Here's my randomness for the week:
Middle Grade March was a great idea. I read some great ones.
Starting planning the retreat for June and I’m getting so excited!
But first, I need to finish planning our Kansas trip for May.
I need some new slip-on sneakers that I can throw on for spring and summer.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Tell Me an Ending
Author: Jo Harkin
Publisher: Scribner 2022
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 448
Rating: 2/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Spring TBR
What if you didn't have to live with your worst memories?
Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever.
Finn, an Irish architect living in the Arizona desert, begins to suspect his charming wife of having an affair. Mei, a troubled grad school dropout in Kuala Lumpur, wonders why she remembers a city she has never visited. William, a former police inspector in England, struggles with PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his own secret family history. Oscar, a handsome young man with almost no memories at all, travels the world in a constant state of fear.
Into these characters’ lives comes Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London. The process of reinstating patients’ memories begins to shake the moral foundations of her world. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology.
And a big old dud for me. I was intrigued by the Black Mirror and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comparisons. I was looking for a very strange trip through memory and neuroscience (with a dash of the sci-fi thrown in). Unfortunately, we get a book of terrible people speculating about the terrible things they may or may not have done. The pace was excruciating. Nothing happened for chapters and chapters and chapters. And then when things happened, they weren’t that exciting. I was just thoroughly bored and definitely did not like this book.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: The Bookwanderers (Pages and Co. #1)
Author: Anna James
Publisher: HarperCollins 2018
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Pages: 400
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Seasonal TBR
Since her mother's disappearance, eleven-year-old Tilly Pages has found comfort in the stories at Pages & Co., her grandparents' bookshop. But when her favorite characters, Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Wonderland, start showing up at the shop,Tilly's adventures become very real. Not only can she follow Anne and Alice into their books, she discovers she can bookwander into any story she chooses. Tilly's new ability leads her to fun and exciting adventures, but danger may be lurking on the very next page...
When new secrets are uncovered, it's up to Tilly to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago. From debut author Anna James comes a charming and exciting adventure about a bookish young heroine, a mysterious librarian, and a magical bookshop that will delight book lovers everywhere.
Oh this was just so delightful! I always love books that incorporate books and this was such a great adventure story involving characters from books. Right away I was delighted with Tilly and her family’s book store. And then we start to encounter some interesting “people.” The big adventure finally gets going about halfway through the book and then doesn’t stop until the last page. And even then, we know there’s so much more to the story. I absolutely adored following along and must read more in this series soon.
Pages and Co.
#1 The Bookwanderers
#2 The Lost Fairy Tales
#3 The Map of Stories
#4 The Book Smugglers
#5 The Treehouse Library
Next up on the TBR pile:
Yet another great song from Beartooth.
Next up on the TBR pile:
As I look outside my window: It’s bright and sunny, but pretty chilly today. The high is around 43 degrees.
Right now I am: Getting ready to start a new sci-fi book. Hope this one does not disappoint.
On my bedside table: A few more middle grade books; Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin
On my tv this week: J and I finished the S1 of Our Flag Means Death (love it!) and caught up with Jeff Goldblum’s show and Severance. I got to start Bridgerton S2, but I don’ have time to binge the entire thing quite yet. Taking it slow.
Listening to: I’ve been loving the Apple Musicals Playlist and Apple Favorite’s list. Lots of singing this week, much to the disappointment of Arthur and Quentin.
On the menu for this week:
Monday - Tobe out for dinner (Book Club)
Tuesday - Brie, Apricot, Bacon Grilled Cheese
Wednesday - Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Potato Leek Soup
Saturday - ???
Sunday - ???
On my to do list: I need to organize curriculum, pick up the living room, watch Bridgerton S2 (high priority!), and make a grocery list today.
Happening this week:
Monday - Book Club for Cloud Cuckoo Land
Tuesday - Park Playdate; Book Club for The Girls in the Stilt House
Wednesday - Hair Appointment!
