Picture Book Saturday: Thanksgiving edition

I love, love, love Thanksgiving! I love getting together with the families, making and eating lots of food, and taking a day to really thank God for all the blessings we have been given.
Hopefully, if you like any of my choices this week, you can run out to the library and find them in time for the big day. Enjoy the turkey!

Thanksgiving Rules, written by Laurie Friedman and illustrated by Teresa Murfin is a great choice for a read aloud in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Funny, but with a sweet message at the end.

Percy Isaac Gifford wants to make sure we all make the most out of our Thanksgiving experience, so he's come up with a list of rules for us to follow. From how to keep the greeting of the relatives short and sweet, to how to build up your plate, and ending with a sweet surprise for everyone.

The rhyming makes this a fun story (though sometimes the rhymes are a bit off) and your kids will definitely be giggling through a lot of Percy's rules. The message at the end is of thankfulness and love, a nice touch.

Thanksgiving Rules
Laurie Friedman
32 pages
Picture book
Carolrhoda Books
9780822579830
September 2009
Review copy received from publisher

Duck for  Turkey Day, written by the very nice Jacqueline Jules (yep, I've had the pleasure of meeting her) and illustrated by Kathryn Mitter, is an awesome way to bring some diversity into this wonderful holiday. 

Tuyet, a Vietnamese-American girl, is incredibly disappointed...and more than a bit worried...that her family will not be having turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, but traditional duck instead. She insists that it simply cannot be Thanksgiving without a turkey! 


After learning what some of her friends ate for Thanksgiving, including roast beef, enchiladas, and even a tofu turkey, Tuyet starts feeling much better and begins to realize that what is eaten on Thanksgiving Day matters a whole lot less than spending time with friends and family. 

I really, really liked the message of Duck for Turkey Day and feel it's an ever-important one to attempt to get across to kids in today's time of extreme diversity in our schools, cities, and towns. Not everyone eats turkey on Thanksgiving (like me!) and I think this is a great tool for teaching that.  

Duck for Turkey Day
Jacqueline Jules
32 pages
Picture Book
Alfred Whitman & Company
September 2009
Borrowed from my local library


I'm a Turkey!, written and illustrated by Jim Arnosky, is another fun read aloud, this time focusing on the turkey part of Thanksgiving!

So, I'm sure we all wonder just where our turkey might come from and Arnosky gives us a look at just what wild turkeys do all. From talking in Turkey speak, to strutting, we get a fun, rhyming story, meant to be made silly.

If you think your child may be attached to the turkeys and not want to eat their dinner...wait until after the holiday for this one :)

I'm a Turkey!
Jim Arnosky
32 pages
Picture Book
Scholastic
9780439903646
September 2009
Review copy received from publisher

10 Fat Turkeys, written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Rich Deas is one of those countdown books that kids just seem to love. My copy is a board book, but it was originally published in picture book form, so I thought it counts for Picture Book Saturday :)

We start with 10 fat turkeys fooling on a fence and work our way down to just 1 turkey as they each decided to do something silly that makes them fall off the fence. The funniest part is finding out what each turkey is going to do next! We have a turkey that decides to try and roller skate on the fence, one that tries to whistle in a shoe, and another that decides to balance bricks. Very funny!

Oh and the back cover features a turkey holding a sign that says "Eat Ham," which just cracks me up! Adorable book, really.

10 Fat Turkeys
Tony Johnston
32 pages
Picture Book
Cartwheel Books (an imprint of Scholastic)
9781417690602
September 2004
Review copy received from publisher

To learn more about any of these titles, or to purchase, click on the book covers above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate of Amazon and will receive a small commission from your purchase.

Poetry Friday: Tofu Quilt

Jacket description:
"Growing up in Hong Kong in the 1960s, Yeung Ying is tired of hearing how important boys are. After all, she can write letters and recite poems as well as-even better than-her boy cousins.


Luckily, Yeung Ying's mother thinks 'girls and boys are just the same.' Despite protests from her husband's family, Ma uses what little money the family has to send her daughter to private school. There Yeung Ying begins to fall in love with books and writing. Combining this new passion with the colorful experiences of her daily life, Yeung Ying discovers that even girls can dare to dream."

