Scaifea's 2013 Challenge - Thread 12

Welcome to Thread #12!

Last year, I started each thread off with a photo from my Mythology course files; this year I thought I'd take inspiration from Paul's threads and share photos of places I've lived and interesting attractions thereabouts.

Here's the bookshop in which that excellent photo of the Scaife Men (as seen in the previous thread) was taken. It's called the River Lights Bookstore, and I highly recommend it, if you're ever in Dubuque, IA (and let me know beforehand, so I can meet you there!):



Below you’ll find an explanation of my reading habits, which, I warn you, is a bit crazy. Usually I have about 10-12 books going at once, one each from the following groups (and occasionally other books slipped in there too):

1. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

2. A children's book, for Charlie's library. I'm trying to collect books from various award lists, and I like reading them before reading them to Charlie or deciding to add them to Charlie's shelves. For this category, I’m working through three lists:
a. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
b. The CYOA books
c. The Caldecott Honor books

3. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

4. A book for the Presidential Challenge. Books for this category are read in chronological (presidentially) order.

5. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

6. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker lists (combined, in chronological order)

7. For this category, I cycle through 7 different stacks:
a. A book from my shelves which I haven't yet read
b. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. Stephen King's bibliography (in chronological order)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list
h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
i. The Pulizer list (in alpha order by author)

8. A bath-time book: I read aloud while Tomm gives Charlie his bath.

9. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

10. Last year at some point, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've decided, again, to follow Paul's lead and try to fill in some of those blanks, and so I'm adding an entry here to my lists.

So, now you've got a glimpse of just how neurotic I am.
Please feel free to post comments, recommendations, or whatever else strikes your fancy. And Happy Reading, everyone!

What I'm reading now:
-Lady Chatterley's Lover (Banned Books list)
-(awaiting next trip to the library) (1001 Children's Books list)
-Journey to the West (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life (Presidential Challenge)
-Stories I Only Tell My Friends (audio book)
-The Man in the High Castle (Hugo award list)
-Enemy of God (from the TBR shelves)
-The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus (off of my classics shelves)
-The World of Pooh (bath-time book)
-Buddhism for Beginners (buddhism list)
-The American Red Cross First Aid & Safety Handbook
-The Iliad (everyday audio book in the car)
-(awaiting order to arrive from Amazon) (year-by-year book list)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1

Books Read:
JANUARY
1. Little Mouse Makes a Mess (CYOA series) - 7/10
2. The Very Lonely Firefly (gift to Charlie from The Ladies Who Live Next Door) - 7/10
3. Lots of Bots (present to Charlie from Santa) - 8/10
4. The Tower at the End of the World (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
5. Wall-e (present to Charlie from Santa) - 8/10
6. Eve (present to Charlie from Santa) - 8/10
7. Mo (present to Charlie from Santa) - 8/10
8. Aboard the Axiom (present to Charlie from Santa) - 8/10
9. The Whistle, the Grave and the Ghost (Bellairs bibliography) - 8/10
10. That's Not My Pony (public library book) - 8/10
11. Feet Are Not For Kicking (public library book) - 7/10
12. Was It a Good Trade? (public library book) - 6/10
13. Checklists for Life (christmas present from Tomm) - 8/10
14. The House Where Nobody Lived (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
15. Toy Boat (public library book) - 9/10
16. The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
17. Oh, What Nonsense! (book off of my shelves) - 7/10
18. Little Panda Gets Lost (CYOA series) - 8/10
19. The Light at Tern Rock (picked up from the library sale shelf) - 6/10
20. Greetings from the 50 States and How They Got Their Names (picked up from the library sale shelf) - 7/10
21. A Grand Old Tree (public library book) - 9/10
22. Valentine Surprise (public library book) - 8/10
23. At the Back of the North Wind (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
24. Llama Llama Home with Mama (public library book) - 8/10
25. The Tale of Desperaux (Newbery award list) - 9/10
26. Llama Llama Mad at Mama (public library book) - 9/10
27. Llama Lllama Misses Mama (public library book) - 8/10
28. The Hunger Games (Parent & Child list) - 10/10
29. Happy Valentine's Day, Curious George! (public library book) - 8/10
30. Cranberry Valentine (public library book) - 8/10
31. The Water Babies (1001 Children's Books) - 6/10
32. Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! (Charlie book) - 8/10
33. What the Ladybug Heard (public library book) - 8/10
34. The Kettles Get New Clothes (public library book) - 8/10
35. Paddington at Work (Charlie bath-time book) - 9/10
36. Catching Fire (Parent & Child list) - 9/10
37. Little Boat (public library book) - 6/10
38. Clink (public library book) - 9/10
39. Mockingjay (Parent & Child list) - 9/10
40. Gossie (public library book) - 8/10
41. Kira Kira (Newbery award list) - 7/10
42. Gossie & Gertie (public ibrary book) - 8/10
43. Little Kangaroo's Bad Day (CYOA series) - 8/10
44. The Lightning Thief (Parent & Child list) - 6/10
45. Old Bear and His Cub (public library book) - 8/10
46. Criss Cross (Newbery award list) - 7/10
47. Llama Llama Time to Share (public library book) - 8/10

FEBRUARY
48. The Bad Beginning (Parent & Child list) - 8/10
49. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! (Newbery award list) - 8/10
50. Don't Worry, Bear (public library book) - 8/10
51. This Is Not My Hat (Caldecott award list) - 8/10
52. I Want My Hat Back (public library book) - 8/10
53. Who Sees the Lighthouse? (public library book) - 7/10
54. When You Reach Me (Newbery award list) - 9/10
55. Honk! (public library book) - 8/10
56. The Monster of Florence (audio book) - 9/10
57. The Princess and the Goblin (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
58. The One and Only Ivan (Newbery award list) - 8/10
59. The Forever Machine (Hugo award list) - 8/10
60. Little Men (NEH list) - 7/10
61. The Graveyard Book (Newbery award list) - 10/10
62. The Family That Couldn't Sleep (audio book) - 9/10
63. Where Is the Green Sheep? (public library book) - 9/10
64. Let's Count Goats! (public library book) - 9/10
65. Bear Says Thanks (public library book) - 8/10
66. The Higher Power of Lucky (Newbery award list) - 8/10
67. Moon over Manifest (Newbery award list) - 10/10
68. Bear's New Friend (public library book) - 8/10
69. Dead End in Norvelt (Newbery award list) - 8/10
70. Bear Feels Scared (public library book) - 8/10
71. The Canterville Ghost (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
72. Hide and Squeak (public library book) - 8/10
73. Bear's Loose Tooth (public library book) - 8/10
74. The Happy Prince (1001 Children's Books) - 9/10
75. Bear Wants More (public library book) - 8/10
76. Bear Feels Sick (public library book) - 9/10
77. Blue Chicken (public library book) - 9/10
78. Diary of a Wombat (public library book) - 7/10
79. Little Raccoon Goes to the Beach (CYOA series) - 8/10
80. Little Auto (public library book) - 7/10
81. Paddington Goes to Town (bath-time book) - 9/10
82. Worms for Lunch? (public library book) - 8/10
83. Little Lord Fauntleroy (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
84. Caramba (public library book) - 8/10

MARCH
85. This Is the Firefighter (public library book) - 8/10
86. Little Bear and the Papagini Circus (public library book) - 7/10
87. The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
88. Where Is That Cat? (public library book) - 9/10
89. Drum City (public library book) - 8/10
90. Three by the Sea (public library book) - 9/10
91. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
92. The Very Busy Day (public library book) - 7/10
93. Five Children and It (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
94. The Boxcar Children (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
95. The Little Prince (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
96. Half Magic (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
97. Double Star (Hugo award list) - 9/10
98. A History of Greece to 322 B.C. (from my classics shelves) - 8/10
99. Women in Love (banned books list) - 5/10
100. Augustus: A Novel (NBA list) - 9/10
101. The Tower Treasure (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
102. At Home (audio book) - 9/10
103. The Funny Thing Is... (audio book) - 8/10
104. The Very Noisy Night (public library book) - 8/10
105. Don't You Feel Well, Sam? (public library book) - 8/10
106. Old Bear (public library book) - 7/10
107. Duck Sock Hop (public library book) - 8/10
108. A Little Princess (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
109. Kiss Good Night (public library book) - 9/10
110. How Rocket Learned to Read (public library book) - 9/10
111. Pollyanna (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
112. Wow! Said the Owl (public library book) - 8/10
113. The Incredible Journey (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
114. A New House for Mouse (public library book) - 8/10
115. The Children's Hour, volume 12: Stories of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little) - 8/10
116. Little Goat's Big Brother (CYOA series) - 7/10
117. Up and Down (public library book) - 9/10
118. Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me? (audio book) - 9/10
119. Kipper's Book of Weather (public library book) - 9/10
120. Milky Way Railroad (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
121. If I Had a Sheep (public library book) - 8/10
122. The Great Pet Sale (public library book) - 9/10
123. Dora Loves Boots (public library book) - 8/10
124. Max & Ruby's Treasure Hunt (public library book) - 8/10
125. The Big Time (Hugo award list) - 7/10
126. Bedtime in the Forest (public library book) - 8/10
127. Will Spring Be Early or Will Spring Be Late? (public library book) - 7/10
128. Harriet the Spy (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
129. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (public library book) - 8/10
130. The Adventures of Pinocchio (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
131. Poppy & Ella (public library book) - 9/10

APRIL
132. The Village Garage (public library book) - 9/10
133. Neville (public library book) - 9/10
134. Nurse Matilda (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
135. Imagine Harry (public library book) - 7/10
136. Sheep in Wolves' Clothing (public library book) - 8/10
137. The Three Cabritos (public library book) - 9/10
138. Big Kicks (public library book) - 7/10
139. Policeman Small (public library book) - 8/10
140. A Wizard of Earthsea (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
141. Paddington Takes the Air (bath time book) - 10/10
142. Tell Me the Day Backwards (public library book) - 8/10
143. Wall-E: Love at First Beep (found for Charlie at a garage sale) - 9/10
144. Boo and Baa Have Company (public library book) - 9/10
145. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo (public library book) - 8/10
146. Tugga Tugga Tugboat (public library book) - 8/10
147. Snuggle Puppy! (Charlie book) - 10/10
148. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
149. Not Inside This House! (public library book) - 8/10
150. Here We Go, Harry (public library book) - 7/10
151. Watership Down (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
152. The Disappearing Spoons (audio book) - 8/10
153. Little Panda (public library book) - 8/10
154. Little Kitten Sleeps Over (CYOA series) - 8/10
155. Homer the Library Cat (public library book) - 9/10
156. A Short History of Nearly Everything (audio book) - 8/10
157. Why We Suck (audio book) - 8/10
158. Doors (public library book) - 9/10
159. The Sword in the Stone (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10

MAY
160. The Calabash Cat (Charlie book) - 8/10
161. D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths - 9/10
162. Ballet Shoes (1001 Children's Books list, audio book) - 9/10
163. Who's There, Spot? (public library book) - 8/10
164. Up! Tall! and High! (public library book) - 9/10
165. A Truck Goes Rattley Bumpa (public library book) - 7/10
166. Red Wagon (public library book) - 9/10
167. Follow the Line through the House (public library book) - 9/10
168. Otis (public library book) - 9/10
169. Flannery Row (Charlie book) - 8/10
170. Mountain Town (Charlie book) - 8/10
171. River Town (Charlie book) - 8/10
172. I Want to Be a Fire Fighter (public library book) - 8/10
173. Hurry Up and Slow Down (public library book) - 10/10
174. Desert Town (Charlie book) - 8/10
175. Prairie Town (Charlie book) - 8/10
176. Haystack (Charlie book) - 8/10
177. Domino (public library book) - 8/10
178. Paddington Takes to TV (Charlie bath time read) - 10/10
179. The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog (public library book) - 8/10
180. Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? (public library book) - 8/10
181. We're Going on a Leaf Hunt (public library book) - 9/10
182. Ten Little Caterpillars (public library book) - 8/10
183. Little Puppy's Rainy Day (CYOA book) - 8/10
184. Little Bear's Visit (Charlie book) - 9/10
185. Bob and 6 Other Christmas Stories (public library book) - 9/10

JUNE
186. Moon Plane (public library book) - 8/10
187. (#70) Swallows and Amazons (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
188. Flap Your Wings! (public library book) - 7/10
189. At the Supermarket (public library book) - 8/10
190. Hondo & Fabian (public library book) - 8/10
191. No Bears (public library book) - 8/10
192. (#71) The Tombs of Atuan (part of a series) - 9/10
193. I Love It When You Smile (public library book) - 8/10
194. (#72) The Last Founding Father (Presidential Challenge, Book Bingo Challenge) - 8/10
195. All Around the Island (Charlie book) - 8/10
196. Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book (public library book) - 8/10
197. (#73) A Case of Conscience (Hugo award list) - 8/10
198. Dora's Fantastic Tales (public library book) - 8/10
199. Pilot Pups (public library book) - 8/10
200. Traffic Pups (public library book) - 8/10
201. The Problem with Chickens (public library book) - 8/10
202. (#74) Stephen Fry in America (Fry bibliography, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
203. (#75) Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (Pulitzer list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 6/10
204. (#76) The Faerie Queene (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list) - 8/10
205. I'm Fast! (public library book) - 7/10
206. Waddles (public library book) - 8/10
207. Hugless Douglas (public library book) - 9/10
208. Don't Worry, Douglas (public library book) - 9/10
209. The Kiss That Missed (public library book) - 9/10
210. (#77) Earth: The Audiobook (audiobook) - 8/10
211. Young MacDonald (public library book) - 8/10
212. Cows Can't Fly (public library book) - 8/10
213. Another Day in the Milky Way (public library book) - 8/10
214. Taking a Bath with the Dog (public library book) - 8/10
215. 12 Ways to Get to 11 (public library book) - 8/10
216. The Scallywags (public library book) - 8/10
217. (#77) An American Tragedy (Banned Books list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 8/10
218. (#78) Mr. Punch (Gaiman bibliography, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
219. Count with Dora! (public library book) - 8/10
220. Dear Bunny (public library book) - 9/10
221. Lego City Heroes! (public library book) - 8/10
222. Little Bear's New Friend (public library book) - 8/10
223. (#79) Starship Troopers (Hugo Award list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 8/10
224. If I Could (public library book) - 9/10
225. What Will I Be? (public library book) - 8/10
226. (#80) See You on the Radio (audio book) - 4/10
227. A Skipping Day (Charlie book) - 8/10

