Favorite Books 5 months

On Christmas Eve our son turned 5 months old.  We ran into some friends of ours at the Christmas Eve service who had their 8 week old with them and my husband and I couldn't believe how big, and old, our son looked at 5 months compared to their 8 week old.  It's amazing how fast they change.  And, this includes our son's reading tastes.  At 4 months he was still really into high contrast books, but his interest seems to be fading as his interest in other types of books grows.  He's now able to reach and grab onto pages which means that to save our other books we mostly read board books and let him play with bath books.  He seems to sit better for books that rhyme right now and he also listens best when he's got something he can chew on while he's read to. 

1) Our family is loving Sandra Boyton books right now.  We've got about 5 of her board books and we just love them.  They mostly rhyme, have silly words, and cheerful illustrations.  She's an author who is worth getting to know.

2) Dr. Seuss ABC book is also growing in popularity with him.  I think he likes this one so much because it rhymes.

3) Bath Books are really a big thing for him.  He can grab and crinkle the pages, put them in his mouth, hold onto the one that has a handle, and just play with them.  It's so much fun watching him explore these books.  My favorite is watching him turn the pages in his bath books.  It really does make it look like he's "reading".  We keep the one with the handle in the play room and the other two we save for bath time.  We have the set pictured above called Sassy 3 Pack Newborn Developmental Book Set.

Anna Karenina: A Review

Well folks, I did it!  I read my first Russian novel, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.  (I read it on my Nook with the free copy I downloaded from the Gutenberg Project!  They provide free copies of public access books, which are mostly the type of books you get assigned in high school and college.  So, if you're looking for a great spot to download free "classics" onto your e-reader, check out their website www.gutenberg.org.)

 I guess I'm not so sure what makes this such a great story, but I did enjoy the book.  There were times I thought the plot dragged a bit, and times when I thought there was too much philosophizing, but then again, there were times when the philosophical musings of the characters added to my reading experience and gave me a glimpse into what makes this book a classic.  I think had I had the benefit of reading this as a part of a reading group, or if I'd read it in high school or college as a part of a class where I could have enjoyed the benefit of insights from someone who could have pointed out to me some of the details I undoubtedly missed, I would better understand what makes this novel appear on so many Best Books lists.

In particular I'm still struggling to decide if I liked Anna Karenina, the title character.  For most of the novel I thought she was selfish and her selfish actions caused pain to those around her.  However, she's not as 2-dimensional as that.  Tolstoy also gave her a lot of goodness, and she struggled with her decisions and their consequences throughout the novel.  I've heard it said that Tolstoy himself disliked Anna Karenina, the character, and I could see why.  She certainly gave me a lot to think about as I read.  I love to put myself in the character's shoes and she was an interesting one to think about.  As many times as I've thought about it I can't decide if I would have made her same decisions or not.  I don't think I would have made the same decision as her at the end of the novel, but prior to that I'm just not sure. 

I finished the novel over a week ago and I'm still struggling to decide just how I feel about the novel.  There were times I really disliked the characters in the novel, times I truly just didn't understand them, and times I wanted to reach into the pages of the book and shake them until they came to their senses.  I guess in some respects, for me anyway, it means I must have enjoyed the book if I cared enough about the characters to have emotional reactions to them.  I liked this book enough that it would make it onto my Top 10 books for 2012, but not enough that it would make it onto my Top 10 Books Ever.  I'd recommend it to a reader who wants a gentler introduction to Russian literature than Crime and Punishment or War and Peace might give, but if you're simply a casual reader or a fan of mostly trade fiction it probably isn't the right choice for you.

Happy Reading!

My Awesome Secret Santa!

