During Trent’s first year, we took a photo of every book we read to him. This slideshow documents our journey through books with Trent from three days old to one year old. Enjoy!
I love seeing him grow up among so many great books!
To see more about what Trent read and liked during his first year:
Here’s to our next year filled with love, family, friends, good health, lots of learning, and amazing books!
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.
Today’s Topic: Top Ten Books Read in the Last 3 Years We Would Classify As All Time Favorites
Sometimes you read a book, and you know that it is one you’ll never forget. Here are some books we’ve read in the last 3 years that have become instant favorites.
Ricki
I PROMISE I created this list before I came onto here and saw Kellee’s list (hers is below). We are destined to be blog partners. I am realizing this more and more each day.
1. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
When a book becomes trendy, we have the urge to pull away from it. I fall more in love with this book every time I read it.
2. Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
I recommend this book to everyone I meet. It is very teachable. If you are a teacher and you haven’t read it, drop everything and get to it! I promise it will impact you immensely.
3. A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
This spindiddly book touched my heart. I absolutely love it and want to share its magic with everyone.
4. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Everyone should read this book. It makes me want to be a better person.
5. Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
All of the award stickers on the cover of this book are just a hint at how it is written phenomenally well.
Kellee
Anyone who knows me knows how hard this was for me (I wish I could have included all 14 of the Walden books since I’ve been on the committee!), but I did it! Here are 5 books I’ve read over the last 3 years that directly spoke to my heart.
1. Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
This book instantly rocketed into my top 3 favorite books of all time. It is just so beautifully written! And the story it tells is so important for everyone to read because it makes the reader grow and think and learn.
2. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
John Green’s writing is so incredible, and Hazel and Gus’s story is so special. You love these two characters so quickly which means you live what they live and hurt when they hurt.
3. Wonder by RJ Palacio
There are certain books that while you are reading, you wish that you could share it with every person, adult and child, that you know. This is one of those books. It is almost too hard to explain because of how wonderful it is. It is a book that will make you want to be kinder to every person that you meet. If you can finish Wonder and not feel impacted, then I don’t know what to tell you.
4. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
I knew about Ivan before reading Applegate’s Newbery Award winning book, so she already had me because of the topic. Then, I even fell more in love by how beautifully it was written and put together. This book is almost a novel in vignettes. The way that Katherine Applegate wrote for Ivan is straight to the point but deep at the same time which I really feel fits a gorilla’s personality. I can picture Ivan sitting, alone, for hours feeling just the way that Katherine Applegate wrote for him. The beauty of the prose mixed with the simple, realistic illustrations made for a brilliant book about friendship, loss, and making a difference.
5. (Trent’s choice) Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton
We love Sandra Boynton in our house. Her rhythmic picture books and colorful illustrations are so well done. Some of her stories, including Personal Penguin, have songs that go with them as well. I can sing all of Personal Penguin, and it is one of the books that Trent picks up on a regular basis. We’re fans.
Which books have you read recently and immediately fell in love with?
and
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!
It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!
Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.
We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.
Last Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Book Heroines
Wednesday: Trent & Kellee’s Favorite Picture Books: 9 to 12 months
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Last Week’s Journeys
Kellee: Last week I finished The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters. Wow! Winters sure knows how to tell a compelling, bit-odd, unique story! So glad I read it, and I have loved talking about it with my student who also loved it.
With Trent, we read Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss over a couple of days. Man, what complicated tongue twisters! But they are actually kind of fun to read. Next to that, we reread whatever book he chose for us.
Ricki: I have been writing a grant related to young adult literature, so much of my time has been spent on that. I am looking to do some pretty hefty research and want to pay my participants. I did read one fun book I received from Macmillan called Presidential Misadventures: Poems that Poke Fun at the Man in Charge. The book features a short poem and humorous drawing about each president. I learned a lot and giggled quite a few times. I read this one aloud to my son and husband, and they enjoyed it. 🙂
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee: I am currently listening to The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming, and I am just enthralled in the history of the Romanov family. It is just as juicy as any fiction book out there! I also am about halfway through Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs. I really like the smart, funny female lead in this one. I look forward to finishing it this week.
Ricki: I am still reading Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil and listening to East of Eden by John Steinbeck (22 or 23 discs, so it is a long endeavor).
