because every special occasion should involve books

Thank you all so much for the lovely anniversary wishes! We had a fairly uneventful, but relaxing day. Which, of course, involved books. :) We headed out to B&N during the afternoon. Each of us grabbed a huge pile of reading materials to look through and then headed to the cafe. The kids sat at one table drinking juice and reading, while Rich and I sat at another drinking coffee and perusing. For some reason, it just felt so utterly decadent to be whiling away a couple hours doing nothing productive. And of course, we couldn't escape without buying books. All of us. We may just need professional help. Of course, Rich had given me a gift card for our anniversary, and to not spend it would have been just plain rude, don't you think? ;)

I love the wonderful little assortment of books I got, and believe it or not, I don't have a single point of blame to award. (Never fear though, I've received quite a pile of books in the last week, some that do have points attached...but I'll save those for another post.) Anyway, here's what I bought:

Elf Realm: The Low Road by Daniel Kirk. I should probably be embarrassed to admit that I've never heard of this one before, as it was published last year. But when I saw it, I was helpless to resist. It not only sounds like a very fun read, but it's full of beautiful full-page pencil drawings. Done by the author.







Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science by Richard Preston. I've been wanting this book since it came out last year. Finally just broke down and bought it. No idea why I am fascinated by this kind of stuff, but I am. Annie on the other hand, picked up this book and after reading a bit, stated, "You know, maybe I don't want to work for the CDC after all."




Science Under Siege: Defending Science, Exposing Pseudoscience edited by Kendrick Frazier. This is a collection of essays, divided into three main sections: Science and Skeptical Inquiry, Critical Inquiry and Public Controversies, and Understanding Pseudoscience, Investigating Claims. So many of the essays sounds incredibly good...can't wait to dive in!







How to Be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith. Another book I've wanted since it first came out last year. I absolutely love her! And her books. She's just so inspiring. I have Living Out Loud: Activities to Fuel a Creative Life, and the wonderful, oh-so-creative herself, Jean, bought me Wreck This Journal for Christmas. I hate admitting that I've spent far too little time nurturing creativity the past few years. If this book doesn't help, it will be solely my fault, not the fault of this lovely book.



Ah yes, I'm so very happy with my lovely new pile. :D


I'm also happy with the reading I did last evening. I imagine you're quite sick of my bitching about how I can't seem to finish a book. I've been laboring through these same 7 very long, slow books for far too long. And while I'm enjoying every one of them, I just feel so bogged down by them. So last night, I decided to just push them all aside. Instead I grabbed Blueberry Girl, The Day I Swapped My dad for Two Goldfish, and The Wolves in the Walls off the shelf. Now, we all know that Neil Gaiman is a freakin' genius, but I feel I have to say it anyway! This was the most relaxing little bout of reading I've had in a long time!

I've read Blueberry Girl several times before. And I read it a couple more times last night. I think I could read it several times every day and still never tire of it. And still get those tears of sweetness and joy in my eyes with each reading. As much as I've enjoyed everything I've read of his thus far, this may well be my favorite book of all. As if the words are not perfection enough, Charles Vess adds the most beautiful drawings. It's perfection times two.


This was the first I'd read either of the other two, however. Both of which are wonderful. Both of which are delightfully silly. Both of which are filled with Dave McKean's incredible art. Both of which have cameos by the Queen of Melanesia. And both of which I positively adored!

babbling about picture books

I know I seldom do the book babbling about the picture books we sneak in. You know, it's actually kind of sad...we don't read them by the truckload anymore. We manage to fit in a few here and there, but mostly we stick to bigger kid chapter books now. I really need to make a conscious effort to include more picture books though, as I know Maxidoodle really does enjoy them. And that is one of the main reasons I joined Becky's Young Readers Challenge. (Oh okay, there's also the fact that I just love them myself.)

Anyway, since this is a challenge and all, I thought I should probably say a few words about the books we've read...


Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones by Judy Schachner. What can I say...Max absolutely adores these books! But that's hardly surprising, when our little hero is a Siamese cat who thinks himself a chihuahua. And honestly, I think I love these books as much as Max does. Funny. Adorable. Lyrical. Just plain fun to read aloud, especially with sprinkling of Spanish thrown in. Oh, and there's the fact that I get sing, something the kids groan at any other time I do it. (Don't worry, if you heard me sing, you definitely wouldn't hold their groaning against them.) But back to Skippito. In this book, we find Skippyjon raiding Darwin's, the neighborhood dog, bone stash. He's stealing the bones to build himself a dinosaur skeleton. Yes, Skippyjon now wants to be a paleontologist. And when he heads off into his closet this time for adventure, he and the Chimichangos (his chihuahua pals) find real live dancing dinosaurs. Yep, these books are a pure delight!


Have You Got My Purr? by Judy West. This is a sweet little story about a kitten who desperately wants to find her purr. She searches the barnyard, asking all the animals if they have her purr. Each animal that she asks sends her on to another, until she finally asks the wise owl. He sends her home to her mom, where she learns that her purr has been inside her all along. Max thoroughly enjoyed the story (we are talking cats here), though in actuality, it is a book aimed at a slightly younger audience. One reason I hate those age labels...had I told Max it was a book for preschoolers, he would never have let me read it to him and thus would have missed out on a story that made him smile. Oh, and I must add here, that the illustrations for this book, done by Tim Warnes, are simply charming! It's really what led me to pick up this book to start with.


Toots the Cat by Karla Kuskin. What a fun book! It's the story of Toots, but it's told in a series of poems. There's a poem for many an occasion included. We learn about how Toots showed up a stray on the doorstep, and about how Toots spends her nights, and about how Toots acts in the snow. Let me share one of my favorites:

In or Out?

When she's in
she meows to be out.
When she's out
she prefers to be in.
Whatever wherever whichever
however forever moreover
from cover to cover
from housemat to clover
she makes it quite clear
she would rather be here
if she's there.

She would like to there
if she's here.
She would rather be far
if she's near
and near
if she's anywhere far.
Her preference is whimsical,
wide and far-ranging...
well, what's a mind for
if it isn't for changing?

And I was not the only one who enjoyed this book...no, Max was entranced! Poetry books are generally not at the top of his favorites list, but he really liked this one. Of course, there's the whole, "Well, of course, it's about a cat" thing. But I think in addition to that, he really enjoyed the variety. While the poem I shared uses rhyme very effectively, the poems contained in this book are not all just the simple rhyming poems that so many poetry books for young children contain. I feel like the author respected a child's ability to appreciate the sounds of language in many forms. Then again, maybe I'm totally off base, and that really has nothing to do with why Max enjoyed it so much. (I didn't want to ask him a bunch of questions about it, like I usually do when we read together. I'd like him to become more comfortable with poetry in general first, so I don't do anything to scare him off.) Anyway, whatever the reason, this book was a definitely hit for both of us.