Potato Peel Society Book

Time for the 5 Minutes for Books book club and this month we're talking about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. (I never managed to say the title right until after I read it. Now I say it correctly out of reverence!) I feel rather late to crawl on the bandwagon with this one. However, it eventually came to the point where I had had about enough of listening to other people talk about and was convinced that I should read it for myself. I went out and bought a copy, told myself I wasn't allowed to read it right away, took a sneak peek at the opening chapter, and promptly devoured the whole thing. (That's should give you a general idea of how well I do with things involving self discipline!)

What could I possibly say that has not been said about this book already? To give you a brief overview:

The story revolves around Juliet Ashton who discovers a charming group of people who formed the Literary and Potato Peel Society on the Channel Island of Guernsey during the German occupation in World War II. This group of people on Guernsey got through the occupation by reading and discussing a variety of books. There are some rather remarkable personalities within the literary society and Ms. Ashton finds herself so enamoured with the lot that she leaves her home in London and makes her way to Guernsey to meet and live among the society members for a time in order to learn more about them. Along the way she discovers what she wants in life and who she is. We meet a lovable cast of characters and have a wonderful time on Guernsey.

I, for one, did not realize that this was a historical fiction. I just thought it was contemporary fiction so I confess to hem and haw over it for that reason. Sure, it sounded clever (and entire book told through the writing of letters!?!) but, still, contemporary! Imagine my utter delight to open it up and find that it is set during my favorite period in history - World War II! Glee and delight!

Furthermore, author Mary Ann Shaffer (who actually died before the book was completely readied for publishing) has a quick and shining wit that made reading this book a pleasant journey. At first it was a bit difficult to figure out who the characters were because the book is told through a series of letters, but it sorts itself out easily enough and within the first 20 pages or so you find the rhythm and it's hard to break away from it!

I utterly loved this book. For me, it's a five star read. There is some foul language in it. I think I ran across three bad words and they are scattered throughout the book so you catch one at the beginning, one in the middle and one near the end. It's not too bad and I still loved the book enough to totally ignore those words. There is one character who has a questionable lifestyle but it's hard to pinpoint the facts of the matter because the author dances on by the issue so quickly you aren't sure exactly what she means by it. (I'll leave you guessing. You'll find out what I mean if you read the book.) In short, nothing was so blatant to turn me away. Everything was so witty and creative to draw me in and keep me enthralled from page one all the way to page two hundred and seventy four.

All the while I was reading I was desperately hoping for a sequel so I was a bit disappointed to pick up on the fact (AFTER I was done reading the book!) that the author (unfortunately) died before completing a rewrite of the book. Her niece, Annie Barrows completed the work on the book but you cannot tell at all that it has two authors. The book is written in one voice and oh how that voice put a smile on my face.

I really just want to say: "I LOVED THIS BOOK! READ THIS BOOK!" because it offered up so much FUN to me. Don't make me TALK about it, just let me SIGH about it! I look forward to many rereads of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in the future. It's a keeper and a winner to me!

After I was done reading I browsed around online for some pictures of Guernsey. Here are a few for you to enjoy:

(This first one is my favorite.)






To learn more about Guernsey, you can get a brief over of The History of Guernsey here.

To feel more touristy about it, Visit Guernsey and see where it takes you! (The island just looks breathtakingly beautiful to me!)

Calvin in the Public Square

Ok, you should be prepared for a few history-related books that are coming up this week. Christopher participated in some of the fun:

John Calvin was born in France in 1509. Having thus reached a major historical milestone, P&R Publishing is in the midst of printing a number of works as part of their Calvin 500 Series, of which Calvin in the Public Square, by author and series editor David W. Hall, is a part.

While this book has a more scholarly flare (i.e. it has footnotes!), let me tell you why you will love this book before you run screaming from this review:


1. If you love to read about history, you will love this book.

2. If you love to read about politics, you will love this book.

3. If you love the story of America's Road to Independence, you will love this book.

4. If you love the study of Calvin's life and thought, you will love this book.

5. If you love Martin Luther, you will love this book.

6. If you love the Scottish Covenanters, you will love this book.

Etc., etc.

I really and truly enjoyed this book . . . and not just in a geeky way (though that probably was a factor). Pastor David Hall has a very readable style that seemlessly integrates relevant, revealing, and compelling quotations from all kinds of sources.

