Friday's Fave Five

Suzanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts this carnival every Friday for people to list their five favorite things for the week.

Here are mine! =)

1. I'm still on a John Waller kick from the other week. I've listened to his While I'm Waiting CD, oh, about a million times since then. Thanks for the tip, Cacey!

2. It was Bookworm1's birthday last weekend and we had a Knight in Shining Armor birthday party which was a lot of fun. Here is a picture of the cake in progress:



We had 11 young knights running around the place. Many of the party game ideas were gleaned from this website (if you have any young knights of your own). I really love celebrating birthdays. They are a big deal to me because they represent life, the giver of it, and the blessings within it.

3. We had some very dear friends over this week for dinner and a movie. We watched the following almost-classic which we always enjoy very much. Thankfully it had been awhile since we had seen it so it was funny again.

Before you look at the cover art, I would just like to say that it misresents the movie to some degree. The girl does not really make up the movie. It's pretty conservative as far as movies go. And, ok, I'm going to stop the disclaimers because I just like the movie and I think it's very funny.



It was good to laugh and share an evening with friends who were, consequently, celebrating their 46th anniversary!

4. For today:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah. Psalm 46:1-3

5. Tomorrow marks the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the Church door in Wittenberg in 1517. To some this date is known as Halloween. For some of us we also remember that it is Reformation Day. To mark this celebration, I'm sharing one of Luther's most well-known hymns which has always been a favorite of mine and has new meaning this year in particular. And because Steve Green is one of my long time favorite artists, and he sings this in such a clear and straightforward manner, you get him:

Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.

Blessings to you this weekend,

Carrie

Betsy-Tacy Conclusion

Well, a month flew by. I can't believe it. Sarah at Library Hospital just started hosting the Maud Hart Lovelace Challenge and I flew into it but didn't make it to the end of the Betsy-Tacy series.

I read the first four books and got stopped at Heavens to Betsy (although it's sitting right here beside me). I just didn't make it in! But I look forward to completly reading the series as it is positively delightful and I'm so grateful to Sarah for "harping" on it as much as she did, giving me the kick that I needed into these books.

If you want to learn more about the author of the Betsy-Tacy books, by the way, you simply MUST to go read Sarah's post about Maud Hart Lovelace. It's packed with fun and fascinating facts about Lovelace. Very well done and informative.

These books are the greatest of comfort reads and I look forward to knowing Betsy, Tacy and Tib as they continue on in to adulthood.

Thank you, Sarah, for the introduction and for hosting the Maud Hart Lovelace Challenge!

Below are my three posts about this series:

Betsy-Tacy, Part I

Betsy-Tacy, Part II

Betsy-Tacy, Part III

Buzz, the man!

Ok, you really can't count this post for a book review but I disliked it so much I had to say so.

I thought this book would be a great one to read about one of America's first "space heroes." You know -- it would be a really cool experience learning about Aldrin's trip into space and how he has lived his life since then, etc., all awe-inspiring and all. Rah! Rah! Rah! Originally I thought I'd either enjoy it as a great biography or I'd just skim it to learn interesting facts about Aldrin's walk on the moon and space travels. Instead I felt drawn in to read every single word the man wrote. Why? Because I'm sick, sick, sick! Morbid fascination, outright hilarity, sincere disbelief and because I was feeling like pointing out the log in someone else's eye, that's why!

To sum up a mere 312 pages of Aldrin, written by Aldrin, would go something like this:

"Dear poor, pitiful average American who could only ever dream about going into space,

I am writing this book because mostly I wish to appear benevolent and because it's my hearts desire that you'll see through me and somehow still walk away with the delusion that I'm worth admiring.

Yes, I left my first wife of 17 years but I had very justifiable excuses. She wasn't a believer in Buzz and although we're on friendly terms, she just wasn't cut out to live the life of being rich and famous - like I am. But just to be clear - I do not care about the money.

Yes, I was an alchololic but in my defense "everyone else was doing it too" and I'm better than everyone else in AA because my picture was taken when I was standing on the moon.

OH, and about that picture of me standing on the moon - the 'visor shot'. Even though some people have said that I hogged all of the camera time and make Neil Armstrong take a lot of photos of me, while refusing to give him equal film time, that is not true. There are more pictures of me on the moon than of Neil because he was the one holding the camera and it didn't have anything to do with the fact that I was better looking. Because, of course, you can tell through my whole space man outfit that I AM better looking. I can't help what I am. I can only work with it.

I also can't help it that my friends say I'm a ladies' man and that the ladies flock to me because of my extreme good looks and great sense of humor which is not unlike that of David Letterman who is such a great guy. (And btw, even though this book was written prior to the recent exposure of Letterman's escapades, you really can't blame the guy. Famous, good looking people must have relations with beautiful women. It's just something that we do. We just can't help doing something that "everyone else is doing.")

I also can't help it that success found me even though I pretend not to deserve it in one sentence and then demand my royalties when NASA photographs are used with my next sentence. It's all about my personal rights, even though you can't really tell it's me in the astronaut suit. Obviously, my extreme good looks are being taken advantage of and I should be paid whenever you see the reflection of Neil in my visor.

Also, I would like to go on record as saying that I had no qualms about Neil being the first man to set foot on the moon. At the same time, I would like to say how very shocked I was that the U.S. Government put his face on a U.S. postage stamp. My father and I would have preferred that the government put both of our faces on the stamp because I was just 20 minutes behind Neil. But Neil's a great guy and I don't harbor any resentment over this postage stamp deal, even though some say that I have and Neil is a lazy-no-good-bum because he doesn't promote himself the U.S. Space program like I do. In fact, no one works harder to promote themselves the U.S. Space program as much as I do.

In fact, the fact that I have worked so hard to promote myself the space system has not gone unnoticed by those in Hollywood, world politics, the big screen, or by senators with private jets who offer me flights with some regularity. And nor should it! As my wife, Lois, frequently says, "The business is Buzz!" and I couldn't agree with her in a more humble fashion. The fact is, I just have great things to say. All the time. In fact, you probably couldn't find a more outgoing person with greater charisma to support the U.S. Space System. I've got it all - the looks, the charm, the fashion, the money (although my first year of public speaking only garnered $250K and one time I had to fly business class all the way to China). People just love me and that's why I should be the one talking about the Space Program and a lot about my own private brand, Rocket Heroes.

But the truth is, even though I have all of this power and prestige and we live in a top-notch, high-rise apartment near Hollywood, which is convenient for the type of work that I do now, I'm really just a low-key, fun-lovin', romantic kind of guy. In fact, just the other day a famous friend of mine died and my third wife, Lois, and I went to the funeral. After the burial I walked her over to another plot within the same graveyard for the rich and famous. I said to her, "Lois, there you see my parents grave site. And right next to them is where you and I will be." I wanted to communicate to her that my commitment to my third wife, even though I dated a lot of other people while I was dating her (and even thought this angered her and caused her to unnecessarily break up with me one time), I was committed to her. I will stay with her until I die because I'm almost 80 and even though I still have my dashing good looks I kinda doubt anyone else is going to be interested in me romantically anymore. Although stranger things have happened and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if I got a call from Angelina Jolie sometime. I'm sure she knows that only *I* have the power to offer her son a ride in the next tourist space craft. You just never know. But where was I?

Oh yes, so I was standing in this graveyard with Lois and I pointed out our sites and she looked at me, moved with emotion and said, "Buzz, that is the sweetest thing you've ever said to me." What can I say? I have natural charm.

Now that I'm nearing the end of my life I would rather not think about death. I mean, I know it's going to happen and one day I'll be looking down at all of you from among the stars. I will smile down upon you and you'll know that Buzz Aldrin, American hero and role model for millions of people everywhere, still has a dream. That dream? That my footprint really will be on the moon for a million years and that Lois will find a way to capitalize on that fact and that somehow or another I'll be able to profit from it, even though I'll be living in the stars.

Life is an amazing thing if you're blessed with good looks, charm and an ambitious wife who likes to ski very well (and has friends who own chalets in Switzerland). If you aren't blessed with these things, then I'm sorry but I probably don't know you. Who are you and why are you reading my book?

With all the sincerity that you'll believe I possess,

Buzz.

P.S. Someone stole the watch that I wore on the Apollo 11 mission when it was in transit from Houston to the Smithsonian. I'm told it's the Holy Grail of space collector's items so if you find it, please return it to the Smithsonian. I would love to touch it again with those special white rubber gloves that allow you to touch anything you want without leaving smudge marks.

Creature ABC

I saw the cover of this book and thought, "Oh wow, Bookworm1 will totally love this! It has the requisite elephant on the front!" The book arrived in the mail and instead of Bookworm1 running around with it, I discovered Jonathan with it.

You see, Jonathan & I are wedding photographers and we really enjoy what we do. We deal with people and (most of the time) we can make them stand still. It's generally easy to direct and engage with people but it is beyond spectacular to photograph animals and get what you want! As it turns out, although Bookworm1 has very much enjoyed Creature ABC, his parents have appreciated it more than he presently can.

Creature ABC features multiple page spreads for each letter. Each letter features an animal and several of the images are included in the book. For example, for the letter 'G' we are introduced to the upper and lower case letter alongside a picture of a Giraffe which Bookworm1 declares, "He's making a SILLY face!!!" Turn the page and you are greated with another spread that shows the giraffe walking and "g-i-r-a-f-f-e" spelled out for you.

Bookworm1's favorite page spread is of the giraffe making a silly face. My personal favorite is the page where one side shows the head of a kangaroo facing towards the center of the page. On the opposite page there is a lion "looking at" at the kangaroo. (Something tells me that the two animals were not actually photographed together but it's pretty cool looking.) Jonathan was amazed by photographer Andrew Zuckerman's photograph of a hippo. And speaking generally, Jonathan was just impressed by Andrew Zuckerman.




Zuckerman, for those of you who do not know, is a New York-based photographer and film director. I can find very little information on him personally, except to discover that he's all of one year older than I am. His website is absolutely stunning (and entertaining) and I'd encourage you to give it a look-see.

He shoots the animals in Creature ABC, in a studio setting, all in front of a white backdrop. Here is a video which gives you a "behind-the-scenes" feel for how this book was created. (Now, if you've been around Reading to Know for awhile, you've gotta know I'm not big into posting videos about books. In fact, I'm so not interested I've never done it. But this video is exceptional for giving you a feel for how he managed to photograph these animals!)



You can see this video along with a few others if you want to visit Chronicle Books website of information on Zuckerman.

Andrew Zuckerman has published three photography books. He recently released a book called Bird in which he photographs, you guessed it!, birds! This book is also available through Chronicle Books.

Really, this alphabet book beats all and that's because it's got it all! It has animals to impress the kids and photographs to blow an adult mind! It is obvious that Zuckerman is extremely gifted and knows how to capture the images he wants. I'm impressed!

Thank you, Chronicle Books for sending us this book and for giving my son (and our whole family!) the opportunity to enjoy it!

Nightstand

Last month was a pretty successful month as far as reading challenges go. I did complete reading everything that I had on my Nightstand for the month (and probably enjoyed The Sacred Cipher the most.) If you are a regular reading at 5 Minutes for Books, you'll see my reviews of last month's books pop up here in the next little bit. (You can go ahead and read my review of Purpose-filled Presentations or The Jew Store if you'd like.)

This month it's all about pleasure for me. I'm going to read what I want and when I want. That's right. And I thumb my nose at....well....nobody really. I felt this way same time last year. I just wanted to enjoy the year's end and read whatever I wanted or felt like.

I love reading and I love reviewing books but I don't like feeling it's a chore to do so. I like just reading for the sake of reading and for the rest of this year (what little there is of it) I want to just relax and not think about reading as being part of a "to do" list but a way to escape and relax.

So here's what I "plan" on reading for the rest of this month:

The read I am most excited about...



Earlier this year I read American Lion (about President Andrew Jackson) by Meacham and found it incredibly well-written. But I have a love of World War II history and so when I found Franklin and Winston at our local Goodwill I had to contain my whoops and hollers until I came home. I dove straight into the book and hope to share (some of) my thoughts on it very soon. Excellent writing, excellent subjects, excellent life lessons. Stay tuned.



I received an e-mail from Bethany House Publishers asking if I wanted to read and possibly review The Silent Gift (in the happy interest of full pre-disclosure here). It sounds rather interesting to me and like a relaxing sort of read so I'll give it a perusal and we'll see what happens!

Another book I'm looking forward to reading in the coming month is:

My Life in France which I recently picked up.


I know everyone and their mother has read this book but I haven't and I want to, having seen (and reviewed) Julie & Julia a little while ago. Lovely movie and I expect nothing less from the book so I'm excited about that.

Lastly, I look forward to reading something by Louisa May Alcott for the upcoming 5 Minutes for Books Bookclub. Yes, I do have the title selected but it's a lesser known work (as far as I'm concerned) and I'm excited to talk about later. Curious? Well, come back on November 3rd to find out about that. In the meantime, grab something - anything! - by Louisa May Alcott and talk about it with us on November 3rd!

Otherwise, I commit to nothing and no one and plan to enjoy myself immensely so....we'll see what happens!

Randomness

Last weekend we had the honor and privilege of hosting a Knight's Tournament in our home, for boys aged 2-10. haha! =D It was fun. Here is a picture of me making the sword shaped cake (which was covered in edible silver glitter for the sparkling blade effect):

Here's the young knight:



It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of sword play with an enormous quantity of wooden swords and plastic shields. ;)

It is good to celebrate life always but it's especially fun to do it with theme parties. ;) Speaking of birthdays, there's still time to go over and wish Jennifer a happy birthday! Furthermore, make sure you congratulate her on finally getting around to reading my most beloved (modern) book:

She and Amanda are reading this book aloud together. Why? Because it makes a good read aloud. Have you read it aloud? If not, why not? Must. rectify. the situation! Seriously.

While on the subject of celebrations, it would be good of you to note that it is Bookie Wookie's 1 year blogging anniversary!



For one year the Bookie Wookie family of reviewers have delighted and entertained us with their amazing artwork and funny book reviews. In case you aren't familiar with them these are some interesting things to note:

1. Bookie Wookie dad wrote The HICCUPotamus which I reviewed earlier in September. Hilarious book which has become a regular part of our every day conversations because Bookworm1 seems prone to hiccups (much like his beloved aunt).

2. Bookie Wookie is pretty much all about a dad spending time on a cool project with his kids.

I mean, what else is there to say? I really love their blog because it is not just about books - it's about being an involved, creative dad. That's worth reading about!

Other blog-worthy news (or otherwise)....

While pursuing my reading goal over at Reading My Library, I came across this really cool book about what dreams are made of called Jack and the Dreamsack. Hop on over to Reading My Library to see what that is all about. (Really, really cute picture book!)

In the meantime, if you are trying to beat the Monday blues, name something in the comment section that you dream about. Even if your answer is "Friday." Hey, we all have things we long for, right?!

One thing I dream about is good movies that promote good morals and generally are enthusiastic about the things that I'm enthusiastic about. I found the following link on Tim Challies' blog today.

The Makers of the Fireproof movie (see my review) are soon to announce their next film.

And as Challies pointed out, the disheartening thing is the statement from the article in which they say, "Their prayer hasn't been for a good movie; it's been for a God movie."

I would argue that the two are one in the same. You should not be aspiring to make a "God movie" that isn't a good movie. And any good movie is going to reflect truth about who God is and is going to express a biblical worldview in some form or fashion. You cannot have one without the other.

So, while I'm looking forward to finding out what their next movie ministry project is, I would like to think that it will be superbly done so that we can sit back and say after watching it that much talent was utilized to bring us the best of the best.

And LASTLY (for this Monday)...

Jonathan and I finished working through the entire Cosby Show series this past week. I think we started watching them around the time Bookworm1 was born (3 years ago) and finally finished them up last night. 8 Seasons. So many memories from when I was growing up and my family watched them as they aired. Memories of my dad laughing loudly. Favorite memories of the Huxtable family. So here's some Carrie of Reading to Know trivia for you:

Favorite Cosby Show episode: Theo and the Real World / Theo's Holiday (season 2)

Favorite Cosby kid: Really, I think it's gotta be Theo. I think he remained the best actor, consistantly, through the series.

Thing I most appreciate about the show: Intelligent humor presented in a family-friendly way.

My favorite season opening: Season 6, which I present to you for your enjoyment:



It was so fun to watch through this series again. Bookworm1 joined us for a few episodes and his favorite character is Olivia (because she is silly and can make 3 year olds laugh with her expression and attitude).



To one of the best families of television which I have enjoyed for over twenty years now (I cannot believe that!):



I look forward to sharing the memories with my familiy as we grow up and want entertaining now and again.

Thank you, Bill Cosby, for offering families a show that promotes family values, that talks about parents wanting the best for their children and for presenting real life situations to laugh about.

And with that I say - HAPPY MONDAY to you all! =)

How to be a Genius

For some weekend fun...

When I was pregnant with Bookworm1, my mother-in-law gave me her old copy of How to Raise a Brighter Child which I confess to having poked a great deal of fun at. The title was too much for my sarcastic sense of humor. Yes, yes, I knew that my husband was brilliant as are his siblings -- but still. I read the book and I remember thinking at the time that it had some good and decent things to say and I thought we could implement them into our chid rearing habits. And now if you asked me to tell you what I gleaned from the book I could not tell you. I CAN tell you that my mother-in-law passed away two years ago. HER mother, my husband's grandmother, was around us for a bit earlier this year and she spent a week watching me parent Bookworm1 (who looks remarkably like Jonathan did when he was the same age, btw). At the end of the week Grandmother said to me, "You know, it's just amazing to me how much you are like [my daughter] in the way that she parented Jonathan. You do so many of the same things with [Bookworm1]." (And these are things, btw, that I haven't really paid attention to anyone else doing with their kids. There are some pretty specifically unique ways that I address Bookworm1 that apparently mimic the way that my husband was parented.)

Apparently my MIL's grand scheme worked! Whatever I read and gleaned from the book I have implemented in similar ways, producing a parenting style that is much like my MIL's. I'd have had no way to know that this was the case if Grandmother had not said so, because Bookworm1 was so young when MIL died. But now that he's 3 it's more clear what my parenting style is. And I'm glad to know it's like my MIL's. I can only look at my husband to know that the things she did worked in his favor.

Now, the book How to Raise a Brighter Child does specifically deal with how you can prepare children in the pre-schooling days to be quick and curious learners. I don't know how well I follow the book's message. I really pay most of my attention to whatever it is that Bookworm seems to want to learn about and we talk about it as things come up. This book, How to Be a Genius makes me smile when I think about my kids. Of course, we all want our kids to be geniuses, right? For me, I know that my brain functions in a way that is complete different than Jonathan's and I think we're both fairly smart. To me, being a genius doesn't mean being able to do math very well or to win chess awards or go to law school or read lots of books or any one particular thing. Rather, I think the title of genius is most deserved by the person who figures out how their brain works - how they best function and how to best utilize the gifts that God gave them to use - and to use all of that well.

Enter: How to Be a Genius. (Published by DK Publishers.) This is kind of a fun book to hand over to kids who enjoy straining their brain a bit. (This book comes in post-Brighter Child....)For starters, it teaches the different between the left side and right sides of the brain. (Jonathan is a left brain and I am a right brain. So, you see, you need both of us to make up anything of a complete personage!) The book talks about how most people have a dominate hand which they use, or even a dominate eye. It discusses the relationship between the brain and eyes and how things are taken in and processed (reminding me of Piaget's theory of cognitive development). "Tricky Pictures" and "Simple Illusions" are laid out so that the readers of this book can see how they might trick their eyes and brains. All of the senses are, in fact, covered in this book to discuss how we learn from touching things, hearing, sensing and smelling the world around us.

One section of this book discusses "Your Brain and YOU" to give a reader a sense of their self and how they are uniquely who they are. A personality test (consisting of 30 questions) is provided should the young reader (or for that matter, the middle-to-older reader!) desire to learn more about who they are and how they think!

And WHAT would a book about personal discover be without discussing dreams!? Freud would love it! (I think....)

How to Be a Genius certainly is an entertaining and intriguing book for any age. But bottom line is: the smartest person is the one who learns what their giftings and talents are and pursues them with kindness, grace and love. Because if you don't know what your giftings are, you probably aren't being your most effective self. If you don't know how to use those giftings in a loving way, then you might as well not have the giftings in the first place for all the good they might do you! But the person who walks with an understanding that they were created with a unique purpose and they learn how to use their gifts well in real love is destined to be one of the most successful genius types that I would so love to see and meet. I DO want for all of my children to be geniuses in all the glorious individual ways that they were created to be so. I HOPE that they are not alike. I HOPE that they embrace the difference as perfect creative uniqueness. And if this book gets them thinking about how they are specially designed to be different, then I'm all for it!

Friday's Fave Five

Suzanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts this carnival every Friday for people to list their five favorite things for the week.

#1 - I have read through the A-n section of the children's picture books at our local library. We discovered this book at the tail end of the An's which is much loved and a frequent requested read by Bookworm1:

To read more about that particular reading journey, visit Reading My Library to see my latest progress.

