Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Title: Light from Uncommon Stars

Author: Ryka Aoki

Publisher: Tor Books 2021

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 372

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

This book defies a simple description or genre. There’s sone science fiction. There’s some fantasy. There’s some family saga, even if it’s a found family. We’re thrown into multiple lives without much extra information. The first section of this book is rough. We get details of familial abuse. We get details of sexual assault and some descriptions of sex work. Once Katrina starts to settle into life with Shizuoka, I started to settle into the story and really appreciate the book. We dive deep into the main characters and sit with their highs and lows. It’s the lows that really pull at the emotions. While I really enjoyed the story and characters, it does settle into a melancholy atmosphere that I appreciated. The writing style took a bit to get used to, but ended up being a an interesting concept. We get a bit of stream of consciousness as a variety of music is played. I loved how we get to read exactly how the specific music affects certain characters. I’m still processing all my feelings and thoughts on this book, but it was definitely a winner.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lobizona by Romina Garber

Title: Lobizona (Wolves of No World #1)

Author: Romina Garber

Publisher: Wednesday Books 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Some people ARE illegal.
Lobizonas do NOT exist.
Both of these statements are false.
Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who's on the run from her father's Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida.
Until Manu's protective bubble is shattered.
Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past—a mysterious "Z" emblem—which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong.
As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it's not just her U.S. residency that's illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.

I listened to this on the way back from Indiana. While the book starts fairly slow, I was completely hooked by the time Manu finds herself in the Everglades and encounters a whole new world. This book tackles identity and family as well as cultural heritage, gender constructs, immigration, and body autonomy. Garber deftly weaves together a host of topics to paint a complete picture of one teenage girl. I loved imagining the various scenes (especially those that involved the tree) walking into Manu’s world. I most definitely need to read the folllow-up as this one leaves us on a big cliffhanger. And for the record, I totally called the identity of Manu’s father way before the reveal.

Wolves of No World

• #1 Lobizona

• #2 Cazadora

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer Bucket List Update #1

Another season, another summer bucket list. In our town, it’s been feeling like summer for weeks now. I sat down with the kids the other day and they helped me come up with a list of activities for this season.

1. Complete the Library Reading Program ✓

2. Tour of Midwest Zoos ✓ - We saw four zoos in Illinois and Indiana on our trip last week.

3. Ice Cream Tour of Omaha

4. Louisville SRA ✓ - We’ve been there twice so far this summer.

5. Durham Dinosaur Exhibit

6. Trip to Indiana, Iowa, Illinois ✓

7. Cookout with Friends

8. Lincoln Day

9. Medieval, Pirate, and Prehistoric Putt - In progress. The boys went with J to Medieval Putt while I was gone at the end of June.

10. Redo the Playroom

11. Bird Watching Hike

12. Pam Nelson Farm

13. Lauritzen Gardens

14. 5 Splash Pad Visits - 3 done

15. 3 Movies at the Theater - 2 done

16. 3 Omaha Zoo Visits - 1 visit done

17. Craft/Art Day - Not yet, but we are going to The Makery tomorrow with coop friends.

18. Read 50 Books

19. July Movie Month!

20. Clear Out My Library Cart

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Title: The Wedding Date (Wedding Date #1)

Author: Jasmine Guillory

Publisher: Berkley 2018

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 317

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn't normally do. But there's something about Drew Nichols that's too hard to resist.

On the eve of his ex's wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend....

After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she's the mayor's chief of staff. Too bad they can't stop thinking about the other....

They're just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century--or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want....

I grabbed this one as my audiobook selection for driving to Indiana. I was looking forward to a breezy fun contemporary romance. This one was okay, but definitely not my favorite. Let’s start with what I did like. I liked the meet-cute set-up between Alexa and Drew. I loved that they both had jobs that they were passionate about. I loved the interactions between each of them and their friends. I was board with all that. Unfortunately, this could not completely make up for a few of my issues. My first point is not about this particular book, but I did realize that I don’t love listening to open door scenes. I would most definitely prefer to read them instead. With respect to this actual story, I didn’t love how abrupt the ending was. I really wanted more of a discussion between the two characters about the miscommunication they engaged in. I wanted both parties to have a more serious discussion of their hang-ups before the obligatory epilogue chapter. I also became very annoyed with Alexa’s constant disparagement of her body. It really got old really fast. I imagine that I will continue reading the series, but this wasn’t the strongest start for me.