JULY
228. Look & Find: Super Why (public library book) - 8/10
229. (#81) The Golem and the Jinni (Book Bingo Challenge) - 8/10
230. (#82) Before I Go to Sleep (Book Bingo Challenge) - 7/10
231. (#83) The Zookeeper's Wife (audio book) - 7/10
232. This Is Monstropolis! (Charlie book) - 9/10
233. Where Is Little Black Kitten? (public library book) - 8/10
234. Come Rhyme with Me! (public library book) - 8/10
235. Disney's Tarzan: Jungle Adventure (public library book) - 8/10
236. People Around the World (public library book) - 8/10
237. Curious George's Neighborhood (public library book) - 9/10
238. The Big Book of Words and Pictures (public library book) - 8/10
239. Dizzy and Muck Work It Out (Charlie book) - 8/10
240. (#84) Paddington on Top (Charlie bath time book) - 10/10
241. Jasper and Joop (public library book) - 9/10
242. (#85) Buddhism for Dummies (Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
243. I Want to Be an Astronaut (public library book) - 8/10
244. Mommy, Is That You? (public library book) - 8/10
245. (#86) The Diary of a Young Girl (NEH list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
246. Tikki Tikki Tembo (public library book) - 9/10
247. (#87) The Wind on the Moon (1001 Children's Books list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 8/10
248. The Snow Bear (public library book) - 7/10
249. Roaring Rivals (Charlie book) - 8/10
250. Have You Seen Chester? (public library book) - 9/10
251. (#88) The Little White Horse (1001 Children's Books list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
252. (#89) The Hundred Dresses (1001 Children's Books list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 10/10
253. Don't Wake Up the Bear! (public library book) - 8/10
254. Dinosaurs (public library book) - 8/10
255. I Want to Be a Veterinarian (public library book) - 8/10
256. Matty Takes Off! (public library book) - 9/10
257. (#90) You Suck (Moore Bibliography, Book Bingo Challenge) - 10/10
258. (#91) Vogue Sewing (Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
259. (#92) Borrowed Ware (Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
260. Bayberry Bluff (Charlie book) - 8/10
261. Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky (public library book) - 7/10
262. The Wave (public library book) - 9/10
263. Caillou: The Shopping Trip (public library book) - 8/10
264. Hide & Seek (public library book) - 9/10
265. A Book of Sleep (public library book) - 9/10
266. (#93) A Canticle for Leibowitz (Hugo award list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
267. Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit (public library book) - 9/10
268. The Thingamabob (public library book) - 9/10
269. Go! Go! Go! (public library book) - 8/10
270. The Turkey Ball (public library book) - 8/10
271. It's Subtraction! (public library book) - 7/10

AUGUST
272. Who Made This Cake? (public library book) - 8/10
273. Animal 123 (public library book) - 8/10
274. (#94) A Curious Man (Book Bingo Challenge) - 6/10
275. The Police Cloud (public library book) - 8/10
276. The Patterson Puppies and the Rainy Day (public library book) - 7/10
277. (#95) The Farthest Shore (series, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
278. The House That Max Built (public library book) - 8/10
279. Moon Glowing (public library book) - 8/10
280. Lego City: Fix That Truck! (Charlie book) - 8/10
281. (#96) Tehanu (series, Book Bingo Challenge) - 7/10
282. (#97) Compass American Guides: Wisconsin (Book Bingo Challenge) - 7/10
283. The Pet Dragon (public library book) - 9/10
284. That's How! (public library book) - 8/10
285. Wow! School! (public library book) - 8/10
286. If You Give a Pig a Pancake (public library book) - 8/10
287. (#98) Stranger in a Strange Land (Hugo Award list, Book Bingo Challenge) - 7/10
288. Big Bear Hug (public library book) - 9/10
289. Thomas the Tank Engine Story Collection (Charlie book) - 9/10
290. Tickle, Tickle! Itch, Twitch! (public library book) - 6/10
291. It's Okay to Be Different (public library book) - 8/10
292. Who's Hiding? (public library book) - 8/10
293. (#99) Anansi Boys (Gaiman bibliography, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
294. Please Say Please, Grumpy Bunny! (public library book) - 6/10
295. (#100) The Listerdale Mystery and Other Stories (Christie bibliography, Book Bingo Challenge) - 9/10
296. I Love Vacations (public library book) - 8/10
297. We All Go Traveling By (public library book) - 8/10
298. Don't Cry, Big Bird (public library book) - 8/10
299. (#101) Paddington Takes the Test (Charlie bath time book) - 9/10
300. Chu's Day (public library book) - 9/10
301. (#102) Freedom in Exile (Dalai Lama bibliography) - 9/10
302. The Wolves in the Walls (Gaiman bibliography, 1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
303. Elmer Blunt's Open House (public library book) - 8/10
304. (#103) The Surprising Adventures of the Baron Munchausen (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
305. (#104) The Circus (CYOA list) - 8/10
306. (#105) The Haunted House (CYOA list) - 8/10
307. (#106) Sunken Treasure (CYOA list) - 8/10
308. (#107) Your Very Own Robot (CYOA list) - 8/10
309. This Moose Belongs to Me (public library book) - 9/10
310. (#108) The Seamstress (audio book) - 8/10

SEPTEMBER
311. (#109) Betsy-Tacy (audio book, 1001 Childrens' Books list) - 8/10
312. The Tickle Tree (Charlie book) - 9/10
313. Penguin Pete's New Friends (public library book) - 7/10
314. Blue's Big Pajama Party (public library book) - 8/10
315. Bert and Ernie Go Hiking (public library book) - 8/10
316. The Cat Came Back (public library book) - 5/10
317. Ernie and the Tracks (public library book) - 8/10
318. Planes (Charlie book) - 8/10
319. If You Give a Dog a Donut (public library book) - 9/10
320. Ernie and the Nighttime Noises (public library book) - 8/10
321. Cheer Up, Mouse! (public library book) - 8/10
322. The Pirate Games (Charlie book) - 8/10
323. Just What Mama Needs (Charlie book) - 8/10
324. The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
325. Wacky Wednesday (Charlie's first school library book!) - 9/10
326. Don't Squish the Sasquatch! (public library book) - 10/10
327. A Penguin Story (public library book) - 9/10
328. The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Habit (Charlie's school library book) - 5/10
329. Brave Squish Rabbit (public library book) - 9/10
330. All Through My Town (public library book) - 8/10
331. Grammy Lamby and the Secret Handshake (public library book) - 7/10
332. Pink Paper Swans (Charlie's school library book) - 7/10
333. (#110) Mistress Masham's Repose (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
334. A Home for Bird (public library book) - 10/10
335. Exploring Space: Neptune (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
336. Perfectly Percy (public library book) - 9/10
337. Stars (public library book) - 10/10
338. (#111) Paddington on Screen (bath time book) - 10/10
339. (#112) Comet in Moominland (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
340. Fall Mixed Up (public library book) - 8/10
341. (#113) The 13 Clocks (1001 Children's Books list) - 10/10
342. (#114) Gorga, the Space Monster (CYOA list) - 7/10
343. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves (public library book) - 9/10
344. Love, Splat (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
345. Comin' Down to Storytime (public library book) - 7/10
346. (#115) A Child's Christmas in Wales (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
347. Curious George Goes to the Aquarium (public library book) - 7/10
348. (#116) Assassination Vacation (audio book) - 8/10
349. (#117) Astro Boy (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10

OCTOBER
350. (#118) The Monsters of Morley Manor (audio book) - 7/10
351. Anybody at Home? (public library book) - 8/10
352. I'm Here (public library book) - 8/10
353. Dogs in Space (Charlie's school library book) - 7/10
354. Ish (public library book) - 7/10
355. Dora's Fairytale Adventure (public library book) - 8/10
356. Mickey's Campout (public library book) - 8/10
357. (#119) The Hundred and One Dalmations (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
358. Show Me Your Smile! (public library book) - 8/10
359. Curious George and the Firefighters (public library book) - 8/10
360. Lego City Adventures: All Aboard! (public library book) - 8/10
361. 10 Black Dots (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
362. Ruby's Rainbow (public library book) - 8/10
363. (#120) The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
364. Caillou: Careful! (public library book) - 8/10
365. (#121) The Little Bookroom (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
366. Winnie the Pooh: The Big Fat Bee (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
367. Rooster Can't Cock-A-Doodle-Doo (public library book) - 8/10
368. Chilly Milly Moo (public library book) - 8/10
369. (#122) Anastasia Krupnik (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
370. Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book (public library book) - 8/10
371. Krypto the Superdog: The Secret Rocket (public library book) -7/10
372. (#123) The Indian in the Cupboard (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
373. The Racecar Alphabet (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
374. (#124) The Iron Giant (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
375. It's Snowing! (gift from Linda!) - 8/10
376. Mostly Monsterly (public library book) - 8/10
377. Pumpkin Hill (Charlie book) - 8/10
378. Mr. Duck Means Business (public library book) -8/10
379. I Love School! (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
380. (#125) The Mouse and His Child (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
381. A Day at the Police Station (public library book) - 8/10
382. Trick or Treasure? (Charlie book) - 8/10
383. Bones and the Roller Coaster Mystery (public library book) - 8/10
384. The Shrinking of Treehorn (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
385. Oh, Were They Ever Happy! (Charlie's school library book) - 9/10
386. Ouch! (public library book) - 9/10
387. Ollie's Halloween (Charlie book) - 9/10
388. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything (Charlie book) - 9/10
389. (#126) When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
390. All The World (public library book) - 10/10
391. Come Rhyme with Me! (public library book) - 8/10
392. (#127) War Horse (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
393. There's Always Room for One More (public library book) - 9/10
394. Crystal Is the New Girl (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
395. Happy Halloween, Great Pumpkin! (public library book) - 9/10
396. 10 Trick or Treaters (public library book) - 8/10
397. (#128) Charmed Life (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
398. (#129) Eye of the Wolf (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
399. The Absolutely Awful Alphabet (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
400. Have Fun at Beanbag Camp! (public library book) - 7/10

NOVEMBER
401. (#130) The Green Slime (CYOA list) - 8/10
402. (#131) Help! You're Shrinking! (CYOA list) - 8/10
403. (#132) Mein Kampf (Banned Books list) - 5/10
404. There Are No Cats in This Book (public library book) - 9/10
405. (#133) Paddington Here and Now (Charlie bath-time read) - 9/10
406. Chicken Soup with Rice (public library book) - 8/10
407. The Giant Apple (public library book) - 7/10
408. Port Side Pirates (public library book) - 8/10
409. Carrot Soup (public library book) - 9/10
410. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (gift from Linda to Charlie) - 10/10
411. The Hidden Alphabet (public library book) - 9/10
412. Alligators All Around (public library book) - 8/10
413. What's the Big Idea: Numbers (public library book) - 8/10
414. Whose Hat? (public library book) - 8/10
415. Found Alphabet (public library book) - 7/10
416. (#134) The Night Swimmers (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
417. (#135) Ronia, the Robber's Daugher (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
418. The Construction Crew (Charlie's school library book) - 6/10
419. Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories (public library book) - 9/10
420. Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (public library book) - 9/10
421. My Visit to the Dinosaurs (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
422. Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? (public library book) - 8/10
423. Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? (public library book) - 9/10
424. Castle Under Attack (public library book) - 8/10
425. (#136) Why the Whales Came by Michael Murporgo (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
426. Thanksgiving Mice (public library book) - 7/10
427. (#137) The Johnstown Flood (audio book) - 10/10
428. (#138) Redwall (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
429. (#139) All Quiet on the Western Front (Banned Books list) - 9/10
430. Peanuts: Be Yourself! (Charlie book) - 8/10
431. The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (Gaiman bibliography) - 8/10
432. (#140) Indian Trail (CYOA list) - 810
433. (#141) First Big Book of Space (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
434. Duck & Goose: It's Time for Christmas! (Charlie book) - 9/10
435. Press Here (public library book) - 10/10
436. Truck Duck (public library book) - 8/10
437. Alphabeep (public library book) - 7/10
438. Llama Llama Holiday Drama (Charlie book) - 9/10
439. Daisy Plays Hide and Seek (public library book) - 8/10
440. Check It Out! The Book about Libraries (Charlie book) - 8/10
441. Lego City: Save This Christmas! (Charlie book) - 8/10

DECEMBER
442. Eight Days Gone (public library book) - 8/10
443. Journey (Charlie book) - 10/10
444. I'm Dirty! (Charlie's school library book) - 7/10
445. Bear Has a Story to Tell (public library book) - 10/10
446. A Cars Christmas (Charlie book) - 8/10
447. Bear and Bee (public library book) - 5/10
448. The Alphabet Room (public library book) - 9/10
449. When I Was Young in the Mountains (public library book) - 8/10
450. The Little Mouse, the Ripe Red Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
451. The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds (public library book) - 7/10
452. A Very Big Bunny (public library book) - 8/10
453. That Is NOT a Good Idea! (public library book) - 6/10
454. The Gingerbread Man (Charlie book) - 9/10
455. Feeding Time (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
456. Construction Countdown (public library book) - 8/10
457. So Sleepy Story (public library book) - 7/10
458. Snow (public library book) - 8/10
459. Scrambled Eggs Super (Charlie's school library book) - 9/10
460. What Floats in a Moat? (public library book) - 9/10
461. (#142) Paddington Races Ahead (bath time reading book) - 9/10
462. The Bear in the Book (public library book) - 8/10
463. Red Cat Blue Cat (public library book) - 9/10
464. Little Owl's Night (public library book) - 8/10
465. There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow (Charlie book) - 8/10
466. Ten Gingerbread Men (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
467. First the Egg (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
468. Green (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
469. The Boats on the River (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
470. When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry (Caldecott Honor book) - 6/10
471. Andy and the Lion (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
472. Alphabet City (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
473. Just Me (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
474. In a Small, Small Pond (Caldecott Honor book) - 6/10
475. Henry's Freedom Box (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
476. John Henry (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
477. The Garden of Adbul Gasazi (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
478. The Ugly Duckling (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
479. April's Kittens (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
480. Rain Drop Splach (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
481. If I Ran the Zoo (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
482. Circus Caps for Sale (public library book) - 8/10
483. Ben's Trumpet (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
484. Rainbow Crow (Charlie book) - 9/10
485. Ella Sarah Gets Dressed (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
486. Maisy Goes to the Library (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
487. A Very Special Hug (public library book) -9/10
488. Where the Buffaloes Begin (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
489. Inch by Inch (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
490. McElligot's Pool (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
491. Ananzi the Spider (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
492. Ape in a Cape (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
493. Hush! (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
494. Rain Makes Applesauce (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
495. What's the Matter, Bunny Blue? (public library book) - 8/10
496. Jambo Means Hello (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
497. Barkis (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
498. Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
499. (#143) 20 Greek Stories (editing job)
500. Abe Lincoln's Dream (public library book) - 8/10
501. Castle (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
502. It's a Book (public library book) - 6/10
503. Cathedral (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
504. Seabird (gift from Linda/Newbery Honor book) - 8/10
505. The Day the Crayons Quit (public library book) - 8/10
506. Paddle-to-the-Sea (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
507. Alphabatics (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
508. The Relatives Came (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
509. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
510. The Story of Jumping Mouse (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
511. The Talking Egg (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
512. Tops and Bottoms (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
513. Mirandy and Brother Wind (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
514. The Gardener (Caldecott Honor book) - 10/10
515. More More More Said the Baby (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
516. Interrupting Chicken (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
517. Wee Gillis (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
518. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
519. Lego City: Look Out Below! (public library book) - 8/10
520. Bill Peet: An Autobiography (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
521. Lego City: Work This Farm! (public library book) - 8/10
522. Cars Galore (public library book) - 8/10
523. The Library (public library book) - 10/10
524. (#144) The Hounds of the Morrigan (1001 Children's Books list) - 10/10
525. (#145) The Whale Rider (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
526. (#146) The Snow Spider (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
527. (#147) The Winter King (from the TBR shelves) - 9/10
528. (#148) The Story of English in 100 Words (audio book) - 7/10

Charlie bids you all the Happiest of Holidays:

And the Bonus Question (I'm certain this one has been posed many a time on this site, but never yet on my own thread):

What book would you most like to see made into a movie? Who would you cast in the main role?

