A Wrinkle In Time

The movie just came out for this one.  I don't know how I feel about it yet.  It was a little weird and the acting wasn't my favorite (although I loved Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as the parents).  Have you seen Gugu in this one? Fantastic movie!

I really liked the book, A Wrinkle In Time (it was my first science fiction read when I was younger), but the movie didn't quite meet my expectations.

What did you think?

Movie Rating: C
Book Rating: B

Everything I Never Told You

A girl is found dead and no one knows why.  Some suspect suicide and others think it's murder.  Her mixed American-Asian family try to come to terms with what has happened.  What unfolds is a tale of love, loss, forgiveness, and heartbreak.

This book gripped me from the first sentence, "Lydia is dead.  But they don't know this yet."  I like the mystery of what happened.  I could really relate to the mother in the story (wanting a career, but feeling torn between work and motherhood).  However, I did not appreciate the adultery throughout the book.

Rating: C+

Of Mess and Moxie

If you don't know Jen Hatmaker, you need to read this .  She is so flipping hilarious!  This book can get a big preachy at times (she's a strong born-again-Christian), but her motherhood/women topics are so funny.  I marked my favorite passages in the back, so that I could refer back to them. I thought her other book, For the Love was funnier (the chapter on pants vs. leggings had me literally in tears), but this was a great read.  

Here's a sample from one of my favorite chapters, "My Soul Mate Netflix":

I don't want to overstate it, but Netflix is my soul mate.  Like Steely Dan said: I have found my home at last.  Any show, any network, movies, UK programming, original series, all in a digital library that is surely a foreshadowing of heaven.  Easily the best feature in the Netflix Rolodex of awesomeness:

Binge watching.

         Episode after episode, all in glorious succession with no commercials and only a ten-second window in which to end the binge and get your life back together, which you loosely consider during seconds one through seven, but then the next episode automatically begins and it's too late.  What are we supposed to do?  Turn it off at that point?  We're not Communists.  The fates decided for us, and so, with forbearance, we move on to episode eleven of "Gilmore Girls" and log our fifth straight hour on the couch.  After you auto-start the fourth episode, even Netflix itself throws shade with a pop-up screen: "Do you want to continue watching?" YES,I DO, NETFLIX.  I don't need your shame.  Pretty judgy for an entertainment platform that offers 132 episodes of "Xena: Warrior Princess".  Don't act like you're concerned about our mental intake. (p. 87-88)

Rating: B

We Were Liars

This one will take you for quite a ride!  It's one of those books you finish and then read again, so that you can fit all of the pieces together.  Friends, cousins, an accident, and family feuds.  If I say more, I'll spoil it.  Read it! (Trigger warning: slightly disturbing accident scene).

Rating: B+

Hearts of the Fathers

My husband and I had the great opportunity to review Sheldon Lawrence's book here.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

This is a Beehive Book Award Nominee book.

What I liked:

• Clever idea to have the story take place over a 24 hour period
• Meeting at an airport sounds exciting!
• The author looked at a split family from unique angles

What I disliked:

• The dialogue was a bit annoying 
• The author repeated herself a lot
• There was too much predictability
• There was not much left to the imagination, a bit too many details

What YA adult fiction would you nominate for the Beehive Book Award?

Rating: C

The Last Sin Eater

This is a folklore-type story about a girl living in a secluded community.  The community has selected a man to be the "Sin Eater" and he is summoned to symbolically eat the sins of the dying.  I really liked the beginning of this story.  Francine Rivers is a gifted writer and is not overly descriptive, which I love.  She gives you just enough details to get you started and then leaves you guessing clear to the end of the book.  The second half of the book got a little preachy for me (sorry to my Born Again Christian friends--you know that I love you!).
Overall a well-written book.  Warning: some death and violence.

Rating: B

Small Acts of Amazing Courage

I love Gloria Whelan and this book was another one of her good ones.  It's about a girl living in India who's parents are British.  She loves the Indian culture and immerses herself in the clothes, market's, and food.  Her parents want her to act more British and she struggles with fitting in to both cultures.  I love the descriptions of India with it's smells and colors.  This book, though a bit predictable near the end, is beautifully written. This is a great read-on-your-porch-in-the-sun kind of a book!

