Anne (AMQS) Reads in 2026

Happy New Year, friends! Thank you all for making LT my happy, safe place.

My name is Anne. 55. I live in Colorado with my husband Stelios, one adult daughter (the other lives nearby), and three kitties. I am a teacher librarian in a little mountain elementary school, so I read a lot of children's literature, along with adult literary fiction. I adore audiobooks and always have one going for my commutes up to school. This is my 17th year in the group (thank you, Jim/drneutron!)

The image here is from our trip to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in June. I have Nova Scotia on the brain - it is such a special place, and living in a landlocked (although beautiful) place, the sea is always special to us.

Now Reading:


Audio:


District librarian book study:

2026 Reads

January, 2026
1. Butter by Asako Yuzuki
2. An Immense World by Ed Yong
3. My Friends by Fredrik Backman
4. Emma and the Love Spell by Meredith Ireland
5. The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
6. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
7. Finally Heard by Kelly Yang

February, 2026
8. News of the World by Paulette Jiles
9. Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
10. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 by Beth Brower
11. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 2 by Beth Brower
12. Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles
13. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 3 by Beth Brower
14. Violets Are Blue by Barbara Dee

March, 2026
15. The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

Picture Books
1. Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza
2. Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld
3. Remembering by Xelena Gonzales
4. How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman
5. Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan
6. Cat Nap by Brian Lies
7. Winter's Gift by Jane Monroe Donovan
8. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
9. A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards
10. Listen! How Pete Seeger Got America Singing by Leda Schubert
11. Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park by Lori Alexander
12. Pup and Bear by Kate Banks
13. Bear and Wolf by Daniel Salmieri
14. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
15. Bob! Not Bob by Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick
16. Worm Makes a Sandwich by Breanne Farley
17. A Snow Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
18. Widget by Lyn Rossiter McFarland
19. Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog by Cynthia Rylant
20. Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson
21. Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots by Michael Rex
22. M is for Majestic: A National Parks Alphabet by David Domeniconi
23. The Solar System by Emily Bone
24. The Mushroom of Doom! by Becky Davies
25. A Place For Us: A Story in Pictures by James E. Ransome
26. It's Taco Knight! by Megan Maynor
27. I Hate Everything! by Sophy Henn
28. Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe
29. We Are Already Haunting Here! by Gideon Sterer
30. At Our Table by Patrick Hulse
31. Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss
32. To Market to Market by Anne Miranda
33. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
34. Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen

Happy New Year to everyone! I'm so glad you're here.

New Year greetings from Kuala Lumpur. My project is at least physically completed and an addition to the city scape.

Look forward to keeping up with you in 2026, Anne

Happy 2026, Anne. I hope this year is good to you and your family. I look forward to many great book recommendations.

Hi, Anne! Happy New Year!

>2 AMQS: Butter has been on my wishlist since before it came out (occupational hazard when part of your job is looking for future releases to order for the library). I'm looking forward to what you think of it.

New Year orisons, Anne, happy to see you back in the swing!

Happy new year, Anne!

Looking forward to following your thread once again.

Welcome back, Anne!

>1 AMQS: I think those who live in the mountains appreciate the beach (and vice versa). I'm overdue for a beach trip!

Happy New Year, Anne. Wishing you a healthy, book-filled 2026.

Happy New Year, Anne! I'm especially looking forward to more children's literature recommendations this year.

Happy New Year and happy new books!

Happy New Year, Anne! Looking forward to following along on your reading (and other) adventures in 2026.

Happy 2026, Anne!

Happy new year, Anne!

HAppy 2026!

Welcome, everyone! I love visitors:)

>5 PaulCranswick: WOW - Paul, that's amazing!

>6 BLBera: Thank you, Beth - I get so, so many from you as well.

>7 scaifea: Hi Amber! Happy New Year to you as well. I am close to halfway through Butter and it is certainly intriguing. The food descriptions read like steamy romance!

>8 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! All I can do is keep trying, right?

>9 katiekrug: Nice to see you, Katie!

>10 drneutron: Thanks, Jim, for keeping the gang together!

>11 thornton37814: Hi Lori! I think you're probably right. My husband is from an island and he gets really homesick for the coast. Any coast, really. The great thing about Cape Breton Island is that you can have both sea and mountains!

>12 msf59: Mark, thank you!

>13 labfs39: Thanks, Lisa! I think in 2025 I shifted my balance a bit so I was reading more adult literature, but I still manage to get a lot of middle grade lit in. I have never counted picture books before but I may start keeping track this year just to see how many it really is. Glad you're coming along with me!

>14 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi! It's great to see you.

>15 Storeetllr: Hi Mary! Happy New Year to you, too!

>16 Copperskye: Thanks, Joanne! Hope 2026 is a good one for you, too.

>17 bell7: Happy New Year, Mary! Best wishes for an outstanding year for you and your kiddo.

>18 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

Some 2025 stats:

Total books read: 80
DNF: 2
Print: 45
Audio: 35
Fiction: 68
Nonfiction: 12
Children’s: 26
My Library (meaning my workplace): 23
Owned: 21 - this is always a number I would like to increase

Favorites: (in order read)
Adult:
An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles
Go As a River by Shelley Read
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

Middle grade: (in order read)
And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
Medusa: The Myth of Monsters by Katherine Marsh
The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall
The Trouble With Heroes by Kate Messner
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

My take on the meme:

Describe yourself: How to Age Disgracefully

Describe how you feel: Unstuck

Describe where you currently live: Künstlers in Paradise

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: North: A Novel

Your favorite form of transportation is: Just Keep Walking

Your favorite food is: Peppermints in the Parlor

Your favorite time of day is: The First State of Being

Your best friend is: Pretty Bitches

You and your friends are: Holy Fools

What’s the weather like: Curveball

You fear: Killer Underwear Invasion!

What is the best advice you have to give: We All Want Impossible Things

Thought for the day: We’ll Prescribe You a Cat

What is life for you: Impossible Creatures

How you would like to die: Funny Story

Your soul’s present condition: Just Plain Folks

What was 2025 like for you? Please Pay Attention

What do you want from 2026? Not Another Banned Book

It's a great time to be a sports fan in Denver, with the Nuggets doing well (basketball), the Broncos winning their division (American football) and the Avalanche on top of their league (hockey). To be honest, I don't really follow any sport except hockey, though I will probably follow the Broncos through the playoffs. Our kitten Cleo enjoys hockey and makes sure to keep an eye on things.

Good luck to your teams, Anne.

That's a great list of favorites. I also loved The Small and the Mighty.

>2 AMQS: I enjoyed Yong's I Contain Multitudes but have not gotten to that one yet. I really need to. I cannot wait to see what you think of it, Anne.

>21 AMQS: Thanks for your 'best of' list for last year. I must check into those I have not read yet.

>22 AMQS: I love your answer for the Thought for the day! Lol

Happy New Year, Anne!

>22 AMQS: - I would also fear a Killer Underwear Invasion, LOL.

Have a great weekend, Anne!

>22 AMQS: Oh, this is too funny. Nicely done!

>21 AMQS: Only two DNFs in a year! That's astounding to me. Congratulations on picking your reads so carefully!

>22 AMQS: Love your meme answers. Sometimes the books just fit so well!

>23 AMQS: It’s so cute when cats get interested in what’s on the screen!

It very suddenly got not fun to watch the Nuggets. With four starters and a backup out for weeks, it’s gotten painful. :( I never liked football but I may need to get interested in hockey! :)

Happy new year, Anne! I love your meme answers, particularly for your fear, lol.

Wishing lots of excellent reads in 2026!

Happy new year, Anne!!

I see we both used We'll Prescribe You a Cat in the same slot on the meme! It was such a perfect answer for a cat lover like me!

>24 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! The Avalanche won again tonight - it's a great time to be a hockey fan. You may have seen that Joanne says the Nuggets are experiencing injuries - shows how little I follow that I didn;t know this!

>25 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! So far I like it - it's narrated by the author. I'm pretty sure I heard about this book from Kim (Berly). I had read her review and put the book on my TBR. Then I had a consultation with a surgeon who noticed my book (like most of us I take a book everywhere), and he said he was reading this book and loved it. I gave it to my stepmother for Christmas - not sure what she will think of it. I will have surgery in a couple of weeks. Two procedures in one day, actually, with the first one being performed by the surgeon I consulted, so I figured along with the pre-surgical conversation we can talk about this book (maybe there's a part of me that wants to be a star patient TBH 😂).

>26 katiekrug: LOL it was actually a great middle grade read:)

>27 labfs39: Thanks, Lisa!

>28 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I am definitely more willing to stop reading books than I have been in the past, but with the great recommendations I get here plus my district's collection guidelines for middle grade books any book I choose is usually a great bet. Both books I abandoned were audiobooks. I love audiobooks, but I have found that if a book is problematic, then the audiobook is more problematic.

>29 Copperskye: LOL they do, don't they, Joanne? Re: Nuggets - you can see that I don't follow them closely as I did not know of their recent woes. Also I've been on a school break, and my die-hard Nuggets fan colleagues have been suffering in isolation. I don't follow football, but I probably will follow the Broncos through the playoffs. But the Avs are SMOKING and we're loving it!

>30 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! It's actually a great read for upper elementary about fake news and disinformation - we need this more than ever!

>31 curioussquared: Hi Natalie, Happy New Year to you, too!

>32 thornton37814: Lori, I noticed you used the book - I didn't realize we had used it for the same category, LOL. Honestly, a cat is great medicine!

>23 AMQS: Love that pic :) and thanks for including the sports that each team plays. It is impossible to know for the uninitiated.

Happy New Year, and I pass my regards on to your lovely daughters and your husband as well.

Happy New Year, Anne!

>34 LovingLit: Hi Megan, and Happy New Year! Yes, I know I would be lost if you mentioned your favorite local teams, too! Hope you and your family are doing well.

>35 norabelle414: Thank you, Nora, and to you as well!

I have never counted picture books before, and I think I would like to try this year. I still don't necessarily want to add them to my official books read list, but I am interested in seeing the numbers. I'm going to number them separately using E with the numbers as picture books are cataloged as E (Everybody) in our library system. I may abandon at some point just from the simple limits of time. I read picture books all the time like it's my job... But here goes.


1E. Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza
"This creatively wacky and interactive exploration of the abstract concepts of the human experience, such as feelings and thoughts, encourages readers to look past the visible and connect with the things that are not seen"


2E. Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld
Beautiful. Finn goes for a walk with his grandpa and grandpa points out all of the things that lie beneath - literally (underground prey, deep root system), and what may be unseen in others (struggles, music in their head, neurodivergence, broken heart).