Wedding Date:

• #1 The Wedding Date

• #2 The Proposal

• #3 The Wedding Party

• #4 Royal Holiday

• #5 Party of Two

• #6 While We were Dating

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• We’re back home and I’ve got a huge list of things to accomplish before August 1st.

• Arthur’s got zoo camp next week and I need to make him lunches every day.

• So sad that we didn’t get to add any bald eagles to our summer count.

• But we did visit four different zoos on our trip.

• Coming home is always nice, but I do not love the laundry piles afterward.

Next up on the TBR pile:

100 Essential American Poems edited by Leslie M. Pockell

Title: 100 Essential American Poems

Author: Leslie M. Pockell

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books 2009

Genre: Poetry

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

The way we view our nation---its history, its traditions, even our distinctly American voice---is largely determined by our literature. In this rewarding and thought-provoking book are gathered poems that have been essential components of our common American culture, from the earliest days of our nation through canonic works of the nineteenth century and up to the present day. 100 Essential American Poems includes fondly remembered works by such familiar figures as Longfellow, Poe, and Whitman, and popular classics like "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and "Casey at the Bat," but it also features passionate outcries from poets like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes that highlight our ongoing national racial tensions, and poems by such women as Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, and Edna St. Vincent Millay that supply a distinctly female perspective on American life. Also included are the lyrics of such expressions of the American spirit as "Yankee Doodle," "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "This Land Is Your Land," in addition to a few surprises! The immortal poems and songs included here, each preceded by an illuminating headnote, will remind every reader of the richness and variety of the poetry of America and its people.

Meh. I am really not having a great reading week here. Two three star reads in a row. For this one, I was excited to read a variety of poets and styles. Instead, I feel like these are all the of the most well-known poems that appear in every anthology. And then we don’t really get very diverse in our poets and styles. Lots of the same over and over again. And we don’t really get any recent selections. I found a few gems in here, but overall I found the collection to be lacking greatly.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates

Title: The Haunting of Blackwood House (Haunting of Blackwood House #1)

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2015

Genre: Horror

Pages: 356

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Mara is the daughter of spiritualists. Her childhood was filled with séances, scam mediums, and talk of ghostly presences.
When Mara left her family’s home, she vowed she would never allow superstition into her life again. She’s ready to start over with her fiancé, Neil, in a world based on rationality and facts.
But her past isn’t ready to let her go just yet.
Mara and Neil purchase Blackwood House, a derelict property outside of town. They’re warned about strange occurrences in the crumbling building. Doors open by themselves, voices whisper in the night, bloody handprints appear on the walls, and cold spots linger in the basement, where the house’s original owner was murdered.
But Blackwood was dirt-cheap. Mara loves her new home, and she disregards the warnings.
Because ghosts aren’t real…are they?

I was hoping for some pulpy horror to tied me over during my trip, and this mostly delivered. I really loved the actual horror sections of this novel. The ghosts and ghostly occurrences were very creepy and set up nicely. I even found myself listening for odd noises in my house a few times. But then, I turned to the actual main characters and thoroughly disliked both Mara and Neil. I didn’t find either of them likable and did not root for either of them. I couldn’t even see the real attraction between those two. It didn’t quite make sense to me… The very late addition of two more characters didn’t do anything to make me like any of them more. My love of the horror aspects couldn’t bring this book up past three stars. Oh well.

Next up on the TBR pile:

We're Homeschooling - Year 3! Our Curriculum 3rd Grade

Two years of homeschooling under my belt, and I feel like I’ve really found my groove. It wasn’t hard to pick curriculum for this coming year. I knew that we wanted to be literature heavy so Build Your Library and Blossom and Root were obviously choices for us overall. Once I started looking into things, I went on a shopping spree and got my ducks in order. The hard part this coming year will be to balance each child’s individual needs and levels. Arthur will be in 3rd grade and Quentin will be in Kindergarten. I am working on creating a schedule that works for everyone while allowing for flexibility.

