A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

Friday, January 31, 2020

Furry Foster Books #readyourworld


In the past 2 years, we've fostered kitties and bunnies.  So I was very excited to get to review the My Furry Foster Family books!


We're big on animals around here, as you can see, with Grumman photo bombing my picture of the 4 books we received.


Although the suggested age range is kindergarten to second grade, my 9 & 12 year olds enjoyed reading them.


In Buttons the Kitten, main character Kaita slowly and gently helps a scaredy-cat kitten find it's place.


Betty the Bearded Dragon teaches lots of new things, as Kaita learns to care for an animal she's never encountered before.


When Kylee (Zach & Heather's dog) stayed with us for a few days while they were out of town, we got a taste of what it's like to have a dog.  Truman the Dog, however, turns out to be far more trouble than Kylee was!  Kaita and her family model patience and understanding while fostering him.


In Apple and Annie, the Hamster Duo Kaita gets to learn new things again, as she discovers the lovable quirks that hamsters present.  She also becomes a great animal advocate, creating posters to help them get adopted.


My Furry Foster Family currently consists of the 4 books pictured.  I would love to see a bunny story added to the series, as we've fostered darling bunnies.

Author Debbi Michiko Florence and illustrator Melanie Demmer create a charming set of books, featuring people of all colors.  As the mom of Asian daughters, I'm happy to see the main character is Asian (she's half Korean), and there are other races represented, as well.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.

MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Super Platinum Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings, Platinum Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, Gold Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS: A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press, Silver Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe, Bronze Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales   Author Sponsor Link Cloud  https://www.barefootbooks.com/l Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE. Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews

  FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
TWITTER PARTY! Register here!


Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Did you enjoy MCBD 2020 (or week, as it was here)?  I know I sure did!  As my kids are getting older, I've started purging some of the books we've literally had for decades.  It's been wonderful to replace them with more colorful and globally aware options. 

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Global Kids


Are we enjoying Multicultural Children's Book Day week?  I know I am!  Today's share isn't exactly a book, but it's fun, nonetheless.  We received the Global Kids activity card deck free for review purposes.


Global Kids 50+ Games, Crafts, Recipes & More from Around the World was compiled by Homa Sabet Tavangar & Sophie Fatus.  The suggested grade level is 2nd & 3rd, but I think the appeal is broader than that.


This is not a card game, but a collection of cards with different activities, some of which are games.  The cards are grouped:  Celebrate, Help Out, Eat, Play, and Create.  There are many fun ideas from many different countries.


This card Eat card features both a recipe from Turkey, and a custom from the United Kingdom.


We used ground cinnamon and ground cloves, because that's what we had on hand. 


And our Turkish apple tea turned out yummy! 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.

MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Super Platinum Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings, Platinum Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, Gold Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS: A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press, Silver Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe, Bronze Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales   Author Sponsor Link Cloud  https://www.barefootbooks.com/l Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE. Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews

  FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
TWITTER PARTY! Register here!



Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for our last book post for MCBD 2020!

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Let's Celebrate Special Days Around the World #readyourworld


I've always loved holidays.  Especially in the winter, we need special days to pull us out of the monotony of everyday life.  I was delighted to receive Let's Celebrate! Special Days Around the World, free, to review as part of Multicultural Children's Book Day.  


Let's Celebrate! Special Days Around the World is intended for kids aged 4-8, or K-2nd grade.  It's broken into two parts.  The main portion of the book is vibrant two page spreads for each holiday, with engaging illustrations by Martina Peluso.  The rhyming text rollicks along, giving us a taste of what children celebrating each holiday might experience.  I especially appreciate that author Kate DePalma gives pronunciation helps, to ensure we're saying each holiday correctly.


The holidays included range from the familiar, such as Chinese New Year and Dia de los Muertos, to the obscure, like Matariki and Nowruz.  The last 7 pages of this special book give more in depth information about when the holidays occur, a little bit about their origin, and where they are celebrated.  These pages give the book appeal to a wider range of ages, offering interesting information above the typical picture book level.  For homeschoolers, this would be a fabulous addition to an Around The World unit study.  

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.

MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Super Platinum Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings, Platinum Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, Gold Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS: A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press, Silver Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe, Bronze Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales   Author Sponsor Link Cloud https://www.barefootbooks.com/l Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE. Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day



TWITTER PARTY! Register here! Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Come back tomorrow and Friday for more multicultural children's materials! 

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Katie Woo Books #readyourworld


I'm so grateful that my children love to read.  We visit the library often (never often enough!) and we stop at Little Free Libraries as we find them.  I bring home books from The Book Den, where I volunteer.  Today, we're getting a jump on Multicultural Children's Book Day, which is 1/31/2020!


We received the Katie Woo's Neighborhood books, Good Morning, Farmer Carmen! and Helping Mayor Patty free to review.  


The books arrived right before Christmas, so I tucked one in my bag to help Katie pass the time at Shriners while we waited for adjustments on her new prosthetic leg.  She was delighted with the surprise.