Rating: B+

Global Mom

I haven't read a book this good in a while.  It's the memoir of a BYU graduate who has lived with her husband and children all over the world.  It was really fascinating, especially because I grew up in three different countries.  I loved the descriptions of the different school systems that her children experienced.  

Melissa Dalton-Bradford is very real and at times raw as she tells her story.  Get a box of kleenex ready-- there is some major heartbreak in this one. I'm still trying to recover from it...

Rating: A

Cinder & Scarlet

This is a story based on the Cinderella fairytale but set in a futuristic society.  The main character, Cinder is a cybog (half machine, half human) and a mechanic who has been shunned by most of society.  It's a pretty creative twist to the story and the second book in the series, Scarlet is based on Little Red Riding Hood.  

The second book is a bit more violent but overall pretty good. Both books are dystopia-ish, which I didn't realize when I picked up the book (I'm a little burnt out of that genre) but I liked it. The great news  is that there is no love triangle!  Hallelujah! A love story--yes. Two boys liking the same girl--no. Refreshing.

I needed a good story to get me out of a slump and both of these books did the trick.

Cinder Rating: B
Scarlet Rating: B-

To Kill A Mockingbird

I love this book so much that I've named my second child Scout! I first read this story in 8th grade English and it became one of my all-time favorites. It is Harper Lee's only book and it is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

The story is said to have similarities to Harper Lee's life. Lee lived next door to her childhood friend, Truman Copote (based on the character, Dill).  Lee had a brother who was four years older than she was (Jem). Her father was an attorney and defended two black men who were convicted and hanged for murder (Atticus). Down the street from Lee lived a family who secluded their son for 24 years (Boo Radley).

This is a story of prejudice, racism, friendship, community, education, love, and family.

Rating: A+

Mirror, Mirror

This is a darling book of reverse poetry. Each page features a poem written one way, and then written backwards. So clever! The illustrations are beautiful and I love that the verses don't always rhyme.

Rating: A

Each Little Bird That Sings

I have not cried so hard in a book in a while! Loved this one. It's a very sweet story about a girl living in a funeral home. I love the humor mixed in with the sad: the bitter with the sweet.  If you like Katherine Hannigan's books, you will like Deborah Wiles. This has won a couple of awards and it's also on The Reading Promise List (see last post).  

Rating: A-

The Reading Promise

I love this one! I've been needing a good book to jump start me again and I found it. It's a nonfiction story about a school librarian and his daughter who make a goal to read for 100 straight days together. What happens is truly inspiring. I love the life problems Alice and her dad solve as they read stories together.  One of the best parts is that they list all of the books they read at the very end. Genius! I've already checked a bunch of them out and am excited to plow through them. Everyone who loves to read needs to read this one!

Rating: A+

Boston Jane: An Adventure

This is the first in a trilogy about a girl who follows her betrothed to "Indian Territory".  She realizes really quickly that she has to man-up and take care of herself.  This is a three award winner (Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Book Sense 76 Pick).  I didn't love the other two books as much, but this first one is a fun read.

Rating: B

A Handful of Time

While going through a bunch of old boxes, I found this treasure and just had to re-read it. It's a great story about Patricia, a young girl who discovers a clock that takes her back in time when her mom was her age.  The writing, story, and the character development are all excellent.  I read this on my front porch in Calgary, Canada (Kit Pearson is a Canadian author), when I was about 10 years old.  My copy even has teeth marks from where my dog got to it! What a trip down memory lane...

Rating: A+

Catch Up

This is a super funny one by the same author of, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.  I love the end! I heard this one at my local library Story Time and laughed the loudest out of anyone there!

Rating: A+

Olivia overhears something that she shouldn't, then is attacked and loses her voice. Part romance, part mystery--it's a  bit predictable but a pretty good read. This one has won the Christy Award.

Rating: C+

The third book in the Heist Society Series is pretty good.  I liked the other two a bit better but I like anything by Ally Carter. If you like thieves and jewels--you may enjoy this one.

Rating: C+

The OK Book

This is another great picture book that teaches a life skill.  I love Amy Krouse Rosenthal and this one is one of her best.  It's about a little guy who is OK at a lot of things (playing ball, making pancakes, etc.) but not great at anything yet. I like that the story celebrates being OK at things instead of having to be amazing or perfect.  Great book for perfectionist kids!

