This was one of the very first books that my son wanted to read over and over again, probably when he was about a year old. It's super simple, and jusThis was one of the very first books that my son wanted to read over and over again, probably when he was about a year old. It's super simple, and just follows a mom and her child as they put away laundry and get the child dressed to go to the park, but he loved it and we ended up checking it out multiple times. ...more
This was a gift from Elijah's aunt, uncle and cousins. Okay, partly I just have very, very fond memories of reading many of these stories as a kid mysThis was a gift from Elijah's aunt, uncle and cousins. Okay, partly I just have very, very fond memories of reading many of these stories as a kid myself, so I am never bothered when Elijah wants to read it, but it helps that he focuses on three or four stories at a time and wants to read just those, and not the entire book, because it's pretty long! I had sort of forgotten how funny Richard Scarry books are until he got hooked on this one. Somewhere I'm pretty sure I have another collection of stories from my childhood days. I need to find that thing!...more
This is a book that was given to me by Susan at work as a baby shower gift when we were welcoming our own Elijah! It's a book about a Jewish family ceThis is a book that was given to me by Susan at work as a baby shower gift when we were welcoming our own Elijah! It's a book about a Jewish family celebrating Passover together, and simultaneously, the story of a young kitten and how it finds a home. The illustrations are warm and evocative, and I love the way the boy's and the kitten's evenings parallel each other until they meet. We read this book multiple times a day for about a month, and I never really got sick of it. ...more
One of the very first books that Elijah picked out for himself at the library, and we kept it for months and reread it about 5,000 times before it finOne of the very first books that Elijah picked out for himself at the library, and we kept it for months and reread it about 5,000 times before it finally had to go back. We're definitely planning on buying a copy at some point. Super simple concept, but the illustrations are so good, and the way the story unfolds all in B words is so well-done! I never got tired of this one, and I miss it now that we don't have it anymore!...more
This book totally kicked off my son's Ladybug Girl obsession and we've now read it about a million times. He knows all the dogs, can complete most of This book totally kicked off my son's Ladybug Girl obsession and we've now read it about a million times. He knows all the dogs, can complete most of the sentences, and while he's now mostly moved on to Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, he still requests this one from time to time. It's pretty great, although I personally feel that Elvis does not receive nearly enough screen time. I love him the best!...more
I swear, my kid latches onto the weirdest books sometimes! He grabbed this one off the shelf at the library this morning and he has already made me reI swear, my kid latches onto the weirdest books sometimes! He grabbed this one off the shelf at the library this morning and he has already made me read it to him about ten times. He gets reeeeeally fixated on the page where the bat gets scared and then he and the frog shake hands. Why? Maybe because he’s also really been into the phrase “nice to meet you” for some reason? I dunno, he’s one.
Anyway, I don’t know anything about Matt Furie, although I guess this frog is kind of a big deal or something? But I feel like probably this book was drawn while high. I guess it’s kind of a nice story, and it’s neat that it doesn’t have words, so you can kind of fill in your own details or speculations, but it is a strange one! I think I’ll be okay with it when he (hopefully) eventually gets bored with it and I can take it back to the library....more
I happened across this book while looking for something else and it just sounded cool, so I put it on hold. And it is SUPER cool! Beautiful illustratiI happened across this book while looking for something else and it just sounded cool, so I put it on hold. And it is SUPER cool! Beautiful illustrations based on real photographs of seven kids around the world and their families, their houses, their meals, their schools, their games, their beds, their clothes, their names... It’s fun to see the similarities and differences among all of these kids, and learn more about where and how they live. It’s a very simple concept, but done just perfectly! I would love for there to be more books like this for sure. ————- Update: Elijah has now gotten hooked on this book as well. At this point you can name any of the kids or any of their family members and he can point them out. He knows who all the clothes and houses belong to. He gets really disturbed by the fact that one Japanese girl is not in her seat and yells, “No, girl!” at her whenever we get to that page, and he also doesn’t like that apparently kids in Russia don’t raise their hands all the way up in class. He loves saying “Bonka” (which is what he calls his little brother) when he sees Kian helping take care of his little brother. He always tries to grab the bike at Kei’s house out of the book, and he is weirdly fixated on Romeo’s dad Oscar.
