Freak the Mighty

Today my students finished reading Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.  I've used this book with my classes several times over the past 10 years and every year it always surprises me how much my students love this book.  This year's class was no exception.  They loved the book, which suits this teacher just fine!  It catches me by surprise each time I teach this book just how much my students love this book.  It's different from what usually catches my student's attention.  There is no bad language, it's not particularly violent, there are no vampires (or other mythical creatures).  What it does have are two main characters who desperately need a friend and form a very unlikely friendship with each other.  Max is a 13 year old boy who is huge for his age and even though he's physically built to be a bully, too often finds himself the target of bullying.  He lives with his grandparents (Grim and Gram) and has no friends and even less self esteem.  Kevin, also called Freak, is a pint-sized genius who seems to be Max's opposite in every way.  However, its these differences that help lead the boys to form the friendship of a lifetime.  If you're looking for a great book for the middle schooler in your life consider Freak the Mighty.  It's as close to a guaranteed hit at you can get with kids that age!

Banned Books

I know it's not banned books awareness week, (That was September 26-October 3 2012) but some friends and I were talking about banned books and how we are always surprised by the books that end up on that list.  We figured by now we would realized that some people will find a reason to object to anything and we really shouldn't be surprised at this point in our lives, but we always are.

As a mom I was drawn to the children's books on the particular list at which we were looking.  I've always kind of  glossed over those in the past, cause who really cared.  But now I was looking at them with new eyes.  Here are the five banned (or challenged) children's books that I was most surprised to see on the list.

1. Where's Waldo by Martin Handford - Really!?  It's just crazy pictures where you have to find Waldo in nearly impossibly crowded scenes.  How is this a banned book?
2. The Giving Tree by Shell Silverstein - This book teaches a wonderful lesson on love, sharing, and sacrifice.  I was shocked to see it on the list!
3. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss - This is another great book that teaches a powerful lesson about caring for our environment.  What happened to going green?
4. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - Okay, to be fair I'm sure buried someplace in this delightful collection of poems is probably some tongue and cheek poem that annoyed someone, but I just remember how much I loved this (and all of Shel Silverstein's poetry) as a child.
5. The Giver by Lois Lowry - This is one of my all time favorite books.  I just don't understand what could possibly be objectionable about the Newberry winner.

I enjoy reading banned books often just because they have been banned.  It brings out the rebel in me gives me a new reason to read.  Maybe one day my son and I can enjoy reading some baned books together.  (He's already got #1, 2, and 4 in his library!)

Advent Tradition

When I was a kid, each year my mom would take my brother and I to pick out an Advent Calendar.  Each night at the kitchen table, during dinner, we'd get to open one of the doors on the Advent Calendar and read what was behind the flap.  It was thrilling!  (Although I think most of our excitement came from counting down to Santa, not from counting down to Jesus' birthday.)

Now that my husband and I have our own (young) family I've been thinking about what Christmas traditions I'd like to establish.  On Pinterest a few months ago I came across the idea of wrapping up 24 Christmas books and counting down to Christmas by unwrapping a book each night and reading it together.  I LOVE THIS IDEA!  It combines all of my favorite things: unwrapping items, reading aloud, and Christmas.  The only problem is that this could be an expensive tradition to establish.  Buying 24 books can cost a lot of money.  So I thought I'd start to plan ahead.  My son will be 5 months old on December 24, so this is not a tradition I need to start this year, but if I start planning now when he's old enough I just may have what I need without having to endure the burden of buying all those books at once.

THE PLAN

1) I went through the house to see what Christmas books we already own.  We own three already.  The Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke and A Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt, and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.
2) I plan to buy just 2 Christmas books this year.  I hope I can pick them up at my local used book store.  I'd like to buy Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story by Sally Lloyd-Jones and The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado.
3) Now that I know this is something I want to do as an Advent tradition I plan to keep an eye out for Christmas picture books at garage sales, thrift stores, flee markets.  I'll also put my friends and family on the hunt.  Hopefully this way I can pick up a few more Christmas books over the next 365 days without having to pay more than $1 per book.

My master plan over the coming years is to acquire about 12-15 Christmas picture books and then check the others out from the library.  This way there will be a nice mix of traditional books that our family reads together each year, and new books for our family to be surprised with.  (Plus, library books are free so it will help keep the cost down!)

I can't wait for next Christmas so our family can begin a new Advent Tradition!

Gifting a Magazine Subscription

It seems like this year a magazine a subscription is the thing to give.  I've never given anyone a subscription to a magazine before, but three people in my family have requested a subscription/renewal to a magazine.  What I like about magazines is that they attract people who classify themselves as "non-readers".  They have short articles with lots of pictures, they are easy to pick up/put down, are centered a topic a person knows they are interested in, and they are tons of fun to get in the mail.  So, if you're stuck on a gift to give someone this year, why not consider a magazine subscription.  You just might turn someone in your family into a reader by getting them hooked on a new publication!