The Katie Woo's Neighborhood books are geared toward the K-2nd grade crowd.  These books about community helpers align with K-2nd curriculum standards, and they have some great, open ended questions in the back that you can use for further discussion.  There are actually 5 books in this series so far, and I feel like we might need the other ones!


In Helping Mayor Patty, Katie Woo learns about a town council meeting, and the needs of various parts of the community.  She learns what types of projects tax money goes to fund, and ultimately sees a park come to her neighborhood.  I also appreciate that she meets and befriends a large, multicultural family in this story.

In Good Morning, Farmer Carmen! Katie Woo stays over at a farm and learns to pick vegetable and rise early to get them to the farmer's market.  We see some of the same friends in both books.


In addition to the books we received, there are several other Katie Woo books, including this Valentine one I got the girls a couple years ago.  As a white mom with Chinese daughters, I'm glad there are books where my girls can see themselves represented.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.

MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Super Platinum Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings, Platinum Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, Gold Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS: A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press, Silver Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe, Bronze Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales   Author Sponsor Link Cloud
https://www.barefootbooks.com/l Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE. Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews

  FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day


TWITTER PARTY! Register here! Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Join us tomorrow, and the rest of this week, for more great kids books! 

Monday, January 6, 2020

Books of 2019


I read 83 books last year!  I don't know whether that was more or less than usual, because this was my first time keeping track.  I volunteer at our Friends of the Library's Book Den.  It's a used bookstore and warehouse full of books.  We earn free books for our volunteer hours, so my To Read pile has become a To Read bookcase. 

The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you click on one, and make a purchase, I may get a tiny commission.  Here's some of the books that I enjoyed, or didn't, in 2019. 

Fiction
Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen.  I read Pride & Prejudice in 2018, and would like to get through all 6 Austen books at some point, so when I came across Northanger Abbey at a used book sale, I added it to my pile.  I enjoyed it, and was pleased that the movie is very true to the book. 

I also read several works of Austen fan fic.  Some authors were better than others at staying true to Jane's beloved characters. 

Victoria, by Daisy Goodwin.  I ran across a proof copy of this at Book Den.  We can't sell proofs, so I rescued it from the recycle bin to read.  I'm glad I did, the British monarchy is fascinating.  I also enjoyed the PBS series on Amazon Prime. 

Mount Vernon Love Story, by Mary Higgins Clark.  This was a surprise to me.  I usually think of Mary Higgins Clark as writing modern suspense fiction.  This was historical fiction, based on the life of George Washington. 

Another small book I read, but this one I did not enjoy, was Tracie Peterson's Silent Star.  This one was depressing.  I cried my way through it.  I usually enjoy Peterson's works, so this may have been partly because of when I read it.  The subject matter, combined with personal events, was rough. 

Let's talk Murder, She Wrote.  Now, when Donald Bain was writing the series, I enjoyed them.  But this Jon Land guy kinda sucks at it.  I've read quite a few of the Donald Bain ones, and after 2 by Jon Land, I'm done.  I won't be reading any more of his.  The Mrs. Fletcher I grew up watching on TV doesn't swear. 

If you know the YouTube channel Crash Course, you'll recognize author John Green from CC History.  I read his The Fault in Our Stars, and I was impressed.  (Spoiler alert:  I cried.  I cry at everything.)  I'm keeping an eye out for more of his books to come through Book Den. 

The President is Missing, by Bill Clinton & James Patterson.  This was probably the newest book that I read this year.  It was a little improbable in parts, but very action packed. 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris.  This was one of those books that lingers with you for a while.  I found myself reaching for another WW2 book to stay in this world a little longer. 

Non-Fiction
Wandering away from the fiction aisle for a moment...
The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman.  The Warsaw Zoo during the war.  The slaughter of the animals by German troops.  The hidden refugees.  The cache of weapons.  And the incredible people who lived the story. 

My Folks Don't Want Me To Talk About Slavery, by Belinda Hurmence.  I stumbled across this accidentally while I was researching for my trip to North Carolina.  Wow.  First person accounts of slavery, collected in the 1930s. 

While I originally picked up Asian Americans in the Old West, by Gail Sakurai for Hannah and Katie, I found myself reading it. 

Fiction series
The Aunt Dimity books, by Nancy Atherton.  I discovered these in 2018, and have read most of them now.  I read 5 of these in 2019.  The only one I have yet to read is unavailable in our library system. 

I discovered Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts books and read a couple of those.  There are a few more in my To Read bookcase. 

The Bookstore Cafe Mysteries are cute fluff books.  I found these in 2018 and read all the ones that were available.  This year, I read Alex Erickson's Death by Cafe Mocha as soon as it came out. 

What's Next?
Although I started The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I was ambitious in the undertaking, and have not yet finished it.  It's chewy reading, and after slogging through several cases, I set it aside.  I'm trying to read one case from this between lighter tomes, but I confess I am only about halfway through this 636 page behemoth.  I intend to finish it at some point this year. 

Since one of my favorite books from last year was The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton, I would be interested in reading more from her.  Although I'm not a knitter, I enjoyed a couple books by Maggie Sefton, and would read more from her, as well.  Susan May Warren continues to be one of my favorites, as I read 6 of her books last year. 