As a reminder, we are a pretty eclectic household with a strong literature base. My criteria when looking for curriculum:

• secular

• rigorous

• wide world perspective

• not necessarily all-in-one

• at least some physical items, not all online

• cheap (not necessarily the cheapest, but not expensive)

Let’s take a look at what I have for curriculum for next year!

Arthur - 3rd Grade

Math

We will be continuing with Singapore Math Common Core Edition as our base curriculum. Arthur will be starting with 4A and push through 4B. Beyond the basic text, we will be supplementing with Khan Academy, lots of math games, and random workbooks and packets. We will also be continuing with our logic puzzles.

• Singapore Math 4A and 4B

• Multiplication and Division G3-4

• Random Target Workbook

• Scholastic Math Tests G4

• Scholastic Math G4

• Sylvan Super Math Success G4

• Kumon Geometry and Measurement G4

• Logic Liftoff

• 50 Logic Puzzles

• The Math Book by Clifford A. Pickover

• Five Below Random Workbooks

Language Arts

This is Arthur’s grammar workbook selections for this year. We don’t do every page and question, but bounce around between some of them.

• Evan Moor Daily Summer Activities 3rd to 4th Grade

• Brainquest Summer 3&4

• Brainiest 3rd Grade

• Grade 3 Complete Curriculum

• Evan Moor Daily Language Review 3rd Grade

• Scholastic Grammar 3rd Grade

• Scholastic Writing 3rd Grade

• Scholastic Reading Comprehension 3rd Grade

• Scholastic Grammar 4th Grade

• Scholastic Writing 4th Grade

• Scholastic Reading Comprehension 4th Grade

• Five Below Workbooks

• Grade 3 Readiness

Arthur’s readers will be a mix of Blossom and Root’s Grade 3 Language Arts, Build Your Library 5, and our home library selections.

• Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

• The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

• The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams (coop book club selection)

• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (coop book club selection)

• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien

• Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

• Wildwood by Colin Meloy

• Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

• The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

• The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson

• Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

• The Secret Garden by France Hodgson Burnett

• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

• Insignificant Events int he Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Readers continued…

• El Deafo by Cece Bell

• Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

• The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

• Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

• Hollowpox: The Hunt of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

• The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

• The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall

• Midsummer Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca

• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

• The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

• Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland

• Iggy Peck and the Mysterious Mansion by Andrea Beaty

• Word of Mouse by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (coop book club selection)

Our language arts selections also include a mini unit on Native America stories and one on Shakespeare. I found some interesting resources for those.

• In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

• One World, Many Religions by Mary Pope Osborne

• Bravo Mr. William Shakespeare by Marcia Williams

• Tales from Shakespeare by Marica Williams

• Shakespeare for Kids by Colleen Aagesen

• A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll

• Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places by Joseph Bruchac

• The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac

• They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths by Jean Guard Monroe

• Pushing Up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children by Joseph Bruchac

And of course we have a stack of poetry selections.

• My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States by Lee Bennett Hopkins

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg

• Writing Down the Days by Lorraine Dahlstrom

• Poetry for Young People: Walt Whitman

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes

• Poetry for Young People: Edgar Allan Poe

Social Studies

Arthur’s social studies will focus on the United States to coincide with our history selection.

• Map Skills for Today Grade 3

• License Plates Across the America

• Nat Geo Kids U.S. Road Trip Atlas

• The Geography Book

• Map Skills for Today Grade 4

• Evan Moor Geography Skill Sharpeners Grade 5

• Target U.S. Workbook

• Nat Geo Kids United States Atlas

• The 50 States Activity Book

As our history base, Arthur is using Build Your Library Level 5 (U.S. History) combined with History Quest’s new U.S. History release.

• DK American History

• DK When on Earth?

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK History

• Don’t Know Much About The Presidents by Kenneth C. Davis

• DK Timeline of Everything

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• Words that Build a Nation by Marilyn Miller

• What Color is My World? The Lost History of African American Investors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

• The Declaration of Independence by Rod Gragg

• Inventing America: The Life of Benjamin Franklin by Mark Regan Essig

• Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women by Cheryl Harness

• Evan Moor Native Americans History Pockets

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• Lewis and Clark for Kids by

• Target U.S. Presidents Workbook

• The American Revolution for Kids

• A Kid’s Guide to African American History by Nancy I. Sanders

• Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson

• The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton

• Trickster: Native American Tales by Matt Dembicki

Our history curriculum has a ton of extra readers. I’m very excited to get to all of these.