Every year my school does a Secret Santa gift exchange the week before Christmas Break.  It’s always fun to give and receive gifts, but this year it was extra fun to receive gifts.  My Secret Santa knocked it out of the park!  She was amazing!  To help us know what to purchase for our person each participant fills out an wish list information sheet.  I always list books on my wish list information sheet, but no one, until this year, has ever given me a book.  I understand why, I never give information about a specific title or genera because I really do like to read just about anything.  But that makes it intimidating to try to gift a book with no guidance.  But this year my Secret Santa rose to the challenge and gave me not one, not two, but three books!  My wonderful Secret Santa gave me The Eighty-Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, an Heaven is for Real by Todd Durpo.  My amazing Secret Santa even thought to include Peek-a-WHO? By Nina Laden for my son!  (This book has been on my list of books I've been hunting for at used book stores.)  It must have been divine intervention that lead my Secret Santa to that title because I know she didn't know I was looking for that book for him.  For now I’m excited to be on Christmas break armed with three New York Times Bestsellers to keep me happily reading over break and a new book to share with my son.

Reading for Inspiration

2012 is almost over and so I've been reflecting on this past year.  I can't believe all of the changes my life has gone through.  This year alone I've adjusted to being pregnant, to being a mom, and being a working mom.  I've become a blogger, a knitter (not a good one yet, but maybe someday!).  I've made new friends, learned to interpret the cries of a baby and how to get by on fractured sleep.  I cooked my first Turkey at Thanksgiving (and it actually turned out to be edible!) and I'll host my first Christmas in a about a week for 20 people (yikes!).  In many ways my life is almost unrecognizable to me; it is so different from what it was last year at this time.  But, I've also worked hard to try to keep up with those parts of my life that are mine and in part define me.  I've continued to be a reader and I work hard to find time to work out.  I may not read as many books, or workout as often as I once did, but those are still a part of my life.  My husband and I still attend church weekly, but we take advantage of the Saturday evening service and we've managed to still host a weekly Bible study at our house.  When the weather was nice, and in the spring when it's nice again, we'll use our free time to kayak and hike and to carve out time for our marriage.

With all that in mind I've been reflecting on the type of reading I usually do and how I'd like to use my reading time in the future.  I've never been a big fan of reading inspiration or self help books.  I guess I've always been pleased with my life and so I've never felt the need.  But, the life of a working mom has awakened me to a whole new set of worries and stresses that I never knew I could have, so for 2013 I've found a few books I'd like to make time for to hopefully inspire me when times get tough and I feel overwhelmed.

1. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp- A friend of mine recommended this to me.  I've already put my name on the waiting list at the library for the ebook.
2. Simple Abundance: A Day Book of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach- I'm a bit skeptical about this book, but it seems popular.  I just wish I actually knew someone who had read it so I could know more about this book than the recommendation of strangers on random website.
3. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin- If I like this book, there's a sequel, Happier At Home, which I've also heard some good buzz about.

This is going to be a whole new genre for me.  Everyone though needs a bit of inspiration in their life from time to time.

When Dad Reads Aloud

One of the many many things that I love about my husband is that he is dedicated to reading aloud to our son.  Truth be told, some weeks he reads aloud to him more than I do!  While I must admit I've never been able to convince my husband to read The Read Aloud Handbook (my all time favorite book on reading aloud to children!) he's a natural when it comes to reading to our son.  Being that our first born is a son I feel like it is extra important that his dad reads aloud to him and that he sees his dad read for pleasure.  In The Read Aloud Handbook author Jim Trelease devotes a special section to trying to convince dads that's it's important.  In referring to the increasing academic achievement of girls and decreasing academic achievement of boys Trelease says this, "The impact on the young male of seeing his dad worshipping daily and nightly at the alter of ESPN, has to have played a damaging role in male attitudes about school.  Girls read and write; guys hit, throw, catch, shoot, and fish."  A bit further on in the same section Trelease lays out some startling (and simple) facts about the impact dads who read can have on their sons.  (The following statistics come from a study conducted in Modesto, California.)

1. Boys who were read to by their fathers scored significant higher in reading achievement.
2. When fathers read recreational, their sons read more and scored higher than boys whose fathers did little or no recreational reading.