I Love My Nook!

I'm a full time working mom, who is also still nursing.  Needless to say there's not much free time in my life.  My friends and family are amazed that I've managed to find the time to still read and I tell them it's all thanks to my Nook.  Last year for my birthday my husband bought me a Nook Color.  I was thrilled to get a Nook and about 30% of the books I read last year I read on my Nook.  Since having our son though just about every book I've read has been on my Nook.  There are so many things about my Nook (or just about any e-reader) that make it TONS easier to read with a baby in the house.

1)  I only need one hand free to read.  With one hand I can hold my Nook and simply use my thumb on the same hand to turn the pages.  I don't have to worry that it is going to flop closed and that I'll lose my spot.  This comes in very handy when I'm nursing or pumping.

2)  I can read my Nook in a dark room.  Late at night when I'm nursing I want to keep the room dark so my son falls right back to sleep.  Without my Nook that would be time I wouldn't be able to read, but since my Nook is back light, I can keep the room dark and read while he's nursing. 

3)  I can read while I'm pumping at work.  Pumping (at least for my style of pump) keeps my hands occupied, but I can bring up whatever book(s) I've downloaded onto my Nook and read them off of my computer screen while I pump.  That way instead of just having to stare at a blank wall, or worse, stare at my computer and think of all the work I need to be doing at that time, I can relax and read a few pages.  It has been a life saver, and really helped me de-stress and not think about the millions of other things I need to get done. 

4)  I can download free books!  Yes, I do sometimes still pay for books, but just because my husband and I are both working doesn't mean we're rich.  (Far from it!)  We save money where we can, and one way is to utilize free books.  Many "classics" (think books you read - or should have read- in high school) are free.  Right now I'm reading Anna Karenina which I downloaded free from www.gutenberg.org.  I also check e-books out from the public library, and make use of sights like www.ebookfling.com

I love my Nook because without it, I simply wouldn't have the time to read which would make me very sad.  If you're a mom who loves to read and you don't already have one, treat yourself to a Nook (or another type of e-reader).

*I am not affiliated with, nor is this post in anyway sponsored by Barns and Noble.

Favorite Books at 4 months

Over the Thanksgiving holiday our son turned 4 months.  So I thought I'd take a moment to write about his current favorite books.

1. High Contrast Books- I've written about these before.  These books are my son's favorite books and have been for about 2 months.  The high contrast books we have feature simple, very large black and white pictures.  Each page has one or two words so we mostly fill in the story as he stares at the pictures.  We picked up our set at our local used book store and they have proved to be worth every penny.  No other books at this stage come close to holding his attention the way these books do.
(Shop: Sock and Shoe, Fish and Canoe, Me and You, Cluck and Moo)

2. Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton- We have several Sandra Boynton books, but my son seems to prefer this one right now.  This book features a simple rhyming story about some barnyard animals square dancing.  It is simple, cute, and silly.  It has Boynton's trademark illustrations.  When we read this to him we try to get him physically involved with the story.  For example, when the text says "stomp your feet" we'll take his feet and tap them on the floor.  So he may just enjoy this one since we make it so interactive for him.

I know the list seems short, but 4 month old babies don't have a huge attention span for reading at this point.  I can't wait to see how his reading interests grow and change as he develops.

Chewable Baby Books

My husband and I have recently introduced chewable baby books, or what in our house we call bath books.  We think of bath books as short books (3-5 pages), made of soft foam and covered in plastic.  They can get wet and stand up to a drooling baby or bath time. (Thus the nickname bath books.)  We have a set that has a handle for him to grab onto, but not all of our bath books have handles.  At 4 months our son is just starting to want to put things into his mouth and also just beginning to become a drooler.  In an effort to protect some of his board books, while still letting him explore books we decided to break out our small collection of bath books. 

But, the thing is we're not using them at bath time...we're using them during play time.  From what my friends with slightly older children have said his interest in bath books will really pick up around 6 months.  For now he likes to grab onto the book with the handle and shake it around.  Sometimes he'll grab and squeeze one of the pages.  At this stage they really only hold his attention for about 5 minutes tops.  He does like to look at the bright colors of the illustrations though.  We have the set pictured above from Sassy and so far we like it.  The cube holds no interest for him at this stage, but I'm sure in a few months he will enjoy that more.  Right now it's just too big for his hands.  I'm excited to watch him play with these books now and I can't wait to see him interact with these books as his skills continue to grow and develop.