Rating: A+

The Kissing Hand

This book makes me cry, (maybe because I'm about to send my first child off to preschool!).  It's about a mom raccoon who comforts her baby by kissing him on the palm of his hand. 

  

"Now," she told Chester, "whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from home, just press your hand to your cheek and think, 'Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.'"

The end is my favorite.  My copy comes with a pack of heart stickers! Love this one.

Rating: A+

Preschool Workbook

  

I love this Activity Book!  It's for 4-5 year olds but my 3 year old loves it.  She uses stickers and cut outs to sort, add, match, and do other math concepts.  There are some great literacy activities, too (letter formation, beginning word sounds, etc).  I highly recommend it.  You could do this book without the read-a-loud book but the science and history stories are a good supplement (the stories and poems are not really necessary). What preschool workbooks do you like?

Activity Book Rating: A+

Read-a-loud Book Rating: C

Baby Lit

I just got some of these books for my birthday and I LOVE them!  Pride & Prejudice is my favorite so far (I haven't read all of them yet). They are classic stories turned into board books for kids! Genius idea.  My 3 year old loves them already:) They are so clever and funny.  The illustrations are amazing. I have, Romeo & Juliet, Moby Dick, Christmas Carol, and Pride & Prejudice. There are nine total and I can't wait to get the rest to add to my collection (I hear Sense & Sensibility is an opposite book--how great is that?!).

Rating: A+

Parenting Books

I've been reading a lot of parenting books lately.  It's gotten to the point, though that it has overwhelmed me more than helped me at times...Here are some of the ones I've checked out:

This one is a collection of CDs or MP3.  I HIGHLY recommend these for any parent and teacher (especially disks 4 on).  I LOVE Melisa Genaux and have worked with her personally.  I love "precision commands" and use them every day.

Rating: A+ 

  
I have only read the first couple of chapters in this one, but find it interesting in regards to comparing French children to American children (especially children being taken out to public places).

This one is super interesting as well but it kind of goes against "precision commands".  A lot of good ideas, though. 

I love the idea of teaching life skills to kids.  I really like the Montessori method, as well.  I just started this one so I can't rate this one either quite yet...

 

This book comes highly recommended from a friend who is a homeschool mom.  I just started it but have found it a very fascinating read. It talks about the fact that we need to educate children through mentoring and the classics.

I have been doing a lot of internet reading on the Waldorf method.  Some of it is a bit "out there" for me but I love the idea of teaching kids using naturally-made materials. I haven't finished this one so I can't rate it yet.

The ideas in this book have really helped me to understand my daughter better.  I don't agree with everything in here but I like a lot of the ideas.

Rating: B
 

I feel a similar way that this mother does--I just can't quite decide if I've found what I'm looking for in a preschool for my child. I don't think you can be too picky about your child's education (well, maybe I am).

So, as you can see, parenting has been on my mind a lot lately.  But, I need to remember this wonderful article and not forget what's most important.

What are your favorite parenting/teaching books? Do share:)

I Want My Hat Back

This is one of the best picture books ever!  So simple, yet so clever. I died laughing when I first read this one. I can't even tell you what it's about--you just have to read it.

Rating: A+

Fahrenheit 451

Have you seen this unique cover to Fahrenheit 451? Love it!  If you haven't read this one, it's a must read.  A society that burns books...that's all I'm going to say about it. 

Rating: B

The Book Thief

The Book Thief is a WW II story from a German girl's perspective.  It's narrated by Death (creepy...right?).  You will cry your eyes out but it's one of those life-changing books.  If you speak German, you'll notice a lot of swearing!  Don't read this one on a Kindle or an iPhone--  you're going to want to see the change in fonts and illustrations.

Rating: A-

Listening for Lions

Listening for Lions is about a young girl growing up in Africa. When her parents pass away, she must take on another identity and move to England.  This book inspires me to follow my dreams (I know that that sounds super cheesy but read it and you'll agree!). It's one of my all-time favorites!
 
Rating: A+

The Light Between Oceans

This is the story of a couple who finds a baby washed ashore next to their lighthouse.  They decide to raise her as their own and not tell anyone. This book brings up moral issues that really made me think.  I didn't like how often the characters use the Lord's name in vain, but other than that--it was a really interesting read.

Rating: B-