3E. Remembering by Xelena Gonzales
Also beautiful. "On Día de los Muertos, a family prepares an ofrenda for their favorite furry family member, remembering all the ways that their beloved pet brought love and comfort to their lives"


4E. How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dickman
This book is hilarious. Many things caused the extinction of dinosaurs, including not looking both ways, playing with matches, not cleaning their rooms and becoming buried in the junk, not wearing a jacket...


5E. Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan
Beautifully illustrated nonfiction picture book. Local author.

>37 AMQS: I’m glad you’re starting to track your picture books! You’ll be amazed at how they add up, I think. And I got five new-to-me illustrated books to look up. Thanks!

Karen O

>22 AMQS: Your memes made me smile, Anne, especially your fear of underpants!

I think you were far too hard on yourself though in the first couple of answers.

>23 AMQS: Thats is way too cute! An avid hockey fan!

I'm also happy to see the picture books!

>38 klobrien2: Hi Karen! They certainly do add up:)

>39 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul:)

>40 figsfromthistle: She fits right in with the rest of us, Anita - all hockey fans!

>41 thornton37814: Good to know, Lori! A few more on the way.

6E. Cat Nap by Brian Lies
A Beautifully and cleverly illustrated chase through art and art history.


7E Winter's Gift by Jane Monroe Donovan
"On Christmas Eve, an old farmer whose wife has died acquires new hope after helping a pregnant mare in a snowstorm." Unfortunately the space I have in my library for picture books is so small and cramped that I store holiday picture books in the back room when they're not on display. I read this one to make sure that it truly belongs with holiday books.

All of those picture books look wonderful, Anne! Thank you for sharing. I'm going to have to do some research to see which will work for 7- and/or 4-year olds. I've got a bookstore gift certificate that's burning a hole in my pocket.

>43 AMQS: My library has the Donovan book, but not the one by Lies. (They have other children's books with the same title, but not that author.)

A picture book I read recently with the girls and would recommend was Together, a Forest: Drawing Connections Between Nature's Diversity and Our Own by Roz MacLean.

>44 Storeetllr: They're good, Mary! Probably all better for closer to 7 than to 4.

>45 thornton37814: The Lies book is brand new. The Donovan book has been around awhile - it pre-dates me in the library and this is year lucky 13 at this school:)

>46 labfs39: Thanks for the recommendation, Lisa!

Thanks for that, Anne. I'll consider which one to get for almost-7 Ruby's birthday in a couple of weeks.

>33 AMQS: I can see wanting to be a star patient!

Have a fantastic Friday, Anne!

Hello Anne! I'm looking forward to following your thread this year as I am always looking for picture books to read with the boys. I typically don't count them either, but I do add them to their reading lists I keep track of at home.

>48 Storeetllr: Oh Mary, can she really be turning 7?? Hard to believe.

>50 alcottacre: LOL I'm glad it's not just me! Hope you're having a good weekend, Stasia.

>51 aktakukac: Hi Rachel! I'm so glad to see you! Well the picture book log project caught up with me this week - doesn't bode well for the rest of the year but I'm not going to give up! Hope you find some books you love. Some of the picture books are favorites that I read to students again and again, and some I am evaluating for potential lessons.

More picture books read this week:

8E. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett.
I love this book. My kinders were hanging on every word. In a bleak and colorless place, Annabelle finds a box of colorful yarn. She knits herself a sweater, and then one for her dog and when she finished, there was still extra yarn. She knits for everyone in town - and their animals and wild animals and homes, cars, and mailboxes. One day an archduke, after offering Annabelle increasingly absurd sums of money for the magical box of yarn, steals it after she refuses to sell. But alas, it seems that the magic only works for Annabelle. It's wonderful.


9E. A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love by Michelle Edwards
This is a natural pairing for Extra Yarn. Sophia visits her neighbor Mrs. Goldman every day. Mrs Goldman has knit hats for everyone in the neighborhood but doesn't have a hat of her own. Sophia tried to learn knitting but it was too hard so Mrs. Goldman showed her how to make pompoms. Sophia is determined to knit a hat for Mrs. Goldman, and the pompoms come in clutch. After reading these books, students color their own hat and we make pompoms wiht yarn that I hot glue on the top of their hats. The project is really cute.


10E. Listen! How Pete Seeger Got America Singing by Leda Schubert
I read this picture book biography to determine if it would be a good book to use for an upcoming biography project with 4th and 5th grade. The book is wonderful, but it didn't make the cut for use in this project. It also made me sad. We need Pete Seeger again. All of those wonderful folksongs "everyone" used to know and sing together are fading away from our collective memories. As is communal singing.


11E. Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park by Lori Alexander
This one DID make the cut, so it will be among the 32 picture books 4th and 5th graders will have to choose from for this upcoming project. It would be a good one to read to 3rd grade, too, as I am about to start a National Parks Maps project with them.


12E. Pup and Bear by Kate Banks
A polar bear mama rescues an abandoned arctic wolf pup in a lovely poetic exploration of the far north and what mothering really means.


13E. Bear and Wolf: A Winter Friendship Story by Daniel Salmieri
A young wolf and a young bear meet and walk together, taking in their world with their senses. Paired with the previous book. Kinder students love these books and this one is really beautiful.

14E. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
This is a lovely Caldecott Medal winner featuring a zookeeper named Amos who has a special daily ritual with some special friends at the zoo. When he has to stay home sick his friends take the bus to his house and care for him. So sweet. All the animals on the bus crack the kids up.


15E. Bob! Not Bob! by Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick
This book is hilarious and always gets kids absolutely rolling on the floor. A great pairing with the Amos McGee book. Little Louie is sick and wants his mom. But with his stuffed-up-nose and all-wrong-voice "Mom!" comes out as "Bob!" which is the name of his dog. Bob comes running which leads to loud protests that Louie wants "Bob! Not Bob!" This is a winner and a kid-favorite and I will never not read this aloud.


16E. A Snow Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
This one is new, and I read it because the kids were so enchanted by A Sick Day for Amos McGee.


17E. Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley
This is a great new picture book tha is a terrific read aloud for anyone who composts. We are trying to get composting off of the ground in our cafeteria, targeting kindergarten students who will hopefully keep it going in future years. Kids loved this book.


18E. Widget by Lyn Rossiter McFarland
This is another favorite of mine and I read it aloud every year. Widget is a little lost dog who finds a farmhouse that already has six cats. Widget really wants to stay, so after being told "the girls" just can't stand dogs, he acts like a cat to win them over and they become fast friends. Until the day it is necessary for Widget to remember that he is a dog.


19E. Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog by Cynthia Rylant
These books are some of my all-time favorites. If you're new to Mr. Putter and Tabby start with Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea and don't miss the hilarious Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears. In this installment, Mr. Putter and Tabby offer to walk their neighbor's dog Zeke, and though Mrs. Teaberry promises he'll be a perfect little lollypup he is a nightmare to walk and Mr. Putter and Tabby must figure out how to survive the week.


20E. Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson
Most of the picture books I read aloud I read to the little kids but I read this one yesterday to 5th grade, and they found it hilarious. It's great to reinforce or introduce concepts like persuasive vs nonfiction narrative writing, fake news/unreliable narrator, correlation not equaling causation, and bias in reporting. It is a hysterically funny read aloud.

And I finally finished some non-picture books!



1. Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki

Inspired by a real-life convicted serial killer in Japan, Butter tells the story of Rika, a journalist who wants to get to the bottom of convicted murderer Kajii, who famously refuses all interviews. She relents when Rika asks her for her boeuf bourguignon recipe. This isn't so much a murder mystery as an examination of the impossibility of women in Japan to meet expectations for work, for thinness, for cooking, or for domesticity. Kajii is an outrageous and flamboyant figure, but as Rika interviews and investigates her, she herself changes. Kajii's first demand of Rika, a busy journalist who rarely eats anything not in a pre-packaged bento box or from a vending machine, is to make ramen with soy sauce and top it with the highest quality butter money can buy. Kajii, and thereafter Rika, really lean in to the sensuous aspects of really good food - the food scenes read like super steamy romance. But soon Rika gains weight, which brings on commentary from just about everyone, and brings on introspection of her own body image and worth in society. This is a really thought provoking and extremely mouth watering read.

2. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong, audiobook narrated by the author

Thank you to Kim (berly) for putting this book on my radar with her stellar review. This is a massively researched deep dive into the myriad senses of the animal kingdom, from the senses we humans recognize (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing) and those animals possess that we do not (echolocation, flows, vibration, electric & magnetic fields and many more). It's also something of a history of our understanding, or rather lack of, of these animal senses, for throughout centuries of science we only viewed them through a lens of human understanding and experience when the reality is so much richer, and so much more amazing. And so very imperiled by human behavior and activity. The book ends with a call-to-arms to do what we can to reduce our impact on the environment - not just with warming and pollution, but to promote dark and quiet. This book was fascinating.

This had been on my list already but a surgeon I consulted also recommended it to me. I will have surgery next week, and if either of us is up for conversation at 5:30 in the morning, we can chat about it 😂

>54 AMQS: Oh my goodness, lady, what a trove of great illustrated books! I made note of many, even if I’d already seen them—I liked them enough for a reread. Thanks again!

Karen O

So life update: I have been frantically busy writing weeks of sub plans and preparing materials for my sub. My hellacious perimenopause experience that has been making me miserable for the past several years is coming to an end with a full hysterectomy. And on a whim I asked my surgeon if it might be possible to repair a recurring hernia at the same time and she said yes, provided two surgeons could coordinate schedules and have operating privileges at the same hospital. I am not looking forward to surgery but I am looking forward to resolving these two complaints and feel lucky that I will get a two for one - especially anesthesia and recovery. Looking forward to some down time, reading time, and LT time, too. While I am on leave from school (beginning Wednesday, though I still have to go in Wednesday as it will be the only time I can meet with my sub and make sure he can access everything he needs to ) Marina will travel to Brazil (February) and my brother & family will come from Germany for a visit. So some busy down time, too.

It's a 3-day weekend here and if it is for you as well I hope you have a wonderful long weekend!

>57 klobrien2: Yay, Karen! Hope you find some that you love (and love again).

>58 AMQS: Good luck with your surgery, Anne. I'm glad you were able to get a two-fer, that sounds like a smart move. And more significantly, your peri-menopausal strife will be over. Whew.

Thanks for the update, Anne and good luck with the surgery. I hope they get everything taken care of. Keep us informed. 🙏🤞

>53 AMQS: >54 AMQS: You just can't go wrong with Mac Barnett and Philip & Erin Stead. Love everything they do.

