Mockinjay

I started this book with high hopes and then found myself not really liking it.  I can't really say why except that I got tired of Katniss whining so much.  I felt like her character just sort of fizzled out at the end of book two and for the first 2/3 of book three she just played around and spent day after day feeling sorry for herself.  I never saw her as that kind of person.  She had taken on being the provider at home at an early age out of necessity and sitting around feeling sorry for herself would have been a luxury.  Then she was dumped into the arena not once but twice and again, there is no room for whining or moping around there.  Then here is book three and she just cannot get it together and function.  She plays on Gale's sympathy but won't take ownership of her actions and then gets mad at him when he does.  And through it all she refuses to even feel a glimmer of anything nice toward Peeta once they rescue him.  She is mad because he wants to kill her.  Well boo hoo for her!

Now, having said all that, I kept reading and found the story to be pretty good until the end where I had to turn back a page or two more than once.  Katniss finally steps up, leads the rebel sharpshooters and discovers something that shakes her up and changes the entire way she views the war and the players in it.  But, the author seemed to rush into the end.  When Katniss runs to help her sister at the Capitol, it all just sort of runs together.  I had to read the page three times to figure out that she had been hit by the bomb and that Prim was killed.  Then it sort of rushes through the end. She is in her "old" room at the Capitol where she lived while she trained, then she was trying to kill herself, then addicted to Morphling, then not, then not eating, then free and back in 12 and living alone in the house and finally it all wrapped up in a more decently written way.  But, I found myself sad when it ended.  I want to know more.  I want more stories from other Tributes and their time in the arena.  I want to know more of the stories from the other districts.

All in all, I really liked the book and the series was pretty unforgettable.  Glad I read all three.

The Hunger Games

It is rare that a book grabs me from the first page and holds me completely in its grip through the last page. I usually drift and scan pages and skip. But not this one. My oldest daughter read the series and told me it was great. But really? What does my 15 year old know about good books? <cough cough....apologizes to daughter for not trusting her....cough cough>. I loved it. It was creepy in the right places, sad in the right places and had a fast pace that did not make me want to put it down. As a matter of fact, I started it at work yesterday morning and read it off and on all day. Then I picked it up as soon as I got home and read all evening and would not go to bed until I finished it last night. It was super! I loved Katniss and even loved Peeta. Part of me wanted her to go ahead and get rid of him at first but then I really wanted Katniss to open her heart and realized that Peeta loved her. BUT, that being said, Katniss is really in love with Gale deep down in her heart. 

So, I am ready to dig into the 2nd book and see what happens next. Super book!!!!

My epiphany

GOOD MORNING TO ALL MY CRAZY FRIENDS!!!!  It has been a wild morning here and I am JUST now turning my computer on to check mail and start all the junk piled on my desk.  Made a trip to the Courthouse this morning to file on my bad check folks....he he he....I know, I am a grinch!   :)   

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.  I want to share something with you.  Usually I do not do this but for some reason I am feeling sentimental today.

I want you all to do me a favor when you get home today please.  Take a minute and look at your family.  Husband, kids, mom, dad, grandparents, whoever you live with or have at your house or can get on the phone.   I was sitting in church yesterday morning.  I realized that I had snapped at my baby girl as we were getting ready, had not told my oldest how pretty she looked and had completely bypassed my husband and not even spoken to him and he was preaching a lovely sermon about Jesus being our Everlasting Father.    The only one in my family that I had really engaged was my middle child and that was to tell her to hurry up and get to church so we were not late again....(story of my life on Sundays).   Anyway, I felt just awful.  Then I realized I had not talked to my sister in weeks, my mom and I are at odds right now and she was sitting across the building with her feelings hurt, and I had countless friends that I have not spoken to in forever.  Needless to say, I was depressed after church.  BUT, I could fix this stuff.  I told my kids I loved them.  I made sure to apologize to my baby girl for snapping at her and I told my husband good morning.  Then I called my sister and talked to my mom for a  while.  By the time we took our youth group caroling at 2:00 I realized I had repaired a couple of friendships that had cobwebs hanging on them and I thanked God that I had had this epiphany---- What if I never saw any of these people again?  Life is short and so fleeting.   PLEASE go home and hug your family and tell them you love them, even if it means STOPPING what you are doing to make a phone call.  Even if you are arguing with one or two dozen of them....lol.  They are family and you may not get to see them again.  I never want my kids or husband to think I was cross with them or did not love them.  And I don't want my friends to think that either.  So just so you know--- I LOVE YOU GUYS!  You keep me sane and I am so glad to have you in my life.  Hang in there.  Have a wonderful, merry Christmas and while you are out on holiday be safe and careful.  

That is my preaching for the day!   

Allie

Explosive Eighteen

Started this one first thing this morning and just finished it.  I loved it!  It was just a hoot from the start til the end.  I have laughed all day long.  Poor Stephanie gets chased by crazies through the whole thing.  I love how she just started using the stun gun on the two fake FBI agents and how she hit Raz with the wine bottle and dragged him out into the hall.
So the question is still this---- I know Stephanie just "pretended" to be married to Ranger in Hawaii but what really happened? Is he okay with it being something more permanent?  I love that he and Morelli finally tied up and fought it out.  Now Stephanie still just has to choose which one she really wants to be with more.  Personally I am pulling for Ranger....yum.
Super book and I CANNOT wait for June 2012 for the next one even though it won't be a Stephanie book.  I just love all of Evanovich's books.  :)

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Smokin' Seventeen

I had to pick a book to read today at work and I realized that I had not gotten around to read this one yet.  So I started it and am trying already not to laugh out loud so people wonder what is going on in here.  Cannot wait to get into this one.

Finished it with about 10 minutes to spare before I leave work today.  LOVED IT!  It was funny and had a great storyline.  I love that Stephanie finally hooked up with Ranger again. But I also want her to get back with Morelli too.  And Grandma still makes me laugh.  My favorite part was Lula and the vampire rooster.

Cannot wait to start the 18th one tomorrow.

Dixie Divas

This was a cute book and I really enjoyed it.  Mature Southern women + a little romance + comedy + a murder mystery= a great book to pass the time.  Nothing too deep or too serious.  I read it at work and was able to set it down when I needed to and then pick it back up without losing the thread.

My Quilt

Well I officially started my quilt on November 15.  It is now November 28 and I have made a lot of progress on it.  I did not have enough fabric to do all the squares I wanted so I am going to have to improvise some and come up with another plan to stretch the design and blocks that I do have.  Right now I will have 6 blocks across and 6 blocks down.  In between I will figure something else out.  I have 8 blocks completed and hope to work some more on it tonight.  I am hoping to have it done in time for Rodney and Lynn for Christmas but it may not work out that way.  I will just have to wait and see.

American Nightmare

I found this book very hard to read. The writing seemed choppy and forced.  It was a great story underneath but the whole thing to me felt like the author was shoveling it out super fast in order not to forget something or so he did not miss anything.  But that created a jumbled mess especially toward the end.  I had to repeatedly re-read whole sections and try to make sense of who was doing what to whom.  There were words missing out of sentences (that may be a computer issue- I don't know) and some words that were used made NO sense at all in the context.  It reminded me of when one of my kids tries to tell me something at the dinner table.  They will take a deep breath, open their mouth and just start spewing out words super fast so they can get it all out in that one breath.  If the author had slowed down, taken a breath, and then continued to write, it would have been a great story.  It had a good foundation but lacked much else on top of that.

Brutal 2

Pretty intense and great!  But TOO SHORT!!!! I need to know more about this story please.  I don't know if there will be more but if there is I am going to have to find it and read it now.  Great quick story that built onto the first one.  I still think this is going to make a great book once it all comes together.  ;)

Brutal

Pretty good short story. Would have been interesting to see where it went if it had been fleshed out and lengthened. It had my attention and kept me reading though

The Basement by Stephen Leather

Every once in a while you come across a story that has an interesting twist.  This was one of those.  I kind of figured it out about 1/2 way through and was sure about it a few pages later but it still was a great quick read that kept my interest.  I only wish it was longer.  It had great potential to be a full sized novel if the characters and the storyline had been fleshed out and expanded.  But still, it was an entertaining and enjoyable read.

Jimmy

*** DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!***  I did like it though as it kept me turning the page and I hoped that Jimmy would make the right decision.  But I also knew he couldn't because he had already allowed the girls to see him and know who he was.

Talk about a book where one person's actions cause a HUGE ripple effect.  This was it.  It is a graphic and explicit book and one not to be read by anyone sensitive to bondage/sexual assault issues.  It was pretty strong stuff.   Let me see if I can sort out the characters and what happens.

Jimmy is a high school Senior with no real plans in life.  He is smart, funny, good looking and likeable....if you know him.  To others though he is an outcast of sorts.  Up until the past few years he had been picked on and bullied by a group of boys. Jimmy has developed a taste for bondage though and decides it is time to act out his most secret fantasies of kidnap, rape, and ultimately, murder.

Brett, the leader of the boys that have bullied Jimmy, is merciless and does not know that some of the other boys have had confrontations with Jimmy and are tired of picking on him and bullying him because they fear him.  They don't know why they fear him but he has started standing up to them and there is just something in his eyes that is not right.  But not Brett. He keeps on and keeps on.  He does not know about Jimmy's darkest secret though.

Alan is Jimmy's younger brother and looks up to Jimmy.  He starts to see that something is NOT right. He sees Jimmy go on bike rides at all hours of the day and night.  He sees that there is something in his eyes that is not right and his behavior is just off.  But he does not say anything to anyone.

Tina is a long time friend of Jimmy and likes him a lot.  He likes her too and they begin a sexual relationship just prior to going to the Prom together.  It is the first time either of them have been in a serious relationship and they are both enamored and in "love" with each other.

Samantha is the first girl that Jimmy kidnaps and hides in the storm shelter of an abandoned house.  He does not really have a good plan but is fascinated with hanging her from her wrists.  He has not considered the whole plan though.  He just knows he is going to keep her there til he is done with her and then kill her.

Meagan is Samantha's best friend and is the ONLY one other than Samantha's mom that believes she has been kidnapped.  Meagan's father is the Sheriff but they don't have a good relationship so Meagan does not go to him with her fears and theories.  Instead she sets of on her own search and ends up running into Jimmy.  He actually set it up where she would run into him so he could kidnap her as well and take her to the shelter.  This is where Jimmy's plan goes terribly wrong for him.  He cannot control Meagan like he controlled Samantha.  She fights him and causes him to panic.  During one of their fights he hits her in the face with a metal bucket and ends up killing her.

It all unravels on Prom night.  Jimmy made the mistake of throwing away all his bondage videos that he had been collecting in a trash can at school.  Brett and his friend find them and decide to use them to lure Jimmy to the old house where they can beat him up.  Jimmy beat Brett's friend almost to death and goes to the house where he shoots Brett, shoots his brother by mistake, and allows the police to shoot and kill him.

Now for the ripples that spread from there.....  As I said, Meagan died.  She was not even supposed to be there in the first place.  Jimmy dies, leaving behind a girlfriend who is confused and wonders if there was anything she could have done.  Samantha lives but finds out she is pregnant and at the end of the book is getting ready to down a whole bottle of sleeping pills.  While recovering, Alan is trapped in the house when someone firebombs it and he is burned to death.

So one boy's decision to kidnap one girl ended up tearing apart a whole community and causing a family to lose both their sons.  This was a dark book but shows that one person's decision for good or bad can cause a world of difference in everyone else's lives.

I Was A Brooding Teenage Vampire by Demitri Mitchell

This was a refreshing vampire read for a change....lol.  It was a complete satire and farce of what all these weepy, teenage vampire books out now are all about.  Poor Demitri is a teenage vampire that feels like his life is pointless.  He goes to school, meets a girl who is uncontrollably drawn to him, they have sex, she has an accident of some sort that draws blood, he dismembers her, drains her blood, burns down her house and moves to another town.  He can't help himself.  It happens over and over and over.  Finally he meets Alina and something is different.  She wants nothing to do with him and he is obsessed with her.  But she has a stalker who is a vampire hunter.  Of course, he has a stalker too.  It is just one silly situation after another with everyone stalking everyone else and all sorts of teenage angst.  It was pretty silly and funny and a great change of pace.  There are vague references to different books and movies and it was a short, quick read.

Sunday, November 6

It has been a LONG time since I have posted here.  It has been super busy around here.  Maddie has been doing great in band but we have stayed busy running with that.  So I am back now, I hope.  Work is good and super busy.  I just got back from a two day conference in Tuscaloosa.  I learned a lot about the bookkeeping system and hope it helps me do my job better.

Okay, that is all for now.  I am going to head to bed and hope to sleep tonight.

Farm of Dead Things

Farm of the Dead Things: the Glenda Barker Story by Tennessee Hicks

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It seems that zombies are all the rage now. This is a fast paced story about a news crew that goes in search of their big break story. Nearby there has been a disturbance at a rundown, out of the way graveyard. So off they go, cameras in hand, hoping to find evidence of graverobbers. What they find is much much worse. They find out rather quickly that it is zombies coming out of the graves. They witness the zombies break free from the graveyard, killed a luckless motorist and finally, while they are following the zombies, they are trapped at a farmhouse with Glenda Barker, who admits that she called them forth in hopes of being famous and making money by raising dead people for their families. But that does not work out for poor Ms. Barker. In the end, the film crew hides out in the bathroom while the zombies eat Ms. Barker. Later, the government officials show up and "clean up" the mess. This was a super quick read but did amuse me.



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Recalculating

Recalculating by Jennifer Weiner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Interesting quick story about a woman who finally has enough of her abusive husband and takes advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself to "help" him out of this world so to speak. But sometimes the dead have other plans and don't want to stay dead. In the end, the woman learns to take control of her own life and does manage to rid herself of her husband AND his evil little gift that he left behind for her. Cute and quick and different.



