Wordless Wednesday

These are dear, dear pictures to me. Pictures of my son having a sword fight with my dad (aka, Papa) just a few short weeks before my dad died of cancer. It's hard to believe these pictures were taken a mere two months ago! But what a great memory.

Two men - one older and one younger - following the Code of Chivalry :

Live one's life so that it is worthy of respect and honor.

A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L'Engle

Technically this belongs in the "I Read It" catagory because Jennifer recommended it, so I'm linking this review up to the I Read It carnival over at 5 Minutes for Books.

Jennifer, the managing editor over at 5M4B, is taking some time this year to read through L'Engle's writings. I have only ever read A Wrinkle in Time and I confess that I didn't "get it." However, after hearing what Jennifer had to say about The Crosswicks Journals I thought I would give them a go. (Plus, a former roommate of mine used to rave about these so I was going for the double positive.)

Quite honestly, I'm not sure what I thought about A Circle of Quiet. I took it with me when I went down to Texas to be with my dad. I thought the title was promising for what I knew would be a stressful situation. The title definitely describes the book well. It IS a quiet read. I had no expectations or knowledge of the book going in so I was kind of caught of guard when I discovered it was L'Engle's journals from the years she and her family lived in their Crosswicks home. The back of the book describes this book as falling into the "Spirituality/Autobiography" categories and I would say that is accurate.

In short, L'engle spends this book talking about her spirituality. She's frequently blunt and to the point. Sometimes I found her to be crass in her description of things. I wondered how she got away with relaying certain information about her neighbors. I can't imagine that their feelings were not hurt, should they have ever been aware of the situations she was revealing in her journals -- written specifically for the world to see. She did not keep this journal as a private record of her life. She wrote it as letters to the public to satisfy some curiosity about her. I do not agree with her theology (hardly at all) and I frequently found her brash and insensitive. Certainly, this book did not make me like her anymore than I already did (after my failed attempt at understanding Wrinkle in Time).

I suspect that there's just something I'm not getting. People tell me so. I feel wrong for not liking her very much. But am I really? Because I really just do not enjoy what comes out of her pen very much.

All that said - I find her writing style (at least in these journals) to be intriguing and curious. She does say a lot of thought-provoking things that give the reader pause. She explains "just enough" of what she believes without belaboring any one of her points. This book feels like a conversation with a story teller. I certainly was not bored while I was reading and I wasn't put off enough by our differences to stop reading. She dances a fine line with me and I'm not sure which side I'm going to get off on.

I'm not opposed to reading more of her writings and I'm not enthusiastic either. My curiosity levels are piqued. I still don't understand why people are in love with her writing. (I'm sure some of you will continue to try to enlighten me and you can feel free to do so. I'm just sayin' I'm not convinced!) Again, the woman is downright crude at times. Yet there's something cozy about taking your dog with you to the small town library to write. There's something intriguing about a person who feels such a strong urge to write, that she cannot relax unless she's gotten her thoughts out. Her stories, she says, tell themselves.

Certainly if you want to know Madeleine L'Engle better, you will want to read A Circle of Quiet and the rest of the Crosswicks journals. It reads at a steady and calming pace - which is something I appreciated very much when I was reading it. It was a good read for me at the time. I'm just not sure if that time will come again so I can't promise I'll read anymore for myself.

Clara's War: One Girl's Story of Survival

Tomorrow is the I Read It carnival over at 5 Minutes for Books. Lisa read and reviewed the book Clara's War. I had it on my shelf and after reading her review of it, I decided to get to the book sooner, rather than later.

True confessions: I've never been a big fan of the Diary of Anne Frank. I read that book when I was younger and I didn't understand why it fell in to the "classics" category. It's not that it was a depressing story (which it is) but it is in the way that it is told. Anne was just a depressed young lady and it came through the book. I felt rotten after reading it. I suppose that you might say one is supposed to feel rotten after reading about Anne Frank. But let me do a little comparing and contrasting for a second to show why I think Clara's War is worthy of much more attention and admiration.


Clara was 15/16 years old during the time her family crawled into a bunker underneath the house of some friends in order to be hidden and saved from the Nazi's. There were 18 people packed into the size space of a horse stall. She had no intention of keeping a journal during their ordeal, but she did so at her mother's urging. When they experienced close calls at being discovered, or heard the news of the deaths of various family members her mother would say to her, "Write, Clara, write!" And write she would.

I had the feeling in reading Anne's diary that she was a rebellious, sulky sort of teen. She did not fully appreciate the fact that people were sacrificing for her. She hated the conditions she was in. It was a generally miserable experience. By contrast, Clara was well aware of the dangers that her family was putting their protectors, the Becks, through. When writing of the Beck family troubles, she spares the reader nothing in terms of marital infidelities, arguments and fights and the general flirtatiousness of the the Beck's daughter, Ala. However, all of that clearly stated, she continuously and enthusiastically maintains the fact that the Beck family were their heroes. She talks about their generosity in giving to the 18 Jews that they hid in their bunker. She talks about Mr. Beck's valour and strength in doing what he knew to be right in a time when his actions were declared wrong. She noted how much the family scarified. In short, Clara was grateful.

Not only was Clara grateful but she was willing to sacrifice anything and everything to save as many lives as possible. She didn't complain about conditions. She tried to do her part to make sure that everyone had their fare share of food, sleep and personal space (be it mental or physical). She loved her parents dearly. She adored her sister. She mothered her niece and nephew who were made orphans during the war.

At the time of liberation, out of the 5,000 Jews who lived in her small Polish town, only 50 remained. FIFTY! She states that she knew she survived for good reason and with a purpose in mind and she committed to living a life worthy of those who had died. She also committed to preserve the memory of those who had died by speaking to the public about the Holocaust and by writing this book. She is now 81 (at the time this book is published) and gives weekly talks about the Holocaust and her family's experience. Her diary is now on display at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.

What Clara and her family suffered was horrific and outrageous, as Lisa said. Her stories are haunting and heart-breaking. This is not an easy read in one sense, because the Nazis were not an easy people to understand. On the other hand, her fierce loyalty and love for her family, and commitment to live worthy of a calling is quite admirable. When everything in the world was dark and bleak, she had a hope which really shines through in this book.

I REALLY liked this book. I like it more than the Diary of Anne Frank. When the time comes to hand over World War II autobiographies and biographies to my children, I'd hand Clara's story over first because even though the subject matter does cause one to cringe - it also offers hope and strength. Instead of closing the book and feeling depressed, I felt energized and renewed. I felt at peace in knowing that I had read a story about a truly remarkable and admirable woman who showed great faith and strength in the midst of adversity. Yes, I do like Clara's War more and I heartily recommend this book alongside Lisa.

Where Narnia Takes Us

To imagination, learning to love, and to catching glimpses of Aslan's mane.

Baby Eye Like ~ Giveaway

It's been a long time since I've pulled out baby books to review. When Bookworm1 was a baby, we used Roger Priddy's Happy Baby series to acquiant him with the lovely world of books. Now we're preparing to bring another young one into our family and I have to back up a bit with my reading ages and, of course, explore new titles and see what else is out there!

The Baby Eye Like series is designed to teach young children concepts about the world around them through use of pictures of the natural world. Very much like Roger Priddy books, the Baby Eye Like uses good, clear photographs as opposed to illustrations to "tell the story." I really appreicate the use of photographs in books (not just because I am a photographer) but because my son seemed to have a difficult time identifying animals correctly if they were too cartoon-y to the point where they would drift away from reality. (Apparently my child is very black and white in nature -- also like his mother!) Therefore, although he is 2 1/2, he is attracted to these books and enjoyed looking through them.

This series is quite large, with lots of titles and subject matters addressed. The two books that brought out the strongest reactions from my 2 1/2 year old were the books on spots and stripes in the natural world. (Of course, these were the two more complex picture books which might have had something to do with it!) There are a lot more items to look at on these pages and the patterns and designs are busier.

In each book there is a circle cut out, revealing the title of the book. Therefore as you turn each page there is a circle of space missing from it. Frequently the circles are placed strategically on the object or animal being photographed to further explain the concept. For example, in the Circle, Square and Triangle books, the appropriate shape is cut-out on each page, highlighting the shape that the child is to be looking for and identifying.

These books are stury, well-made and dependable. What helps make them dependable? Frequent use of cuddly (and otherwise) looking animals. My son LOVES animals and I've yet to hear of a kid who doesn't. There is something about animals that attracts us to them. They look cozy. They look friendly (as long as their mouths are shut and their tongues are not slithering out). One particular book in this series did a good job of illiciting sighs and smiles from us. Baby Eye Like: Baby Animals is filled to the brim with soft looking kitty cats, cozy bunnies, curled up and adorable looking hedgehogs, and fluffy baby lambs. As we flipped through the pages, Bookworm1 declared them all to be, "CUTE!" Every single page. Every single animal. Cute, cute, cute!

