Absolute Truth

The  Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

By Sherman Alexie

Well, I didn't love it.  I chose this book as part of a book challenge for 2013.  I am to read books chosen from 23 different genres this year.  This fulfilled the young adult requirements.  I was hoping for something similar to John Green and was sorely disappointing.  Alexie's book is about Arnold.  He is a high school student on the Spokane Indian Reservation with a long list of disabilities.  He likes to play basketball and draws comics to deal with his problems. After hurling his geometry book at his teacher, he decides to go to the "white" school outside the Reservation.  We hear some about his trouble fitting in there, his difficulty getting to and from school, his sister, grandma, and uncle all dying.  He cries a bit about some of that and then it is over.  My general feeling of the book was, "what wasted potential."  This COULD have really looked at the struggle to fit in and be an individual at the same time.  It COULD have shown us the differences between the two worlds.  It COULD have described traditions from the reservation.  It didn't do much of anything.  The book just floated vaguely along.  It was unremarkable and unsatisfying and I thought the doodles every few pages were ridiculous.

The Met

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum

By Jaqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser

This is about a little girl with a big yellow balloon that is visiting the Met.  Upon arrival, the security guard advises her that she cannot take it with her.  The kindly guard ties it to a railing for safe keeping.  Of course, it doesn't stay there long and chaos ensues.  As the little girl and her grandmother are touring the museum, the guard and a few friends are chasing the balloon.  On each page we see the piece of art they are viewing inside and a similar scene outside while chasing the balloon.  For example, the little girl is looking at the sculpture "Grand Arabesque" by Degas at the same time the guard is chasing the balloon past figure skaters in central park doing very arabesque-like moves on the ice (No, I don't know what it is called in skating.  Skating is very sport-ish and I try to stay away from that).  Here is the good part:  The illustrations are interesting, the story is fun, they both started shouting about Eloise as the guard ran past the plaza (I love reading retention) and being that my kids are museum nerds, they loved it and want to go to the Met.  The bad part:  It doesn't have any words.  Yes, yes I know all the benefits of wordless books.  I just don't like to read them!  I read countless stories a week and usually have to suppress a sigh when one of these comes across our book pile. The best-reason-why-I-am-blogging-about-it part:  The dedication in the front of the book.  It says "For our mother, Marcia Preiss, who brought us early and often to the Metropolitan Museum, and taught us not only to look but to see."  And there it is!  I think that is very profound for a kid's book.  I have been dwelling on it since the other night when I noticed it.  Can I teach them to really see things for what they are?  Can I show them to look beyond the surface?  As I was considering this, it occurred to me, if we could teach children to SEE other kids instead of just looking at them, would this rampant bullying all but disappear?  If they could see that the reason another kid keeps to themselves is because of a deep seated fear, would they tease that kid?  If they could see that behind the kid wearing tattered hand-me-downs was a single parent working hard to provide what little they can, would they snicker behind their hands?  I can't and won't believe that children are inherently cruel and refuse to wash my hands of the situation.  If I can just teach them to SEE, I think my goals of raising them to be kind, courageous individuals will be a lot easier.

99 Zillion 9 Trillion and 3

Dr Seuss's Sleep Book and My Many Colored Days (also by Dr Seuss)
Last night I was too tired to play games, so Doodle, Lula and I put our pj's on and chose a big stack of books to read.  We began and ended with two of the good Dr's books.  We are big fans of Seuss (with the exception of Oh Say Can you Say, I hate that book).  We have never read these two, so we were excited!  My Many Colored Days is a quick read about feelings.

We have a yellow day when we are happy and busy.  Brown when we are sleepy and quiet.  Red when we are feisty   Black when we are frustrated and angry.  It was cute and simple.  I think I will use it with Lula.  She is a typical three year old that doesn't really know how to communicate how she feels.  We will probably read it a few more times in the next couple of days so she understands what color goes with which emotion. I found some cute templates to print and do with her.  I might post pictures if I get around to it!!

 Then on to the Sleep Book.
I have mixed feelings.  While not my favorite story, it may be my new favorite book.  I'll tell you why.  The story is all over the place.  Much like One Fish Two Fish but more chaotic.  Every page is a new creature.  The creatures are not as memorable though.  Most of us can remember that the Yink drinks pink ink and we box in yellow Gox box socks or any other of the numerous whimsical creatures that those two little kids seem to have bonded into slavery.  The sleepers in this book though, couldn't tell you a single one.  Not very memorable.  BUT, I love it.  Why?  The book keeps track of all the things that are sleeping.  The end tally is 99 zillion 9 trillion and 3.  After we finished the book, Doodle looked at me and said "if I go to sleep right now, can I be the 99 zillion 9 trillion and 4th person to go to sleep?"  I immediately respond with an enthusiastic, "YES, if you hurry!!!"  Both kids ran upstairs and jumped in bed.  After tucking them in, they went RIGHT TO SLEEP.  If you know us, you know this is an anomaly in my house.  I will read this book every night if I have to!

P.S.  Our reading selection was inspired by my cousin Amy, she always does the cutest things during Dr Seuss's birthday week!!