• King George: What was His Problem? by Steve Sheinkin

• Which Way to the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin

• Two Miserable Presidents by Steve Sheinkin

• Day of Tears by Julius Lester

• Sarah Journey’s West by Nikki Shannon Smith

• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

• Chains by Laurie Halse Andreson

• Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

• Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson

• In the Shadow of Liberty by Kenneth C. Davis

• Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

• A Different Mirror for Young People by Ronald Takaki

• Pocahontas by Josephy Bruchac

• The Winter People by Joseph Bruchac

• Morning Girl by Michael Dorris

• A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• Sunnie Press Maps

Science

Our science is going to be a combination of Build Your Library Level 8 (history of science), Level 4 (Physics), and RSO Physics. Lots of interesting combinations.

• Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia

• DK Science Year by Year

• The Way Things Work Now by David Macaulay

• Build This Book by David Eckhold

• Astronomy for All Ages by Philip Harrington

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Handy Science Answer Guide

• A History of Earth in 100 Groundbreaking Discoveries by Douglas Palmer

• Six Easy Pieces by Richard P. Feynman

• The Annotated Flatland by Ian Stewart

• Five Equations that Changed the World by Michael Guillen

• Introducing Quantum Theory

• Nick and Tesla’s High Voltage Danger Lab by Bob Pfluffelder

• Flatterland by Ian Stewart

In addition to our formal science curriculum, we will be doing a variety of nature science lessons. We still have a ton of leftover lessons and resources from last year.

Art

This is actually all the art books for Quentin and Arthur. I took just one picture. Each one of their Build Your Library levels has a related art book to dip in and out of. Arthur’s selection is Great American Artists for Kids book to go along with U.S. History. Beyond that book, I imagine that we will occasionally do a art lesson on other people and styles. Plus, coop is supposed to be starting an art class. Very excited about this possibility.

• A Journey Through Art: A Global History by Aaron Rosen

• Storybook Art by MaryAnn F. Kohl

• The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola

• The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning

• Great American Artists for Kids by MaryAnn F. Kohl

• Global Art by MaryAnn F. Kohl

• Frida Kahlo: The Artist Painted Herself by Margaret Frith

Music Monday - Loveless "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)"

In honor of my family binging Season 4 of Stranger Things, I’m featuring this great cover of Kate Bush’s classic. I absolutely love this cover with a hard rock edge.

And I had to add the bonus of the original Kate Bush song:

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #22

On my bedside table: Hmm… I don’t know what I want to read next.

On my tv this week: I finally finished Stranger Things S4. My mom and I started watching Below Deck Down Under and I’m really enjoying that season. She also had me watch Southern Charm and Tall Girl randomly.

Listening to: I listened to an entire audiobook on the way to Indiana. I’ve got another one on tap for going back home. We’ll see how much I get read on the way.

On the menu for this week: We’re still gone through Wednesday, but then I’ll have to eventually make a meal plan.

On my to do list: I need to review my student loan settings and pick a new doctor. I hate dealing with loans and insurance. It’s the worst.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Indianapolis Children’s Museum (seriously that place is amazing!)

• Tuesday - Indianapolis Zoo

• Wednesday - Peoria Zoo; Drive home

• Thursday - Home recovery day

• Friday - Park day (I need to pick a place)

• Saturday - Friend’s Going Away Party

• Sunday - Currently Reading Zoom Book Club

What I am creating: I brought my Memory Planner pages to Indiana and hope to knock out April and May while I’m still traveling.

My simple pleasures: A few quiet moments

Looking around the house: Well, I’m not home, so no house issues for me.