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Books We Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS Read In The Past 3 Years
Wednesday: A First Year Full of Books Video: Trent’s Journey Through Books
So, what are you reading?
Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!
and
The Princess in Black
Authors: Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Published October 14th, 2014 by Candlewick Press
Goodreads Summary: Who says princesses don’t wear black? When trouble raises its blue monster head, Princess Magnolia ditches her flouncy dresses and becomes the Princess in Black!
Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess Wigtower when . . . Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! A big blue monster is threatening the goats! Stopping monsters is no job for dainty Princess Magnolia. But luckily Princess Magnolia has a secret —she’s also the Princess in Black, and stopping monsters is the perfect job for her! Can the princess sneak away, transform into her alter ego, and defeat the monster before the nosy duchess discovers her secret? From award-winning writing team of Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham, here is the first in a humorous and action-packed chapter book series for young readers who like their princesses not only prim and perfect, but also dressed in black.
My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I am a sucker for girl power books. So much, I was part of writing three Nerdy Book Club Girl Power posts (here, here, and here). Princess in Black fits right in this these books. Although Princess Magnolia must live up to society’s expectations of a proper princess, in secret she fights crime, isn’t afraid of anything, and doesn’t wear pretty dresses. I love the idea that Magnolia can be a princess and all kick some butt. (I wish she could do it not in secret, but that wouldn’t fit the societal views of princesses in most fairy tales.) I know that the Hales wrote this book for their daughters, and I can see why they did: a great heroine, lots of action, funny, and colorful, fun illustrations. Princess in Black would actually be a perfect first introduction to the narrative elements and plot arc. It also just enough complex vocabulary that you could start a discussion about some of the words.
We Flagged: Chapter Two: “Princesses do not run. Princesses do not stuff frilly pink dresses into broom closets. Princess do not wear black. And princesses most definitely do not slide down secret chutes and high-jump castle walls. But then, most princess do not live near an entrance to Monster Land. Stopping monsters was no job for prim and perfect Princess Magnolia. But fortunately Princess Magnolia did have a secret. She was secretly the Princess in black! And stopping monsters was the perfect job for the Princess in Black.”
Read This If You Loved: Salem Hyde (series) by Frank Cammuso, Battle Bunny by Jon Sciezska, Fairy Tales
Recommended For:
Leroy Ninker Saddles Up
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Chris Van Dusen
Published August 26th, 2014 by Candlewick Press
Goodreads Summary: Yippie-i-oh! Saddle up for the first in a spin-off series starring favorite characters from Kate DiCamillo’s New York Timesbest-selling Mercy Watson books.
Leroy Ninker has a hat, a lasso, and boots. What he doesn’t have is a horse — until he meets Maybelline, that is, and then it’s love at first sight. Maybelline loves spaghetti and sweet nothings, and she loves Leroy, too. But when Leroy forgets the third and final rule of caring for Maybelline, disaster ensues. Can Leroy wrestle fate to the ground, rescue the horse of his heart, and lasso loneliness for good? Join Leroy, Maybelline, and a cast of familiar characters — Stella, Frank, Mrs. Watson, and everyone’s favorite porcine wonder, Mercy — for some hilarious and heartfelt horsing around on Deckawoo Drive.
My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I must be honest: I have not read the Mercy Watson books, but luckily it does not matter because Leroy is just so darn loveable. His personality shines through the pages and you just are so happy that Leroy and Maybelline found each other. Also, Kate DiCamillo has a way with voice! I can always hear her characters talking in my head, and they each are so very distinct. I also love her use of vocabulary and humor–perfect! This one is going to be loved by many!
Discussion Questions: Why do you think that Maybelline is the perfect horse for Leroy?; Was Leroy truly prepared to have a horse? How do you know?; Why does Leroy want to be a cowboy?
We Flagged: Leroy Ninker said ‘Yippie-i-oh’ because Leroy Ninker had a dream. He wanted to be a cowboy.
On Wednesday nights, the Bijou Drive-In Theater ran a Western double feature, and Leroy Ninker Stood and watched in wonder as the great white expanse of the Bijou screen filled with purple mountains, wide-open plains, and cowboys.
The cowboys wore ten-gallon hats. The wore boots. They carried lassos. The cowboys were men who cast long shadows and knew how to fight injustice. They were men who where never, ever afraid.
