New Puppy & Dirty Reads

By Library Romp - 1:03 PM

Mind boggling as to what our Boggle pup will look like?  It’s a hybrid Beagle Boxer mix.  And thanks to the varsity basketball team, he ended up with the name Kobe Bryant.  I kyboshed the name Ron Burgundy, so then was outvoted on the name Charles Barkley.  So now its puppy 101 and we are learning the basics of puppy ownership.  Tips welcome?

And while the rest of the nation is a frozen tundra, we are at whopping 73 degrees. And what a better time to begin planning this years garden.  FYI to our northern friends, the south becomes a heat box  earlier than most, so we gotta get the seeds in the ground early.  With that said, here's our dirty romps: Growing Vegetable Soup, And The Good Brown Earth, The Gardener, Sunflower House, & The Garden of Happiness.  Were keeping it clean here people :-P   And to share one of my favorite proverbs, “A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.”  - author unknown, Asian proverb. 
 
Not about gardening per say, but here's a whimsical book laced with tidbits of inspiration that'll make you smile :-)
 

 
It's not what you think! Leave it to the Japanese; there are ways to grow shaped vegetables.  Hello shaped cucumber molds.  ELICIT WARNING:  They do resemble that of a condom, but how cool this would be.  Never mind, the price is astronomical?  I’m sticking with my 20$ Pop Chef! I love the oddity of  Asian products, and curious what other obscure trends are out there?  So now you know where I'll be this evening.... @ the Asian market.

 
Mom Read:  With so many books about sex & keeping up with the Kardashians it’s a relief finding one like this. I’m reading The Book Thief and can say I’ve never read a book written by death in third person.  We can not fathom what life was like for a child living during World War 2; there were no fairytale endings.  Its creatively haunting messages will forever be imprinted in my heart.    
 
Writer thought:  They’re only a handful of novel plots, but it’s how a writer sets themselves from the rest.  The author Markus Zusak’s captivating manner & voice can only be described as word art.  The power he conveys with his words is an amazing gift, and I always feel compelled to personally thank authors like him for sharing their words.

About the book:  During World War nine year old German, Liesel Meminger is torn away from everything she knows.  She comes to learn the true meaning of love  and hope while living with a foster family, and Papa, her adoptive father. She, the Book Thief and Papa begin reading the Grave Digger’s Handbook, where here she discovers the power of words.  The language brings this poignant  story to life and it's vivid images of Nazi Germany will crawl under your skin. - Not a story for those under 13 years due to language & graphic images.
 
Watch the Trailer
 
 
This Weeks Romps
 
Pickles to Pittsburg
By Barrett, Judi
 
 
This sequel has the same retro feeling as Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, but the food here is much bigger and more out of control.  When Grandpa goes on vacation, the grandkids dream he‘s back in ChewandSwallow.  The residents here  leave the land of snowing popcorn and raining sandwiches until they can figure out how to handle the food.  Unlike the first book where the over-abundance of food was seen as a problem, the falling food becomes a solution and is shipped to hungry people all over the world. Judi Barrett has a great way with words that draws the reader into her fantastic food world.

The art in these two books has never been a hit with my Little Reader, and think they would go a lot further without the retro dated look.  And in case you were wondering, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 is a great movie, but not inline with this book, as was the first one.  
    
Eight Dolphins Of Katrina
By Coleman, Janet Wyman
     

A heart-warming true story of how eight remarkable dolphins survived Hurricane Katrina.  When the employees at the Gulfport, Mississippi Oceanarium weren’t able to move the dolphins to inland hotel pools, they were forced to leave them behind to ride out the storm.  Twelve days later the dolphins were found unharmed, and the rescue mission began.  Although non-fiction, it reads like fiction keeping the focus on the dolphins.  We chose to read the condensed summary under each illustration when the main text details started loosing us. Perfect for my seven year old aspiring marine biologist, and for every kid insisting they are going to be a dolphin trainer when they grow up.  
 
Martina The Beautiful Cockroach
By Deedy, Carmen Agra
      
 
Love to find unexpected library treats.  Especially when it’s a Cuban folktale about a beautiful green cockroach named Martina.  Who will have her “leg” in marriage?  Taking her grandmother’s advice she spills coffee on each of her suitors to observe their reaction, but in the end finds a mate who beats her at her own game.  - A great moral told in a playful Cuban accent. Little Reader compared it to her favorite book, The Leaf Men. 
 
Groundhog Weather School
 By Holub, Joan
  


A hilarious book filled with facts about groundhogs and weather.  Did you know that plants and animals can help predict weather?  Is it more winter or an early spring if the groundhog sees his shadow?  I believe it's six more weeks of winter in this case.  You’ll  never forget this and other adorable interesting facts after this comedic read.
 
Too Much Glue     
By Lefebvre, Jason
 
   
 
 The cover alone could be the star here.  Matty a full eyed sticky glue wonder gets into a bind literally, by gluing himself to the desk.   And when the situation goes from bad to worse, it gets even better.  Here’s a great tool for teaching what not to do.  Vivid, full of detail, and just plain fun!  If you’ve worked with kids then you’ll probably relate to teacher in the corner breathing into a bag.  Glue?  Teachers & moms either love it or hate it!  I can’t think of a better way to pull everything together.  What about you?  

You know how were all about going beyond the pages. Check out some super sticky book ideas on the Flash Light Press website. 

Little Reader’s Glue Suit 
Being the neat one that she is, I could not get her to use too much glue!






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If a book is well-written, I always find it too short.
- Jane Austen
 

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