Christmas Books: A Countdown

I love Christmas.

When I think of my favorite holidays, I definitely think of Christmas.  I also think of summer.  I’m not honestly sure which one I love more.

Last year TJ and I started a new tradition, inspired by this blog post I read.  Every day in December we read a new Christmas book, most of them checked out from the library.  You’re probably thinking, “It’s October.  Now is not the time to think about Christmas.”  But!  If you want the good Christmas books, you have to be strategic about getting them!  Let me try to give a brief explanation before getting to the good stuff: the list of books!

The trick about having library Christmas books in December is getting them early enough and then extending how long you have them.  Sometimes I feel medium bad about this, but there are so many Christmas books out there that I think people surely find others to love.  SO, I will look these books up on the library site early/mid-November.  I will put in a hold request for them, and because it is November they will likely not have a very long wait.  When they come in they will sit in the hold area for up to a week, and I will wait until the last day to pick them up, then I have three weeks until I have to return them!  So, that gets me to the middle of December.  I try to watch for which books I can renew (if someone else puts a request in you can’t renew them) and those books I save for closer to Christmas.  The last books before Christmas are our personal copies that we own, since I have to return the library copies before then!  Last year it worked like a charm, and I'm hoping this year will go the same way.  :)

Here is a list of some of the ones we liked best last year:
Christmas in the Country
A Creature Was Stirring
Millie in the Snow - probably our favorite last year!
Mortimer’s Christmas Manger
Mr. Willoby’s Christmas Tree
Room for a Little One
Toot and Puddle I'll Be Home for Christmas - we bought this one too!
The Nutcracker
Toot and Puddle Let It Snow
My Pen Pal, Santa
The Tailor of Gloucester
The Missing Christmas Treasure
The Polar Express
The Watchmaker Who Saved Christmas

I got this idea from Janssen, and you can see some of her past lists here and here.

As you can see, our list is not long enough for December this year.  Please - I'd love to have you leave comments of some of your Christmas favorites so I can get us to 25!

What I've Been Reading Lately

With a trip to St. George two weeks ago, Lake Powell today (wahoo!), a quick jaunt to Vegas next week, and Philadelphia in a few weeks, I am trying to pull together a list of fabulous books for flights, drives and laying in the sun.  I love reading and it seems the best vacations are measured in books for me!

What's I've been reading lately:


Kensuke's Kingdom - a boy that goes traveling with his parents is unknowingly thrown overboard but survives, alone, on an island.  One of the best I've read in a while.

Delancey - Molly Wizenberg's story of opening a pizza restaurant with her husband in Seattle.  I read Molly's first book (A Homemade Life) last year and it was pretty good - Delancey has gotten a lot of buzz and it was pretty good.  I had no idea how long you could spend playing with pizza dough recipes (I also didn't know you could effectively make dough with 1 teaspoon of yeast for 8 pounds of flour).  I liked this fine, but wouldn't reread it.  As fair warning, it had the f word maybe 4-5 times.

Fair Weather - I fell in love with Richard Peck through A Long Way to Chicago and A Year Down Yonder.  This book was about a country family that takes the long train ride (their first ever) to the Chicago World Fair.  I knew very little about the Chicago World Fair before reading this and was blown away by some of the details!  It was a great read.

Hattie Big Sky - This was a reread, but it was the audiobook we picked for the drive.  It's still a good one.


I grabbed the following for Lake Powell and am hoping some of them are great!
Pride and Prejudice
Jefferson's Sons
Here Lies the Librarian
The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail
Emma
A Family of Readers
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Provence, 1970
Banner in the Sky


I am also looking out for new books - what have you read lately?  Was it bad, good or fabulous? 

Wish you were all coming to Lake Powell.  HAPPY ST. CONFERENCE! 

10 Days and Counting!

For our fourth anniversary TJ and I decided to take a week away from work and head to Hawaii.  He has never been and it's been ten years for me: I am delighted to be going back.  We leave next Friday afternoon (10 days!) and will be gone for a full week. 

AND NOW, the conundrum: what books do I take?!  I would bet several of us define vacations the same way: lots of sun, water, and hours and hours of reading.  I can hardly wait.  But I need help - can I get suggestions of what to read?  I find I best like happy books or books that are uplifting.  I do not like rough books: not a fan of lots of swearing, violence, war, intense situations, abusive relationships, murders, etc.  I read for enjoyment, and far prefer to be smiling about the character I'm reading about.

Books I Really Love
The whole Anne of Green Gables
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Hattie Big Sky
Cheaper by the Dozen
Miracles on Maple Hill
Wonder
Out of My Mind
Little House on the Prairie series
I, Juan de Pareja
Dinner: A Love Story
Anything by Marjorie Pay Hinckley :)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
French Kids Eat Everything
I think I love books about food... :)
The Five Love Languages
Heart of a Samurai
Miracle on Maple Hill 

Please send me suggestions!

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

"Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured."

 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

I heard about this book some months ago and thought, "As introverted as I am, I probably ought to read that."  I have come to generally accept that I'm introverted but feel mostly inconvenienced by it, especially at work, where I need to be a team player and negotiator.  I hoped this would be an insightful read, and it was.  This was a great book.  Perhaps more than anything else it made me feel empowered as an introvert: reassuring me that there are many others that are also introverts that are highly effective and successful.

The book climbs through different themes, including how we came to be a nation that so highly prizes extroversion, what introverts are naturally good at and how introverts can be more effective at extroverted tasks.

There were a number of times throughout the book that I felt like shouting, "That's me!  That is me!"  One example:

"Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions."

I also found a great definition for one of my key characteristics, which Cain describes as "high sensitivity."  This is me to a T:

“The highly sensitive [introverted] tend to be philosophical or spiritual in their orientation, rather than materialistic or hedonistic. They dislike small talk. They often describe themselves as creative or intuitive. They dream vividly, and can often recall their dreams the next day. They love music, nature, art, physical beauty. They feel exceptionally strong emotions--sometimes acute bouts of joy, but also sorrow, melancholy, and fear. Highly sensitive people also process information about their environments--both physical and emotional--unusually deeply. They tend to notice subtleties that others miss--another person's shift in mood, say, or a lightbulb burning a touch too brightly.”

 I just felt so empowered by the whole thing.  As soon as I finished I handed the book to TJ and said, "Read this.  It will teach you all about me."  Overall, it was full of great insight and helpful tips.  I really strongly recommend this to anyone that is an introvert or married to, living with, or raising one.

Praise

For my birthday I was given the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - it is a marvelous book and I would highly recommend it.  In it Rubin devotes a year to her Happiness Project and each month focuses on a different aspect in her life and strives to make it happier.  I was intrigued in her "Parenthood" chapter when she mentioned the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk was life changing for her.  Rubin said, "As part of my research for the month, I reread, for the fourth time, the collected works of the world's greatest parenting experts, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, and in particular their two masterpieces, Siblings Without Rivalry and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.  I discovered these books when a friend of mine mentioned that two friends of hers had the best-behaved children she'd ever seen.  So when I met that couple, I asked for their secret - and they swore by How to Talk So Kids Will Listen.  I ordered it that night, and I became and instant follower of Faber and Mazlish."

I was intrigued because she read the book four times!  I figured it had to be good so I too ordered one right away.  I love this book.  It is full of insightful advice not just about raising children but on human interactions.  I wanted to share a bit from my favorite chapter "Praise".  

Praise and Self - Esteem

Instead of Evaluating

("Good"…"Great!"…"Fantastic!")

Describe

1. Describe what you see

"I see a clean floor, a smooth bed, and books neatly lined up on the shelf."

2. Describe what you feel

"It's a pleasure to walk into this room!"

3. Sum up the Child's praiseworthy behavior with a word

"You sorted your Legos, cars, and farm animals, and put them in separate boxes.  That's what I call organization!"

I tried this with my kids this morning.  We have never had such a positive morning.  Usually mornings are a mad dash full of threatenings and bribes to get everyone out the door fed, beds made and prepared for school.  It was a huge difference.  The kids were independent and proud of their efforts and results. I also found that I was giving sincere compliments and praise.  Instead of mumbling "good job" and only half noticing and acknowledging what they did I found I had to take a minute and really see what they did and think for a moment how to make them feel as proud as I felt.  I also felt a shift in my attitude.  Instead of focusing on negative I started searching for all the positive things my children did so that I could praise them effectively.

This is only one of the many little tidbits of helpful suggestions for better interactions.  I am nearly finished and can't wait to start Siblings Without Rivalry.

My Favorite Berry

Post title from The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  "Whoever heard of a berry with only one R?"

 

Each year since 1922 the American Library Association has awarded the Newbery Medal to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.  For several years, I have made an effort to read as many of the winners as possible and have had a ball.  The subjects and styles of the books are varying: some are entirely unengaging for me (...Strawberry Girl) but others make my heart sing (over and over). 

On Monday at 8 AM the 2014 Newbery Award winner will be announced from Philadelphia.  You can bet I'll be up early, putting holds on the books that are announced!  In celebration of that announcement, I wanted to share a few of my most favorite cherished Newbery books, both medal winners and honors.

A Bakers’ Dozen

of (some of)

My Favorite Newbery Books

 

A Year Down Yonder - I am not sure there is a literary character I love more than Grandma Dowdle.   A Year Down Yonder is a sequel to A Long Way from Chicago (not pictured - 13 is a hard number of pictures to work with...) about Grandma Dowdle's grandkids who have to come live with her (first during the summers and then for a whole year at a time).  She is a force to be reckoned with and most of the town lives in fear of Grandma Dowdle, but her heart is in the right place and she is a good woman.  It takes the kids a long time to learn that.  I read all three books (a more recent one was added titled A Season of Gifts) at least once a year.

I, Juan de Pareja - The fictionalized story of the (real) slave of the famed Spanish painter, Velazquez.  Juan de Pareja recounts his own history as slave of his wonderful master: I enjoy the descriptions of the art, the friendship between Juan and the whole Velazquez family, and the Spanish culture that forms the setting throughout.  When people ask me my favorite book, I tell them this one.

Hattie Big Sky - I have read this three times in two years and love it every time (as a note, this is a great audiobook and would be perfect for a road trip).  An orphan named Hattie, through unusual circumstances, inherits her late uncle's land in Montana.  There is a caveat, and that is that she has a year to prove up on the claim, which includes setting so much fence on the property and also planting so many acres of the land.  As a teenager she sets out to finally have a place called her own.

 

Miracles on Maple Hill - Since reading this book I have on my bucket list "watching sugaring season somewhere."  This is a beautiful telling of living on Maple Hill and experiencing the daily miracles of life and rebirth, both in nature and in a family.

 

Heart of a Samurai - A captivating adventure!  Heart of a Samurai is a rough history of the first Japanese man to come to America and his eventual return back to Japan.  I was fascinated by the contrasting cultures as well as life on the water.  (Note: Margi Preus also wrote Shadow on the Mountain about Norway during World War II and it is fascinating.)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - Calpurnia Tate shares a special connection with her grandfather: they both love the great outdoors.  They work together to gather information about the world around them, even while Calpurnia struggles against the system that girls and women in her time are "supposed to" fall into.

 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - This is based on Chinese folklore, about a poor girl who goes in search of the Old Man of the Moon to ask him to change her family's fortune.  The premise and style were so different from what I typically read; I was enchanted by the rich uniqueness of it.  

The Wednesday Wars - If I was listing these in any particular order, this one would be very near the top.  Holling Hoodhood is the only kid in his class that doesn't leave for religious activities each Wednesday afternoon.  While his classmates are gone, he is forced to spend time with his English teacher.  There is war in Holling's house and in the world around him and his teacher (bless her heart) forces him to read Shakespeare through it all.  

Princess Academy - As a general rule, I dislike princesses.  This book was nothing like what I had imagined.  A village in a remote mountain is forced to send all their girls to be trained to become the princess.  The protagonist is one of the girls there, and the one most likely to be chosen, but there are many struggles along the way.  A very unexpected storyline for me.

A Single Shard - Tree-ear is a young boy in Korea who is barely surviving while scavenging for food.  He falls in with a potter, who makes magnificent and elegant works.  Over time Tree-ear begins to train with him and learn how to create beautiful things.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - One of the best books I've ever read: this one just sucks me in.  An interesting tale about highly intelligent rats: their history and what they are working together to accomplish.  As a testament to how great this book is, I might just add that more than one million copies have been sold. 

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - The story of two children who decide to run away into New York City and live, in all places, inside the art museum.  I love the descriptions of each area of the museum every time (I especially revel in the accuracy!)  The two of them stumble upon an art mystery while there, but they have the benefit of night-time research.

For the full list of winners and honors, click here.

-Rachel

New Book Series - Ranger's Apprentice

The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan (Australian author)  is a fun and rather quick read.  The one nice thing is that the series is complete, he just did, I believe, his last book this last October.  Most of them are available digitally as well as in print so if you have a "reader" you can just read them off of there when you're rocking children etc.  The books are clean with no language or questionable scenes and I have really enjoyed them.  Apparently Danny has read them as well and loved all of them!

The series is about Halt, a Ranger (spy), and his new apprentice, Will.  The first book begins with Will being a young boy and it's all about his growing, learning under Halt, finding out about himself and his parents and growing up to be a honorable man.  The first book is "The Ruins of Gorlan."