Haunted by humans

The Book Thief

The Book Thief is a story about Leisel Meminger.  Death, the narrator, becomes aware of her when she is nine years old.  She was on the train to her new foster family's house in Molching, Germany during the Nazi reign, when her younger brother dies.  While he is being buried, the grave digger drops his handbook and Leisel steals her first book.  Death takes note of her.  The last line of the book is "I am haunted by humans."  Leisel is one of these that haunts him.  Leisel is a special little girl that is trying to survive the horror that she has to live through.  She begins stealing books before she could even read the words, knowing they would lend light to her dismal path.  As she learns to read, she clings to the precious few books she has to escape.  I find myself guilty of the same thing, though I do not steal the books.  How often have I turned to an old leather bound friend to briefly turn away from the troubles before me, emerging refreshed and able to tackle the obstacles.  Leisel focuses on the time spent with Papa and her books and makes it through the rest.

There are other really touching characters in the book as well. I quickly learn to love Mama, even while she is screaming and throwing things. There is a soft spot in my heart for Papa and his gentleness toward a struggling girl.  And then there is Rudy Steiner.  Death says "He does something to me, that boy.  Every time.  It is his only detriment.  He steps on my heart.  He makes me cry."  I can identify with that sentiment.  Every little girl needs a best friend like Rudy.  He took care of Leisel to his own harm in school and out of it.  He stood up for what he believed in.  He stood against teacher, leaders of Hitler Youth and Nazi's.  He gave bread to the Jewish people walking to Dachau and was beaten for it.  I laughed at Rudy's ridiculous adventures and cried with his suffering.  Mostly, I thought we all need someone in our lives that has as much substance as this kid does.  He stands out, he is remembered.  He steps on your heart.

Circus of Dreams

Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.” I'm not actually sure how I feel about this book.  I wasn't going to review it because of that but here I am.  I like it.  I think I do anyway.  Two old "magicians" have an ongoing challenge.  They select two contestants and they compete until the other can't anymore.  These particular contestants are Marco and Celia.  The venue is Les Cirque des Reves.  They create spectacular illusions within the circus attempting to best the other one.  The first half of the book is extremely mysterious.  Things begin to clear up later in the book but there seems to be some ends that do not get tied up.  WHO or WHAT is Alexander?  Who has this weird talent and where do they get it?  Never really a clear answer.  I love Poppet and Widget and their significant to the circus.  I like Kiko and Chandresh as they develop the mystery of the show.  I even like Marco as harsh and devoid of fun as he seems.  I don't really like Celia, however.  She comes off as kind of a flat character.  I wasn't totally unable to connect with her, I just wanted more from her.  It is a great story, great ideas.  I would like to be in or attend such an event!  The plot was not very driven, so it wasn't a terribly exiting book.  Interesting and magical are two words I would use to describe it and that is enough for me to recommend it!

Your mama is a cow...WHAT?!

Is Your Mama a Llama?

By Deborah Guarino

Illustrated by Steven Kellogg

This book was published in 1989, I'm pretty sure I read it to my kid sister in the early 90's!  If taken out of context, it could sound insulting!  Really though, it is about a silly llama that tries to figure out who tries to figure out which animals are the same species as he is.  He questions bats, seals, ducks, kangaroos and a handful of others before he gets it.  Other than just silliness, this book is fantastic for preschoolers.  Great rhyming and repitition.  It also helps kids identify animals by atributes.  I read this to Lula and Doodle while they were occupied with something else and not watching the pictures. They were able to guess most of the animals by their descriptions.  We bought this book so we can read it over and over!

Now that I am five, I know everything.

Room by Emma Donoghue


It is Jack's fifth birthday.  When he was four, he lived in Room, slept in Bed, ate on Table and played with Ma.  He had five book with pictures and five without.  He had a few various toys that were made of things such as cans and toilet paper rolls.  Ma is Jack's whole world and he is hers. When he is five, everything changes.  Ma has another name, many things he thought were just TV are real, outside Room and Skylight is not Outer Space.  He thought he know who he was and who Ma was but now everything is confusing.  He uses this quote from Alice in Wonderland to describe his confusion, "I hardly know, sir, just at present - at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."
It is hard to review this book without giving too much away.  It is told from the point of view of a five year old boy.  The first part is Jack describing his life in room to us.  The last half is Jack's discovery of the outside world.  Through his eyes we make all kinds of discoveries, such as "bees and humans should just wave, no touching."  We get to feel his first encounter with wind and rain.  We get to feel the frustration as he tries to figure out stairs and pulp and all kinds of other things that were previously part of Outer Space.
It is a gripping, funny, disturbing, emotional, philosophical book.  At one point Jack thinks, "When I was four I thought everything in TV was just TV, then I was five and Ma unlied about lots of it being pictures of real and outside being totally real.  Now I'm outside but it turns out lots of it isn't real at all.  Lots of the world seems to be a repeat."  It will make you laugh, cry and think.  I finished the book two days ago and haven't stopped thinking about it since.  I recommend it to all adults.