Be warned, this book is not for the timid. It contains such quotes this, from the Reformer Peter Martyr: “Since the magistrates are ordained [by God] for good, if they pervert their function, they forfeit their place. If the magistrate is bad, rapacious, and violent, he is a tyrant. Since God is not the author of evil, tyrants may be overthrown.”

Calvin in the Public Square details how Calvin's teaching and work in Geneva grew to effect and in large measure to create the freedoms we have come to expect as a matter of course, especially in America. The heart of the matter being this:

Calvinism “built a damn across the absolutistic stream, not by appealing to popular force, nor to the hallucination of human greatness, but by deducing those rights and liberties of social life from the same source from which the high authority of government flows, even the absolute sovereignty of God.”

I found the chapter on Calvin and Poverty to be one of the most compelling, as it presents a wise and Biblical model by which Christians and the Church can (and historically has) provided for the needs of the poor, the sick, the widows, orphans, and outcasts in their communities. It is a model we would do well to reclaim and put to good use once more.

In terms of an ideal audience, I believe this book can be appreciated by mature Christians of any age who are concerned about how their faith can effect all of life.

I hope that you will get a copy of this book and read it, and that it will be a blessing to you as it was to me.

***
For some lighter fare concerning John Calvin, see Christopher's review of The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin.

The Betrayal

Review by Christopher, seminary student extroadinare, husband, father and a really good brother (who has good tastes in books, what can I say?).

In The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin, author Douglas Bond has sought to bring to life the world and experiences of the great Protestant Reformer John Calvin, as seen through the eyes of a (fictional) antagonist who is at the same time the protagonist and narrative voice of the novel. Published this year to coordinate with the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth, I was excited to read this book and found much that was satisfying in it.

The author sets the historical stage with detailed accounts of the spread of the Black Plague through Calvin's hometown of Noyon, France and, later in the novel, of the persecutions that befell Protestants in Paris. Because of these compelling renderings of gruesome events, I would not recommend the novel for young readers. It is instead accurately categorized by the publisher as “Adult Historical Fiction”.

More than anything else, the book is hallmarked by its historically accurate rendering of Calvin's life and personality. Weaving the story with flashes of excitement – such as Calvin's flight from Paris when the Crown sought to capture and kill him – Mr. Bond introduces us to the sober, godly, caring, and kind heart of the man who is all too often lost in debates about the doctrine named for him. John Calvin the man is someone we could all benefit from knowing, and the author of The Betrayal affords us that opportunity.

Seeking to keep the dialogue as faithful as possible to the historical context and persons involved, Mr. Bond has culled most of the repartee from Calvin's published works and personal letters. (At the end of the novel there is a helpful “Guide to Further Reading” which lists the primary sources from which Mr. Bond drew the dialogue for various subjects.) This works fairly well for the majority of the novel, but the weakness of that method is made somewhat evident in the early portion which records Calvin's childhood. Though all the records show Calvin was a brilliant student from his youth, the dialogue still comes off as stilted when you realize that preteen Calvin is being quoted as saying what he would actually write when he was in his twenties or older.

While much light has been (justly) shown on Martin Luther's life and walk with the Lord, much less has been said or published about Calvin's personal experiences on a popular level. This novel helps to fill that gap and does so well. I found The Betrayal to be an enjoyable and rewarding read, and hope that you will as well.

***
If you'd like to do a little more indepth reading on Calvin, see Christopher's review of Calvin in the Public Square.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

This book, Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled, was published and released by Crossway Books earlier in the summer. It was released on the tails of the death of my brother-in-law, Landon (car accident), and my dad (cancer). Life seemed a bit overwhelming. Some days were worse than others. Some moments still feel outrageously unbearable even when I know that they are. If I replay my dad's final moments in my mind, I cry. I try NOT to think about the end but sometimes it creeps in. Every time I pass Landon's picture that is in our house, I smile a sad smile inside. I miss them both....especially because we're about to add to our family in a way that both Dad and Landon were INCREDIBLY excited about and in support of! I'm sure there will be many moments in life when we miss them terribly and wish they were here. But they cannot be.