>58 AMQS: I'm happy for you that perimenopause relief is on the way for you! I'm in the thick of the hot flashes and it's not fun; I'm hoping that's the extent of it for me, but we'll see. Best of luck with the surgery, and I'm wishing you the most relaxing of down times!

I am loving your children's literature reviews. Your thread has become a dangerous one for my kids books wishlist.

Good luck with your surgery, and I hope you actually get some downtime during your downtime. :-)

>58 AMQS: I'll cross my crossables that both can be repaired at the same operation, Anne!

Butter was an impulse buy on sale. I read it a little bit at a time because it's so densely intense. I'm glad to hear you felt the same way about the food descriptions being so very sensual.

Good luck with your surgery, Anne.

Your picture book comments make me sad that Scout is beyond them. :( Although she will pick up favorites from time to time. Extra Yarn did remind me of a couple of favorites: The Numberlys and The Cloud Spinner. I love the Mr. Putter books although they don't match Henry and Mudge for us.

When I sort kids' book donations at the library, one of the other volunteers has joked that we should have a "Scout's favorite" display.

>55 AMQS: and >56 AMQS: also sound good.

Sending all good wishes for a speedy recovery after your surgery, Anne!

Best wishes for a successful surgery and easy recovery, Anne! Your experience reminds me that I should stop complaining about my own perimenopause stuff, which is mostly just tiredness, irritability, and hot flashes.

Take care!

Good luck with the surgery. Improving your health is a great way to start the year, and a two-fer is very efficient for you! I hope your recovery is easy.

Your review of Butter does sound mouth-watering. I'll look for the book!

Good luck with the surgery!

I spotted some favorites among the picture books. Bob, Not Bob and Don’t Trust Fish have been great elementary read-aloud for me, too.

I compared your children's books to my library's holdings. They have Extra yarn, Pup and Bear, Don't Trust Fish, Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea and most of the series (although I didn't see the dog one), Bob, Not Bob, and A Sick Day for Amos McGee (which I've already read). I know at least one of the titles said "unavailable" so I'll see what they have Tuesday. I want to stockpile some fun books in case we really do get the snow the Euro model currently predicts.

Thinking of you, Anne, a wishing you a full recovery. Wishing also Marina a safe yet still exciting trip to Brazil.

>55 AMQS: I thought I already had that one in the BlackHole, but I checked and it was not there. It is now!

>56 AMQS: That one really was in the BlackHole already thanks to Kim (Berly). I just need to get my hands on a copy.

>58 AMQS: I hope your surgeries go well, Anne, and that the downtime does you a world of good!

A co-worker who does story times was just talking about the Amos McGee books the other week, and I have them checked out and ready to read to the boys.

Hope your surgeries and recovery go well, Anne!

Good luck with your surgery, Anne!

Good luck with your surgery, Anne! I have two family members who recently underwent the same surgeries (hysterectomy for my aunt, and hernia repair for my dad) and both recovered quickly. I wish the same to you!

Love seeing your picture books. Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog was my brother's favorite book as a kid and I recently acquired a copy for myself. I was surprised to see a borzoi in it -- I didn't remember that at all!

Sending well wishes for your surgery and recovery, Anne!

Don't Trust Fish made my list of favourite reads last year. I gifted it to a nibling and I talk it up to anyone with kiddos around the right age.

Hope all went well with your surgery, Anne.

Hi Anne- I hope the surgery and recovery went/are going well!

Hello friends, I so appreciate your well-wishes. It has been just over a week since my surgery and I am feeling more and more like myself. Only myself with a cold, which is a nuisance, but at least I am on leave and don't need to suffer through being sick at work. I was home from surgery on the same day but it took several days not to feel foggy from anesthesia. I am so glad I was able to have two procedures at one time and even more glad when the general surgeon who repaired the hernia reported that he found another hernia on the other side that he repaired also. I assume this occurred while tipped backward and pumped full of gas, which is apparently how these robotic procedures are performed nowadays. In any case - a three for one! Stelios and Marina have been taking great care of me and though I haven't felt up to doing much, I have been able to read a bit, amid all of the horror-scrolling at what is happening in Minnesota and the rest of the country. How did we get here? I still have a few more weeks on leave so I will be by to visit.

Thanks and gratitude to Laura, Mark, Amber, Lisa, Richard, Beth, Joanne, Katie (no - perimenopause SUCKS and you are well within your rights to complain!), Judy, foggi, Lori, Paul, Stasia, Rachel, Nora, Natalie, Micky, Beth (X2!) and Megan. I feel so loved.

3. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

This was such an emotional storytelling journey about the transformative power of being truly seen by friends. It is a thing to cherish. There are two timelines here: present day Louisa has been captivated by a postcard of a piece of art, and she is determined to see it in real life when it is shown and sold. Louisa is homeless, having escaped from wretched foster care shortly before she is emancipated from the system at turning 18. Her person, Fish, without whom she never would have survived foster care, did not survive exiting it. Homeless teens are hardly welcome at an art exhibit, so she is chased away and an accidental collision ends up with her being given the painting by the artist, who sold off every possession to be able to buy it back. Louisa, he declares to Ted, is "one of us," which leads to Ted reluctantly taking on Louisa as a companion. The other storyline is of the painting's subjects: four teenaged friends who spent their summers together messing around on the dock on lazy summer days. Their lives are hard - one of them gets the idea that the artist should enter a painting for a contest, but how to purchase the paints and materials necessary, and how to convince the fragile artist that he should? The book is tender, heartbreaking, and exhilirating.

>79 AMQS: Take care of yourself, Anne! I am happy to hear that you are feeling better these days.

>80 AMQS: Despite having and enjoyed several of Backman's books, I have yet to get to that one. Thanks for the reminder!

>79 AMQS: Take care, Anne. I hope your recovery continues to go well.

4. Emma and the Love Spell by Meredith Ireland

Witchy, queer middle grade fiction - what's not to love (or at least like)? Emma and her parents move to a small Salem-esque town when they unexpectedly inherit mom's aunt's home and business. And since arriving there, Emma seems to have come into some magical powers... that her family agrees she should hide and that she struggles to control. Emma is developing feelings for her best (and only) friend Avangeline, but Avangeline's parents are divorcing and she is moving out of state. The girls try everything to rekindle the romance between Avangeline's parents. But when Avangeline wants to give up, Emma wonders how difficult a love spell could be. Fun and sweet.

>81 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia! I am finally starting to feel like myself. I hope you enjoy the Backman when you get to it. It was a pick for my book club - the one I can't go to since all the other book club ladies are retired and meet during the week, lol. We actually picked another of his for later in the year - Anxious People. Have you read it?

>82 BLBera: Thank you, Beth. I am being well cared for. Hopefully this upcoming week I can start doing more - just as Marina heads off to Brazil!

Marina has discovered the joy of Jane Austen on audio and is loving Emma narrated by Juliet Stevenson. When I mentioned that Ms. Stevenson played Mrs. Elton in the 1986 (Gwyneth Paltrow) version of Emma, Stelios proposed we watch it. So fun. Though not my favorite Emma adaptation, I do love it because it is so very funny. And what a cast!

Three for one - yay! And I'm glad you have such good caretakers, too.

>85 AMQS: That sounds like a great way to spend your recovery.

I'm glad your recovery is going well and that your multi-focus surgery was so successful.

>80 AMQS: I have read just about everything Backman has written that is available in English and loved it all, with the exception of Beartown and the unread-by-me sequels. I felt like My Friends was closest in tone to Beartown, but better. Anxious People is one of my favorites, and I've read it twice.

>85 AMQS: I had no idea that Mrs. Elton was played by Juliet Stevenson! How fun is that. Which film adaptation of Emma is your favorite?

Good morning, Anne, Glad to hear your procedures all went well and you are enjoying your recovery time as much as is possible! Sorry about the cold, though…

>79 AMQS: Glad to hear the the surgery was a success and that you are well on the way to recovery.

Happy weekend and don't forget to take it easy.

Glad you're healing well, Anne! How lucky you could get a three-for-one. Keep resting!

Nice to see you posting, Anne, and to hear that your surgery(ies) went well! Take care.

>86 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! Stelios works from home, so that helps, and Marina was able to work from home for a few days also, so I've had lots of support.

>87 BLBera: It is, Beth, and now that I am feeling better I can pay attention to movies, etc. I'll probably watch other Austen adaptions and hopefully do a puzzle or two!

>88 labfs39: I have heard great things about Anxious People, so Im looking forward to it. I had a hard time with Beartown, and though I've heard good things about Us Against You, the trauma of Beartown was enough to give me pause. It probably didn't help that I listened to it - it makes things more visceral sometimes. Like you, I've read nearly everything Backman has written.

Yes, Juliet Stevenson is a scream as Mr. Elton. The cast is really good - Ewan McGregor, Toni Collette, Alan Cumming, Jeremy Northam, and Marina spotted a Bridgerton actress as well (I've not seen any Bridgerton). Mr. Knightley is my favorite Austen hero, and I love adaptations that adhere closely to the text, so my favorite is the 2009 miniseries.

>89 Copperskye: Thank you, Joanne! I feel like I've turned a corner today with the cold, so that's welcome news.

>90 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. It is so hard to do nothing. Why? My mom lives in Germany and says that Germans often go to spas after surgery - that crazed American culture of productivity doesn't seep into self care when rest is needed and that feels so much healthier. Do you find that with your relations in Europe?

>91 norabelle414: I feel so lucky, Nora. I remember asking about that several years ago and was told flatly no - I think it was the first hernia repair plus a hip problem (I eventually had the hip replaced) so I was glad. Anesthesia does a number on me - on everyone I think, so to only have to do it once to fix three things is huge.

>92 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! Were you socked in with snow?

5. The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnin, audiobook narrated by Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne

This was a fun and madcap romp and Kate McKinnon, as you might imagine, is an outstanding narrator. Our district now has Sora and a partnership with out local public library to have students access audiobooks and I may need to play a sample for students - they'll love it. As for the book - it is wordy and vocabulary heavy and needs the right reader, which I realized as I was listening, was me in my teens. My best friend and I were true word nerds and would have absolutely eaten this story up. The best of all worlds would be to listen to the book with a print copy nearby to appreciate the zany illustrations and support the reader through accessing the complex vocabulary. Indeed, Ms McKinnon's directions to the listener to see the pdf where something is illustrated are as hilarious as the book itself. There are sequels. I don't think I'll acquire them for my library unless the first book takes off.