All that to say, my not-quite-two-year-old also thinks it’s super cool, and I am kind of amazed at how well a book this long has held his attention! We have read it about 25 times now, and he just seems to get sucked in deeper and deeper.
Am I regretting bringing it home now? …Maybe a little? But mostly I still really love it....more
So, I have never really been a baker, and bread has always kind of scared me because it seems so labor intensive. But I’m at home a lot now, and we keSo, I have never really been a baker, and bread has always kind of scared me because it seems so labor intensive. But I’m at home a lot now, and we keep buying giant bags of flour at Costco and I keep getting super annoyed at grocery store bread that tastes like glue, so I looked up what bread is the easiest to make and got this cookbook as the result.
I am still not really a baker. Or at least, not really a good one. But thanks to this book I feel like I’m kind of getting the hang of it? The only problem is that the loaves the main recipe makes are pretty small, and I have a toddler who keeps coming to the counter demanding, “Bread. Bread. Bread” the second it comes out of the oven, so it never lasts us for more than a few days. But it is super easy, and is getting easier with practice, so I feel like maybe at some point I’ll be able to find the time/energy/inclination to make it more than once every two or three weeks?
Anyway, I feel like I’m getting close to mastering at least the basic recipe and will probably try one of the many variations pretty soon. I’ve never really been big on bread, but trying this has been fun and has actually made me appreciate it more. And it never tastes like glue, yay!...more
I’ve kind of been struggling with whether I actually like this series or not, and I keep going back and forth on it. And where I seem to have come dowI’ve kind of been struggling with whether I actually like this series or not, and I keep going back and forth on it. And where I seem to have come down is that I really love the premise, but the execution misses the mark for me. I just can’t seem to get interested at all in the whole baby plot line of this book, and so I’ve found every excuse to read other things until finally my loan period ended before I even managed to push myself halfway through. I guess maybe I’m done? Maybe? ...more
As usual, Nathan Hale does a good job of conveying complicated moments in history in a way that’s understandable and entertaining, and I found the warAs usual, Nathan Hale does a good job of conveying complicated moments in history in a way that’s understandable and entertaining, and I found the war correspondent’s perspective interesting. I liked that at the end Higgins points out that there are lots of different perspectives of the Korean War, and encourages readers to seek more out. Maybe Hale will revisit it someday?...more
Okay, so, I have not read anything Harry Potter related in like a decade, but I saw something recently that claimed that this fan fiction is the best Okay, so, I have not read anything Harry Potter related in like a decade, but I saw something recently that claimed that this fan fiction is the best Harry Potter book, and well, I was curious.
I really enjoyed the first four years, and year five is suuuuper angsty, if you’re into that, but I sort of feel like things fell apart for me after that. I liked the characters for the most part, except for oh man, did I get fed up with Sirius about 90% of the time! His relationship with Remus seems in equal parts believable/ridiculous/extremely dysfunctional and I could never quite decide whether I liked them together or hated them together. I greatly enjoyed Mary, I liked Marlene & Lily, and I appreciated that this fanfic made me actually kind of care about the marauders, which I absolutely did not before.
Anyway, I feel like once their school days ended the story got a little lost—lots of time passes very quickly, there are a lot of scenes of Remus just like…moping around the house or yelling at everyone? I just lost interest and had to force myself to finish it, which actually kind of happened in the original series as well, so true to form?
In the end, I am very impressed with this fan fiction, though I can’t say I completely loved it, but also…I still like The Goblet of Fire the best, sorry! Viktor Krum is my fave! I can’t help it!...more
I definitely got some good ideas from this book, but I didn’t always agree with Bogart, and I did sometimes find her writing...irritating. I hate whenI definitely got some good ideas from this book, but I didn’t always agree with Bogart, and I did sometimes find her writing...irritating. I hate when people write things like, “Go do this thing I’m telling you to do. I’ll wait!” Does anyone ever actually get up and go do that thing right then? I’m betting no. But I still did like her general view of homeschooling, for the most part.