Tofu Quilt, a collection poems by Ching Yeung Russell, is actually a story of the poet's life. Each poem helps to connect the pages into a beautifully written story, allowing for an experience of life in Hong Kong as a young girl, as well as a pretty great interpretation as to what it's like to turn a dream into reality. Russell wanted to be a writer more than anything, but was consistently turned away by male family members. She lets the reader in on just how she came to realize that big dream that previously seemed so impossible.

I loved the individual poems and the seemless way they seemed to flow into a single book. The main character was incredibly likable and left me really cheering for her, in hopes that she would indeed get to write (though I knew she was the author and obviously HAD succeeded).  The added glossary of Chinese words was very helpful and the cover was intriguing. Overall a great addition to any poetry collection, but one that can also be handed to a preteen/teen that enjoys historical fiction.

Tofu Quilt
Ching Yeung Russell
136 pages
Poetry, Middle Grade
Lee & Low Books
9781600604232
October 2009
Review copy received from publisher

To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission from your purchase. Thanks!

Seriously??!!

Sometimes I think our family is just on a crash course. We've had yet another family member pass away this week, after having been diagnosed with cancer only 2 months ago...and that makes it funeral #4 over the course of a year. What a way to start the holiday season...yet again.

So, I'm off to Upstate NY for a few days for the funeral, leaving the husband and dogs here, then driving back to VA, then back to NY Tuesday-Saturday with them for the holiday. Busy bee doesn't begin to describe it. I have some posts set up already, but there may be some blank spaces. Bear with me and send up some thoughts that this is the LAST funeral I have to attend for awhile.

See you soon :)

The Sweetheart of Prosper County (YA review)

Jacket description:
"Almost 15-year-old Austin Gray is tired of standing at the curb and watching the parade pass her by. Literally. She decides this is the year she;ll ride on the hood of a shiny pickup truck in the annual parade, waving to the crowd and finally showing the town bully that she's got what it takes to be the Sweetheart of Prosper County.

But far from simply being a beauty contest, becoming Sweetheart involves participation in the Future Farmers of America (FFA), raising an animal, and hunting or fishing. Austin will do almost anything to become Sweetheart, and has the support of her oldest friend, Maribel, her new FFA friends (including the reigning Sweetheart, and a quiet, cute, cowboy), an evangelical Elvis impersonator, a mysterious Cajun outcast, and a rooster named Charles Dickens. If only her momma would stop overprotecting her, and start letting Austin live her own life. But Austin can't move on until Momma moves on too--and lets the grief of losing Austin's daddy several years before out into the open."

I loved the setting. I really think that we don't get enough  books set in the "hicktowns" of America, featuring teens that love fishing, hunting, getting dirty, and taking car of animals. I grew up in one of these towns, where the first day of hunting season typically meant half the school took the day off and teachers just let it slide, and where we actually had an annual "drive your tractor to school day." Being "country" was the way life was and nobody knew any different. So, I really loved the Texas setting, the inclusion of the FFA, and the idea of the County Sweetheart riding on the hood of a pickup truck. My kinda people! I think author, Jill S. Alexander really got that part of our world.

I thought the plot was really cute and the different characters were certainly unique and interesting, though at times a bit over the top. I wasn't a huge fan of the Elvis impersonator, Lewis, I thought he was overly silly and not a bit believable. I also, unfortunately, wasn't a huge fan of the main character, Austin. I liked everyone else, but she and Lewis made were written by an adult and that was very apparent. I didn't feel Austin was a teen, I felt she was a fake teen and that's not good.

Overall, cute and funny. Teen girls will enjoy the the plot, with the tad bit of subtle romance and the heavy friendship elements.Oooh and I loved the cover. Definitely a great job there!

The Sweetheart of Prosper County
Jill S. Alexander
224 pages
Young Adult
Feiwel and Friends
9780312548568
September 2009
Review copy received from Amazon Vine program


To learn more, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission for your purchase, which will help pay for the giveaways this coming month!

William S. and the Great Escape (MG review)

Product description:
"William S. Baggett is a good kid trapped in a really awful family. William has his running-away money ready to go, he's just been waiting until he's older than twelve to leave. When his big brothers flush his sister's pet guinea pig down the toilet, she insists they leave now. And take the two littlest Baggetts with them. So they head out in the middle of the night, ready to escape to their aunt Fiona's house.


Unfortunately the trip doesn't go exactly as planned. It's not so easy traveling with two little kids, and some help from a lonely rich girl makes it even more complicated. Will they ever make it to Aunt Fiona's? And if they do, will she let them stay?