Thursday - Coop
Friday - Arbor Day Farm Field trip
Saturday - D&D
Sunday - Zoom Book Club for Just One Damned Thing After Another; Zoom Book Club for The War that Saved My Life
What I am creating: Mostly I’m just working on curriculum, although I do want to lay out my March MP pages as it’s the end of the month. I need to figure out what pictures to print.
My simple pleasures: Live theater! Cocktail with J out at a bar!
Looking around the house: I did a whirlwind clean yesterday and the kitchen looks amazing. It really needed a fully counter wipe down and organization. Plus I organized the laundry room. I do get all twitchy when I go in there anymore. Huzzah!
From the camera: Out to live theater for the first time since fall of 2019. J and I went to see Alton Brown. Absolutely hilarious!
Title: The War that Saved My Life
Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Publisher: Dial Books 2015
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Pages: 316
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Unread Shelf Project - Season or Phase of Life
Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?
I did not expect a middle grade book to hit me this hard emotionally. Ada’s story broke my heart in two. But there was so much hope! We follow along as Ada attempts to reconcile the world with her Mam and the outside world, even during wartime. It makes me so sad to think about the multitude of children who are treated like Ada. I’m still reeling a bit from the roller coaster of emotions. It was a beautiful story full of hardship, but with hope woven throughout. I will have to read the sequel soon.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: The Blackbird Girls
Author: Anne Blankman
Publisher: Viking 2020
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Pages: 345
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Spring TBR
On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own?
Told in alternating perspectives among three girls--Valentina and Oksana in 1986 and Rifka in 1941--this story shows that hatred, intolerance, and oppression are no match for the power of true friendship.
Another middle grade March selection that was really fantastic. I really enjoyed this beautiful tale of survival and friendship. Right away we are thrust into a difficult situation for both Oksana and Valentina and follow them as they grow more and more independent in their thinking and lives. I loved to see the interaction between the girls as they create a bond of friendship. The Soviet Union of the 1980s is not an era that I know much about but I feel like I learned so much through their eyes. We will definitely have to revisit this one when we get to that era in our history study.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: How High We Go in the Dark
Author: Sequoia Nagamatsu
Publisher: William Morrow 2022
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Pages: 304
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Spring TBR List
For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague—a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice. In 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects—a pig—develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet. From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resilience of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe.
I’m not exactly sure how to review this book. I do know that I loved it and have been talking about it nonstop. There are some very heavy themes in here and it’s definitely not for HSPs. There are many parallels to our current pandemic that made me think about our future and how people have responded to events. I imagine that I will be thinking about this book for many days to come. I’m participating in a zoom conversation at the beginning of April. Maybe I will solidify my thoughts by that time. Overall, I found this collection of connecting stories to be absolutely amazing.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: The Lion of Mars
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Publisher: Random House 2021
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Pages: 259
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
Bell has spent his whole life--all eleven years of it--on Mars. But he's still just a regular kid--he loves cats and any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don't they have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It's up to Bell--a regular kid in a very different world--to uncover the truth and save his family...and possibly unite an entire planet.
Another delightful middle grade adventure story. I read this one in one sitting on a rainy morning. We get to follow Bell as he lives life on the Mars colony, experiences challenges and mysteries, and ultimate finds his place and home. There is death in this book, but it’s done very gently. There is a mystery, but it’s not very scary. And there’s a bunch of interesting side character. I really loved Flossy! I got to the last page and immediately pressed it into Arthur’s hands to read next.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Reading: The Blackbird Girls by Anna Blankman, so far a very stressful but good story about two girls in the aftermath of the Chernobyl meltdown.
Watching: We started Severance S1 and it is so weird.. We love it!
Listening: Really I’m just listening to the usual podcasts. Nothing that exciting.
Making: March is almost over. That means that I’m making plans for my April reading. I really really need to read from my shelves, but I keep getting distracted by shiny new library books.
Feeling: I’m doing okay right now. Feeling a bit of a lull.
Planning: We’re over halfway through the semester. It’s about time to do a survey to start planning our next year.