We got about 8" and then some freezing rain on top of it. It's been so cold, we aren't getting any melting action, so it still looks pretty 🙂

6. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

it was Joanne (Copperskye) who put this book on my radar, though since I have seen it everywhere. Joanne said she knew it would end up as a favorite of the year, and I feel the same way. I absolutely loved this epistolary novel about Sybil Van Antwerp, lifelong letter writer, and the correspondence we get to drop in on now nearing the end of her life. I don't usually give star ratings to books, but most of the books I read fall somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. This one is an absolute 5-star read.

>95 katiekrug: Oof, that's plenty, especially with freezing rain. be careful out there!

>84 AMQS: No, I have not yet read Anxious People yet either. If you will let me know when you and your book club are reading it, I will read it at the same time so we can compare notes :)

>85 AMQS: I listened to Stevenson narrate Sense and Sensibility so I can recommend that one to Marina too.

>94 AMQS: That one sounds fun (and very much like my teenage self too)! I will have to check it out from my local library. Thanks for the recommendation, Anne.

Have a wonderful weekend!

7. Finally Heard by Kelly Yang

Kelly Yang's response to the omnipresence and insidious of kids' access to social media. I find that many of Ms Yang's books read "young," but there is no "too young" anymore when it comes to kids and digital media. This is an important book that kids and parents should read together.

>98 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! It looks like Anxious People is our August book, and I will probably read it over the summer. Does that sound good to you? Since it's August it's unlikely I'll be able to go to book club, so I can read it any time if something works better for you.

I'm sure I've listened to Ms. Stevenson read Sense and Sensibility also. Marina is really looking forward to Persuasion, which she has never read (she's read some Austens in print). I don't remember who was the narrator, but Persuasion was the book that really hooked me on audios - pretty sure I was smiling for 8 hours:)

Hope you like Millicent Quibb. The story is fine, but the fun language was the draw for me, plus listening to Kate McKinnon was a hoot.

Anybody interested in First Chapter Friday? This is one of my favorite things at school. I am in the specials rotation in my school, so along with art, music, and PE, our students also go to the library, which is where I teach digital citizenship, coding, information literacy, and digital technology. Sometimes I feel like my instruction (and student projects) skew too far to the technology side and away from books and reading, but besides picture books, my classes and schedule don't lend themselves to reading aloud nearly as much as I would like. I started First Chapter Friday for grades 3-5 a few years ago, hoping to "hook" readers to try a book or a series. It's taken awhile to land on the perfect first chapter books - there are some outstanding books that don't work well for this, but here's what I have read so far this year (best scenario is when there is a long list of students clamboring for the books - I keep a spreadsheet of titles to track who still wants a title).
3rd grade:


The Boy Who Grew Dragons was a book I gave to my nephew Falcon for Christmas. My brother just sent me a recording of about a minute of him reading it aloud while Falcon giggled uncontrollably.

Not yet this year, but coming up: - an all-time favorite.

4th grade (this cohort are my readers - I LOVE reading aloud to them and they love it, too).

(I taught them how to use Sora by playing a chapter of this narration by Ethan Hawke aloud).

5th grade (one of my 5th grade classes is so uninterested in reading it's painful but I keep at it)
- I don't read the first chapter but I read some of the historical information at the back and the chapter where Nan is miraculously saved from the fire.

>101 AMQS: I love it!

We listened to Millicent Quibb last year and really enjoyed it. One that my daughter's third graders loved was The War that Saved My Life. They wanted her to read the sequel but she told them that was up to them...

>104 BLBera: That's a great one - I've done it for FCF before, too. As you know, the author came to my school for a visit a couple of years ago, and The War That Saved My Life didn't need me to promote it for a couple of years after. I'll probably use it again next year.

>105 AMQS: I remember that you met the author -- and you sent Scout an autographed book. She loved The Night War, by the way.

And Kate DiCamillo! You have two of my favorites, Flora & Ulysses and The Beatryce Prophecy.

I love your First Chapter Fridays! I visit a small parochial school twice a month, grades pre-k through 3. Though I mostly focus on picture books, once or twice a year I’ll do a “book tasting” of chapter books for the third graders, to try and hook them on longer works. Clementine is one of my favorites to read from. I’ve also had success with The Princess in Black, though those books are so short I actually read the whole first book one time.

>93 AMQS: Yes and no. As for the spa it is usually prescribed by the doctor. Depending on what rehab and recovery is needed they are quite strict with diet and have a rigorous schedule of natural healing methods. Seniors are prescribed two weeks each year at the spa and it is up to the individual to take advantage of it. I do find that in general they take more time for physical fitness in free time than we do. Some doctors are quite strict when it comes to rest -especially if the company you work for is paying for you to stay home and recover. They actually send someone out (without the patient knowing) and try to catch them disobeying through a long range photo lens. So if the doctor says bed rest from 11 am to 1 and you are photographed getting the mail you would be in trouble. So I suppose productivity is definitely a no go if you want to keep your sick pay.

Hi Anne! FCF sounds like so much fun and a great way to encourage reading more on their own.

Also, I agree 150% with your thoughts on The Correspondent. Like you, 5-star books are rare for me. But this one was my favorite book of 2025 and deserved all those stars.

>96 AMQS: My book club is reading The Correspondent later this year. With all the glowing reviews, it's the one I'm most looking forward to this year.

I love the idea of First Chapter Friday. I may have to implement it with my 4th grader niece. Last week she was being rebellious, arguing that she didn't want to start a new novel, that everything was boring, boring, boring. Then she started The Lightning Thief, and she didn't want to stop reading to do anything else. I'm finishing up an author study with my 5 year old niece. We compared the books of Jan Brett and Bill Peet. They are two author/illustrators whom I think pair well together. I love reading Peet's rhyming books aloud. Huge Harold is my favorite, but The Kweeks of Kookatumdee is a good one as well.

Happy February, Anne. Hooray for The Correspondent. 5 stars sounds about right. I still need to get to My Friends. I hope all is well in CO.

I *love* First Chapter Fridays! What a great idea!

>106 BLBera:, >107 BLBera: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley was really lovely - I really enjoyed meeting her, and I'm thrille Scout loved The Night War!

I have Ferris in the pile of books to read while I'm on leave. Have you read it?

>108 foggidawn: Ooh I might try The Princess in Black with one of my 3rd grade classes. My library never had Clementine and I've never added it (I used to have some of the sequels but they rarely checked out). I do like Waylon! One Awesome Thing for a FCF.

>109 figsfromthistle: Wow. That's such a different idea than what we have. My post-op instructions are to stay away from the bed as much as possible and walk at least 5 times a day. Good thing no one is spying on me - they'd probably say I'm not active enough, lol. Having said that, there is an awful lot of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) paperwork required for my leave that goes between me and my providers and my district and the insurance company the district uses for short term disability leave. Chasign it all dow is something of a job in itself. Would that I could be prescribed a spa!

>110 lauralkeet: I love First Chapter Friday, and except for that one class of 5th graders, the kids do, too. My library is so small that I can't really have multiple copies of books, so I wish there wasn't a waiting list for the books, but the spreadsheet helps get them in kids' hands as soon as possible.

>111 labfs39: Love that, Lisa! And the grea thing about The Lightning Thief is that there are so many sequels and other Rick Riordan books to move on to. Hope that keeps her in books for awhile. There's also the Rick Riordan label (Rick Riordan Presents) that highlights Percy Jackson-esque world mythology-based stories from other (under-represented in literature) cultures. The ones I've tried have been outstanding.

>112 msf59: Hi Mark! All is well in CO. We've had some snow but nothing like what other areas have had, so we're worried about water and snowpack. Hope you love My Friends when it comes your way.

>113 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! It's been fun, and I'm really committed to it. Our specials rotation is for a week at a time, so classes are with me for a week before a week in music, etc. I always do FCF on the last day I have with kids - when we don't have school on a Friday then I do it on Thursday.

>114 AMQS: We have been reading a lot of myths from around the world in our history curriculum, so I'm interested in the Rick Riordan Presents books too. I had looked at City of the Plague Gods when we studied Gilgamesh, but didn't get to it. I may have to loop back around at some point.

I *LOVE* your First Chapter Friday! I'm sure you're right about The Correspondent...can Sybil be my neighbor, please?

Stay well, you lucky lady.

Some much interesting chat over here, Anne. I cannot recall the reading syllabus now from my time at school but I do remember being encouraged to visit the school library as often as possible.

I do wish The Correspondent would be issued here in Malaysia.

>115 labfs39: I've liked some more than others. I remember a standout from a couple of years ago was Pahua and the Soul Stealer which is Hmong. The author's note was very moving - much of the Hmong mythology has never been written, much less shared so widely, so this label is very impactful.

>116 richardderus: Right? Neighborly but not overbearing. May you be well, too, Richard. I miss FCF now that I am on leave because it's such a special time with the kids. My classroom teacher colleagues (and Callia) all are committed to reading aloud to their classes. I love this. It's sacred.

>117 PaulCranswick: Oh I wish that too, Paul. I actually do not remember checking out from the school library when I was in school. I probably did, I just don't remember. I do remember some of the books we read, though.

8. News of the World by Paulette Jiles

I have two of you to thank particularly for this wonderful read: Joanne, who recommended the book and its companions, and Stasia, who was my 75er Secret Santa and gave it to me along with others that I am really looking forward to.

Post-Civil War Texas was quite a place. Quite a rough, undeveloped, lawless and dangerous place. In this place, Captain Jefferson Kidd rides from small town to small town buying newspapers and reading the news of the world. He curates his stories carefully - reporting on far-flung locales that locals pay $0.10 to hear. What he won't read are local papers - political tensions being too high. When visiting north Texas he is pressed into service delivering a 10 year old girl recaptured from the Kiowa who killed her family and kidnapped her back to her relatives southwest of San Antonio. As Ms Jiles demonstrates both as part of the story and in the fascinating historical notes, children kidnapped by Native tribes never wanted to return to their biological families - even if they were only with the native tribes for a short duration. This phenomenon was observed and documented throughout the Texas frontier and across cultures - whether the kidnapped children were of English, German, or Mexican descent. So it is with Captain Kidd's charge Johanna, who knows no English and is a very unwilling ward. The trials they face on the long and difficult journey are terrifying, but they gradually form a tentative bond, and when the time comes to deliver Johanna to her relatives, both characters (and the reader) keenly feel the dread of this traumatized child. I loved it.

Hooray for News of the World and hooray for Stasia for gifting this book to you. It is an absolute treasure. I am a fan of Jiles and I have read several of her books. This is her best, IMHO. Very sorry to hear about her passing last year. She will certainly be missed.

