Mama Reads

So, we went on down to New Orleans a deux to attend the French Quarter Festival.  (We used to go quite regularly but got distracted by the whole having a child thing.)  It was, as usual, fantastic.  Just wandering around the Quarter and stumbling upon great music at every turn.  Fantastic food, even at the vendor stands at the festival.  Wander up by the river for a little breeze and watch my favorite New Orleans Band the Tin Men.   Also fantastic was the 6 nights with only two of us in the bed, and being able to wander around without keeping an eye on another person!  And we mustn’t forget the blessed absence of repetitive chatter!

I always buy a book for Frankie when we go on vacation.  This trip’s find is Jazz Cats.  With colorful graphics, a great spoken jazz rhythm, and references to New Orleans landmarks such as Jackson Square, it captures the feeling of jazz at its finest. 

Down in New Orleans where the sounds are sweet,
In a back-alley corner off of Bourbon Street, there’s some hipster kitties (they don’t chase no rats).
They make swinging music — ‘cuase they’re Jazz Cats!

Jazz Cats!
Swingin’ Jazz Cats!

I love reading this to her because it’s fun to say “Jazz Cats, swingin’ Jazz cats!” Or “Jazz Cats, sleepy Jazz Cats!”   It’s also nice to have things to show her about the place Mama and Daddy like to visit.  Speaking of showing her New Orleans, I loved, loved The Princess and the Frog (Single Disc Widescreen). 

Ok, so to recap this very rambling post:  Love vacation, love New Orleans, love Jazz Cats, love Princess and the Frog!  Happy Summer!

Push: A Novel – I desperately wish I had never read this book.  I keep thinking about it and not in a good way.  More in a it’s bothering my protected little life by making me think about disturbing things way.  I know that it’s good for me to step outside my comfort zone but I don’t like it! 

I’ll probably give away spoilers in this review so stop reading now if you are going to read this book – The main character Precious is having her second child by her father who started abusing her at an early age.  Her mother is also abusive not only verbally and physically but sexually as well.   She is 16 and still in junior high from being held back and now they want to kick her out because of the pregnancy.   Someone finally gets her into an alternative program where she is able to work on her literacy.  Some readers find this story inspirational as she’s working to “get out”.  I find that unlikely and my heart just breaks at the innocence lost and the thought of anyone treating a child like that.  And I can’t stop thinking about it and I really want to stop thinking about it!  I guess that means it was a good book? 

Frankie’s new favorite bedtime story is Princess Hyacinth (The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated). 

Princess Hyacinth had a problem.
Well, you’re saying, everyone has a problem. But this was an unusual problem. Oh, she didn’t look unusual, that wasn’t it. She had two eyes, with a nose between them and a mouth under that– you know, the usual things in the usual arrangement.
In fact, if she wasn’t all dressed up in her Princess clothes, you’d think she was just anybody.
So what was the problem?
Princess Hyacinth floated.

First of all, I love it that the princess has a problem instead of some poor girl who becomes a princess and lives happily ever after.  Because of the floating thing, she cannot go about like the other children and often must be strapped down or wear weighted gowns and a heavy crown which makes it so she can hardly move.  I’m a little uncomfortable with the fact that the balloon man will do what she asks just because she’s the princess but that is a minor thing in an otherwise fabulous book.  I love the theme that “things” do not make you free and that after the adventures are had and the friendships made, she still has a problem.

The problem about the floating was never solved, and that’s too bad.
But Princess Hyacinth was never bored again.
Good.

The illustrations are quirky and the princess looks like an ordinary girl.  The text itself is also part of the fun of the story as it changes color, size, placement on the page, adds iltalics etc. which makes it quite fun as a read aloud.  We have been reading it at least twice a day since getting it from the library and not only does Frankie keep requesting it, but Mama is willing to keep reading it.  Always an ideal situation!

Do you remember when you were a kid and you read A Wrinkle in Time or The Chronicles of Narnia or A Wizard of Earthsea or A Ring of Endless Light for the first time?  It’s like that.  The 2010 Newbery Medal Winner, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is just like that.  It has just enough magic, just enough mystery, just enough regular girl trying to figure out herself and the world.  It is one of the most solid books I have read in some time and I cannot wait for all those kids out there to read it and say “This is my favorite book, ever!”   And they will, because it is just that good!

The story is set in New York City in 1979.  The author said in an interview that was because she wanted the characters to have a certain amount of autonomy as she did growing up in the city and didn’t think it would be believeable in today’s culture.  Miranda’s best friend Sal doesn’t want to hang out with her anymore and she is starting to recieve strange notes that seem to predict the future.  She keeps re-reading a Wrinkle in Time and the way the author ties together the two stories is excellent.  As Miranda navigates the tricky world of 6th grade and new friendships the mystery unfolds itself until it reaches the exceptional ending which made me want to turn around and re-read the book immediately.  If you have middle readers, or a grownup who appreciates a good read, be sure to introduce them to this book!

So,when I walked into my local library in a few months back and saw not one, but TWO new Charlaine Harris books on the shelf waiting for me, I was in fan heaven. The first one,A Touch of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse: The Complete Stories) is the latest offering in her popular Sookie Stackhouse series that serves as the basis for the HBO series True Blood.  (Brief aside:  a friend sent me a bottle of tru blood for Christmas which made me laugh for a good 5 minutes.  Who knew they even made such a thing?)   This is a collection of short stories which take place at different times in Sookie’s history.  I wanted to like this book. But between the fact that I don’t particularly like short stories and the weak writing it was just a letdown.  (I was also disappointed in the last full length offering, Dead and Gone. The writing is weak and the plotting abysmal. Not at all up to usual Sookie standards.) I realize this was a chance to flesh out some secondary characters and revisit some deleted scenes, but I ended up skimming fairly quickly and was tempted not to finish.