I opened this book not really knowing what to expect. I should introduce it to you as it was introduced to me upon opening the book. This book is actually comprised of sermons given by Martyn Lloyd-Jones who was a minister of Westminster Chapel in London. He gave this series of sermons in the years immediately following World War II, when London itself was in shambles and people were 1. generally nervous about the future and 2. grieving the loss of many loved ones (not to mention 3. grieving the loss of a way of life that existed prior to the war). Lloyd-Jones was speaking to a broken people, all of whom had common afflictions, and individual ones. It was not an easy time, historically speaking. The messages this minister gave to his congregation were very fitting then, as they are now towards anyone who is grieving.

The first few pages moved kind of slowly for me. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a book I would really connect with. However, it did not take long for the message to captivate me. This book really resonated with me on many levels. It made me want to shout from the rooftops and dance in the valleys (yes, the valleys!). Let me preface what I'm about to say by saying this: I have heard (far too many times) in the last few months that the losses we have experienced as a family (and as individuals) are "tragic." I have had non-relations walk around repeating the question, "Why? Why? Why?" I have been approached with despair and it has made me more heartsick than I already was. I have heard doubts. I have witnessed fears. I have seen pain. I have felt pain. I have been pressured to process grief when I wasn't ready and I withheld tears when I should have let them fall. Grief works in people in strange and differing ways. But despite the differences, there is one thing that I would like to say is true across the board, for each individual:

God is GOOD.

"But, you say, what about war or illness or an accident or the death of a loved one -- how can these things possibly work to my good? Well, I cannot answer that in detail, but I can tell you something that will include every eventuality and possibility. If you really believe in God, anything that may happen to you will drive you nearer to God, and anything that drives you nearer to Him is a "good" thing for you." (page 41)

The point Martyn Lloyd-Jones is trying to make to his congregation, and any reader, is that the only way to have a peaceful heart that is truly at rest is to believe in God, to believe in His goodness, to believe in the things He told us about Himself and the things He promised to do. In many ways, this book is a compilation of sermons that walk you through the Gospels, offering the salvation message. That is the core of Lloyd-Jones message.

The thing I appreciated is that he says that to be a Christian does not mean to walk a life of ease. It does not mean that we get to call the shots as to what happens. We have to believe that God, who gave HIS OWN SON up to death on the cross (Rom. 8:32), certainly is not asking too much of us by removing loved ones from our presence. In fact, He says that when we make a decision to follow Christ, we will take up our own cross (Mark 8:34). We will carry a burden (Matt. 11:30), but because He promises never to leave us (Heb. 13:5), that burden will not feel too much.

In Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled, Lloyd-Jones points out that the only thing that is certain in life is that we will have to face death. But should that necessarily startle or frighten us? No, it really should not. Will it be unpleasant? Possibly. But we cannot stand before the Throne of Grace and experience the joys of Heaven unless we die. Death is life (as I mentioned yesterday). Death is inevitable, thanks to sin.

. . . [S]econdly, you must be absolutely certain about the Lord Jesus Christ and believe the vital truths concerning him. His whole argument here, as we shall see, depends on those things; that is the very comfort He is administering. "If you do not believe me," says our Lord in effect, "and if you do not believe that I am going to do certain things for you, then I have no comfort to give you. But if you do believe, then you will have a quiet heart, and your hearts need not be troubled." (page 64)

The only way I can have peace is to say that God is sovereign, God is good, God knows what He is doing and that He does not make mistakes. If I thought Landon died by accident, how truly horrific would life be? If I thought dad died as a result of a series of accidents, I could not live out the rest of my life at peace and at rest.

There are no requirements that I instantly understand God. In fact, I may not be able to at all.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8

That's ok. I don't have to know. I only need rest that His promises are sure. I only need believe that He is who He says He is. I don't want to spend my time fighting Him, arguing that He should be and/or think like me. Rather, I should want to be changed BY Him. There is a difference.

I have no interest in complaining, because it does me no good. Can I express pain? Yes, I can. I not only can but I must because I'm human and God does have care and concern for my feelings. He does not ignore them or demand that I do so. He created us to be relational so quite naturally it is going to hurt (dreadfully so!) when someone we love dies and we live on.

But what is dishonouring and pathetically futile?

* Railing at the sky, with fists in the air shouting out curses to God.
* Refusing to say that He spoke truth when He said that His plans are good.
* Saying God made a mistake (and trying to fix it somehow, in some weird and gross way)
* Saying He is good but not good enough because I hurt and that's somehow wrong.
* Saying I wasn't ready or didn't get what I "needed" out of someone or something other than God.
* Saying I knew better.
* Saying I won't keep living because I don't like the way things look now.
* Saying I hate God.