I also loved News of the World. In fact, you would probably love Jiles' other books as well. She owns post-Civil War Texas.

>120 msf59: This is my first Jiles and I am already entranced, Mark. I'm sorry we lost her but how lucky am I there's such great books to read?

>121 BLBera: Oh gosh, Beth, I think it's maybe you who deserves the primary assist on the News of the World goal! My notes (went back to read them) say it was recommended by Beth and others along with her other books (my notes say Chenneville is even better). I received Simon the Fiddler from my 75-er in 2024 (THANK YOU elorin!) but I had it in my mind that I should read News first. My notes used your exact words (Ms Jiles owns post-Civil War Texas) so I think it was you! Thank you! (and Joanne, if you haven't read them, you should:)

If you like them, I am happy to take credit, Anne! I loved Simon the Fiddler and Chenneville.

>119 AMQS: Woot! I loved that one, too.

Ooh, so much catching up to do! Glad you are recovering from triple surgery shopping list...and that you seem to be on board with the idea of taking time to recover...when COVID was all about, there was a lot of talk about getting rest for weeks afterwards, and we all felt like we really needed and benefitted from that.

I'll have to read The Correspondent by the sounds :)

Also... where is Amber of >124 scaifea:. I can't see a thread of hers about anywhere?

>100 AMQS: OK, I will pick up Anxious People to read in August or before, just let me know when you start it!

>119 AMQS: Dodging that BB as I have already read it :) I am so glad to see that you loved it!

>123 BLBera: Simon the Fiddler is up next. I am going to try to order Chenneville from an indie bookstore in Minneapolis. Do you know of any? A college friend lives there. Her dispatches are just unbelievable.

>124 scaifea: *happy dance* Paulette Jiles is a new-to-me author, so I am glad I have more to read!

>125 LovingLit: Hi Megan! It is not The American Way, that's for sure. I remember my brother sent me an essay of an American who had major dental work done in Germany and was aghast when they would not prescribe narcotics. That she was expected to rest and mend and use the over the counter stuff. More and more they're moving that way here as well - the point of pain is not to block it and resume productivity, but to rest and heal. And with leave from work and grown children and a husband who works from home that's exactly what I can do! Hope you can find The Correspondent. I really loved it.

>126 LovingLit: She's here! I admit it took me until VERY late in 2025 to realize that Amber didn't have a thread in the 75ers group. I miss her, but have figured out how to see her new thread and group. And am thrilled to currently have the time to visit:)

>127 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Probably before August, I would think, as I start school in early August and things are a blur. I'll let you know! Have you read others by Ms Jiles?

9. Ferris by Kate DiCamillo

A lovely, wistful, funny, and strange story by a grande dame of children's literature. In the summer between 4th and 5th grade, Ferris, so named because of her surprise arrival under the ferris wheel at the fair, experiences a range of odd things. Her 6 year old sister fully commits to being an outlaw. Her beloved grandmother takes ill and meets a ghost with a request. Her aunt and uncle separate and her uncle moves into their basement to paint The History of the World. Her attic is taken over by raccoons maybe. Her 4th grade teacher, a strict vocabularian, becomes bereft. She gets a really bad perm. A gentle yet momentous story. Beautifully done. Will kids like it? Not sure. A certain subset will, but this story harkens back to an earlier and different time. I'll try it as a First Chapter Friday I think to see if I can get it circulating.

Hi Anne, Your First Chapter Friday sounds wonderful!

Hooray for The Correspondent! My #1 book of 2025!

And News of the World. I read it a decade ago so I suspect Beth may have mentioned it more recently. Our taste in books is all so similar it’s hard to keep track. I’ve also read Jiles’ Simon the Fiddler but not any others, including her latest and last. I know Mark is also a big fan and I may have gotten the rec from him way back when. Or maybe from Beth, who knows. :)

>126 LovingLit: I gave up trying to maintain two threads, so I'm just over in the Challenge group now: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378307#n9109908

>128 AMQS: I need to get back round to her stuff because I loved that one so much!

Glad to see your recovery is going well so far.

I also love your First Chapter Friday idea. Such a great way to engage kiddos!

>128 AMQS: Louise Erdrich's Birchbark Books is in Minneapolis.

I haven't read Ferris.

>119 AMQS: News of the World sounds like a good read Anne. I’ve seen the film but not read the book.

>130 Copperskye: Hi Joanne! Many others have recommended The Correspondent but I saw it on your thread first. News of the World most likely was from Beth but in my mind it was you. I find I can't go wrong here - all recommendations are wonderful!

>131 scaifea: Amber, I've stalled slightly on Simon the Fiddler but I think it's a me problem rather than a Jiles problem. I've taken up a puzzle which I almost never have time to do and have been listening to the Emma M. Lion journals which are delightful!

>132 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! We all love FCF:)

>133 BLBera: Ooh, thanks, Beth!

>134 SandDune: Hi Rhian! It was a great book and I would like to see the film also.

10. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower, audiobook narrated by Genevieve Gaunt.


11. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 2 by Beth Brower, audiobook narrated by Genevieve Gaunt.

A huge thank you to Mary and to foggi for steering me in the direction of these books - they are absolutely delightful. 20 year old Emma M. Lion returns to London to her home, from which she had been banished, to begin the process of some self-determination. This is thwarted in multiple ways by circumstances of the time (1880s) and her odious cousin Archibald. The house, Lapis Lazuli, is in the eccentric and peculiar London neighborhood of St. Crispian's.

While searching for the correct spelling of the outstanding narrator, Genevieve Gaunt, I came across this on the Audible site: "Audiences have compared Beth Brower's writing to Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, and L. M. Montgomery" which is just about right. I am so glad I have more of these volumes to enjoy. My only dilemma is whether to blister through them as I am enjoying them so very much, or to slow down and savor them.

>136 AMQS: Ah, hooray, another fan of Emma!

>136 AMQS: I'm blistering through hahaha... Though I did suspend my holds on volumes 7 and 8 figuring I could at least wait until I'd read a few more books on the library stack and the books I ordered for the library come in. We'll see how long my self-control lasts lol.

>136 AMQS: I need to get to these too!

>136 AMQS: Never heard of those before but they look really intriguing, Anne.

>136 AMQS: Well, I think you may have gotten me with these, Anne, as I try to get back into audiobooks. I found them on Libby and listened to a sample of the first. I need to finish my current Georgette Heyer read before I start though. And wow, there are a lot!

>137 foggidawn: BIG fan, foggi, thank you!

>138 bell7: Well at least for now I am blistering too. Halfway through Vol 3. They make great listening while I am indulging myself with a puzzle.

>139 norabelle414: Nora they are so very fun. I hope you love them as much as we do!

>140 PaulCranswick: Paul, I hadn't heard of them until very recently and now I seem to find them mentioned everywhere.

>141 Copperskye: There are a lot of them, Joanne! Since I am fully invested in the story that's a good thing. There are a lot of Heyers also, and I've only listened to a handful on audio. All delightful!

The end of my leave from school is filling up. I started driving again this week - first to meet Callia after school for a walk in the park and to exchange some supplies - she borrowed some bedding for her best friend and college roommate Nyrie who is en route as I type this from Oregon to spend the long birthday weekend with Callia and of course, bringing her 4 month old baby Edith. I can't think of a nicer way for Callia to spend her birthday. My end of the exchange was knitting supplies as I am going to try my hand at the Melt the Ice protest hat based on the Norwegian hat knit and worn during WWII as resistance to the Nazis. The last time I checked the small yarn shop that is selling the $5 pattern had made over $650,000 that they are donating to relief efforts in Minneapolis.

I went up to my aunt's house yesterday to walk with her. She is 84 and walks a loop through her mountain neighborhood that is just over a mile long every day. I wish I could join her more often. As we were returning from the walk we saw that my cousin and his wife had arrived so I got to see them as a bonus. My cousin is a pilot (we are a piloting family) so sometimes he's flying over holidays and this year was one of those years. I sneaked into school for a bit mostly to bring some stuff back since when I officially go back next week on Thursday I will have more stuff than I will be able to carry.

Tomorrow my brother and family come for just over a week. I have been hearing how strict European schools are about attendance, which I think crashed headfirst into my brother's American "oh surely we can make this work" attitude and school won. Instead of a long February visit I believe my 6 YO nephew was formally authorized to miss one day of school, which they're tacking onto the beginning of his winter break week. My brother will spend the weekends with us and the weekdays with my dad and stepmother. My brother is trying to visit as much as he can as both are in declining health.

Sunday is Callia's birthday - 27 this year! and we'll have a small celebration here with her request: takeout sushi and apple pie 😂 Editing to add that those two things are separate, but to anyone who is looking on agast at the thought of an apple/sushi pie... well who's to say it doesn't exist somewhere.

Marina is relishing her experience in Brazil - the parade is Saturday so we're figuring out how to watch. She comes home Tuesday

So, we'll be busy for awhile, but the demands on me are few. I hope everyone is having a great week.

>143 AMQS: I purchased the pattern as well. I need to go to the yarn shop this weekend to pick out some red yarn.

>143 AMQS: Happy news re: Marina, and happy birthday to Callia!

>143 AMQS: Busy but not demanding sounds perfect, Anne. And happy birthday to Callia! Apple pie sounds so good right now...

>143 AMQS: Where did your leave go? I hope you are fully recovered and ready to return. Happy birthday to Callia. I need to learn how to knit.

>143 AMQS: The only time I took Jacob for an unauthorised absence was for a Friday afternoon when he was 7. We were going to the Rugby World Cup the next day and due to a complicated set of circumstances I was going to have to drive to South Wales on my own with Jacob while Mr SandDune came the next day on the train, and I really didn’t want to do the drive either in rush hour or in the dark. I got some very, very disapproving looks from the school, and it was only for an afternoon. And things have got stricter since then!

Well if you, Mary, and Foggi are all going to rave about them, I guess I'm going to have to add the Emma M. Lion books to The List.

I hope you have a lovely visit with your family while they're visiting!

>144 labfs39: Did you get red yarn? I've heard that color is sold out in many places - especially in MN. I have a large skein of some red, in a yarn that is cheap and not particularly nice, which is probably just about right for my skill level, lol.

>145 richardderus: Thank you, Richard!

>146 scaifea: Doesn't it? Today is the day and we'll have sushi and pie at Callia's house. Change of plans as we checked out a new-ish Russian/eastern European market near my house and my sister in law engineered a pelmeni feast!