Loving: We ordered a lemon cake for J’s birthday (a week earlier), and it was incredibly delicious.
Next up on the TBR pile:
So… we had a week. Overall, it was that exciting, but we made it through the week with a few fun outings.
Literature and Poetry
We started a new read aloud and do a few literature studies this week. A fairly normal week when it came to language.
City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda
Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost by Gary D. Schmidt
Me… Jane by Patrick McDinnell
Sally Jean, Bicycle Queen by Cari Best
Superworm by Julia Donaldson
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
Math
Arthur covered Unit 11: Data Analysis for math. It was a short unit,. but we worked through all the problems.
Logic Countdown
Social Studies
This chapter of History Quest focused on the Renaissance. We covered a lot of the art and architecture and compared to the earlier Medieval period. Arthur was very focused on Brunelleshi’s cathedral in Florence.
DK Timelines of Everyone
When on Earth
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
Human World
Leonardo da Vinci by Stephen Krensky
Leonardo da Vinci by Mary Pope Osborne
Renaissance by Alison Cole
Arthur Independent Time
To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history.
Science and STEAM Coop
For coop, we talked about first responders and had talk from a local wildlife rescue group. I learned a lot, but the boys were a bit more interested in the crafts we did. Beyond that, we did read some other books and chatted about a variety of first responders.
Show Me Community Helpers by Clint Edwards
Helping Hospital by Lindsay Ward
Real Superheroes by Julia Seal
First Responders by Allan B. Cobb
Itty Bitty Kitty Firehouse Fun by Joan Holub
Art/Music
None this week
Quentin
I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. Q finished Sh, Ch, and Th digraphs and started moving into Level 1 readers. We kept working on math skills and pencil control.
ELA
Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals by Nicola Davies
Biscuit Feeds the Pets by Alyssia Satin Capucilli (Q reads)
A Snowy Day in Bugland by David A. Carter (Q reads)
Summer Story by Jill Barklem
Autumn Story by Jill Barklem
High Five April 2018
High Five September 2018
Farming by Gail Gibbons
Night on the Farm
In! Over! and On! (The Farm) by Ethan Long
Spring on the Farm by MJ York
Go to Sleep, Little Farm by Mary Lyn Ray
On the Farm by David Elliott
Poo on the Farm by Emilie Dufresne
On the Farm, At the Market by G. Brian Karas
Old MacDonald had a Farm by Jane Cabrera
Math
Lollipop Logic Book 1
Other
I Spy Learn and Go
Smart Start Beginning Coding Grade 1
Field Trip
On Monday we took the morning for errands and also hit the park for about an hour or so. It was a bit chilly, but not bad at all. The boys really needed some time to run.
Wednesday was a nature hike at Schramm with some coop friends. We did the 3 mile loop, had a picnic, played at the playground, and looked for fossils. It was a glorious 4 1/2 hours out in nature.
Documentary Selection
I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies.
Misc. Picture Books Read
Turtle Pond by James Gladstone
The Little Piggy Went Dancing by Margaret Wild
Cecil the Pet Glacier by Matthea Harvey and Giselle Potter
15 Things NOT to Do with a Puppy by Margaret McAllister
Anzu the Great Kaiju by Benson Shum
The hike through the woods on Wednesday was absolutely amazing! The boys had a great time with friends and so did I!
We didn’t get around to our earth science lesson this week and now we’re slightly behind. I don’t like being behind. Thankfully, we have a “break week” next week. I have very glad that I built in breaks in our scheduled lessons to catch up when we get behind.
Next Week
Starting 3B Unit 12 for geometry
Continuing reading City of the Plague God
Finishing up first responders for coop
Diving into rocks and minerals for science
Covering the Kiev Russia for history
Taking Thursday off after coop
Looking forward to a nature hike on Friday
Next up on the TBR pile:
I cannot get this song out my head. So very good.
