Picture Books and The Great American West

For our road trip from Idaho to Minnesota, I picked up a handful of picture books from the library in hopes that they would connect M with some of the places we visited. 

Mountain Dance

Thomas Locker

This one was probably his favorite.  Mostly because it had pictures of hot lava.  Even though we didn't see any lava on our trip, we did talk a lot about the Yellowstone caldera and the volcanic explosions there.  I think now we just have to take him to Hawaii so we can really blow his mind with REAL hot lava!  Field trip!!

I am a huge fan of Thomas Locker's books because I love the illustrations.  So I'd recommend this one even if you aren't headed to the mountains anytime soon.

The Camping Trip that Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and our National Parks

Barbara Rosenstock

I had not heard this story before and M found it mildly interesting.  Not as interesting as hot lava, unfortunately, but I liked it!  

Welcome to Yellowstone National Park

Teri Temple

I didn't read this with him on our drive, but I overheard Papa reading it to M before we left on our trip.  It's not a picture book, and was probably too long/advanced for him, but it sounded like it had a lot of interesting information.

Yonder
 Tony Johnston

We borrowed this one, but never had a chance to actually read it together. I want to try it again with him here at home.

Hello, Yellowstone!

At Yellowstone, we bought this board book and really like it.  It's cute and goes through all of the places we visited, as well as others that we didn't get to see (this time).  This was a great souvenir from the trip.

Has anyone read Hello, America?  Please share your recommendations for other kids books about the National Parks - we'd love to plan another trip for next summer!

Reading in September

Happy October!  I'm on a mission to read more, so I'm going to try to track my reads every month here.  I'd love to hear what you're reading too and what you recommend!

A History of Western Music

I picked up this book because it was mentioned in the most fascinating Runner's World article about Mirna Valerio.  I love reading about real life runners and she has such an interesting story.  Since our household is becoming so music-oriented, I thought this book would be interesting.  It's really a textbook, and I have never studied music theory or music history so there was way more in it than I could read right now, but I did enjoy reading as much of it as I could (about half-way by the end of the month).

Strong Mothers, Strong Sons

Meg Meeker, M.D.
I really liked The Ten Habits of Happy Mothers and I liked this one too.  I don't think most of it applies to our family life right now (because the boys are so young), but I'm still glad I read it now so that I can refer back to it in the future.  I definitely recommend this to ANY boymom!

The Essential Montessori

Elizabeth G. Hainstock

This was a quick and easy introduction to Montessori.  I've been curious about Montessori for a while, and this book gives a kind of '30,000 feet' broad overview, with highlights from Montessori's own writings.  There wasn't much too it and I basically skimmed it in one evening, so I didn't get a ton out of it. 

The Boston Girl
Anita Diamant
What a great read.  I picked this up after seeing it on Alicia's list here.  I read The Red Tent years ago but hadn't thought about this author in quite a while.  I really enjoyed this book - it reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which is my all-time favorite book.  This was a great 'fiction break' for me in the middle of my stack of non-fiction books.  I also love the cover image and think I need a copy of it on my desk, haha!

Better Than Before
Gretchen Rubin
I am really enjoying this book.  I haven't read her other books (about cultivating happiness) but she has a great, conversational writing style.  I just started this one at the end of the month, so I'll pop back in with more on it when I finish it.

Tell me what you are reading!  I have The Fringe Hours and cannot renew it because someone is waiting on it, so I am storming through it now.  What should I read after that?

 

A New Favorite Book

In This House of Brede, by Rumor Godden.

I kept seeing different bloggers mention it, and when I finally saw it also appear on the reading list of the editors of First Things magazine last spring, I decided to give it a try and picked it up at the library.

What a great read.  The writing is beautiful and the story captivating.  The author does a fantastic job revealing the complexities of the characters and it is just a lovely book to read and ponder.  Give it a shot!  I'm so glad I did, and now I'm aiming to add more of the Loyola Classics to my to-read list.

7QT: Recent Reads

With sickness and solo parenting over the last few weeks, I haven't been reading as much as I'd like, but hopefully I'll have some more time in the near future.  Here's what I've been paging through lately, and two that are on the horizon for me.

1.  Winter Street

A light, easy read.  The Christmas version of a beach book, set in wintry Nantucket.  I read this while we were in Big Sky.