I do want to branch out and try some new-to-me authors this year, though.  I have works by Carl Hiaasen, M.C. Beaton, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Lisa See, Amy Tan, and Ken Wheaton ready for me to crack open.  And Eli has loaned me Blitzed, a non fiction book about drugs in Germany during WW2.  I have plenty of books to get me started. 

I've been slowly weeding books out of our collection, as well.  I've gotten pretty good about donating books when I finish reading them, but I have old books that I would like to read again first.  I pared down our board books to less than one shelf, just the favorites I couldn't let go of.  I've gone through the beginning readers a couple times, but we still have 2 baskets full of those, so obviously, I need to do that again.  I've started purging some of the picture books, as well.  Katie is 9.  We probably don't need over 4 shelves of picture books any more.  I also need to find a new home for our homeschooling books.  I may contact the local enrichment co op and see if they have a library I can contribute to. 

Most people read only 4 books per year.  Let's set the screens down a bit more in 2020 and get back into the magical world of books. 

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Finishing Up December


Backing up to before Christmas for a little bit...  We did a family race.


This was a 1.2 mile walk, so I knew the girls could do it.


Jack was supposed to come with us, but it was 2 days after he sprained his ankle.


After the race, there were goodie bags!


We took the girls to a local live nativity.  That's a friend's son, playing one of the Roman soldiers outside the Bethlehem town square.


Mary & Joseph


Katie's finished mission project.  90% of 4th graders in California make one of these.  We chose a mission that we've been to, Mission San Jose.


Sat through another elementary school production.


Did my 12th 5K.  If someone had told me last January that I would do a dozen 5K races in 2019, I would not have believed them!


Rousing round of family Scrabble.  Sam won.


Spent time hanging out with my boy.


Took the "kids" (they're literally all grown ups, when did that happen?) ice skating.  We met Zach and Brayden there.


Sam had never been on ice skates, and he did great!


I love the way he just throws himself into something.


I hadn't been on the ice in a decade, but I got out there and did it.  At one point, I looked around and realized I was the oldest person skating. 


Zach gave Miss Adorable some pointers.


Gosh, they're cute.  Notice Eli's gloves?  Those were part of our loot from the family race.  Super handy.

And that's it for December and for 2019!

Friday, January 3, 2020

Christmas Happenings


Best Christmas present this year?  Sam came home for Christmas!  His first Christmas home since 2016.


Least favorite December event?  Jack sprained his ankle.  Again.  He sprained the same ankle back in May. 


Miss Katie in her Christmas Eve pjs.  I pass out new jammies to all the kids sleeping here on Christmas Eve.  Makes for reasonably decent Christmas morning stocking pictures.


Feeling short and blessed.


Grumman got a new mouse for Christmas.  Last year, I got him a bird cat toy.  I left it on the cutting table in the sewing room, and come Christmas morning, I couldn't find it.  We searched and searched, and eventually found it under my bed.  Grumman had helped himself to his present a little early!  This year, to prevent that, I kept his Christmas mouse in the closed up tote with all the stuffed stockings.


Grumman's favorite toys are these specific mice that rattle.  Only he rips them up until the rattle fall out.  So I bought a bag of rattles, and Eli's been sewing them back into the mice.  We decided Christmas Mouse needed a rattle, too.  I think this was a good plan, because he loves Christmas Mouse.


I got a bike for Christmas.  Eli assembled it with the new tools he got for Christmas.  Win-win!


As we were celebrating, the neighbor brought over TWO mis-delivered Amazon parcels.  One was Brayden's gift from Buddy, a new Lego set.


I also got a Cricut (affiliate link).  Eli has been calling my gifts "your crikey and your trikey."  It's a little intimidating, but I've made a couple things so far.  I'm pretty excited about all that it can do.


Marines are sometimes referred to as "crayon eaters."  So Josiah made Sam a batch of chocolate crayons for Christmas. 


One of our favorite leftover traditions, Turkey Enchilada Casserole.  Sam specifically requested that we have this while he was home.  I made 2 9x13" pans of it, and Eli was disappointed that we didn't have more leftovers.


Eli and Miss Adorable doing day after Christmas at her house.


Eli tests out the assembled "trikey."


The annual faux gingerbread house making event.


I made a Crazy Cat Lady House this year.  And then broke a tooth a couple days later, snacking on the fence posts.  Sigh.


Eli's house sports a flag roof.


Katie's house had sprinkles for the path.  We ended up with like 5 jars of green sprinkles, so I may have encouraged their generous use this year.


Jack's creation.


Miss Adorable joined us this year.


Hannah's walls collapsed, but I like the China flag she has on the lawn.


Still enjoying Unstable Unicorns, a Christmas gift from Buddy last year.


I enjoyed a total of TWO rides on the new "trikey" before An Incident occurred.  We're off to take one of the wheels to the bike shop today.

I hope you and yours had a lovely holiday, and I wish you health and learning and blessings in the new year.