Becky by Lenore Hart

I got an early review copy of Becky by Lenore Hart from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program, and what a catch! I absolutely LOVED this book!

Imagine Becky Thatcher from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as an adult. Got it? Now, completely discard that image! Becky is not the prissy girl Mark Twain would have us believe her to be. She is now a mother of 2, married to Tom's cousin, Sid Hopkins, who is soon off to fight in the Civil War, which is nearing its end. The book takes us along with Becky to the battlefield, the Nevada territory, San Francisco, and even Panama. Life is nowhere near easy for Becky and her family, but she is strong throughout her trials.

You do not need to be terribly familiar with the story of Tom Sawyer in order to enjoy this book. My only real experience with Tom Sawyer was a cursory reading in 7th grade, and a similar experience with Huck Finn in 11th grade. Becky is a very solid character, and by no means perfect. Even now, she still carries the love for Tom that began when she was just a schoolgirl.

Read this! You won't regret it!

Picture Books

I'm going to start reviewing picture books on a regular basis. Reading picture books is one of the things I miss most about being a children's librarian. Who needs an excuse???

So, with no further ado, here are my first two reviews.


Featuring such names as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz on a Saturday Night by Leo & Diane Dillon is a great introduction to jazz music for little ones. You can feel the excitement of going to a jazz club to hear these musicians, tapping and clapping all night long.

The illustrations are simple and muted, but they complement the text well. After all, it's the music that's important. The book comes with a CD of samples of music by the musicians featured in the book, but the library copy had the CD removed. I feel that was an unfortunate omission, since hearing the music would have added so much. The book also includes a short biography of each musician at the end.

Overall, this book was enjoyable, but it isn't one that I could see kids asking to hear over and over, which to me is the best sign of a winning picture book.

Now, this was a delightful picture book! Based on the traditional children's song, "Over in the Meadow," Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes will have kids bopping in their seats, along with the parrots, boas, honey bears, and leaf cutter ants. This book is more than just a rhyming book. Kids are encouraged to count the rainforest animals, and Ms. Berkes provides her ideas for motions for the kids to do to the rhyme. Also included is information about the animals featured in the book, and a link to more information about the rainforest. The illustrations by Jeanette Canyon, photographs of relief art created with polymer clay, are vibrant and detailed enough to keep kids occupied for long periods of time. I loved this book and wish I had the opportunity to share it with kids in a storytime!

Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley

I started out really enjoying this take on the Cinderella story. Bella is the daughter of a nobleman who doesn't want anything to do with her after her mother dies in childbirth. She is sent to a wet nurse, who happens to also have been the wet nurse for Prince Julian. Bella and Julian grow up the closest of friends until circumstances separate them. You can sort of guess the outcome, since this is, after all, a Cinderella story.

I liked how the story is told from the perspective of different characters. What turned me off near the end were the repeated religious references. It just got to be a little much. I give this one 3.5 stars out of 5, but would have given it 4 if it hadn't started to feel a little preachy.

This book is a 2007-2008 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee, which I'm trying to complete. I'm not sure I'm going to finish it before the new list comes into effect, though. It also completes requirement #3 (book with a first name in the title) for Annie's What's In a Name Challenge.

What's In a Name Challenge

Here's my official list for Annie's What's in a Name Challenge.

1. A book with a color in its title: White Oleander by Janet Fitch
2. A book with an animal in its title: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
3. A book with a first name in its title: Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley
4. A book with a place in its title: Pompeii: Lost and Found by Mary Pope Osborne
5. A book with a weather event in its title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
6. A book with a plant in its title: Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

I originally had Blackthorn Winter by Kathryn Reiss for #1 and Cyrano by Geraldine McCaughrean for #3, but I ended up reading those in December when my holds came in at the library. Since I had specifically requested my library purchase those 2 books, I sort of felt obligated to read them right away!

I finished Bella at Midnight on Thursday, so I'll post that review soon.

Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theater

I just received this link over e-mail:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/index.html

PBS will air adaptations of all 6 Austen novels, plus a feature of Austen, herself.

I have to admit, the only Austen I have read so far is Emma, but I have plans to read more. I'm looking forward to this series!

Soon, soon

I have a list of about 7 separate posts I want to make. Not having my power cable over the holidays was a killer! I noticed that, for some unknown reason, Blogger is no longer blocked at work (although the layouts for the actual blogs at blogspot don't show up correctly), so I might be able to shoot off a few posts from work here and there without dragging out the trusty laptop.

Drat!

I left my power cable at work, and I had meant to update a bit over the holiday. Right now I'm sitting in the car with a car adapter so I can get my computer fix (thank goodness for wireless!). So here's a quick update.

I finished The Queen's Fool the other day. I'll write a proper review when I can sit longer, but I loved the book. Can't wait to read more Philippa Gregory!

I started Becky yesterday and am already very much enjoying this book.

I also started Blackthorn Winter, which is the second book of that title I've read this year. It is on the Name that Book list I'm reading from, but there are several books with this title, and I originally checked out the wrong one. I've now got the right one and want to finish it by the end of the year for the novelty of having read 2 books with the same title in one year. Yeah, I'm a dork.

We're almost finished with When Santa Fell to Earth. On that note, I should go inside so I can read to my children...

Happy holidays, in case I don't get to post again soon!

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

This is the first Christopher Moore book I've read, and I can't wait to read more! I love a book that makes me laugh!

When Charlie Asher loses his wife soon after his daughter, Sophie, is born, he's not sure he can go on. But his new jobs as daddy and "Death Merchant" give him something to live for. Who'da thunk death could be so funny. With characters like Minty Fresh, the enormous black man who dresses in mint green suits, Ray Macy, the former cop who can't move his neck due to an injury in the line of duty, and Lilly Severo, the goth store clerk/chef, amusing antics are sure to develop.

Fun read!

Cyrano by Geraldine McCaughrean

Prior to reading this book, my only previous exposure to the story of Cyrano de Bergerac was the 1980s movie adaptation, Roxanne, with Steve Martin. Sad, I know.

I have to say, I quite liked this book. It was a nice, short read, and I really liked McCaughrean's writing style. Obviously, the story is very different from the Steve Martin movie (no lovestruck firefighters :-) ).

I never would have picked this up if it weren't on the list for the Name that Book competition. That's the fun thing about reading from a list like that; you're exposed to different types of books than you might ordinarily pick up.

Overall, I just haven't gotten a lot of reading done lately, so having a quick read like this was great (it was only 116 pages long). I'd like to read another version sometime to see how much like the original this was.

Christine Kringle and other stuff

I received my copy of Christine Kringle in the mail today! Yay! I'm looking forward to reading that.

I got Becky on Friday, but need to finish up a couple of other books before I start a new one. I'm about 2/3 through both The Queen's Fool and A Dirty Job, and I'm almost done with Cyrano (which I don't think I've even mentioned here...). I'm still waiting to receive Dreamers of the Day, but that's ok, since I can't start reading it yet anyway.

My reading has sssslllooowwweeeddd down a bit lately. I'm just too tired to read much before bed. I read a few pages (if I'm lucky) and fall asleep. I have a new "system" going right now to help me get through the books I've started - I (typically) bring one to work with me, which I read while waiting for the shuttle and at lunch, read one while we read silently as a family, and read one before bed. Whichever one I read at bed is usually the one I bring to work the next day, since I've rarely gotten very far before I fall asleep. This way I'm getting a good 45 minutes read of at least one book a day, and by alternating, they're all getting a fair shake. I've really whittled my "currently reading" stack down for now, and I'm hoping to bring it down to only 1 or 2 personal reads (our read-aloud doesn't count, nor does my commute audiobook). Who am I fooling???