As I said, there are a lot of titles in this series to choose from, including: a counting book (How Many?), an alphabet book (Discover Letters) and books devoted to teaching children particular colors (Purple, Yellow, Orange, Blue).

These books are fun, curious, bright and cheerful.

Of course, the best thing about them may just be that it provides an opportunity for you to snuggle with and read to your little one. Pointing out pictures, making explanations, introducing children to the concept of books in general and kissing the tops of little heads is one of the most relaxing parts of parenting babies. For all the hussle and bustle, diaper changes and spit-ups, finding books that allow you some "downtime" to just BE with your kids and enjoy stories and pictures is awesome. To that end, there is also Baby Eye Like: I Love You! which shows pictures of "affection in the natural world." As evidenced by the picture on the front cover, there are swans making the shape of a heart. Inside you'll find giraffes hugging, seals rubbing noses, and cows licking each others ears. (This all sounds very weird as I'm typing it but the pictures are, as they say, affectionate.)

If you would like to win a copy of this particular title, leave a comment in the comment section below! That's all you need to do. I will select and announce a winner on Wednesday, July 1st. (U.S. Residents only, please!)

The winner of this contest was Jennifer @ Snapshot. Congrats! I'll be mailing the book off shortly.

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If you like the sound of these books but would appreciate a similar series for older kids, check out what Dawn and Jennifer had to say about the Eye Like series for pre-schoolers and school aged children over at 5 Minutes for Books.

Read Aloud Thursday - Narnia

I Love Read Aloud Thursday. (That needs to be the next button that Amy creates. Ha!) I plan ahead for them which means I think through what I want to read with my son. It gives us purposeful reading time together which we both enjoy. It gives us a chance to explore things I might have previously thought were too far above his reading level - and then I delightfully discover (time and time again) that that is not the case. What's NOT to love about Read Aloud Thursdays?

For the next two weeks we'll be focusing on The Chronicles of Narnia, in conjunction with the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge that I'm hosting here at Reading to Know. I love Narnia and I hope to see my son grow to love it also. At age 2 1/2 I wasn't sure how much I should expose him to just yet. After all, it's hard to explain dwarfs, elves and white witches. The concept that there is a battle between good and evil hasn't really sunk in to yet and I don't want to give him too much information before he's ready to properly deal with things like that. Still, I hope to make him familiar with the stories and characters and present this particular series by C.S. Lewis in a way that is fun and exciting.

Thankfully (and I've talked about this book before) a dear friend of mine gifted us with The World of Narnia Collection when I was pregnant with Bookworm1. (Just to show how much I love Lewis and the world he created, we named Bookworm1 after the author. First name? Middle name? Take a guess!)

Within the The World of Narnia Collection are two stories that seem to suit our reading level/comprehension at the moment. First there is the rather "benign" tale of Lucy going into the wardrobe and entering into the land of Narnia. Here we meet Mr. Tumnus ("What is THAT, Mommy!?") and discover that the Land of Narnia is very cold and full of magical snow. There is some discussion of The White Witch but she does not make an appearance in this particular story. Mostly this book focuses on the wardrobe and Lucy's visit with Mr. Tumnus. The illustrations by Deborah Maze are soft, warm and inviting. She uses more pastels than dark, bold colors making the scenes feel very non-threatening in this particular story. (Hey, strange creatures such as fauns could be very threatening if not well done!) We also watched this particular video clip (a few times) to become more familiar with the characters:



The second story we read was Edmund and the White Witch. I was a little nervous about reading this one to him just yet but again the illustrations are such that it didn't seem creepy to him. The White Witch in these pictures is more beautiful than scary and the dwarf just looks like a little man with a beard and is not fearsome or intimidating at all. Not to say that the illustrator demystified Lewis' creatures and creations. She just makes it easier to introduce younger children to Narnia without it feeling like a scary world. I can appreciate that! (We didn't watch any Youtube videos in connection with this particular story, in case you were wondering!)

Now. For a fun little giveaway. (And it is little, but it is also fun!) I was at Goodwill the other day and I found two "brand new" (i.e, still in the package) Mr. Tumnus McDonald's Happy Meal Toys. I bought both, of course, and Bookworm 1 has been playing with the little Mr. Tumnus (who is also a whistle! oh yay) and the little diarama that comes with him. Like I said, I bought two which means I have a spare Mr. Tumnus to give away if one of you would like to win him. He's still in the plastic wrapping package that he came in and it comes with his home (which pictures Lucy sitting in the chair). If your kids might like some fun play, well then - here's Mr. Tumnus.