From the camera: Enjoying the hotel pool

The Minor Third by Neil Patrick Harris

Title: The Minor Third (Magic Misfits #3)

Author: Neil Patrick Harris

Publisher: Little, Brown Books 2019

Genre: MG Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

Theo Stein-Meyer loves being part of the Magic Misfits. Armed with his trusty violin bow, he completes the team with his levitation skills, unflappable calm, and proper manners. But when a girl named Emily begins to spend time with the group and the other Misfits grow suspicious, Theo is surprisingly drawn to her. She seems to understand the pull he feels between music and magic, family and friends.
Then a famous ventriloquist arrives in town, and the Misfits are sure he (and his creepy dummy Daniel) are up to no good. With their mentor, Mr. Vernon, suddenly called away and tension simmering among the friends, will they be able to come together to stop this newest member of the mysterious Emerald Ring? It's time for Theo to make a choice about where -- and with whom -- he belongs.
Join the Magic Misfits as they discover adventure, friendship, and more than a few hidden secrets in this unique and surprising series. Whether you're a long-time expert at illusion or simply a new fan of stage magic, hold on to your top hat!

I finally got around to reading this third volume in the series. I was stressed out from page one and it didn’t let up even when the book ended. Theo’s entire story holds so much tension. I found it very difficult to really sink into this story. Instead, I felt like we sped through the story and didn’t even take one breath. I would have loved to get a few more answers to the big mystery. I guess that I have to wait until the next and last book in the series.

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:

Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

Title: Wicked Beauty (Dark Olympus #3)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 402

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR4

In Olympus, you either have the power to rule...or you are ruled. Achilles Kallis may have been born with nothing, but as a child he vowed he would claw his way into the poisonous city's inner circle. Now that a coveted role has opened to anyone with the strength to claim it, he and his partner, Patroclus Fotos, plan to compete and double their odds of winning.

Neither expect infamous beauty Helen Kasios to be part of the prize...or for the complicated fire that burns the moment she looks their way.

Zeus may have decided Helen is his to give to away, but she has her own plans. She enters into the competition as a middle finger to the meddling Thirteen rulers, effectively vying for her own hand in marriage. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather see her dead than lead the city. The only people she can trust are the ones she can't keep her hands off—Achilles and Patroclus. But can she really believe they have her best interests at heart when every stolen kiss is a battlefield?

Another solid very open door contemporary romance retelling of Greek myth. (I apparently have a thing recently for Greek myth retellings.) I had been intrigued by Helen from the second book in the series and was glad to see that she gets her own story here. I was initially not sold on Achilles as a character, but immediately loved Patroclus. How different are this two men? Ultimately, I really enjoyed watching these three people come together to create their own version of happy. On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed in how the action sequences and the romance sequences where jammed together. The transitions between the two weren’t the best and it felt like a bad porn movie a few times. I still ended up reading this in just a few days and enjoying my time. I’m looking forward to the next story featuring Apollo and Cassandra.

Dark Olympus

• #1 Neon Gods

• #2 Electric Idol

• #3 Wicked Beauty

• #4 Radiant Sun

Next up on the TBR pile:

I'm Not Home Videos

Here’s hoping they don’t fuck this up. I adored the comic series, but it’s a strange story to put on screen.

I cannot wait! Nadja is my absolutely favorite.

I’m not usually one for movie dramas, but this looks interesting.

Love Tim Minchin’s music. Can’t wait to see the movie version of the musical. So excited!

Wonderland edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane

Title: Wonderland

Edited by: Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane

Publisher: Titan Books 2019

Genre: Fantasy Short Stories

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

Join Alice as she is thrown into the whirlwind of Wonderland

Within these pages you'll find myriad approaches to Alice, from horror to historical, taking us from the nightmarish reaches of the imagination to tales that will shock, surprise and tug on the heart-strings. So, it's time now to go down the rabbit hole, or through the looking-glass or... But no, wait. By picking up this book and starting to read it you're already there, can't you see?

As with all short story collections, this volume was a mixed bag, but overall I liked it better than most. It’s no secret that Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books. Having a collection of Wonderland related stories as the connecting factor gives this collection an extra star in my book. We get a wide variety of styles and genres within these pages. My favorites were the stories that leaned into the horror of Wonderland. Those seemed to me as the most likely if there really was a Wonderland. I especially loved “There were No Birds to Fly” by MR Carey, “The White Queen’s Pawn” by Genevieve Cogman, and “The Hunting of the Jabberwock” by Jonathan Green. I had picked this up on whim, but so glad that I did.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor

Title: Address Unknown

Author: Kathrine Kressmann Taylor

Publisher: 1938

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 79

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

In this searing novel, Kathrine Kressmann Taylor brings vividly to life the insidious spread of Nazism through a series of letters between Max, a Jewish art dealer in San Francisco, and Martin, his friend and former business partner who has returned to Germany in 1932, just as Hitler is coming to power.