>147 BLBera: Oh, Beth, it just evaporated. Alas. I feel mostly ready to go back, but I still have lifting restrictions and some twinges. I actually go back on Thursday, which will be good - two days for me to dip my toe in and then a weekend. The following week I have been summoned for jury duty because of course I have. It's hard when I have to book a sub and write sub plans, etc, and it hardly seems fair to cancel the sub the night before in the event I am excused. So we're keeping the sub, and will use him in another capacity at school in case I am not called. Which could even be for me if I need a break. Then next Friday I have a long-planned tech for ed lead meeting. It was recently changed from all day to half day, but the meeting will conclude at exactly the same time my classes start, so I will actually have a half day off. All this to say that to the greatest extent possible I will be easing back in.

I am the one who taught Callia to knit many, many years ago, but she has surpassed my abilities so, so much that she is now advising me:) Do you plan to knit? It is very satisfying. If I am able to regain some proficiency I expect that I'd be able to knit and listen to audiobooks at the same time. Callia can knit and read on her Kindle. I'm not sure I'll ever get there.

>148 SandDune: Rhian, that experience is so very different from here. It perhaps was trending in this direction already, but Covid fundamentally changed attitudes toward school. And I can't decide how I feel about it. If Covid showed us anything, it's that life can be short and unpredictable, and learning can happen anywhere (it doesn't, we've found out... it's not possible to just transition seamlessly from an in person classroom to online learning and families traveling don't engage anyway) and who's to blame families from seizing opportunities to have experiences as a family? But the tradeoff is that learning suffers and teaching suffers. Anymore it feels, as my principal now calls it, like a la carte schooling. My school is tiny - 265 students - and we have a student who stays at home every Thursday to do coding with his uncle, a couple of students who miss every Friday during ski season, a couple of families who have withdrawn from school in the wake of the Evergreen High School shooting in our community in September because they're too anxious to have their kids in school, and a couple of students who stay home when they are called to by "vibes." We of course have truancy laws, but the proliferation of home schooling and unschooling, home school cooperatives, and various online learning environments, all with pretty much zero oversight or accountability make for a losing battle for schools. And to those who say that US education isn't teaching anything anyway (current political environment seems a definite sign of that), well, schools are doing the best we can with so many factors working against us.

My brother did find out that he cannot just pull Falcon out of school. Once he settled on just one day, he decided he would call Falcon in sick. Until a friend told him that he was arrested and handcuffed at the airport for doing just that. So he got the proper paperwork which was checked very thoroughly at the airport by police! I don't see the US making educational and achievement gains in my lifetime.

>149 MickyFine: Oh Micky, you absolutely should! I would think they'd be your cup of tea. We have had a great weekend with my brother and his family. They've now headed up to my dad's condo until Friday. Friday they'll have one night in Salida, CO, which is a favorite place of theirs, before coming back here Saturday and then heading back to Germany Sunday night. Marina comes back Tuesday. Can't wait!

We watched Marina's portion of the Carnaval parade last night - I was surprised to learn that the parade begins at midnight local time, but when I watched I can see why it's at night (plus it's the height of summer in Brazil and so beastly hot). And wow. Just wow.

EDIT: there was formerly a picture here and the more that we all looked at it the more we all decided it is NOT Marina. So see below (>158 AMQS:) for more photos!

12. Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

Continuing with Ms. Jiles's post-Civil War Texas. Simon was a minor character in News of the World and Ms. Jiles wrote that she couldn't stop thinking about him and his Irish sweetheart Doris Dillon. Here she brings their story to life. Simon's Paducah, Kentucky home and property were destroyed in the Civil War, and we meet Simon as he is captured and conscripted into the Confederate Army near the end of the war. Upon surrender, he and hastily assembled bandmates play at a celebration where he meets the lovely Doris Dillon, Irish governess indentured to a Union colonel. Doris travels with the colonel's family to San Antonio, and Simon and ragtag fellow musicians make their way to Galveston to eke out their living in any way they can. It was a wild and lawless country after the war, and nowhere more so than Texas. But Simon never loses sight of his ambitions - to marry Doris and buy a piece of land. Simon and the reader are carried on music through hunger, lawlessness, disease and harrowing events in pursuit of love and stability. Ms. Jiles was a gifted and beautiful writer.

>151 AMQS: Go Marina!

>152 AMQS: This was so good! I'm glad you liked it.

>151 AMQS: That is SO COOL!!

Hi Anne, just stopping in to say hi and that I'm following your thread this year. I've been on LT since 2009 but have mainly been in Club Read, so our paths haven't crossed very often. Your name always comes up in my "most similar libraries", so I'm looking forward to following your thread. You already got me with The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion which is now on my wish list.

>143 AMQS: My cousin is a pilot (we are a piloting family)
For some reason that tickled me :) Now I am trying to think of what type family 'we' are.

>150 AMQS: re: COVID changing attitudes towards school (attendance?)...I agree. My kids were young enough that they didn't suffer for the loss of education and they knew it. In the 2 years after COVID they also experienced a series of teacher strikes, and that really embedded in them the idea that school attendance isn't the be all and end all. As it were.

I spent an entire year out of school as a 7/8 year-old while we travelled as a family in South America, and while I wasn't worried about my kids missing attendance for the COVID period, I still do not want school to feel optional for them.

>153 BLBera: Beth, it's been so exciting! I think she spent the day at the beach today and tomorrow she begins the long journey home. I removed the picture as we figured out that's not Marina - will post again below!

>154 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! See below for pictures (that are actually of Marina, LOL).

>155 japaul22: Hi there, I'm glad you're here! I searched way back through messages and saw that we corresponded years and years ago when we were about to travel to DC. The girls were 10 and 7 then - now 27 and 24! So it's wonderful to get reacquainted! I'll return your visit also - though I'm sure your thread will be dangerous if our libraries are so similar. I hope you love the Emma M. Lion books - I am having a blast with them.

>156 LovingLit: LOL, the piloting family is my dad's side and the pilots are/were my grandfather, my dad, two uncles, my cousin, his wife (she doesn't fly anymore) and my 24 YO nephew, and another cousin and her husband. My grandfather passed away years ago. My dad's generation are all retired, and my generation is nearing retirement. My nephew flies recreationally, whereas everyone else is/was commercial airline and/or military pilots, so once my generation is retired, the next generation will no longer be a piloting family.

Yeah, school a la carte only works for certain students, and certainly you never want education to feel optional. There is tremendous value in family travel - we've had students who left school to sail the world with their parents, which is so cool. Less cool when the kids never learn to read. There is a burden placed on teachers when kids aren't in school that isn't matched with a burden on students and families to either catch up or keep up. Teachers are responsible and evaluated on students making a year's growth. Hard to do when kids aren't in school. And teachers are less and less willing to prepare work for kids to take with them as it is a LOT of work and it absolutely never ever gets returned. And our schools have student based budgeting, which essentially turns students into dollars. If we can get 10 more students enrolled next year then we can afford to keep staffing at its current level. Because students equal funding, schools want to keep families and submit, however unwillingly, to a la carte schooling because each student significantly impacts our budget.

OK, some dogged sleuthing led us to believe that the previous photo posted of Carnaval was not actually Marina. But here IS Marina:




This is just a portion of her Samba school (Imperio Serrano) in the parade. Marina's group are the blue/white dancers at the bottom of the picture, and they probably appeared halfway through their school's section. Her group is just ahead of ONE of the incredible, elaborate and gigantic floats. Her school had three. I've never seen anything like it.

>158 AMQS: That is so cool and something she will remember forever. What an experience.

>158 AMQS: Such a cool experience for her!

>157 AMQS: Wow, that was a long time ago that we corresponded - I don't really remember, if I'm being honest! I'm in the middle of two long books (The Far Pavilions and America, América: A New History of the New World) so I haven't posted much on my own thread recently. But that will shift soon, I'm sure.

>159 BLBera: She will remember it forever. It was a lot of work to get to the samba level she needed and I'm so proud of her.

>160 MickyFine: It was an amazing experience! I can't wait to hear all of her stories when she comes back tomorrow.

>161 japaul22: It was a long time ago! And I know what you mean - when I've read a long book it's hard to post with no reading to report. And I have a hard enough time keeping up as it is - I am nearing the end of a medical leave from surgery so I've had both time to read and to visit LT which I can't always manage during the school year.

13. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 3 by Beth Brower, audiobook narrated by Genevieve Gaunt.

My dilemma after Volumes 1 & 2 (>136 AMQS:) was whether to blister or savor. I thought I had made my choice but Volume 4 has an estimated 16 week hold (*SOB). Alas, the choice to savor has been made for me and I resent it. I am loving these books.

>158 AMQS: My daughter and I looked up SAMBA DOME - what a Wild Carnival!!!

>158 AMQS: Amazing, just amazing!!!

The samba costumes are incredible! Kind of still can't believe Marina and Callia are full adults now.... but yes, time does indeed march on (or sambas on!!).

>158 AMQS: Wow, that's an amazing event Anne, and Marina looks fabulous in that costume.

>158 AMQS: It's really wonderful Marina's done this amazing thing for herself...what a memory. I'm gobsmacked by Carnival's excesses in Rio! What an industry it's become.

I hope Marina's reentry into wintertime goes smoothly. Stay warm and happy!

>163 AMQS: I am going to look for these.

>128 AMQS: Anne, as far as I know, I have read most, if not all, of Paulette Jiles work. I blame Mark, who turned me on to her work several years ago :)

>136 AMQS: I really need to get to those books too.

>152 AMQS: Ms. Jiles was a gifted and beautiful writer. Definitely agree with that assessment!

>158 AMQS: Great pictures! It looks like Marina is having a grand old time!

A happy belated birthday to Callia from me! Have a terrific Tuesday, Anne!

>150 AMQS: I'm amazed at the take-it-or-leave-it approach to school attendance, but I guess I can see how Covid would have that effect, sort of. I was homeschooled for grades 4-5 and 8-12, in Oklahoma, which is (or at least was back then) a pretty permissive state for homeschoolers, but we still had testing and stuff to make sure that we were doing the work. In the years when I did attend school (public for K-3, private for 6-7), I only remember one student who had a lot of absences, and in her case, it was for medical reasons.

Thank you to everyone cheering on Marina! Here's what she had to say about her time at Carvanal:
"Samba is a dance of resistance, resilience, community, and joy; all things I desperately needed to feel and continue to need. I am so grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to engage with this incredible art and its culture both from Denver, and now at the source in Rio. Going to Rio de Janeiro, parading in Carnaval with Imperio Serrano, taking classes from incredible artists, in the Sambadrome, and in the quadras was an indescrible opportunity. Samba is a form of living history and being trusted to represent that history is the honor of a lifetime."