This is the story of four children who learn that sometimes you have to run away before you can find your way home."

I'm a big fan of Zilpha Keatley Snyder and was definitely pleased with her latest book. The story is a quick read and one that families can read aloud and discuss together, with spots of humor, a great cast, and an interesting storyline.

I did have a few "issues" with the story, namely the violence towards the end. Though the story seems geared toward the 8-12 set, I would be a bit uneasy reading the last couple of chapters to an 8 year old, as the main character is described as being beaten, with his younger sisters forced to watch, as their own punishment. Violence is referenced in many spots in the book, but much more subtly than the end. I think it could have been a little toned down to be more age-appropriate.

I love Snyder's cover choices and her characters always stand out and shine in their own special way. The main character, William, was a great male character and one that I think would appeal to boys of the same age set and his younger sister was adorable.

This could be a great read aloud in a classroom, though again, be aware of the violence at the end, or within your family, possibly using the violence as a great discussion starter.

William S. and the Great Escape
Zilpha Keatley Snyder
224 pages
Middle Grade
Atheneum
9781416967637
September 2009
Review copy received from Amazon Vine program

To learn more, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission for your purchase.

Updates and some giveaway hints

Whew! As most of you that read this blog often know, it's been quite a busy past few months for me. Job searching, getting the new house in order, a dog that seems to always want to be sick, the Cybils, trying to post every day, etc. I'm getting a little tired...wanting to just slow down a bit. Which is resulting in a process of trying to figure out how to revamp this blog for next year. I'm not sure if my goal will be to write about every book I read like it was this year. I'm not sure if I'll set my reading goal at 250 books again. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle my reviews, writing about the good and the bad, or just the good. I'm still just not sure. More updates to come on all that in the near future. And if you have any tips to make the blog better, send them my way!

What I do know is that I'm going to be giving away a whole bunch of goodies for the holidays! Sound like fun?? I'm still working out the kinks, trying to figure out when I'm giving away what,but you will (hopefully), get the items in time to give as Christmas gifts, if that's what you choose, and they will be fun! So make sure you stay tuned here to check out the giveaways and pass the word along!

I'm also going to be randomly featuring some Christmas ideas for you all. If you're interested, you can buy the items through Amazon and I may just be able to make a couple of bucks through the Affiliate program for shipping all the giveaways! These will be items that I have personally tried, so I'm not just trying to convince you to purchase random "stuff."

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Non-Fiction Monday: What's the Weather Like?

Well all over the country, the weather is certainly changing lately. Just this past week we had a tropical storm roll through Northern Virginia, leaving us soaking and some of the rest of the state flooded. Winter is almost upon us and the snow will be starting (if it hasn't already) and this is the perfect time to start introducing your kids to the different aspects of weather.

The series, "What's the Weather Like?" is an awesome way to start talking about weather with the young ones. Appropriate for kids probably 4 and up, each book in the series (there are 5) focuses on one aspect of the weather, using bold text, bright colors, photographs of real children, and lots of simple, yet educational facts to help them learn. Some have a hands-on activity featured, really putting the learning to the test, as well as a Did You Know section, a short glossary, and extra resources section.

The three I reviewed, It's Cloudy Today, It's Windy Today, and It's Snowy Today, all written by Kristin Sterling, were all fabulous in the easy-to-understand method of presenting the information. The bold colors on each page make for instant attraction and the simple facts result in a learning experience that is great for even the youngest.

Put out by Lerner Books, one of my favorite publishers, not only for their awesome books, but for the quality. These books are going to hold up to just about anything! Library shelf or home shelf, once you purchase these, they'll be with you for quite some time. That makes the price go up quite a bit, but I really think it would be worth it. You can get them in paperback too, for those more budget conscious.

Who am I recommending these for? Everyone. If you are a homeschooling parent of an elementary age child, go get them. If you are buying for your library, go get them. Really nice to compliment a unit in school on weather or just as a supplement to a science unit.

Just as a hint, these may be up for grabs in the coming weeks! Keep a watch here at the blog. 


What's the Weather Like? series
Kristin Sterling
Non-Fiction
Lerner Books
October 2009
Review copies received from publisher


To learn more, or to purchase, click on the book covers above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission from your purchase. Thanks!