Getting Near To Baby

Newberry Honor Book

Author: Audrey Couloumbis

Number of pages: 211

Year published: 2000

Getting Near to Baby is a really wonderful, and sometimes tear-provoking, book that is told from the main characters, Willa Jo, point of view. Willa Jo and her sister go to live with their no-nonsense Aunt Patty after Baby, their baby sister, dies.  Aunt Patty thought it best to let their Mother be alone for a little while. The book starts off with Willa Jo and Little Sister on the roof of Aunt Patty's house, watching the sunrise.  Willa Jo narrates their story about how they first came to Aunt Patty's and how Baby died. She and Little Sister have many funny and interesting adventures and annoy Aunt Patty to wits end!

I really enjoyed reading this book, and for me, it was very thought-provoking. Willa Jo is extremely protective of Little Sister, and they both miss their Mom and worry about her. Willa Jo is a free spirit, and she doesn't like the ways of adults and, especially, Aunt Patty, who does not tolerate " young people's sass and disobedience." In a way, the whole idea of this book is a bit sad, and there were a couple of parts where I thought, gee, I really feel bad for them. Willa Jo feels responsible for her sister and she feels a bit resentful to Aunt Patty, I think. But we see everybody's character evolve through the course of the book. Yes, even Aunt Patty!  

I would recommend this book to ages around 11-12. It is thoughtful and a bit sad, as there are a lot of emotions flying around. 

All in all, a great book!!

5 Books 5 Days Challenge

Hello! I recently saw a challenge going around on Instagram, and I thought I might join in! You have to read any five books (less than 300 pages) in the space of five days! It is really fun, and I think I might start doing more things like this. I will be reading Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers, Cinderella by C. S. Evans, Getting Near To Baby by Audrey Couloumbis, Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, and Number The Stars by Lois Lowry. Happy reading!

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail

Author: Richard Peck
Number of pages: 229
Year published: 2013


Behold! Richard Peck, winner of many book awards, writes a fun, adventurous, funny, and lovable book. We join "Mouse Minor," a undersized mouse with a questioning nature, on a quest to meet the Queen and discover his real name and origin. The story is set in England, around Buckingham Palace, at the reign of Queen Victoria, in the year of her Diamond Jubilee. This book has a great plot and an interesting group of characters. Just the idea of a hidden animal world beneath our own sets the stage for a good read!

"For every job a human holds, there is a mouse with the same job, and doing it better."

The mouse with the Question Mark tail was a really fun book. It is funny and bright, and best of all, it's about mice! I loved this story as it was just an enjoyable read. I absolutely love Richard Peck, he has written some of the most amazing books. I've also read "Secrets at Sea," which is another great story about mice by the same author. I loved it!

I would recommend this book to around age 7 and up. It is a very easy book, and there is nothing dark about it whatsoever. Even though it is directed towards younger children, anyone can read it, and I can guarantee that you will love it!

GreenGlass House

Author: Kate Milford
Year Published: 2014
Number of pages: 373


Kate Milford has done a wonderful job in creating a mysterious, suspenseful, and lovable tale. Infused with action and a cleverly created cast of characters, there is literally something new and unexpected in every chapter! This is one of those books that demands your full attention, and you have to be right there solving it all along with the characters! It keeps you guessing until the grand finale, and is just an absolutely great book!

Milo, an adopted child, lives with his parents in their inn, Greenglass House. What Milo thought was going to be a relaxing Christmas vacation, turns into a swirling mess of unexplained history and mystery! Guests are coming in fast, and they all have untold secrets of their own.  Milo and his new friend, Meddy, dive in, and try to unravel the mystery, piece by piece.  With thievery, stories, secrets, and a whole lot of snow, this book has got it all!

I was browsing the 7-12 section in Barnes & Noble when I stumbled upon this little gem. The book jacket is beautiful, and there was just something about the quality of the illustrations that I love, love, love.  Some books are just like that... and books with interesting book jackets and illustrations rank higher on my list! I thought this book was very well written, and it kept me intrigued the whole time. There were a couple places where it got a little flatline, but all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it! If you've ever read the Mysterious Benedict Society series ( I highly recommend it, one of my favorites) it is a bit like it. I love mysteries, and this is definitely one of them! I can't get over all of the secrets and layers that this book has built into it, it was also fun to guess along with it. Great book!!

I would recommend this book to around ages 11 and up. There is really no violence; a couple of tussles, and no bad language. One of the reasons my recommendation age is that high, is because of how layered the book is. It can be confusing at times, with all of the (fictional) history and such, but is fairly easy to follow and a delightful read!