My current pic - The Abominable by Dan Simmons. His descriptions of Tibet and Everest are outstanding and could translate to visuals nicely. I don't know who would take the lead though...

Hi there, Amber! *Smooches*

As for the bonus question, I forbid any book that I like to be turned into a movie! Bah! :P

I'd love to see Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" trilogy made into film, if they did it justice. I really don't know who I'd cast though...! Probably someone new or unknown. But then, that's really a cop-out as I'm terrible at imaginary casting choices. LOL.

Hello, Amber!

Jim: I haven't read that one, but it's on my wishlist now!

Stephen: Humbug! Ha!

Faith: Sanderson is on my wishlist, too, and has been for awhile. I really need to get round to his stuff, soon.

Terri: Hi! Good to see you!

I'd sort of like to see what could be done with Gaiman's Sandman series, but with Gaiman in charge, of course. I don't know who'd be a good Dream - I kind of want to say Depp, with tons of makeup and such. Think Edward Scissorhands, but much less naive and much much darker and broodier.

The Sandman series would make a great television series. I'm not sure if you could cover it all in a movie (or series of movies) well, but maybe I just feel this way because I hate movie in general. :P

444. I'm Dirty! by Kate McMullan (Charlie's school library book, picture book) - 7/10
An (in my opinion) over-eager backhoe loader brashly goes about his job of cleaning up a trashy lot and revels in how muddy he gets doing so.
Meh. No finesse at all. Just, meh.

445. Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead (public library book, picture book) - 10/10
Winter is coming (!) and Bear is getting pretty sleepy, but first he very much wants to tell a story. And so he tracks down his friends, one by one, to see if they'll listen, but they're all too busy getting ready for winter. So Bear sleeps. And when he - and all of his friends - wake up in the spring, Bear finally has an audience for his story. But he's slept so long that now he can't remember it! His friends help him out, though, and they tell a story of friendship together.
A-dorable. Wonderful story with gorgeous illustrations. Highly recommended.

I always wanted to see Stranger in a Strange Land made into a movie with Tom Hanks as Valentine. But, now, of course, he's far too old.

Nowadays? I'd love to see the Anita Blake series or Black Jewels trilogy set in film, but there is no way to do them justice. Too dark and too erotic. I don't know the newest actors and actresses so couldn't cast them.

I'm with Steven--I don't think I want the movies to contaminate any of my favorite books. Especially when I look at what they did to some of them (The Dark is Rising, The Little White Horse, and A Little Princess, I'm looking at you!)

I'm nervous about a favorite book being made into a movie as well, Hollywood's track record isn't so good on that. However, I am a huge fan of The Game of Thrones and would love to see another fantasy series handled in the same way, perhaps Scott Lynch's The Gentlemen Bastard series or Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori.

BTW Charlie looks quite the gentleman in his latest picture.

Morphy: A young Tom Hanks, eh? Yeah, I can see that.

Roni & Judy: I felt the same nervousness a few years ago about books being made into movies, but now with HBO and AMC doing such great jobs with stories, I wouldn't be so scared to have a favorite book made film. Your Game of Thrones example is a good one, Judy.

Not much on the agenda today - a quiet day at home, hopefully. I do need to get some work done on this editing job, since I didn't get round to it yesterday, so we'll see if Charlie lets that happen...

Yeah, I think books translate well into series on TV, because there is a lot more time to fully flesh out the plot? A book can make a nice, several-episode miniseries and be fine. But a 90-minute movie? No, I won't have it! :P

Stephen: Agreed. As much as I love the Harry Potter movies, I still say they should have let HBO do it as a miniseries, so that nothing need be left out. I wouldn't change the casting for the world, though.

Morning Amber- Congrats on the new thread! Love the bookstore photo. Damp, but mild here. It looks like the bottom drops out by the end of the week. Boo!

Mornin, Mark!

My personal thoughts are that in general short stories make good movies, books make good miniseries, and book series make good tv series.

Nora: I agree.

I agree with you also, Nora! Except I would make one minor amendment. Short stories, while good for movies, still inevitably make bad movies in the end. :P

When I see what cable TV did with the Earthsea books, I shudder. On the other hand, the A&E adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is one of the best ever. And maybe tv has gotten better at it...maybe.

446. A Cars Christmas by Melissa Lagonegro (Charlie book, easy reader book) - 8/10
Picked this one up at the grocery store last week - we love all sorts of Christmas book, I really like the "Step into Reading" books, and Charlie is a Cars fan. So there you go.

447. Bear and Bee by Sergio Ruzzier (public library book, picture book) - 5/10
Wow. This is one is so ungood it's weird. And that's as eloquent as I can wax right now.

Sorry for the lack of even the usual little bit of detail this time round; I've got a nasty headache and an only slightly less nasty stomach ache. Sigh. Hoping I can woman up and sleep off whatever this is...

Stephen: Ha!

Roni: You've got a point - it's really kind of hit and miss. I didn't know about the Earthsea show, and I'll now stay very clear (I'd be hopping mad if I witnessed a bad take on Ged).

What a wonderful photo of Charlie.

I looooooved the Earthsea miniseries. Even if they did squish the first two books together.

Linda: Thank you! Great to see you here.

Nora: Huh. Interesting. I think I'll still pass on it...

On today's agenda:

A morning of little errands (to the clinic to pick up my new sunglasses - my old ones broke right into two pieces - post office, library) and then a quiet afternoon at home. I made some progress on the editing job yesterday, but need to keep on keepin' on with it; there are *many* corrections on every page...

For those of you who shop for wee ones - Amazon has select Melissa & Doug toys on sale for 50% off today!

Someone on FB requested that I come up with a list of 15 books that have changed my life in one way or another. I thought I'd post my answers here, too. I couldn't narrow it down to just 15, so here's the top 17, in the order in which I've read them along the way. I'm happy to explain any of the entries, should anyone be curious about why it made the list:

Oh, What a Busy Day! - Gyo Fujikawa
Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Mythology - Edith Hamilton
The Sandman series - Neil Gaiman
Passing the Time in Ballymenone - Henry Glassie
Dubliners - James Joyce
The Agamemnon - Aeschylus
The Aeneid - Vergil
Cicero’s speeches
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
Discipline and Punish - Michel Foucault
Blindness - José Saramago
Knitting for Dummies
Orlando Furioso - Ariosto
The Art of Happiness - H.H. the Dalai Lama

Great list, Amber. I have quite the soft spot for Gone With the Wind as I read it when I was fifteen and had just moved across the country. I felt like I had been torn from my friends and was very alone so I basically spent my summer with Scarlett, Rhett etc. Of course, once school started and I made new friends I adapted quickly.

Ok, I am curious. Blindness and Orlando Furioso? I want to hear the story behind those. Now you have me thinking about what books changed my life.

Judy: I included Gone with the Wind because it was the first book that I read that my mom recommended and had her own story about falling in love with it when she was the age I was then (about 12, I think). I grew up with my mom reading to me everyday (The first two items on the list are there because of the amazing and wonderfully fond memories I have of my mom reading them to me), but GwtW was the moment that I realized that my mom wasn't just someone who read to me, but someone who had a reading past of her own and that we shared very similar reading tastes, and that started a part of our relationship that thrives to this day - reading friends.

Oberon: Blindness is difficult to explain. I can't quite put my finger on why it changed me, but it did. I think it has something to do with the line between utterly and devastatingly grim and equally beautiful, on which the writing balances. Sorry that I can't articulate it any better than that.
Orlando Furioso is much easier to explain. Beyond being a great lover of epic mythology and legend-telling, it's the setting of my reading this more than the book itself. When I was a professor at Kenyon College, I was invited to join a group of professors in a weekly gathering at an emeritus' home, who served us tea with honey and sweets while we went round the room taking our turns at reading a canto aloud (in the Italian) and then translating it. We did more chatting than translating some weeks, and the group was made up of all levels of fluency so there was much bungling and much group-translating, and so the going was slow (when I first started attending, the group - or some form of it (the members come and go just as I did) - had been going strong for 10 years and had just reached the mid-point of the poem!), but it was always one of the high points of my week. Good tea, excellent poetry, free lessons in Medieval Italian (I knew Italian of no kind at all when I started) and wonderful friendship. My family and I moved away 3 years ago, but the group is still at it. Once I moved, I finished reading the poem on my own, and I'm grateful for many things about that group, including the fact that I now know Ariosto's brand of Italian well enough to have finished the text all on my own! I miss those weekly teas something fierce, though.

Amber, first of all I have to say that Charlie is going to be a heartbreaker. That picture just melts my heart. Sweetness personified!

Secondly, I love your list of books that had an impact on you. I would love to hear your stories about all of them as you have time to share. It's that personal hold that a book has on someone that makes me want to read it. It's sort of a way of getting to know someone better if that makes sense?

I've missed an entire thread somehow. Charlie in a shirt and tie is just killing me here!

Donna & tiffin: Isn't he a cutie-patootie? Although I don't love that he has to wear glasses so young, I do think he looks adorable in them (but then again, I'd think he'd look like a million bucks in a potato sack, so,...). Donna, I'll try to get to explanations for all the books tomorrow - I'll likely be looking for an excuse to take a break from editing...

Here's brief explanation for the books on the list:
Oh, What a Busy Day! - One of my first and fondest memories of my mom reading to me is this book, which we read over and over and spent what seems like hours pouring over each page. It's still one of my favorite books, and I love reading it with Charlie, now, who also absolutely loves it.

Little House in the Big Woods - Similar reasons to the previous entry, although this is one of the first non-picture books I remember my mom reading to me. I then went on to re-read it myself over and over, along with the rest of the books in the series. There's an episode with a pig and a sled in this book that had my mom and I laughing so hard that be both nearly peed our pants. It's probably not really all that funny, but the mood just struck us right that day, and it's one of many memories of laughing until I cried with my mom (which is still a fairly frequent occurrence with us).

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - This book introduced me to the idea, as a non-toddler/very small child - that magic is really real (a belief that, mock me if you will, I refuse to give up). It had me spending time in my parent's bathroom closet (it was oddly-shaped and seemed to most likely to become a portal to Narnia) for hours on end, with a flashlight and a pile of books to keep me company while I waited.

Gone with the Wind - (See post #34)

Mythology - Hamilton was my second introduction, and around age 15 or so, to classical mythology (we had spent some time briefly on it in 3rd grade and I knew then that I wanted to learn more) and sparked a life-long passion for the subject, which led to my choice in career. So, yeah, definitely life-changing.

The Sandman series - I read these in college, when they were coming out each month as an actual comic. My best friend and I would make a weekly pilgrimage to an awesome little comic book shop in Bloomington (it isn't there anymore - sad), and once a month would be the exciting day of the new Sandman. The series introduced me to Neil Gaiman, whom I love still, and to the idea that mythology - a subject I already loved deeply as an ancient relic to be dug up and studied - is also a living thing, and that once it's stops changing and being retold in different ways, it dies. May the gods bless Neil Gaiman for that, and I hope he keeps fighting the good fight.

Passing the Time in Ballymenone - I discovered this one at around the same time as I was reading The Sandman, and it had a similar influence on me. My best friend and I were taking a course on Irish mythology, and the instructor was friends with Henry Glassie, who came to visit our class and talk about his experiences in Ireland collecting stories and studying story-telling. We were all mesmerized by his own story-telling abilities. Again, myths, legends, stories, and the telling of them are all very much alive in this world, and thankfully so.

Dubliners - Another college discovery. Like Blindness, I'm not sure how to articulate how this one made the list, other than maybe because it's one of the first books I read whose powerful writing moved me just as much or more than the stories themselves. I began to realized that paying attention to the language itself and the skill of the writer to wield words in a certain way is important.

The Agamemnon - The Agamemnon marks the first time I cried while reading Greek (well, tears brought on by the beauty of the language and not the difficulty of it!). There's a scene in the play in which recalls Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter to Artemis, and the horror of the scene, the grief of the father, the sadness of the daughter and the absolute beauty of the language gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. For example: Agamemnon tricks his daughter into coming down to the shore (where he will have her killed) by telling her that he will marry her to Achilles. So, her mother dresses her in a wedding gown, which for the Greeks would have been red in color. Then, when the priest's servants are lifting her body onto the altar and she's raising her hands toward her father in supplication, silently begging for mercy (she's been gagged to prevent her from uttering curses upon the men who are doing this to her), Aeschylus describes her dress as *dripping, flowing* from her body to the ground, which then forces the reader to think ahead to how her blood will be dripping, flowing to the ground from the altar in the next few moments. There they are - goosebumps!

The Aeneid - The reason for this one has to do with language, too. By the time I read this one in the Latin in grad school, I had, of course, read it already in English. And I had already been reading texts in the original Greek and Latin for awhile before taking an advanced seminar solely devoted to Vergil's epic, so I already knew that reading these works in the original languages for outstrips any translation reading, for all sorts of reasons. But I still wasn't prepared for the power and the absolute mastery that Vergil had over his language. He took a Greek meter and not only managed to force it to work for a different language (that's much harder than it sounds - dactylic hexameter is a very strict meter with all sorts of rules, even if you're working with the language for which it was intended), but made that language *sing* in that meter. I'll stop talking about this now before I get going too much - otherwise it'll be difficult to stop me. This is one of my deepest passions and I can't express my love of Vergil enough. I will say one more thing: the professor who taught this class has not a little to do with my love of Vergil - no other teacher could possibly have opened my eyes to the beauty of Latin half as well as he did. Also, whatever there is that is good about my teaching skills came from him. He's one of 3 people I've met in my life who would qualify as actual-fact geniuses and I and very lucky and extremely grateful to call him my friend.

Cicero's speeches - Many of the same reasons as stated above for Vergil. Cicero is a master of Latin and his speeches give me the chills every time. Like Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech? How about JFK's method of delivery? Lincoln? They all bow before the master Cicero. You may say, "well, yes, but didn't Cicero just copy Demosthenes' methods?" No. He took a good method and made it amazing. If you want to improve your oratorical skills, read Cicero. Also, Cicero was, if not a likable man, an impressive one, to say the least. He has all of my admiration.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - I discovered HST in grad school. This one introduced me to his alternative writing style, which many people balk at, but there is considerable skill tucked away beneath all the crazy. The 'high-water mark' bit is, well, Ciceronian in it's power and grace, and that's why I love Thompson.