Originally published in Story magazine in 1938, Address Unknown became an international sensation. Credited with exposing the dangers of Nazism to American readers early on, it is also a scathing indictment of fascist movements around the world and a harrowing exposé of the power of the pen as a weapon.

A powerful and eloquent tale about the consequences of a friendship—and society—poisoned by extremism, Address Unknown remains hauntingly and painfully relevant today. 

One of the hosts of my favorite book podcast (Currently Reading) clued me into this book. Somehow I had never even heard of this slim novella. I read through the introduction, the text, and the afterward, and then went back to reread the introduction. I was rendered speechless by the powerful message contained within these pages. On the surface we get an epistolary novel between two friends and business partners. We see what happens when Martin returns to Germany in 1932 and very quickly becomes radicalized to Hitler’s message. The novella lulls you into a sense of familiarity and comfort for the first few letters before hitting you with fascism and intolerance in one angry passage. From there, we see the desperation and anger on both sides with a tragic ending. I most definitely will be recommending this book to all my people. I can see so many parallels to our own time and the lure of the alt-right. Should be required reading for all students. I will have to wait a few years for Arthur to truly grok this one, but it’s on my future reading list for his schooling.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #12

Reading: I finally started reading Katherine May’s The Electricity of Every Living Thing. I absolutely loved Wintering, but am not sure how I feel about this one quite yet.

Watching: We finally started Stranger Things S4 after the Fourth of July and I just want to binge it all. We didn’t quite finish before I left for Indiana, but I may finish while there.

Listening: I loaded up a few audiobooks for my driving day. After a few podcast episodes, I started listening to The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory.

Making: I brought my Memory Planner pages to work on this week. Hoping to knock out April, May, and part of June.

Feeling: Travel always makes me feel a bit out of place. Staying at my mom’s house also makes me feel this way. We’re excited to be here, but it’s also a weird feeling.

Planning: Still working on planning curriculum for the next school year. Obviously I’m not home, so my planning is limited, but I do have a few tasks.

Loving: The boys and I had a bit driving day yesterday, but today we’re in Michigan City visiting the Indiana Dunes and the Washington Park Zoo. Loving the adventures that I have lined up for the boys and myself.

Next up on the TBR pile:

We're Homeschooling - Year 3! Our Curriculum Kindergarten

Two years of homeschooling under my belt, and I feel like I’ve really found my groove. It wasn’t hard to pick curriculum for this coming year. I knew that we wanted to be literature heavy so Build Your Library and Blossom and Root were obviously choices for us overall. Once I started looking into things, I went on a shopping spree and got my ducks in order. The hard part this coming year will be to balance each child’s individual needs and levels. Arthur will be in 3rd grade and Quentin will be in Kindergarten. I am working on creating a schedule that works for everyone while allowing for flexibility.

As a reminder, we are a pretty eclectic household with a strong literature base. My criteria when looking for curriculum:

• secular

• rigorous

• wide world perspective

• not necessarily all-in-one

• at least some physical items, not all online

• cheap (not necessarily the cheapest, but not expensive)

Let’s take a look at what I have for curriculum for next year!

Quentin - Kindergarten

Primarily Quentin will be using Blossom & Root’s Kindergarten Language Arts curriculum and Build Your Library Level 0. B&R is focused on expanding literacy through lots of picture book studies and literature activities. I ultimately decided against using the entire B&R Kindergarten curriculum and just focus on the Language Arts. BYL 0 is a tour of the world including lots of literature, animal science, art, and poetry. Hopefully by combining these two curriculums, we will get to the amount of reading the we accomplish normally.

Language Arts

Blossom and Root and Build Your Library has some basic language lessons and activities, but my kids both seem to love workbook style for grammar lessons and such. We will be starting with the Kindergarten tagged workbooks and then move into the G1 books eventually. We use these as supplemental material. I create little weekly packets that I help the kids work through. Quentin is not good at working independently yet, but we will get there.