On the other hand, Grave Secret (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 4), was a nice return to form.  This series is centered around Harper Connelly who has had an affinity for the dead ever since she was struck by lightning as a teenager.  She travels the country, with her step-brother (who became her boyfriend in the last book) and people hire them to find the bodies of lost loved ones.  Once Harper finds a body, she can usually tell how they died etc.  This time they are going “home” to Texas and their latest case seems to have ties to their own troubled childhoods.  This series is a little darker than the Sookie Stackhouse series but seemed to be a little deeper as well.  Unfortunately, it looks like Harris may be wrapping up the series to concentrate on other things as she ties up a lot of plot lines that have been developing through all four books.  If it is the end, at least it was a strong one!

I was ecstatic (that’s fancy for happy) when I saw this book was coming out in time for the holiday season. We love the Fancy Nancy books and Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas is a nice addition to the series. Nancy and her family are decorating their house and picking out a Christmas Tree.

“I love Christmas so much. It is important to find a tree with a wonderful aroma. (That’s a fancy word for smell.) I think bigger is always better. but my dad says we must compromise. That means we end up with the tree my mom wants”

While they wait for Grandpa to get there so they can decorate the tree, they make delectable cookies (that’s fancy for yummy) go caroling (that’s fancy for singing Christmas songs) and plead (like begging only fancier) to put the tree topper on.   Unfortunately, patience wears thin and disaster strikes.   But Grandpa saves the day with a lesson about improvising (that’s fancy for using whatever’s on hand) and making memories. 

The illustrations are fabulous (that’s fancy for great) as always but I think the story hiccups in place and is not as strong as usual.   Still, Nancy shines and introduces some fancy vocabulary, making us look forward to the spring and more Fancy Nancy titles.

What a nice “quiet” book for bedtime.  In 3 chapters for early readers, but perfect for reading to a pre-schooler.  Houndsley and Catina are practicing for the concert but it looks like they might get snowed in.  Catina starts to worry about all the things she can’t do when they are stuck in the house, like go home to curl her whiskers and put on a dress for the concert, but Houndsley reminds her to focus on the fun things they can do when it is snowing and quiet.  Like bake cookies and write poems and read them to each other, which my daughter said she wanted to do today!  She is the product of her parents and therefore dictated that she would write a princess poem and I must write a pirate poem.  Which I am including here for your laugh of the day:

Once there was a pirate
As salty as could be.
He lived upon the ocean
And sailed upon the sea.
But when he met a mermaid
He sailed the seas no more.
“I do not want her father
Knocking at my door.”

Since my daughter is just learning to write, we don’t have a princess poem for you but look for one in the future! Houndsley and Catina and the Quiet Time
definitely makes the list of mama favorites!

Just finished reading Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)
for book club. A quick, easy read that like the first one, leaves you wanting more! Katniss, our heroine from the first book, is just as compelling and like all teenagers, just as confused. As a winning “tribute” she should have been set for life, but finds herself sucked into a political movement and, as punishment, into the next Hunger Games. Unlike a lot of middle books in a trilogy, this one is not just a placeholder to move the story along but compelling in it’s own right. 5 stars!

I love the post-apocalyptic genre so here are some other recommendations!

Dies the Fire: A Novel of the Change
A flash, and the world no longer has electronics or explosives, throwing us back to an era of swords and heroes.

The Postman (Bantam Classics)
Classic collapse of civilization. Forget the movie. Great for book club discussions.

The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut (Signet)
I know, I know, but again, forget the TV movie. While I think the last 1/4 of the book falls short, the first part is fabulous. People forget that King is actually a good writer most of the time and dismiss him because of the subject matter.

The Road (Movie Tie-in Edition 2008 of the 2006 publication)
Now to preface, I hate the way McCarthy writes. He just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve tried to read All the Pretty Horses 3 times and just can’t do it. I can however, recognize that while not my style, this is a good read. Very dark though…

Parable of the Sower
Vastly underappreciated author! Isn’t it strange how in so many post-apocalyptic stories all the survivors are in Oregon?

That’s probably enough for now but I will leave you with one last thing… I Am Legend (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)
I have not read the book but this movie was so good I actually forgot it was Will Smith. (weak ending but you can’t have everything!

Poodlena

“In a big city high rise
On the very top floor
Lived a pink, fluffy poodle,–
Poodlena Pompadour.”

Thus begins a delightful look into the world of a pampered poodle in the city. The rhymes are fun but what little girls really love are the illustrations. Poodlena with her mountain of pink fluffy hair gets prettied up everyday for her walk. She goes to the dog park to be seen but never plays with the other dogs. Fortunately, one muddy day she gets knocked down and discovers the joy of getting a little dirty. From then on she primps less so she has more time to play. More time to play, a good lesson for all of us!

Terrier (The Legend of Beka Cooper, Book 1)

I like Tamora Pierce. She writes wonderfully strong-willed female characters. That being said, the Beka Cooper series is my favorite of all. Pierce has really come into her own, adding strong writing to her already strong plots and characters. Terrier takes place in her familiar kingdom of Tortall but preceding the other series set in the same locale. Beka is actually the great-great-great-grandmother of Aliane of the Trickster series. Beka lives in the lower city and is training with the provost’s guard, essentially she is a cop. This book covers her first year of traning and is told as Beka’s diary. A must read for fantasy lovers and suitable for age 13 and up.