships and the situation devolves and the drought continues. This family gets hit with one bad thing after another and can see no way out of the increasingly deep hole. It's a brutally honest book which means it is likely to be too much for some young readers. It's a book I would want to discuss with a kid after they read it to make sure they were able to deal with the realities it discusses. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Garden markers

 We are in active garden planning and preparation mode around here. The seeds are purchased and some of the seedlings are started in the greenhouse. As we prepare the big garden plot I'm trying to keep myself organized. Part of that this year includes marking exactly where I've planted some of my seeds. I'm trying out some garden markers for the first time. But I hate spending money unnecessarily so I thought I'd reuse something we already had. And one thing we have in abundance is used canning jar lids. A little rubbing alcohol takes the permanent marker labels off of the lids and preps them for reuse.

I relabeled them for garden use with marker and a little paint pen for decoration.