Peter Pan

Author: J. M. Barrie
Year first published: 1911
Number of pages: 207

J. M. Barrie writes an exiting book about the adventures of Peter Pan and his companions. I enjoyed reading this book as it was very descriptive and fun. Peter Pan is a classic, old English tale about a young boy who can never grow up.  He takes children with him to his home in Neverland, to have adventures of all sorts. They fight pirates, meet mermaids, make peace with Redskins (as they are called in the book), and watch out for the dreaded crocodile and Captain Hook! Peter Pan starts out a bit slow, and a lot of the writing is in old English, which can be very hard to understand. There were a couple of places where I was confused as to what the author was getting at, but overall I loved reading it!

I absolutely loved Disney's version of Peter Pan, and I expected almost the same story from the book, and that was not the case. They use all of the basics, but Disney's version is more kid-friendly, and I was expecting that from the book as well. Peter Pan himself is much different. He is immensely self-absorbed, cocky, and selfish. It's almost funny, the relationship between he and Wendy. He thinks of her somewhat like a mother and really nothing more. She loves him, and is frustrated and upset because he doesn't see her that way. He saves her a couple of times, but it is mostly because of what is in it for himself. In the end though, I think he is truly grateful for her.

Peter Pan is a great character who is fun and ready for anything.  I was just surprised at his true personality. Also, Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell is a fairy, Peter Pan's best friend and companion, but she is quite rude and mean in the book. Even though she is a fairy, she loves Peter, and gets extremely jealous and angry about the way that Wendy feels about him. She even tries to kill Wendy several times. James Hook, captain of the band of pirates that roam the island, is a surprisingly complicated character. Barrie tells a good bit of backstory about Hook, and his character. Hook is actually quite a conflicted person, and he his hard on himself because he feels he has to have "good form" because of what was thrust upon him in his childhood. Hook is also a scheming, nasty character, but his backstory really interested me.

All in all, I thought Peter Pan was a magical book! I would recommend this book for ages around 10 and up, because the language that the writer uses can be difficult to understand, and there is a lot of very descriptive and sometimes confusing places. There is also a bit of fighting, and occasionally a little bit of blood and wounds. There is more to Peter Pan than what meets the eye, so I encourage you to pick it up!

A TBR jar, goals, and bookish fun!

 Helloooooo! So, I decided that it was time to make my reading goals for this year! I would like to read at least 52 books in 2015. That means that I will read a book every week for this year! I want to include a couple of biographies, autobiographies, and some classics, aside from the modern and futuristic books that I so enjoy reading. That dosen't include rereads; I'm going to tally up my grand total as well, but I want to read a lot of new books! I will probably end up reading more, but this seemed like a very fun and reasonable goal!

Yesterday I saw this cute idea and decided it would be perfect for me (and this blog!). I grabbed a mason jar, some colorful tape, and got to work making an awesome label! This "To Be Read" jar will hold little slips of paper, that contain the names of books that I would like to read. I decided that I would pick a slip of paper out of the jar every Sunday, and that would be the book that I would read that week.  I will read the book, and then do a review post about it on here. 

This weeks book is... The classic Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. I'll get reading and posting again soon!

Wonder

Wonder

Author: R. J. Palacio

Year Published: 2012

Number of Pages: 310

R. J. Palacio has written an amazing story about a boy named August (Auggie) Pullman. He was born with a facial deformity, which has kept him from going to public school until 5th grade. He doesn't want to go at all, and he is extremely nervous about what others will say. When he sees the kindness of the principal of Beecher Prep, he starts to think that it might not be so bad. He meets some very loyal and true friends, and some people who do their best to bring Auggie down. August does his best to not let people get the best of him, but sometimes they can be downright awful to him.  Auggie goes through some rough times, and there are friendships forged and broken. Through this book, there are lots and lots of lessons to be learned on both sides. There are a lot of mixed feelings; loneliness, happiness, sadness, and pride. August changes so much through the course of this book, and I'm in awe of what a wonderful job the author did in writing it. 

Sometimes this book made me laugh, cry, or just smile. Seeing Auggie deal with all kinds of different situations was heart-breaking and beautiful. It teaches you lots of lessons in the sense of how people treat others. For Auggie, he has lived his whole life being homeschooled, and he had only a couple of close friends. Whenever he went to the park or walked down a street, people would stare and small children would point and become scared. Imagine.

Imagine having a deformed face and how everybody would always see you as different, or weird, or scary. And imagine when you go to school, where there are so many people and there will be people who don't care, people who stick up for you, people who are always by your side.  And then there are the people who bully you. They are rude, mean, taunting, and hurtful towards you.  They want to have all of the attention to themselves, and they think by being nasty to you will get them more followers, more popularity. But, Auggie, he stays true to himself and by doing that, he becomes more confident, and gains himself the trust and love that a true friend and companion should have and give.

I would recommend this book for ages around ten and up. This is also a great book for adults to read; my mom really loved it! Be mindful that this book conveys a lot of feelings; it can be very sad and also very happy! This book is really a truly amazing read! I strongly encourage you to read it!