Discipline and Punish - Foucault, for better or for worse, influenced my research and way of thinking in general in grad school, along with the Reader Response school of thought, to which I still strongly adhere.

Blindness - (see post #34)

Knitting for Dummies - The summer after I finished grad school, I decided that I wanted to learn how to knit. And if I want to learn about something, I go out and find a book about it. This one may sound silly, but it's an excellent way to learn how to knit, and I can't imagine my life now without knitting in it.

Orlando Furioso - (see post #34)

The Art of Happiness - I only just read this one last year, and it has caused me to start reading more about buddhism and the Dalai Lama. I've long considered myself myself a Deist, but now, although I'm still not so sure how I feel about the theology behind it, I am very much drawn to the idea of loving-kindness as the root of faith. And so this book has sent me down a path that is changing my view of life, belief and faith.

!!!!! I had the same reaction while reading Iphigenia's sacrifice scene!!!! That said, I will be honest -- I am not certain which play we were reading at the time. I do recall reading both The Oresteia (we did all three in one semester) and Iphigenia at Aulis, but I suspect it happened during the former, considering she eventually goes willingly during the latter. If I recall correctly, the professor became slightly choked up as well. What an incredibly sad, beautiful, moving scene.

I also had a similar reaction during Medea, when she goes off on her monologue about how Jason has wronged her and why she must take those specific actions. Call me crazy, but the language used there is so persuasive that I found myself empathizing and wondering how she could ever do anything but that.

Oh, gosh. Reminiscing about this makes me want to dive back into the language. I really do miss it, but it's hard to study Greek plays on one's own, I find... I've tried on several occasions and have failed miserably.

Faith: Euripides was a pro-woman, for certain. He had to have been, to have written that play the way he did. Medea, despite the fact that she carries out such a horrible thing, is not unlikable, and in this play that's saying a lot. Amazing.

448. The Alphabet Room by Sara Pinto (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
A cool little book, which combines alphabet book and lift-the-flap with hilarious and progressive illustrations.

449. When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A look at life in what I assume are the Appalachian Mountains.
Lovely illustrations, and I enjoyed the topic, too, as it reminded me of stories my mom has told me of her own upbringing. I'd give it a higher rating, but there were a few too many references to snakes for my taste...

What a charming gentleman you have in post #2!

Luxx: Isn't he, though?

Amber - Charlie seems to be guarding the Tree determinedly in those dignified new gigs.

Interesting list, especially your Joycean choice. I seem to recall that Ulysses left its own mark upon you too and would be on an entirely different list.

Paul: You're right about Ulysses, but Dubliners remains a beauty.

Interesting list, indeed! Your description of the sacrifice of Iphegenia makes me want to read The Agamemnon, though not in the original Greek, so there might be something lost in the translation.

Charlie is looking very grown-up in his shirt and tie! Adorable!

Mary: Aeschylus' Greek is generally quite difficult and so nuanced that there really isn't a great translation out there, unfortunately. But I still recommend reading it (along with the other two plays that go along with The Agamemnon: The Libation Bearers and the Eumenides (in that order). The story itself is quite powerful.

On the agenda for today:
We're off to Jumpin' Jane's (the indoor bouncy-house place) to meet two of Charlie's friends for a play date this morning, and that's the extent of my planning for today. We'll see what else gets done today...

Amber, did you know that fear of one's mother-in-law is called Pentheraphobia? That's your word of the day today.

Nora: There's a big difference between fearing and annoyance.

Yes, I don't think Amber is so much afraid of her mother-in-law as she is afraid of stuffing her in a large trunk and tossing her into the nearest body of water. :P

>50 Ape:: *snort!* Good one.

Stephen: *SNORK!!* HAHAHA!

Back to your bonus question, I believe at one point there were some noises being made about turning the The Wheel of Time series into a film. I wouldn't mind seeing that, as long as Hollywood didn't make a hash of it (though Fantasy conversions seem to be done, and done nicely, by British, Australian, Canadian or New Zealand companies, these days)

I hadn't thought about who I'd cast, though.

humouress: I keep keeping myself away from that series, just for the length of it, but eventually I'll probably give it a go.

450. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear Don and Audrey Wood (Charlie's school library book, picture book) - 8/10
A little mouse picks a strawberry, but is then thrown into a panic when the unseen narrator tells him that a big hungry bear will come and eat it.
V. weird, but oddly not horrible. The illustrations are very cute.

451. The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds by Marisabina Russo (public library book, picture book) - 7/10
Three little bunnies keep getting out of bed and playing, despite the admonition of their parents.
The illustrations are good, but I just can't really get behind a book that glorifies the act of rebelling against one's bedtime like this. *tsk.*

452. A Very Big Bunny by Marisabina Russo (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A young bunny is by far the tallest bunny in her class and she is made to feel like an outsider until one day a new bunny arrives in the classroom, who is by far the smallest. They become friends.
Cute illustrations, but with a so-so story. I think I'll steer clear of Russo from here on out.

Just a point and half seriously - who would get to veto picture books. You alone, Charlie or both of you? Bunnies and Mice will surely soon be replaced by machine-guns, outlaws and derring-do! Amber, what a great Mom you are spending so much time with Charlie reading - he'll benefit from it no-end as he gets older and you'll cherish the memories of it too as you do.

Have a lovely weekend.

Btw I was so enchanted by your 15 (17) book influences that it prompted my own of at my place.

Yes, machine guns are inevitable! The good thing is this transition isn't usually an abrupt one, typically there is a short period of bunnies wielding machine guns between the two periods. ;)

Paul: When we go to the library, Charlie and I both pick out a handful of picture books to check out. He gets to check out whatever he wants; I usually flip through mine briefly before I make my choices. But what we bring home, we read together. So, essentially, I don't veto any books for him. Since they come from the children's section, I think we're safe anyway from scary stuff and violence for now, and I don't like the idea of censoring his book choices at all. Tomm and I are pretty particular about what he watches on TV, but books are a different matter altogether. I've decided that once he hits a certain proficiency in reading, he will be welcome to read anything in this house and to check out anything he likes from the library, so long as he's willing to discuss it with me once he's started reading it. So, yes, I'm quite particular about what ** like in picture books, but we read all of them together that I list here.

Stephen: I know that some of his friends at school have toy guns and make believe about guns, but we've been pretty strict so far about Charlie not doing that. I don't know if we're being too strict about it, but I just really intensely dislike guns and I will not allow even toy ones in my house. Now, pirate swords are a different matter - Charlie and I play Pirates a lot, which involves each of us wielding a toy pirate sword and chasing each other about the house yelling, "ARRG!" and "AVAST, MATEY" and the like. And that's perfectly fine with me. Charlie and I have talked about how at least there's a skill to sword fighting or using a bow & arrow, whereas fighting with guns is just cowardly and pointless.

Morning Amber- Come on, Springtime! I think this might be a long long winter and it looks like it is hitting everywhere in the country. At least we remain dry here. I think we might get an inch or 2 of the dreaded white stuff tonight.
I was deeply moved and disturbed by Blindness too. It's a one of a kind book.

Mark: We have a winter advisory this afternoon through tomorrow morning, so we'll see what that brings...

Amber, I am completely with you on the topic of toy guns. We were similarly strict, we didn't even have puny water guns let alone those super squirter things.

Laura: Nope, no water guns, either. Sometimes I worry that I'm being too extreme about it, but I feel pretty passionate about the subject, so...

Thanks Amber for that comprehensive reply - I was right you both sort of veto them together. I was thinking more like when you get a book that you both think was a duffer his/her other books would then get the collective cold shoulder.

Paul: Yep, that's how it usually works with an author that we both dislke, unless Charlie really wants to chose another of that author. And sometimes that works out really well: I hated Knuffle Bunny and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, but Charlie wanted to check out Leonardo the Terrible Monster and we both love that one so much that he now has his own copy and is a frequent go-to story-time book.

Amber, I do think you should be commissioned to write a Reader's Guide to Bathtime Reading. Your recall of Knuffle Bunnies and Pigeon bus drivers is astonishing.

I'll keep that in mind, Paul... I do think that at this point I'm fairly well-versed in children's books for someone who isn't actually a children's librarian. It has come in handy already while volunteering at Charlie's school library - I already have a reputation amongst the kindergarten and 1st grade students as someone who can give excellent recommendations on which books to check out. Ha!

453. That Is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems (public library book, picture book) - 6/10
The old naive-duck-and-wily-fox story, but with a twist at the end.
Speaking of Mo Willems, I saw this on the new children's books shelf at the library, and thought we'd give him another chance, since we like Leonardo so much. But, ptooey! This one is as much of a stinker at that stupid pidgeon and that insufferable knuffle bunny. Bah! This is the last straw, Willems! We're through, I tell you. Through. Unless Charlie picks another of your rotten works. Sigh.

Wishing you luck on the no-gun front. My eldest had a similar childhood to Charlie's. But then (just after number 2 came along), he went to primary school …

Now, anything L-shaped becomes a gun, complete with sound effects and (chillingly) sighting along the barrel. Mind you, I loved playing cowboys & indians, especially with my cousins who had proper toy guns.

(ETA - but they weren't automatics; they were six-shooters)

More unfortunately, anything long and straight becomes a sword - which is a contact weapon, so I have a small, growing pile of toys, rulers, pens etc etc etc etc waiting to be fixed.

Oh yes, I remember the "everything is a toy weapon" phase.

Oh, and in elementary school, I would have epic, protracted gun fights with 2 other kids on the school bus. On kid sat across from me at the back of the bus and the other kid sat in the front seat, and throughout much of the bus ride we would be ducking behind our seats only to pop out and fire fake finger-guns at each other, mimicking the sounds of machine guns and the like. These inevitably resulted in arguments that went something like this.

"Hey! You're dead, I shot you!"
"Nu uh, I'm wearing body armor!"
"No! I got you in the head!"
"I'm wearing a helmet too!"
"It was in the eye!"
"But I'm a power ranger!!"
"Power rangers don't shoot guns!!"
"Yeah huh! And I shot you first anyway!!"

*Sigh*

Yes, I know that it seems to be an unavoidable part of childhood, but just think about how nuts that is. Seriously. That's crazy. So at least Charlie knows that guns are NOT toys and are NOT okay. If he plays 'pew-pew' finger guns with kids at school, fine, I don't really have a huge issue with that, but he knows it doesn't happen at home and he knows that holding a toy gun and especially pointing it at someone will get him into trouble.

This whole going-to-school-and-being-influenced-by-other-kids is, well, ugh.

Ha!

back in the dark ages of my childhood (with an active duty military dad) we had toy guns, but an absolute rule that they not ever be pointed at a person. that included water pistols and fingers. Not sure how thoroughly they managed to enforce it, but it was the rule. I did the same with our son - and except for a couple of years at age 15-17 when he had a school friend who was into airsoft (plastic bb guns) he has had no problem. we allowed the airsoft, but he was more interested in target shooting with it except for the social aspect of a few guys going out in the woods in safety gear shooting at each other.

On today's agenda:
Well, we have about 5 inches of snow on the ground this morning, but the roads looked pretty well plowed already so I don't expect that Charlie's school will be closed today. I need to get some groceries, so hopefully I'll manage that okay, too. Then this evening Charlie's school is having a Science Night, complete with a small traveling planetarium, apparently, and Charlie is really looking forward to that.
My reading of non-picture books has slowed lately because of the editing job I'm working on. It was originally expected to take only 10 hours or so, but the corrections are much more frequent (many per page!) than the editor expected and so it's turned into a much larger project. And that's good for me, in a way (more hours = more pay), but it's put a near stop to my other reading. It'll certainly be added to my total when I'm finished, especially since most of it is in Ancient Greek...

Morning Amber- Good luck on the roads today and be careful tonight. It is supposed to be wicked cold. I'll be watching the Bears game but fortunately in a nice snug environment.

Thanks, Mark - we'll certainly be bundling up today. The wind chill this morning is -8!

We didn't buy guns either and their water pistols were shaped like dolphins which squirted water out of their mouths. As we live in a rural area, both lads had friends with guns at their homes but they didn't "play" guns. Those guns were for protecting livestock and the like. So it wasn't something I had to worry about much when they were growing up. Falling out of tree forts or cross country skiing on sheer ice was another matter.

tiffin: I suppose there will never be an end to the worrying or a lack of variety of things to worry about. Life of a parent. Sigh.

>48 norabelle414:: Thank you so much for posting the thinking behind those books that have influenced you, Amber. You know, I've never really thought about it, but my early reading experiences also had a big influence on me. And it's good to know that we are open to new experiences as per your reading of The Art of Happiness. I've read that one and some other books on Buddhism that just make sense to me. I am a Christian but I think Buddhism goes right along with the teachings of Jesus. Kindness to others (and ourselves) is always a good thing!

Boys and guns. It's an inevitable attraction. Our boys never had B-B guns but I do recall Nerf action in our house. I do so hate to be "shot" by my sweet Griffin. His parents don't enforce that no fake shooting at people rule that we had in our house. One of his birthday gifts was a gun that shot marshmallows but he was much more interested in the Legos.

Enjoy your snowy week. Our backroads are still icy so school was canceled again today. It's my day for after-school tutoring. I'll play catch-up around here instead!

Donna: That's one of the great things about Buddhism (or at least the Tibetan Buddhism I've been reading up on) - if you already follow a certain faith, you need not 'switch' but can simply apply the Buddhist teachings that interest you to your life. And yes, I agree that they just make good sense. I love that when the Dalai Lama is asked about his 'religion' he simply says that kindness is his religion. Amen, brother.

The nice thing about living in WI is that they know what they're doing with the roads - we've got 5 inches or so but the snow plow crews were on top of it and the roads are clear, so Charlie still has school today (he would have been really upset had it been canceled!).

What sort of tutoring do you do?

Oh - 'tutoring'. I misread it as 'torturing'.

Sorry :0)

Is Huckleberry Finn a racist?

We didn't have toy guns in the house, which was never an issue with our daughter. Then her baby bro showed up, and sure enough, he started using bananas and sticks as replacements. We gave up. (We did manage to raise him as a peaceful fellow despite all that).

544. The Gingerbread Man by Karen Schmidt (Charlie book, picture book) - 9/10
A very good version of the folktale. It's the book of the month in Charlie's class, and I've been buying a copy of each book each month for our own. He 'read' it to Tomm and me this evening - he's very nearly got the whole thing memorized.

545. Feeding Time by Lee Davis (Charlie's school library book, easy reader book) - 8/10
An introduction to the feeding habits of animals. Not bad, but not terribly riveting, either.

546. Construction Countdown by K. C. Olson (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A counting book featuring construction vehicles. Charlie is enchanted by counting books right now. The kid can easily count to 100 and beyond (and yesterday he was conducting some sort of lego playtime space shuttle countdown in Spanish (!), yet he still loves these 1-10 books. *shrug*

>81 jnwelch:: Joe, my two used sticks too. I think what they really liked was the splendid drama of doing the perfect fall after being "shot". The theatre of it all, you know?

Joe: I find that comforting, at least.

tiffin: Ha! Too funny.