I can see myself possibly revisiting this book somewhere down the line, if this is the route we end up taking, but for now, I’ll just keep in mind what might work for a slightly-less-than-2-year-old....more
I dunno. I keep reading these, and at least this one was better than the previous one, and I like the additions of April and Sebastian, but I keep wisI dunno. I keep reading these, and at least this one was better than the previous one, and I like the additions of April and Sebastian, but I keep wishing it was less of a comedy of errors circus all the time. I think I’m gonna give this series one more try though? ...more
I enjoyed this, just...I wanted more depth, I think. Like, the romance happens so fast. SO FAST!!! I couldn’t quite see what either of them really likI enjoyed this, just...I wanted more depth, I think. Like, the romance happens so fast. SO FAST!!! I couldn’t quite see what either of them really liked about the other. And I sort of wanted a little more resolution with Morgan’s friends. I love the art, though, and the story is super sweet, it just feels only partially formed to me. Totally looking forward to more from Ostertag, though!...more
Uhhhh...so, this one was...kinda dumb. Like, I was really interested in the beginning, and it's a super interesting setup, and then it pretty quickly Uhhhh...so, this one was...kinda dumb. Like, I was really interested in the beginning, and it's a super interesting setup, and then it pretty quickly goes off the rails with Casey doing every dumb thing imaginable, and every bad thing that can happen in the woods all happens one right after another, and then the solution to the mystery ends up being...uh, okaaaaay? (view spoiler)[SERIAL KILLERS EVERYWHERE, even in the freaking middle of the woods (hide spoiler)]! Also, I totally knew about (view spoiler)[Val (hide spoiler)] right from the start. I think that was supposed to be a shocking thing, but no, not at all.
I'm still totally going to read this next one in the series, but maaaan, this one was super ridiculous. Hopefully Armstrong reigned it in for the fourth book though? ...more
…I dunno, I guess this was fine, and I might have enjoyed it more if my listening weren’t so drawn out, but now that I have zero commute and have had …I dunno, I guess this was fine, and I might have enjoyed it more if my listening weren’t so drawn out, but now that I have zero commute and have had a baby constantly snoozing in my bedroom until just a couple of weeks ago, there has not been much opportunity to listen to this thing on my ancient iPod that must stay plugged in at all times to work (why was I even doing this anyway???). I could just have easily listened to it on my phone, buuuuuut I think I just did not find it compelling enough to bother trying to find the spot where I left off in order to switch over.
Okay, so also I realized pretty quickly that I was mainly interested in the rocket science parts of this book and pretty much not at all interested in this guy’s crazy secret society shenanigans. But I would say the ratio is about 50/50, so that’s an entire half a book I didn’t really care about. It’s not like the secret society stuff was a SECRET, I knew what I was getting into, I guess I just thought that would be a much more minor part of the story maybe?
Anyway, I made it like…halfway through? Maybe? But I just never got even remotely hooked enough to make it worth finishing....more
I wasn’t expecting another book in this series, since the Ellingham murders got all wrapped up. I was very excited when I saw there was a fourth, but I wasn’t expecting another book in this series, since the Ellingham murders got all wrapped up. I was very excited when I saw there was a fourth, but the premise sounded a little cheesy, and I wasn’t really sure if I would like it, taking place away from Ellingham. Guess you can tell from my rating that was dumb of me!
Once again, the mystery is pretty compelling, and while I had a vague inkling of who I thought might be involved, I in no way picked up on the how or the why, and it all ended up surprising me (ha) in the end. I ended up liking the summer camp setting a lot, but mostly, I just loved spending time with Stevie and Nate and Janelle and David again.
Nate is still my fave. In case you wondered.
Anyway, now I am definitely expecting a fifth book and a sixth and a seventh and...I mean, there are plenty more murders to solve, right? ...more
I’m enjoying this series more than I thought I would, and I definitely enjoyed this book more than I did the first one. I’ll keep on going! I want to I’m enjoying this series more than I thought I would, and I definitely enjoyed this book more than I did the first one. I’ll keep on going! I want to find out what happens with Nicole and Diana and Matthias and Jacob. And more Storm!...more
I’m always so excited to have a new volume of Space Brothers to read! This one mainly follows the Maxim 4 as they prep for their launch, and it’s defiI’m always so excited to have a new volume of Space Brothers to read! This one mainly follows the Maxim 4 as they prep for their launch, and it’s definitely satisfying to see how far Hibito has come and how many people are rooting for him. Buuuuuut I’m ready to get back to Mutta on the moon! ...more
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