So I may ramble a bit here, and will likely save this post and come back to it a few times. Been working on some changes to the blog – some in my head, and some on the screen. I’d like to get more into the subject of books – things we’re reading, and things we’re liking (or not liking), and I’d also like to track some of the house projects and ideas a bit better as well. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a good kid-eating photo (I phrased that several ways, and none sounded less strange), it’s just that we do a bit more than eat around here, and I’d have to say reading would hit a close second. Rounding out third would be those house projects – heavier on the ideas than the execution. If you spend more than a few seconds here each day you’ve probably noticed the books in the sidebar. I’ll try to do better about updating those – and pointing out the best of the pack. You can always click on any of the book covers to go directly to the book listing at Amazon (full disclosure – I get a cut if you order), but I really just like to share good books that we like because I love getting book recommendations myself. So share, please, anytime. I guess if you live nearby, you might think of it as your own private library, and call me up to borrow some. Except for the baby’s. She gets panicked when she can’t find her favorite board books each night in the teetering stack by the rocking chair. Don’t mess with her “Global Babies” – she first crawled for that book, although it’s not displaying the same sort of power over her walking.
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What’s new on that list?
Half Magic by Edward Eager – very good, at least the first four chapters, and man, are those long chapters. Two parts have already sent us over the side of the bed laughing so hard. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgsen Burnett took as awhile – 27 long chapters, but as good, or better, than I remembered it. I read it over and over again as a child, and probably never thought then that I’d be reading it aloud and doing my best Yorkshire accent fairly fluently by night three, aye. Then we watched the movie, and counted the ways it differed. (Lots, but still good. The garden makes up for any shortcomings elsewhere in the flick.) The Ivy + Bean series has been a big hit with M and E, and its short and fast chapters pile up when they start reading. They are good books, and a quick read. Each night M would read a few chapters and E would then finish the book on her own. The next night he’d pick up where he left off, and she’d finish it again, never seeming to mind the repetition each night. We’ve plowed through the first five, and I noticed there are at least three more, so we have some catching up to do. Switching gears to the little one, the latest must-read of the evening is Peek-a-Boo What? and she really enjoys this one, especially when you give her free reign of the book and page-turning and let her make her own way. One page has a “peek-a-zoo” with a monkey on it, and she has to flip to that one and press her face to the monkey in sheer delight. We’re still loving Moo, Baa, La, La, La, mostly for the little dogs going “ruff, ruff, ruff” and other dogs going “bow wow wow”. Sandra Boynton is a book genius, and her One, Two, Three is another crowd pleaser, although for some reason we have to slam the book shut on number seven each time.
There is a bit of grown-up reading around here, mostly books passed over to me by my better-read parents and in-laws. South of Broad kept my parents entertained on vacation, and it truly does start out spectacularly. Unfortunately, once the characters start talking it goes downhill a bit, but not a bad beach read, especially if you know and love Charleston. I was always an avid reader of parenting books when E was little, taking some advice and ignoring some, but always reading and learning and thinking about each developmental stage she was going through. I try not to let that self-education slip by the wayside with kid number two, or the growing girl we’ve got upstairs. I’ve refreshed on some of those baby books, and picked up some older ones as well. The jury’s still out, but I’ll try to pass along ones that really seem to hit home with those issues of a slightly older kid, as long as you pass along that secret for infinite parental patience…
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The Pebble Mosaic Handbook was ordered because we were inspired by these,
There is a bit of grown-up reading around here, mostly books passed over to me by my better-read parents and in-laws. South of Broad kept my parents entertained on vacation, and it truly does start out spectacularly. Unfortunately, once the characters start talking it goes downhill a bit, but not a bad beach read, especially if you know and love Charleston. I was always an avid reader of parenting books when E was little, taking some advice and ignoring some, but always reading and learning and thinking about each developmental stage she was going through. I try not to let that self-education slip by the wayside with kid number two, or the growing girl we’ve got upstairs. I’ve refreshed on some of those baby books, and picked up some older ones as well. The jury’s still out, but I’ll try to pass along ones that really seem to hit home with those issues of a slightly older kid, as long as you pass along that secret for infinite parental patience…
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The Pebble Mosaic Handbook was ordered because we were inspired by these,
and the extensive mosaics that I walked on when living in Genoa, and the need for something interesting to replace the bare patch of land where ivy once grew in our front yard. I’m thinking of some sort of medallion or mini-piazza in the middle of the front yard, with plantings around it. Can you call something a piazza that has to fit into a 25′ x 25′ square area? I am. Well, I have some ideas on this, and will try to post some of those sketches soon. Which would also help me out in the “post more about projects around the house goal”, now wouldn’t it?
So, please drop me a line and tell me what you are reading and enjoying, and I’ll continue to do the same, and we’ll all live happily ever after…
You should talk to Brett, especially as E gets a little older. He’s taken to reading the 4th and 5th Grade level books before bed… and sometimes, he reads them aloud (which I love!). We’ve read the Percy Jackson books together and he really enjoyed Fablehaven (ss?) and Rangers Apprentice (all of which are on the mystical/magical adventure side of things). And as F gets a little older, you might look at almost anything from Jewish Light Press. The Sossa books will blow your mind… the art, the midrash storytelling… amazing. I use them regularly with youth/children of all ages and everyone loves them. Okay. Rambling. 🙂
Excellent! Keep them coming!