>81 jnwelch:: Oh, the fall! My husband pointed out to me, when my younger one was about 3 years old; when he'd 'shoot' the kids and our eldest would do the fall, our youngest would fall most of the way down - and then very carefully lay his head on the ground.

(Actually, I'm glad he'd learned by that point. With 5 years age difference, he was trying to charge after his brother from the time he first learned to walk totter along, which meant he was constantly banging into things or falling down steps etc. At least he's learned to look as well, now.)

Oh, yes, of course! The best part about playing guns is getting shot and fake falling to the ground. I totally forgot about that part, haha.

Charlie and I are now well-versed in the art of falling down dramatically after being 'booped' (=*gently* poked) with a pirate sword. We don't use the words 'kill' or 'dead' (I'm a linguist and words are serious business with me, and so some of those words are just off limits during fun-play-time. 'Dead' and 'kill' are two of them.), but the rules are, if you're poked, you've got to stop, dramatically fall and stick your tongue out. Then the other pirate may take whatever treasure you may have on your person (in your non-sword hand), but must 'fix' you (which involves something akin to sprinkling you with pixie dust, I think - this is a Charlie rule) before making off with the treasure while emitting some sort of cackling pirate laughter.

On today's agenda:
This morning Charlie has an appointment with his eye doctor, so we'll see if the glasses and the patches are making a difference. I told him yesterday that the doctor will tell us if his eyes are getting better and he said, "Will I still get to wear my glasses?" Ha! We couldn't have had an easier time with him in all of this - he even enjoys wearing the patches, he told me!

The Science Night at his school yesterday evening was pretty fun. They brought in a traveling planetarium, which Charlie loved, and then had various hands-on stuff in difference rooms (scales with different items to guess which would be heavier, magnets,...). Charlie had a good time until we got to the cafeteria, in which they'd set up all sorts of hands-on chemistry stuff; it was really crowded in that room and a little loud, and Charlie really doesn't like crowds at all. So, he said he was ready to go and we went. Still, I'm glad that he had fun with it, and as we got in the car, Tomm told him that he'd take him to his university classroom lab sometime in the next two weeks and they'll do some experiments together, which seemed to fix his being upset at the crowdedness.

Amber, Charlie remains as charming as ever.

Although I played with cap guns as a child (two older brothers and "Davy Crockett" were big influences in those years), we mostly were interested in the noise rahter than anything else. In fact, if guns were not to be found, we'd pound the caps with rocks just for the sound. That said, it never came up when I had a young child. Now I would be in precisely your position.

Gail: I'm certainly appreciating all the support here - I've been worried that I'm just being that over-protectively silly mom again. But I don't think it's crazy, in a world in which way too many children have to experience these things in their real form, to want to protect Charlie from them for as long as I can, or at least for now (he's only 5, for sobbing out loud). Death and killing are very tricky topics of conversation, and I both want to hold off on them and, when they do finally come up, get those conversations right (or as close to it as I can get) with him.

Morning Amber- Can I just stay on LT all day and stay warm & snug? Instead of going out there! Shivers...

Morning, Mark! Time to crack out the long-johns...

You are not being a "over-protectively silly mom." The amount of violence in our society is insane. You are doing your part to bring up a non-violent child. Good for you.

I also think it's really cool that don't push Charlie to do things he's not comfortable doing. You let him go at his own pace.

You are a fricking amazing mom. Want to adopt a 48 year old?

Legitimate question for you Amber. I recall several threads back you stating your distaste (hatred?) for Rick Riordan and the Percy Jackson series. I have now started the series. Longish explanation for grown man reading young adult series - precocious daughter reads everything in sight including things way above her grade level, all at a very rapid pace; mother/3rd grade teacher decides that best way to verify that precious daughter is understanding said reading material is to assign dad and precocious daughter to reread the series and discuss the books. Dad dutifully complies.

Anyway, night one of The Lightning Thief resulted in a good discussion of The Kindly Ones as well the Fates. I haven't had cause to crack my copy of Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art since college. So, I am wondering, why do you dislike Riordan so much? From my perspective, anything that teaches my eight year old the names of a couple of Greek gods and starts her thinking about the culture is worthwhile. I am curious to hear your thoughts.

Morphy: Oh, thanks so much for the kind words! I don't know about adoption (ha!), but you're welcome to come and play pirates with us anytime!

Oberon: Some here may recall my stance on modern takes on Greek and Roman mythology: my students were usually surprised to learn that I don't at all mind the movie Troy, and that I don't generally mind when modern versions change the details somewhat. The Greeks themselves did it all the time and realized that once a myth stops changing it dies. But. BUT! There is such a thing as a basic understanding of the meaning behind the myths and the gods and other characters, and although, again, I don't mind some changing of things, there are certain things that shouldn't be messed with because it then betrays a complete lack of understanding of (or maybe worse, lack of respect for) these meanings and Greater Truths. Riordan crosses that line, for me, with his portrayal of Athene, who is, to her core, a-sexual. She is a careful and unique balance of inherently masculine and feminine characteristics, and because of that she represents some very important and really interesting notions for the Greeks. And Riordan either doesn't get that or doesn't care. Either way, it reveals a Greater Truth about him as an author, I think, and it's one I don't care for.

ETA: If your daughter is really interested in Greek and Roman Mythology, give her a copy of Edith Hamilton.

I think Hamilton is a little to far advanced for her. I have no interest trying to explain to an eight year old why a goddess should really be depicted as asexual. To me, that demonstrates the value of Riordan - an introduction that fires the imagination. If it holds her interest long enough she can learn all the things that Riordan got wrong at a later date.

To use a bad analogy, one of my favorite G.I. Joe comics as a child was one where the bad guys built a super-soldier called Serpentor by hunting down the bodies of various famous generals, i.e. Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Hannibal, and so on. Other than the names there was little the comic book got right about those people (much less an acknowledgment that the location of some of the tombs of Alexander and Genghis are some of the great archeological mysteries that remain unresolved). However, just the names and the claim that these were history's greatest sent me off to the family's well-worn World Book encyclopedias. Right now, Riordan has my daughter looking up the river Styx and pondering the Furies. Totally worth it IMO.

>90 scaifea:: When you do get to those conversations, let me know your take. A recent question from my four year old (after watching some film or other. (In my defence, it's holiday season and his dad's more permissive than I am.)):
"When that man died in the film, why didn't he get up again?"

I always say he's more fearless than his older brother, because he's somewhat buffered by being second and he hasn't grasped that there are consequences to things, and there is a time to have fun and a time to be serious, which I'm pretty sure his brother (having to forge his own way in the world) had grasped by this age. If that makes sense.

>94 Oberon:: Don't forget, Oberon, Amber is a classicist by trade.

(ETA for some attempt at clarity)

Oberon: Well, you've come to a decision about it and there's nothing wrong with that. But I've never really gotten the whole "if it gets kids to read it can't be all bad" argument. I find that to be no excuse for bad writing (which is what Riordan's is). There are just simply too many other good writers and great books out there for kids her age to settle for less-that mediocre writing, plot and crappy research. If she loves the mythology (and Yay! if she does - that makes this classicist very happy to hear) and you think Hamilton too much for her, then consider D'Aulaire's book of Greek Myths, which is excellent. As for other series that should keep her excited about reading, what about A Wrinkle in Time, or Over Sea, Under Stone, or Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, or The Children of Greene Knowe? There's just so much wonderful stuff out there to read that it seems tragic to me to waste time on Riordan's tripe.

Sorry. I'm changing out of my crabby pants now, I promise.

Charlie's eye appointment went great today - his vision in his right eye have improved 4 lines on the eye chart!! WOOHOO! And, they told us that he is the best little patient they've ever had, both for how cooperative he is during the exams and for being so good about wearing the patch every day! Again I say, WOOHOO!!

We celebrated with FroYo this afternoon.

I guess I did provoke the classicist. No harm intended. I will check out D'Aulaire's book of Greek Myths. It looks good and has great reviews.

For the record, I am firmly in the camp of letting kids read whatever they get their hands on. My theory is that I will provide guidance and support but that kids rebel too much if you limit their choices. Not that I don't try to point them toward good books (I am too type A not to). Besides, I am a big believer in reading as entertainment. There is plenty of escapist scifi and fantasy in my library. I basically read and write for a living. I think I would go crazy if I went home after a day reading case law and forced myself to read Cicero. To me it is like eating, a diet of broccoli may be more healthy and maybe even result in me living longer but I think I would be missing out if I never splurged on the cake.

Oberon: I agree about freedom in reading, and I think I've even stated on this thread (or maybe the last one) that that's what I intend for Charlie. But it won't go without comment from me if he picks up Riordan at the library (I reserve the right to poke a little fun at him for reading such drivel), and it certainly won't be a choice on our own shelves.
And now I must refrain from showing you the virtual door to this thread for maligning Cicero in any way. As the main focus of my dissertation and one of my greatest literary loves, I'll defend the joy of reading Cicero to my last breath! Ha! And to equate reading his work to reading case law?! Horribile lectu!

Of my. I have blown it.

I just can't view Cicero as light reading. Give me my literary equivalent of a game show.

Oberon: Ha! Forgiven. How could you have known you were coming up against his biggest fan? But I agree heartily that he's not light reading. Goosebump-inducing and gorgeous oratorical skills, yes, but easy read, no.

547. So Sleepy Story by Uri Shulevitz (public library book, picture book) - 7/10
Everyone and everything in the house (and including the house itself) is very sleepy. Until a random strain of music flows through an open window and everything (chairs, tables, dishes,...) start dancing. Then the music goes away and everything goes back to sleep.
Weird story. Weeeiiiird. Even Charlie shrugged and said, "what the what?" at the end. Ha! The illustrations were kind of neat, though.

On today's agenda:
Charlie has two friends coming over this morning for a playdate, but the rest of the day should be quiet and homey. Hoping to sneak a few minutes here and there to work on the editing, which is slow-going and I really want to finish it before our post-Christmas traveling starts. Also, cookies may be baked today (Brown Sugar Drops). And soup will be set to simmer this afternoon, too (Unstuffed Pepper Soup).

Glad to hear that Charlie is doing so well! My oldest granddaughter Alyssa wore an eye patch for a while and eventually had to have surgery on that eye, but has never worn glasses. You would never know now that she ever had any trouble with her eyes :)

Stasia: Thanks! I'm surprised at how many people have now told me that either they or their own children have worn patches to fix an eye issue. It's much more common that I ever realized. Charlie will always wear glasses, apparently, but the doctor is confident that with patching he'll come very close to 20/20 in the weak eye (with glasses, of course), and that's wonderful.

Yes, that is wonderful! Good on Charlie for being a good patient too.

Stasia: Yep, I'm a lucky mom for certain.

458. Snow by Uri Shulevitz (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
At the sign of the first snowflake, a little boy gets excited, but the adults around him don't believe it will lead to any actual snowfall.
Another slightly strange story, but the illustrations are just lovely.

On today's agenda:
While Charlie's at school, I need to get started addressing Christmas cards. If that gets finished, then I'll get back to the editing thing - I'm halfway finished now, and I think (read: hope) that it'll go a bit faster from here on out. Oh, and the wrapping of at least Charlie's presents needs to happen, too. Oh, and I need to get the grocery list together. Huh. We'll see how much of that gets done before I go to volunteer at the library...

Morning Amber- Hope you are staying warm. It is at least zero out there right now. Ugh! If I didn't have my books, I would be lost...

449. Scrambled Eggs Super! by Dr. Seuss (Charlie's school library book, picture book) - 9/10
Another great one from Seuss. I missed out on these for some reason when I was a kid and I'm having so much fun reading them aloud to Charlie - it's a challenge!

450. What Floats in a Moat? by Lynne Berry (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
A goat and a hen try to get over a moat by using science instead of the drawbridge.
A really funny way to introduce the idea of water displacement and Archimedes (the goat's name is Archie and he does in fact shout, "Eureka!" when he figures it out). Recommended and I'll be looking for more from Berry.

On today's agenda:
I've been commissioned to bake a birthday cake for Charlie's friend's birthday party tomorrow, so, well, I'll be baking a cake today (and decorating it tomorrow morning). The little boy wants a 'worm cake' like the one Max makes in an episode of Max & Ruby, which took me awhile to track down but seems fairly simple (make it look like dirt (chocolate cake crumbs) with gummy worms sticking out).
Also, grocery shopping, present wrapping, laundry and maybe a little craft project with Charlie, so that he can make his teacher a present. And the editing job - I need to work on that, too.

Sounds like a busy day all around!

Stasia: That's simply the modus operandi here at Scaife Manor - ha!

Too busy for me. I am getting lazy in my old age!

I suspect I may have time once Charlie goes to college to be lazy...maybe...

As fast as he is growing up, that time may be soon :/

451. (142nd non-picture book read) Paddington Races Ahead by Michael Bond (Charlie's bath time reading) - 9/10
Bond wrote this one as a sort of tribute to the Olympic games being held in the UK, so the main story is about Paddington nearly being in the Olympics as, of all things, a hurdle racer.
We're all a bit sad to have finished the last of the Paddington books, unless, of course, Bond writes another. I have mixed feelings, though: I've loved reading these to Tomm and Charlie, and as it's taken us a matter of years to get through them, it will be like losing a daily tradition to switch over to something else. But the last two books, while they've still been very enjoyable, aren't just exactly up to the quality of the older ones in the series, so I'm not sure that I really want Bond to write anymore. I think Paddington's stories don't really mesh as well in the modern setting - I'd have rather Bond kept him in the time period he started in. *shrug*
At any rate, by request of The Monkey, our next Bath-time Book will be The Complete Winnie the Pooh, and I'm excited about it almost as much as Charlie is. It will be the first of the non-picture books on Charlie's shelves that I've purchased and read in anticipation of reading them later to Charlie (or enjoying knowing that he will read them).

Oh, I love Winnie-the-Pooh! To this day, I still love those books.

Me, too, Stasia, even though I didn't read them until a couple of years ago (when I bought the complete edition for Charlie)! I had seen the movie when I was a kid and loved it, though. Have you seen the newer movie? The casting for the voices is pretty amazing - Craig Ferguson for Owl is my favorite.

No, I have not seen the newer movie. I will have to see if I can find it and watch it.

Oh, do! It's really pretty clever and funny.

Warning: Proud Mom statement coming up...

So, Charlie wanted to play with a toy this morning that he can only play with when he is wearing his patch. I told him that if he wanted to wear his patch in the morning today that would be fine, as long as he didn't mind going to the grocery store with it on (I've only taken him on a couple of quick errands with the patch on so far, worrying that one wrong word or look would make him feel self-conscious about the whole business); he said he didn't mind at all. So we go grocery shopping with his patch on. Halfway through the store, a little old lady stopped us in the aisle and asked, "What's wrong with his eye?" The phrasing was a bit abrupt, but she said it in a very kindly way. I held my breath for a second, hoping Charlie hadn't heard her (he was a couple of paces ahead of me, seemingly in his own little world playing a make-believe game which involves pushing an imaginary cart and 'boop'ing the price signs on the shelves. But he heard her, and before I could start to answer, he turned to her, smiled and explained it himself, in a very relaxed and matter-of-fact tone ("This eye doesn't work so well as the other one, so I have to wear a patch to try to get it to work better."). Then the two carried on a very chatty and friendly conversation for 5 minutes at least. Didn't bother him one smidge.