Next up on the TBR pile:
After taking a bit of a break from bucket lists in 2021 (seriously, that year was a trash fire), I’m back this year. We have a variety of projects that we want to accomplish this coming year and I want to make some intentions for each season. For winter:
Check off 150 hours of our 1000 hours outside project - Fail. The weather was really against me here. We did manage to get over 25 hours this season, but no where near my goal.
Have a birthday day out for my 40th! ✓ - It was glorious!
Weekend trip to Chicago
Read 50 books ✓
Day trip to Des Moines
At least 6 zoo visits (3/6)
Trip to see the frozen waterfall at Platte
Movie Month February ✓
Weekly Game Day/Night with Arthur ✓
Make winter crafts
Design board for future kitchen renovation
Make Valentine’s ✓
Have a monthly (indoor) picnic
Finish one craft project ✓
Monthly bingo/trivia nights ✓
Go sledding
Buy a new Nebraska State Park permit ✓
Do a donation drop - I’ve done a toy cleanup, just need to gather some more things before doing the drop.
Take the kids bowling
Dye my hair purple - Fail for this season, but I do have an appointment for next week!
Log 50 miles on the treadmill
Learn to knit
Replace 50% of my socks ✓
Make homemade cinnamon rolls
Complete 3 television series ✓
Up Next on the TBR:
After taking a bit of a break from bucket lists in 2021 (seriously, that year was a trash fire), I’m back this year. We have a variety of projects that we want to accomplish this coming year and I want to make some intentions for each season. For spring:
Check off 150 hours of our 1000 hours outside project - Winter was a fail due to the weather. Here’s hoping spring cooperates at least a little bit!
Two Lincoln Excursion Days - We know we want to hit Morrill Hall again and maybe the zoo.
Three State park Visits - Trying to use that pass!
Read 50 books
Day trip to Des Moines - Carrying this over from last season.
At least 6 zoo visits
Design board for future kitchen renovation
Monthly bingo/trivia nights
Do a donation drop - Carry over from last season
Take the kids bowling or mini golfing
Log 50 miles on the treadmill
Make homemade cinnamon rolls
Plan out curriculum for next year
Plan out the Bookish Retreat!
Plan an Indiana trip for summer complete with Indianapolis mini trip
Weekend trip to Kansas
Plan a redo for our homeschool space / playroom
Do a Closet Cleanout for Me
Do a Closet Cleanup for the Kids
Work on a Craft Project
Up Next on the TBR:
Title: The Magnolia Palace
Author: Fiona Davis
Publisher:Dutton 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 340
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.
Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City's most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica's financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.
I’ve enjoyed Davis’s books in the past and had to pick up her newest one this week. We get a study of the Frick Mansion in NYC with our two timelines. I’m not a huge fan of dual timelines when one is in the present, but thankfully this one has two historical timelines: one in post WWI and one in the 1960s. Lillian and the cast of characters in 1919 were fascinating. I loved peeking into the Frick family at the height of their wealth and privilege. The storyline set in the 1960s was less exciting, but we get the perfect plot to wrap up the mysteries from the earlier timeline. Overall a good historical fiction centered on a real place, but I imagine that I will forget this in a few months.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: The Magic Misfits (Magic Misfits #1)
Author: Neil Patrick Harris
Publisher: Little, Brown Books 2017
Genre: MG Fantasy
Pages: 256
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
When street magician Carter runs away, he never expects to find friends and magic in a sleepy New England town. But like any good trick, things change instantly as greedy B.B. Bosso and his crew of crooked carnies arrive to steal anything and everything they can get their sticky fingers on.
After a fateful encounter with the local purveyor of illusion, Dante Vernon, Carter teams up with five other like-minded illusionists. Together, using both teamwork and magic, they'll set out to save the town of Mineral Wells from Bosso's villainous clutches. These six Magic Misfits will soon discover adventure, friendship, and their own self-worth in this delightful new series.
