Mail Box Mondays
Thanks to Danielle L. Jackson of Sourcebooks, Inc. for this review copy!
Thanks to Hachette Books for this book. I really wanted it but I'm pretty sure I didn't request it, so I was very suprised when it arrived on my doorstep.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Short Story Monday: It's Raining, It's Pouring by Andrea Spalding, Illustrated by Leslie Elizabeth Watts
"It's raining, it's pouring,
the Old Man is snoring,
He went to be with a cold in his head,
and he didn't get up in the morning.
Rain, rain go away,
Little Girl wants to Play."
This is a story based on the above nursery rhyme. It's raining and thundering very loudly. Mother tells Little Girl that the thunder is because Old Man, living in the clouds has a cold and is coughing. Little Girl decides to go up into the clouds to help Old Man get better.
Little girl gets a really tall latter and climbs up through the kitchen ceiling, into the upstairs bedroom and then up through the roof. She climbs and climbs up into the clouds. When she gets off the ladder, there is conveniently a sign pointing the way to Old Man's house. She talks to Old Man and sees he really is sick. He is also a giant.
Little Girl says, "my mom gives me hot honey and lemon to drink when I've got a cold." Old Man cried his reply, "but I haven't got a mother." Little Girl excuses herself and says that she'll be back. She climbs all the way down to the kitchen and her mom makes a wheelbarrow full of the hot lemon drink. Little Girl climbs all the way back up pulling the wheelbarrow tied to a rope behind her.
I really enjoyed this story. I loved the interaction with Little Girl and Old Man. The illustrations were beautiful and went well with the story. I especially liked the picture of Old Man drinking directly from the wheel barrel.
The actually nursery rhyme was different from the one I learned as a child. The first part was the same but another line was added after "snoring". It went, "he bumped his his head and went to bed and didn't get up until morning." I liked this version better. This is another children's book that I highly recommend.
If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays or just find out about some great short stories, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story reviews. Come join in the fun!
A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch & Michael Kusugak, Art by Vladyana Krykora
It was the first day of spring and an Inuit girl, Allashua, living in the Arctic decided to go fishing. Her mother said, "don't go fishing on the sea ice. Under the sea ice live Qallupilluit. They grab children who aren't with their parents." Allashua agreed, saying: "a promise is a promise."
Allashua did go fishing on the sea ice and she taunted the Qallupilluit. She caught many fish and then, all of a sudden she heard a voice. There, "between her and the shore" were the Qallupilluit. They grabbed her and dragged her under the sea ice where they live. I can't tell you anymore because I don't want to rick giving spoilers.
This story is told in beautiful prose. This was an excellent collaboration between Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak. Kusugak grew up in the Arctic. The Inuit spend much time on the sea ice and made up the story about the Qallupilluit to keep their children away from danger. The illustrations are in vibrant colour and go perfectly with the words. Highly recommended! This is another book that your children will want to read over and over.
Awards Round Up
I received these lovely awards this week:
Thanks to Kristi of Books and Needlepoint for this award!
Here's what she said:
I have enjoyed talking with all of these bloggers through email - and have learned a lot by reading their blogs and
I'm glad that we can learn from each other and share ideas! Borrow away.
All three of these bloggers are worth a visit. Go check them out!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Giveaways Galore
As usual, be sure to check back at this post throughout the week for links to more book giveaways!
My Giveaways:
I am having a big audiobook giveaway, in celebration of over 200 followers on my blog! I am giving away THE SCARECROW By Michael Connely, CEMETERY DANCE By Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, LOSING MUM AND PUP By Christopher Buckley, THE WAY HOME By George Pelecanos. The deadlines to enter vary. You can enter here.
Over at Novels Now we are giving away an advance readers copy of The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Enter by June 21st, here.
Over at Historical Tapestry we are giving away The Heart of The Lion by Jean Plaidy. Enter by June 28th, here.
New offerings (if you do enter any of these lovely giveaways, please let them know that Teddy sent you):
Wendy of Caribousmom is giving away A Thousand Veils by D. J. Murphy. Enter by June 20th, here.
J.C. of The Biblio Brat is giving away The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. Enter by June 15, here.
Dar of Peeking Between the Pages is givingaway 5 copies of Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke. Enter by June 29th, here. She is also giving away 5 copies of A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand. Enter by June 29th, here.
Kathy of Bermudaonion is having a big giveaway in honour of her one year blogiversary. She is giving away OUR DUMB WORLD by The Onion, AS ALWAYS JACK by Emma Sweeney, GIRLS IN TRUCKS by Katie Crouch, GODS IN ALABAMA by Joshilyn Jackson, and TRAIL OF CRUMBS by Kim Sunee. Enter by June 22nd, here.
Sherri of A Novel Menagerie is giving away The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. Enter by June 19th, here.
Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit is celebrating her up-come blogiversary with a prize pack giveaway. Here's what it includes: 1. Book Club Girl canvas bag with books, Garth Stein swag, and more 2. Scrapbooking kit, which I will either make from the winner’s JPG images or they can do it themselves. 3. A third mystery prize 4. Some smaller mystery prizes. Enter by July 11th, here.
Dar of Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Painter From Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein. Enter by July 4th, here.
Below are giveaways that I announced in previous weeks. There is still time to enter (if you do enter any of these lovely giveaways, please let them know that Teddy sent you):
Trish of Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? is giving away 10 copies of The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. Enter by June 17, here.