• Super Smart Kindergarten (we also have Super Smart First Grade if we need to crack it open)

• Beginning Phonics G1-2

• Phonics G1-2

• Preschool Handwriting Workbook

• Phonics for First Grade

• Smart Start Read and Write G1

• Scholastic Writing G1

• Sylvan Jumbo Language Arts Success G1

• BrainQuest K

• Smart Start Read and Write Kindergarten

• Tinkeractive English PreK (we didn’t get to this last year mostly because of the handwriting components; we will be starting with this book in August)

• Tinkeractive English K

Literature

This will be Quentin’s first year where we are going to try to read longer chapter books. I curated this collection from the Build Your Library and Blossom & Root curriculums and our own bookshelves.

• My Father’s Dragon Collection by Ruth Stiles Gannett

• One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest by Jean Craighead George

• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

• The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dagliesh

• Audrey of the Outback by Christine Harris

• The Very Very Far North by Dan Bar-el

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

• Heartwood Hotel Trilogy by Kallie George

• Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne

• Now We are Six by AA Milne

• The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

• The Witches by Roald Dahl (accidentally included this one in Q’s picture; this is actually for Arthur)

• The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren

• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

This picture includes more of our literature this year. BYL includes a great collection of animal tales from around the world to go with our country study. It also has a giant list of picture books to read with specific countries. Most of those picture books will be checked out from the library, but I did end up buying a few the library doesn’t have and a few that were included in a big curriculum box.

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta

• A Boy Called Slow by Joseph Bruchac

• Nat Geo Animal Poetry

• Katie in London by James Mayhew

• The Random House Book of Poetry for Children

• The Random House Book of Fairy Tales

• Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christina Bjork

• Snow in Jerusalem by Deborah Da Costa

• The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka

Social Studies

Social studies is coming straight from the Build Your Library Level 0 curriculum. I love the idea of doing a tour of the world. We are going to focus on the larger picture while zooming in to specific countries.

• Nat Geo Kids Beginner’s World Atlas

• Nat Geo Kids World Atlas

• Atlas of the World Sticker Book

• Map Skills for Today G1

• Skill Sharpeners Geography K

• Nat Geo Kids Little Kids First Big Book of the World

• DK Flags Around the World Sticker Book

• Around the World Sticker Book

• Maps Activity Book

• Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Carson Crosses Canada by Linda Bailey

• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight

• Cooking Class: Global Feast by Deanna F. Cook

• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman

• Scranimals by Jack Pretutsky

• Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

Science

The Build Your Library science for Kindergarten is all about animals! We’re pairing animal studies with our tour of the world. The main bulk of the curriculum is animals.

• DK Animal

• Nat Geo Wild Vet Adventures

• Lonely Planet The Animal Book

• Nat Geo Kids Wild Animal Atlas

• African Critters by Robert B. Haas

• Nat Geo On Safari Sticker Book

• Nat Geo Ferocious Animals Sticker Book

• Random Target workbook

• Usborne Animal World

The curriculum also has some selected topics in Earth Science sprinkled throughout the year. And we will be doing nature science when the weather is nice. The coop topics will also be in the mix.

• Tree of Life: The World of the African Boabab by Barbara Bash

• On the Same Day in March by Marilyn Singer

• A Drop Around the World by Barbara Shaw McKinney

• DK First Earth Encyclopedia

• Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke

• Tinkeractive Science K

• DK First Space Encyclopedia

Math

Math is definitely an issue in this house as both boys are at least one grade advanced in math. I am always trying to scramble to find the best choices for them. Quentin is going to be starting out with actual Kindergarten leveled books and quickly moving to G1 books. We will also be adding in some math board games and Khan academy. Looks like a lot, but Quentin loves math, so this looks just about right to me.

• Singapore Math 1A and 1B

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 and Book 3

• Highlights Thinking and Reasoning K

• Sylvan Basic Math Success G1

• Sylvan Page a Day Math G1 (this is basically the same as a portion of the other Sylvan book, so we are going to pass it along to a friend)

• Random Target workbook finds

• Time, Money and Fractions G1-2

• Tinkeractive Math K

• Smart Start Math G1

• Growing Patterns by Sarah C. Campbell

• Money Play Set (Target Dollar Spot find)

Art

This is actually all the art books for Quentin and Arthur. I took just one picture. Each one of their Build Your Library levels has a related art book to dip in and out of. Q’s is the Global Art book to go along with the tour of the world. Beyond that book, I imagine that we will occasionally do a art lesson on other people and styles. Plus, coop is supposed to be starting an art class. Very excited about this possibility.