>164 m.belljackson: - it's just amazing, isn't it? I'm still in awe. Marina has been reflecting a lot on the experience and what it meant to her.

>165 Copperskye: I know!! I was blown away when I watched. Marina has been reflecting a lot since she's been back - she's only taken samba for a year, so she's worked so very hard.

>166 LovingLit: It's hard to believe, isn't it? Yes indeed: time marches on!

>167 lauralkeet: Thank you, Laura. What looks amazing to us was actually pretty difficult to wear - there was something of a beetle shell on the top and a heavy headpiece that gave her a huge rug burn right at the top of her hairline! Glamor has its price I guess. But what an experience!

>168 richardderus: Oh boy, definitely an industry, isn't it? I understand that beginning now the samba schools are creating their floats, costumes, and concepts for next year. Also, the pursuit of money is opening the opportunities to schools from other places - Marina's cost to participate was nearly that of her travel and accommodation. But what an experience for her.

>169 BLBera: Oh Beth, they're so fun! Hope you enjoy.

>170 alcottacre: LOL Stasia, lots of blame to go around here for our groaning TBR lists, right? But so worth it. Thank you for the good wishes!

>171 foggidawn: Hi foggi, the New York Times did a story a couple of years ago that schools all over the country are experiencing an attendance crisis. Then of course you have the culture wars where parents think curriculum is ideology... schools are in a sticky place, and declining enrollment is killing us. It's been fascinating to learn about the approach in Europe and other places.

************************

Oof: back to school today and oh wow am I tired. I think going back to school on a Thursday was a good idea. I just have to survive tomorrow and trhen I have a weekend! Hope everyone is having a great week.

>172 AMQS: Y'know what...money spent on experiences, no matter how much, seems to me to be the best spending anyone can do. I traveled early enough in my life that those were formative things for me. I'm built of them. I think Marina putting that money into her samba/Carneval adventure is the only way to use time and money that *only* pays a person back.

Happy weekend-ahead's reads!

>173 richardderus: Richard, I agree 100%. And she has the money and is saving money working full time while living at home. The constraints of independent adulthood will come soon enough.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday, Anne. Hooray for Simon the Fiddler. We will sure miss having Ms Jiles around. She was always so consistent. I read about that major pile-up in Colorado. Was that anywhere near you?

>158 AMQS: She looks great. Fun times!

>175 msf59: Happy Friday, and thank you, Mark! Lucky for me, I am fairly new to Ms. Jiles so I have many of her books to look forward to. Wasn't that accident awful? A brown-out they called it. It makes me think of the Dust Bowl. The accident was near Pueblo, which is not quite 2 hours south of where I live.

>174 AMQS: Absolutely the best gift you and Stelios are giving her.

>158 AMQS: wow! neat! what a great experience and how wonderful to show off all the hours of practice!

Happy weekend ahead

Hope you made it through your first couple days of school and that you get plenty of rest this weekend.

>177 richardderus: Thank you, Richard❤️

>178 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! It was an unbelievable experience for her.

>179 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! Made it through my short work week. I felt better today than I did yesterday. Yesterday I was completely beat and feeling some discomfort. Today was easier, though I did more teaching today and less handling of books. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Picture book:

21E Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots by Michael Rex

Kids love this book, and I love reading it aloud before a research and writing project with primary students. I read it yesterday to 2nd grade as 1st and 2nd grade students are about to begin a guided research and writing project with mentor texts that will culminate in students writing and publishing their own digital books. This book is almost always checked out, so when I want to use it for a lesson I have to put a hold on it.

First Chapter Friday (5th grade):

Crash From Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell by Candace Fleming

This week I had kindergarten, second grade GT, and 5th grade. The ones who don't love books or reading. I decided to change things up with narrative nonfiction. The kids were very engaged with the first chapters that I read aloud, and I ended up with 5 students who want to check out the book. Not nearly as much as other classes and their FCFs but for this class, that's a win.

>181 AMQS: That reminds me when I volunteered with Scout's third-grade class, the kids LOVED books about Area 51. Other favorite nonfiction books were those about extreme weather. :)

>181 AMQS: I love the titles! such clever fun topics, too.

>181 AMQS: I ended up with 5 students who want to check out the book. That is terrific!

Have a wonderful weekend, Anne!

Love hearing about Marina's experience and that you're continuing to enjoy the Emma M. Lion books! I hope the hold comes in a little faster than expected for you - I'm holding off reading volumes 7 and 8, but I'll give in and read them soon now that my library purchased them.

>182 BLBera: Oh yeah - books about unexplained phenomena are super popular!

>183 richardderus: Thanks, Richard!

>184 labfs39: Hi Lisa, I read your post - just didn't have a chance to respond until now. I am sorry about the state of public ed where you are, and if I had to face schools like that I would have done anything to find an alternative for the girls. I worked for years and years for a professional children's performing arts organization and our top choir toured frequently. On national and regional tours we took a tutor and students were expected to keep up with schoolwork, or have something to do during study time. We had many homeschooled students and in my experience those students went one of two ways: either they absolutely thrived (with the right parent support), got to deep dive into topics that were interesting to them, and often were accelerated (one family had their many children going to Yale at 16), OR the kids were... just not educated and the students could barely decode words even in middle school. It can definitely be done right and public schools are not for everyone. I think this topic started here with my brother's experience potentially facing arrest at the airport if he tried to take his son on vacation without proper authorization, and this was a case of his American "I can do anything I set my mind to and it will all work out" attitude that collided with reality of German educational rules that actually have teeth. This is a huge contrast with families here who are actually enrolled in public school - not homeschooling, remote schooling, etc, who treat school as something they do when there's nothing better on offer, or when they feel like it. This has increased so much since Covid. And then, of course, there are families who do not keep their kids home even when very sick - usually because they cannot miss work. This doesn't serve anyone (and least of all parents who cannot take time to care for a sick child). Teacher effectiveness is evaluated on showing a year's growth - which can be challenging even when kids are in school, but nearly impossible when kids are not. I appreciate your perspective, and I know how lucky your nieces are to have you.

>185 alcottacre: It's actually astonishing for this class, so I am thrilled. I hope your weekend was wonderful, Stasia.

>186 bell7: Thank you, Mary! I am hoping the holds come in soon, too.

14. Violets are Blue by Barbara Dee

I am a huge fan of Barbara Dee. She writes middle grade/middle school realistic fiction books where characters grapple with very real and very tricky situations. Her books are right on the edge of "edgy" but they are definitely experiences students encounter and so need to see modeled and represented in literature. In this book Wren is a loner. She has a friend/not friend (mean girl) and deals with her hurt at this and at her parents' divorce by immersing herself into special effects makeup and YouTube tutorials, particularly by one creator named Cat FX. Wren's mom is also struggling after the divorce, and she proposes a fresh start for both of them in a new town. Wren has a promising start - making a friend and being involved in the school musical, but Wren's mom continues to struggle. Wren must balance her communication and supportive relationship with her dad and his new wife with her mom's deep unhappiness at the mention of them at all. In addition, mom is becoming more erratic, more paranoid, less reliable, descending, as the reader knows and Wren slowly becomes aware, into opioid addiction. Your heart just aches for Wren.

>187 AMQS: Thanks for responding, Anne. After I posted, I felt like I had overshared, so deleted my post. I don't disagree with anything you've said in any of your posts, I was just offering another viewpoint on a subject that is near and dear to many of us. I am hugely sympathetic to the challenges facing public school educators and hope the country can start to move in a better direction a few years from now.

Last weekend I saw the documentary The Librarians. Have you had a chance to see it? Very powerful, although I had been following this issue, so it wasn't new ground. The amount of money being put into school board elections is incredible and frightening.

>190 AMQS: I have not seen The Librarians yet, but several people have told me I need to see it. I definitely want to. And our district found out first hand the consequences of not paying attention to local election races. The first year I was at my school my county elected an absolutely terrible school board. With An Agenda. They belittled students, worked on abolishing courses like AP US History ("I don’t think we should encourage our kids to be little rebels." was a direct quote from one board member: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/26/-sp-colorado-ap-history-curriculum... ,) hired lawyers and made decisions without transparancy/behind closed doors, and demonized teachers and the teachers union. It was a pretty terrible time. It's the time I finally canceled my lifelong subscription to our local paper, because their editorial board was of the same conservative bent and I got tired of seeing my colleagues and myself bashed in the paper daily. After two awful years the board majority finally broke enough Sunshine Laws and engaged in enough harrassing behavior that we had grounds for a recall which passed spectacularly. But memories are short and money is influence and it could definitely happen again. And has in some neighboring districts. This was in 2013, an off-year for elections and easy to not pay attention and we paid for it.

22E. M is for Majestic: A National Parks Alphabet by David Domeniconi

Informational picture book to kick off a national parks research project with 3rd grade that will culminate in an annotated digital map we will publish and share with families just in time for students to be able to get free National Parks passes next year in 4th grade. This is not a particularly amazing book and the rhyming is extremely clunky but it's the book I have to introduce kids to many of our national parks (my students tend to know the Colorado parks and the really famous ones like Grand Canyon or Yellowstone). Tomorrow they will draw a park out of a hat and we'll do guided research so we can write our content for their map entries.

>191 AMQS: That sounds like a delightful project for your kids!

>190 AMQS: That sounds like a very difficult time. And predates our current struggles. I wish things had improved since then.

>192 Copperskye: Joanne, it's one of my favorite projects, and it's a great research & tech project for 8-9 year olds. I'll link it here when we're done.

>193 labfs39: I think there are always struggles. The culture wars have been fought for a long time. I appreciate your insight.

23E. The Solar System by Emily Bone

Read to 2nd grade this week. I will read this aloud to all 1st and 2nd graders as part of their space book project.

I placed a large book order while I was on leave and some of the books have arrived. Just read the new picture books. Titles with exclamation marks seem to the the theme of the day.


24E. The Mushroom of Doom! by Becky Davies
Mushroom seeks dastardly revenge when he is passed over in favor of pineapple for a pizza topping. Full of puns and wicked plots, kids will love this.