None of the above are good for our soul's health. As Lloyd-Jones argues, the best thing we can do when we face pain is to focus on who God is (who HE says He is and not who we THINK He is). That means "going straight the source" which is the Word of God to determine what God looks like. It is resting in truly knowing HIM. Not knowing figments of our imagination but the true God in all of His great mercy and love.

He is God. I am not. I cannot pretend to know what His plan is. I can only know that it is good and in that I rest. In that belief, I have no desire to be shaken. I can hurt. I can cry. But in all of that, I must believe. If I cannot believe that, then I could not want to live. But because I do believe that, I want to live wisely and well, putting my relationship with God before all others so that when it's time for me to meet with death, I can shout out, "WHERE, O DEATH, IS THY VICTORY!?!?!?!?!" (1 Cor. 15:55) (And believe you me, I intend to SCREAM that from the other side.) He has conquered death. I shall not fear. My heart will be quiet and at rest, knowing that Jesus has conquered the grave and wrenched the teeth out of death's mouth, rendering it it's most painful blow by making it completely ineffective. The Lion of Judah has triumphed! (Rev. 5:5) The battle is over and done. His holy right arm is victorious. The lamb of God has won! THAT is why my heart is not troubled and is, in fact, at rest.

HALLELUJAH! WHAT a Savior!!!!

Friendship

I recently finished reading Friendship, by Hugh Black for 5 Minutes for Books. My "full" review can be seen over there, but there were really so many aspects of this book that I found fascinating and interesting that I wanted to talk about it a bit over here as well.

This book is really a most excellent treatise on friendship and I dare say that I won't find any book that is much better than this! Friendship was originally published in 1898 and since that time it has not lost a bit of its luster. Black examines friendship from all angles, matching scripture to his message and viewing it in light of the ultimate friendship we would have with God himself. A marvelous study on relationship if there ever was one!

Perhaps a bit oddly, one of the messages in the book that I really honed in on was the issue of death. (Call it the way my YEAR has been going or whatever you want but I take note of lessons on death.) Black said something that I found to be very thought-provoking, in relation to the idea that friendships also suffer deaths of varying sorts:

"The lesson of life is death.

The experience would not be so tragically universal, if it had not a good and necessary meaning. For one thing, it should sober us, and make our lives full of serious, solemn purpose. It should "teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." The man who has no place for death in his philosophy has not learned to live. The lesson of death is life." (pgs 60-61, emphasis mine)

Did you ever think about having to deal with death in order to experience life? To deny that death exists or should exist is to say a number of things, including the fact that you do not believe God is sovereign and He is good. True, death is hideous and disgusting. It is not to be liked. It is to be respected as the means God has set into place to bring us into a more full and beautiful relationship with Himself. We die to self, figurately. We die physically in order to experience God face-to-face. We die in relationships to other people in order to gain and to teach us how to number our days. Because this is true THEN we can say with full and whole hearts:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Cor. 15:55-56)

Is that saying, "Death has no victory, we can live forever!"? Is it saying, "WAA HOO, I shall feel no sting and can avoid the grave!?"

No, it is not. It is saying that sin results in the sting of death. But we can praise God because He has defeated the grave and if we walk through death we will rejoice in a victory of LIFE. We WILL die in numerous ways all throughout our lives. However, at the end of each individual death experience, and then the final physical one, we can shout out, "PRAISE GOD" because He has conquered the grave. He has conquered over broken relationships and miscommunications. He has healed soul wounds and ministered to our needs. He has met us in the valley and brought us to the mountaintop and THIS friends is why we can laugh at death and say we do not fear it. We may not like it but we need not fear it because God is bigger than death.

With a shout of jubilee and some tears for the pain I've felt this year because of death, I say I never would have thought of the death of any friendship to be a good thing. (Mostly, I would say it is an awful thing that I cringe from and loathe.) However, if death of friendship points me towards life in Christ then what I thought as a negative is more of a positive than I realized. (I have to keep repeating that to myself.) It makes the burden easier. Black is quick to acknowledge hurt and, don't worry, quick to defend the value of a good friendship! However, thinking of deaths of friendship as something that God is using to teach me more about life is a wonderfully encouraging thing.

Lastly, I give you the following song, totally tongue-in-cheek because I think it would be a crime of sorts to talk about death and friendship in the same post without highlighting this (and mostly, just because I needed to laugh at something):



To the bitter end!

Carrie

Board Game: Race for the Galaxy

Guest post from "the husband"... on a suitably non-reading subject this time...


Race for the Galaxy (another Rio Grande production) is an unusual game for our us -- it's an interesting hybrid of a traditional family game, and the more complex, card-based strategy games that I've always assumed were just for the "hard core gamer" types.

(Warning: Geek Alert!) Back when I was a teenager, I had a great time with the complicated, long-running strategy games (Risk, Axis & Allies, Civilization, etc.) where things could go on and on. But, my attention span and habits changed considerably when I began having to maintain a Real Life™, and now having an active two-year-old has reduced me to the point where any activity lasting more than 10 minutes is a real uphill climb.

Anyway, Race for the Galaxyincorporates some of the same strategy elements as those more complicated games, but it's pretty attainable, and much more fast-moving in gameplay. It only takes 30 or 40 minutes to get through a round, and it plays well as a 2-player game as well as with more people. (Oftentimes games like this lose a lot of appeal with only two players where things become too predictable.)

If you're up for a bit more complexity and strategy than typical family game fare offers, this is a good choice! Players build up their empires by colonizing planets, developing technologies, producing goods and expanding their military. These yield "victory points" which, at the conclusion of the game, determine the winner. (This can be a surprise sometimes, as the end of the game can reveal an unexpected disparity in points between one player and another!)

I also like the fact that the players are primarily focused on building up their own empires, and not so much in head-to-head competition. Choices that one player makes can directly affect other's gameplay, but the ultimate winner is one who most skillfully manages his own resources and empire, rather than sabotaging or interrupting his competitors.

When I looked around online for more opinions on Race for the Galaxy I discovered many other fans... It's hard to find a negative review! The accessibility and depth of gameplay are very appealing, and I hope to discover more games like this in the future.

"Wordless" Wednesday

Just in case you are new around here - the "Wordless" part comes at the beginning of the post. The words are in the second half. (I can't refrain, sorry!)

Pictures from our Wildlife Safari Adventures a few weeks back.






*****
Now for the words:

We went on a really cool "safari" a few weeks ago (a mere two hours from where we live) because Bookworm1 had been expressing enormous interest in elephants and rhinos. (Pardon the pun there, folks.) As a result of going on that trip, he has wanted to learn more about these rather large animals. Making as much use out of the library as we possibly could (in a quick trip) we found the following books.

One of the cool things Jonathan took us to on this safari was an elephant feeding time. Not only did you get to FEED an elephant but you also got to watch it play basketball and PAINT! (One lady asked what the elephants liked to paint. In case you too are wondering what preferences elephants display when a paintbrush is in hand trunk, let me just assure you that the art is very abstract in nature. Ah hem.) It was pretty cool to be that close to an elephant, although I can't say that having elephant drool all over my hand after giving her a piece of sweet potato was all that appealing. Nevertheless, it 'twas a cool experience. Therefore our favorite book in the library stack is African Elephant: The World's Biggest Land Mammal (and I must say I'm more than a little shocked at the Amazon price! Yowee.)!

This particular book sticks to elephant facts. (For example: The African elephant can weight as much as THREE white rhinoceroses.) We learned about how many teeth elephant have and what they do with their tusks. The sentences in this book are simple and straight forward, making it easy for our almost 3 year old to comprehend. He loves reading this book while clutching his little toy elephant and talking about the one that we saw in person.

The other book we picked up on elephants was more about the cuteness of the little baby elephant than anything else. The entire plot of Little Elephant is baby elephant deciding to get into a pool of water to play and baby having a hard time getting out. That's it, pretty much. But the baby was pretty cute and my son liked staring at the pictures so it's all good. (Just not really very exciting to mommy.)

I had a much harder time finding a good book about rhinos. If you have any suggestions, let me know. The only one that I did find talked about how they've been roaming the planet for 60 million years, etc., and being that we're creationists I wasn't much fond of that book. I skipped quite a few pages in it so I'm up for suggestions!

We did get to see two rhinoceroses on our safari but they were at some distance from us. Perhaps that was a good thing. Heh. It was a fun trip and if you are ever in Winston, Oregon, I highly recommend that you go visit the Wildlife Safari. (That's pretty much all there is to do in Winston from what I saw so I doubt you'll just find yourself there without some planning.) A fun way to see some exotic animals and we had a blast!

What's On My Nightstand & a Few Suggestions for Violent Threats

I almost feel ridiculous posting about what's on my nightstand because I didn't really accomplish very much of what I set out to do last month. Instead, I started study for and taking some Western Civilization exams and got bogged down fellowshipping with the Greeks and Romans. Everything else got lost in the fray.

THIS month I'm not going to tell you what I plan to read and review for 5 Minutes for Books because I go completely on whim there (to some extent) and for that matter I go on whim here too. But I feel better about making claims for Reading to Know this month. (The only thing I guarantee for this month relating to 5 Minutes for Books is that I DID read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for the upcoming bookclub discussion on September 1st. Stay tuned for that! And if you haven't read it yet but want to? Get started! It's EASY reading and lots of fun so you have plenty of time!!!)

With all that said, here are my top reads for Reading to Know this month. The thing I like about them is that they are SURE to cause some discussion and I've gotta say that I'm very much looking forward to thinking through these books:

(And yes, I'm grinning like the cheshire cat!)

For FUN I'm going to read (not to say that the titles above aren't fun, because I very much think that they will be!):


I want to read that book because I was asked to review this book:



The book sounded way too interesting to pass up so I'm anxious to dig in and learn about L. Frank Baum (and finally read this classic story)! Can you believe I haven't? I've only ever seen movie so I'm curious to read the book.

Lastly, as I mentioned last month, I still want to get to Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings.

Hopefully you'll see all of these titles pop up on this site within the next month. If you don't, threaten me with something. I don't know with that. Think of something. (What's the equivalent of a bloggy threat? I'll UNSUBSCRIBE if you don't read these!!!! Or, in keeping with "I won't invite you to my birthday party" it should be, "I won't follow you anymore." If that's not motivation, I'm not sure what is, right? Just make sure you put one hand on your hip and stick that hip out WAAAAY far when making those violent threats! Otherwise....I might not believe that you mean it!)

Immedium Books

There are some publishing companies who publish such a variety of books that you couldn't really identify the books or the publisher on site. There are other, usually smaller by comparison publishers, who have their own unique blend and style to them. You can tell just by the cover art on a book who published it. Sometimes it's a story line, sometimes it's a main character. The books are their own culture. Immedium is one such publisher. Their books really stand out in a crowd.

I don't know about you, but I like being aware of what various publishers have to offer and what they stand for. I've learned to trust and distrust certain books based on where they are coming from. Each publisher seems to offer up certain types of books and the more you know about the publisher, the more you'll know about the books that are out there and available for consumption.

I was originally drawn to Immedium's Timmy and Tammy's Train of Thought book. Being that our young tyke is quite enamoured with trains, and being that I was kinda getting tired of reading about Thomas, I thought we could branch out a bit.

Timmy and Tammy was a perfect fit for us! It is about a sibling set that love to read about trains and play with trains. One day their mother and father decide that it is time for them to ride a real train and so off they go on their own train ride adventure. The illustrations by Health McPherson make me think of I Dream of Jeannie. They are fun, whimsical, cartoonish, 1950's-ish and did I say fun? (Oh, I see that I did!) Great book and we've reread it multiple times.

The Adventures of WonderBaby: From A to Z (illustrated by Joe Chiodo) is also unique unto itself. The baby in this book takes after numerous animals and wildlife. It drools like a dog, enjoys like an elephant, flips like a flounder, etc., etc.

"Faster than a speeding bulldog,
More powerful than a "loco" mole,
With a rainbow of talents
You bound way out of sight."

My only objection is that it says that Wonderbaby bites like a beaver and although it shows him biting a toy, still, it's not a habit I'd like for our children to pick up and/or think is acceptable. So we didn't read that page aloud. (There are blessings in young children not being able to read!)

Still, Oliver Chin, author of the above two books, seems to write in a very tongue-and-cheek manner which makes it a fun read for adults as well as the children. The books are exciting, clever and cute. (WonderBaby kept Bookworm1 completely satisfied for a 20 minute car ride. He just flipped through and stared at the animals so two thumbs up to Joe Chiodo for the illustrations on that one!)

Immedium's other books seem to have the same flair to them. Recently, Stephanie at Olive Tree reviewed The Octonauts & The Frown Fish on her site. I was eyeing those particular books as my son is a rather huge ocean animal fan as well. (He's really into anything animal related. But if it can be linked to Nemo, so much the better!)

One thing that sets Immedium apart is its bent towards Asian-American books. Oliver Chin is the prominent author of their line of books and if you'd like to learn more about him you can visit Immedium's site.

For something a little different and unique, look up some Immedium titles. I bet it won't take you long before you'll be able to identify them on site as well!

Books for Babies

I'm a huge proponent of reading to children at a young age. In fact, the earlier the better. When my oldest son was born I read to him right away.

I wasn't sure WHAT I should be reading to him and how much he would take in, but I wanted to read something to him (figuring something was better than nothing!). Below is the list of books we started out with. We tried a large quantity of books, but these are the ones that really stuck out as being ones that we enjoyed and successfully connected with - from as early as three months old!

I enjoyed being at home with my little one and cuddling up with him while reading picture books. Now we are adding another one to our family via an adoption and I'm looking forward to "starting over" with a new little boy on my lap, rereading some of our favorites and picking up new ones.

So what are some of our favorite baby books? Here is our list:

Our hands down favorite series is Roger Priddy's Happy Baby series. (See my review of Happy Baby Series at 5 Minutes for Books.) We have made good use out of the entire series. The reason I love them so much, as I testified to before, is because of the real pictures which these books utilize. When trying to explain the world to a young child, I find it helpful to have real pictures on hand. Cartoons can frequently be confusing, as it sometimes difficult for young children to distinguish between illustrated animals. We're all for making things as clear as possible as we learn and so these books were most excellent. I wouldn't raise a kid without them! They are simply the best and quite affordable as well.

There are many titles in the series. Our favorites are Happy Baby ABC, Happy Baby: 123, and Happy Baby Animals. You can also buy a Happy Baby set which includes animals, words and colors and is priced very reasonably. Out of all the other books that are out there, if I had to choose to own only one set - this would be the one! They are a fabulous introduction to books and the world around them!

A similar series that uses photographs to teach is the Baby Eye Like Series. These are smaller and easier to stick in a purse or backpack for times when you need a good distraction.

You can't go wrong with any book written and illustrated by John Butler. He encourages interaction with both his writing and his illustrations. My oldest just loves growling like a bear, cuddling like a koala, slinking slowly by things (like a leopard), etc., I haven't run into one Butler book that I have not liked. One of the latest titles I have had the pleasure of reading with my son is Bedtime in the Jungle which you really must take a look at if you get the chance! Terrific books and easy to spot because Butler has such a unique style. Love his work, love his books, would love to buy them all for you if I could afford it. Good stuff!

For some additional titles that are also easy to identify (because the illustrator is classic!) check out books by Gyo Fujikawa which I recently reviewed. Her book Baby Animals is sure to delight any youngster who likes soft, cuddly looking animals!

Speaking of classics, you can't forget to include some of the body books that are part of the Beginning Reader series (with the Cat in the Hat symbol on them.) (See my review of Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb here.) Told in rhyme, these books are a perfect and FUN way to introduce children to their noses, ears, hair and even teeth! The monkeys drumming on drums is still a top favorite. We've even incorporated the idea of drumming the beat of the words out while reading. It was a very fun activity and really drew my son into the book.

Dum ditty, dum ditty, dum, dum, dum!

Lastly, an individual title that I'd like to highlight is Tumble Me Tumbily which I was lucky enough to pick up at a library book sale. This book is fabulous for cuddling. It's a soft, gentle rocking you to sleep sort of ride. It's told in rhyme and is super sweet and adorable. The illustrations by Sam Williams are so whimsical and gentle and the way the words that Karen Baicker wrote just tumble over one another in such a lyrical way make me want to read and reread this book! I absolutely adore it. (I wrote a blurb about it awhile back and I still love it!)

It sure is hard to narrow down good books to read when your children are small but these are all titles that we tested and can testify to be engaging and fun from very early on. We grew up and into some of these more than others but this is the basic list of where we started and where we've come from!