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Georgia Bottoms

Georgia Bottoms, is a 30 something Southern "lady" from Six Points, Alabama. From all outward appearances she has it all together. She is single by choice and takes care of her aging and increasingly forgetful mama, and her brother, who is always getting into some sort of trouble. She wears fashionable clothes, is friends with the female mayor and attends church EVERY Sunday because that is what good Southern ladies do. However, appearances can be deceiving. Ms. Georgia Bottoms has a side life that no one in town is aware of, even her own Mama who lives in the main house. Georgia entertains a different influential man in town one night per week, six nights out of the week. One is the bank manager, one the sheriff, and one is the preacher of her church. She has never asked them for money for her company but they all leave her a gift when they go. Until....it all comes unraveled. Just when Georgia thinks she has a handle on the next crisis, something else happens. Her secrets keep popping out all over and before long she is swimming in a pool of lies and carefully engineered plans and schemes. She cannot seem to keep it together and then it gets worse. The biggest secret of her entire life is exposed and she has no choice but to step up to the plate and figure a way out of the fallout.

I loved the characters because they are familiar to me. I have lived in a small Alabama town and even now, live in a larger town but with the same kind of people. My ABSOLUTE favorite part is when Georgia gets Eugene Hendrix "re-assigned" by the Baptist Convention and then calls the moving truck to show up on their steps and move Eugene and Brenda, just out of spite. I would do that. Great, fast read that had some unexpected twists and turns and kept me turning page after page.

I think that this is a book that you will either like or hate. There were parts of Georgia that I did not like at all. But she is a scrapper and found a way to take care of her family in her own way. If you are easily offended by adultery, lies, vapid females with no real sense of the outside world, etc. then this book is not for you.

Where the Wild Things Are

One of my most favorite books EVER! As a mom, I have had these kind of days-- you get the house clean and suddenly here comes your child, fork in hand, terrorizing the dog, pretending to be a wolf and telling you he won't eat what you are cooking because he is a cannibal. Oooookay! Enough! Go to your room (and you add the threat about not getting dinner just out of spite). If Max had a bad mom his dinner would not have still been warm on the table when he woke up from his nap or whatever you want to call his trip. :)

Max does get sent to his room and while there a wild and magical forest grows and grows and grows. Out of the forest comes a herd of wild animals. Now here is Max...a human among wild, man eating animals, so he has to improvise and posture a little. Yep, laws of survival kick in. Max has to step up and be the biggest and the baddest and let those animals know who is boss. So he makes himself their king. And they let him. They could have gobbled him up but let's face it, they were ALL having too much fun. But all fun things have to end sooner or later. Max is sleepy and he misses mama and he IS still hungry. So he tells his monster friends goodbye and sails away back home where momma has his supper waiting on him and it is still warm.

Max had a great imagination whether he was asleep or awake. He was content to play by himself and make up a whole story about what was happening. He did not need video games or expensive play things. He had a wolf suit and a fork and he was good to go. Bravo, Max!

[book:Where the Wild Things Are|19543]

The Ugly Duckling

This is the classic story of not judging people by their outside looks. Poor little ugly duckling. He is just not right is he? He does not look like his brothers and sisters. He is gangly and clumsy and SOOOOO ugly. The other ducks are afraid of him so they torment him. But his momma loves him anyway. Even if he is not the same. She loves him. Then one day, months later, the little ugly duckling finds out something. He is not ugly. He is beautiful. Much more beautiful than his brothers and sisters. He is a gorgeous swan. Graceful and delicate and just perfect. It was what he was all along. It just took him longer to get there than it took the ducks. Good lesson for everyone in life. Don't target and torment and bully people who are different than you because one day, they might be prettier or better than you at something and you will have to eat those ugly words.

[book:The Ugly Duckling|122967]

Rumplestiltskin and Other Grimm Tales

I am a big fan of short stories and Rumplestiltskin and Other Grimm Tales fit into this bill. Of course, they are stereotypically gender biased. Poor dumb miller's daughter gets sold into the kings hands by her sorry and greedy father. He tells the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold. Well if she was so good at that, why did he turn her over to the king? Would he not have rather hidden her away and made her spin for HIM? The king should have asked a few more questions but you know how it goes. Now the King has the girl and tells her if she does not get to work, he will kill her. Not exactly words of love and endearment. He should really work on his wooing skills. Then out of nowhere pops this creepy little elf or goblin or something and works out a deal with the girl. He will turn it into gold for her BUT she has to give him all her possessions including her firstborn child. Now maybe the miller's daughter has seen the future and knows that once her kid reaches oh, 14 or 15 year of age, that will be a sweet deal for her. I mean, she would have to buy him/her a pony to drive, insurance for said pony, clothes for the dances, etc etc etc. Maybe that is why she agrees or maybe, just maybe, she is not so dumb after all. But she has to figure out his name. He is so sure that she will NEVER guess it but in the end, the not so dumb girl guesses correctly, marries the rich old king (who will die and leave her loads of cash) and gets to keep her beautiful baby. Ha! Maybe that was her plan all along....who knows? But it was a good story. I like the illustrations because they were a bit different and kind of distorted. Like me.... :)

[book:Rumpelstiltskin|280240]

The Giant Jam Sandwich

If I had to choose on of my favorite books growing up, this one would be in the top 5. I remember pulling it off the shelf and noticing the edges were a little worn and the spine was a little loose. This is a great story about all the people pulling together to make a GIANT jam sandwich to trap the nasty wasps that were terrorizing them. They could not fix the problem one man alone but together, they were able to bake a huge loaf of bread. Together they were able to churn a massive amount of butter. Together they made vast quantities of jam. And when the time came--- SPLAT! They trapped the wasps and together they hauled the sandwich out to sea with helicopters and balloons and airplanes and everything else.

This book show kids that working together accomplishes bigger things than trying to go it alone. Great book for all kids.

[book:The Giant Jam Sandwich|904812]

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This was probably my least favorite of the Little House books. But it was still an okay book. I guess it is because growing up, I watched the show religiously and really did not like Almanzo when he came on the scene. I kind of thought he was spoiled and petty. So I guess I was not able to leave my predjudices behind when I read this. Anyway, it is in the same vein as the other Little House books. Tells about his family and his growing up and how he always loved his papa's horses and wanted to take care of them. Good read. Maybe I will re-read it one day and have a different take on it. Who knows!

[book:Farmer Boy|8252]

The Emperor's New Clothes

I ask my kids what they thought the moral of the story is. Here are their answers.

The 14 year old: Don't be an idiot. Any moron should know that they are naked no matter what they are being told.

The 11 year old: If you can't tell you are naked, you should not be king. Let the kid be king. At least he could see the truth.

The 9 year old: Always tell the truth, even if it makes people sad or cry.

So there you go. All three are girls and they all had a different take on it. I always liked this story even though it was amazingly silly. It takes a kid though to stand up and tell the truth even though it was embarrassing to the ruler of your country. And good for the king who accepted the fact that he had been fooled and tricked and took it gracefully. Good cute book and one that I hope is around for a long time.


[book:The Emperor's New Clothes|343002]

The Social Triangle by O. Henry

While I have some down time here at work today I picked up a collection of short stories by O.Henry. I have decided to take each one and blog it individually to give it it's proper credit.

The first one is The Social Triangle. It is very short but very powerful. Here is the premise of it...

Ikey Snigglefritz is a tailor's apprentice. On payday, he finishes work, collects his wages and goes down to the bar. Ikey is on the bottom rung of society. He is poor and will never be anyone important in his world. He goes to see his idol, the man he mosts admires, Billy McMahan. Billy is a politician of sorts. Whatever he says goes down in that part of town. Ikey admires him, as do so many other men who are much more powerful and influential than Ikey. Ikey gets brave and in a rash moment, approaches Billy and invites him to have a drink with him. Ikey throws his entire paycheck into buying liquor for men much wealthier than him in an effort to impress Billy. When Ikey gets home his mother and sisters beat on him and scold him for losing all his money but he does not care. He has shaken the hand of Billy McMahan. Meanwhile, in a restaurant across town, Billy McMahan and his wife are dining together. Many if not all of the other patrons do not care for Billy and it bothers his wife. It is hurting her own social standing and keeping her out of the most elite circle. But Billy does not see this. He is fixated on his own idol who sits across the room- Cortlandt Van Duyckink. Van Duyckink is a very powerful man who can make or break anyone in town. He is very wealthy and as you will find out, spends a good bit of his time doing social work and helping to improve other people's lives. Billy has a fit of braveness and approaches Van Duyckink to tell him that he would love to help him do his work in the slums because Billy pulls a lot of weight down there. Van Duyckink is grateful and tells Billy he would appreciate his help. Billy goes back to his table full of hopes and pride because he just shook the hand of the man he admires most while his wife is overjoyed that they are NOW finally in the inner cirlce because Billy is acquainted with Van Duyckink. Finally we see Van Duyckink driving his fancy car through the slums with a lady friend and commenting on the deplorable conditions. He tells her of the improvements he wants to make and how he wants to help the people have better lives. He sees a man come out of a building and he jumps from the car and runs up to the man. Van Duyckink shakes the man's hand and tells him that he is going to help him and they will be good friends. Van Duyckink goes away with a glad heart because he has just shaken the hand of a man he admires greatly---Ikey Snigglefritz. Ikey never knew that the man who shook his hand was the envy of his own idol and that Billy McMahan would have tripped all over himself if he could have been told that Van Duyckink wanted to be his good friend.

This story is so indicative of how small our worlds really are. Everyone is connected one way or the other and no matter who you are, you make a difference to someone and have a place.

Back to School

It has been a while since I posted anything. Here we are already going back to school. I am starting a new school this year-West Morgan Elementary. I think it is going to be good if for no other reason than I will stay busy. The girls are excited but anxious about starting but they wanted to come over here with me. I am determined to get back to reading soon. I got several books on the dollar cart at BAM the other day and they are still in the bag because I have not had the time to even pull them out. Oh well, maybe this weekend I can get around to that.

 


Took Beaudreaux to the vet today to make sure he was not sick. He is good. He was so sweet that the nurse took his picture before he had to have his final shots. We are now good to go until November. WooHOOOO!!!! He is sound asleep in his kennel now. Going to the doctor is exhausting for a baby, ya know?

You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start in the Morning by Celia Rivenbark

Started this earlier today and it is hilarious! I love Southern humor and sarcasm and this book drips with both. It also has some great recipes in it. I am going to try a couple of them this week. They sound really yummy. I hope to finish this tonight before I go to sleep but I may finish it tomorrow instead.

Well I ended up going to sleep last night so I finished it this morning. It is a hoot! I read a lot of negative reviews from people who did not find it amusing or did not understand the humor. I guess you just have to be able to relate. I have three girls. One is almost 15 and the other two are 11 and 9. So I understand the school issues and the disease spreading by other kids who come to school sick and make mine sick. I understand the school projects and the never ending fundraisers and all that. I can relate to so much of it.

I have also heard people say that Rivenbark is not laughing with Southerners but AT them. For those people I ask you--- Have you seen some of these people around the South lately? Holy smokes! I have to laugh at them too. Otherwise I would curl up in a ball and worry that my kids someday might be reduced to dating guys like that. Sometimes you do have to laugh AT them. People in the south are most certainly a different breed and if you don't get them, you don't get them.

My favorite chapter was 18 when she was talking about her dad. I know how hard it is to take care of someone who is slipping in the memory department and how hard it is to deal with that sometimes. But there are always lessons to be had, even in those hard, dark places. I love how she took her "dad" for a walk and was not ashamed to tell everyone she met what was in the urn. :)

Now this is not a book for the fainthearted or for those who cannot stand harsh words and stong language. It is a bit raunchy and trashy but that is what makes it so funny in part. Also, the recipes sound so good. I am going to try the pecan pie later this week. All in all a super funny book. Don't read it if you are easily offended by "green" bashing or don't want to hear her opinion of Gwyneth Paltrow's advice to all the lowly folks of the world. I loved it!

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Wow! That is the only thing that comes to mind. I sat down with this book last night before bed and with the exception of stopping to sleep for 20 minutes before I had to leave for church this morning, I have not stopped. I ran home from church to finish it after lunch and had to post this as soon as I could. This book was so amazing. It is a testament to human survival and endurance. I have never understood the need to conquer a mountain and climb to the top just because it was there. But the people in this book had that drive and need to climb Mt. Everest all the way to the top. The story that unfolds is tragic and awful and at times I found myself wanting to shout "no, stop! go back and don't go on!" But that would make no difference now to them. I finished it a little bit ago and I can honestly say I am exhausted. NOT because I did not sleep last night- that is fairly common. But exhausted because this story is emotionally draining and all encompassing. Great book!

[book:Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster|1898]

The King's Speech

It finally came from Netflix and we sat down to watch it Friday night. I was not thrilled to watch it quite honestly. When you hear so much hype about a movie it is bound to be a letdown right? Nope. Not this one. This was a SUPER movie. It was sad and touching and had lots of spots of humor mixed in. Just little one line zingers mostly. But it was a great movie. I was really glad we watched it. The actors melded well together and all worked well off of one another. I would definitely recommend it to anyone to watch.

33 A.D.

This was an odd book. I tried to NOT view it with a religious eye but it was hard since I know the story of Jesus' death. It is told from the other side- from the Roman army side WITH A TWIST! DO NOT read this book if you are easily offended by supposition, fiction, horror, or anything that you might view as blasphemy. That being said, it was not a bad book. Vampires (old vampires) play a huge role in the death of Christ but it is done behind the scenes so that when it plays out, the Jews look like the guilty party. Without giving away too much, it was somewhat gory in parts and sad in parts. The only thing I found lacking was the ending. It was left open- perhaps for a sequel? I don't know. But I did finish it with about 100 questions and I really wanted it not to end just yet.

[book:33 A.D.|7902515]

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

This was a super quick read. As in, I started it at 7:00 this morning and it is 9:30 now and I just finished it. And that was with several long interruptions. But it was a really good book. It took me a few minutes to get into the flow of the writing style but then it just took off. I could sympathize with the feelings of immense loss that Mikagi and Yuichi felt at every turn. I felt so many of those same feelings when my father died suddenly. I loved the journey that they took together to find love. It was strange and convoluted and so me. I could definitely relate to this book. Great read.