To win? Leave a comment below (U.S. Residents only please). You don't have to be a participant in the Narnia Reading Challenge to win. The contest will run until next Thursday (July 2nd) at which point I'll have another children's Narnia giveaway. So stay tuned.

Lost Cities, Rio Grande Games

I've said before that I am not a gamer, right? Because I'm really not. I typically hate playing games. They either bore me, I don't understand how to play, or I perpetually lose at them so what's the point?

So why, why, why did God have me marry into a family that loved games?

I. have. no. idea.

I've felt DOOMED for the longest time. Then Jonathan begged me to play Carcassone (see his review by clicking on the link) and I thought that was kind of fun. Then we played Bohnanza and I liked that. So when we had the opportunity to play Lost Cities I was more willing than I was a few months back. I am happy to report that I like Lost Cities also.

Now what do these three games have in common? They are all Rio Grande Games. So now I'm thinking I'll just be a fan of Rio Grande Games and call it good. Can I do that? (Cut me some slack, people!)

Lost Cities is a two player game. It is faced paced. And I won the first round that we played so I'm all for playing it again! (Although I shouldn't have been all that gung ho about playing a second round. Jonathan won round two. We tied in the third round and stopped playing. Ultimately, he won by 3 points. I consider that to be a fairly good margin of error on my part and I would have thought more of it had he not been smiling so triumphantly. Note to self: Jonathan does not exactly win graciously.)

This game is kind of like double solitare only it revolves around a cool theme of "going on an adventure." (Appeal to Carrie's imagination and you win extra brownie points.) Your goal (simply stated) is to stack your cards in ascending numerical order (numbers 2-10) and make sure your adventure of choice earns you at least 20 points. You can play investment cards and double your adventure points. You can go on a total of five adventures (i.e., you have 5 opportunities to score). But beware! If your stack does not ultimately total 20 points, you'll risk losing valuable points to your gloating husband opponant. (You might even lose three crucial points!)

The instructions indicate that each game can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes to play. I think that's true when you are first learning how to play the game and it is supposing that you play 3-4 rounds. However, we quickly got the hang of it and since the game plays in such a way as to give you an option to play 1 round or 3, it plays fairly quickly. We timed each round at about 7-8 minutes. That makes this a great game to sit down and play when you have a few spare moments (after tucking your 2 year old into bed at night!) or to sit down with for 1/2 an hour or so to just enjoy. It's a play-at-your-own-pace and with your own time frame in mind kinda game. That is incredibly appealing to us.

We both agreed that this was a GREAT game for two players. It's quick. It's faced paced. (It's even affordable. Check it out on Amazon. It's easy to understand.

And did I mention that I won the first round?

Just wanted to make sure that you were paying attention.

Wordless Wednesday

(This is not going to be a strict WW post!)



HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my kind, generous, patient, funny, good natured, talented, brilliant and likable husband, Jonathan! You're an AMAZING husband and father and we love you VERY MUCH!



And even though this year has been very difficult, I wouldn't have wanted to go through it with anyone else. I'd go there with you again. (But I'd be just as happy if the rest of 2009 were docile and kind!)

What's On Your Nightstand

I missed participating last month so I'm glad to be back on board for this month's What's On Your Nightstand carnival. I always enjoy seeing what other people are in the middle of reading or are hoping to get to in the coming month.

As for my own stack, I think I will not be as ambitious in listing all of the things I hope to read. Life has been teaching me that I can't plan everything out and mostly that nothing is predictable. So I'll just mention the four books I hope most to get to in the next month.

For Reading to Know:

1. A Wife After God's Own Heart: 12 Things That Really Matter in Your Marriage, by Elizabeth George.

2. Scarlet (The King Raven, Book 2) (After having read Hood at Lisa's recommendation, I finally got around to buying book 2 to read devour here in the very near future!

For 5 Minutes for Books:

1. I still have a copy of The Jew Store sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I hope to get to this one this month for certain. It's not that I haven't found the book appealing...I just got distracted with other life events and books that were tucked away in suitcases.

2. I'm also really excited to have the opportunity to read Father and Son: Finding Freedom which I understand to be a story about adoption. (Having talked about adoption a bit around here, I have high hopes for this particular book.)

As always, other things will be thrown into the mix and reads are always subject to change.

But we press on in our reading, right!?

Looking forward to finding out what's on YOUR nightstand!