• A Journey Through Art: A Global History by Aaron Rosen

• Storybook Art by MaryAnn F. Kohl

• The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola

• The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning

• Great American Artists for Kids by MaryAnn F. Kohl

• Global Art by MaryAnn F. Kohl

• Frida Kahlo: The Artist Painted Herself by Margaret Frith

Misc.

• Back issues of High Five magazine - We read through a ton of these last year, but still have a few to go.

• Highlights Magazine

• Highlights Amazing Mazes

• Highlight Amazing Mazes

• I Can Draw Book

• Sunnie Press Maps - I’ve been collecting these for awhile now. Each one details a location that will pair perfectly with our Around the World tour for social studies.

Music Monday - Shakira feat. Rauw Alejandro "Te Felicito"

Oh yeah! New music from Shakira. I’m totally here for this one!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #21

As I look outside my window: Slightly cooler temps and a breeze are greatly appreciated.

Right now I am: Getting reading to sit down and finish my current read, The Minor Third by Neil Patrick Harris before I need to make brunch.

On my bedside table: So many choices! I’m actually trying to narrow down my stack for what I want to haul to Indiana with me on Monday. I’m thinking Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates, 100 Essential American Poems edited by Leslie M. Pockell, The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May, and Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Plus I’ve got four audiobooks downloaded for driving time and I will take my iPad with all the Kindle books.

On my tv this week: We finished this season of The Boys and I’m a bit disappointed that they didn’t go where I thought they would. We have been getting through Stranger Things S4, but won’t be finished before I leave on Monday.

Listening to: Mostly a big shuffle of music from my Apple Music app.

On the menu for this week: No menu as we will be in Indiana all week.

On my to do list: After a quiet morning, I need to do one last library run before our trip. And my biggest to do is obviously to finish packing.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Travel Day

• Tuesday - Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City; Indiana Dunes and Lake Michigan; Travel

• Wednesday - Sunday - Fort Wayne

What I am creating: Mostly piles for packing, but also some curriculum plans.

My simple pleasures: Good books, packing ahead of time

Looking around the house: It’s laundry day! To prepare for our trip tomorrow, I have four loads of laundry to do today. Then I get to pack all of our clothes. Fun fun.

From the camera: Seems like it was weeks ago, but we did have a lovely Fourth of July with friends this past Monday.

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

Title: A Mirror Mended (Fractured Fables #2)

Author: Alix E. Harrow

Publisher: Tordotcom 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 144

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

Zinnia Gray, professional fairy-tale fixer and lapsed Sleeping Beauty is over rescuing snoring princesses. Once you’ve rescued a dozen damsels and burned fifty spindles, once you’ve gotten drunk with twenty good fairies and made out with one too many members of the royal family, you start to wish some of these girls would just get a grip and try solving their own narrative issues.

Just when Zinnia’s beginning to think she can't handle one more princess, she glances into a mirror and sees another face looking back at her: the shockingly gorgeous face of evil, asking for her help. Because there’s more than one person trapped in a story they didn’t choose. Snow White's Evil Queen has found out how her story ends and she's desperate for a better ending. She wants Zinnia to help her before it’s too late for everyone.

Will Zinnia accept the Queen's poisonous request, and save them both from the hot iron shoes that wait for them, or will she try another path?

I really enjoyed the first book in their series and was looking forward to the second. This one definitely delivers on it’s promise of a feminist reexamination This time we get to Zinnia deal with a story different from her own Sleeping Beauty story, I loved her uneasy alliance with the Queen as they explore a variety of Snow White stories. This is a very slim novella, but takes the reader on a high-speed journey right from the first page. I really enjoyed the conclusion to this story and really came to love the Queen.

Fractured Fables

• #1 A Spindle Splintered

• #2 A Mirror Mended

Next up on the TBR pile: