The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs (violent, disgusting things!)

This is a post in which you get to learn of one of my great aversions.


I am not a bug person. At all. It is with great sacrifice I acknowledge that they exist in the first place because I am not a bug person. I would rather that they not exist. I would rather not know of them.

I am also the mother of two little boys.

I've tried not to scare or scar them. I do not name my fear to them. I do not scream at the sight of a bug in their presence. I try not to let them see me shift away from the ugly creatures, least they somehow get the idea that bugs are bad. (Even though they are. Horrid, slimy, icky things.) If I do not scream and do not run from them, hopefully my boys will grow up thinking that bugs are ok things but, just perhaps, better off dead. I wish my youngest son wouldn't pick up caterpillars. But I won't stop him. I just send intense looks to my husband, begging him to remove the child and offending insect from my presence. I also make sure my youngest washes his hands thoroughly after touching these creatures.

I do allow books about bugs into the home. I just don't read them with my kids. Daddy does that. They all learn together. It's like a bonding experience or something. It doesn't include me. And I'm good with that.

I had to force myself to actually look inside of The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs in order to tell you about it. After all, I write the reviews around here.

This book has a lot of full page-spread photographs of bugs. Big bugs with big heads staring at you, right in the face. Looking at the page of honeybees wasn't so bad. They are, at least, fuzzy. Each page spread apparently focuses on one particular type of backyard bug. (I don't want to freak myself out by informing myself about how many variety of bugs MAY live in my backyard.) On the bee page I see that there is about three paragraphs of information, with several upclose photos as well with detailed descriptions on the bee's activity and body parts. A quick perusal of the rest of the pages indicates that each page spread is more or less the same. The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs features Lightning Bugs (I can tolerate those!), Dragonflies (we see those around from time to time!), Stink Bugs (I hate them), the Monarch Butterfly (very pretty, really), various moths and the Black Widow Spider, among other more and less notorious bugs and insects.

There are 108 pages in this book, which begins by introducing season cycles, plant life cycles, soil life cycles and the life cycles of insects and spiders. (I prefer to end the life cycles of all bugs the moment I spot them!) The idea of this book is, of course, to make your child curious about the world right outside their front and/or back doors and it does that. I saw my boys peering at each page intently and occasionally remarking about some bug that they apparently saw in our yard. (I shall not think on such things.) It is a clever and informative book which they have enjoyed (enough to start touching every bug in sight! Must we do this!?) It does seem to be a very good resource for little explorers and is worth mentioning. And so I have done so. And so I shall stop doing so, so that I can think about something else.

Thank you, Storey Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to share with my kids and avoid looking at myself. My opinions about bugs should rather be discounted. I know that there are people out there that like them. You all just have at it! But steer clear of me!

Trip to Powell's Books (or, The Best Birthday Gift Ever)

I'm always adding to our home library. It's an obsession of sorts. A delight. A JOY! I love reading, I love reading with my kids and I love imagining the time we will spend reading together in the future. I'm always on the lookout for new books for us to read.

My husband treated me to an early birthday trip up to Powell's this past weekend and I thought I'd share my fun finds with you. Here's what I picked up:




Mr. Tickle. My four year old has finally grown up enough to enjoy the Mr. Men and Little Miss books. (For you do realize that you do have to be grown up to appreciate them, don't you!?!) We've been collecting these books here recently but we did not have what is apparently the first Mr. Man in this fantastic series. Mr. Tickle sparked the rest! I didn't know that. Anyway, now we can indulge more knowledgeably.



The 13 Clocks, by James Thurber. I'd never heard of this one before but the description on the back made this one entirely too appealing to pass up!

"How can anyone describe this book? It isn't a parable, a fairy story, or a poem, but rather a mixture of all three."

Hmmm....I'm rubbing my hands together in anticipation and glee!



I hope none of you have read The Grimm Legacy and hated it. (If you have -- don't tell me!!) The cover art caught my eye and although I know absolutely nothing about the author or the story itself, I decided to give it a go. (Aren't birthdays all about surprises? Hopefully good ones...!)



After I read and reviewed The Castle in the Attic (linked to my thoughts) I was informed that there was a sequel, The Battle for the Castle. Had to pick up a copy of that so that we can read on with this marvelous story.




The Chestnut King is the third book in the 100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson. I confess that I have only read the first, we own the first two, and Jonathan has read all three. (He liked them.) SO I picked up the third book so that we'd own the whole set. I feel a sense of completion. Yes, yes, I do!

Now. My prize and total, complete JOY is the following:



Miss Bianca and the Rescuers box set which includes five of the nine stories in the series. Way back in 2006 (ha!) I wrote a not-descriptive-enough-for-even-ME-now post on The Rescuers. (Linked for tradition sake.) Now that I'm keenly aware of books based on Disney movies, and loving The Rescuers (and The Rescuers Down Under) I'm very excited to have found these.

By the way, if the cover art on these books looks a bit familiar to you - it's because the books bear illustrations by the likes of Garth Williams.

Such a fun trip! Such a fun treat! Thanks, Jonathan, for the gift.

And now! TO THE BOOKS!

Added anything to your collection recently that you want to tell me about? You may confess now. But then again, perhaps you don't want to.... (sometimes I don't like confessing how many books have, er, found their way into our home!) Birthdays are a marvelous excuse!

The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins

I really should have made The Woman in White
a Reader's Diary post because a.) my copy is 622 pages long and b.) it took me almost two weeks to read. My impressions also kept changing as I read it and I like recording my thoughts as books of this length progress. I never quite know where I'll end up!

I started the book by reading the Introduction which informed me that Collins was a contemporary of Dickens. Not only that, they were friends (having worked on plays together, no less!) I thought twice (and then three times!) about continuing on with the read because I don't like Dickens. However, just because they were friends didn't guarantee that I would dislike Collins so I proceeded onward. I am very glad I did so! (In fact, now I might go so far as to say that I might read Dickens because I liked Collins. But then, the two men went their separate ways later in life so perhaps I won't after all. I'm conflicted. Obviously.)

The Woman in White was first published in book form in 1860, having originally appeared as a serial in 1959/60. The setting for the book are the years 1850/51 during the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace in England. The story is told through the narratives of several characters. The narratives are laid out as witnesses would be on a court case, presenting testimony as to a series of events all related to a woman in white, her relation to an English baronet, and an unfortunate marriage.

Because it is a mystery and the plot unfolds slowly, I want to be careful not to offer any spoilers.

The story is told, as I mentioned, through several narratives and from the perspective of key characters involved in a very peculiar set of circumstances, most of which would prove (unfortunately) laughable in today's modern age. Science would have solved several aspects of this mystery and as the modern reader follows the trail you want to offer them use of a lab at several points. I don't tell you that to turn you away from the story, but to tell you that you are going to have to put yourself in a reading mindset to enjoy a nicely weaved story, rather than a currently-scientifically-accurate one. But a nicely weaved story it is, at that!

I absolutely loved the mystery of this book. The story begins with an introduction to one of the main characters, a Walter Hartright, who sets the stage for future romance and mystery. Right from the starting gate I was intrigued and always felt sad when I had to set the book down (to take care of other things in the house like, oh, say, laundry or something.) Although the story is long, Collins gives you just enough - and only enough - information through each character to make you have to keep on reading to find out how all the facts will ultimately tie-together. Sometimes I could guess at where he was going with certain facts and characters and sometimes I could not. I wanted the book to end and yet I didn't because it was so well told. In fact, I've had a very difficult time picking up another book since completing this one because it was so complex, challenging, (I'm running out of adjectives), entertaining and riveting. It's hard to find a follow-up that feels remotely worthy of the read!

Interesting facts about The Woman in White:

• Wilkie Collins apparently had some legal training, which explains the format of the book.
• The Woman in White is considered one of the first official mystery books.
• The first impression of The Woman in White (1,000 copies) sold out on the first day.
• Within six months time the book was republished seven times, selling around 126,000 copies.
• The book was so popular that a line of merchandise was created to capitalize on the tale. Step aside Harry Potter! You could buy The Woman in White combs, perfume, bonnets and cloaks!
• It was made into a silent film in 1912. I have no idea how this would have worked. However, I imagine it was perfectly sensational at the time!
• In 1917 they made another silent film out of it. One begins to wonder . . .
• In 1929 there was another silent film made. I have no idea why.
  
• Both in 1982 and 1997, the BBC made a television series out of the book. I'm definitely more interested in seeing those on screen depictions rather than the silent films.
• In 2004, The Dark Clue: A Novel, by James Wilson was released which borrows characters from the original story and acts as a "sequel" of sorts. I don't think I'll read it.

Collins wrote other mystery stories, such as No Name, Armadale, The Dead Secret and The Moonstone. I am definitely interested in reading more of his work. I can't believe I left The Woman in White sitting on my shelf for so long but I'm glad to have remedied that deplorable situation. Reading this was another reminder to me of how important and satisfying it is to read classics. I'm becoming even choosier in how I plan to close out my reading year.

The Help Movie

As my regulars know, I rather avoided reading The Help (linked to my review) at first because it was one of those "fad" books. Everyone was reading it so, naturally, I didn't want to. I like to let books simmer for awhile. But then, if you'll recall, my mom read it and said she loved it and so I went ahead and read it. I sure was glad I did!

I discovered when I was writing up my book review that they were making a movie out of it. Apparently I read the book just in time! As any good reader knows, when Hollywood gets a hold of a book they delight in ruining the story. They get a pleasure trip in totally spoiling the work of a good story teller. I am happy though that apparently they thought well enough of Kathryn Stockett's original efforts that they left the basic storyline virtually untouched! The movie was absolutely fantastic.

With one (glaringly, hideously awful) exception, the movie follows the book remarkably well. I didn't expect perfection, given the fact that the book is of some length and I knew that they weren't going to test the audience's ability to focus for more than two hours. They had a lot to pack in and I think they used their time wisely. They did jump the gun a couple of times by revealing interesting side plots almost at the outset of the film. There were two things that they had characters on film announce immediately that were slowly unfolded throughout the book. Regrettable, but understandable given the length of the film. (Seriously, to do perfect justice to the book, you'd have to expect your visual audience to be willing to sit still for about three and a half hours at least.)

Otherwise, without going in to what the story is about (you can read my book review of The Help if you want a clue) I'll just say that I think this was a fabulous film and anyone who liked the book is likely to enjoy the movie. I was emotionally moved appropriately as the film progressed. I got a seriously good laugh out of watching Celia Foote learn to make friend chicken. I had the same exact reaction to Miss Leefolt on film as I did from reading the book. In my opinion, Aibileen was well cast and carried the story admirably. Minny is my favorite laugh-out-loud character from the book and I knew it would be hard to do her justice in a movie version. Actress Octavia Spencer was cast as Minny and she did make me laugh. Not as much as in the book but I think that's primarily because you couldn't focus on her subplots as much, given the time restrictions (that I keep mentioning.)

There is some cursing in the movie, most of which takes place during the first 20 minutes and involves Skeeter's managing editor. Otherwise, the movie was as clean as a whistle. The opening scene with Mae Mobley ("You is kind.") moved me into the story instantly and I enjoyed every single second of it. (Regretting in the loss of details, only.) I went to see the movie with two friends of mine as part of an early birthday celebration and it was a delightful evening.

I rather strongly recommend seeing it if you have the slightest desire to! I think you'll enjoy it. If you like the book, I think it's very safe to say you'll like the movie. It is deserving of the acclaim it is receiving and I wouldn't mind seeing it again sometime. Nor would I mind re-reading the book for that matter! Both were quite engaging and I'm glad to know them both.

Friday Favorite Five

I'm here with another Friday Favorite Five which is hosted weekly by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

It's been awhile...but I'm back! (Again!)

Summertime has rather whooped me this year and time is racing by. But I don't want to forget to note the blessings along the way.

#1 - My friend's baby who was having some health issues has been "cleared" by the doctor to some extent. Her issues have been explained and things are lookin' pretty good! Praising God for health, healing, preservation of our baby girl friend!

#2 - I got to have coffee with Krista from Welcome to Married Life who was in town this past week visiting relatives. That's my second "blogger meeting" and it was fun to FINALLY (we've been trying for, oh, over a year to meet!) be able to sit down face-to-face. (There are a few others of you out there that I would relish a chance of meeting face-to-face!)

*IMAGINE A PICTURE HERE*

(It was far too early in the morning for a picture of us. Neither of us are morning people!)

#3 - My friend LT from DC came out last week to visit, bringing her husband and NEW BABY with her! (I bow to her bravery in traveling the air with a baby. I wouldn't do it.) We had a lovely weekend catching up, meeting each other's daughters, going on walks and eating cake. (Can't forget the cake now, can we?)

#4 - Finally getting to go see The Help on the big screen with a friend! (Opinion forthcoming.)



#5 - Learning how to be a better homemaker. I've been working on/making our own bread, granola and now -- yogurt!


My Bread. Be Impressed. Please. It took me a long time to figure it out!

It's very fun taking responsibility and dominion of the household. It's also taking up a lot more of my time - which is already limited. But that's ok. Life is changing, we're all growing and learning new things around here. Exactly the way we're supposed to!

And now - to the weekend! Enjoy!

See ya next week.

Carrie

Bill Peet Children's Books :: Read Aloud Thursday

Time for another Read Aloud Thursday which is hosted by Amy at Hope is in the Word. To glean ideas from others as to what books might make some great read-alouds for you and your family, hop on over and check out what reading experiences other people are sharing about.

Yesterday I told you a little bit about Bill Peet and today I wanted to share some of his books that we've either collected or borrowed from the library to read and enjoy (until we can afford to officially add them to our own home collection, you understand!) In yesterday's post I provided a list of the 36 children's book titles that Peet produced. Today I'm offering a sampling of his work.



When I purchased a copy of Chester the Worldly Pig I had no idea that it would be so popular with my boys. They both request it being read to them on a fairly frequent basis. Bookworm2 (age 2 1/2) has been known to walk around the house with this book tucked under his arm. Sometimes I can't really tell you what the appeal is to a certain book - such as now - but I do know that it is incredibly popular. And incredibly long for a two and a half year old so I am left to chalk this up to Peet's storytelling abilities!

Chester tells the story of a pig who wants more than anything to be a part of a circus. So he practices standing on his snout in an attempt to gain the attention of circus folk. He isn't noticed right away but eventually does land a role in the circus that he doesn't ultimately enjoy. As it turns out, standing on his snout is not the most amazing thing about Chester. I almost can't bear to tell you about Chester's unique feature but the title does give you some clue. Read it for yourself.



Bookworm2, our resident train fanatic was delighted when I pulled The Caboose Who Got Loose out of the library basket last week. This book tells the story of Katy Caboose who didn't want to be behind the train any longer but wanted to be free and alone. Katy ultimately gets her wish in a rather unique plot twist.

The thing that I love about Peet's stories are that they continually catch me by surprise. They do not follow a regular formula and you can't ever quite guess how the stories are going to play out. You might think you know, but you never really do. It makes them entertaining reads because they are so unpredictable while still being stories of substance. The Caboose Who Got Loose is also told in rhyme, as many of Peet's works are, which - in my opinion - can easily pit him against Suess, giving Suess a run for his money! Peet is a bit more refined and geared towards older readers though, perhaps. But that makes him a natural author to progress to on the reading scale.



One of Bookworm1's (age 4 3/4, thankyouverymuch!) favorites is No Such Things which is another on loan from the library. This story is filled up with imaginative, zany creatures that do not actually exist but would produce much laughter with them if they did. Well, they make you laugh regardless of the fact or fiction question. This book is Peet's imagination at work and I rather like to think that this was a bedtime story that he told to his own boys once upon a time. Bookworm1 thought it was fantastic. (His literal mind nearly exploded with the idea that there would be such animals!)



My personal favorite, and the title I'll end with, is The Ant and the Elephant. This one is also a part of our home library and I'm glad of it! It tells the story of a group of jungle animals who all need a little bit of help getting out of some tough scrapes but are too hoity toity to help those around them. Only the ant and the elephant prove useful to jungle society as they take time out of their day to work together to help both each other and the other animals out. It's an awesome story of teamwork and friendship and a good reminder that it is important to treat others as you would have them treat you! Love it.

There are many more titles I could list but I'll step there and let you explore Bill Peet and his work for yourself! Again, I don't think you'll regret it.

Bill Peet

You may not know his name, but certainly you know one or two of his books. If nothing else you'll be familiar with his artwork and animations done for the likes of Walt Disney.

I've wanted to give him some focused attention for some time, the more familiar I became of his work. For the longest time, the only title I ever associated him with was The Wump World, which I was introduced to when I was in law school. (Odd story, that.) I started paying more attention to the name when I started looking into books that Disney films were based on and I realized that he had quite a connection to the Classic Disney empire! A remarkable man. A remarkable talent! I simply cannot and will not do him justice in this post, but at the very least I can introduce him to you!

From what I can tell, Bill Peet wrote and illustrated 36 stories for children and participated in the making of at least 12 full length animated feature films as well as several short films. I think the movie that most shows off his particular style is, without a doubt, 101 Dalmatians. I am no longer able to watch it without appreciating the artistry and comparing it to his children's books. Peet created the entire storyboard for 101 Dalmatians as well as for The Sword in the Stone.

His stories for children are frequently fantastical, often told in rhyme, and can easily be identified on sight as belonging to him. He had a very unique style.

Peet began drawing very early on in life. He particularly enjoyed drawing animals which I suppose made him a perfect match for Walt who loved presenting animals to children through film. (That said, they were apparently both brilliantly creative with strong opinions which frequently caused clashes between them.)

Peet wasn't much of an scholar (failing all of his classes except for phys ed, apparently) and so he pursued art courses through Arsenal Technical High School in Indiana. It was there that he met his wife, Margaret. Eventually he received scholarships to go to John Herron Art Institute, also in Indiana, and graduated from there. Post-graduation he heard that Disney was hiring and sent them some samples of his work. Peet made it through a one-month audition process (no pressure there!) and was hired on. He worked on earlier Disney films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and also worked on war films during World War II. He left the Disney company after quarreling with Walt over The Jungle Book. After that he began writing and illustrating children's books. (We have been in the process of collecting his children's books for the majority of this year and I hope to share some of our finds in a post tomorrow.)

Peet said once that he learned to tell children's stories simply by doing so - to his own children first and foremost. He honed his skills on his own family and I think that just makes him pretty wonderful right there! (Not to mention the fact that his stories are very entertaining and appealing to adults as well.) I rather consider him a lesser known Suess who should absolutely be more well-known than he currently is!

Peet lived to be 87 years old, leaving behind an illustrated autobiography and good, meaty stories to delight the masses. (You can read Janet from Across the Page's review of Bill Peet's autobiography HERE.)

Here is a list of his book titles, as collected from Wikipedia:

1. The Ant and the Elephant
2. Big Bad Bruce
3. Bill Peet: An Autobiography
4. Buford the Little Bighorn
5. The Caboose Who Got Loose
6. Capyboppy
7. Chester the Worldly Pig
8. Cock-a-doodle Dudley
9. Countdown to Christmas
10. Cowardly Clyde
11. Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent
12. Eli
13. Ella
14. Eleanor the Elephant
15. Farewell to Shady Glade
16. Fly Homer Fly
17. The Gnats of Knotty Pine
18. Goliath II
19. How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head
20. Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure
21. Huge Harold
22. Jennifer and Josephine
23. Jethro and Joel Were a Troll
24. Kermit the Hermit
25. The Kweeks of Kookatumdee
26. The Luckiest One of All
27. Merle the High Flying Squirrel
28. No Such Things
29. Pamela Camel
30. The Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg
31. Randy's Dandy Lions
32. Smokey
33. The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock
34. The Whingdingdilly
35. The Wump World
36. Zella, Zack, and Zodiac

The more we read of Peet, the more we like him. The more we read, the more entertaining the films on which he worked. If you haven't yet made the introduction, waste no more time! Get thee to a library and snatch up every title you can find! I can't help but think you'll be delighted. I know we are and will continue to be for many years to come.