Have I mentioned lately just how much I love this kid and how lucky I am?

*contented sigh*

Oh, that's awesome. :)

Awesome kid for sure, Amber!

Jim & Roni: It was such a Proud Mom moment.

552. The Bear in the Book by Kate Banks (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
The story of a boy who loves the story of a bear, and the story of the mom reading the story of the bear to the boy.
A little difficult to follow in places, but the illustrations are lovely.

Sounds like Charlie has a very good handle on what the patch is all about. Good for him, I can just imagine how proud you were (are) of him.

Donna: He's a smart kid - he realizes that the patch and the glasses are working and that his vision in that eye is improving, so it would be silly not to want to wear the patch. He's got a great mix of wild imagination with a healthy dose of practicality.

On today's agenda:
This morning I need to decorate the cake I baked yesterday for today's birthday party, which is being held at the bowling alley - Charlie is so excited. And then after the birthday party, we'll head to the library for a sock hop, which the children's librarian, Miss Erin, puts on 2-3 times in the winter for the kids and which involves dancing mixed with a few stories. Charlie is also extremely giddy about this, since he loved them last winter. When we get home from all of that, I'd like to try getting some more present-wrapping done, but we'll see if that happens.

#125: Sounds like a well-deserved "Proud Mom" moment!

The irony, Amber, is that when we the all-knowing parents try to intervene, we often mess things up. Left to their own devices, kids and old people often work things out very quickly and satisfactorily. Well played, Charlie!

tiffin: Agreed! I'm glad I had to catch my breath!

Birthday 'worm' cake - done.

Good on Charlie.

It amazes me what pre-school kids will take in their stride. They haven't come up against all the prejudices that we've seen on our journey to adulthood and beyond.

Nice cake - but it actually looks very edible. Max's cake made me shudder!

humoress: I just couldn't stand to make a messy cake like Max's; hopefully this will be close enough. Ha!

Great Charlie story! Good job, Mom!

Also, yummy looking worm cake!

Thanks, Mary! The cake was pretty tasty, but then again, it's hard to go wrong with a chocolate cake, I think.

463. Red Cat Blue Cat by Jenni Desmond (public library book, picture book) -9/10
Red Cat and Blue Cat live in the same house, but the fight constantly. Secretly, though, each wants to be more like the other, and when they each discover the other's secret, they slowly become friends.
And excellent story of trying to see things from the perspective of someone you think you really dislike, with hilarious and cool illustrations. Recommended.

Amber - Bravo to Charlie, what a mature little fellow he is. I guess we can innately sense when someone's intentions are kindly as with the "little old lady" and the manner of asking is paramount to its effect upon our sensibilities.

Have a wonderful weekend and put some of those gummy worms to one side for me if I ever hit stateside.

Paul: We usually have a goodly supply of worms and bears of the gummy variety here at Scaife Manor, so that shouldn't be a difficult request.

132: Amazing! A 5 minute converstaion? I can't even do that at MY age. :P

Stephen: Ha! But you and Charlie would have lots to talk about, including Lego games!

464. Little Owl's Night by Durya Srinivasan (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Follows Little Owl on his nightly travels, meeting up with his friends, and then back again to his mother to sleep for the day.
Nice little story, with very cool illustrations - simply drawn in bold colors.

I don't know, talking to children is pretty demanding. At least with adults I can get by with cursing and grumbling the whole time. :P

I want to thank you for steering me in the direction of children's illustrated books. I'm having great, good fun with the incredible art work.

Stephen: Ha! Well, I don't know about the cursing (although you seem to do a pretty good job at not doing it here on LT), but Charlie would totally call you on the grumbling, so he could handle it. And Charlie's not demanding to talk to at all; once he warms to you, he'll do most of the talking!

Linda: I suppose we're an inspiration to each other, since I've decided to follow up with the Honor books for the Newberys and the Caldecotts, partially because of you!

On the agenda for today:
While Charlie's at school I've an appointment in Dubuque to get the oil changed in my car, which means that I actually may get a bit of reading done while I wait. There's a Joann Fabrics shop right close to the dealership, so I'll pop in there to pick up a few patterns (there's a sale going on), and then head back home, where there's wrapping to do and a few other odds-and-ends chores. Charlie wants to make dinner for us again, so I've found a recipe for mini meatloaves that he'll be able to do mostly on his own, with only a little help from me on the oven-side of things. And then after dinner, I have a PTO meeting. So, another busy day at Scaife Manor.

Can I just say how absolutely adorable it is that Charlie wants to make dinner for you?

Makes me want to go, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww."

Morphy: He's made dinner for us a few times now: Tuna pasta salad, mac & cheese, and African peanut butter chicken soup. He has always loved being in the kitchen when I'm cooking and baking, and so I found a Sesame Street cookbook with recipes specially for children to try. And I have to say that they've all been *very* good!

That's really fantastic! I didn't learn to cook as a kid and had to learn on my own as an adult (things besides frozen dinners and packaged foods, that is). Him learning now should go a long way to making life easier for him... and you, for that matter! :D

Faith: Agreed!

What's African peanut butter chicken soup?

Laura: 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup cubed cooked chicken, 1 cup cooked rice, 28 oz chicken broth, a can diced tomatoes, 1 sweet red pepper diced, 1 stalk celery sliced, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. It's delicious. Saute the vegetables in a little bit of vegetable oil, add the chili powder for another minute or two, then add the tomatoes, broth and peanut butter. Bring to a simmer, then add chicken and rice and heat through.
Charlie measured out the ingredients, and with my help, very cautiously added them to the pot and stirred.

So, I've just finished putting together the Scaife Family Christmas Movie Schedule leading up to Christmas day (we've so many now that we like to watch every year that I have to plan to make sure they all get done), and I'd love to know what favorites you all watch every year. Here's our list:

One's we've already watched this year so far:
A Charlie Brown Christmas
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
Elmo Saves Christmas (not a favorite for me, but Charlie's a big Elmo supported and apparently celebrates his entire corpus)
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
Elf (we watch this one every Sunday-after-Thanksgiving, twice: once in the background while decorating the tree and the house and then again in the evening)
Mickey's Christmas Carol

And here's the schedule for the rest of the season:
17th: The Shop Around the Corner
18th: Santa Clause is Coming to Town
19th: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
20th: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (and then Bridget Jones once Charlie's in bed)
21st: Down with Love
22nd: Arthur Christmas
23rd: Shaun the Sheep: We Wish Ewe a Merry Christmas
24th: The Muppet Christmas Carol (and then Love Actually once Charlie's in bed)
25th: A Christmas Story

And no, It's a Wonderful Life isn't on the list, I know; it hasn't been a part of Tomm's and my tradition, but every year I think about buying it, and I may just head over to Amazon and do that now. I'll figure out some way to squeeze it in...

I have to watch Elf every year, as well as The Holiday. The latter isn't terribly Christmas-y, but it's one of my favorite movies.

Oooh, I love The Holiday, but haven't seen it in years!

Hubby and I watch Holiday Inn and White Christmas every year. Others as time (and temperment) permit.

Riva: Those are classic! Unfortunately, Tomm doesn't seem to have patience for classic holiday films.

I love A Christmas Story! My favorite Christmas movie growing up was The Santa Clause (with Tim Allen).

Stephen: A Christmas Story was set in Cleveland, which is very close to where Tomm and his brother grew up, and Tomm's brother looked just like the boy in the movie when they were little, so it's a running family joke. Oh, and dang I feel old - The Santa Clause *when you were growing up*?! Dang.

Pffft, don't be silly, you never grow up when it comes to Christmas, so you could say the very same thing! ;)

...*cough* *cough* except I was 6 years old when it was released *ahem cough*

Stephen: Yeeeaah. I was already in college.

On today's agenda:
We now have 2-3 more inches of snow on the ground (I do indeed live in the world of the Grumpy Old Men movie, I think, where the snow never really leaves in the winter but just builds on itself), so I'm happy that Charlie and I have a cozy, stay-at-home day. We'll be making Gingerbread Men, and then we'll make a little art project for Charlie to give to his teacher. I need to finish up wrapping gifts, and I suspect I'll get some help with that from Charlie (I did manage to get his wrapped yesterday while he was in school). Oh, and laundry.

Charlie's mini-meatloaves turned out amazing yesterday - delicious! It's a neat idea: mix up your favorite meatloaf mixture, but then instead of making one big loaf, make it into individual servings but dividing it up into a muffin pan. Charlie enjoyed making smiley faces on them before serving them. Ha!

Morning Amber- This is going to be a LONG winter! Ugh! Thanks again on the nudge for the McCullough. It's a very good read.

Good morning, Mark! I'm so glad that you liked the McCullough!

El Husbando and I have started our own tradition of watching the Die Hard Quadrilogy (now a Pentalogy, as of this year!) every year leading up to Christmas -- the first two movies are set at Christmas time, after all! -- but ever since I was a child, my immediate family has spent Christmas Eve watching a series of movies/Christmas specials and eating copious amounts of food. The lineup has changed slightly through the years (mostly when I was young and things like Mr. Bean's Christmas Special was released), but it's been more or less set in stone for the past decade.

This is the Unchangeable, Immovable Order of Things of Christmas Eve:

Pre-show: attend a Christmas Eve service

(Then we rush home like mad and begin the festivities, usually much later than intended and bemoaning the fact that we're not going to get to bed until after midnight...)

1) A Garfield Christmas (we mostly watching this for nostalgia, and because my father hates it... haha. We don't usually actually see much of it, because we put it on while rushing around and getting the food & drinks set up)
2) Merry Christmas Mr. Bean
3) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 original animated edition)
4) A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
5) A Christmas Carol, starring Alistair Sim (1951)

...and then everyone drives home / goes to bed / wakes up from where they've fallen asleep on the couch just in time to go to bed and get very little sleep before an early Christmas morning that's full of its own Unchangeable, Immovable traditions!

where the snow never really leaves in the winter but just builds on itself

Welcome to the Great White North!

Faith: Ha! Cute.

Thanks for the recipe, Amber. I may see if the Husbeast wants to try it for himself (I, sadly, cannot eat peanut butter).

Favorite Christmas Movies (I try to watch most of these every year, but sometimes one or two get missed out, especially as Mike is not as into the Christmas movie thing as I am. I starred the ones I cannot imagine not watching during the season.)

*A Child's Christmas in Wales
A Muppet Christmas Carol
The Bishop's Wife
You've Got Mail
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
*A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Christmas Story
Home Alone and/or Home Alone 2
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
It's a Wonderful Life
*Scrooge (Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol)--This one is a Christmas Eve tradition.

Laura: Oh, if you like You've Got Mail, you really *must* track down The Shop Around the Corner, which is the original from which YGM is copied (and it is quite a bit better, in my opinion, although I do love Hank/Ryan together). I myself need to track down A Child's Christmas in Wales now that I've read the book and loved it.

I saw Arthur Christmas on your list. My wife just got it for the kids (courtesy of the house elf on shelf deal) and I was prepared to read my book through it. It was hilarious - I think I enjoyed it more than the kids.

Oberon: We're big fans of the folks who made it; it's the same production company that makes Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.

@ 172

I watched The Shop Around the Corner once, possibly before I was of an age to appreciate it (it was yonks back). I remember being lukewarm about it, but I don't remember anything else about it (except that it inspired You've Got Mail). I shall have to check it out again.

Laura: Oh, do! It's wonderful. Jimmy Stewart at his absolute best, I think.

I've moved The Shop Around the Corner to the top of my list although I don't know how it will beat out You've Got Mail.

Morphy; I can't wait to see what you think of it!

465. There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro (Charlie book, picture book) - 8/10
A twist on the old classic. Charlie's teacher gave this to him, with a sweet little inscription, as a holiday present.

466. Ten Gingerbread Men by Ruth Galloway (Charlie's school library book, picture book) - 8/10
A countdown-from-10, and-then-there-were... type book, which is one of the types that Charlie loves right now, so I'm not surprised that he chose it.
Cute, but not anything really spectacular.

467. First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
Goes through various animals, describing and showing what they are as young and what they turn into as adults ("first the egg, then the chicken"). Charlie already knew most of them, but the others prompted some fun conversation with him (the tadpole one in particular), and the illustrations are excellent.
I love when a picture book uses paintings on canvas as its illustrations and you can see the texture of the canvas. For some reasons that's very satisfying to me. Definitely recommended, especially for those with toddlers.

468. Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
A treatise, really, on the various colors of Green.
This one is by the same author/illustrator as #467, and so the illustrations are lovely, but the story, well, there isn't one, and sometimes that's okay with me, if the non-story is good enough. But this one wasn't. It just seemed random and unpointed. It started to cross over into that 'artsy-fartsy for the sake of being fartsy,' and those of you who frequent my thread likely already know what kind of reaction that sort of thing will get from me. Ptooey.

469. The Boats on the River by Marjorie Flack (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
The story of a river that flows down from the mountains to a city by the sea, and the various kinds of boats and ships that frequent it.
Now this is more my style. Classically gorgeous illustrations, with a cozy and beautifully worded story. Both Charlie and I both loved it (he loved chatting about the different kind of boats, and he was amazed to learn that Mommy has, in point of fact, been *on* an actual submarine - I still think he may have his doubts about whether I was telling the truth, even though I tried to make it clear that I had by no means been on it when it submerged!).

470. When Sophie Gets Angryby Molly Bang (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 6/10
Sophie is a toddler who throws a tantrum when her sister wants a turn playing with a favorite toy.
Nope, this one didn't work for me. Why make a story out of something like this? It doesn't really have any sort of message about how tantrums don't get you anywhere; Sophie gets so mad that she 'sees red' (the illustrations try to express this by outlining everything in red), and, of all things, runs away into the woods (!) and then simply saunters back home later with no repercussions. Strange and, I think, unhelpful. And the illustrations - the point of the Caldecott Honor - were most definitely not my taste.

News, everyone!

During the parent/teacher conference last month, Charlie's teacher mentioned that she would soon be starting a slightly more advanced 'reading' group with a couple of the students during their 'centers' time (when the children break into small groups and rotate through various 'centers' in the room, each devoted to numbers games, letters,...), which which students she would read a book geared toward the very first steps of reading, and then send that book home with each student to read with his/her family. We said yes, of course, and on Monday Charlie brought home the first book. And he read it to us.

Let me say that again: He Read The Book. To Us.

It was *very* simple, of course (each page has a photo of a child eating or about to eat something, with the sentence, "I like ----' next to it. But still, he's starting to read. You can imagine how this makes me feel. And he's so proud and excited. It's of course one of those moments I'm not likely to forget.

* claps wildly *
Way to go Charlie!!!!! That is indeed one of parenting's most exciting moments. And of course it's much to your credit because of the emphasis you've placed on reading since he was a mere embryo. But oh, this is so great because it will make reading together even more fun.

