Scaifea's 2014 Challenge - Thread #13

Welcome to The Thirteenth Thread!

This year, since I read a fair amount of children's books, I think I'll open my threads with photos of the work of some of my favorite picture book illustrators.

Charlie, Tomm and I are all big fans of Karma Wilson's Bear books, both for the stories and for the illustrations, by the wonderful Jane Chapman:





Below you’ll find an explanation of my reading habits, which, I warn you, is a bit crazy. Usually I have about 10-12 books going at once, one each from the following groups (and occasionally other books slipped in there, too):

1. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

2. A children's book, for Charlie's library. I'm trying to collect books from various award lists, and I like reading them before reading them to Charlie or deciding to add them to Charlie's shelves. For this category, I’m currently working through three lists:
a. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
b. The CYOA books
c. The Caldecott Honor books

3. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

4. A book for the Presidential Challenge. Books for this category are read in chronological (presidentially) order.

5. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

6. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker lists (combined, in chronological order)

7. For this category, I cycle through 7 different stacks:
a. A book from my shelves which I haven't yet read
b. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. Stephen King's bibliography (in chronological order)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list
h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
i. The Pulitzer list (in alpha order by author)

8. A bath-time book: I read aloud while Tomm gives Charlie his bath.

9. A book from my Classics shelves.

10. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

11. Book-a-year challenge: Last year at some point, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've decided, again, to follow Paul's lead and try to fill in some of those blanks, and so I'm adding an entry here to my lists.

12. This slot is reserved for books that just grab me and shout that they need to be read Right Now.

And on top of these, there will be a multitude of picture books, which Charlie and I read together. I only list picture books that I or we read for the first time - no repeat reads will be mentioned here (and they are legion).

So, now you've got a glimpse of just how neurotic I am.
Please feel free to post comments, recommendations, or whatever else strikes your fancy. And Happy Reading, everyone!

What I'm reading now:
-Lady Chatterley's Lover (Banned Books list)
-Jungle Safari (CYOA series)
-Journey to the West (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times (Presidential Challenge)
-The Amulet of Samarkand (audio book)
-The Wanderer (Hugo award list)
-Enemy of God (from the TBR shelves)
-Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King (bath-time book)
-The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine (off of my classics shelves)
-Deity Yoga (buddhism list)
-Parnassus on Wheels (year-by-year book list, 1917)
-Paddle Your Own Canoe (from the READ ME NOW pile)
-The Iliad (everyday audio book in the car)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1

And here's my list for the Reading Bingo, which seems to be taking us 75ers by storm. Like many others, I'll not make an extra effort to fill it, but rather just see which of the books I read this year happen to fit what categories:

More than 500 pages:
Forgotten Classic: The Man in the High Castle
Book that became a movie: The World of Pooh
Published this year:
Number in the title: 45 & 47 Stella Street
Written by someone under 30: Cirque du Freak
Book with non-human characters: Odd and the Frost Giants
Funny Book: Diggers
Female Author: Flora & Ulysses
Book with a mystery: One Came Home
One-Word Title: Truckers
Book of short stories: M Is for Magic
Set on a different continent: Wings
Non-Fiction: Buddhism for Beginners
First book by a favorite author:
Heard about online:
Best-selling book:
Based on a true story: John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life
Book at the bottom of TBR pile:
Book my friend loves: Stories I Only Tell My Friends
Book that scares me: The American Red Cross First Aid & Safety Handbook
More than 10 years old: The Genie in the Bottle
Second book in a series: E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core!
Blue cover: The Life and Times of Paddington Bear

Books Read (see previous threads for previous reads):
MARCH
163. Jump, Frog, Jump! (public library book) - 7/10
164. (#17) M Is for Magic (Gaiman bibliography) - 9/10
165. You're Finally Here! (public library book) - 9/10
166. (#18) E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core! (Guardians of Childhood series) - 9/10
167. We Write (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
168. Search & Find: People, Places and Things (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
169. Cinders (public library book) - 8/10
170. Big Bear Little Brother (public library book) - 9/10
171. The Nutty Nut Chase (public library book) - 8/10
172. Welcome to Robot Town (public library book) - 8/10
173. (#19) The Life and Times of Paddington Bear (from the Read Me Now pile) - 7/10
174. The Treasure (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
175. The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher (Caldecott Honor book) - 4/10
176. The Way to Start a Day (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
177. Hawk, I'm Your Brother (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
178. The Contest (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
179. (#20) Toothiana Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies (Guardians series) - 9/10
180. (#21) The Man in the high Castle (Hugo award list) - 9/10
181. Hi, Fly Guy! (public library book) - 8/10
182. Friendly Day (public library book) - 9/10
183. The Berenstain Bears On the Moon (public library book) - 8/10
184. Each Orange had 8 Slices (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
185. Henry's Map (public library book) - 8/10
186. The Magic Schoolbus: Inside a Volcano (Charlie book) - 8/10
187. (#22) The Sandman and the War of Dreams (Guardians series) - 9/10
188. The Bears' Picnic (public library book) - 7/10
189. What's Your Sound, Hound the Hound? (public library book) - 7/10
190. A Farmer Boy Birthday (public library book) - 8/10
191. The Magic School Bus Takes a Moonwalk (Charlie book) - 8/10
192. (#23) The True Gift (Charlie book) - 8/10
193. Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo (public library book) - 9/10
194. What Goes Up (public library book) - 8/10
195. The Creature from Miller's Pond (CYOA series) - 8/10
196. Baby Bunny Grows Up (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
197. I See Flags (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
198. Harry and the Dinosaurs Go to School (public library book) - 8/10
199. Harry and the Dinosaurs Say "Raahh!" (public library book) - 8/10
200. Little Red Riding Hood (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
201. The Boy of a Thousand Faces (gift from a friend for Charlie) - 8/10
202. On Market Street (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
203. Free Fall (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
204. Truck (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
205. Outside over There (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
206. The Boy of the Three-Year Nap (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
207. Hurricane (public library book) - 8/10
208. Snowie Rolie (public library book) - 8/10
209. Just a Day at the Pond (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
210. Tiny Pie (public library book) - 7/10
211. Little Cub (public library book) - 8/10
212. The Magic School Bus Fights Germs (Charlie book) - 8/10
213. Going to Town (public library book) - 8/10
214. The Magic School Bus Has a Heart (Charlie book) - 8/10
215. (#24) Only You Can Save Mankind (1001 Children's book list) - 8/10
216. The Magic School Bus Blasts into Space (Charlie book) - 8/10
217. Bolt: My Hero (Charlie book) - 8/10
218. (#25) Johnny and the Dead (series read) - 8/10
219. (#26) Way Station (Hugo award list) - 10/10
220. (#27) My Man Jeeves (Book-A-Year Challenge) - 9/10
221. (#28) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus (from my classics shelves) - 8/10
222. (#29) John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life (Presidential Challenge) - 9/10
223. The Lego Movie: The Official Movie Handbook (Charlie book) - 8/10
224. My First Little House Books: Prairie Day (public library book) - 8/10
225. If You Give a Pig a Party (Charlie book) - 9/10
226. Blueberry Girl (Gaiman bibliography) - 10/10
227. Ten Apples on Top! (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
228. My First Little House Books: County Fair (public library book) - 8/10
229. From Sheep to Sweater (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
230. (#30) Clockwork (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
231. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy (public library book) - 8/10
232. Super Fly Guy (public library book) - 8/10
233. Lego City: Follow That Easter Egg! (Charlie book) - 8/10
234. Ride, Fly Guy, Ride (public library book) - 8/10
235. My First Little House Books: Winter on the Farm (public library book) - 8/10
236. Working Cotton (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
237. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
238. Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
239. The Faithful Friend (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
240. The Paperboy (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
241. Starry Messenger (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
242. Swamp Angel (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
243. Dog Loves Books (public library book) - 9/10
244. (#31) Johnny and the Bomb (series read) - 9/10
245. Dog Loves Drawing (public library book) - 9/10
246. Is It Metal? (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
247. In the Wild: Lions (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10

APRIL
248. My First Little House Books: Summertime in the Big Woods (public library book) - 8/10
249. (#32) Mr. Popper's Penguins (Charlie's bath time book) - 8/10
250. (#33) Cirque du Freak (1001 Children's Books list) - 5/10
251. Hansel and Gretel (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
252. Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
253. Hooray for Fly Guy (public library book) - 8/10
254. (#34) Because of Winn-Dixie (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
255. Ozzie and the Art Contest (public library book) - 8/10

The Charlie Topper: He's working on one of his *many* story-drawings. He's never gone for coloring books, but loves to draw his own pictures, and recently he's taken to drawing elaborate stories, which he then tells to me and Tomm as he makes reference to various parts of the drawing.

And the Bonus Question:

What was your favorite childhood toy?

Happy new thread, Amber! I just love that photo of Charlie. Rae always liked to make her own drawings, too, with great stories to go with them.

Let's see...favorite toy? I'm torn between coloring book and crayons and my dollhouse. Oh, no wait, I know what it was - Fisher Price Village!! It was just so fabulous!

Okay, back to add an image:



One side was the outside of the businesses with mail slots and doors that opened, and the other side was the interior of the shops. SO much fun. I also had the airport and the castle. I know they were choking hazards, but I still miss those smaller Fisher Price people.

Oooh, I'm first!!

Actually my favorite toys belonged to other people. My cousin had the first two versions of Barbie's Dream House. We used to put them side by side and pretend that there was a hurricane (sans water). The furniture got thrown around and everything was all a-jumble. She didn't like it when we played Hurricane, but her brother and I loved it.

My favorite toy? Well, as far as "the toy that I played with the most," I think the Super Nintendo wins that one by a long shot. Yep, definitely a child of the digital age, right?

My most memorable non-electronic toy was a Crash Dummies truck. I don't know if those guys are still around, but they were literal crash test dummies and I believe they had a tv show, and definitely a video game. Anyway, it was a neon-green truck that you could push into something, which would basically cause it to explode. All the pieces were spring-loaded (or something like that) and once the release would trigger they'd shoot out in all directions.

I'm sure I damaged a lot of my mother's furniture with that one.

Edit: Here it is!

I was also a Hot Wheels kid. I had a huge collection of those things. They were less than a dollar each, and my parents never had a lot of money, so if I was ever allowed to get a toy when we were at a store it was usually a Hot Wheels car.

>4 Crazymamie: Mamie: Ohmygoodness yes!!! I had one of those, too, and now Charlie plays with it when we visit my parents! One of the best toys ever, hands down.

>5 richardderus: Oh, Richard, you're always first in my book...

>6 Fourpawz2: Charlotte: Ha! I love the idea of playing Hurricane with a Barbie House! Brilliant!