25E. A Place for Us: A Story in Pictures by James Ransome
A beautifully illustrated and poignant wordless picture book about an unhoused mother and son in a large city. The son spends his days at school. After school mother and son make their way to a food court and then a library and then a park bench where the son curls up on his mother's lap while she sits awake and watchful all night. The author's note at the beginning of the book says "On any given day in the United States, approximately half a million people go unhoused. A little more than half of those people find temporary housing in shelters. However, with many shelters at capacity or so poorly maintained that conditions there are not safe or sanitary, families often seek refuge outside, like the mother and son featured (here). This book doesn't offer solutions on how we might fix this devastating national crisis, but it shows readers that it's a problem that affects so many of us. My goal here was to portray the loving bond that exists between a son and a mother whose earnings are not enough to pay rent but who is doing all she can in the meantime to take care of him. My hope is that this book sparks readers to ask: In a country of vast resources, what is our responsibility to those without access to the basic necessities? At the very least, I believe it is to begin by seeing those who face this issue each day, to pay attention, and to do the work of finding the much-needed solutions."

I teach in a fairly affluent mountain community, but based on my experiences volunteering for the local food pantry with our student leadership team, there is great need even here. We do have families who live or have lived in their car. Our area is a mix of giant mountain homes and 100+ year old rustic cabins, which families live in full time. And of course, in Denver and surrounding communities the homelessness crisis is very visible. I hope this book might humanize the unhoused for students.

26E. It's Taco Knight! by Megan Maynor
"In this picture book about teamwork and accountability, a lovable but self-absorbed knight tries to turn every night into Taco Night, to his entire village's dismay."
I think kids will get a kick out of this one, too. Think of it as a 21st century, punny Bread and Jam for Frances.


27E. I Hate Everything! by Sophy Henn
For those kids who need cajoling out of a bad mood. This book is cute.


28E. Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe
This is an offbeat story about a girl who is thrilled to live on her own. Only she doesn't live alone. Her house is haunted, and the ghost will not follow the rules she established (I would agree with her that the ghost eating too much cheese would be a dealbreaker for me). Aggie and the ghost eventually have a tic-tac-toe showdown and learn to share and get along. I loved another Matthew Forsythe offbeat picture book Mina - this one is just as charming.


29E. We Are Already Haunting Here! by Gideon Sterer
A poor little ghost is looking for someplace to haunt.

30E. At Our Table by Patrick Hulse
"Gratitude, togetherness, and tradition are shared and celebrated at the dining tables of a diverse range of families and communities."

Looks like you have had some good children's book reading lately, Anne! I am going to have to see if my local library has any books by Barbara Dee.

Looks like some fun reads!

You are right. Lots of exclamation points. A Place for Us sounds like a great book.

>199 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! I think you can't go wrong with Barbara Dee. Hope you find something good. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

>200 thornton37814: Hi Lori - yes, some fun reads. I love when new books come in.

>201 BLBera: Indeed. Kids will love those books though, and that's what matters. A Place for Us is special.

Since I have never tracked my picture books before I find that I missed some from when my nephew was here.


31E Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss
This was a favorite of the girls, and it is so much fun to read.


32E. To Market to Market by Anne Miranda
A shopping trip gone terribly wrong. Illustrator Janet Stevens is a Colorado author/illustrator and an absolute treasure. This was a favorite of the girls and my students love it, too. My sub read it to kindergarten when I was out on medical leave, pairing it with Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup.


33E. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
These books are old but timeless.


34E. Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen
This is one of the greatest books of all time and on any given day is my absolute favorite picture book in the world (the other is Cynthia Rylant's masterpiece The Old Woman Who Named Things). This book is nonfiction as Maple Hill Farm is a real place and a real working farm, or it was when this book was written in 1978. The book is a companion book to The Year at Maple Hill Farm which is also wonderful.

If you ever want to experience magic, read this book to a child or a group of children. Even though this book is almost 50 years old, animals have certainly not changed, and while children have, there is something special about animal stories. Kids laugh and delight in the quirky personalities and antics the animals on this farm get up to. The pages about the horses and the sheep have kids rollling on the floor. Though a picture book, the book is long enough (or actually, I think it's the pages that are packed, but in a good way) that I usually read it to kindergarten over two class periods. The books go in and out of print, so when I do find them in bookshops or on Amazon I buy many copies. There is always a child who needs Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm.

Yesterday was Friday. The classes I had this week in the library were 3rd grade, 2nd grade, and 4th grade. Here were my First Chapter Friday reads for 3rd and 4th:


Maya and the Robot by Eve L. Ewing


Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander

Inspired by seeing puzzles on some threads, here's the Jane Austen-themed one I did while on leave and while devouring the Emma M. Lion books on audio:



Yes, there are two pieces missing. 99% sure Cleo is to blame. After the puzzle had been taken apart and put back in the box Stelios found a piece under the oven.

Re Frog and Toad, have you seen the Instagram with adorable knitted characters, often in stop-motion videos? The insta account is indiarosecrawford.

Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book is my favorite. I still have my copy from my childhood although my younger siblings did leave their mark on it.

I LOVE Frog and Toad. "The Button" is one of my favorites. Both my kids and Scout have enjoyed those stories.

I love the puzzle.

I'm in the Frog & Toad fan club, too. And I second Laura's recommendation of the stop-motion account. So lovely and sweet.

Another Frog and Toad fan here!

>205 AMQS: That looks like the perfect puzzle for you, Anne. Cats and puzzles. Boomer likes to sit on my puzzle while I work on it (a problem in itself) and the pieces will stick to her paws and so she’ll flick them off, usually across the room. I usually find them, but not always. And I can never blame the manufacturer for missing pieces.

>206 lauralkeet: Hi Laura - I think I have seen this, but I need to revisit because I love Frog and Toad. Thanks for the nudge!

>207 BLBera: I love Frog & Toad, too. But I think my favorite Lobel Stories are the Mouse Tales and Mouse Soup books. Those were favorites when I was little and favorites of the girls.

The puzzle was fun! It was nice to have the time to do one, and it was just the thing to do while listening to the Emma M. Lion books.

>208 scaifea: There is something so charming, so funny, and just so perfect about the Frog & Toad stories, isn't there?

>209 Copperskye: Woot! Indeed it was the perfect puzzle, Joanne. Still hoping that missing piece will turn up. I was so careful to close the door when not working on the puzzle (our living/dining room has French doors that can be closed which is handy when you want to keep cats out) but she managed to kame off with some anyway. Ah, well.

Life update:
Today is our district Battle of the Books competition. I had 36 students competing in 12 teams this year. We had three rounds of in-school battles last week to determine our top 6 students who will compete against 40 other schools in the district! We'll see. There is a national Battle of the Books program, but our district does our own, mostly because we want our students reading fairly new books. They read 10 books from 10 genres (or divide the reading load between their teammates). The books this year are:
Medusa: Myth of Monsters by Katherine Marsh
Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz
And Then...Boom! by Lisa Fipps
Curveball by Pablo Cartaya
Cog by Greg Van Eekhout
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor (bringing back a BoB title from probably 8ish years ago)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - this year's classic
Just Keep Walking by Erin Soderberg Downing
A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga

The kids are very excited. We'll see if Ihave anything left in the tank tonight. I'm mostly over a cold, but this is the second day that I have no voice whatsoever, so teaching has been extremely challenging.

I haven't picked up another print book because I have missed the last two of our district librarian meetings, so I am behind on the book we are reading for our book study Creating a Reading Culture in Primary and Secondary Schools: A Practical Guide by Margaret Merga. The September meeting was immediately after the shooting at Evergreen High School and with class meetings and support personnel and a traumatized community I really felt like I needed to be at school. The January meeting was when I was on medical leave. So I'm behind and need to read most of the book before our meeting next week!

OH! And tomorrow night Stelios and I are having dinner with Sven. We're Having Dinner With Sven, who is planning to Ask us a Question. Squeee! He does not need to ask us for our blessing, of course, but he feels very strongly that he wants to, which is lovely.

15. The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, audiobook narrated by Michael Boatman

Historical fiction that I hadn't realized was more historical than fiction. Narrated by Henry Shackleford, a young slave in Kansas Territory in the late 1850s, it tells the story of abolitionist John Brown, from the days of liberating slaves by force in the western territories to fighting pro-slavers and federal troops in Wild West-style ambushes and shootouts, to Brown's days speechifying and fundraising throughout the northern states and Canada to his ill-fated assault on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). Harpers Ferry resulted in the end of Brown's crusade but became a major catalyst for the American Civil War. Henry is "liberated" or "kidnapped," depending on your sympathies... for much of the book he points out that he never knew hunger, deprivation, or danger while he was a slave, but he is mistaken for a girl (Henrietta) and cannot seem to correct the misconception. Later he uses his girlhood to advantage. Brown gives Henrietta a dried onion, which he kept as a kind of good luck charm, as a diversion, but Henry(etta) assumes it meant to be eaten. This tickles Brown, who betstows upon the child the nickname Little Onion, and from then on sees Onion as good luck as well. The narration by the Onion allows the story to be told in a rambling, yarn-spinning kind of way, and peppers the narrative with local country colloquialisms and the befuddlement of a child. Between knowing (also Googling) the history and Onion's frequent foreshadowing, the reader is carried along with a kind of sick dread. John Brown would say we have come a long way but still have a ways to go, I think.

I had to laugh because Onion calls Brown "the old man" throughout the book, and old he was - deeply wrinkled, weather-beaten, 22 children, but it turns out Brown was pretty much my age at the time of his death. What we thin of as old has changed also, though if I camped and raided throughout Kansas Territory I suspect I should age considerably.

>211 AMQS: Ooh, Significant Capitalization! Early congratulations to the parties involved. ;-)

Enjoy your dinner, Anne. How exciting.

Have fun with your book battle. :)

>213 foggidawn: Thank you! We happily gave our blessing, of course. This is not a surprise to Callia, though I don't think she knows when the actual proposal will happen. She and Sven designed the ring together and when she showed me pictures of the mock-up, the 3D print, and even of the real thing I thought it was pretty but in person it is absolutely gorgeous! She chose a moss agate for the stone and it's beautiful. Sven is very sweet and earnest and proud of their relationship and the life they're building together.

>214 BLBera: Oh Beth, it was exciting, and we happily gave our blessing. The book battle was fun, and though the team didn't finish as high as they would have wanted, they finished in the top 10 among what turned out to be 45 schools, and I am very proud of them. We had to do an emergency last minute pivot to a different location when our school lost internet connection and I was scrambling to pivot as I was actively teaching my digital technology clases, too. Fortunately one of the moms thought of a 4th grade parent who lives close to the school and still had internet who gladly invited 6 students, 2 teachers, and assorted parents into her home for 3 hours because as she described it, "This is a reading emergency!"

I have been given the unexpected gift of a snow day! I have been meaning to start a new thread, and this is my sign that today is the day! See you over on the new one.

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