[book:Kitchen|50144]

Apple Cream Tart

Another recipe card design by Smilebox

Spicy Oyster Crackers, Pimiento Cheese, Fruit and Caramel Brie

Free printable recipe card customized with Smilebox

Mumma's Guacamole

Another digital recipe card by Smilebox

PECAN JAM

A digital recipe page by Smilebox

Fruit and Yogurt Ice Pops

This free printable recipe card created with Smilebox

Strawberry Freezer Jam

A recipe card by Smilebox

End of Year

Well, today is Wednesday, June 1, 2011.  That means that tomorrow is the last day of school for students and  Friday will be the last day for teachers at Ryan School.  I have been cleaning out cabinets and cupboards and filing cabinets and drawers like crazy today.  Tammy helped me out SO much today going through stuff.  I could not have done it without her.  I still have a lot to do but with her helping me tomorrow I will be way ahead of the curve and hopefully have time to get it all done early in June so I am not working up to the very last minute.

Salt and Notes on a Scandal

We watched Salt last night before bed. Loved it!  It was a pretty good movie although somewhat predictable.  for a while though, it was tough to decide if she was really good or bad or both.  Enjoyed it quite a bit.  We watched Notes on a Scandal on Friday night.  It was different from most of the movies we watch but it was still enjoyable.  It kept me interested and had a different sort of plot line from anything I have seen recently.  Both were good movies and I am wondering what we will watch tonight.  :)

On a separate note, Heather who I work with is in the hospital.  She went into labor last night 7 weeks early but they got her stabilized and stopped her labor.  I don't know what her status is now except she probably won't be back to work anytime soon.

NIGHT by Elie Weisel

This is on my daughter's summer reading list for this summer and since she just finished it, I will read it next.  She read it in just a couple of hours and said it is a great read.  She also said it is depressing and tragic.  I am interested in seeing how it is so I will start it tomorrow I think.
Well it took me longer than expected to start this one.  But my daughter had to read it for her English class and do a project on it.  I had no idea what to do as far as her project goes so I decided to read the book so I could help her.  WOW!  That is all I can say.  This was a powerful book about one man's experience in the concentration camps when he was a teenager.  He was so strong and brave for his age and took such care of his father.  I cannot begin to imagine the heartache and fear and pain and anger he felt.  There will never be any words to express how awful that was for those people.  I cannot even write a review about it because words fail me.  But I will say it is a moving book that made me sad, angry, hopeful, and  depressed all at once. 
Definitely a book that teenagers should read.  If it does not make you appreciate your family and how lucky you are, I don't know what will.
[book:Night|1617]

Tornadoes of 2011

The past three days have been like a surreal dream or nightmare.  On Wednesday morning at about 4:00 a line of severe storms began to roll through our area.  We knew Wednesday was going to be stormy but we had NO idea how bad it would be.  By the time I left for work at 6:45 it had quit storming at the house and was moving off.  We did not know why we were not delayed from starting school.  At about 10:30 we received the call at school that we would be dismissed at 1:00 that afternoon.    We were flying blind at school.  The early morning storms had knocked out our internet and cable so we had no way of knowing what the weather was like.  We were finally able to  cobble together enough of a signal to watch one of the local stations and saw the next line of storms heading in.  We dismissed our students and headed home.  Throughout the day we watched and listened to the weather ( lost power at 5:30 p.m.).  All around us there were tornadoes touching down.  Reports were spotty and no one could say what was happening.  Cell phone coverage was up and down but I was in contact with most of my co-workers and finding out from them the areas of damage.  At about 10:00 on Wednesday night we finally passed out of the final tornado warning.  We had no idea what it would be like.  400,000 people without power.  Cullman, AL destroyed.  Parts of Huntsville, destroyed.  Mt. Hope, destroyed.  It was so dark and silent that night.  NONE of us had lights.  We lit some candles and opened some windows and finally fell into bed exhausted about 9:00.  On Thursday it was like a scene out of a movie.  We drove 2 hours to get gas just South of Nashville.  All around we saw homes leveled and debris scattered everywhere.  Then we had to drive and hour South to fill up our other car with gas.  Same story there.  We were lucky in that we got our power back on Thursday night.  But thousands still do not have power and they are saying it will be up to 9 more days before they are back up.  I made it to school on Friday to check on things and we worked up there for a couple of hours, helping and cleaning to make the shelter as comfortable as possible for the families who have nothing left.  Today we drove out to Michael's uncle's house.  His is the only house standing in their area.  All around it is just completely devastated.  Nothing is left standing.  There are washing machines tangled up in trees and houses standing with the entire front missing.  One of the most astounding things we saw was a house that had been torn in half.  The refrigerator was standing open in the kitchen and the stuff in the fridge was still inside.  I have never seen such utter chaos and epic loss.  People are missing.  People we know are dead.  It is just the most awful thing I have ever seen.  But through it all, we are blessed because we are alive and safe.

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher

Hmmmmm....not the worst but not the best thing I have ever read.  It aggravated me quite a bit as it did not have any real resolution at the end.  Also, it tended to jump from topic ot topic.  One moment I would be reading about something Ryan was doing and then I was reading about Katherine in the same breath doing something completely different.  Now that could have been due to the way it was formatted on my Kindle. 

Like another review I read, I did not realize this was "Christian" fiction until I was well into the book and decided to do a little research on the author.  It ws not terrible but I just felt it was either too shallow or not researched well enough.  But it was a clean book with no bad language, no sex scenes, no gratuitous violence.  It was refreshing for a change.


All in all, it was a quick read and it amused me a little bit.
[book:The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher|2642470]

Falling off the book wagon

I have fallen off the reading wagon.  I go for several weeks where I suck down book after book and cannot get enough.  Then I go for several weeks where I don't pick up a book.  So I am going to try to get back on the reading again today.  It looks like a slow day at work for me paperwork wise and unless the phone goes crazy or 14 different people need something from me, I will be sitting again today like I did yesterday.  I am going to get my Kindle out and see what I want to start on first.  I am thinking I need to read something sort of serious for a change as I have not been as diligent in that regard as I should be.  But we will see.  I may have a short story collection to finish.  Those are easy to read at work because I do get interrupted from time to time.  Will upate later.

Work

Well tonight is the night they will have the community meeting to discuss closing my school.  Oh what fun!  The parents are coming up here fully loaded to beg and plead for the school to stay open.  The school board and the superintendent are only planning to discuss WHY it is financially expedient to close us.  One side is wanting to tell them how much the school means to them and the community and the other side is planning to tell people they don't care how emotional it is, they are doing what they feel has to be done.  What a mess!  So I will stay up here after school today to be here for the meeting and hopefully, there will not be any fights or bloodshed.  But I am not optimistic on that count.  I imagine the whole thing will dissolve into a drunken brawl among our parents and someone is likely to lose an eye or teeth before the night is over.  We will just see what happens.  Either way, the board will vote on May 12 to shut us down and I will be jobless after June 30 unless something miraculous happens.  Will keep on posting as more information comes available.

Been a while

It has been a while since I sat down to post.  Not much has happened.  That about sums it up.  We had Spring Break and we were able to get away for a couple of days.  That was nice but I was ready to get home when it was time to come home.  I did read a couple of short things but they were not really worth blogging about.  One was a short story/novella thingy. Horror, gruesome, gore....pretty good. It was the continuation of two short stories I had read earlier.  The other was a collection of odd short stories that was pretty good.  So that is it for now.  Nothing new is going on and that is okay too.

How To Rescue a Dead Princess

Well I finally finally finally finished reading this one.  It was pretty good but I will admit, a little tedious in a funny, sarcastic sort of way.  Once I set my mind on the fact that it was in no way a serious book I enjoyed it.  But I could only take it in small doses.  The good thing was that I enjoyed it every time I picked it up to read it and never felt like I had to re-read page after page to reaquaint myself with the story.  I like Randall the Squire very much and his adventures on his quest had me chuckling more than once.  I would reccommend this to anyone who is not looking for a serious read and someone who can handle plenty of sarcasm, humor, and silliness above all else.
 [book:How to Rescue a Dead Princess|362864]

Brother Holland

A very dear man at church passed away Monday evening. Ralph Holland was his name and I can truly say he will be missed.  Brother Holland always had some kind of candy in his pocket for my girls.  Whether it was peppermint or Tootsie Rolls or those little Peanut Butter crunchy things.  They would watch for him to come in and run to hug him and get their treat.  I had to caution them not to knock him down when they ran at him like a herd of buffalo.  He was a very sweet and gentle man and when he spoke out in class and made a comment you knew you better shut up and listen.  He was wise and knowledgable in the Bible and I am glad to have known him for the short time we did.  I am sad for his wife Ruth.  I cannot imagine how hard it must be for her to know she has lost her best friend and the person she has been with day and night for so many years.  We are praying for the whole family; Lynn and Laurie and all their kids as well.  To lose a parent is very difficult.  You always wonder if you remembered to say the things that mattered.

4:30 A.M. Phone Calls

I know I said in my last post that I was heading to the bed but I just had to post one more thing.  

Last night was stormy.  It was sort of a surprise.  I watched a bit of the news and they said it probably would not be stormy in our area and that the thunderstorms would be well south of us.  But as I was turning off the tv and trying to drift away I thought I heard a rumble of thunder.  Off and on I heard thunder as I fell asleep and since I love a good thunderstorm I was all settled and ready for a good night's sleep.  However, around midnight, there was a massive crash of thunder that woke most of us up in the house, including Roxie the psycho Shar-Pei.  She HATES bad weather.  She then attempted to burrow under my pillow.  I was able to finally get her in a sleeper hold (sort of) and she settled down and went back to sleep.  Nothing like sleeping with a stinky, sweaty, drooling 40 pound dog who is shaking and twitching and periodically stopping all that to chew on her own leg.  Finally we settled back in for 6 more hours of sleep while it poured outside and the wind howled.  But the weather had other plans.  At about 3:00 a.m. it happened again.  I don't know if it was a branch falling out of the pecan tree outside and bouncing off the house or just another huge rumble of thunder but out of bed I came.  So after a trip to the bathroom and a relocation of the dog to the foot of the bed on top of one of my feet and under the other foot, we went to bed again for 3 final hours of blissful rest and much needed sleep.  HOWEVER.....

Why do people feel the need to call me at 4:30 a.m. to tell me they are having stomach issues?  I don't care.  At that hour, you better be related to me and something better be bleeding profusely and dangerously if you are going to wake me up.  Of course that does not seem to matter to my co-workers.  They feel some deep obligation to call me and wake me and the rest of my house up to TEXT me with the good news that they are calling in sick to work----AGAIN!  And then, as if that is not enough, they want to carry on a long texting conversation to tell me that they don't have lessons plans and that they have been sick all night and that they would like a certain person to sub for them and when I tell them that she is no longer subbing, they want to text and ask me why and what happened.  I just turned my phone off.  But that left me with a problem.  I use my phone as an alarm clock as well.  So with it turned off, I did not have an alarm.  I was so tired and knew I would not be able to wake up on my own so I just stayed awake.  An hour and a half earlier than I shoudl have been.  I watched some news and kind of dozed a couple of times.  Finally at 6:00 I very grumpily got up and headed to the shower.  When I got to work I found out when I stopped talking to this co-worker she moved on and texted another co-worker and woke her up which upset her quite a bit because she was up and down all night with her little pod person kicking her insides and she had just gotten soundly asleep as well.  Finally she moved on and called and woke up our boss and his whole family to tell them that she did not feel good.  Would not be such a problem but she has missed 25 days since school started and has no days to take so she is just a drain on the whole system.  Luckily we were able to get a sub for her kids. No one wants to sub for them because they are SO bad.  But in fairness to the kids, they have not had any consistency in the classroom all year and think it is okay to run around like a pack of wild dogs.

So needless to say, I dragged out the old alarm clock and am hoping it works.  I am turning my phone off and have told everyone at work that if they try to call me before 7:00 anymore, I am no longer available unless they have my home number which is for emergencies ONLY!!!  We will see how things go tomorrow.  I am going to try not to scream at a certain teacher TOOOOOO loudly. 

Balloons and Shoes

We had to go to the store tonight.  I hate going to the store on Mondays after work because I am usually sooooooo tired after working all day but it was okay.  At one of our stops the girls tried on shoes that were way to high and they were so funny.  They tottered around Payless and had fun but we finally left because the manager was having a phone conference on speakerphone while we tried to shop around her. She was ensconced in aisle 2 and just kind of hovered there instead of taking her call to the back.  She did not appreciate that we were trying to look at shoes during her conference and we did not appreciate that we had to shop for shoes while pretending we had taken an oath of silence.  So we went to Shoe Carnival.  Wow!  No sales there.  The lowest price shoes I could find that the girls liked were $40 a pair and that is just too much for shoes for a 9 and 10 year old.  AND--they were apparantly re-stocking the store and down every aisle were boxes of shoes and employees on chairs re-organizing the stacks.  Could not navigate there so we moved on.  Next to Target where we had to pick up a variety of items.  By that time I was over the shoe shopping but we trudged to the shoe department with our buggy of junk. A young lady was cutting through the shoe department at a jog and suddenly out of nowhere the Target Shoe Police appeared and began screaming at her to stop running.  Needeless to say I was afraid for my life as I began to look at the strange assortment of sandals, some of which looked like the Romans were invading with the aid of a zipper up the back of the heel. The Shoe Police-Lady kept popping around the corner giving me evil glares and straightening the shoes I had just put back on the shelves.  But I did not feel like toying with her so we packed it up and left the shopping behind us.  Along the way tonight the girls got a balloon each, both blue for Kentucky.  When we got home they decided to let them go.  So we got one of their dad's business cards and wrote a short note on the back and, after shortening the string so it would not tangle on trees and wires, they let them go.  Instead of shooting up the way we expected, both balloons took off South and stayed together until they were out of sight.  The girls were so excited and wondered where their balloons would go and who would see them.  They want whoever finds them (if they are found) to call or email and tell them where they ended up.  It was fun for them and I hope they will end up a long way away in someone's yard and that person will call them or email.

Well that is all for now.  I am going to head toward the sleeping place and try to sleep tonight.

The Neverending Story

On Tuesday of this week one of the girls was at a soccer game.  Their daddy was at a meeting of all the area preachers and one of the other girls was sick and went to bed at 6:00, which is very odd for her. So that left the youngest of my three and me with nothing to do and nowhere to be.  We scrolled through the OnDemand channels in search of a movie and she informed me that she had never seen The Neverending Story.  I could not believe it!  So we watched it.  She was amazed at the graphics, or lack thereof.  She kept saying that it looked so funny and not real.  It kind of made me chuckle.  So anyway, if you have never seen The Neverending Story I would reccommend it.  Story is about a little boy who has lost his mother, has a slightly overbearing yet caring dad who just wants him to man up, and loves to read.  He is bullied on the way to school and ends up stealing a book from an odd man.  Although it is never specifically stated, the old man in the book store sets it up for the boy to steal the book because he knows the boy and the book belong together.  The movie takes you on an adventure where the boy in the book searches for a way to save his world.  This is a movie about a sad little boy learning his own worth and realizing that his imagination is what keeps the world of Fantasia rolling along.   Cute movie with some odd little characters.  Nothing too deep but my daughter enjoyed it.

Alice in Wonderland- The Movie

Monday night we had some time to sit down and finally I got to see Alice in Wonderland.  This is the Tim Burton version with Johnny Depp and is quite a bit darker and more sinister than the old Disney cartoon that I grew up watching.  I LOVED it!!!  In classic Tim Burton style it is a combination of blacks and grays mixed with vibrant colors and odd characters. Alice is 21-ish and ready to move from daydreams and childhood into the world of marriage and growing up. But Alice can't do it.  She just cannot get past that silly white rabbit in the waistcoat that is hopping around her surprise engagement party.  So she gives chase and sure enough....down the rabbit hole we go.  But it is strangely familiar to her.  Everyone seems to be waiting on her but not sure she is the "right" Alice.  We quickly realize that she has been here before and knows these people/animals.  On and on we go with Alice being chased by the Red Queen's cards.  You see, Alice must slay the Jaberwocky. And once the slaying is done, the Red Queen's sister will regain her rightful spot as the White Queen and rule Wonderland.  That is as far as I will tell you.  You have to watch to see what happens next.  Johnny Depp is AWESOME as the Mad Hatter and is not all silly.  There are some dark moments in the movie and it makes you really analyze the choices you make in life and whether you will seize hold of what you want or if you will go along with what everyone else wants you to do.   GREAT MOVIE!

A Wrinkle In Time

I had forgotten how much I loved this book.  I picked it up at school and started reading it.  It starts out with that classic "it was a dark and stormy night" and is soon full speed ahead with strange beings and inter-dimensional travel and time folding.  Only in this book it is called tessering.  The main characters are Meg Murray, a 14 year old who feels completely lost in the world.  She is hostile, uncooperative, and confrontational.  Especially when it comes to her father.  Mr. Murray has been away from his family for quite some time.  He is a scientist working on a top secret project.  Mrs. Murray is also a scientist and is Meg's touchstone along with her youngest brother Charles Wallace.  They have two twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys who are 10 but they don't figure too much in this story.  Charles Wallace is 5 and everyone outside the family thinks he is a mentally deficient child.  What they do not know is that Charles Wallace is amazingly gifted.  He can read minds or tell what someone is thinking and his intelligence is off the charts, as are his brothers and sister.  The final person in the story is Calvin, a boy from school who "happens" to meet up with Meg and Charles Wallace while they are on a walk.  He and Meg are attracted instantly and romance blooms.  Finally there are the three "others" who turn out to be angels sent to take Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace on a dangerous journey to rescue Mr. Murray.  They fold time and end up on some remarkable planets.  They are told that a great darkness is shadowing Earth and that other planets have been taken over by it.  While tessering, Meg is most greatly affected when the have to pass through dark patches.  Once they reach the world where Mr. Murray is being held, Charles Wallace is taken over by the hive mind in his attempt to free his father.  Meg ultimately frees Mr. Murray and through a succession of events, goes back to the planet to rescue Charles Wallace.  Their angels suck them back through dimensions and they end up back in the family garden.  The only way Meg was able to free Charles Wallace was to hold on to and remind him strongly that she truly loved him.  In the end, good prevailed and the family is reunited with the addition of Calvin.
Great book for 3rd grade up. Very religious overtones but not preachy.
[book:A Wrinkle in Time|18131]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Yawn.....okay so this is probably not a good book to read when you are tired and can hardly keep your eyes open.  It was good but it was very long feeling.  There are page after page descriptions of aquatic life and animals and this and that and more of this and more of that.  I was glad when it ended.  Captain Nemo was just what I expected and I cannot say that I loved him or hated him.  I was kind of apathetic toward him.  I mean, it is not very nice to imprison people on your little sub and haul them around but then again, everyone had a great adventure and saw wonderful sights.  I guess it was an okay read but one I won't be excited to read again.

Probably a good read for 3rd grade through adult depending on the level of the book.  They have some editions that are toned down for kids all the way up the "real thing". 

[book:Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea|33507]

Matilda

Dahl certainly has an affinity for poor mistreated children who overcome the situation they live in and become the hero at the end.  It is heartwarming and yet also disturbing.  In this book, Matilda Wormwood is an unloved, unwanted, ignored little girl who is exceedingly smart.  Matilda teaches herself to read by age 3 and later asks her father for a "real" book.  The only book in the house is a cookbook.  Mr. Wormwood tells her no so Matilda takes herself to the library on her own and reads everything she can get her hands on.  She plows through the children's books and moves on to the classics, devouring everything she can.  Mr. Wormwood is a used car salesman who is less than honest.  He works out a deal to sell a car to the headmistress of a local school and Matilda is finally allowed to attend school.  Matilda has already been doing pranks on her parents because she feels like they deserve to get into trouble.  Also, she has developed an "accidental" gift of telekenesis which she uses to knock a glass of water over.  Once at school she meets her teacher, Ms. Honey and loves her dearly.  Ms. Honey turns out to be the neice of the hateful headmistress and has an intense hatred for the children. Matilda uses her gift to drive Ms. Trunchbull out of the school by "haunting" her classroom.  Ms. Honey is then finally able to move back to her family home.  As the book ends, Matilda's parents are getting ready to flee the country before Mr. Wormwood is arrested for his shady dealings.  Ms. Honey asks the Wormwood's if she can keep Matilda with her and they agree without a second thought.  They leave and the only concern shown for Matilda is a wave that her brother gives her.
Good book for about age 8 and up.
[book:Matilda|39988]

James and the Giant Peach

I picked this book up at school today for something quick to read.  My first impression a few pages in was not overwhelminly good.  I doubted seriously that this would be a good book for my children to read. It was very dark, sad and just plain awful.  The whole story of James' parents getting eaten by a wild rhinoceros one day and leaving him alone with the two mean aunts was bad enough.  But then the way they talked to him and treated him was terrible.  But I held on and kept reading.  Then it got fun and way on out there.  A weird little troll appears and gives James a bag of magical crocodile tongues which James promptly drops.  The tongues disappear into the dirt and suddenly a peach appears on the old dead peach tree.  The aunts are amazed as the peach starts to grow.  And grow, and grow and grow.  The peach grows until it is as big as a house and the aunts see their chance to cash in.  Later they lock James out of the house to count their loot and he finds a hole/tunnel and crawls inside the belly of the peach.  Inside the pit he finds a wonderful group of new friends.  A grasshopper, a ladybug, a spider, a glow worm, a centipede, an earthworm and a silkworm.  Once James joins them the centipede chomps through the stem and sets the peach off rolling down the hillside.  The peach rolls into the sea and the group is off on a fun, sometimes dangerous adventure where they learn about being friends and where James learns that he IS a valuable and loved little boy after all.
Great book in the end. Would say it would be good for probably 3rd grade and up.  I never did see then movie so I can't say if it was as good, better or worse than the book but I did enjoy the book. Dahl has a dark, hard sense of humor sometimes and is kind of twisted in lots of ways.  Look for references to the chocolate factory, vermicious knids, snozwangers and a few other things that might be familiar if you are a Charlie fan.

[book:James and the Giant Peach|6689]

Charlotte's Web

I have been re-reading several of the "children's" books with my kids and they love it.  They are old enough now to read really well and I let them take turns reading one chapter each.  It makes for a slower read but it is a lot of fun for them and for me.  I have always loved Charlotte's Web anyway. Fern was so in love with her little pig.  She could not imagine the inhumanity of killing the runt.  I can sympathize.  My own children would do the same thing and I would make a bed for the pig in the house like Fern's mom did.    But baby pigs don't stay babies for long and before long, Wilbur had to go to the farm.  There he meets the other animals and starts off as a whiny, unlikeable brat.  But then he meets Charlotte, who teaches Wilbur what being a friend is all about.  Together (well, mostly Charlotte) they are able to keep Wilbur away from the slaughter and off to the fair they go. At the end, Wilbur must learn a very hard lesson.  Even spiders and best friends sometimes can't stay with us forever.  But Wilbur is at least able to pass on what Charlotte taught him to three of her babies.
Great story.  Still sad no matter how many times I read it but also full of love and hope and humor.  The animals are ALL so real and funny and full of personality. 

[book:Charlotte's Web|24178]

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Ah, what a story!  I have dreams like this from time to time where everything seems so real and confusing.  Poor Alice follows a rabbit down a hole and ends up in a world of talking animals, potions that make you grow smaller or larger, and decks of cards that play croquet and paint roses.  One thing I enjoyed about this book is the differences from the movie that I watched as a child.  Both are great and this is in my top 5 of favorite stories, no matter whether it is animated or the "live" versions.  Alice sees so many things and all she wants is for something to make sense.  Now I have heard that this book is supposed to have those hidden meanings, where Alice is supposed to be so and so and the white rabbit is someone and the Queen of Hearts is another person.  That I don't know, nor do I care about the hidden stuff that lurks in all these children's books.  I do know that it is an entirely enjoyable story that will entertain children from about age 8 to grown ups.  The version I had also had beautiful illustrations done in bright colors that were almost surreal.  Well done and a little odd which I felt suited the story perfectly.

[book:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass|24213]

Boliche

Again, another blog not about books but about food.  That seems to be a theme with me lately.  I made Boliche for lunch yesterday.  It was wonderful.  Had not made it in years so it was like a brand new recipe for me.  It turned out really well.  I will probably not cook it as long next time but other than that it was really good.  Made black beans and yellow rice to go with it.  Next time I am going to make Milanesa Steak for Michael. 

Well, since I am on day four of no computer connections at work I guess I will read for a little while.  I am the only one who has internet and email....ssshhhhh!....don't tell the teachers or they will bring their work in here for me to do.  Can't do report cards or financial stuff or attendance so I am sort of stuck again.  It has been nice though because I have gotten my files straightened out, cleaned my desk out and just kind of relaxed.  Maybe it will last a couple more days.

Okay, back to my semi-work state.

Thursday

Well here we are at another Thursday.  This post has nothing really to do with books at all.  I am just bored and wanted to post something on this Thursday night.  Made Picadillo for supper tonight and it was yummy.  The kids even ate it.  I am very glad tomorrow is Friday because this has been a wild week.  Can't remember another week in a long time that has been this stressful and irksome.  Will be glad when work is over tomorrow and I can come back home.  We will be going to Jonathan's going away party Saturday night.  Sad to see him go but I know he will do well and the army will make him grow up and take on some responsibility in his life.  That is about it.  I think I will go make a Sweet Potato Pie now.  I have been craving one and have some sweet potatoes cooked and cooled for a pie.  Better get to it as it is already 7:00 and I am so tired. 

Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

We took the kids to the dollar movie after school yesterday and saw Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I was enchanted from the very beginning with everything- the scenery, characters, the storyline, everything.  I really liked the first movie when the kids first went to Narnia.  But I missed the second movie about Prince Caspian.  So I was a little confused but not to the point where it bothered me or made the movie unenjoyable.  It just made me want to go back and watch the 2nd movie so I would be caught up.  I did not really have a favorite part because it was  all good.  There were not any draggy parts and each port where the Dawn Treader stopped was a new adventure and new problem for them to overcome.  Edmond and Lucy's cousin Eustace was an addition that was funny.  He was quite a pain in the rear and got a punishment that ended up making him a decent kid by the end.   GREAT MOVIE!

The Family Bones

I don't know how to review this book.  It started out with a lot of promise.  Creepy house, old well, maybe or maybe not haunted or possessed.  But then, the story took a weird twist and just seemed to dwindle down and get tired.  This would have made a good short story.  It almost seemed to me that so much of the conversation was an afterthought.  The characters were only partly developed and could have held so much more promise.  I kept waiting to hear more about the missing families.  Did Steven kill them?  How? Where did he hide the bodies?  What was in the canoe?  Instead of sticking with the horror/suspense story, the writer jumped completely off the platform and went with alien artificial insemination and supernatural gifts from another world.  I think it would have made a great demon/ghost/psychotic killer story.  But oh well.  It was odd and a quick read.  It took me an hour and a half from start to finish.
[book:The Family Bones|5585024]

Little House in the Big Woods

I always loved this book when I was growing up.  It starts the saga of Mary and Laura Ingalls.  They live with Baby Carrie, Ma and Pa in a little cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.  Mary and Laura have never seen a town.  They work hard to help their Ma even though Laura is only 6.  They are expected to be good, quiet, well behaved children who do as they are told.  They know how to sew by hand, make butter, bake bread and are thrilled when they are given a small stick of candy.  At Christmas, Ma takes pans of clean snow and lets the girls pour hot molasses over it in swirls and patterns.  The cold snow hardens the molasses to make candy. The whole family works hard every day to gather, hunt, preserve and save so they always have enough food to see them through the long, cold, snowy winters.  There are bears and panthers and wild animals in the woods and all alone for miles, the small family surviving.
My girls' favorite part of this book is when they Ingalls go to visit their aunt and uncle.  Pa goes to help in the fields.  The girls have a cousin named Charley who is eleven.  Charley is rather spoiled and does not want to help his Pa in the fields.  He goes with the men but keeps disrupting the work by tricking the men by hollering across the field like he was hurt.  Three times the men stop work to run check on Charley and there is nothing wrong with him.  The fourth time they let him holler for a while and finally decide maybe he is really hurt.  All the time Charley had been fooling them and jumping up and down hollering, he had been doing it on a yellow jacket's nest.  Charley went back to his house and his own Ma and Laura's Ma had to cover him in mud and wrap him in sheets for all the stings.
I really enjoyed re-reading this book.  It made me wish for simpler times when people did things a simpler way and just lived their lives and took care of their families.
[book:Little House in the Big Woods|8337]

The Book of General Ignorance

Okay so I needed something light and easy to read in between tasks at work.  This seemed to fit the bill.  It is an easy book to read from for a little while and then stop if you have to.  Each topic is its own mini chapter of sorts.  I really enjoyed it and when finished I had to ask myself "is the stuff in it really true? Or is it made up?" Hmmmmmm....some of it sounds pretty far fetched and not easily verifiable.  But other items are pretty interesting and really made me think.  Like where did the saying "let them eat cake!" really come from.  Not from where I always thought, according to this book.  And which living thing will survive a nuclear disaster?  Not a cockroach after all....who knew?   All in all a really enjoyable read.  Great if you like little bits of knowledge and tend to want to know all the whys? and how comes? and but what abouts?  Great for adults and young adults.  Maybe for a kid that is really inquisitive and has the patience to deal with facts and some numbers.
[book:The Book of General Ignorance|410632]

Pippi Longstocking

I don't know how to review this book.  As a child, it was always one of my favorites.  Pipi was wild and such a free spirit.  And she had a monkey.  How can you not love a monkey?  I read this dozens of times growing up.  I loved how she just did and said whatever and nevermind the consequences.  I loved how she transformed the two kids from next door from uptight, perfect children into kids not afraid to have fun.  But then....
I re-read it again last week and realized I really hate that kid.  I wanted to spank her or tranquilize her, one of the two.  She is an unruly spoiled brat.  She lies without a single thought to what she is saying and it is not even remotely amusing.  She has the manners of a wild boar and I cannot begin to imagine the mess her house was.  But I still love the monkey.  I could just do without Pipi.  I cannot imagine ever letting my own children play with her.  And my kids are not perfect little angels.  But sending them to play with Pipi????  May as well give them a bottle of gas and a lighter and tell them to go play in the middle of the interstate.  Plus did I mention those manners and complete disregard for adult authority?
I guess that is the point of the book.  If you are raised on the high seas and your father is a cannibal king, you cannot be expected to know much of anything about manners and being good.  You are pretty much destined to be  a lying, crazy, monkey-owning heathen.  I guess I can say that it was okay.  Loved it as a child but as an adult and a parent, I am hoping my kids don't pick up the same manners that Pipi Longstocking had.
[book:Pippi Longstocking|19302]

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I grew up watching this series on tv and loved the books when I was young.  My two older girls have read all the books and my youngest is on the 3rd or 4th one now.  So I decided to re-read them as well. 
This is the saga of Laura Ingalls and her family.  This is actually the second book in the series.  Laura and her family leave the Big Woods and head for the open country of the west.  Pa feels like the woods have become too crowded and wants to be somewhere that he can hunt enough meat for his family and not be covered up by neighbors.  So they head west into Indian Territory.  Almost immediately they encounter problems when they try to cross a stream that almost takes their wagon.  But they make it through.  Once they reach a good spot with water nearby and plenty of game, Pa tells them that they are going to settle here.  He builds a barn for the horses, a house for the family and they begin to live and grow up on the prairie.  Life was a struggle for them.  There are wild animals, wildfires, sickness and few to no doctors, Indians and the constant threat of injury.
My kids were struck by the differences of life then and now.  They were awed that the girls did not have their own rooms.  What do you mean the whole family slept in one room?  What about the bathroom?  No stove?  How did they do that?  They appreciated what they have a whole lot more after they read the books.  Life was so dangerous, even when they were not doing things we would consider dangerous.  These books are timeless and I would recommend them to anyone from about 2nd grade and up.
[book:Little House on the Prairie|77767]

The Hobbit

This is kind of like the first Lord of the Rings books if you will.  It introduces Bilbo Baggins, a lovable but kind of pain in the backside Hobbit.  He is more worried about how much food he has in his house than anything else.  Bilbo goes on a quest to find treasure that is guarded by a dragon.  Along the way, he receives help from Gandulf the Wizard, who is kind and good but keeps tripping off on other errands, as well as elves and dwarves. 
The characters in this book are so colorful and believable.  When I was young I was terrified of giant spiders that could talk (hmmmmm.....wasn't there one is a Harry Potter book?).  There are trolls and evil wolves and wonderful eagles that can talk and save the day.  It is a magical trip for anyone EVEN if you are not into this genre of writing.  It is not my most favorite but I still really enjoyed this book.  Part of me wanted to help Bilbo Baggins on his way and another part of me was rolling my eyes and hoping he got eaten by a troll.
Super book that I think anyone from 3rd grade and up would enjoy.  And I hear there is a movie coming out soon?  I might just have to see it.
[book:The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again|5907]

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

By far, this was my favorite book in the series up to this point.  There is going to be a wizard competition at Hogwart's and somehow Harry's name gets thrown into the pot to compete.  There are tons of visitors and new characters and there is a shocking twist toward the end.  There are mermaids and dragons and magical mazes with danger lurking at every turn.  We see Hermione and Ron begin to realize that they DO have feelings for one another and poor Harry, well he just can't seem to ever find a girlfriend can he?
Through it all, you have the ever present Lord Valdemort skulking around and making plans to get Harry and take control over the magical world.

The writing was great.  The characters are funny and even more developed this time and I did not feel this book dragging like the last one did.

Recommended for 5th grade and up if it is the un-abridged version.

[book:Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|6]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Year three is here for Harry, Hermione and Ron.  They return to Hogwart's to find it in a semi-lockdown mode because Sirius Black is on the loose.  Dementors guard the grounds and drain away your happiness if they attack you.  The book was an easy, fast read and did keep you turning to find out what happens next.  The characters are, for the most part, the same as the previous books with a little more development. 
I enjoyed the book but did feel from time to time like it was trying to slow down.  It picked up the pace though again pretty quickly and moved on. 
Harry has to decide in this one who is really telling the truth about some things and who is lying.  You learn a lot more about Harry's parents and their past and you learn about Azkaban Prison.  As always, Lord Valdemort lurks in the background waiting to kill Harry. Harry, Ron and Hermione have to help Hagrid save one of his magical creatures when Malfoy makes it attack him and the creature is sentenced to death. Add a dose of wererwolves, time turning and missing rats and you have a fun, surprising and sometimes funny book.
Would recommned for about 5th grade and up for the complete un-abridged version.  3rd and 4th grade would enjoy the abridged shorter version as well.
[book:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|5]

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Okay I have a confession to make....I read this book years ago and finished it up late one night.  I went to sleep and woke up in a panic because there was a T-Rex roaming our neighborhood and he was pulling the roofs off houses and then picking people up from inside and eating them.  I know, I know...me and my weird dreams.
I saw the movie before I read the book.  Saw it when it first came out at theaters and enjoyed it so much that I went and bought the book to read.  Loved the book even more than the movie.  It was so well written and so descriptive, I could smell the jungle air and the animals.  It took me no time to finish it, evidenced by the fact that I could not put it down until I was done.  It was super.  The pace is super fast, the detail is magnificent, the characters are well thought out and solid.
Is there such a place in existence?  Perhaps something the government of some country is funding?  Maybe so, maybe not.  But it was a wonderful book and the differences in the book and movie are minute.  You will love the book if you loved the movie.  Maybe more like I did.
[book:Jurassic Park|7677]

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Ah....the old Harry Potter.  I know I am getting old.  I remember when this series came out and all the hooplah over how the people who read this book were all promoting witchcraft and devil worship.  Lol....so be it then.  I liked this book a whole lot.  My girls have read it as well as the rest of the series and honestly, they have yet to pick up a stick in the yard and try to call forth demons.
Poor Harry Potter.  He is an orphan stuck living with a hateful aunt and uncle and their terrible son.  They make him sleep under the stairs in a little storage spot.  He is banned from any kind of normal activity and is the family secret.  Until......Harry finds out he is a wizard.  He is whisked off to wizard school at Hogwart's and finds his life changed 180 degrees from what it was.  He is kind of a star at Hogwart's.  His parents were killed fighting Lord Valdemort and Harry is the only one to ever escape an attack by the all powerful dark wizard. 
Harry is on the quest for the sorcerer's stone and without realizing it, he is guided through the adventure by the adults that are training and teaching him.  They are training Harry to be a great wizard but he does not fully understand everything that is happening all the time.  He makes fast friends with Hermione and Ron and the three of them are never far from each other in this book (or in any of the later books).
Great book and the ones that follow are just as good.  Great writing that will keep you interested and most of the time, the books flow at a good pace so you don't feel bogged down. The full un-abridged versions would be good for probably 5th grade and up, although, my 3rd grade daughter is reading them now and has no problem.  They do make abridged versions for younger children but I think you miss a lot of the interesting characters and things that go

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Read this one again with my girls and we all enjoyed it.  No matter how often we read it it is still so great!!!  I let them alternate and each read a chapter and then I read for a while.  It makes it fun for them and gives me a break too.  What a wonderful imagination Baum had!

I have heard many discussions about the "hidden" meanings of this book.  Why can't we just have a book for the sake of the book?  It is a fun story.  I have always loved the characters in this book.  Dorothy goes on a trip, whether real or dreamt, and learns that sometimes you have to be separated from the ones you love so you can really appreciate them. She realizes that her boring life in Kansas is really not so bad and that all she really wants is to get back to her family and friends.  She meets friends along the way that teach her how to be brave and how to treasure the things that are important.

I think many of us experience this in one way or another as we grow up.  We cannot wait to get away and out from under the rules and decisions our parents make for us.  We think they cannot possibly understand how we feel and what we are dealing with. So we strike out on our own.  And we make mistakes and sometimes we have an epic fail.  And somewhere along the way, maybe not when we are young, but somewehre we realize that we miss those parents and the concern and care they had for us.  And we want nothing more than to return to those boring days of them taking care of us and telling us what is best for us.  I know I wish I could go back to those days.

[book:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|236093]

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up

• 45 & 47 Stella Street And Everything That Happened - Elizabeth Honey
• The 101 Dalmations - Dodie Smith
• 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - Jules Verne

• A

• Across The Barricades - Joan Lindgard
• Across The Nightingale Floor - Lian Hearn
• The Adventures Of Baron Munchhausen - Gottfried Burger
• The Adventures Of Gian Burrasca - Vamba
• Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
• The Adventures Of Maya The Bee - Waldemar Bonsels
• The Adventures Of Peach Boy - Unknown
• The Adventures Of Rupert The Toad - Roy Berocay
• The Adventures Of The Dish And The Spoon - Mini Grey
• Adventures Of The Ingenious Alfanhui - Rafael Ferlosio
• The Adventures Of The Wishing Chair - Enid Blyton
• The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
• Adventurour Tales Of Machu Pichu - Ciro Alegria
• Aesop's Fables - Aesop
• After The First Death - Robert Cormier
• Agnes Cecilia - Maria Gripe
• Aldabra - Silvana Gandolfi
• Alex - Tessa Duder
• Alex Rider: Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz
• Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Judith Viorst
• Alfie Gets In First - Shirley Hughes
• Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
• All About Doggie And Pussycat - Josef Capek
• Almost Everyone Could Topple - Toon Tellegen
• Alvin Says Goodnight - Ulf Lofgren
• Amazing Grace - Mary Hoffman
• Amazon Adventure - Willard Price
• Amelia Bedelia - Peggy Parish
• Ameliaranne And The Green Umbrella - Constance Heward
• Amos And Boris - William Steig
• The Amulet Of Samarkand - Jonathan Stroud
• Anancy Spiderman - James Berry
• Anastasia Krupnik - Lois Lowry
• Angelina Ballerina - Katharine Holabird
• Animalia - Graeme Base
• Anne Of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
• Anno's Journey - Mitsumasa Anno
• Apoutsiak - Paul Emile Victor
• Arabian Nights - Unknown
• Are We There Yet? - Alison Lester
• Are You My Mother? - P.D. Eastman
• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume
• Ark Angel - Anthony Horowitz
• Around The World In 80 Days - Jules Verne
• The Arrival - Shaun Tan
• Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar - Maruice Leblanc
• Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
• Arthur - Kevin Crossley Holland
• Ash Road - Ivan Southall
• Asterix The Gaul - Rene Goscinny
• Astro Boy - Osamu Tezuka
• At The Back Of The North Wind - George Macdonald
• Autumn Term - Antonia Forest
• Avocado Baby - John Birmingham

• B

• The Baby's Catalogue - Allan Ahlberg
• A Bad Case Of Stripes - David Shannon
• Bad Habits - Babette Cole
• Badger On The Barge - Janni Howker
• Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
• Balloon Cat - Keiko Sena
• A Balloon For Grandad - Nigel Gray
• Barbapapa - Annette Tison
• The Baron In The Trees - Italo Calvino
• Barrumbi Kids - Leonie Norrington
• Bathwater's Hot - Shirley Hughes
• The Battle Of Bubble And Squeak - Philippa Pearce
• A Bear Called Paddington - Michael Bond
• The Bear Went Over The Mountain - John Prater
• The Bear's Famous Invasion of Sicily - Dino Buzzati
• The Bears On Hemlock Mountain - Alice Dalgliesh
• Becassine - Jacqueline Riviere
• Because Of Winn Dixie - Kate Dicamillo
• The Bed And The Breakfast Star - Jacqueline Wilson
• Bedtime For Frances - Russell Hoban
• Beegu - Alexis Deacon
• The Berenstein Bears - Stan Berenstain
• Bertoldo, Bertoldino, And Cacasenno - Giulio Croce
• The Best Nest - P.D. Eastman
• Betsy Tacy - Maud Lovelace
• Bevis - Richard Jefferies
• The Bfg - Roald Dahl
• The Big Sister - Siv Widerberg
• Big Tiger And Christian - Fritz Muhlenweg
• The Biggest Bear - Lynd Ward
• The Biggest Kiss In The World - R. Chavez Castaneda
• Biggles: The Camels Are Coming - W.E. Johns
• Bilgewater - Jane Gardam
• Bill's New Frock - Anne Fine
• Billy Bunter Of Greyfriar's School - Frank Richards
• Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
• The Black Corsair - Emilio Salgari
• The Black Smurf - Peyo
• The Black Stallion - Walter Farley
• Blinky Bill - Dorothy Wall
• The Blue Fairy Book - Andrew Lang
• Blueberries For Sal - Robert Mccloskey
• A Boat In The Forest - Paolo Mastrocola
• The Bobbsey Twins - Laura Hope
• The Bonny Pit Laddie - Frederick Grice
• Book Of Nonsense - Edward Lear
• The Book Of Three - Lloyd Alenxander
• Borka - John Burmingham
• The Borrowers - Mary Norton
• The Box Of Delights - John Masefield
• The Boxcar Children - Getrude Warren
• The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
• The Boy Who Grew Flowers - Jen Wojtowicz
• The Boy, The Swallow, And The Cat - Miguel Bunuel
• Brendon Chase - B.B.
• Bridge To Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
• Bridget And The Moose Brothers - Pija Lindenbaum
• Brother In The Land - Robert Swindells
• The Brothers Lionheart - Astrid Lindgren
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See - Bill Martin, Jr.
• Bud, Not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis
• Bunny Bath - Lena Anderson
• Burglar Bill - Allan Ahlberg
• By The River - Steven Herrick

• C

• Caddie Woodlawn - Carol Brink
• The Call Of The Wild - Jack London
• Can't You Sleep, Little Bear - Martin Waddell
• The Canterville Ghost - Oscar Wilde
• Caperucita In Manhattan - Carmen Gaite
• Caps For Sale - Esphyr Slobodkina
• Captain Fracasse - Theophile Gautier
• Captain Pugwash - John Ryan
• Captain Storm - Emilio Salgari
• Captain Thunder - Victor Mora
• The Carpet People - Terry Pratchett
• Carrie's War - Nina Bawden
• Carrot Top - Jules Renard
• Carry On, Mr. Bowditch - Jean Latham
• The Cat, Or How I Lost Eternity - Jutta Richter
• The Cat In The Hat - Dr. Seuss
• The Cat That Lived A Million Times - Yoko Sana
• The Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger
• Cautionary Tales for Children - Hilaire Belloc
• The Cave Children - Alois Sonnleitner
• The Cay - Theodore Taylor
• A Chair For My Mother - Vera Williams
• The Changeover - Margaret Mahy
• Chanticleer And The Fox - Barbara Cooney
• Charlie And The Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
• Charlotte Sometimes - Penelope Farmer
• Charlotte's Web - E.B. White
• Charmed Life - Diana Jones
• The Cherry Kids - Constantin Chirita
• The Children From Number 67 - Liza Tetzner
• The Children Of Green Knowe - Lucy Boston
• The Children Of The Forest - Elsa Beskow
• The Children Of The New Forest - Frederick Marryat
• Children Of The Oregon Trail - A. Rutgers Der Loeff
• A Child's Christmas In Wales - Dylan Thomas
• A Child's Garden Of Verses - Robert Stevenson
• Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang - Ian Fleming
• Chlorophyll From The Blue Sky - Bianca Pitzorno
• Chocky - John Wyndham
• The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier
• A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
• The Church Mouse - Graham Oakley
• Cion Cion Blue - Pnin Carpi
• The Circus Is Coming - Noel Streatfeild
• Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare - Darren Shan
• Clarice Bean: That's Me - Lauren Child
• Clever Bill - William Nicholson
• Clever Polly And The Stupid Wolf - Catherine Starr
• Clifford The Big Red Dog - Norman Bridwell
• Clockwork - Philip Pullman
• The Cloud - Gudrun Pausewang
• Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs - Judie Barrett
• The Cloven Viscount - Italo Calvino
• Clown - Quentin Blake
• Cole's Funny Picture Book - Edward Cole
• Come Away From The Water, Shirley - John Burningham
• Come Hither - Walter De La Mare
• Comet In Moominland - Tove Jansson
• The Companions - Lygia Nunes
• The Composition - Antonio Skarmeta
• Conrad: The Factory Made Boy - Christine Nostlinger
• Constable Sniffer - Asko Sirkia
• The Coral Island - Robert Ballantyne
• Coram Boy - Jamila Gavin
• Corduroy - Don Freeman
• The Cow Who Fell In The Canal - Phyllis Krasilovsky
• The Cricket In Times Square - George Selden
• Crictor - Tomi Ungerer
• Crisis On Conshelf Ten - Monica Hughes
• Crispin - Avi
• Crispin - Ted Dewan
• Crocodile Beat - Gail Jorgensen
• The Crowstarver - Dick King Smith
• Crusade In Jeans - Thea Beckman
• The Cuckoo Clock - Mrs. Molesworth
• The Cucumber King - Christine Nostlinger
• Cue For Treason - Geoffrey Trease
• Curious George - Margret Rey
• The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time - Mark Haddon

• D

• Dailan Kifki - Maria Walsh
• D'aulaires' Book Of Greek Myths - Ingri D'aulaire
• D'aulaires' Norse Gods And Giants - Ingri D'aulaire
• The Dark Frigate - Charles Hawes
• The Dark Is Rising - Susan Cooper
• The Day I Learned To Tame Spiders - Jutta Richter
• The Day The Babies Crawled Away - Peggy Rathman
• Deadly, Unna - Philip Gwynne
• Dear Nobody - Berlie Doherty
• Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell
• The Death Book - Pernilla Stalfelt
• The Demon Headmaster - Gillian Cross
• Detectives In Togas - Henry Winterfield
• The Devil's Arithmetic - Jane Yolen
• Dinosaurs And All That Rubbish - Michael Foreman
• Doctor De Soto - William Steig
• Dodo Gets Married - Petra Mathews
• A Dog So Small - Philippa Pearce
• The Dog With The Yellow Heart - Jutta Richter
• Dogger - Shirley Hughes
• The Doll's House - Rumer Godden
• The Dolphin Crossing - Jill Walsh
• Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus - Mo Willems
• Doraemon - Fujiko Fujio
• Dougy - James Moloney
• Down With Skool - Geoffrey Willans
• Drac And The Gremlin - Allan Baillie
• Dragon Ball - Akira Toriyama
• Dragonkeeper - Carole Wilkinson
• Dragonsong - Anne Mccaffrey
• The Dreams Of The Toad - Javier Villafane
• The Duck In The Gun - Joy Cowley
• Dusty Wants Help - Roger Sandberg
• The Dutch Twins - Lucy Perkins

• E

• Each Peach Pear Plumb - Allan Ahlberg
• Eagle Of The Ninth - Rosemary Sutcliff
• Eclipse Of The Crescent Moon - Geza Gardonyi
• Ede And Unku - Alex Wedding
• The Edge Of The Cloud - K.M. Peyton
• Efrem The Knights - Mino Milani
• The Eighteenth Emergency - Betsy Byars
• The Elephant And The Bad Baby - Elfrida Vipont
• Elidor - Alan Garner
• Elmer - David Mckee
• Eloise - Kay Thompson
• Elsa Marie And Her Seven Little Daddies - Pija Lindenbaum
• Elsie Piddock Skips In Her Sleep - Eleanor Farjeon
• Emil And The Detectives - Erich Kastner
• Emily Climbs - L. M. Montgomery
• The Emperor's New Clothes - Hans Anderson
• The Enormous Crocodile - Roald Dahl
• Eric, Or Little By Little - Frderic Farrar
• Ernest And Celestine Have Lost Simon - Gabrielle Vincent
• The Extraordinary Adventures Of Massogram - Josep Torres
• The Eye Of The Wolf - Daniel Pennac

• F

• Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
• Fairy Tales - Marie d'Aulnoy
• Fairy Tales From The Past - Charles Perrault
• The Family From One End Street - Eve Garnett
• The Fantastic Antonita - Borita Casas
• Fantomette - Goerge Chaulet
• The Far Distant Oxus - K. Hull
• Farmer Boy - Laura Wilder
• Father Christmas - Raymond Briggs
• Father Grew Wings In Spring - Toni Kontio
• Felix And Alexander - Terry Denton
• The Fib - George Layton
• The Field Guide - Holly Black
• The Fifth Form At St. Dominics - Talbot Reed
• Fifty Fables For Children - Wilhelm Hey
• Figgie Hobbin - Charles Causley
• Finding Violet Parker - Jenny Valentine
• Finn Family Moomintrail - Tove Jansson
• The Fire Eaters - David Almond
• Fire Engine Lil - Janet Mclean
• Fire, Bed And Bone - Henrietta Branford
• First Of Midnight - Marjorie Darke
• Five Children And It - E. Nesbit
• Five On A Treasure Island - Enid Blyton
• Flambards - K.M. Peyton
• Flat Stanley - Jeff Brown
• Flotsam - David Wiesner
• Flour Babies - Anne Fine
• Fly Away Home - Christine Nostlinger
• Fly, Little Bird - Francesco Altan
• The Fortunes Of Philippa - Angela Brazil
• Four Sisters - Malika Ferdjoukh
• Fox - Margaret Wild
• Foxie - Ingri And Edgar Parin D'aulaire
• Foxspell - Gillian Rubinstein
• Fray Perico And His Donkey - Juan Munoz
• Frederick - Leo Lionni
• Freight Train - Donald Crews
• Friday, Or The Savage Life - Michel Tournier
• Friday's Tunnel - John Verney
• Friederich - Hans Richter
• The Friends - Rosa Guy
• Friends From The Other Side - Gloria Anzaldua
• Frog And Toad Are Friends - Arnold Lobel
• Frog In Winter - Max Velthuijs
• From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E.L. Konisburg
• Fungus The Bogeyman - Raymond Briggs

• G

• The Garden - Jiri Trnka
• Garden Of Little Creatures - Antoon Krings
• Gargling With Jelly - Brian Patten
• Gaston - Andre Franquin
• The Gathering - Isobelle Carmody
• Gentle Ben - Walt Morey
• The Ghast Of Thomas Kempe - Penelope Lively
• The Ghost Drum - Susan Price
• The Giant Jam Sandwich - Janet Burroway
• The Gifting - Sophie Masson
• The Girl And The Jackdaw Tree - Riitta Jalonen
• A Girl Of The Limberlost - Gene Porter
• The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses - Paul Goble
• The Giver - Lois Lowry
• The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein
• Go, Dog, Go - P.D. Eastman
• The Goalkeeper's Revenge - Bill Naughton
• Gold Dust - Geraldine Mccaughrean
• Good Dog, Carl - Alexandra Day
• The Good Little Devil - Contesse De Segur
• The Good Master - Kate Seredy
• Good Night, Alfie Atkins - Gunilla Bergstrom
• Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
• Goodnight, Mr. Tom - Michelle Magorian
• Gorilla - Anthony Browne
• Granny - Peter Hartling
• The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
• Graveyard Kitaro - Shigeru Mizuki
• The Great Escape From City Zoo - Tohby Riddle
• Green Eggs And Ham - Dr. Seuss
• Grimms' Fairy Tales - Jacob Grimm
• Grimpow - Rafael Abalos
• Grinny - Nicholas Fisk
• Grover - Vera Cleaver
• The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
• Guess How Much I Love You - Sam Mcbratney
• Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
• Gumdrop - Val Biro

• H

• Habberdy Dick - Katharine Briggs
• Hairy Maclary From Donaldson's Dairy - Lynley Dodd
• Half Magic - Edward Eager
• Halinka - Mirjam Pressler
• Handa's Surprise - Eileen Browne
• Handles - Jan Mark
• The Happy Prince - Oscar Wilde
• The Happy Return - C.S. Forester
• The Hardy Boys 1 - Franklin Dixon
• Harold And The Purple Crayon - Crocket Johnson
• Haroun And The Sea Of Stories - Salman Rushdie
• Harriet The Spy - Louise Fitzhugh
• Harry And The Bucketful Of Dinosaurs - Ian Whybrow
• Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire - J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
• Harry the Dirty Dog Gene Zion
• Hatchet - Gary Paulson
• Hating Alison Ashley - Robin Klein
• Haunted House - Jan Pienkowski
• The Haunting - Margaret Mahy
• Hayflower And Quiltshoe - Sinikka And Nopola
• Heart - Edmondo Amicis
• Heart's Delight - Per Nilsson
• The Hedgehog Tree - Antonio Gramsci
• Heidi's Wandering Learning Years - Johanna Spyri
• Henry And Amy - Stephen King
• Henry And Mudge - Cynthia Ryland
• Hey, Al - Arthur Yorinks
• Hey, Dollface - Deborah Hautzig
• Hiter's Daughter - Jackie French
• The Hobbit - J.R. Tolkein
• The Hodgeheg - Dick Smith
• Hodja The Pjort - Ole Kirkegaard
• Holes - Louis Sachar
• Homecoming - Cynthia Voight
• Horrid Henry - Francesca Simon
• The Hound Of The Baskervilles - Arthur Doyle
• The Hound Of The Mound And The Frog Of The Bog - Ana Machado
• The Hounds Of The Morrigan - Pat O'shea
• The House That Jack Built - Unknown
• How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff
• How The Whale Became - Ted Hughes
• Humphrey's Corner - Sally Hunter
• The Hundred Dresses - Eleanor Estes
• A Hundred Million Francs - Paul Berna
• Hurrah For St. Trinians - Ronald Searle

• I

• I Am David - Anne Holm
• I Am Not Esther - Fleur Beale
• I Am Polleke - Guus Kuijer
• I Am Susannah - Libby Gleeson
• I Capture The Castle - Dodie Smith
• I Hate School - Jeanne Willis
• I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato - Lauren Child
• If You Give A Mouse A Cookie - Laura Numeroff
• The Illustrated Mum - Jacqueline Wilson
• I'm The King Of The Castle - Susan Hill
• In Medeleni - Ionel Teodoreanu
• In Mr. Thunder's House - Guido Quarzo
• In The Night Kitchen - Maurice Sendak
• The Incredible Journey - Sheila Burnford
• The Indian In The Cupboard - Lynne Banks
• Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
• The Invention Of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
• The Iron Man - Ted Hughes
• Is That A Monster, Alfie Atkins - Gunilla Bergstrom
• Island Of The Blue Dolphins - Scott O'dell
• The Island On Bird Street - Uri Orlev
• Italian Folktales - Italo Calvino
• Ivor The Engine - Oliver Postgate

• J

• Jacob, Have I Loved - Katherine Paterson
• Jamela's Dress - Niki Daly
• James And The Giant Peach - Road Dahl
• Jennifer Jones Won't Leave Me Alone - Frieda Wishinsky
• Jennings And Darbishire - Anthony Buckeridge
• Jim Button And Luke The Engine Driver - Michael Ende
• Jip And Janneke - Annie Schmidt
• Jock Of The Bushveld - Percy Fitzpatrick
• John Brown, Rose, And The Midnight Cat - Jenny Wagner
• Johnny And The Bomb - Terry Pratchett
• Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes
• Johnny, My Friend - Peter Pohl
• Jolanda, Daughter Of The Black Corsair - Emilio Salgari
• The Jolly Aunt - Lother Meggendorfer
• The Jolly Postman - Allan Ahlberg
• Josephine And Her Dolls - H.C. Cradock
• Joseph's Yard - Charles Keeping
• Journey To Jo'burg - Beverley Naidoo
• Journey To The Center Of The Earth - Jules Verne
• Journey To The River Sea - Eva Ibbotson
• Joyful Noise - Paul Fleischman
• Jules's Rat - Peter Hacks
• Julian The Rabbit - Nicoletta Costa
• Julie Of The Wolves - J. Craighead George
• Jumanji - Chris Van Allsburg
• A Jump Into The World - Bruno Tognolini
• The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
• Just Annoying - Andy Griffiths
• Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling
• Just William - Richmal Crompton

• K

• Kangaroo For All - Gloria Fuertes
• Katie Morag Delivers The Mail - Mairi Hedderwick
• The Kaziranga Trail - Arup Dutta
• Keeper - Mal Peet
• The Keeping Quilt - Patricia Polacco
• Kensuke's Kingdom - Michael Morpurgo
• A Kestrel For A Knave - Barry Hines
• The Keys To The Kingdom: Mister Monday - Garth Nix
• A Kid For Two Farthings - Wolf Mankowitz
• Kidnapped - Robert L. Stevenson
• Kimba - Osamu Tezuka
• King Arthur And His Knights Of The Round Table - Roger Green
• The King Of Copper Mountain - Paul Biegel
• Kipper - Mick Inkpen
• Knight's Fee - Rosemary Sutcliff
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale - Mo Willems
• Kubula And Kuba Kubikula - Vladislav Vancura

• L

• The Lark And The Laurel - Barbara Willard
• Lassie Come Home - Eric Knight
• The Last Giants - Francois Place
• Lavender's Blue - Kathleen Lines
• Lemony Snicket: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
• Lemony Snicket: The Vile Village - Lemony Snicket
• Lend Me Your Wings - John Agard
• Leo And Popi - Marie Agnes Gaudrat
• Leo The Late Bloomer - Robert Kraus
• Leonard The Terrible Monster - Mo Willems
• The Letter For The King - Tonke Dragt
• The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch - Ronda Armitage
• Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse - Kevin Henkes
• Linnea In Monet's Garden - Christina Bjork
• The Lion - Joseph Kessel
• A Lion In The Meadow - Margaret Mahy
• The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
• Listen To My Heart - Bianca Pitzorno
• The Little Bird - Paro Anand
• Little Blue And Little Yellow - Leo Lionni
• Little Bookroom - Eleanor Farjeon
• Little Brown Bear - Claude Lebron
• The Little Captain - Paul Biegel
• The Little Engine That Could - Walter Piper
• The Little Fox - Istvan Fekete
• The Little Grey Man - B.B.
• The Little Horse Bus - Graham Greene
• The Little House - Virginia Burton
• Little House In The Big Woods - Laura Wilder
• Little House On The Prairie - Laura Wilder
• Little I Am I - Mira Lobe
• Little Lord Fauntleroy - Frances Burnett
• The Little Man Dressed In Gray - Fernando Alonso
• The Little Mermaid - Hans Anderson
• Little Nicholas - Rene Goscinny
• Little Old Mrs. Pepperpot - Alf Proysen
• Little Onion - Gianni Rodari
• The Little Pot Boiler - Spike Milligan
• The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint Exupery
• A Little Princess - Francis Burnett
• The Little Red Engine Gets Its Name - Diana Ross
• The Little Red Lighthouse - Hildegarde Swift
• Little Spook's Baby Sister - Inger Sandberg
• Little Tim And The Brave Sea Captain - Edward Ardizzone
• Little Toot - Hardie Gramatky
• The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge
• Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
• The Little Wooden Horse - Ursula Williams
• Llama, Llama Red Pajama - Anna Dewdney
• Lon Po Po - Ed Young
• A Long Way From Verona - Jane Gardam
• Looking For Alibrandi - Melina Marchetta
• Loon's Necklace - William Toye
• Lord Of The Flies - William Godling
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring - J.R.R. Tolkein
• Lost And Found - Oliver Jeffers
• Lotta's Bike - Astrid Lindgren
• The Love Book - Pernilla Stalfelt
• Love You Forever - Robert Munsch
• Lucky Luke Arizona 1880 - Morris
• Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile - Bernard Waber

• M

• M.C. Higgins - Virginia Hamilton
• The Machine Gunners - Robert Westall
• Madame Doubtfire - Anne Fine
• Madeline - Ludwig Bemelmans
• Madlenka - Peter Sis
• The Magic Finger - Roald Dahl
• The Magic Fishbone - Charles Dickens
• The Magic Pocket - Michio Mado
• The Magic Pudding - Norman Lindsey
• Maisy Goes To Playschool - Lucy Cousins
• Make Way For Ducklings - Robert Mccloskey
• Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli
• Manolito Gafotas - Elvira Lindo
• Marc Just Couldn't Sleep - Gabriela Keselman
• Marcelino, Bread And Wine - Jose Silva
• Marianne Dreams - Catherine Storr
• Marigold Garden - Kate Greenway
• Marlaguette - Marie Colmont
• Martine - Gilbert Delahaye
• Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers
• Math Curse - Jon Scieszka
• Matilda - Roald Dahl
• Matthias And Grandpa - Roberto Plumini
• Max - Bob Graham
• Max And Moritz - Heinrich Busch
• Max And Sally - Milos Macourek
• Me In The Middle - Anamarie Machado
• Meg And Moog - Helen Nicoll
• Memoirs Of A Basque Cow - Bernardo Atxaga
• Memories Of Idhun: The Resistance - Laura Gallego
• Merryll Of The Stones - Brian Caswell
• The Messenger - Markus Zusak
• Metropolis - Osamu Tezuka
• Michka - Marie Colmont
• Miffy - Dick Bruna
• Mike Mulligan - Virginia Lee Burton
• Millions - Frank Boyce
• Millions Of Cats - Wanda Gag
• Milly Molly Mandy Stories - Joyce Brisley
• The Min Min - Mavis Clark
• Mind Your Own Business - Michael Rosen
• Minnow On The Say - Philippa Pearce
• Miss Nelson Is Missing - Harry Allard
• Missing From Saint Agil - Pierre Very
• Mister Magnolia - Quentin Blake
• Mistress Masham's Repose - T.H. White
• Misty Of Chincoteague - Marguerite Henry
• Mog The Forgetful Cat - Judith Kerr
• Moka The Cow - Agostino Traini
• A Mole Always Turns Up On Its Own - Hanna Johansen
• Molly Goes Shopping - Eva Ericksson
• Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling - David Cornish
• Moomin, Myble, And The Little My - Tove Jansson
• Moonfleet - J. Meade Falkner
• Morality Tales - Rafael Pombo
• Morris's Disappearing Bag - Rosemary Wells
• Mort And Phil - Francisco Ibanez
• Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
• Mother Goose - Kate Greenway
• The Mouse And His Child - Russell Hoban
• The Mouse And The Motorcycle - Beverly Cleary
• Mousehole Cat - Antonia Barber
• Mouth Open, Story Jump Out - Grace Hallworth
• Mr. And Mrs. Pig's Evening Out - Mary Rayner
• Mr. Archimedes' Bath - Pamela Allen
• Mr. Fox - Gavin Bishop
• Mr. Grumpy's Outing - John Burningham
• Mr. Majeika - Humphrey Carpenter
• Mr. Popper's Penguins - Richard Atwater
• Mr. Rabbit And The Lovely Present - Charlotte Zolotow
• Mr. Tickle - Roger Hargreaves
• Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of Nimh - Robert O'brien
• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters - John Steptoe
• My Big Birkett - Lisa Shanahan
• My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes - Eve Sutton
• My Father's Dragon - Ruth Gannett
• My Friend Flicka - Mary O'hara
• My Friend Mr. Leaky - J.B.S. Haldane
• My Friend Percy's Magical Gym Shoes - Ulf Stark
• My Friend The Painter - Lygia Bojunga
• My Girragundji - Meme Mcdonald
• My Great Grandfather, And I - James Krus
• My Kingdom For A Horse - Ana Machado
• My Naughty Little Sister - Dorothy Edwards
• My One Legged Friend And Me - Anna Haakana
• My Place - Nadia Wheatley
• My Side Of The Mountain - Jean Craighead George
• My Sweet Orange Tree - Jose Vasconcelos
• The Mystery Of The Yellow Room - Gaston Leroux

• N

• The Naming Of Tishkin Silk - Glenda Millard
• The Nargun And The Stars - Patricia Wrightson
• Nausicaa - Hayao Miyazaki
• A Necklace Of Raindrops - Joan Aiken
• Neitah: A Girl In The Far North - Edith Klatt
• Nesthakchen - Else Ury
• Neverending Story - Michael Ende
• The New Kid On The Block - Jack Prelutsky
• New Policeman - Kate Thompson
• Night At The Galactic Railroad - Kenji Miyazawa
• The Night Pirates - Peter Harris
• Night Swimmers - Betsy Byars
• No Way Of Telling - Emma Smith
• Nobody's Boy - Hector Malot
• Nobody's Family Is Going To Change - Louise Fitzhugh
• The Nonexistent Knight - Italo Calvino
• Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
• Not Chicago. Not Here - Kirsten Bole
• Not Now, Bernard - David Mckee
• Not So Fast Songolo - Niki Daly
• Nothing To Be Afraid Of - Jan Mark
• Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman
• Now We Are Six - A.A. Milne
• Number The Stars - Lois Lowry
• Nurse Matilda - Christianna Brand
• The Nutcracker And Other Tales - E.T.A. Hoffman
• The October Child - Eleanor Spence

• O

• Oh, Boy! - Marie Aude Murail
• Oh, The Places You'll Go - Dr. Seuss
• Okilele - Claude Ponti
• Old Bear - Jane Hissey
• Old Master Q - Wong Chak
• Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats - T.S. Eliot
• Old Tom - Leigh Hobbs
• Old Yeller - Fred Gipson
• Olivia - Ian Falconer
• On The Antilles Sea In A Paper Boat - Nicolas Guillen
• One Morning In Maine - Robert Mccloskey
• One Snowy Night - Nick Butterworth
• One Woolly Wombat - Red Trinca
• Only You Can Save Mankind - Terry Pratchett
• The Orange Cow - Nathan Hale
• Ordinary Jack - Helen Creswell
• Orlando - Kathleen Hale
• Oscar At The South Pole - Carmen Kurtz
• The Otterbury Incident - Cecil Day Lewis
• Out Of The Dust - Karen Hesse
• The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
• Owl Babies - Martin Waddell
• Owl Moon - Jane Yolen
• The Owl Services - Alan Garner
• Ox Cart Man - Donald Hall

• P

• A Pack Of Lies - Geraldine Mccaughrean
• Pagan's Crusade - Catherine Jinks
• The Painted House - Montserrat Del Amo
• A Pair Of Jesus Boots - Sylvia Sherry
• Pancakes For Findus - Sven Nordqvist
• The Paper Bag Princess - Robert Munsch
• The Papunya School Book - Nadia Wheatley
• A Parcel Of Patterns - Jill Walsh
• Parvana's Journey - Deborah Ellis
• Pastures Of The Blue Crane - H.F. Brinshead
• Pat The Bunny - Dorothy Kunhart
• The Path - Miguel Delibes
• Paul Street Boys - Ferenc Moinar
• Peace At Last - Jill Murphy
• Peanuts - Charles Schulz
• The People Could Fly - Virginia Hamilton
• The Peppermint Pig - Nina Bawden
• Peeling The Onion - Wendy Orr
• Perez The Mouse - Luis Coloma
• Peter In Blueberry Land - Elsa Beskow
• Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens - J.M. Barrie
• The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
• Picnic At Hanging Rock - Joan Lindsay
• The Pied Piper Of Hamlin - Robert Browning
• Pig Heart Boy - Malorie Blackman
• Pigeon Post - Arthur Ransome
• The Pigman - Paul Zindel
• Pinocchio - Carlo Collidi
• Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren
• Pirate's Heart - Benne Pludra
• Pit Pony - Joyce Barkhouse
• Platero And I - Juan Jimenez
• Playing Beatie Bow - Ruth Park
• Please Mrs. Butler - Allan Ahlberg
• A Pocket For Courduroy - Don Freeman
• Poems For The Very Young - Michael Rosen
• Pollyana - Eleanor Porter
• The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg
• A Pony For Jean - Joanna Cannan
• Poordog The Starved - Graciela Montes
• Possum Magic - Mem Fox
• Postcards From No Man's Land - Aiden Chambers
• Postman Pat's Treasure Hunt - John A. Cunliffe
• The Prince And The Pauper - Mark Twain
• Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis
• The Prince Of Motordu - Pef
• The Princess And The Goblin - George Macdonald
• The Princess Who Had Magic Fingers - Marla Gefaell
• The Prisoner Of Zenda - Anthony Hope
• Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo
• Professor Branestawm - Norman Hunter
• Pumpkin Soup - Helen Cooper

• Q

• The Quangle Wangle's Hat - Edward Lear
• Queen Of The Caribbean - Emilio Salgari
• The Quinkins - Percy Trezise
• Quirky Tails - Paul Jennings

• R

• Rabbit And Coyote - Beatriz Donnet
• Rabbit Hill - Robert Lawson
• The Railway Children - E. Nesbit
• Ramona The Pest - Beverly Cleary
• The Rattle Bag - Ted Hughes
• The Real Thief - William Steig
• Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm - Kate Wiggin
• The Red Pony - James Steinbeck
• The Red Shoe - Ursula Dubosarsky
• The Red U - Wilhelm Matthiessen
• Red Zora - Kurt Held
• Redwall - Brian Jacques
• Redwork - Michael Bedard
• Refugee Boy - Benjamin Zephaniah
• Rifles For Watie - Harold Keith
• River Boy - Tim Bowler
• The Robber Hotzenplot - Otfried Preubler
• Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
• Robinson The Younger - Johann Campe
• Rocco - Sherryl Jordan
• Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred Taylor
• Ronia, The Robber's Daughter - Astrid Lindgren
• The Rose And The Ring - William Thackeray
• Rose Goes To Daycare - Barbro Lindgren
• Rosie's Walk - Pat Hutchins
• Roule Galette - Natha Caputo
• Rowan Of Rin - Emily Rodda
• The Ruby In The Smoke - Philip Pullman
• Rumpelstiltskin And Other Grimm Tales - Carol Duffy
• The Runaway Bunny - Margaret Wise Brown
• Runaway Train - Benedict Blathwayt
• The Running Man - Michael Bauer
• Rupert The Bear - Mary Tourtel
• Rupert The Rapper And Aunt Deep Freeze - Sinikka Nopola

• S

• Sarah, Plain And Tall - Patricia Maclachlan
• The Scarecrows - Robert Westall
• The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The School At The Chalet - Elinor Brent Dryer
• The School For Cats - Esther Averill
• Schoolboy Jia Li - Qin Wenjun
• The Sea At The End Of The Forest - Pinin Carpi
• The Sea Monster - Christopher Wormell
• The Sea Thing Child - Russell Hoban
• The Seasons In The City - Italo Calvino
• The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole - Sue Townsend
• The Secret Garden - Frances Burnett
• The Secret Of The Old Clock - Carolyn Keene
• See How They Run - David Mcrobbie
• See Ya, Simon - David Hill
• The Sentinels - Peter Carter
• Seven Little Australians - Ethel Turner
• The Sheep Pig - Dick King Smith
• Shiloh - Phyllis Naylor
• The Ship That Flew - Hilda Lewis
• The Shrinking Of Treehorn - Florence Heide
• Shy Violet - Giana Anguissola
• The Silver Brumby - Elyne Mitchell
• The Silver Jaguar - Hermann Schulz
• The Silver Sword - Ian Serrailler
• Simple National Slovak Tales - Pavol Dobsinksy
• Six Companions - Paul Bonzon
• Skellig - David Almond
• Skippyjohn Jones - Judy Schachner
• The Slave Dancer - Paula Fox
• Slaves Of Quentaris - Paul Collins
• Sleep Well, Little Bear - Quint Buchholz
• The Slightly True Story Of Cedar B. Hartley - Martine Murray
• Slinky Malinki - Lynley Dodd
• Smith - Leon Garfield
• Snip Snap - Mara Bergman
• The Snow Spider - Jenny Nimmo
• The Snowman - Raymond Briggs
• The Snowy Day - Ezra Keats
• Some Of The Kinder Planets - Tim Jones
• Something's Fishy, Hazel Green - Odo Hirsch
• The Sons Of The Great Bear - Liselotte Henrich
• Sophie's Misfortunes - Sophie Rostopochine
• Sounder - William Armstrong
• The Spirit Wind - Max Fatchem
• The Squirrel, The Hare And The Little Grey Rabbit - Alison Uttley
• Stellaluna - Janell Cannon
• The Sterkarm Handshake - Susan Price
• Stig The Dump - Clive King
• Stina - Lena Anderson
• Stinky Cheese Man - John Scieszka
• The Stone Book - Alan Garner
• Stone Cold - Robert Swindells
• Stone Soup - Marcia Brown
• Stony Heart Country - David Metzenthen
• Stories From The Year One Thousand - Tonino Guerra
• Stories To Fernando - Erna Wolf
• Storm - Kevin Crossley Holland
• Storm Boy - Colin Thiele
• The Story About Ping - Marjorie Flack
• The Story Of A Seagull - Luis Sepulveda
• The Story Of Babar - Jean De Brunhoff
• The Story Of Doctor Doolittle - Hugh Lofting
• The Story Of Ferdinand - Munto Leaf
• The Story Of The Little Mole - Werner Holzwarth
• The Story Of The Root Children - Sibylle Offers
• The Story Of The Treasure Seekers - E. Nesbit
• The Story Of Tracy Beaker - Jacqueline Wilson
• The Stowaway Of The Ulysses - Ana Maria Matute
• Stradbroke Dreamtime - Noonuccal Oodgeroo
• Strange Objects - Gary Crew
• Strega Nona - Tomie Depaolo
• Strollers - Lesley Beake
• Der Struwwelpeter - Heinrich Hoffman
• Stuart Little - E.B. White
• The Summer Book - Tove Jansson
• The Summer Of The Swans - Betsy Byars
• Sunday's Child - Gudrun Mebs
• Superfudge - Judy Blume
• Sussi And Biribissi - Collodi Nipote
• Swallows And Amazons - Arthur Ransome
• Swimmy - Leo Lionni
• The Swish Of The Curtain - Pamela Brown
• The Swiss Family Robinson - Johann Wyss
• Switchers - Kate Thompson
• The Sword In The Stone - T.H. White
• Sylvester And The Magic Pebble - William Steig

• T

• The Tale Of Despereaux - Kate Dicamillo
• The Tale Of Jemima Puddle Duck - Beatrix Potter
• The Tale Of Mr. Jeremy Fisher - Beatrix Potter
• The Tale Of Peter Rabbit - Beatrix Potter
• Tales And Legends - Javier Villafane
• Tales From Shakespeare - Charles And Mary Lamb
• Tales Of Otogizoshi - Unknown
• Tales Of Rue Broca - Pierre Gripari
• Tales Of Snugglepot And Cuddlepie - May Gibbs
• Tales Of The Jungle - Horacio Quiroga
• Tales Of Uncle Rabbit - Euclides Jaramillo
• Talking Whispers - James Watson
• Tangara - Nan Chauncey
• Tar Beach - Faith Ringgold
• Tarka The Otter - Henry Williamson
• Taronga - Victor Kelleher
• Tashi - Anna Fleming
• Tatu And Paty In Helsinki - Aino Havukainen
• T'choupi - Theirry Courtin
• Teddy Robinson Stories - Joan Robinson
• Telephone Tales - Gianni Rodari
• Teo Discovers The World - Violeta Denou
• That Pesky Rat - Lauren Child
• A Thief In The Village - James Berry
• The Thirteen Clocks - James Thurber
• There Will Be Wolves - Karleen Bradford
• This Is The Bear - Sarah Hayes
• Thomas The Tank Engine - Rev. Awdry
• Thorn Castle - Istvan Fekete
• Three Fairy Tales - Gustavo Garzo
• The Three Musketeers - Alexander Dumas
• The Three Pigs - David Wiesner
• The Three Railway Engines - Rev. Awdry
• The Three Robbers - Tomi Ungerer
• Through The Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll
• Thunder And Lightnings - Jan Mark
• Thunderwith - Libby Hathorn
• Thursday's Child - Sonya Hartnett
• Tickle, Tickle - Helen Oxenbury
• The Tiger Who Came To Tea - Judith Kerr
• The Tigers Of Mompracem - Emilio Salgari
• Time Of Trial - Hester Burton
• Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets - Herge
• Titeuf - Zep
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• A Toad Who Wanted To Be A Star - Oscar Alfaro
• Toby - Graciela Cabal
• Toby Alone - Timothee De Fombelle
• Tom Brown's Schooldays - Thomas Hughes
• Tomb Raiders - Odile Weulersse
• Tomorrow, When The War Began - John Marsden
• Tom's Midnight Garden - Philippa Pearce
• Tow Truck Pluck - Annie Schmidt
• Traditional Chinese Folktales - Unknown
• A Traveller In Time - Alison Utley
• The Treasure In Silver Lake - Karl May
• Treasure Island - Robert L. Stevenson
• A Tree Is Nice - Janice Udry
• Troy - Adele Geras
• The Trouble With Donovan Croft - Bernard Ashley
• Truckers - Terry Pratchett
• The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs - John Scieszka
• Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt
• Tulku - Peter Dickinson
• The Turbulent Term Of Tyke Tiler - Gene Kemp
• Tweet Tweet - Ludmilla Podjavorinska
• The Twelve And The Genii - Pauline Clarke
• The Twenty One Balloons - William Du Bois
• Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
• Two Little Bears - Hanna Muschg
• Two Weeks With The Queen - Morris Gleitzman
• Twopence A Tub - Susan Price

• U

• Ug: Boy Genius Of The Stone Age - Raymond Briggs
• The Ugly Duckling - Hans Anderson
• Uncle - J.P. Martin
• Uncle Remus Stories - Joel Harris
• Under The Mountain - Maurice Gee
• Underground To Canada - Barbara Smucker
• Unknown Or Forgotten Princess - Philippe Lechermeier
• Up In The Tree - Margaret Atwood
• Uppo The Bear - Elina Karjalainen
• Utterly Me, Clarice Bean - Lauren Child

• V

• The Valley Of The Fireflies - Gloria Diaz
• Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle
• The View From Saturday - E.L. Konisburg
• Viking's Dawn - Henry Treece
• The Village By The Sea - Anita Desai
• A Visit From Saint Nicholas - Clement Moore
• The Visits - Silvia Schujer
• The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis

• W

• A Walk In The Park - Anthony Browne
• Walk Two Moons - Sharon Creech
• Walkabout - James Marshall
• Walking Naked - Alyssa Brugman
• War Horse - Michael Morpurgo
• The War Of The Buttons - Louis Pergaud
• The Warden's Niece - Gillian Avery
• Warrior Scarlet - Rosemary Sutcliff
• Watch Out For The Cat - Silvana Gandolfi
• The Water Babies - Charles Kingsley
• Watership Down - Richard Adams
• Way Home - Libby Hathorn
• We Are The Triplets - Roser Capdevila
• We Couldn't Leave Dinah - Mary Treadgold
• The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen - Alan Garner
• We're Going On A Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen
• The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin
• The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera
• What Celia Says - Elena Fortun
• What Do People Do All Day - Richard Scarry
• What Does The Mouse Think On Thursday - Josef Guggenmos
• What Katy Did - Susan Coolidge
• The Wheel On The School - Meindert Dejong
• When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr
• When The Snow Fell - Henning Mankell
• When The Wind Blows - Raymond Briggs
• When The World Was Still Young - Jurg Schubiger
• When We Were Very Young - A.A. Milne
• Where The Lilies Bloom - Vera Cleaver
• Where The Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
• Where The Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein
• Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
• Where's My Teddy - Jez Alborough
• Where's Spot - Eric Hill
• Whipping Boy - Sid Fleischman
• Whispers In The Grave - Theresa Breslin
• White Fang - Jack London
• The White Stone - Gunnel Linde
• Who Does This Kid Take After - Eva Janikowsky
• Who's Seen The Scissors - Fernando Krahn
• Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears - Verna Aardema
• Why The Whales Came - Michael Morpurgo
• The Widemouthed Frog - Francine Vidal
• The Wind In The Willows - Kenneth Grahame
• Wind On The Moon - Eric Linklater
• The Wind Singer - William Nicholson
• Window - Jeannie Baker
• The Winged Watchman - Hilda Stockum
• Winnie The Pooh - A.A. Milne
• Winnie The Witch - Valerie Thomas
• Winter In Wartime - Jan Terlouw
• Winter Song - Jean Claude Mourlevat
• Witch Child - Celia Rees
• The Witch Of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth Speare
• With Clive In India - George Henty
• A Wizard Of Earthsea - Ursula Le Guin
• Wolf Brother - Michelle Paver
• Wolves - Emily Gravett
• The Wolves In The Wall - Neil Gaiman
• The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken
• The Wonderful Adventures Of Nils - Selma Lagerlof
• The Wonderful Farm - Marcel Ayme
• The Wonderful Tree - Ulf Lofgren
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Lyman Baum
• Woods Of Windri - Violet Needham
• The Wool Pack: A Tale Of Adventure - Cynthia Harnett
• The Worst Witch - Jill Murphy
• Worzel Gummidge - Barbara Todd
• A Wrinkle In Time - Madeleine L'engle

• Y

• The Yearling - Marjorie Rawlings
• The Young Visiters - Daisy Ashford
• You're All My Favorites - Sam Mcbratney

• Z

• Zazie In The Metro - Raymond Queneau
• Zen Shorts - John Muth