>7 Ape: Stephen: I was a matchbox girl myself; I played a lot with my brothers' cars, which were classics, as they were all at least 11 years older than me...

Hi Amber!

>3 scaifea: - I was a dollhouse child too. Mine was made by someone in my family, perhaps my older brother. The decor was a bit gaudy. I think usually Star Wars action figures lived in it, including robots.

Hi Amber! My favourite toy was a set of airplane model enamel paints. They were really tiny little paint pots with lids showing the various colours. I never used them to paint anything, but just as little characters in elaborate doll play. I had a system for what colours were male and what colours female, but can't remember what is was now after all these years.

Hi Amber, glad to hear that you survived the recent visit from the in-laws.

I was a little girl who loved her dolls. Probably my favorite was my teenage doll who I called Sherry. This is before the days of Barbie, but my doll had a beautiful red wardrobe trunk full of clothes that my mother sewed. I particularly remember a red velvet coat and hat.

My other favorite things to play with were paper dolls. I had both Dale Evans and Doris Day cutouts that I loved.

Such a sweet little dude in the topper. :-)

My favorite toy as a kid was .... wait for it ... this is really going to surprise you ... ready?

*whispers* books

8: I can't speak for the older Matchbox cars, but when I was a kid they were really cheaply made. They were made of plastic and broke really easily, whereas Hot Wheels were made of metal and fairly sturdy. I know they have a long history though, so that may have been an issue later on.

>3 scaifea: I always loved my sports so my favourite "toys" as a boy were sports related - soccer balls, cricket bats, rugby balls, tennis racquets. I used to play "tennis" against the garage doors for hours on end or practice bowling at the same doors. The noise must have driven my mum crazy but I can't ever remember her complaining and I was far too cute to do it when my father was, on a rare occasion, actually at home!

Congratulations on your latest thread and I look forward to seeing the results of Charlie's drawing labours.

I like that illustration of the bear hibernating. Must say, I wish it were me right about now...

Easy bake oven!

>9 DorsVenabili: Kerri: My brother is a carpenter, so he built me an elaborate and huge Victorian dollhouse (one of the many benefits of being the youngest by a lot of years - brothers who act more like jovial uncles than brothers).

>10 Smiler69: Ilana: Oh, right! You have synesthesia, too, right? Am I remembering that correctly?

>11 DeltaQueen50: Judy: Wasn't it wonderful to have a talented mom to make all those doll clothes for you? I certainly loved my mom for doing so for me.

>12 AuntieClio: Stephanie: Isn't he, though? That look is something like, "Um, Mom, I'm trying to work on my masterpiece here - do you mind?" He's awfully indulgence of my photo-taking, I have to say.

>13 Ape: Stephen: Oh wait! You're right! They were Hot Wheels! And, yes, they're all metal and shiny and awesome - and they're still intact and going strong - Charlie plays with them now! And they're from the '60's!

>14 PaulCranswick: Paul: Such a good, healthy boy you must have been! Charlie likes to kick the soccer ball against the garage doors, but it doesn't bother me a lick - I'm perfectly capable of reading through the noise in the comfort of my lawn chair...
And, hm, I hadn't really thought of sharing Charlie's drawings - it may push my visitors past the point of tolerance as far as this star-struck Mommy's sharing goes... I mean, it looks like muse-inspired genius on paper to me, but honestly it's a 5-year-old's drawings, so I suspect the fascination with it begins and ends with me. Ha! He does come up with some excellent yarns to go with them, though. I'm so grateful that he has inherited my crazy imagination, since I had so much fun with mine as a kid (and still do, really).

My early 1960s Matchbox cars were pot metal. Damn near indestructible. Not that I didn't manage, mind. Played with 'em until the paint wore off completely, the opening parts vanished into the vacuum cleaner (one maid quit over this, silly woman), and copious floods of tears bludgeoned my mother into buying me more. I loved them all the more because they were ENGLISH cars, like a Singer Gazelle (!) and a Hillman Imp. Fugly things. But cool because they weren't in the USA.

My *favorite* toy was the car. My dad bought my sisters a pair of BMW 700s as their first cars, which they HATED because they had manual shifts. So I played in them. Until one day Mama looked out the front window at five-year-old me carefully backing the red one onto our across-the-street neighbors' front lawn, setting the hand-brake, and then driving back into the driveway. The next morning the BMWs were gone, but my dad had a smirk on his face for days.

>15 Chatterbox: Suzanne: I know, right? It snowed here today. Dang.

>16 michigantrumpet: Marianne: Woot! Easy Bake Oven Shout-Out! Loved mine.

I loved books and my mother's dishes as a child. My parents have a picture of me at roughly 18 months, sitting in the pots-and-pans drawer beneath the stove, having pulled out all the cookware when no one was looking.

I really loved my bicycle as well. I always pretended it was a horse.

>18 richardderus: Oh my, Richard - that's awesome and hilarious! But you're favorite toy is sort of similar to mine (sort of): my dad's combine harvester. A Gleaner - a big, hulking grey beast of a machine, with an awesome cab, that, for me, was a school bus, a pirate ship, a space ship,... I never actually turned it on, though. That would have earned me some sort of hide-tanning, I suspect. But, boy, did I have hours and hours of fun pretending in it.

>20 casvelyn: Ha! Charlie used to do that - pull all the pots out and hide in the cupboard. The giggling always gave him away, though. And the pots all over the floor, of course.
My dad loves horses, so we all had them when I was a kid. I had my own and learned to ride at a pretty young age. But I never really took to it. Certainly not as much as my sister, Iris, who even rode in the barrel racing circuit for a while.

My favorite toy was a Chatty Cathy doll. This toy taught me a very important lesson. I obsessed about wanting a Chatty Cathy doll for months. Alas, I simply could not wait until Christmas.

I was six years old and balancing between believing in Santa and also wondering if my school mates were correct that Santa was indeed our parents.

I ruminated for days regarding if my parents were Santa, then my Chatty Cathy doll had to be somewhere in the house. I crept up into the attic, opened boxes until I found the bag that contained the doll.

To this day I remember the feeling of disappointment that I had ruined Christmas morning surprise and that my parents were Santa.

The lesson: Be patient and wait!

Heh. I suspect a hide-tanning wouldn't've stopped me. I knew where the keys were kept and I never let on to Mama that I was going to do ANYthing except play with the steering wheel.

Even as a child I understood that it was easier to get forgiveness than permission.

>23 Whisper1: Oh, Linda. That's so sad! I really want Charlie to believe for a lot longer that he likely will. *sigh* He's pretty excited about the Easter Bunny coming soon, though, and that's fun. Although, thanks to the Rise of the Guardian movie, he thinks he's ginormous and has an Australian accent. Ha!

>24 richardderus: Richard: Ha! I was a good girl and would break out in a cold sweat even at the thought of breaking the rules and disappointing my parents.

Okay, I'm off to Bedfordshire with Andrew Jackson...

Have a great evening, all!

Amber, I note from your previous thread that you obtained a copy of The BFG by Roald Dahl. I love this book. A few years ago I was on a quest to read all of Dahl's books. I think I have two to go. The BFG is my favorite. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not one that I was enthusiastic about.

What a joy to have such a fun, wonderful son. I have two daughters. Amy in Ohio is my daughter with the twin boys. Alas, I only see them 3-4 times a year. I miss them terribly.

Isn't that odd. I just assumed my parents were disappointed in me, because I always was in them. On those occasions when they lived up to my hopes I was so gobsmacked that they're even now etched in my memory. I seriously doubt I ever lived up to their hopes. If I'm honest, I made it my business not to. Enough screaming about Jesus and no power on this earth could make me listen...enough bellowing about taxes are theft and liberals are Satan and I practically tattooed Mao's Little Red Book on my forehead.

Loathsome people. Hell's too good for them.

Happy new thread Amber!!

I really have a hard time remembering details from my childhood, and I can't really recall a favorite toy. My favorite things were books, like AuntieClio mentioned. I also remember having several dolls, but I can't remember names...

Yeah I know. Vague much?

>28 Whisper1:
Linda, I was really disappointed in the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But I still love the original movie with Gene Wilder.

Hi Amber. Favorite toy? Tiny Tears doll. She was the first doll who could shed real tears and I was in love:-)

I love Karma Wilson's Bear books! They are excellent for reading aloud to a group.

As for my favorite toy, that would be Sally:

As you can see, she has been well-loved -- she has had her head sewn back on more than once!

Books were also a favorite, and I remember getting hours of entertainment out of those plastic farm animals in colors not found in nature, the kind that you could get for a dollar a bag which included those off-white interlocking fence pieces. My parents have pictures of small me playing with those on a backpacking trip in the mountains. I'm sure they packed them for me because they were lightweight, sturdy, waterproof, and easy to replace if lost!

In fact, anything animal-shaped might count as a favorite -- I had an extensive menagerie of stuffed animals, quite a few My Little Ponies, and a Pound Puppy obsession for several years, there.

Cindy Bear had lost ALL her fur by the time she was six and was moulting her stuffing by the age of 10. She still exists somewhere, in a very vestigial fashion. She is now garbed in dark brown corduroy instead of fur, and her eyes are brass buttons (the originals fell out). She has been loved to death. My baby book, recently rediscovered, quoted me as saying solemnly, when told I couldn't take Cindy with me somewhere, "But I'd be embarrassed without my Cindy." (I was 2 1/2, apparently.)

I also loved Matchbox cars. In the mid 1960s, my mother and grandmother would dress me up and take me out to lunch in fancy department stores -- little dress, frilly socks, patent leather shoes and small purse. Kind little old ladies would ask me what was inside and I'd open it and whip out the cars. They'd faint in horror.

Beyond that, can't really remember. I know I liked Candyland, and got an EasyBake oven after LOTS of nagging, just weeks before we moved to London and had to leave it behind. After the move, it was books books books.

Charlie is so darn cute.

Favorite childhood toy. Duh. Books. See my profile photo and then multiply that by every photo my parents ever took...

>28 Whisper1: Linda: The BFG isn't my favorite Dahl, but it's still Dahl, and my great-nephew is just recently taking off as far as reading goes, so I pick up good ones when I see them at the thrift store for him. Charlie has a full set of Dahl books already on his shelves, of course.
My heart aches for my parents, because we're so far away from them and they just practically worship Charlie and miss him so much between visits. In a perfect world, we'd live in a house just down the road from them, but it's not meant to be, I guess.

>29 richardderus: Richard: Tomm, I think, had a similar upbringing to yours, but too much of that Lutheran Guilt seeped into his brain and he can't bring himself to sever ties.

>30 TinaV95: Tina: My mom remembers so much more from my entire life before college than I do - I just have an awful, awful memory capacity. It's part of the reason that I decided to take a picture of Charlie every day from Day One, so that they would help me hold on to the memories of him as a wee one.

>31 AuntieClio: Stephanie: What?! Disappointed?! Oh, you poor thing! Reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was one of the seminal moments in my childhood. One of those first books that made me realize what a joy reading was.

>32 brenzi: Bonnie: Cool! I had a Betsy Wetsy, or whatever she was called, but I think I remember thinking even as a kid that that particular kind of realism was a bit strange. Tears would have been must cooler.

>33 foggidawn: foggi: I know, right? Wilson's rhyming schemes are great for reading aloud - great inherent rhythm.
Also, Ohmygoodness! Sally is adorable!! I'll have to try to remember to post a photo of Bunny, my very first and still very favorite stuffed friend. My 11-year-old-brother, Steve, bought Bunny for me in the hospital gift shop the day I was born and he's (Bunny) still with me.

>34 Chatterbox: Suzanne: "I'd be embarrassed without my Cindy" - Ha! Adorable! I used to have an imaginary friend when I was that age, apparently, for whom I insisted that Mom hold doors open and such. Carrie Jane was her name.

>35 nittnut: Jenn: You were adorable! Love that photo!

On the agenda for today:

It's a stay-at-home day here at Scaife Manor. Laundry, a little cleaning, maybe we'll bake cookies. Hoping to find some sewing time this afternoon.
Not really sure what dinner will be. Florentine Chicken Soup is a possibility, but so is Mac & Cheese and Hot Dogs. We'll see...
I ended up not going to bed with Jackson last night - changed my mind at the last second and took the Reading Lists book with me instead. Turns out that most colleges fill their reading lists with books from English and Classics courses, so, yeah, I've read most of them already. But not all of them! So, yay! More lists!!

Today's Calendar Book is touted as a book for "fans of relationship drama". Yeah, no thanks, unless someone convinces me that this is more than a romance novel: The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty.

225. If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff (Charlie book, picture book) - 9/10
If you give a pig a party, she's gonna want some balloons... and so starts another wild goose-type adventure.
We *love* Numeroff's books. Love them! The stories are great, and Felicia Bond's illustrations are wonderful.

226. Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman (Gaiman bibliography, picture book) - 10/10
A prayer to the "Ladies of Light and Ladies of Darkness and Ladies of Never-you-mind" for "a blueberry girl," but really for any wee girl starting out in this life. The prayer is for things like, "keep her from spindles and sleeps at sixteen, nightmares at three or bad husbands at thirty," and is both a wish that all little girls grow up safe and happy and full of adventure, but is also a celebration of all that little girls can become.
I can't praise this little book enough. It will absolutely, from henceforth, be the book that I buy for moms-of-girls-to-be. And, as a bonus, Neil reveals in the dedication at the end that he originally wrote it for Tori Amos when she was pregnant with her little girl. Very cool.

227. Ten Apples on Top! by Theo LeSieg (Charlie's school library book, easy reader) - 8/10
A silly story about three friends trying to out-do each other with how many apples they can balance on their heads. Classic LeSieg-type fun.

228. My First Little House Books: County Fair based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Almanzo and his family head to the county fair, where he wins a blue ribbon for his prize pumpkin.
Another good entry in the series; Charlie seems to be enjoying them a good deal.

Hi Amber, just about to check the library for Blueberry Girl. Even big girls need to be reminded to celebrate all that is to come. And your 10/10 seals the deal.
Have a great stay at home day!

ETA: My library has it so I should get it pretty quickly!

>39 Carmenere: Oh, Lynda, you'll love it! It's wonderful!

Morning Amber- Congrats on Lucky 13! Love the Charlie Topper. He has that, "Don't bother me right now, Mom" look on his face.
Woke up to snow! Are you kidding me?

>41 msf59: Mark: I know, right!? Sheesh.

Ah! Candyland! And Chutes and Ladders, too!

And Hi-Ho Cherry-O!

Barbie Madness!

I had the townhouse, beauty center, corvette, camper, trunk, and I'm sure tons more.

Godzilla.

The best part was the spring loaded fist that would shoot off with quite a bit of force. Classically dangerous early '80's toy.

>43 michigantrumpet: & >44 foggidawn: foggi & Marianne: Charlie and I play those all the time! So much fun. The Candyland and the Chutes & Ladders games we play are the ones I had as a kid, so, they're, uh, retro. Ha!

>45 Morphidae: Morphy: Oooh, I had a friend who had that Barbie house! So much fun.

>46 Oberon: Erik: Ha! Awesome! I had an Incredible Hulk action figure that had stretchy arms, but I left him out in the sun one summer day and when I found him that evening, he was oozing green (!) goo from said arms. It was kinda cool, in fact.

How is it that guilt sticks to some and not to others, I wonder? My stepmother cured me of guilt in the late 1960s. She made a clear and simple case that, if you're going to feel guilty for something, it needs to be something you deliberately did to hurt someone's feelings.

And the last, tiny, tenuous tendril of religion's hold on me snapped forever.

>48 richardderus: Richard: Good for you and good on your stepmother! I wish I could convince Tomm of that.

on your new thread. I like the drawing at the top.

My favourite toy was my teddy

>50 Ameise1: Hi, Barbara! Teddy Bears are awesome. Tomm still had his, Wooly, from when he was little.

That lovely UPS man brought me another package today:

Hi, Amber! I'm so behind, I missed your whole last thread and am behind 50 some posts on this one! I, too, love the Karma Wison picture books. I smile every time I check one out to a patron; just seeing the covers is a joy.

I really can't say I had a favorite toy. I was just thinking this morning that, for all the toys my parents bought (and Mom spoiled me) what I remember most are things like "camping out" in the living room with an old blanket and a cardboard box. There was one doll -- quite old nondescript with frizzy red hair, as I recall -- that was a favorite of mine when very young. My mom always told the story of how she took it away for a month as a punishment, and I cried and cried -- but when the month was up, and she said, "OK, your punishment is over. You can have your doll back," I tossed it in the trash and said, "I never like that stupid doll much, anyway!" I guess that says plenty about my personality!

So, all caught up and loving Charlie and his story drawing.

I can only remember loving Books. Every birthday and Sinterklaas I asked for Books. I did not give any titles just Books had to do. And I had a red step

Something like this:

>53 tymfos: Terri: A month?! Wow, that's harsh!

>54 connie53: Connie: I had a scooter something like that one too! And it was red! Excellent toy.

Whelp, the minor, only-sort-of-annoying headache that I had when I woke up this morning hasn't gone away, and instead has turned into a Fairly Nasty Headache. Yick. So, it's J House (aka Jimmy John's delivery) for dinner and then an all-out effort to keep myself from curling up into a pathetic ball of misery until Charlie's in bed. *sigh*

52: Yay!!! Also, I like the color scheme of yours better. :)

53: Oh! I remember doing the "camping out in the living room" bit. We would take the chairs from the kitchen, spread them out, and then tie blankets to them. We'd have one blanket stretched over top, then we'd drape blankets down all the sides, so we had a tent of sorts. I believe at once we had brooms and mops laid out across the tops of the chairs for more stability, but as I remember someone bumped one of the chairs in their sleep and it failed catastrophically in the middle of the night. :P

>57 Ape: Stephen: And I've put it on the top of the pile, so I'll get to it soon! I'm going to use it as my "read a book from the bottom of the TBR pile" square in the Bingo Challenge, since usually I just add books to the bottom of my wishlist.
I used to make blanket forts using the back of the couch and the kitchen chairs. So much fun.

Dear, dear Amber, I had somehow fallen so, so far behind! I don't know how I managed to do it, but well, there you are. Sheesh. But I have quickly visited your previous threads and love your illustrations! I just pulled A Sick Day for Amos McGee to read to my primary kiddos when we get back from spring break. And Sandra Boynton is a favorite -- I always get her board books for new parents (favorites are Barnyard Dance and Moo, Baa, La La La!) And Dr. Seuss, Paddington... I'm too embarrassed to go on. Love Jane Chapman up top, too. I've read a couple of her books this year.

Hope your nasty headache is gone by now, and that you have a wonderful week.

>59 AMQS: Anne: Good to see you! Amos McGee is one of my all-time favorites. I love the shy penguin so much. And you can't go wrong with Boynton, can you? Barnyard Dance is a favorite here, too, but I think Pajama Time is my own favorite. Embarrassed? Heavens, by what?!
And yes - yay! - the headache is nearly gone, finally! So I'm off to Bedfordshire, and this time I won't stand up President Jackson...

Lovely new thread, Amber, and, of course, GREAT pic of Charlie!

I had a Tiny Tears doll too, which I got for Christmas one year. We (me and my brothers and sisters) always got one "big" gift and a bunch of smaller ones, including pajamas and socks. My favorite toy was probably my "Ginny" doll (a precursor to Barbie, though formed more realistically), though I was pretty thrilled when I got my 13-inch bike one Christmas.

Another funny story about my daughter. When she was around 8 or 9, she asked me if Santa was real, because one of her friends told her he was make-believe. I told her she could chose to believe either way, depending on whether she wanted a Santa present AND a mommy-&-daddy present for Christmas, or just a mommy-&-daddy present. She thought it over for a minute and said she would continue to believe in Santa. Smart kid.

Oh, I had the Barbie camper too. Unfortunately the tent part came off, but the rest of the camper is still in the closet at my parents' house.

>47 scaifea: Ha! That's it! I'm not old -- I'm retro!

>61 Storeetllr: Mary: Ha! Wise little lady! Santa left stuff at my parents' house for me all the way up until Charlie was born, and then for some reason now all the Santa stuff is left for him. Go figure.

>62 thornton37814: Lori: It's cool that you still have it! I had several Barbies, but none of the accessories - I just never thought to ask for them, I guess. I did have a few Cabbage Patch items to go along with the dolls, though. And my mom made The Best Cabbage Patch clothes! My friends always admired my doll's one-of-a-kind - cuture, if you will - fashions. Ha!

>63 michigantrumpet: Marianne: Me too! Which means we're quite hip, I think.

On today's agenda:
It's Wednesday (right? I'm pretty sure that's right), which means it's Library Day! Woot! So, after a bit of cleaning this morning, along with washing the sink full of dishes left from yesterday (yuck - I really dislike leaving dirty dishes overnight, but my headache told me, "No, just leave them" yesterday), we'll have a little outing. Otherwise, more sewing time this afternoon, I hope, and some reading, and some playing whatever games Charlie comes up with. Yesterday he had planned some sort of carnival, for which he set up the living room into various stations with carnival games of his own invention (adorable) and had planned for the carnival to be an after-dinner affair, but by that time my head was hurting so badly that I just couldn't manage it. The poor, sweet thing agreed to postpone the event until today and let me just sit, so we still have a carnival established in our living room and we will absolutely be doing that today.

I did manage a bit of sewing yesterday, until I ran out of the proper-colored thread. In my latest worry about how much Scaife Manor is contributing to land fills and my small but earnest efforts to change that, I've decided to try to cut out paper towels from our lives, and so I've purchased some linen fabric and I'm making napkins. Not a huge (or hugely exciting) sewing project (cut into squares and hem sort of affair), but satisfying nonetheless. And it feels fancy to have linen napkins for dinner! Ha! I picked up a few different colors to match our various holiday and 'regular' tablecloths throughout the year, so Charlie is excited about it, too.

And I got through the introduction to the Jackson biography before tripping off to the Land of Nod last night. So far so good, I think. It'll be a hoot to read this one right after the JQA one - such different men!

And today's Calendar Book: The Art of Robert Frost by Tim Kendall - a collection of poems along with commentary, apparently. I've only read a smattering of his poems, but I've liked what I've read (he's one of the very few post-Donne poets that I can stomach, in fact), so this may be wishlist-worthy...

Morning Amber- Still way below normal here but at least it's not snowing! Hope you have a nice day.

>66 msf59: Thanks, Mark! At least the snow we got here all melted yesterday in the sun (but that wind is *cold*!).

One of my favorite activities before I started reading was to sit under a cloth-covered table with my coloring books and crayons.

Even as adults, my brother and I got presents from Santa when we visited mom, usually in our stockings. It was tradition!

>68 Morphidae: Morphy: Plus, the tree just looks so pretty on Christmas morning with presents from Santa waiting under the tree and filled stockings, no?

This was my favorite toy:



Sadly my mom sold them in a yard sale. We lament that fact often. It was such a fun toy and of course had a book to accompany it!

I also loved my record player. I had read along books that I would play on it. My favorite one was Bread and Jam for Frances. Oh, I loved all the Frances books. Sadly, my kids never took to them.

I am excited that Charlie is enjoying the Little House early readers. I could never get my kids into the Laura Ingalls Wilder chapter books but I loved them as a kid.

I had a pink clam case record player. I loved it! I remember having a ton of 45s.

>70 Cobscook: Heidi: What a neat-looking toy!

>71 Morphidae: Morphy: I had a record-player shaped like a lady bug - and I still have it, along with all of the read-along books and records! I've been waiting for Charlie to be old enough to mess with them - and not break the records - and you all have reminded me that it's probably about time to pull them out of the closet.

229. From Sheep to Sweater by Ellen Tarlow (Charlie's school book, easy reader) - 8/10
Another book sent home from school, and which Charlie read to me. He's getting so good! And his teacher is sending slightly more difficult books home, so sometimes he asks for help with words and we work on figuring out what they are. Amazing. And so much fun. And awesome. He's learning to read!!

230. (30th non-picture book read this year) Clockwork by Philip Pullman (1001 Children's Books list, 112 pages) - 9/10
A storyteller, an apprentice horologist, a clockwork knight, a clockwork boy and a little girl all converge - along with a strange and evil sorcerer-like figure, in a story wound up and started by the teller, but which must then wind down on its own.
A very neat story, well told for the most part (there's one biggish detail that doesn't quite match up, which is the reason for the 9/10 instead of 10/10). I picked this one up at the library this morning, intending to read it next after I finish Johnny and the Bomb, but I had forgotten to bring that one with me to read while Charlie played at the toy table (!! I know, right?!) so I just started - and then finished! - this one. A great little read, which must, in part, be an homage to the likes of E.T.A. Hoffman.

231. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10
The classic story, re-told with Fly Guy as the initial victim.
The usual fare - silly and okay, but not fantastic. Charlie loves 'em, though.

On the subject of favorite childhood toys, I was going through some old photos the other day and came across this of me proudly showing off my most favorite 2-year birthday gift and a toy I remember fondly to this day.

Trolls... I had a big old wooden bookcase that I made into a troll house. My big sis (3 years older) made them furniture (she made a fabulous three piece lounge suite) and we made fimo plates etc. It was brilliant.

Until my sis entered the mean stage and gave them all hair cuts...

>74 Storeetllr: Mary: Wow! What a doll house! And what a cutie standing next to it!

>75 BekkaJo: Bekka: Ah, siblings. A joy sometimes, aren't they?

On the agenda for today:
It's a school day for Charlie, and I'm meeting another mom for breakfast after I drop Charlie off. Then, back home to get a few odds and ends done before heading back to the school for my library volunteering. Tomm will get home this afternoon - yay! - so it should be a nice evening spent cuddling on the couch and relaxing together.
Florentine Chicken Soup for dinner tonight, as we went for the Mac & Cheese last night.

I got through a few more pages of The Wanderer last night, but not many - I'm finding this Hugo winner to be a slog and *very* slow to get going. Hopefully *something* happens soon! Ha!

Today's Calendar Book: The Memory of Blood: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery by Christopher Fowler, which is, apparently, the first in a Victorian, Sherlock-like mystery series. Anyone read this one?

I've been racking my brain trying to remember a "favorite" toy. I just don't think I ever had one. I was always thrilled to get a new box of crayons (I know, I was awful easy), and I loved red rubber bouncing balls (threw them on the roof of the school house and watched them roll back down---great sport! The big boys could sometimes throw them all the way over to the other side). I had the usual assortment of dolls, including Barbie and Ken, but I wasn't much for "playing house". I preferred my cap pistols and cowboy boots, and spent way too much time "with my nose in a book". Once I got a 2-wheel bicycle and learned to ride it, that probably qualified as my favorite, if it counts as a toy. (I loved to play "driving" in the car, too, Richard, but I never made it move!)

>78 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: I spend an awful lot of time on my bike, too, which, like the combine, was a car, a school bus, a motorcycle,...

I don't know if it counts as a "toy", but this was the favorite board game in my house. We played it constantly.

>80 norabelle414: Ha! You just *knew* you would score points with that one over here, didn't you?

>78 laytonwoman3rd: Linda3rd...a lot of us in our age cohort probably played in the car. Nowadays these helicopter moms would have sixteen conniptions if a kid did anything like that. Of course, as evidenced by the fact that what I did in the car could've caused mayhem and death, I could've used a little more helicoptering.

*waves to Richard*

I finished this toddler hat a couple of weeks ago, but just hadn't taken photos of it yet:





I want to try to get a few more finished before posting them to the shop. I'd go into the sewing room now, but, well, it's a rainy day, and there's a cuppa and a book and a rocking chair just calling to me...

I know where I'd be headed. *smooch*

>81 scaifea: My mom was a Latin major for a short time and loved mythology, my brother liked violence, and I liked that there was a female hero (Atalanta. Debatable, but whatever). So it was fun for the whole family.

>85 norabelle414: Very cool!

>85 norabelle414: (To be clear it's just normal mythology violence in the board game. Just stories about slaying monsters and such.)

>87 norabelle414: *snork!* I hadn't thought about that statement any other way...

>88 scaifea: Just making sure :-) My brother probably would have loved the kind of violent video games that are available today, but we definitely wouldn't have been allowed to play them.

Favorite toy? Can I count my blankie? Actually, it was brother's blanket that my grandmother made for him we used as base for "the blanket game" that we played with our favorite baby sitter

>33 foggidawn: Reminded me that my favorite toy was actually my Pooh Bear! Thanks to foggi and Sally for a fond memory!!

I just love your questions when I have the answers. ;)

>83 scaifea: FREAKING amazing hat!!!!

>89 norabelle414: Nora: That makes me think of Wreck It Ralph when he's in the Hero's Duty game - he says, in a panicked voice, something like, "When did videos games become so violent?!" *snork!*

>90 markon: Ardene: What's The Blanket Game?

>91 TinaV95: Tina: Thanks! They're so much fun to make.

I think wooden blocks were my favorite toy. My daughter, on the other hand, never liked them. She was all about balls.

Hi Amber,
I fear I'm too far behind to wade into the favorite toy conversation (but picture a G I Joe, I kid you not).

>93 banjo123: Rhonda: Charlie's set of wooden blocks have been one of the best toys we've bought for him - he's played with them probably more than any other toy, and I love playing them with him!

>94 EBT1002: Ellen: I used to play with my brothers' old Gi Joe dolls, too! They were the big, more Barbie-sized ones, and they had all sorts of accessories, too: the big Jeep, the army barracks... excellent toys.

On the agenda for today:
Grocery shopping. Laundry. A spot of cleaning. Hopefully some sewing and reading. Charlie was complaining of a bit of a sore throat last night, so we'll see how he's feeling this morning, but the grocery shopping may be postponed until tonight or tomorrow morning when Tomm can stay home with him...
Lentils and Brown Rice for dinner tonight, one of my favorites! Paired with water crackers and Havarti cheese - yum!

I made some progress on Enemy of God last night - such a great re-telling of the Arthur story, and boy, that Guinevere is a character! Ha! Also read a healthy chunk of Johnny and the Bomb yesterday while Charlie was at school. It seems that Pratchett's strength lies more in character-building than plot. It's a good story, but the characters are what makes it very readable.

Today's Calendar Book: Anatomy of Injustice: A Murder Case Gone Wrong by Raymond Bonner, which seems to be a true-crime/courtroom type story. Which is not really my cuppa. Anyone read this one?

232. Super Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10
Fly Guy encounters the Lunch Lady.
Yep, he's still a Fly Guy fan. But it's so fun to see him get so excited about finding a new on one the library shelves, so, it's okay with me.

233. Lego City: Follow That Easter Egg! by Trey King (Charlie book, picture book) - 8/10
The Lego City robbers plot to steal a golden egg, but the Lego City PD are hot on their trail...
This one was waiting for us in Charlie's cubby at school, from last month's Scholastic book order. He loves these books, and they *are* a hoot.

Morning Amber- More rain, more wind and still chilly. We are stuck in a lousy holding pattern. I hope you have a lovely Friday.

Thanks, Mark - we had thunder last night, and quite a bit of it! I'm okay with that, though - sounded like spring out there!

For my 10th birthday a friend gave me a glow-in-the-dark plastic "laser sword." It was 1978 so Star Wars was big and the "laser sword" was a K-mart imitation light saber. No matter: it worked as well as the branded kind. Of all my childhood toys, I think I miss it the most. Of all my childhood toys, my little brother probably misses it the least.

>100 swynn: Steve: Ha! I think that may be the best answer yet, especially that last little detail...

We made up the blanket game. It was basically tag, with the blanket (twin bedspread size) as base at the far end of the living room.

"It" tried to corral everyone on chairs in the dining room (you had to sit there if you were tagged.) Our dining room, kitchen & living room were in a loop, so one person would distract "it" and another would go the other way 'round to rescue whoever had been caught.

