Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Oooh, I did like this retelling. It's basically Little Red Riding Hood but with some BIG TWISTS.



What can I say without giving too much away? Interesting characters. Nice details. I do wish the ... two? uses of the f-word would have been left out. I've heard her talk about that before and while I never like it I am willing to ignore it. I just really didn't feel like it "fit" the characters at the points in the story. Many other choices could have been made that would have been more effective. She's the author, though, and gets to make that choice.



Will be reading Sweetly. And probably sooner ... this book has been out for a while!



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Dear Poor Neglected Blog,

Little did I know when I started you that as soon as I would actually do so most inspiration would cease. Actually, this has made me that much more appreciative of all of the great bloggers out there. It's hard to come up with interesting posts when life gets in the way. Life will always get in the way, however. That can't always be an excuse.


So. As is the thing to do this time of year, let me consider some of my goals to make next year different than this year.


1) Read more. Don't let the TV become a mind-numbing past-time. More picture books. More middle grade books. More young adult titles. More grown-up/adult books. Also the internet. Those great book bloggers are wonderful but one spends all one's time reading ABOUT books there is much less time to actually read the books. (Side note ... as MOVING more is also a goal it might be good to add here that audiobooks will play a role in this reading more. Dear track/treadmill/road/sidewalk/dumb weights that I really hate but I know will help get my metabolism up ... meet the audiobook download. Commute ... meet either the audiobook download or the CD set.)

2) Spend more time browsing in bookstores. Seems like kind of a given but I don't, actually. Or I haven't so much.

3) Browsing in the library is fun, too. It's gotten to the point where I have so many books on hold behind the circulation desk that I rarely just venture into the stacks ... and that's kind of a bummer. Miss out on the thrill of the find that way. So don't let the holds overtake me. Check out the shelves.

4) Embed Goodreads reviews here. I'm never going to be a super detailed reviewer. But I actually do post over there quite a lot and it's silly to try and reinvent the wheel I've already written. Short and sweet. That'll work.

5) Post some of the cool stuff we're doing over at school. Well. And the cool ideas that I wish we could do but have trouble convincing people to try. At least this will be an outlet to think through those ideas.



Contemplated signing up for some challenges. I still might. For right now my concrete minimum goals are 156 picture books, 37 middle grade books, 35 young adult books, and 15 grown up books. I can do that and hopefully do more. But definitely that.

Thanksgiving's Over. Now We Move On ...

to OTHER holidays.


I still love The Chanukkah Guest as my favorite Hanukkah read aloud. I've seen other good stories but none of them seem to be as small-fry, not everyone necessarily knows what we are talking about, friendly.



Then for Christmas I have more favorite titles. I hope that's not unfair. There are more choices out there.


My Penguin Osbert

The Longest Christmas List Ever

Uncles and Antlers

Bear Stays Up for Christmas

It's Christmas, David!

A Couple of the Lessons I'll be Giving

in the coming week ...


Thank You, Sarah Hale
Was just poking around the author's website and found out she's actually distantly related to the subject of this title. Fun! LOVE the illustrations on this one and the kids find it a funny connection with the Mary Had a Little Lamb song. We'll read the book, try illustrating our own pictures of Sarah, talk about the qualities that make her a hero, and glue those words around our illustrations. Pics to follow.



Milly & the Macy's Parade
This will be with two classes ... buddies of first and second grade. I thought we'd start with some of the YouTube clips that I'm posting here. Read the book (Another one where I LOVE the illustrations!) and then create some "balloons" out of colored paper.

Some Link Love

How Cute is this little birdhouse made from old books? No idea what I'd actually do with it but think it's adorable.

Seen reminders about Robert Sabuda's website in several places the past couple of weeks. Of course the Star Wars ones are my favorite.

I've long followed Tom Barrett's stuff. Instructify mentioned his Interesting Ways this week.

Now I am off to read. I have checked out from the library

Grace (which I'm not ready to give up on yet ... but I'm not loving it so far)

Monsters of Men

Templar Salvation

Me, the Missing, and the Dead

Stolen

Thirteen Days to Midnight

Finnikin of the Rock

The Enemy

Greetings

Haven't blogged much this week. What time I had to myself (which wasn't much ... how do women with families do it? It's just me and I feel like I'm running around like a crazy person) I spent reading Juliet by Anne Fortier. I'm not done yet but it's so good. Must catch up on school reading soon.

Never did post last week's book list. Or this weeks. The updated of this week's is still at school. Last week's was on bullying and accepting others. Not gonna say this is the most spectacular list ever but these are some we have in our collection that could work and aren't necessarily on ALL the other lists out there.


Calvin Coconut Trouble Magnet (Graham Salisbury)--On this year’s Bluebonnet list!

The Rat and the Tiger (Keiko Kasza)

One (Katherine Otoshi)--Also works for an art lesson!

Alfred’s Nose (Vivienne Flesher)--Seriously cute photos!

Me and You (Genevieve Cote)

Mouse Was Mad (Linda Urban)

Tough Chicks (Cece Meng)

Can I Play, Too? (Mo Willems)--work with me on this one. It fits!

Slightly Spooky Stories

So ... I don't go as all out as I might, if I had walls in our library. It never fails but some of the people going through the hallway spoil the effect.


But I don't let it stop me entirely. For a couple of years now I have offered 15 to 20 minute "Slightly Spooky Stories" the week before Halloween.


I have a string of orange lights that we pretend is a campfire. A silly flashlight with buttons for screams or wolf howls. A CD of creepy noises. It's all in fun. The most popular (and creepiest) stories have come from Robert San Souci's Short and Shivery books.


This year I think I will add some of Neil Gaiman's read aloud of The Graveyard Book. And something from Half Minute Horrors. Some of those give me the wilies!