Oh this was such a delight! Right away we’re pulled into Carter’s story of identity and found family all wrapped up in magic. As soon as Carter meets Mr. Vernon, we know that the story is going to get moving fast. And move it does. This story in one nonstop action and adventure story full of mystery, tricks, and possibly real magic. I loved that Carter finds his place in Mineral Wells and the beginnings of a real family. We get a few clues into the larger history of Mr. Vernon and his compatriots. And we get one heck of a final act with Bosso and his gang. Immediately after I read it, I put it into Arthur’s hands and he devoured it and asked for the next one. Guess we’re adding to the library holds.
The Magic Misfits
#1 The Magic Misfits
#2 The Second Story
#3 The Minor Third
#4 The Fourth Suit
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs: A History of the World in 100 Discoveries
Edited by: Ann R. Williams
Publisher: National Geographic 2021
Genre: Nonfiction - History
Pages: 512
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
Blending high adventure with history, this chronicle of 100 astonishing discoveries from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the fabulous "Lost City of the Monkey God" tells incredible stories of how explorers and archaeologists have uncovered the clues that illuminate our past. Archaeology is the key that unlocks our deepest history. Ruined cities, golden treasures, cryptic inscriptions, and ornate tombs have been found across the world, and yet these artifacts of ages past often raised more questions than answers. But with the emergence of archaeology as a scientific discipline in the 19th century, everything changed. Illustrated with dazzling photographs, this enlightening narrative tells the story of human civilization through 100 key expeditions, spanning six continents and more than three million years of history. Each account relies on firsthand reports from explorers, antiquarians, and scientists as they crack secret codes, evade looters and political suppression, fall in love, commit a litany of blunders, and uncover ancient curses. Pivotal discoveries include: King Tut's tomb of treasure Terracotta warriors escorting China's first emperor into the afterlife The glorious Anglo-Saxon treasure of Sutton-Hoo Graves of the Scythians, the real Amazon warrior women New findings on the grim fate of the colonists of Jamestown.
I picked this one up off the new books shelf on a whim. I’m always up for a good book about archaeology and discovery. This one details 100 amazing discoveries starting all the way back in prehistoric times with a line of footprints. I enjoyed flipping through the pages and stopping when a topic caught my eye. I knew about most of these discoveries, but it was still nice to remind myself. This collection is perfect to those new to the topic of archaeology and those that are already steeped in it.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: The Jumbies
Author: Tracey Baptiste
Publisher: Algonquin Books 2015
Genre: MG Fantasy
Pages: 240
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
Corinne La Mer claims she isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?
When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home.
I’ve heard about this one from multiple sources and finally picked it up for Middle Grade March. I loved the dive into Caribbean myths and culture. We get to meet Corinne and the various inhabitants of the island, including the non-human inhabitants. We dive right into the story and immediately encounter the danger from Severine. I loved following along as Corinne makes new friends and then finds a way to return peace and order to her island. Beautiful middle grade horror.
The Jumbies
#1 The Jumbies
#2 Rise of the Jumbies
#3 The Jumbie God’s Revenge
Next up on the TBR pile:
Here's my randomness for the week:
I just figured out how to combine multiple curriculums together for Quentin. Now I need to start working on Arthur’s stuff.
Thinking it’s survey time for the coop. Working on the topics and questions this week.
Somehow dinner last night was a disaster. The rolls burned and the pork roast turned out incredibly dry. I gave up and we got takeout.
Added five shirts to my spring and summer wardrobe. Finally.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Hansel & Gretel
Author: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Lorenzo Mattotti
Publisher: Toon Graphics
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Pages: 56
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
Best-selling author Neil Gaiman and fine artist Lorenzo Mattotti join forces to create Hansel & Gretel, a stunning book that's at once as familiar as a dream and as evocative as a nightmare. Mattotti's sweeping ink illustrations capture the terror and longing found in the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Gaiman crafts an original text filled with his signature wit and pathos that is sure to become a favorite of readers everywhere, young and old.
The writing portion of this slim story was delightful. Gaiman is amazing at creating those turns of phrases that delight and haunt. The illustrations were an interesting idea, but they were very hard to parse through. Still, I’m always up for a good fairy tale retelling.
Next up on the TBR pile: