Trying to find a children's book to read that doesn't make you want to gouge your eyes out? Behold, the Gruffalo. Title: The Gruffalo
Author:Julia Donaldson
Illustrator:Axel Scheffler
Rating: 10
Readability: 10
Description:This is a rhyming story of a mouse and a monster. Little mouse goes for a
walk in a dangerous forest. To scare off his enemies he invents tales of a
fantastical creature called the Gruffalo. So imagine his surprise when he meets
the real Gruffalo... (From Goodreads)
What I Liked:
Okay I love
this book.
Like, for
reals.
It’s
probably one of my favourite ones to read to my daughter.
The rhyming
is perfect, the pace is perfect, the story is cute and fun, and the illustrations
are spot on.
You know how
sometimes you’re reading a book and the lines just don’t have quite the same rhythm,
so you find your brain trying to come up with better words? You don’t have to
worry about that in this book! It's fabulous.
Evelyn loves
when the Gruffalo appears, and when I read the description in a more and more
panicked tone. Then I scream in fear, "Oh help! Oh no! It's a gruffalo!"
It’s one of the most hilarious things of her life.
This is one
of the books in our collection that I don’t mind reading 12 times in a row. In fact I’ll
actually suggest it!
Bonus points
for doing it in different voices for each animal.
What I Didn’t Like:
Nothing. It’s wonderful.
The only thing I don’t like is that
I didn’t write it, and therefore cannot be the coolest person ever.
**I was saddened to wake this morning to find that the great Harper Lee passed away. By a strange coincidence I had just written this review yesterday. I'm sharing it now in remembrance of her and her timeless gift to the world.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. You will be missed.
Title: To
Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper
Lee Rating: 8.5
Description: Set in the small
Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression,To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of
8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three
years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused
of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee
chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and
tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up. (From
Amazon)
What I Liked:
Scout. Atticus. Jem. Calpurnia.
Boo. Miss Maudie. Okay basically every character.
I loved the relationship
Scout and Jem have with Atticus. He is their anchor in the turbulent sea of
childhood emotions. Immovable. Constant. He allows them to drift in the waves
of troubles they encounter, but he continually has a firm hold on them,
prepared to steady them should they need it. What an amazing man.
I loved how Lee used
characters as exceptions to prove a rule. In a small racist town, Atticus and a
few other good people stand apart.
I loved how Scout grew
throughout the story, and I loved her at the end. I just adore her spunk and sass. Seeing the very adult situations through a child's eyes offers such an honest perspective into human character. If by chance you haven't read it, I don't want to spoil it, but the moment when Atticus is at the jail is pure gold.
Full disclosure: I am
pretty sure I was supposed to read this in high school. I am also pretty sure I
just read it on Cliffsnotes. I know. I’m a horrible person. Don’t ask me why. Can
I blame it on my teen angst? Sure. But I came around eventually! (No one tell Mrs. Kish.)
What I Didn’t Like:
At times I felt I was being led around a small
Alabamian town during the dead of summer. Where was I going? What was
happening? Is there a point to this? How long will it take?
The beginning of the book dragged a bit. I
understand the need for world building but just felt it could have been a
little peppier.
And I loved Dill but sometimes wondered what he
was doing in the story.
Book Club:
Everybody loved it. Of course.
We enjoyed reading it as adults with children, which
gave us an entirely new respect for Atticus as a father. We all agreed that he
was a brilliant example of a loving, kind and compassionate man.
It was a great book to discuss, and made for
some lively discussion about right vs. wrong, how actions reflect a character,
and how much we loved Atticus.
Book club rating: 8.625 (No rounding here,
folks. You get all the information.)
Survival for Ki
Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal
waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables
from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their
chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not
working. Just when things seem worst, Sang Ly learns a secret about the
bad-tempered rent collector who comes demanding money--a secret that sets in
motion a tide that will change the life of everyone it sweeps past. The Rent
Collector is a story of hope, of one woman's journey to save her son and
another woman's chance at redemption.
(From
Goodreads)
What I Liked:
I loved the
idea of literacy raising people up. Up until Christmas I'd been volunteering
with my local library teaching adult literacy for the last 4+ years, so
obviously this is something close to my heart! In North America being able to
read and having a knowledge base of stories is just something we take for granted, so it was interesting to read about
someone experiencing literature for the first time. Can you imagine hearing the story of Cinderella for the first time as an adult? Magical!
Sopeap was just
such a lovely character. I always looked forward to what she had to say, be it
either her favourite quotes
(which were varied and interesting) or when she would philosophize for Sang Ly.
I really liked
the Cambodian folk tales. I was glad he included those. They not only contributed to world-building but were fascinating!
I appreciated
learning about Cambodia and its history. I knew a bit about the Khmer Rouge but
this definitely expanded my knowledge base and prompted me to do some research
afterwards. I love when books make me want to know more.
While not
everyone liked the ending for the Rent Collector herself I thought it was
beautifully fitting. A little on the corny side, for sure, but it suited the
tone of the book. I’ll admit I didn’t
like the ending for Sang Ly and her family. But that’s all I’ll say!
What I Didn’t
Like:
I felt as
though Sang Ly herself wasn’t a convincing character. For a supposedly
illiterate girl from the middle of Podunk, Cambodia, she certainly had quite
the vocabulary. Except when she didn’t. There were several instances of her not
understanding terms used by her teacher, and then on the next page using words
equally or even more complex. That pulled me out of the story and that’s never
what you want as a reader.
A character was
introduced, dealt with, and discarded before I even really realized she was
there. Character development on the whole just needed a little bit more.
Book Club:
This was a book club book! I enjoyed it as a book club read. It made for an interesting discussion and everyone had something to say about it, which sometimes doesn't happen. Here's some thoughts from a couple of my group members:
Crystal: I loved the book! I've never rated a book before, so I'm not really sure how that works... But maybe a 7.5/10? I loved that one of the themes I got from it was that sometimes your situation may not change much or get that much better, but that you can enjoy your life at whatever stage you are in, and find ways to see the happiness in life. I also liked the love of literature, and how it was presented as something that's meaningful to you, regardless of whether or not it's "literature" to someone else.
Erin (Other Erin) (Erin 2.0?) (Actually she's older than me, so does that make me Erin 2.0 and her just Erin?) (Erin H. We'll go with that):I would rate it 6/10. I enjoyed reading it for the most part, but I feel like something was off. I don't know if it was the male author speaking in first person as a female, or if it was that I couldn't get over the fact the characters were real but fictional events were happening to them, causing me to have false hopes of happiness for their futures. I felt like it would be if someone wrote a story about me and my life, but had me winning the lottery in it, or getting a PhD. Those things wouldn't be my life, so how does Sang Ly feel about her life being turned into a fantasy story? I think the author would have done better for me to have had fictional characters.
Extras:
I was glad to
find a page dedicated to helping Sang Ly and her family! Among other things the
author paid Sang Ly to autograph bookmarks that were included in certain books
that were sold. Some of the proceeds from the book go towards helping people
living in Stung Meanchey.
If you’d like
to learn more you can check out this page:
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner (which is also my anniversary, thankyouverymuch) I’ve compiled a list of our family’s favourite children’s books about love.
(This post contains affiliate links. That means I'll get a few cents on the dollar to put towards more books! Hurray!)
Here they are, in no particular order:
Emma - BabyLit - Adorable illustrations based on a classic. And it's about feelings!
Hug You, Kiss You, Love You - Okay, I put three of Joyce Wan's books in here just because I am head over heels in love with them. I kind of want her to illustrate my life.
Hello Readers. Look at other blogs, now back at Quillable, now back at other blogs, now back to Quillable. Sadly, those other blogs aren't like Quillable. But if you subscribe to Quillable, they could be. Look down, back up. Where are you? You're on the internet with the blog you wish was Quillable. I'm on a horse.
Readability: 0 (Due to my incomprehensible sobbing/reading)
Description:
A mother's
love leads to a mother's dream -- every mother's dream -- for her child to live
life to its fullest.
A deceptively simple, powerful ode to the potential of love and the potential
in life, Someday is the book you'll want to share with someone
else...today. (From Goodreads)
What I Liked:
Someday starts with
a mother remembering her baby, talking to her child, and then imagining what
her future will be like. The illustrations are gorgeous and simple water colours, done in a style that suits the words perfectly.
This book has the distinction of
being the only book to ever make me cry in the middle of Costco. Yeah, you read
that right. It’s beautiful.
The page that got me was right at
the beginning – “One day the first snowflakes fell, and I held you up and
watched them melt on your baby skin.”
I HAD JUST DONE THIS THE DAY BEFORE
WITH MY BABY.
Geeze oh man.
After that there was no hope. I was
trying to sneakily wipe away my tears whilst exiting the book section and
making my way over to the onions. I could blame it on those! But luckily my
husband and children found me and rescued me from embarrassment instead.
My older daughter loves this book. One
of the phrases, “your heart will feel like fire,” has become something she
loves to say.
“Mom, I’m so excited my heart feels
like fire!”
It’s adorable.
I love this book, and my daughter
loves it, and I love reading it to her, and it makes me love her more. It’s
lovely.
What I Didn’t Like:
I’m a big fat cornball so I loved
the sentimentality, but if that’s not your jam, be warned!
Japanese cleaning consultant Marie
Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly
simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most
methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to
pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its
revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact,
none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting
list).
With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy”
(and which don’t), this book featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will
help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the
calm, motivated mindset it can inspire. (From Goodreads)
What I Liked:
Okay, I’ll
admit it. I’m a hoarder. That’s the first step, right?
Well the
second step is probably reading this book and implementing it in my life.
I have a
seriously hard time throwing things away. I have notes I passed in grade six
stuffed in a box somewhere downstairs. I have every button-in-a-bag from every
shirt and sweater I’ve ever bought (even the ones for clothing I no longer
own). And I have about 394 knick knacks floating around my bedroom.
My single biggest take away from
this book is the permission it gave me to throw things away.
According
to Kondō we should take every single item we own into our hands (not
all at once) and ask ourselves if it “sparks joy.”
If it doesn’t, out it goes!
Kondō says that the minute something
comes into our possession it has fulfilled its purpose.
If it is a gift, its purpose was to
show someone’s love for us.
If it is a sweater we thought was
gorgeous but never wear, its purpose was to give us excitement when we bought
it.
If it is a book that has sat on our
shelf unread for years, its purpose was to satisfy a hope or need that we had
at the time.
If it no longer brings you joy, if
you no longer wear it, use it, read it, or need it, out it goes! So slowly but surely we're emptying out our home of all the things we've accumulated but that no longer serve a purpose.
I know a lot of people didn’t like
her anthropomorphizing of stuff and houses, but I thought it was lovely. My
poor socks do work hard all day! They deserve a rest! Showing respect for your
objects and your home can only be a good thing.
*Disclaimer 1: Okay there’s no way
I’m getting rid of my books.
*Disclaimer 2: Ain’t no way I’m
folding my socks. I asked them, they don’t mind.
What I Didn’t Like:
It was pretty repetitive.
She kept referencing things she did
when she was growing up, like throwing away her family member’s stuff without
telling them, and organizing the jeepers out of everything. She was probably
the worst sibling ever.
She always said “throw it away” as
her first suggestion, and then occasionally would say, “Oh yeah, or donate or
sell it.” Always donate things! Also sometimes you have to keep things you don’t love
because you can’t afford to buy new ones.
Extras:
She has now written a companion book illustrating how to fold and organize things!