Laura: I know, I'm so excited!

Whoooo hooo! All that reading to him pays off!

*does frantic Kermit arm wave* Yaaaaaay!

Morphy: Ha! Love that image.

Well done, Charlie!

*ducks Morphy's frantic waving*

471. Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A fun little story about a country boy who reads a book about lions and then finds himself in a situation in which he came put it to good use.

472. Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
26 photo, one on each page, and each depicting a letter of the alphabet in some way.
Meh. Okay, I guess. Just not really my thing.

473. Just Me by Marie Hall Ets (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A boy walks round the barnyard and the woods imitating how various animals walk.
The story is so-so, but the illustrations make it worth a look.

474. In a Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 6/10
About the various forms of life in a small pond.
Big meh for this one. No story at all - in fact there are very few words at all - so the book is clearly a showcase for the illustrations, which are in a style that I very much don't care for.

475. Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
Tells the story of a young slave who mails himself to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Now here's a winner. Moving story, excellently told, with amazing illustrations. The artwork is so good, in fact, that I looked up the winner for that year, thinking, "How did this not win?!" It had the great misfortune of being up against The Invention of Hugo Cabret, so that's how. In any other year, though... At any rate, I definitely recommend giving this one a look, although I'm glad I'm reading these before reading them to Charlie, as this one is a bit too heavy in subject yet for him (the young man gets sold away from this mother when little, and then later his own wife and children are sold out from under him). I know it's important for Charlie to learn about the injustices in the world, but not just yet.

476. John Henry by Julius Lester (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
The folktale of John Henry and his hammering through the mountain.
I'm all for folktales, and I've always liked this one, but Lester isn't one of my favorites, nor if Pinkney's illustrating style. Meh.

477. The Garden of Adbul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A boy chased a dog into a forbidden garden and has a mysterious encounter with a retired magician.
I wish I could love this book. The illustrations - as always with Van Allsburg - are gorgeous, and the idea for the story is great, but the writing is not good. Bad, in fact, which is, sadly, another norm for Van Allsburg.

478. The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen and James Pinkney (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
The familiar story told once more and this time coupled with Pinkney's illustrations.
Again, I'm just not a fan of his style, although apparently some are, as he's a multiple Caldecott winner. *shrug*

479. April's Kittens by Clare Turlay Newberry (Caldecott Honor book, picture bok) - 8/10
April, a 6-year-old living with her parents in a tiny New York apartment, wants to keep all three of the family cat's kittens.
A dated, but sweet, story, with lovely drawings.

480. Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tresselt (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
Follows a rain shower as it falls into a river and then the river as it goes to the sea.
S'okay, but I think it's been done better - with nicer illustrations - elsewhere.

Hurray for Charlie, reading his first book to his parents! How long until he starts his own LibraryThing thread, I wonder?

Just adding a second vote for "A Child's Christmas in Wales" as the all-time Number One Best Christmas Movie. And I fondly remember a TV special called "The House Without a Christmas Tree", which I haven't seen in years and don't know if I'd still rate it highly. But it had one of those irrepressible, irresistible ungirly girl-child-characters I love (think Scout Finch, or Addie Pray). And Jason Robards at his crustiest, and Mildred Natwick, one of the best character actors ever.

@ 187

You gave me a copy of The House without a Christmas Tree on VHS at some point in the middle school years. It's probably on the big tall wood shelf in the corner downstairs. Near the top, I'd guess.

Whoo-hoo, Charlie! How proud you must be, Amber. And what a neat process to get to watch.

>188 lycomayflower: Really? Hmmm....

Thanks, ladies!

re: A Child's Christmas in Wales: Neither Netflix nor the library has it. Rats.

Mmmmm, meatloaf!

I'm with Tomm, not a Christmas movie fan, though I did enjoy Home Alone.

187: Oh! Yeah, I definitely want a link to Charlie's thread when he creates one. :P

Mary: Ha! Now, see, that's one that I've never been able to stomach.

Stephen: Ha! It's a cool think to think about.

481. If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
Another great one from the Great One. I love reading these aloud - he has such a mastery of the playfulness of rhythm in language, and that, of course, appeals to me.

482. Circus Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
The cap peddler runs into a spot of trouble with an elephant during a circus parade, but then finds himself as part of the circus himself.
Not nearly as good as its predecessor, but the illustrations are lovely.

Charlie reading to his parents! Now that's a great milestone and something that I bet brought a little tear or two to your eyes, Amber. Way to go, Charlie!

Judy: It definitely was and it certainly did!

On the agenda for today:

While Charlie's in school today I'll likely spend most of the morning working on the editing job, which I'd like to finish up before we leave for our holiday traveling (2 days after Christmas). Thursday is my day to volunteer at Charlie's school library, so I'll be there for a couple of hours before school gets out. And then this evening is Charlie's school holiday program, and we're all pretty excited about that; it'll just be the 4-K classes together (the other grades have their program separately), which is nice, since Charlie does tend to get troubled and a bit sad and shy when faced with large, noisy crowds (like Momma, like Charlie, I'm afraid). Tomm and I can't wait to see him sing and dance with his classmates! Then it's home for our Christmas Movie Schedule - Rudolph, tonight.

Congratulations to Charlie for starting on the sweet path of reading. Congratulations to you for giving him such a great start!

You do have a busy but fun schedule lined up, Amber. Enjoy every day as much as you can; you're building sweet memories for for your family.

I'm very glad that you'll be starting the Pooh books! Even today I have large sections memorized. One of our favorite poems is "King John Was Not a Good Man", which we recited endlessly. I'm looking forward to your thoughts as you go through the books.

Gail: We are loving the Pooh books so far - Charlie's favorite part up to this point is Christopher Robin saying, "Tut, tut, it looks like rain." The stories are just written to be read aloud.

483. Ben's Trumpet by Rachel Isadora (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
A boy listens to jazz and pretends to play his imaginary trumpet, until the other boys make fun of him. But he's not without a trumpet for long.
Lovely story coupled with amazing illustrations.

484. Rainbow Crow by Nancy Van Laan (Charlie book, picture book) - 9/10
A re-telling of a Lenape folktale.
Gorgeous both in language and illustrations. Certainly recommended. And many thanks to Linda for sending these two books along to Charlie and me!

485. Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
A little girl wants to dress herself one morning in a crazy get-up and meets with resistance from all of her family members.
Huh. Not a lot of point to the story, and I'm not a fan of the illustrations. It seems that the Honor books are much like the list of Winners for me: I either love them or really *really* don't.

486. Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins (Charlie's school library book, picture book) - 8/10
Maisy goes, well, to the library, looks for - and finds - a book about fish, attends Story Time, checks out a book, and goes to find a quiet place to read.
Charlie and I are fans of Maisy, and our love of the library has been well established, I believe, so I wasn't at all surprised when he brought this one home today. Very cute, and I love Cousins' bold, brightly-colored illustrations.

487. A Very Special Hug by Steve Smallman (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
There's a new toy in the play room, and all the other toys try to help him fins out what he's good at. Turns out that he's really good at giving hugs.
A-dorable. ADORABLE! Plus, just a little bit weird. Which turns out to be a fantastic combination. Scaife Manor comes firmly down on the side of loving this one, after much 'awww'ing and giggling. Definitely recommended.

On today's agenda:
Well. I *had* planned on going grocery shopping and having Charlie do his shopping for Tomm this morning, but this ice storm apparently has other plans for us. So, we're likely staying home today. And, honestly, my sore throat and aching head are okay with that...

Charlie did a *wonderful* job at his school program last night! On a stage full of 4-to-5-year-olds, he was the *only* one standing quietly, paying attention to the teacher, singing the songs and dilligently (and gleefully - he loves to sing and dance) doing the dance moves. I know I'm a broken record, but I LOVE THIS KID.
We got home just as the freezing rain was starting, popped some popcorn, snuggled up on the couch and watched Rudolph. A near-perfect evening.

Sounds like a wonderful evening. I think the best thing to do an this ice storm is to hunker down and snuggle with loved ones. :)

In happy hopes that 2014 will bring ever greater pleasures to your reading world, Amber:



Celebrate the return of the light with feasts, merriment, and gratitude for all the wonders of this wide green earth.

RMD

Faith: Agreed.

Many thanks, Richard - I *love* the pomegranate ornament!

I like those "Dellarobbia"-style fruit ornaments in general, Amber, but that pomegranate is something special. Just as lush and lovely as can be!

Richard: I like it for the classical reference...

Whelp, we've got 6 inches more on the ground since last night (the previous snow hasn't melted) and it's still coming down thick. Nobody needs to leave the house today, so I'm perfectly happy to watch it come down. Charlie tried out a new recipe this morning for Miners' Mini Muffins (a reference to Snow White and her dwarf friends - the recipe is from a Disney cookbook), with only minimal help from me - they were delicious. Now, we've got one of Pandora's Christmas channels going and I'm getting ready to get the crock pot going for dinner (potato & smoked sausage soup), then I'll set some french bread to raise and later on I'll mix up a batch of Eve's Pudding (baked apples with a cake-like batter on top) for tonight's dessert.
I finished the editing job (finally!), so I need to do some cleaning/organizing of my desk and get a slight backlog of books posted here. And then, maybe, some more reading done!
This is the perfect snow day, when we're getting lots of the stuff and we can all relax and stay warm and cozy inside.

Morning Amber- Boo to snow! With the rain we had it melted a lot of ours but it looks like we are going to get a fresh coat, fortunately not as much as you. Silent prayer.
Have a warm & snugly Sunday!

Thanks, Mark! Here's hoping you don't get what we're getting here!

Wow, such weather. Over the past couple of days all our snow melted away, and it's currently 63F. It's supposed to return to normal next week (probably coming at us from your neck of the woods).

Laura: Wow, indeed - 63! I'm pretty okay with our current conditions - we don't have to travel until next Friday, and all of this snow just makes it seem more Christmasy.

488. Where the Buffaloes Begin by Olaff Baker (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A young boy takes a long ride from his tribe one day to find the fabled lake from which Buffaloes are supposed to rise, and ends up saving his tribe from attack, with the help of those very buffaloes.
An interesting story, but the illustrations are the clincher. Gorgeous.

489. Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
An inch worms measures various animals until he's almost outsmarted by a bird.
Bleh. I am not, nor shall I ever be, methinks, a Lionni fan. I just don't get what's so all-fire great about him.

490. McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A boy has fun fishing in a fishless pond by imagining what he just might possibly catch.
Classically Seuss. Loved it.

491. Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A re-telling of an African folktale.
Great story (as are all folktales), with stunningly bold illustrations.

492. Ape in a Cape by Fritz Eichenberg (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
An alphabet of animals pictured with rhyming things.
Weird. And not really in a good way. Some of the illustrations were even a bit on the frightening side - I would not have wanted (nor do I still, really) Charlie to have looked at this one a couple of years ago when he was learning his letters.

493. Hush! by Minfong Ho (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
The subtitle is "A Thai Lullaby," and it's one of the neatest lullaby's I've heard/read. And the picture are lovely.

494. Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
The story (what there is of it - it's mostly just a sing-song string of silly phrases) is meh, but the illustrations are wonderful!

495. What's the Matter, Bunny Blue? by Nicola Smee (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Bunny Blue has been somehow separated from his mother, and his friends help him try to find her.
A strange little book, but sweet, and the illustrations are very cute.

496. Jambo Means Hello by Muriel Feelings (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
An "A is for..." sort of book, in which all the words are Swahili words, and each one gets a brief cultural explanation.
A neat way to introduce little ones to another language and culture.

497. Barkis by CLare Turlay Newberry (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A young boy gets a puppy for his birthday.
Cute, but nothing spectacular.

498. Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs by Randall Jarell (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
The classics Grimm story - with no punches pulled; be warned that this is the real thing, a translation of the original undisneyfied story. I can't stress enough how beautiful the artwork is. Go check it out just for the illustrations.

499. (143rd non-picture book read) 20 Greek Stories by H. Paul Brown (editing job)
This will be, I am confident, a huge success in the Classical Studies textbook world (as huge at ever such a thing can be). It's a reader meant to go along with one of the top Beginning Greek textbooks out there, and contains slightly-doctored passages from various ancient Greek authors, with vocabulary and grammar notes. I'm excited to have been a part of the process of putting this thing together, really.

500. Abe Lincoln's Dream by Lane Smith (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A little girl sees the ghost of Lincoln during a tour of the White House and has a chat with him.
Meh. This book could have been really cool, but it fell short for me. The illustrations are nice, though.

501. Castle by David Macaulay (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
Follows, in Macaulay fashion, the building of a castle, from start to finish, with amazing explanations and illustrations along the way. Charlie already has Macaulay's Pyramid on his shelves waiting for him, and I think he'll get this one (along with #503, below) as well.

502. It's a Book by Lane Smith (public library book, picture book) - 6/10
An ape is pestered by a donkey while trying to read about the book he's reading ("Can you text with it?" "No, it's a book." and suchlike).
Yuck. Again, a neat idea for a children's book (singing the praises of books over ipads and kindles), but Smith goes in a wrong direction with it, and it actually turns out to be grouchy, and even crude. Steer clear, I say.

503. Cathedral by David Macaulay (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
See #501, above, only this time, it's a cathedral.

504. Seabird by Holling C. Holling (gift from Linda/Newbery Honor book) - 8/10
Follows a sea-faring family through several generations and through the changes in the technologies in shipbuilding.
A lovely and very interested story, well-told. Many thanks to Linda for sending it this way.

505. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywait (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A boy reaches for his crayon box one day only to find a stack of letters waiting for him, from his crayons. They've quit and they voice their complaints to him. In the end, he listens and fixes things nicely.
Adorable, funny, silly, adorable. And, as a bonus, it's illustrated by the adorable Oliver Jeffers.

On the agenda for today:
Even though we have what seems to be approaching 10 inches more snow on the ground after the past two days, our road has been plowed very nicely so that Charlie and I can make a last trip to the library before Christmas and our post-Christmas traveling (Wisconsin knows how to handle snow), so that's the main event for today. Otherwise, paying bills, a bit of cleaning, hanging out with Charlie, and hopefully a bit of reading. And I'm very much looking forward to tonights featured Christmas viewing: The Shaun the Sheep and Kipper Christmas specials.

Of course, I'm sure you've come across the whole, "the snow plows come by and messes up the end of the driveway as soon as I finish shoveling" thing.

LOL, I almost typed in snoveling instead of shoveling. That would have been a cute typo.

Morphy: *SNORK!* Snoveling! But, yeah, we experienced that phenomenon (*ahem*) when we first moved here, but then Tomm figured out how to avoid it, but shoveling a bit out into the street and to the sides. There are some plow drivers who are courteous enough to lift the blades when they see that you've already shoveled your drive, but not all of them are that nice.

Is playing in the snow on the list of things to do today?! If it's packing snow, get out there and have some fun with it! :D

Faith: Tomm and Charlie did that yesterday (snowman, snowball fight, snow angels) but the temperature has dropped to below zero overnight, so no playing outside today.