Chick With Books is giving away 3 copies of Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke. Enter by June 27th, here.
Alyce of At Home With Books is giving away The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker, The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon, The Domino Men by Jonathan Barnes, and My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff. Enter by June 28th, here.
Royal Reviews is giving away The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Enter by June 29th, here.
Dolleygurl of The Maiden's Court is giving away Sex with the Queen by Eleanor Herman. Enter by June 21st, here.
Drey of Drey's Library is having a big birthday bash celebration. She has many books that she is giving away and some really cool guest posts. New posts are up daily for the month of June. Check her out One of her giveaway is for Emily St. John Mandel's Last Night in Montreal.Enter by June 17, here.
J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away the Audio Book A LONG STONE'S THROW, autographed by the author, Alphie McCourt. Enter by June 26th, here. She is giving away tons of other books as well, so go visit her blog.
NotNessie of Today's Adventure is having a Clean Out the Bookbox Giveaway. It looks like there is something in there for just about everyone's tastes. Enter by June 24, here.
Kristi of Books and Needlepoint is giving away 3 copies of the audio book The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. Enter by June 15th, here.
Visit West of Mars Win a Book to find out about even more Giveaways!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Mud Puddle by Robert Munsch, Art by Sami Suomalainen
This is the story about Julie Ann. Her mother bought her new clothes. After Julie Ann put them on she went outside and sat under a tree. A big mud puddle jumped down from the tree and oh boy, did she get muddy. She ran inside and her mom bathed her and then Julie Ann put on new clothes again and went outside. This time the mud puddle was hiding on top of the house. Splat..it jumped on her again. This kept happening until Julie Ann figured out how to get rid of the mud puddle once and for all.
This was a really cute and fun story with vivid illustrations that even gave the mud puddle a face. Julie Ann's mom had the patience of a saint. I know my mom would have yelled at me. I highly recommend this book. It is one that your children will want to read over and over.
Winners: The Night Gardener By George Pelecanos
Thanks to all of you who entered! I wish that I could send copies of these books to each of you! A special thanks to those of you who follow my blog or became followers! I hope you enjoy my blog!
The 5 winners are:
Ann Marie
Julie
Windy Cindy
Janet Faye (won on another blog)
Gahome2mom (won on another blog)
Scottsgal
Cindy
Congratulations! I emailed all five of you, please contact me within 3 days to claim your prize.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Completed- The PUB Challenge - 2009
This was an easy challenge for me because of all the ARC's I read.
Here are the 9 2009 books I read for the challenge:
1.Still I Rise by Roland Laird with Tanesha Nash Laird, Illustrated by Elihu "Adofo" Bey
2.The Kingmaking By Helen Hollick
3.Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
4. King's Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives, and the One Man Who Knew Their Secrets by Margaret Campbell Barnes
5.Bark Up the Right Tree by Jessie & Ruth Tschudin
6.Signora da Vinci by Robin Maxwell
7. The Help By Kathryn Stockett
8.The Lieutenantby Kate Grenville
9.The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
Bright and Refreshing
In this bright and intelligent book, we follow Edward Meopian from the age of 14 to 45 years old (1968-1999). His mother died when he was young and his father did his best to raise him. They live in Minnesota where his father is an encyclopedia salesman.
Edward's father decides to enrol Edward in private school which Edward is very unhappy about. There are a bunch or rich snobby kids there and he finds it hard to fit in. One of the rich kids asks him what his father does and he lies and says, my father "is in publishing." Of course his lie is found out when his father shows up at the school library to deliver new encyclopedias.
Later Edward gets a stepmother and younger stepbrother and then gets accepted into a university in Denver. He is anxious to start this new chapter in his life and to meet girls. He does get his first girlfriend there but it doesn't last long. He graduates from university and wants to make it as a film director so moves to L.A. Reality hits him hard and he ends up having to work in a camera store to pay his rent.
When he ends up quitting his dead end job and has no money, his father suggests that he move to rural Alabama to set up a convenience store in the trailer park that his father bought. Edward agrees and enlists his friend Sagebrush to go with him. The two could not be more opposite but somehow they work together.
I could go on but I don't want to give away too much. This is a hilarious and intelligently written book. The funniest part for me was the summer in the trailer park but I loved the whole book. Meeks hits all the right cords. His writing is fresh, intelligent and very witty! Also, being born and raised in Minnesota myself, it was fun to see all the references to cities and landmarks that I recognized.
This is Christopher Meeks first novel but he has written two short story collections that have been highly recommend by Wendy of Caribousmom. I plan to read these and can hardly wait for his next novel. The Brightest Moon of the Century is such a treat and I cannot recommend it high enough!
5/5
Thanks so much to Christopher Meeks and sending me his book and to Wendy of Caribousmom for sending him my way!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Mailbox Monday
Visit Marcia every Monday at The Printed Page to share what arrives in your mailbox each week.
This week I received:
John Shors emailed me himself, to ask me it I would like to review his newest upcoming release. I didn't jump at this opportunity, I leeped!! I loved, I mean LOVED, his first novel Beneath a Marble Sky
The Last Queen: A Novel
Remember my interview with Robin Maxwell, regarding her book Signora Da Vinci
? When were we emailing back and forth, she asked me if I was interested in reviewing her friend's novel. None other than C.W. Gortner! Of course, I couldn't pass that up. Thanks Robin and C.W.!The Unit
Thanks to Tony Viardo of Other Press, LLC.
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