2. On a book related note (since we're so there) I found THIS book at Goodwill yesterday and am incredibly STOKED about it:



I dove into it immediately. It's screaming VOLUMES at me right now about all sorts of life lessons.

3. One of those lessons which I am learning from this book about Franklin & Winston is concerning friendship in the midst of fire. SO much to say on this point but for now I shall leave it at this poster which I think is totally awesome.



4. Psalm 27:13-14

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27:13,14 NIV

5. Tomorrow is a little person's birthday and we have a really fun celebration planned! I'll talk more about that next week but this weekend promises a good deal of celebration. Why!? Because children are a blessing, we LOVE them, and we love to celebrate them in all their little details (and the big details)!

Blessings this weekend,

Carrie

Ed Emberley's Complete Fun Print Drawing Books

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?!?! Well, maybe not, but my brother sure does, dear thing that he is.

When I was down in Texas last, mom let us pick through the children's books that we had growing up to divide them up. Christopher and I agreed to each take turns picking titles. He would pick one and then I would pick one and then he would pick one and so on and so forth. Now, I would just like to take a moment to point out that even though *I* was the one who discovered that the Hank the Cowdog books were actually BEHIND the first row of books and split the loot in my brother's favor, he was not so kind to me when it came to Ed Emberley's thumb print drawing book that we had growing up. Oh no. Instead of magnanomously handing it over to the older sister, he laughed in my face. IN MY FACE, PEOPLE! How cruel. How horribly uncooth. How UNKIND! And him in seminary! Psssh.

Not wanting to hold the grudge against him, I let it go realizing his claiming of the book was fair according to our rules. (Although not before howling for my mother to come into the room and note my displeasure.) I flew away empty handed on this point. However, all is redeemed and well! I walked into our local Borders and lo and behold -- Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book. With wild glee I pounced upon it! Not only does it contain all of the thumbprint artwork drawings from my our book growing up, but it also includes the "GREAT Thumbprint Drawing Books." It's a DELUXE EDITION! We've got more than the holidays in here, folks. We have fingerprint mermaids and owls and trains and fun dragons too. Oh yes. I HAVE WON! In the end, sacrificing the first book (against my will) turned into my great pleasure.

Except. Well. There IS something to having THE actual book that you used growing up. There's the nostalgia...the familiar pages....the favorite thumbprint people you knew and loved....the memories of doing it with your sibling.

Oh well. I am glad for the sake of my nieces and nephews that they will own such a treasure. We, up in Oregon, will make do with the modern edition and then our children can compete to see who can make the best Thumbprint Christmas cards.

Yes, yes, the adventure just continues...

Things.

Last week's Booking Through Thursday question was about weeding out books. (Weeding out books!? Who does THAT?! Doesn't everybody keep every book they have "just in case"?! You never know what emergency might develop, after all....!)

At any rate, I thought Barbara H. had an interesting and pointed response to the question (which you can read if you click here) in which she said that she asks herself the following questions about the books on her shelves when deciding whether or not to keep them:

1. Am I ever realistically going to read this again?

2. Do I honestly think I’ll ever refer to it again?

3. Do I seriously think my children might want it some day?

4. Could someone else get more use out of it than it is getting just sitting here on my shelf?

Those are good questions to ask and my questions to myself are very similar if not exactly the same. It IS hard not to hoard books. At the same time, I rather dislike clutter and have been working to keep the bookshelves in a manageable state. Currently I am making double stacks on my bookshelves. I don't like that. If you can't see what you have, you won't know what you have to read. If you aren't reading it, then you probably don't need it. This is my philosophy and conundrum. I would rather my house not look like this:



(Jonathan would also appreciate it if our house did not look like this!)

The books I really want to keep are the ones I want to enjoy with my children and have for them to enjoy by themselves as they grow up. There are some books that pertain to the Christian life that I like to have on hand for reference and refreshment. There are my favorites that I like to dive into on rainy days and in times when I want to "lose" myself. But I can't keep everything and I know that too! What's a book readin' girl to do!? Decisions, decisions. Declutter, redistribute and bless, I guess! It's just that cleaning off bookshelves is hard. *insert whining* Stay tuned. I might have a few to pass along in the near future.

*******

In the meantime, for a bit of amusement, check out the following website to get what I'm pretty sure is a completely unscientific and inaccurate count for how many words you can read in a minute. It may be inaccurate, but it's kinda fun!