‘Yippie-i-oh,’ Leroy Ninker whispered to the screen. ‘That is the life for me. A cowboy is who I was meant to be.'” (p.2)
Read This If You Loved: Lulu and the Brontosaurus (series) by Judish Viorst, Frankie Pickle (series) by Eric Wight, Bramble and Maggie (series) by Jessie Haas
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Candlewick Press for providing copies for review**
The Secret Hum of a Daisy
Author: Tracy Holczer
Published: July 24, 2014 by Annick Press
Summary: Twelve-year-old Grace and her mother have always been their own family, traveling from place to place like gypsies. But Grace wants to finally have a home all their own. Just when she thinks she’s found it her mother says it’s time to move again. Grace summons the courage to tell her mother how she really feels and will always regret that her last words to her were angry ones.
After her mother’s sudden death, Grace is forced to live with a grandmother she’s never met. She can’t imagine her mother would want her to stay with this stranger. Then Grace finds clues in a mysterious treasure hunt, just like the ones her mother used to send her on. Maybe itis her mother, showing her the way to her true home.
Lyrical, poignant and fresh, The Secret Hum of a Daisy is a beautifully told middle grade tale with a great deal of heart.
Ricki’s Review: The Secret Hum of a Daisy truly pulled my heartstrings. Readers of this blog know that I am a slightly critical reader of middle grade texts, and I often prefer high school texts, but my oh my, this one is beautiful. Having lost loved ones and friends, I know that grief hits you at random times. Holczer captured this reality beautifully. This book feels melancholy at the same time as it feels hopeful and lyrical. Young people will learn strength and resilience in Grace. Holczer’s thoughtful pacing makes this poignant coming of age story quite beautiful.
Kellee’s Review: This is one of those books that grabs you and sucks you in. I mostly love our main character. She has had to grow up too quickly thus making her a bit rough around the edges, but the way that friendship, family, history, poetry, and stories smooth her out is just so well done. Although at times I felt Grace came off older than she is, I realized, after talking to Carrie G., that it is because of the hardships she has endured. And the cast of characters, family and friends, who play a role in Grace’s transformation all are so well crafted. The Secret Hum of Daisy is a beautiful book because of Holczer’s word choice, Grace’s story, and the look at grief, family, and friendship.
Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: The Robert Frost references in this book easily lend themselves to instructional supplements for teachers. The sadness of this novel is important to discuss with students. They might consider poetry or journaling as an outlet for their emotions. Additionally, teachers my show students the stages of grief to help them better understand Grace’s emotions. Grace says that she gathers “every bit” she can of her Mama. Teachers might consider asking students to gather bits of people they love and sharing these with the class. Curriculum Guide from Penguin.
Check out our Guest Post from Tracy Holczer here!
Discussion Questions: Does Grace’s mom make mistakes in her parenting? What might she have done differently?; Do you agree with Grace’s decision to live in the shed? Do you consider this to be immature or strong of her? Why?
We Flagged: “Mama pulled me into her lap and her yellow chair creaked under our weight. ‘You have to trust me, Grace. We don’t need anyone else.'” (p. 8)
“Trying to ignore the blasts of rain against the tin roof, I dug a flashlight out of one of the boxes and laid my sleeping bag and pillow on our flower-garden sofa. I took my latest notebook out of my duffel and climbed into the sleeping bag.
I hadn’t written anything in the six days since Mama died, and the words were scratching at me in the way they always did. I hoped to find the end of that string inside of myself–the string that tended to work into knots–and pull it straight. That was how the words felt sometimes as I wrote them down. Like I was taking something scrambled and unscrambling it.” (p. 24)
We also loved page 57, 97, and 134.
Read This If You Loved: In This Moment by Wendy Glenn, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira, The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin, Torn Away by Jennifer Brown
Recommended For:
and
**Thank you to Tracy Holczer for providing copies for review**
This has been such a wonderful year! Being a mom has changed my view of the world and made me think about my place in the world; however, watching my son grow has been the most amazing thing in the world, and I have loved sharing all of the things I love about my son and being a mom.
