Winter

"One-match Bluestem" they call me. Well, I call me.

My mommy made the socks. They are toasty and warm.

Boo's book recommendations

Boo is in third grade and is a voracious reader. Half of my life's ambition is realized. One kid down; one to go. We go to the library weekly, and I often reserve books online and pick them up when we go -- a service I LOVE. Nothing brings me greater joy than hearing about a good book and surprising Boo with it. Please share your recommendations!

   

Disclaimer: I have only read a few of these books. I'm not a fan of censorship. Shocker, I know. Boo is allowed to read whatever she likes.

  

Here are the top two books she gushes about:

• Rules by Cynthia Lord
• The Big Book of Girl Stuff by Bart King (she read the Boy one, too. Just to be sure they weren't getting away with anything.)

Books in a Series

What is it with kids in this age group and series books? Most of these are well-known, but maybe the list has an idea or two for parents of kids who like similar books:

• Judy Moody by Megan McDonald and Peter H. Reynolds (also their Stink books)
• Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall
• Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell
• The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler and Sarah Gibb
• Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
• Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce
• Sophie the Great by Lara Bergen
• Clementine by Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee
• Non-fiction American Girl books (like Friends: Making Them & Keeping Them)
• Klutz books (like Me and My Friends: The Book of Us)

 Graphic Novels

  

Boo is seriously into this genre. Yesterday she asked me the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel. I said length. I just looked it up and apparently that's as good an answer as any. Binding is a side effect of length, right? 

• Owly by Andy Runton ("sad")
• Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi ("lots of action. Like Star Wars. Don't read them at night when no one is around.")
• Fashion Kitty by Charise Mericle Harper
• And a shout-out from me: The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Wordless. Beautiful. Recommended for all ages.)

Boo does photography

Boo took this photo with the iPad, edited it with Snapseed (cool free app) and emailed it to me. What a crazy world we live in. Remember when all we had was canvas, paint, and a stick with some horsehair?

She said something about Blue Bear being a girl, and I said, "What? Blue Bear is a girl now?" and she answered, "Of course! He's always been a girl." So that clears that up.

Happy Holidays

From our house to yours ...

And from the house down the road ...

I know this looks bad, but I swear we came by ours honestly. Family hand-me-down.

Book club!

Fear not, little blog. I will be posting again more soon. I feel inspired. Finally.

But first, our next book club pick is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I've already read it, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit of science. I found an interesting interview with the author regarding the structure of the book and having herself in the book as a character.

Now if you'll excuse me, N finished building (mostly) my beautiful new bookshelves, and I have a couple thousand books to sort and organize.

Book book bookie!

I ended up selecting Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. A quick read for the holiday season. A nice blog to accompany it is Black and WTF. More old and odd photos for your enjoyment.

What I look like

As previously stated, Nea (age 7) has limb apraxia as well as apraxia of speech. She has worked very hard on her handwriting, which is pretty good now, although still larger than it should be. Work in progress, like much of her life. But she can zip up her jacket. We have no intention of teaching her how to tie her shoelaces any time soon. Hey, if Daniel Radcliff is still struggling with it at his advanced age, why tortune her?

Anyway, here's a picture she drew on her iPad yesterday. It's me. Her people have had a robotesque look for quite awhile. I like them. Check out my biceps! Whooo! I do wonder whether I should have my ears pinned back, though.