2.  The Husband's Secret

Another entertaining read by Liane Moriarty!  She paints such interesting characters and this book really draws you in.  If you are looking for some good fiction to escape into, this is it.

3.  Siblings Without Rivalry

This is an older book, but worth a skim if you are dealing with sibling issues.  I picked it up from the library because I read about it on another blog, and it gave me some ideas to tuck in my pocket if/when we run into sibling issues down the road.  The cartoon illustrations are kind of hokey, but it does have lots of good ideas.  

4.  Your Money or Your Life

I am just kind of skimming this one.  It has a kind of philosophical take on money/personal finance management, but I am not really a fan of the author's tone.

5.  Ten Habits of Happy Mothers
I'm not finished with this one yet, but I am really enjoying it!  I think the lessons and advice is useful for all women, and men too.  I particularly love her points about solitude and living simply.

Next up:
6.  In This House of Brede
I've seen this one pop up on reader lists from a variety of different places, so it has piqued my interest.

7.  The Whole Brain Child
My sister sent this to me for Christmas, and I'm excited to finally read it!

What are your favorite recent reads?  Linking up with Kelly's Seven Quick Takes!

January Boys

source

If you are looking for a book gift for a construction-loving toddler, may I suggest this one?



 We found it at the library, and enjoyed it so much, we gifted it to our special friends who have birthdays in January: a five year old in Virginia, a four year old in California, and a three year old in Connecticut.  The two year old and the thirty-somethings in this house loved it, so we hope they do too!

Midnight Feeding & Reading

If you liked Gone Girl, or even if you didn't like it but couldn't put it down (me!), the you should read The Dinner by Herman Koch.

It's a page turner and a thriller, but it won't leave you feeling warm fuzzy thoughts about any of the characters!  I read it recently over the course of several late night feeding sessions, and I couldn't put it down.  Let me know what you think!

Recent Library Finds

We found some really cute stories this month!  

 M sat through his first chapter book - Stuart Little.  That was his special book to read with Dad - I didn't read it with him, but he kept me posted on what happened.  Pretty interesting to hear his interpretations. ;)  I am so glad that he loves reading.

Here were some of our latest favorites:

Cloud Dance

Loved, loved, loved it.  Beautiful images and soothing text.  The back of the book talks about the different types of clouds too, so it encourages learning about nature too!  Double win!  I immediately added this one and the others in the series (Water Dance, Mountain Dance) to our Amazon wish list.

Applesauce Season

This was a cute little book with fun illustrations about a city family and their tradition of making applesauce together.  Very sweet, and kind of different in that the family is based in the city and they don't go out apple picking in the country.  

All the World

I think this was my favorite.  Rich illustrations that provide lots of things to look at, point out and discuss with your toddler.  The lyrical text made this a lovely story to read right before naptime and bed.  It just gave me a warm, cozy feeling to read this while snuggling my M.  He loved it too, and frequently pulled it off the shelf to read.  Another one that we will be adding to our permanent collection!

M also loved I am Cow, Hear Me Moo.  It was pretty cute, but not my favorite.  

Those are all the ones worth mentioning this month.  Did you find any awesome Autumn favorites?  I bought Wild Child and love, love, love it.  Now I have to add all of Lynn Plourde's seasonal ones to my collection!

Have a great weekend, friends!

Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter

Hi!

This is just a short quick post to mention this wonderful novel that I recently read: Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter.


I loved it.  It was just so much fun to read, I got completely sucked in by the character development and plot.  I like to alternate between reading fiction and non-fiction, and this book was great to fill up my fiction tank.  And did you know that reading fiction is good for you?


Interestingly enough, the author will be speaking in Coeur d'Alene tonight at a dinner sponsored by the Idaho Humanities Council.  The event is sold out but if you are going, please let me know what you think!

As my son would say, "Super readers, to the rescue!!"

Library Finds

This past month I decided to take a break from the stack of non-fiction books on my bedside table, and picked out a few random fiction titles from our lovely library.

My Library Bag

Also, knowing that we'd be spending a lot of time at home (potty training), I grabbed a bunch of new books for M.  He loves, loves, loves reading, so I am always looking to add new books to our collection.  When I look for books for him, I just skim a few pages to make sure it's not too long or too short.  I don't read the whole thing, because I know I'm going to be reading it one hundred times at home and I like to be surprised too!  (At least for the first time!)  As it turns out, I picked some winners and losers.....

For Me:

Sing You Home

Jodi Picoult

I read this in two days, so it falls into the category of "can't put it down."  I would say I was captivated, but I didn't love it.  I have read nearly all of Jodi Picoult's novels, and there is always some twist that I don't see coming, but I didn't like how the novel attempts to tie everything all back together neatly.  That made it seem kind of superficial, even though the characters became very complex.  Maybe I would have liked it better if the ending kept some of the messiness of real life?

Portrait of a Lady

Henry James

This has been on my "to-read" list for ages, and I finally found it at the library! I am really enjoying it and desperately trying to finish it before I have to return it, ha!

The Assassins
Joyce Carol Oates

Started it, switched to Portrait of a Lady, then ran out of time to finish it this month!

Winners for M:

How Old MacDonald Got His Farm

Cute rhyming story with great illustrations.  I think this has been my favorite one to read this month!

Looking for a Moose

M is LOVING this one, but I'm over it.  But if it's about a moose, you know we have to get it because we live in moose-land out here!

Gossie & Gertie

These two are so cute.  Plus, M now says that I am his "best friend" so I love that this book taught him the concept of best friends!  Ha!

How to Hide a Lion

This was a cute book.  M loved to point out the "naughty burglars."

M liked some of these books, but I didn't enjoy reading them as much:

Gramps and the Fire Dragon

M does like to read this story, but at first I was concerned that it might be a little scary to him.  I turned it into an "oh, what a SILLY fire dragon" and that seemed to take care of that! But...

Mrs. Tittlemouse

He is scared of Mr. Jackson, the frog?  Maybe it's because he might break the rocking chair?  Go figure.  Fire dragon --> not scary.  Frog wearing a three piece suit --> terrifying!

Duck & Goose Go To the Beach

Cute story, nice illustrations, but I don't like when books for kids always have a character who is complaining/whining.

********

In all, M really likes all these books and wants to read them over and over again, except for Mrs. Tittlemouse.  I have just found some of them to be more annoying (to me) than others.  If you are my real life friend with a kiddo, you just might find a copy of How Old MacDonald Got His Farm under your Christmas tree this year, that's how much I liked it!

Did you find anything good at the library this month? Got any fiction recommendations for me?  I am looking forward to finishing "Story of a Soul" next; it has been burning a hole on my Ipad!

Magazines

I love reading, and I love to read magazines when I want to read but I'm not yet ready to pick up another book.  I am curious about what magazines other folks read.  We use airline miles to subscribe to magazines for the most part, but I do pay for my Runner's World, which is probably my favorite magazine of all time!

Here is what we get:

Runner's World - my fav, I think it has great feature articles and I love to read about the regular people runners and the destination races!
The Economist - good new source, I never read everything in it but it has global coverage which I like.  It generally has well-written Letters to the Editor, interesting Book Reviews and Memorial profiles about people and books that I probably wouldn't hear about otherwise.  Not to mention the actual news articles, of course.
Redbook - I think of this as my mom magazine - I usually read it and then toss it, I like some of the fashion, but I'm not in love with it.
Inc. - my husband picked this one out.  I read it sometimes, but if we stopped getting it I wouldn't miss it.
Coastal Living - this magazine always makes me miss the beach.  If we ever buy a house with a guest room, you'd better believe I will have an ocean/beach-themed room based on ideas from this magazine!
Sunset - I don't think I'd get this if we didn't live in the NW, but I love it!  Makes me want to travel all over the NW, even though it typically seems very California-focused. 
Princeton Alumni Weekly - the magazine from our alma mater.  First I always check the "Memorials" section, then the Class Notes, and then the Letters to the Editor.  The LttE can be pretty confrontational at time, so I get a kick out of reading them!  This mag is not actually weekly anymore, but it has interesting articles and I like hearing about what's happening on campus.  I read it and then give a book report to my husband, who could care less!

I used to get Shape, but then it started to read too much like Cosmo and so I canceled that subscription.  I love me some Southern Living but I don't have a subscription right now.  Whenever we would fly somewhere, I used to always buy SL in the airport, but the idea of reading while flying with a toddler is a joke now.  I am thinking about subscribing to Magnificat and Verily magazine - I've heard good things about both but never read them.  And I can't walk through a Barnes and Noble without skimming the latest People - that would be my guilty reading pleasure!

Which magazines do you like to read?  Got any recommendations for me?