My favorite thing to share with you all, though, is all of the amazing books Trent and I read. Check out our 0-3 month post, 3-6 month post, and 6-9 month post. Today I wanted to do an overview of Trent’s favorite books over the first year. Although there are so many wonderful books we read over this first year, these are the ones that we find ourselves reading over and over (includes primarily board books because those are easier for Trent to manipulate and sturdier so there is no tearing). To see all that we’ve read and see all of my ratings, check out my Goodreads shelf.
Trent’s Favorite Books
These are the books that Trent will dig through a pile to find when it is time to read.
Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton
This book will help Trent with both animals and counting. Also, it has a super fun song that goes along with the book which makes it so much fun to read!
Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton
I love this book! It is super cute, about an unusual friendship, and also has a great song (sung by Davey Jones).
Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin
Pete is probably Trent’s favorite! As we read, he points at Pete and is mesmorized for the whole book. It also has a fun song (see a trend?!?!).
If I Were a Penguin… by Anne Wilkinson
This book takes us through characteristics of penguins and is a touch-and-feel book. Trent has a favorite page in this book that he’ll open up to and just rub the penguin’s wing and stare at the page for minutes.
Other Favorite Books
There’s a chance Trent will pick these too!
Kiss Kiss Good Night by Ken Kesbitt
This is probably Jim’s favorite book to read to Trent at bedtime. It is a very sweet bedtime story with animals.
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
A classic! We love watching the You Tube video that reads the story with us as well as reading the board book. This was the first book that Trent took with him in place of a toy then read in the back seat as I drove him to daycare. This warmed my heart.
Five Black Cats by Patricia Hegarty
This Halloween story is more about some rambunctious black cats. The prose is so much fun to read and the pictures are colorful which holds Trent’s attention.
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site (Sound Book) by Sherri Duskey Rinker
I love this story filled with goodnights to our favorite construction machines, and I think the sound makes it even better! The rhyming story with the sounds makes it a wonderful bedtime story.
A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na
This beautiful look at animals’ bedtime has such amazing artwork. Trent and I love to look at the different animals.
Go, Train, Go! by Wilbert Awdry
Such a fun Thomas the Train story. This is one that Trent has just started picking up often. We’ll have to see what happens!
I so look forward to seeing what books Trent loves over the next year!
What books should I make sure we get to?
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.
Today’s Topic: Top Ten Favorite Book Heroines
Ricki
I decided to stick with fantasies because in my initial list, it felt odd to mix fantasies with nonfiction. Perhaps I will do non-fantasy heroines in a future post. You rock, ladies!
1. Katsa from Graceling by Kristin Cashore
I could easily choose any Kristin Cashore female lead. She writes heroines like no other author. But Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight. That is pretty darn tough.
2. Lyra from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Lyra is young, but she is fierce. She tries to save the world. No big deal.
3. Ismae from Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
I discovered this book on audiobook, and I think it is the best audiobook that I have ever listened too. Ismae is an assassin. If you haven’t read this book and want to read about a female who kicks butt, look no further.
4. Cassia from Matched by Allie Condie
I love Cassia because she stands up for herself and follows what she believes to be good and right and true.
5. Princess Elizabeth from The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
I read this picture book many moons ago, but the heroine still sticks with me. This is a great picture book to empower young girls.
Kellee
1. Katsa from Graceling by Kristin Cashore
I almost picked Fire because Ricki picked Katsa, but I couldn’t. Katsa is probably my favorite heroine of all time. She is so troubled, contemplative, strong, and hard-core, but also ends up being caring and smart. She is phenomenal.
2. Hermoine from Harry Potter by JK Rowling
I know this is cliche, but I love Hermoine. I love that a nerdy, smart girl can help save the world.
3. Zita from Zita (series) by Ben Hatke
I love Zita. She is a good friend. She is brave. She isn’t judgmental. She is smart. She is a girl that all boys will root for and all girls will long to be. And Zita doesn’t let anyone down- she is a true hero.
4. Lunch Lady from Lunch Lady (series) by Jarrett Krosoczka
Talk about the unexpected heroine! And she just keeps saving the day.
5. Kate from Matt Cruse (series) by Kenneth Oppel
Kate, like Hermoine, is brilliant beyond her years, but unlike Hermoine, she is expected to be prim and proper. Psh. Kate is not going to sit there and look pretty; she is going to jump right in, go on adventures, and get educated.
Which heroines are your favorite?
and