There are so many parents who are desperate to increase their child's academic achievement.  These parents will shell out thousands of dollars for after-school tutoring programs, summer enrichment programs, online activities designed to increase achievement, but the answer for many children is much more simple and far less expensive...SPEND TIME READING TO YOUR CHILD!

Knowing how important it is that my husband reads aloud to our son I'm so very grateful that he's a natural and that it's something he enjoys doing with our son.  I hope that the time the two boys spend reading aloud now is the beginning of a long and rich tradition of reading aloud in our house.

Favorite Christmas Books

I finally had a bit of free time and I chose to spend to it looking at Pinterest.  (Yes, it's true, I'm obsessed with Pinterest.  I just can't get enough and no matter how many times I look I always seem to find something new to inspire and interest me.)  On Pinterest I stumbled upon a list of 10 Must Read Christmas Books for Kids.  I, of course, had to look at the list.  The first 5 books are classic Christmas books, although I have to admit that I had never even heard of #4, Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree.  The last five on the list are newer books that are sure to become Christmas classics.  Keeping in mind the Advent tradition I'd like to start of wrapping up 24 books, one to unwrap and read each night of Advent, I thought this list was an excellent find.  It gives me several new titles to look for over the next year, or books to try to check out from the library next Christmas.  I can't wait to see what other future favorite Christmas books I stumble upon over the next year.

Reading Nonfiction at Home

The local newspaper this week ran a story about the Common Core.  The Common Core is a set of educational standards that 48 states, and the District of Columbia, have adopted as their educational standards.  Love it or hate it the Common Core is here to stay (at least in the short term) and will impact your child's education.  One of the main drives of the Common Core is to increase the amount of nonfiction reading students do.  While English teachers are feeling the burden, and feeling like they have to cut out some of the beloved pieces of literature, the idea behind the Common Core is that ALL subject areas would increase the amount of reading students are doing.  Thus the burden, in theory, shouldn't fall on the English teachers.  (In practise time will tell how well that will work, but that's the idea behind the increase in nonfiction reading.)

As parents however, we can do our teachers a HUGE favor by getting our children used to reading nonfiction at an early age.  I'll confess, when I envision reading to my son I certainly don't picture sitting down with him to read a manual about auto-repair or an essay about the different between an apple and a pear, but there are plenty of great, fun, and simple ways to increase the amount of nonfiction a child is exposed to.  Here are just two ideas.

1) Read article from a newspaper (or an online news source).  I know I'm probably a bit old fashioned since I still subscribe to a newspaper, but I enjoy my subscription.  With older kids (4th grade on up) read an interesting newspaper article together and discuss the article.  (USA Today, for example is written on a 4th grade reading level.)  It can make for some great dinner time conversations and if you pick the right articles it won't feel like an assignment it'll just feel like an interesting conversation.  You can always modify this by reading the article out loud if your child can't understand the article when (s)he reads it him/herself.  Many of the benefits will still be there for your child.

2) Get your child a subscription to a great nonfiction magazine.  Is there anything more fun than getting a magazine in the mail!?  There is a magazine out there to suit your child's interests and they make magazines for any reading level these days.  Even preschoolers can get a subscription to Ranger Rick Jr (ages 4-7) , which is published by the National Wildlife Federation.  As a bonus, there are no ads in this magazine!  Just pages of great content and beautiful pictures sure to interest the budding naturalist in your life.  Got a kid who loves to travel and wants to be a global explorer?  How about getting them hooked on FACES Magazine.  There are so many other great magazines out there.  I could probably do a month's worth of posts on the magazines that I love that feature nonfiction writing.  If you're looking for other ideas be sure to check out the Cricket family of publications.  They really publish some amazing magazines for children and teens.

There are millions of ways to introduce your child to nonfiction and to show them that it doesn't have to mean reading out of a textbook.  A love of reading starts at home, and that includes a love of nonfiction too!