A nice active game for inside when we couldn't go out.

>102 markon: Ardene: Those made-up games are the best, aren't they? That one sounds like a lot of fun!

>96 scaifea:
Amber, Terry Pratchett is really good with his characters. His plotting can be hit and miss but I'm usually having such a good time I don't notice.

Loving all the childhood toys! I just had my manky pillow that I dragged around everywhere (and I wonder where my kids get the attachment obsessions from!). It the remnants of an old feather pillow in a brown (how 70s_) pillow case, I used to rub the smooth feather dust and break any feather stalks that were left. In the end it was just a tablespoon of stuff in a big soft pillow case. I loved that thing.
I think my favourite toy was the huge pine trees behind our house that I used to climb!

Love the toy nostalgia here:) I loved my stuffed animals, and I remember pining for Baby Alive who ate and ... eliminated. I'm grateful my girls never went there. I always loved puzzles, and would have puzzle races with my next-door neighbor. I always played school when we got our new school supplies for the year -- that was such a thrill. We also had a small antique timepiece under a glass jar that I would take out and bring with me throughout the house and the woods because that was my ticket to Narnia.

Amazing job on the hat (WOW!!), and happy weekend! Hope Charlie's sore throat was just a nighttime blip.

>104 AuntieClio: Stephanie: I agree with that statement completely!

>105 LovingLit: Megan: Aw, I love the thought of you and your brown pillow - adorable. There's a small ring of trees on my parents' farm in which I used to play for hours - it was a house, usually, but also sometimes a pirate cave.

>106 AMQS: Anne: Ha! Baby Alive kinda creeped me out, even as a kid! I did love puzzles, too - and still do. I'm jealous of Connie's puzzling skills, and I want to set up a card table somewhere in the house as a designated puzzle table sometime soon.
And I LOVE that Narnia timepiece story! We would have made excellent play mates; I used to hang out in our linen closet with a book and a flashlight, because I was certain that at some point that particular closet would be my way into Narnia.
Thanks for the hat compliment - it's fun to see them come together out of old blazers and shirts! And I'm pretty certain that Charlie is just feeling to beginnings of what promises to be a nasty spring and summer for allergies. *sigh*

I never had a Baby Alive... How in the heck did that work????

>108 TinaV95: Tina: Um, yeah. No idea. I suspect, though, that there was a tube and the 'food' just went straight through?

On the agenda for today:
We'll be heading down to Dubuque today for some shopping and probably lunch out. Then this afternoon we'll all be snuggling up on the couch for a matinee - my mom send Charlie a package full of Easter trinkets and decorations, plus the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies, which we'd never seen before, and the first of which we watched last night and loved. So we'll watch the second one today. I'm hoping to get some sewing time and some LT catch-up time. Maybe a little reading time, too? We'll see how the day goes.
Plenty of leftovers in the fridge, so no cooking necessary today.

I only manages a few pages in The Wanderer last night. It is a slog, whew! Nothing's really happening yet and I don't particularly like any of the characters. *shrug*

The weekend quote on the Book Calendar is a classic: "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." You all know who wrote that one, right?

234. Ride, Fly Guy, Ride by Tedd Arnold (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10
The boy and the fly go for a drive with Dad, and the fly accidentally, uh, flies out of the window. Pursuit ensues.
Yep, another one. How many of these things are there? Ha!

235. My First Little House Books: Winter on the Farm based on books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Describes a typical day on the farm in winter for Almanzo and his family.
I'm loving that Charlie is loving these. Makes me think that Little House in the Big Woods may be coming up soon for the bath time read...

Morning Amber- It looks like you have a nice day planned. Sorry to hear Charlie is suffering with allergies. Poor little guy.

Amber,

>110 scaifea: Dr. Seuss, of course! From I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! Have a great day out!

>108 TinaV95: Something like that. She had special food you bought and prepared for her. And she wore newborn diapers. No wonder my parents were less than enthused!

I'm missing a bunch of posts, I know, but I wanted to respond to 65 and 83. We switched to cloth napkins, too - I made around 20 out of leftover fabric from various projects, including dresses, costumes, and even kid pajamas. I have four of each fabric, and everyone has their favorites. I also made napkin rings out of leftover fabric and a cardboard tube, and everything is holding up well!

I had a wonderful moment on Thursday: I handed Doc a paper napkin (Hubster was gone, so we cheated and had fast food for dinner), and he frowned at me. "Mommy, was dis?"
"It's a napkin, buddy."
"It's not napkin, it's paper!"

I though that was great.

Also, your toddler hat is *amazing*. Wonderful work!

>115 London_StJ: Ha! Love this! Out of the mouths of babes...

>112 msf59: Mark: We did have a nice time shopping and eating out - and, yeah, even I'm feeling the allergies a bit today and I know that mine aren't as bad as others' are. It's not going to be a good year for that, I'm afraid.

>113 Ameise1: Barbara: Oh, that's lovely! So bright and clean-looking - love it! Thanks!

>114 AMQS: Anne: DINGDINGDING!! Of course! And, newborn diapers?! That would cost a fortune these days!

>115 London_StJ: Luxx: Oh, yay! We used ours for the first time last night, and Charlie loves them, too. And thanks - sewing compliments from the likes of you are The Business!

>116 michigantrumpet: Marianne: I know, right? Luxx's little monsters are about as adorable as they come, really.

236. Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A day in the life of cotton field workers, told by a young girl.
A good story, but I'm not really a fan of the illustrations.

237. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
A re-telling of a folk tale about a man who bests a bunch of goblins using his wits and therefore saves Hanukkah for an entire village.
Excellently told, and the illustrations (by Trina Schart Hyman are amazing. Definitely recommended.

238. Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 7/10
The traditional story retold.
But not very well. And I didn't like the illustrations at all. How this won a Caldecott Honor?

239. The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
An old folk tale with a Caribbean twist, retold here with great talent, and oh my the illustrations are wonderful! Recommended!

240. The Paperboy by Dav Pilkney (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
The story of a boy who gets up very early on Saturday mornings to deliver the paper.
Nice story, okay illustrations.

241. Starry Messenger by Peter Sis (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A brief biography of Galileo Galilei for children.
I was so excited to read this one, and all set to order a copy for Charlie if it turned out amazing, but I was a bit disappointed. Could have been amazing but was just okay.

242. Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A re-telling of a Tennessee back-woods tale.
Not my favorite brand of folktale, and I was also a bit disappointed in Zelinsky's illustrations, which are normally amazing.

117 - Oh, you know the way to a mama's heart - shameless baby flattery. I just eat it up.

>119 London_StJ: (It's not flattery if it's true, you know.)

>118 scaifea: Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorite illustrators ever. And I agree about James Marshall, too -- I've never been able to see the appeal of his fairy tale retellings.

I am very late to the new thread, Amber, but my favourite toys growing up we're definitely my Barbies. I just loved dressing them up. :)

Happy Mother's Day Amber :)

Just skimming posts and skipping some, but I finally made it to your thread, Amber.
Have a lovely sunday!!

>121 foggidawn: foggi: I know, right? I love her illustrations! And, yeah, what's the deal with everyone liking this Marshall character? Ha!

>122 MickyFine: Micky: I liked my Barbies, too, but I remember sometimes getting really frustrated at particular pieces of their wardrobes being very difficult to get on and off. I've never been one to have much patience, I'm afraid.

>123 BekkaJo: Thanks, Bekka! Ours isn't officially until May, but I'll take two! And Happy Mother's Day to you, too!!

>124 connie53: Thanks, Connie - good to see you!

On the agenda for today:

Lazy Sunday here at Scaife Manor. I mean, I'm just now out of bed, which a 2-hour sleep-in for me, and I'm the first one up! I've got the oven pre-heating for some blueberry biscuits, and we're planning on a day of relaxing (other than Tomm's project of putting up the new curtain rods and curtains for our sliding door to the back porch), which for me means catching up on LT, reading and sewing. I did a little bit of each yesterday, but hope for more today.
Dinner tonight will be Chuck Wagon BBQ Bean & Rice Bake. Comfort food!

I started The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine last night, and I'm happy with it so far - at least happier than I was was the Age of Augustus one. But that likely has to do with how I know a bunch more about Augustus than I do about Constantine, and learning new stuff is always more exciting than reading about stuff you already know, eh?

Amber, sounds like a good plan for a Sunday. waves

Morning Amber- Just passing through. It looks like a nice day here, sunny, nearly 60. ABOUT TIME! Enjoy the day.

>127 Ameise1: & 128 Thanks, Barbara & Mark!

#125 Ooops! Colour me red. I forget that there are different days!

Just stopping by - love the toddler hat! So neatly done.

>130 BekkaJo: Ha! No problem, Bekka - more than one Mother's Day sounds pretty good to me!

>131 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy - good to see you!

>125 scaifea: & >130 BekkaJo: Hahaha I also make those mistakes all the time. Only just remembered in time that it is Mother's Day in England and that I have one of those there. Have a great Sunday, Amber.

>118 scaifea: Amber, I get what you're saying about James Marshall. For some reason, though, it works -- at least for me. The past two years I have done fairy tale/folk tale units at three different schools. One of my schools specifically requested Goldilocks, and wanted students to compare versions. For whatever reason, the James Marshall version is the students' favorite, hands-down. There's something irreverent about the text and very silly about the illustrations that kids just love -- at least at those three schools:)

>133 PaulCranswick: Paul: Whew! So glad that you remembered in time!

>134 AMQS: Anne: It certainly must work for some - he's pretty popular. I also don't get why kids are so over-the-moon about Mo Willems and his nauseatingly annoying pigeon. Ha!

>126 scaifea:
Chuck Wagon BBQ Bean & Rice Bake Recipe please?

>136 AuntieClio: Stephanie: Well, I misremembered the name off the top of my head and conflated two different recipes, so here are both of them - I'll be making the first one for dinner today:

Chuck Wagon BBQ Rice Round-Up
Ingredients:
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 package beef Rice-a-Roni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• cheddar cheese

1. In large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef.
2. Remove from skillet, drain, and set aside.
3. In same skillet, sauté rice mix with butter until vermicelli is golden brown.
4. Slowly stir in 2 ½ cups water, corn and seasoning packet; bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender.
6. Stir in BBQ sauce and ground beef.
7. Sprinkle with cheese.
8. Cover and let stand 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Chuck Wagon Bean Bake
Ingredients:
• 1 pound ground beef
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz.) baked beans, undrained
• 1 can (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 375⁰.
2. Combine ground beef, onion and bell pepper in a large skillet.
3. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is browned and crumbly, about 8 minutes.
4. Drain.
5. Combine cooked beef mixture, baked beans, kidney beans, black beans, tomato sauce, barbecue sauce and salt in a 3-quart casserole dish.
6. Cover and bake 30 minutes.
7. Uncover and bake until mixture is bubbly and slightly thickened, 15-20 minutes longer.

SOund s hearty and delicious. It's a pot roast kind of day here; our trees are beginning to glisten with tiny drops and driplets of ice. *Sigh*

oh yum, those both look good. Thanks!

>138 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Oh, pot roast sounds wonderful! I'll be right over...

>139 AuntieClio: Stephanie: You're welcome! They're both really good and very easy, which is the best kind of recipe, no?

>140 scaifea:
Amber, exactly! My eyes glaze over and my fingers get itchy whenever I read something like, "Dice/cut a bunch of stuff." Pretty much if I can't just dump it in to a crock pot or a casserole dish, I'm out.

Waving hello and running off to put a beef stew in the crock pot.

>141 AuntieClio: Stephanie: Every great once in a bit, I'll get a Wild Hair to make something fancy. And then it takes me *for-friggin-ever*. And I invariably screw something up. So then I wise up again for a spell and stick to my own non-fancy, super-easy recipes. Ha!

>142 nittnut: Jenn: Beef Stew! Crock Pot! Love it!

243. Dog Loves Books by Lousie Yates (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
Dog loves books so much that he opens a books shop. But then he's sad because he gets no customers, so he starts reading (and getting lost in) his books, until he does finally get a customer and shares his love of books with her.
Lovely little story and the illustrations are great.

244. (31st non-picture book read) Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett (series read, 245 pages) - 9/10
Johnny, who has fought for video-game-alien lives and for the rights of the dead, now finds himself blinking in and out of the wrong leg of the Trousers of Time. Yeah, I think I'll leave the summary at that.
I think this is my favorite of the trilogy, for the slight yet delightful twist near the end and the imaginative way of looking at time that Pratchett presents. What a clever soul he is, eh? And Johnny is just about as adorkable as they come. Love that kid.

245. Dog Loves Drawing by Lousie Yates (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
Dog also loves drawing, and so when his aunt sends him a sketch book, he goes right to town with it.
Again, cute story with great illustrations. Loved both books.

>143 scaifea: And it turned out great! Which is lucky because everything else I baked today ended up slightly overcooked. Edible, but on the well-done side... still trying to work out converting from F to C for baking and how the convection oven affects the baking.

>145 nittnut: Jenn: My mom has a convection oven and loves it, but she did say that it took some getting used to and that it does take less time to bake things. Good luck!

On the agenda for today:
Charlie gets to be 'the leader' today at school. I'm not sure what all that entails (mostly being first in line when they go to the library and recess and such, I think, plus helping out the teacher with passing out the milks,...), and I'm taking the opportunity to go in and have lunch with him, which parents have been doing for their students' birthdays, but since Charlie's was the first birthday of the year, I didn't know I could then (wow, run-on sentence much?). I'm excited (and he is, too, or I wouldn't be doing it (to him)), but it means that the day is pretty much blown, since that will happen right smack in the middle of the day. I need to run to the grocery store after I drop Charlie off this morning - I forgot to pick up April Fools Day dinner supplies (Charlie and I have been 'fooling' Tomm ever year with the same dinner of Meatloaf 'Cake' and 'Flower Pot Dirt' Dessert - tradition!), and then I need to go through the small stack of weekly bills when I get home and before lunch. With the small amount of time between lunch and the end of school, I'll come *back* home again and try to get some sewing done, I think.
The fridge is full of leftovers, so no cooking tonight!

Today's Calendar Book sounds interesting, especially in light of the Presidential Challenge, which I'm creeping, snail-like, through:
The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth
Anyone read this one?

Morning Amber- Hope you have some warmth today. We deserve it. I have not read the Cleveland book but I remember it being well-received.

Morning, Mark! I hope the rain holds off until you're back home this afternoon!

Gosh, you go away for a few days and you fall off the escalator: my favourite childhood toy was always a book. Getting given a doll was always such a crushing disappointment.

>150 tiffin: tiffin: We didn't have much money - at all - when I was a kid, so I didn't get books as a gift very often, since they were readily available for free from the school library.

I may have talked about this here before, so just skip right over this if I have and accept my apologies for repeating myself (I know I've mentioned my utter lack of a memory before):

Just after this last Christmas, someone who knows me well enough to know my love of books and Charlie's, too, expressed surprise when I answered her question, "So did Charlie get anything besides books for Christmas?" with a, "Well, in fact we didn't give him any books for Christmas." But here's why Charlie doesn't get books for holiday or birthday presents, from Tomm and me, at least: For me, books aren't special occasion sorts of things; they're more akin to the staples - bread, milk, food in general. They're not privileges, they're necessities. I want Charlie to grow up knowing, being completely confident in the absolute fact that if there is a book out there that he would like to have, he can ask me for it at any time, not needing to wait until it's a special occasion, and if I have enough money after making sure we have enough to eat, I will buy the book for him. Always.

Absolutely with you on this one. I too grew up surrounded by books, with regular visits to the library. But I had a great uncle in Scotland who owned a bookshop and every Christmas a large box would arrive in early December and so too did the agonising wait to see its contents. The top layer was made up of good English Cadbury's chocolate bars in every shape and form. Under that were about five books each for my brother and me. There was no gift I treasured more. People who knew me didn't give me girly things but the odd great aunt thought I might want a doll. The worst one of all was the tall hard plastic one who turned her head as she walked, while you hung onto her hard plastic hand and guided her along. Her gait would have done the zombie apocalypse proud.

>151 scaifea: I really like your "books as necessities" philosophy. :-)

>152 tiffin: tiffin: Oh holy moly, that doll sounds horrifying! (But the chocolate sounds lovely!) Ha!

>153 foggidawn: foggi: Thanks - it was one of those things that I had all sorted in my head while I was still pregnant. One of the Important Things. :)

>151 scaifea: Very good way to look at books, Amber. I totally agree!

>152 tiffin: I think I did have the same doll or one similar!

>151 scaifea: I have the same philosophy with my kids. You want to read? No problem, I'll get you a book.

>152 tiffin: That sounds like a magical Christmas. :) I still get the odd gift of fancy jewelry or a purse from well meaning relatives who don't know that I barely remember my wedding rings and use a purse until it disintegrates, because before I buy things (other than food, sometimes) I calculate the books I could buy instead...

>155 connie53: Connie: Better you than me (as far as the doll is concerned)!

>156 nittnut: Jenn: Bookish moms unite!

Re: book policy, yep, that's how it was when we were growing up. Plus we could go to the library pretty much anytime!

I also love your book philosophy! Not that I would say no to books for Christmas, if someone offered. :P

>151 scaifea: +1

>147 scaifea: (Charlie and I have been 'fooling' Tomm ever year with the same dinner of Meatloaf 'Cake' and 'Flower Pot Dirt' Dessert - tradition!
I love that idea! And it will be well-remembered by Charlie for ever, I bet.

>151 scaifea: if there is a book out there that he would like to have, he can ask me for it at any time, not needing to wait until it's a special occasion, and if I have enough money after making sure we have enough to eat, I will buy the book for him. Always.
LOVE
I give books as gifts all the time to other people and their kids. I know it is odd (around here) to say this, but my kids have *enough* books* appropriate to their age at present. (the boys' Grandma is a school literacy advisor and regularly gives them 4 or 5 new kids books at a time, plus 10-20 at a time on loan from the school where she works). So I will only buy them books if they are ones that they will grow into, or ones that I think will be used.
However, once they start to read themselves and can tackle big books, I reckon I will buy and buy as much as is required :) (I already have a collection of Puffin classics at the ready)

What I remember annoyed me about Barbies is that their shoes never stayed on!

And I want to know what meatloaf cake is.

>158 drneutron: Jim: I wish we had lived where I could have gone to the public library, but since we didn't live within the city limits, I couldn't get a card. But once I was in school, I was in the school library all the time and *always* had a library book with me.

>159 Ape: Stephen: Ha! I love getting books no matter what the occasion, as long as the giver has chosen something from my Amazon wishlist - my in-laws love getting books for me that *they* think I'll like, and that's rarely the case. And they know about the wishlist but chose to ignore it. SERENITY NOW!

>160 richardderus: Hi, Richard!!

>161 LovingLit: Megan: I'd rather that my family *didn't* get books for Charlie, because if it's a good one, he probably already has it and if it isn't, well,... I wish I could find a polite way to tell them to stop buying books for him, I've got it covered. Ha!

>162 Morphidae: Morphy: I know, right?! Arghh! So frustrating!
Meatloaf cake is a 'cake' made of meatloaf with mashed potatoes used as the 'frosting.' Then you present it and say, "Look, we're having cake for dinner!" April Fools! *snork!* Charlie was already giggling in anticipation this evening. Tomm's a good sport and will act completely befuddled and surprised. Again.

Happy new thread, Amber!

>3 scaifea: - When I was a kid, I always wanted to play with everything my older siblings were playing with so its no surprise that I loved Meccano! and Doodleart.

>16 michigantrumpet: - Oh, I had an easy bake oven! It was my older sister's but she was a tom boy who had no interest in girly things so I inherited it unused. Sadly, that is one of those toys that has fallen victim to environmental regulations: Using Your Easy Bake Oven Is About to Become Difficult.

Amber, I wish you

I was thinking... maybe I'm going about this all wrong. It occurs to me that people don't buy me books for birthdays and Christmas because they think I already have all the books! *Wrinkles forehead and begins plotting how to appear needy bookwise.*

>162 Morphidae: Shames me to admit but what I remember of Barbie is the puzzle of her naked form!

>164 lkernagh: Lori: I'm not so sure that a new-and-improved Easy-Bake Oven is all that bad of a thing. Those were pretty dangerous, weren't they? Lots of burns. I had one, and even as a kid I thought the end product was pretty awful-tasting. Ha!

>165 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

>166 nittnut: Jenn: Best of luck with that. I think non-bookish friends/family seem to shy away from buying our kind books, unless you present them with a concrete list? I'd be happy with a loaded Amazon gift card, myself...

>167 PaulCranswick: Paul: You think Barbie was puzzling - what about Ken?!

On today's agenda:
Charlie and I will be taking Tuppence to the vet this morning for her annual checkup, which she loves, because everyone in the vet's office thinks she's The Best Dog Ever and she gets lots of love there (they're all partial to Border Collies in that office). And then it's home for a bit of cleaning and more than a bit of laundry, dessert-making and possibly some applesauce-making, too. Maybe some sewing? Reading?

I'm nearly finished with Cirque du Freak and thank goodness. I'm not gonna lie - it's just awful. Ha! Can't wait to be done with it. How did this make it into the 1001 Children's Books list?!

The Calendar book today is The Art of Fielding, which I've seen popping up on some people's threads, but reading the blurb, I don't really have any interest in it. Baseball? Nope, no thanks. Unless there's *a lot* more too it...

>168 scaifea: It isn't surprising that there was no spawn of Ken & Barbie is it?

>170 PaulCranswick:: *snork!* Agreed.

Oh, and how did I forget to mention what a great time I had at school with Charlie yesterday?!
I went in to have lunch with him, and I also took along a couple of his favorite stories to read to the class. They *loved* it, asked me to read them again and again (I read each twice but then it was time for their gym class). I agreed to repeat the performance if they would help me out the second time around, and by the end of each book, they were filling in the blanks for me. Reading to wee ones = heaven.

(Here are the books I took with me: Where is the Green Sheep? and Leonardo the Terrible Monster.)

Morning Amber- About 50 today, which is about normal. I can't whine to much. I really liked The Art of Fielding. Sure, baseball is at the center but it's a much bigger story than that.
Enjoy your day.

howdy do, Amber! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I had most of the toys pictured, barbies and paraphernalia galore inc. ski resort and boutique were my faves. Blockhead when I was younger. It was fun calling mom and dad "Blockhead" when their tower of blocks fell.
That toddler cap is awesome! so professionally done. It would be a treasure for any little guy or perhaps a little girl.
Have a splendid day!

LT is being ridiculous this morning. I just typed a post here, hit "post message" and nothing happened. So I hit "post" again, and got a pop-up box that said "duplicate post" (never saw that before). AND YET....I don't see the post here even once. *shrug*

Edit: So this is what I tried to post before:

>152 tiffin: I had an aunt who bought a baby doll for me, and propped it on a chair in her living room without saying anything about it. Then she was terribly put out when I didn't say anything about it either. How was I supposed to know it was meant as a lovely surprise for me? She knew how much I loved books; she bought me a lot of them. But apparently she thought any little girl would be gaga for a "real baby" doll (it was rather realistic, with a heavy head and very soft cuddly body). The fact is, even if I had been inclined to scoop the doll up and squeal with delight, I never would have done it, because that particular aunt was a stickler for good behavior, and I would have been intimidated to act that way in her house for any reason whatsoever.

>166 nittnut: I have the same problem!

>173 msf59: Mark: Yeah, it's not getting even that warm here today, I think. So you're saying I should think about the book, eh? Hm...

>174 Carmenere: Lynda: I've never heard of Blockhead - I'll have to look that one up. And thanks! I certainly hope etsy shoppers feel that way, too - ha!

>175 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: I've had that happen to me before too, with the duplicate post message and no post at all. Strange. And what is it with strict and strangely-expectant aunts? I had one of those, too.

>162 Morphidae: >167 PaulCranswick: >168 scaifea: One of my colleagues used to work for Mattel some 20 years back and part of his job profile was selecting dresses for Barbie! This was before he did his MBA and joined the drudgery of the financial world. I keep telling him the opportunities he missed, he could have joined back there, and done some serious "consulting" telling them he needs human Barbie-like models to model those clothes before he puts those on the assembly line. He agrees, a lifetime of opportunity missed!

>177 PiyushC: Piyush: Ha! Love it! Although, of course, having a human with the proportions of a Barbie is physically impossible...

Happy Tuesday, Amber! *smooch* Glad that you had such a great time reading to the kids.

>179 richardderus: Thanks, Richard!

>178 scaifea: We can all wish and dream, can't we? :D

>181 PiyushC: Piyush: You go right ahead - I prefer to be able to stand up on my own, thankyouverymuch (which a 'real' Barbie would never be able to achieve). Ha! Plus, I think a real-life version of Barbie would look pretty horrifying, honestly. *shudders*

>169 scaifea: I read Cirque du Freak too and was less than impressed. Somehow the second book in the series wound up on my TBR shelves. I'm not sure how, maybe I purchased it at Goodwill or the library book sale before I read the first one? Anyway its been hanging around here long enough I think since I am never going to read it. I can send it along to you if you like? (hehehe)

>172 scaifea: That sounds really lovely, Amber. I hope you will be asked to come again and again!

>183 Cobscook: Heidi: Oh, no thank you! You can keep it! Ha! I'm barely going to manage finishing the first one, and I have absolutely no interest in reading any more in the series.

>184 connie53: Thanks, Connie - Charlie's teacher told me that I have an open invitation to come whenever I'd like to read to the kids. I may do it once more this year, but I try pretty hard to give Charlie his space at school. That's why I love volunteering in the library - I get to be in the same building with Charlie and help out at his school without crowding him too much.

Hi Amber

Not much to say other than I miss not visiting as often as I'd like.

>186 Whisper1: It's good to see you, Linda. I'm quietly hanging out over on your thread, waiting for hopefully-good news about your insurance issues...

On the agenda for today:
It's Wednesday, so that means Library Day! Charlie and I will go hang out at the library for a bit this morning, after getting a little bit of cleaning done first. Also, the applesauce didn't get made yesterday, so maybe that will happen today. Otherwise, the usual: reading, sewing, hanging out with Charlie. The meatloaf cake and dirt pudding were a hoot, as usual - Tomm is an excellent sport and had Charlie in fits of giggles with his over-the-top reactions. And it was a pretty big 'cake' so leftovers galore tonight and no cooking necessary for me!
Yesterday wasn't a great reading day: both Cirque du Freak and The Wanderer are just plain awful, and I'm struggling with both. I should finish the former today, though, hopefully.

Today's Calendar Book: Signs of Life: A Memoir by Natalie Taylor. A story of a young widow raising her son on her own? And it's 'uplifting'? Hm. Anyone read this one?

246. Is It Metal? by Julie Haydon (Charlie's school book, beginning reader) - 8/10
Another book brought home from school and read to us by Charlie. He's getting good at trying to sound out words on his own!

247. In the Wild: Lions by Claire Robinson (Charlie's school library book, picture book) - 8/10
A fact book about lions.

248. My First Little House Books: Summertime in the Big Woods based on books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Highlights of a summer spent in The Big Woods with Laura, Mary and their family.
We're all still enjoying these very much.

249. (32nd non-picture book read) Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater (Charlie's bath time book, 139 pages) - 8/10
Mr. Popper is a small-town house painter with a penchant for polar exploration. He follows the adventures of polar explorers and writes them letters, until one day, one of the explorers sends him a surprise gift, and his life - and the lives of his family members - changes forever.
A re-read for me, but new to Charlie and Tomm. Cute, though dated, and the ending is weird. I don't think that this was a particular favorite for Charlie, who had trouble paying attention to it at times. Can't say that I completely blame him - this one suffered for following Winnie the Pooh.

Ahem. *waits for a picture*

>190 Morphidae: ... What sort of picture...?

>191 scaifea: The doll! In its place of honor.

>192 Morphidae: I know this isn't what you're looking for, exactly, but I humbly offer this photo in it's place, of me reading to Charlie's class (his teacher posted it to her blog for the class):



Charlie is the one in the red hoodie, to the left of the gal in the pink-and-white stripes.

Morning Amber- In regards to the Art of Fielding, go with your gut. I just wanted to mention that it was "more" than a baseball novel. With the staggering amount of books we have to read, we NEED to be very picky.
Looks like you are doing a fine job in class! LOL. Have not heard of the memoir.

#193 Where's that pesky like button when you need it! Some enthralled looking kids - good work :)

*gasps* Look what you did!

... in it's place...

>194 msf59: Mark: Ha! Thanks!

>195 BekkaJo: Aw, thanks, Bekka! They loved that particular book, and wanted me to read it over and over! They're a great bunch of munchkins.

>196 Morphidae: Morphy: *sigh* Even the best wordsmiths make occasional mistakes, which means I make them all the time! Ha!

>196 Morphidae:: Ha! caught her!

Okay, ladies, simmer down; don't make me post the Fry video again...

Personally, I was far too distracted by the picture to notice such a minor indiscretion. Besides, grammar mistakes don't count when their typed. Everyone knows that! ;)

>200 Ape: Ha! Thanks, Stephen!

250. (33rd non-picture book read this year) Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan (1001 Children's Books list, 266 pages) - 5/10
Two kids manage to get tickets to a secret traveling freak show, and both end up very much regretting it.
Ugh. Awful. Just plain awful. The story was unimaginative, unoriginal, crass in parts and trite in general. Even worse, though, the writing was terrible. Two questions: How does something like this get published? And how the how does it get itself included in a list like the one in 1001 Children's Books?! Sheesh. SHEESH, I say!

251. Hansel and Gretel retold by Rike Lesser (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 9/10
This has long been one of my absolute favorite fairy tales, and this particular re-telling is very good. Paul O. Zelinsky's illustrations are fantastic. Certainly recommended.

252. Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride by Marjorie Priceman (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
The story of the first hot-air balloon ride, manned by barnyard animals.
Cute and funny, with nice illustrations.

>199 scaifea: But you're paranoid now, aren't you?

>203 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Nah, I know I'm a big dummy most of the time and that mistakes happen. I re-read every post before I post it already, but clearly I miss stuff and I'm okay with that. Love me, love my typos. :)

(Note that I'm leaving the out-pointed mistake as is. I'm here, I'm grammatically awkward sometimes, get used to it! Ha!)

ETA: But I bet you read your post more than once first to make sure you had that "you're" correct... *snork!*

I just had to tease Mrs. Professor Amber the Reader of Numerous Books at One Time. I often make the possessive "s" mistake myself. Feel free to give me crap for it!

I can't tell you how many times I've verbalized a sentence to see if there is an "is" in there so I know if I'm using the apostrophe correctly.

I love that Fry video.

>205 Morphidae: Morphy: *snork!* I grew up with 3 older brothers, so I can take a bit of teasing, for sure!

And, yeah, I may just have to re-post the video, just because. It's the best thing on youtube, I think.

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY

*grabs some popcorn and goes to watch it AGAIN*

*grabs some popcorn and goes to watch it... AGAIN*

ETA: I didn't delete 208. LT hiccuped.

>209 Morphidae: Morphy: Ha! It took me a few minutes to post it because I got sucked into watching the whole thing again. I really must start using 'farting' as an expletive more. I mean, really.

I like "sound-sex."

>207 scaifea: *claps*

>211 Morphidae: Morphy: Me, too!

>212 PiyushC: Piyush: Isn't Mr. Fry just the best?

Applesauce is finished and chilling in the fridge (the house smells amazing!), and it's nice enough outside that we were able to get out and play for a bit:

Oh oh oh.. I'm so glad I caught up on your thread, Amber.

I love the toddler's hat and that's a great photo of you reading to Charlie and his classmates.

That Fry monologue was incredible! I watched it three times and saved the link. Thanks for sharing!

Are those patches restickable or does he get a new one each day?

Hi Amber, love the picture of you reading to Charlie's class, I can see that you are enjoying it. I loved going into school and listening to the kids read for the last nine years and will miss it.

>193 scaifea: *baaaaaaawwwwwwwww* so sweet! *smooch*

>215 cameling: Hi, Caroline! So good to see you - and I'm glad you like the Fry bit!

>216 Morphidae: Morphy: They're not reusable; they come in packs of 50 and there's all sort of different designs. I was worried at first that they wouldn't work for him because he gets a rash from certain kinds of bandaids, but they seem to have anticipated that and the sticky bit doesn't bother his skin at all.

>217 johnsimpson: Thanks, John - I'm enjoying my time volunteering at the school library very much, helping them find books that they'll like, occasionally reading to them... It's wonderful.

>218 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! *tucks smooch in pocket for later*

>178 scaifea: Your conversation with Piyush about Barbie dolls made me think of something I saw awhile back about a young woman who does, in fact, have the body and face of a Barbie doll. I'll see if I can find it again and post it here. I warn you, it was a pretty sad and distressing story.

On lighter notes, the pic of you reading to the kids is adorable, and I love the Fry monologue!

>220 Storeetllr: Her name is Valeria Lukyonova. She's freaky.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2232466/Human-Barbie-Model-excessive-p...

>220 Storeetllr: Mary & >221 Morphidae: Morphy: Yeah, I'm not even gonna click on that. Yeesh.

And thanks, Mary! I had a wonderful time reading to the tykes - and the Fry thing is The Business, no?

Off to Bedfordshire with Parnassus on Wheels - have a good evening, all!

Parnassus on Wheels is a enjoyable book!

>224 cal8769: Carrie: Agreed! I'm enjoying it no end!

On today's agenda:
Take Charlie to school, come back home to get through a few odd and ends on the To Do list before going back to school to do some substitute librarian-ing this afternoon. And that's it. No other plans for today. It's supposed to rain all day here, so maybe one of the To Do items will be sitting in the rocking chair with a cuppa and a book, listening to the rain...
Ham and Bean Soup for dinner tonight.

As I said above, Parnassus on Wheels is coming along nicely - what a wonderful little book! I'm glad I have The Haunted Bookshop already waiting for me on the shelf. Today, though, is another The Wanderer day - yeesh. I'll be so glad when I manage to finish this particular slog.

Today's Calendar Book: The Little Russian by Susan Sherman, which, by the sound of the blurb, seems to be an historical romance? Sigh. Thank you, but no. Anyone care to come to its defense?

Morning Amber- Looks very yucky out there. I think I would be fine, just sitting here and sipping my coffee. Don't you agree?
Have a good day.

Morning Mark!

253. Hooray for Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10
Yep, more Fly Guy.

254. (34th non-picture book read) Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (1001 Children's Books list, 182 pages) - 8/10
A young preacher's daughter finds a stray dog in their new Florida town, who brings it about to connect this lonely girl with a new network of presumably-unlikely friends.
Honestly, I was dreading this one. I haven't seen the movie, but I knew the story involved a dog, and normally those stories don't work out well for me. But this one wasn't sad at all, and the story was a good one, although certainly not in the never-been-done-before category. But a nice, cozy read, nonetheless.

255. Ozzie and the Art Contest by Dana Sullivan (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Ozzie is excited about his class art contest at school, and is (over) confident that he will win, as he fancies himself a bit of a master, apparently. But, Oh the Hubris! Which means, Oh the Nemesis is on it's way! He doesn't read the directions correctly and so gets only an Honorable Mention.
Sophocles it's not, but it's cute, and the Message isn't presented in too much of a beat-over-the-head way.

I'm ashamed of myself.
I thought for sure I had your thread starred but noooooo. Shame on me, shame on me. Rectified it now, at least.

Oh, and my favourite toy as a kid? My doll, my stuffed bunny (he still sits on a shelf in my bedroom) and...



lego (still a favourite).

>229 scaifea: I overheard a conversation in the library today between a preschooler and parent -- parent was trying to convince preschooler that they had read all of the Fly Guy books already -- and I thought of you and Charlie. :-)
(Of course, I know you are not averse to rereading, especially if he's enthusiastic about it, but I think a lot of parents are less excited about Fly Guy than their offspring are!)

>230 PawsforThought: Legos! Yes! Tomm and I both were excited when Charlie become old enough for Legos (Duplos first, of course).

>231 foggidawn: *snork!* It's good to know that I'm not alone! I don't mind them too much - could be worse, after all.

232. Best thing about working with kids (which I've done on and off for years now) is building legos. Few of the other adults sit down build stuff with the kids and they're always excited when I do. And I'm just enjoying being five again.

>233 PawsforThought: Who are these people who won't sit down with a kid and play with Legos?! I kinda feel sorry for them - what sort of life is that? Ha!
The public library here puts on 'Block Parties' where they provide the Legos and a theme, and parent/child teams build whatever they like based on the theme. Tomm and Charlie love those. (I'd love it, too, but I have to let Tomm play with Charlie sometimes, I suppose...)

>234 scaifea: We already do Lego programs, but I may have to steal that name for future programs...

>235 foggidawn: It's a good one, isn't it?

234. Mostly people who claim they can't get up again if they sit down on the floor. I'm still young and agile enough to be able to sit on the floor. ;)

Oh man! The topic of Legos reminds me of my other favorite toy as a kid, which I had totally forgot about. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it was called. Basically it was a series of plastic pieces that you could run marbles though, in the same way that kids have those plastic tracks they can use for their Hotwheels cars. It was just a big collection of oddly shaped, downward-sloping tracks, and you could string them all together and set marbles through it. I'll have to consult Google and see if I can come up with an image.

>238 Ape: Stephen: Was it like this, because Charlie has one of these and it's so much fun:

http://www.amazon.com/Marbulous-Translucent-Marble-pieces-plus-marbles/dp/B000XA...

Also, I just took one of those silly quizzes on FB, one that is supposed to tell you 'Which Dream Home You Should Live In" and - I kid you not - the answer it gave me was "A cozy library in Wisconsin." Ha!

I love your thread. Loved the video you posted in 207. Loved the picture of you reading to the kids. Is that Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox? (And I originally wrote "Is that Where is the Green Sheep??" but decided that didn't look right even if it was grammatically correct, so I added the author's name. ;-P )

235> I was thinking the same thing. One of my best steals is "Crafternoon."

>240 scaifea: That's my kind of dream house!

Love your toddler hat and the photo of Charlie at playtime.

My sister just emailed me today to tell me that she's mailing my Latin textbook tomorrow. And here I've been checking the mailbox every day this week anticipating its arrival. Sigh.

Eli (my 7 year old) just told me: "Mom, girls really like Superman. If he threw his cape, and two girls caught it, they would fight over it."

I wonder where that thought came from?

239: Yeah, mine was completely different, but that's the idea! :)

239. Oh, they have those at the school I've worked at! The kids love that.

>241 BookLizard: Hi, Liz! Yes, it *is* Where Is the Green Sheep?! (I revel in weird-looking punctuation, by the way.) It's one of Charlie's absolute favorites, and mine, too (I love the 'near' and 'far' sheep page).
And I love 'crafternoon'!

>242 tymfos: Terri: I know, right? Apparently I'm living the dream - ha!

>243 nittnut: Jenn: Patience really isn't my strongest quality, either. Sigh, indeed.
And, uh, what? I'd be tempted to show him the clip from The Incredibles where the fashion-designer woman has her rant about how dumb and dangerous capes are for superheroes, and then point out that a smart girl would know that capes are just silly. Ha!

>244 Ape: Stephen: Same but different, eh? Either way, it's a really cool toy. The funny (read: pathetic) thing is, I can't build a working marble track with it to save my life. Mine always end up sending the marble straight down the first tube. I just can't figure the thing out! But Charlie's pretty good at it, and Tomm is amazing - the two of them have lots of fun with it.

>245 PawsforThought: I know, right? Such a cool toy - no batteries, no obnoxious noise-makings, just creativity. Love it.

On the agenda for today:
Friday = grocery shopping day. So there's that. But at least I have an awesome 5-year-old who in fact loves going grocery shopping with me. (And yes, by 'awesome' I also mean slightly strange, but I'll take it!) He's a helper, even. I never thought I'd end up with a kid who makes something like grocery shopping fun, but here we are. I'm so lucky, it's not even funny.
It's also laundry day. And there's a wee bit of cleaning to do. If I have any energy after all of that, we may make some bread. And then I'd like to sew a bit, too. Oh, and read. Ha!
Tomm's driving to Madison today for a business day-trip and may not be home until late, so Family Game Night will be postponed until tomorrow evening, although Charlie and I will likely still order in for dinner (pizza or Chinese takeaway).

I read another chapter of The Wanderer yesterday (I can really only manage one chapter at a time) - ugh. I mean, honestly. How did this thing win a Hugo?! Ptooey! Somehow I'll make it through. Somehow. I'm reading through these winners with my BFF, and at least he thinks this one is a stinkeroo, too. We've been joking back and forth about it, so we're able to laugh about the pain, at least. Ha!

Today's Calendar Book: The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogan, about, apparently, a Harvard class reunion and the book/class directory with updates on the graduates, which is printed for the occasion. Sounds interesting, but maybe a bit too close to the home in which I used to live, so to speak, for me to appreciate. Anyone read this one? Thoughts?

Morning Amber- Have a good day. Enjoy that grocery shopping. It sounds like a hoot!

Ha! Thanks, Mark!

Guess what I just got in the mail today! My lovely, shiny new Latin textbook! :D

>247 scaifea: about The Red Book: two years ago my younger daughter went to a summer science program and became friendly with Kogan's daughter. Fun fact: Kogan's son was young Spock in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Intrigued, I looked into her books but decided The Red Book was too chick-litty for my taste.

>247 scaifea: Have a great time at the groceries. I enjoy shopping for groceries with Belle. Hate the same task with SWMBO or Yasmyne, the latter coming over all health conscious and picking up organic stuff everywhere at triple the price.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Amber, as always, my tbr pile incredibly expands when I visit here.

Happy weekend to you!

>250 PawsforThought: WooHoo! Let me know when you want to get started!

>251 lauralkeet: Laura: Neat tidbit about the son! If it's chick-litty, though, I'll pass on the book (a decision toward which I was leaning anyway).

>252 PaulCranswick: Paul: I can't figure out why organic is so much more expensive - shouldn't it be cheaper, since they don't buy chemicals to spray on them?!

>253 Whisper1: Linda: So good to see you! Happy weekend to you, too!

254. I'm ready when you are!

>255 PawsforThought: Okay! I'll PM you...

In the meantime, New Thread!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/172325