I made our holiday cards this year, and since I can't send one out to all of you, I'll post it here to wish you all the happiest of holidays.

Love your card, Amber!

How lovely, Amber! And what do you mean you can't send it to all of us. You just did! I am printing it right now, and will put it in the cut glass bowl on my dining room table with all the others I've received.

Roni: I'm so glad you like it! I had a lot of fun making them.

Linda: Oh, yay! That makes me happy.

Saw this and immediately thought of Charlie!

http://www.allfreesewing.com/Sew-for-Kids/The-Eddie-Cap-Tutorial/ml/1/?utm_sourc...

Roni: Ha! Soon(ish, I hope) I'll have some very similar looking hats posted in my shop! I've a couple finished, but I want to get a few more made before putting them up for sale.

506. Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling Clancy Holling (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
A boy carves a small canoe with a wooden man in it and sets it off on a journey to the ocean; the book tells the story of the canoe's journey and the people who help it along the way.
Wonderful story; I found myself very much rooting for the little guy to make it all the way to the ocean.

507. Alphabatics by Suse MacDonald (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
An alphabet book in which the letters are changed, in a series of pictures, into something else (H is for House, S is for Swan,...).
Sounds neat, but it was more weird than cool. The drawings were just not my style, I suppose.

508. The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
Describes a summer of relatives visiting, through the eyes of a child.
Very nicely told, and the illustrations have amusing details.

509. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A re-telling of an African folktale.
Very well done, even if I'm not fond of the illustration style.

510. The Story of Jumping Mouse by John Steptoe (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A re-telling of a Native American folktale.
Again, nicely done, although I'm more fond of the illustrations in this one.

511. The Talking Egg by Robert D. San Souci (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A re-telling of a Creole tale, which is itself a re-telling of even older European tales.
A great yarn, but I just can't get myself to like Pinkney's illustrations.

512. Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
A sort of Brer Rabbit/Brer Bear story, re-vamped: a rabbit tricks a bear into a farming partnership in which the bear always gets the short end of the stick (to be fair, he is a pretty lazy bear).
Neat story, and the illustrations are great. Recommended.

513. Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
Mirandy is a young girl about to go to her first cake walk, and she wants to capture Brother Wind and make him be her dance partner.
Another folklorish tale, but this time not quite as well done.

514. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 10/10
A young girl in the Depression must leave her family to go live with and work for her Uncle, who runs a bakery in the city. She's afraid that she'll miss her gardening, but she finds a way to fill her new surroundings with flowers and with love.
Amazing. Lovely story with beautiful illustrations. Definitely recommended.

515. More More More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
Three separate vignettes in which a baby and his care-taker (father, mother, grandmother) interact.
Nope, didn't do anything for me. Crosses the line into saccharine, and the illustrations look like something *I* could do (and that's demonstrably not a compliment).

516. Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
A young chicken can't help but interrupt his father while he's telling bedtime stories to finish the story himself.
Nope, didn't really like this one, either. Lackluster story and illustrations to match.

517. Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
Wee Gillis is a young boy caught between a life with the Lowlander side of his family and the Highlander side. His final decision on how and where he'll spend his life surprises them all.
A definite winner from the same writer/illustrator combo that gave the world The Story of Ferdinand. Loved it.

518. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Wanda Gag (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
The familiar story with sweet and simple illustrations.

519. Lego City: Look Out Below! by Michael Anthony Steele (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10
Lego miners working in a Lego gold mine.
Cute. Charlie loves All Thing Lego, so of course we brought this one home from the library today.

On today's agenda:
I need to stage a serious clean-up of my sewing room, which also houses the guest bed, before we leave and the house/cat/dog sitter arrives, so I'll do that this morning. The only other scheduled event today is baking Santa's cookies with Charlie - gluten-free peanut butter cookies this year...
Otherwise, I'm looking forward to sitting back and enjoying Christmas Eve with a 5-year-old. He's *so* excited.

Morning Amber- I love your agenda. Sounds warm & snugly. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family. Hugs!

Many thanks, Mark - hoping the same for you, too!

520. Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet (Caldecott Honor book, 190 pages) - 9/10
The fascinating story of one of Walt Disney's cartoonists in the early years, who left Disney to write children's books.
Two really great things about this one: 1) He grew up in Indiana, and so I loved the details about his childhood as a fellow Hoosier, 2) he illustrated the whole thing himself, which includes sketches of his childhood home and the family farms and also sketches of some of the characters that he developed for Disney's movies, such as Cinderella's mice, Dumbo, and Peter Pan.

>226 scaifea: - Amber, the Holling books were among my favorites in childhood and still. Try some of the others as Charlie gets older. Tree in the Trail, Minn of the Mississippi(somewhat local to you folks), Pagoo, Seabird - all the same format of lovely full page paintings facing a page of text with marginal sketches and notes. They are reflective of their times - so not always entirely politically/socially correct for modern times, though not bad. I think you and Charlie can handle any anachronisms. As I read them now, I note a lack of female characters, racial insensitivity, etc. But for the 1940s and 1950s they were remarkably enlightened.

Hi Amber; I'm keeping an eye on the list of books you've read with / for Charlie.



Wishing you and your family the best for the festive season, and for a wonderful 2014!

Helenoel: I love hearing the stories of others about growing up with certain books and authors - thanks for sharing.

humouress: I hope you find some that you enjoy here in my lists - Charlie and I certainly have loved a good number of them! And many thanks for the lovely and festive photo!

Amber, I love the simplicity of your holiday card…and that you took the time to make them. Next year…maybe. I have good intentions but usually run out of time. I hope you and your family have a fantastic Christmas. Thanks for sharing Charlie and some of the highlights of his life with us. He is a treasure.

Thanks, Donna! Love the Peanuts! So far so good on the Griswold, uh, Scaife Family Christmas: Tomm is home early from work today and we're getting ready to settle down for some board games before dinner.

I just want to say what others in this group have said before (and much more eloquently than I): I love this group of friends we have in the 75-ers, and I'm so grateful for all of you and the place you've all settled into in my life and my heart.

*absolutely contended sigh*

Amber, I totally agree with the above. I hope your family has a very Merry Christmas and enjoy your visit with your family.

Thanks, Judy - I hope the very same for you!

521. Lego City: Work This Farm! by Michael Anthony Steele (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Another Lego City book - again, no high children's literature here, but lots of fun, nonetheless, especially with a 5-year-old who loves Legos.

Apparently the reindeer will have to share - Charlie thought they only needed 4 carrots. Ha!

Amber, you get my vote for Mom of the Year. To you and Tomm and Charlie - Happy Christmas! Thank you for allowing us all to share a little in your son's growing up here in the group. He is and will continue to be I'm sure a credit to you just as you are most certainly a credit to him.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Amber!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!

Hi, Amber ~ Wishing you, Tomm and Charlie a very Merry Christmas, and may the New Year be filled with good books, good friends, and good times!

Paul, Roni, Chelle & Mary: Thanks so much for the kind words and the lovely holiday greetings!

It's Christmas morning, 5:30, and I'm the first one up, having my cuppa Twinnings Christmas Tea, sitting next to the Christmas tree and checking in on all of you. Santa brought what Charlie asked for (a Sorry board game), plus a bit extra (a Minion plush, a Luigi plush and a book of science experiments for doing around the house, which is for both Charlie and Tomm), and I'm eager to see Charlie's reactions. This is one of my favorite moments of Christmas - the quiet before the presents storm, the living room lit only by the Christmas tree, and a quiet cuppa. Happy Christmas, all!

Sounds peaceful.

plus a bit extra (a Minion plush - well, the extras for our two were Minion fart guns, courtesy of their dad. All the other dads who came for lunch really liked them, too. *sigh* ;0)

>233 scaifea:: You're welcome.

>236 scaifea:: Absolutely.

I would sooo love to have a fart gun.... :)

Would you like two?

(You see; it's a dad thing)(or a male thing, I don't know …)

They apparently give off a whiff of banana, too.

humouress & Jim: Ha! I love the detail of banana smell - genius!

Tomm knows me so well. His gifts to me: 2 books (The Book Thief and Paddle Your Own Canoe), and a large box of Godiva Truffles. He nailed it.

I got two books, Quiet and The Happiness Advantage, an Apple gift card (more apps!), and also Godiva chocolates! But mine are milk chocolate pecan clusters. Yum.

Have yourself a merry little book-filled Christmas!

Morphy: We clearly have excellent taste in chocolates and men. Ha!

522. Cars Galore by Peter Stein (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A rhyming book about all sorts of cars, mostly fantastical ones.
A neat little book, with catchy rhymes and a healthy amount of silliness. I'm a fan of Bob Staake's illustrations - they're clean and simple, and perfect for just such a book.

On the agenda for today:
We're leaving for Indiana & Ohio tomorrow, so we need to pack and then pick up/clean the house before the dog/house/cat sitter arrives. Also, I want to make a quick trip to the library to return/pick up more books, including something that Tomm and I can listen to in the front seat while Charlie watches movies in the back seat. Once that's all finished, I suspect there will be much playing of Sorry and Cooking Mama, the latter a Wii game that we gave to Charlie, which, as it turns out, is a great deal of fun.

Morning amber- Hope you guys had a terrific Christmas. I think I will hold out before starting my '14 thread. LOL. I might do it on Sunday.

Have a safe trip tomorrow. It looks like the weather should cooperate.

Morning, Mark! We're hoping that the weather treats us well, but it has snowed here the last 2 days when the weather report predicted nothing by sunshine and cold... We'll see...

I remember playing Sorry! with my cousins at Christmas. Such silliness and hilarity ensued...

Linda: Silliness and hilarity are standard operating procedure at Scaife Manor, so Sorry was a natural addition.

Stopping in to say a belated Merry Christmas! :)

Thanks, Faith! Same to you!

523. The Library by Sarah Stewart (public library book, picture book) - 10/10
The story of a woman who was an avid book lover from childhood, and who filled her home with so many books that finally she moved out and donated the house to her town as a library.
Such a neat story, with lovely illustrations. The sensibilities of this woman are so close to my own (and to many of yours as well, I suspect), that I couldn't help but love it. Strongly recommended!

Safe travels, happy journey, and easy homecoming for the whole family.

Ummm, can I trade my nice new cardigan for a fart gun, please?

What a lovely photo of Charlie. He is a smart looking guy! I hope your travel is safe and that you have a great time.

Happy Holidays to you!!!

Happy Holidays, Amber!

Richard: I'll be happy to take that cardigan off your hands, and you're welcome to any fart guns you can find (no guns of any kind - real, imaginary, fart- or non-fart-) are allowed at Scaife Manor).

Linda: Isn't he, though?

Stasia: Thanks! You, too!

Whelp, we're all packed and ready to go; I'm trying to sneak in a little LT time before anyone else gets up and before we hit the road. I'll try to keep up as best as I can while we're visiting family, and then I'll polish off this thread and get the new one all sorted when we get back, either on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Unfortunately, there's not too much use for cardies out here in the tropics, Richard; but you can try and get the fart guns off the kids, if you want. Good luck to you, though; they're pretty handy with them.

I dunno...rethinkin' the whole cardigan thing, the thermostat has reset itself to 62° every hour. I keep it 66° because a) I'm cheap and 2) I *hate* to be hot. Those 4° make a huge difference, however.

Happy Holidays, Amber! Have a great family visit. Look forward to hearing what you think of The Book Thief. We loved it.

Humouress & Richard: I need the house to be between 70 & 75 at all times - I have a very narrow window of comfort, I'm afraid.

Joe: Thanks! I hope I can get to it soon.

>272 norabelle414:: I say. Steady on!

ETA - (but thanks)

Nora: *snork!*. I love it!!

My mom's incomparable Lemon Cheesecake for breakfast, and then back in the car for the 3-hour drive to the in-law's for 2 days. Wish me luck.

Ps: My mom gave me a funnel cake maker! I'm so excited!

A funnel cake maker?! I didn't know that there were machines designed specifically to do that at home! You have... rocked my world... *ponders the possibilities*

A funnel-cake maker or a funnel cake-maker? I'm afraid I'm lost; what is it? Sounds interesting, though.

Funnel cake...a wonderful treat half-way between a waffle and a dougnut. Very popular at fairs and carnivals.

Ah, I see. Obviously something I should try.

Yep, it's essentially a deep fryer and a rosette iron, I think. They are delicious!

Whelp, we're back, driving the last hour in a snowstorm. But we made it home safely, things are mostly unpacked, and now I can relax, watch the snow fall and get this 2013 thread polished off. First, my last few reads of the year:

524. (144th non-picture book read) The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea (1001 Children's Books list, 469 pages) - 10/10
A young brother and sister in Wales find themselves caught up in an ancient struggle between good and evil and the quest for a long-lost drop of The Morrigan's blood.
Excellently written, with great characters, a wonderful use of Welsh mythology, and gorgeous descriptions of the countryside. Absolutely loved it and I *will* be buying a copy for Charlie's shelves (this one is a library copy). Highly recommended.

525. (145th non-picture book read) The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera (1001 Children's Books list, 150 pages) - 8/10
The book that inspired the Sundance Film Festival winning movie a few years back.
Nicely done, but I think I liked the movie better! Ha!

526. (146th non-picture book read) The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo (1001 Children's Books list, 146 pages) - 8/10
A young boy in Wales is given a handful of trinkets and odd & ends for his birthday from his grandmother, who tells him to throw them to the wind to find out whether he's a magician like his ancestors. This sparks the beginning of all sorts of discoveries and troubles, but in the end, he makes the most important discovery of all: what happened to his sister when she disappeared 4 years ago.
Meh. S'okay, but not amazing. I think it suffered greatly by comparison to THe Hounds of the Morrigan, honestly. It was fine, but I won't be reading the sequels, I'm afraid.

527. (147th non-picture book read) The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (from the TBR shelves, 431 pages) - 9/10
The beginning of the story of King Arthur, as told by one of his soldier companions.
A wonderful re-telling of the old, old story. I'm looking forward to diving into the next book in the series.

528. (148th non-picture book read) The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal (audio book) - 7/10
Gives the history of 100 separate words in the English language, and through these words gives a glimpse of the language in general.
Yeah. I was excited about this one, only to be fairly let down. As someone who studies a handful of ancient languages, I know a fair amount about the origins of a good many English words, and those that came up in Crystal's list that I know were given such a dumbed-down and generalized treatment that they were inaccurate and even simply wrong. This caused me to wonder whether the words I didn't know about were being treated accurately, too. So I advise a pass on this one. Ugh.

Well. 528 total books, with 148 of those being non-picture books. That's not too shabby, eh? Here's my list of Top Reads for the year:

Top 5 Favorite Reads (in order read):
-The Hunger Games
-The Graveyard Book
-Moon over Manifest
-You Suck: A Love Story
-The Johnstown Flood

Top 10 Favorite Picture Books (in order read):
-Where Is the Green Sheep?
-Snuggle Puppy
-Hurry Up and Slow Down
-Don't Squish the Sasquatch
-A Home for Bird
-Stars
-All the World
-Press Here
-The Library