It says I read 450-500 words a minute if you wanted to know. I don't trust that average because of this:

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to bechewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts,others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly,and with diligence and attention.~ Francis Bacon ~

The speed at which I read anything is entirely dependant on what it is and what I'm purposing to get out of it. So I would say that my word count varies.

******

Lastly, just for fun I took the Narnia personality quiz.



The good thing is that it means, "you can always be trusted to be loyal and faithful." It also means I'm motherly and therefore can be a little bossy.

If you'd like to take this quiz (and I mean, come on!, who wouldn't?!) check out the Narnia Personality Quiz here. (And tell me who you are! I mean, you don't have to. I'm just...curious.)

******

Oh wait! One more thing! Just for fun (despite the annoying announcer):

Iza Trapani

It's time for another round of Kid Picks at 5 Minutes for Books so I thought I'd share a series of books by an author that Bookworm1 just loves. ANYtime we have one of these books laying around, it's snatched up and it receives its requested read/sing. What am I talkin' about? Check these out:




She was born in Poland and entered a family as one of three children. At age seven, she sailed with her mother across the Atlantic Ocean, to come to America. In Poland, under communist regime, entire families were not allowed to travel overseas at one time. Therefore Iza's mother sailed with her seven year old girl, leaving husband and two other children behind. Iza's mother hoped to eventually bring the rest of the family over to America, but unfortunately, before she was able to do so, she died.

Before much longer, Iza's father also died in Poland and Iza was not able to be brought over to her home country and her siblings, a brother and a sister. Iza spent 3 1/2 years in a Catholic orphanage in New York, before completing high school and then moved to the Hudson River Valley. It would be twenty-five years before Iza would be reunited with her brother and her sister.

This story has a familiar ring to it, historically speaking. America is used to the tired, poor, weary and downtrodden entering its shores and finding rest and opportunity here. It does not take too much to imagine that a little seven year old Polish girl would immigrate to America with her mother, only to find herself an orphan in a strange country.

It is harder to imagine that Iza made this journey in 1961.

Her story sounds like it belongs in the late 1880's, not in the second half of the 21st century!

Iza learned to read and speak English with the initial help of a Mother Goose book. She spent her early years working as a nanny, short order cook and waitress while earning an art degree at the State University in New Paltz. Always it was her dream to write picture books for children.

At this time, Iza has a wonderful collection of children's books to her name. (You can see the whole list of her books here.) She lives in Rifton, New York with her husband and stepson on a farm. You can see pictures of the farm by visiting her website.

While Iza Trapani's name and history might have been unfamiliar to you, it is likely that her children's books have caught your attention before - at least by title! It was suggested to Trapani that she write verse additions, or to retell, classic story rhymes. Trapani wanted to pick titles that were familiar to children, so as to draw them to the books, and to pick sweet stories and songs such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Bookworm1 and I were first introduced to Trapani through her book Row Row Row Your Boat. In this old/new song we travel down the river with a bear family who, bargaining for a fun family adventure, do not envision rainstorms effecting the journey. However, a little rain doesn't stop them from enjoying the journey and we meet all kinds of animals in the woods as they travel along. My mom brought this book along with her when she came up to Oregon to visit and we fell in love with it.

The next book we snatched up was Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star which took us on a magical journey late at night, flying in the sky over lighthouses and other sleeping children. Trapani's verse additions fit in with the rhythm and tune of the original song and instead of feeling like an add-on or it feeling anywhere near dysfunctional, it adds to the song in a delightful way. She really did a good job of drawing her readers into simple songs and taking them on fun journeys.

We have continued to explore Trapani's works through our local library, feasting on the songs and adventures of I'm a Little Teapot as Miss Teapot travels around the world. We have also enjoyed Baa Baa Black Sheep who doesn't appear to care for any of its animal friends until they all discover that while they thought he didn't care, he was using his wool for good purposes.

Timeless songs + clever stories = a great deal of fun.

If you haven't yet stumbled upon Iza Trapani's books, I would encourage you to do so. They are specifically geared for children aged 4-8 but my two year old has enjoyed them very much. Children are drawn to music and song and these books fit the bill completely, allowing you plenty of time to sing and read and dream a bit with your youngster. I am delighted to have some of these books in our family collection and hope to continue to add to it over time!

For more information about this talented author/illustrator, visit Iza Trapani's website.

Most importantly, have fun!