Behind Again

Some days I think I'll never be caught up!  We kept our books from September 26th for 2 weeks.  The kids had bad colds, and I just didn't think that another trip out was a good plan.  On the bright side we had some very fun books, and lots of them.

When we go to the Library I tell Stella that she may pick 5 books, and I pick 5 books.  So every week we have a total of 10 books at home.  Most weeks I only write about 5 or maybe 6 on a good week.  That is because the books Stella picks, well, to be frank, they aren't worth writing about!  They're Dora or Diego or Arthur. Or some other tv show character.  They are not particularly well written or very engaging for anyone over the age of 6!

This week, however, my girl did me proud.  She picked good books!  Real books!  So, while this post may be belated, it will be long enough to have been worth the wait!  And without further ado... The books:

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig   We loved this book!  It was so funny.  Sid and I both stared in incredulity and then laughed at the building materials the wolves chose and the way the Big Bad Pig got into the houses!  I love to read these books that take a well known story and turn it on its head.  This was well written and brilliantly illustrated.  And the ending... oh, that ending.  Even Stella saw the humor in it!  I don't want to give it away, You'll have to go read it yourself!

Grandfather's Journey   I read about this one on a list somewhere of good books to read.  It was a fine book.  You feel like you're speaking with the author as you listen to the very personal story he tells.  It's beautiful.  The pictures are beautiful and anyone who has made a home in place different from where they grew up will relate at least a little.  It was a little lost on Stella though.  She was just not ready for the kind of book it is.  We'll probably revisit this if we do a study on Japan in school later.

Come Back, Amelia Bedelia .  This was one of Stella's choices this week.  I was so glad she chose it, too.  I love Amelia Bedelia!  She is so literal.  I guess all kids can relate to that.  Stella liked this and we read it over and over.  We had tried Amelia Bedelia books before, but Stella wasn't quite ready for them.  The humor was totally lost on her.  Not this time though.  We both giggled through it each time we read it!

Meet Molly   This was a good one.  Obviously we are still on our American Girls kkick.  Stella told me yesterday she wants to read all the 1st books then all the 2nds and so on.  We'll have to see about that.  At this rate she'll be able to read them herself by the time we get to the 4th books!  They just keep churning these suckers out!  We did like Molly, and this book has a unique distintion of teaching Stella the "I see London, I see France" rhyme.  A childhood staple!

Mangaboom   We loved this book!  What a great story.  This was our favorite this week.  Excellent book.  I really wasn't sure what we were getting into with this one, but it was a great story about friendship, being who you are, not changing just to get a man. There is a hint of feminism in here, but it's just a hint.  And the message of friendship is much, much louder.  I did have to tell Stella what skinny dipping was...

Four Friends in Autumn   My least favorite Tomie DePaola book to date.  And I've read most of them!  This wasn't bad.  It was shorter than many of his books, and was just a fun little story.  Nothing wrong with it, it was a cute book.  I guess I just expect a lot from authors I know!

Degas and the Little Dancer   This was a fun story.  A ficticious account of how Degas' Little Dancer came to be.  It was a neat way to introduce art to Stella.  I want to expose them to great art, I just don't want it to be this huge lesson at this point in their lives.  Books are a great way to do that, and this was a great book for a 5 year-old girl!

Clifford's Adventures  This was actually two in one!  We like Clifford at our house.  He's such a well mannered pooch.  And what's not to love about the Big Red Dog?

And finally D.W.'s Guide to Perfect Manners .  This was one of the better books that fall into the Stella's choice category!  D.W.,Arthur's sister walks through a day of perfect manners for the pre-school set!  Nothing to argue with, and if we read it 12 times whose gonna complain about good manners?!

So all in all we had a good week on the book front!  What have you been reading?

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