Every year, we celebrate Macy and her short life. She taught me so much about myself, though I’m not sure everyone would understand that. She also reinforced my love and respect for Mr. Bookworm, who has been a true partner to me every step of the way.
“Look. I didn’t want to be a half-blood.
If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.
Being a half-blood is dangerous. It’s scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.”
The LIghtening Thief by Rick Riordan
My Lola (my grandma on my mom’s side) and I were close. She had a special relationship with each of her grandchildren. Still, even after she’s been gone for 18 years, I can picture her smile (with bright red lipstick!) and hear her laughter and it makes me smile too.
I love hearing ‘origin’ stories about books, especially about beloved series in our house. Cressida Cowell opens How to Be a Viking with an explanation that the series was inspired by a drawing she did in her sketch book about a little Viking prone to seasickness and his relationship with his father, who happens to be chief of their tribe. Thus Hiccup and Stoik the Vast are born (and later spun into the How to Train Your Dragon series).
I thought back to my first year with Little Lion, my rainbow baby. Do I remember any of it?
Mostly no. I just remember sleepless nights and breastfeeding and holding her close. Plus the JOY JOY JOY that our rainbow baby brought into our lives. Always bittersweet.
If you haven’t guessed by now, it’s REALLY hard for me to resist buying books. Even as our house is overflowing with them.
So when Little Lion and I were out Christmas shopping last weekend and I was fairly good at convincing her to put most things back on the shelf, when it came time to put back Dragonology by Ernest Drake and Dugald Steer, I was torn.
“Here is everything I know about France: Madeline and Amelie and Moulin Rouge. The Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe, although I hav eno idea what the function of either actually is. Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, ad a lot of kings named Louis. I’m not sure what they did either, but I think it has something to do with the French Revolution, which has something to do with Bastille Day.”
~ Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Jason Reynolds starts off For Everyone with the words “Dear Dreamer”. Not Dear Reader, but Dear DREAMER.
It’s a message straight to my heart.
I likely wrote about this last year too, but this is the time of year when I freeze up in the aisles at Target. Why?
Because I feel at a loss at whether or not to buy a(nother) mini-Christmas tree for Macy.
My Lola was one of my kindred spirits. I think she understood me in a different way than my mom does.
So you can imagine that when I heard that Dan Santat was illustrating a picture book about a boy’s relationship with his grandfather, I leaped at the chance to read it. I mean, it’s Dan Santat, right?
“Scene 1: EXT NEW YORK, AMERICAN MINISTRY OF MAGIC—1927—NIGHT
AERIAL of New York and MACUSA building.]
Scene 2: INT MACUSA BASEMENT, BARE, BLACK-WALLED ROOM, NIGHT
The long-haired, bearded GRINDEWALD sits motionless, partially fixed to a chair. The air shimmers, charged with spells.
ABERNATHY peers in at GRINDEWALD from the corridor.
A baby chupacabra—part lizard, part homunculus, a blood-sucking creature of the Americas—is chained to GRINDEWALD’S chair. “
~ The Crimes of Grindewald by J.K. Rowling
“Okay, so when you’ve just moved to a new town and are still a total outsider…
this…
…is not the best way to start life at your new school.
Hi! Penelope here. Peppi for short. It’s my first day at Berrybrook Middle School, and I just ripped over my own feet and dropped everything.”
~ Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
“Long ago, on the wild and windy isle of Berk, a smallish Viking with a longish name stood up to his ankles in snow.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the Hope and Heir to the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, had been feeling slightly sick ever since he woke up that morning.”
~ How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Dr. Bookworm talks about PEACEFUL mornings as a mother, and also about Special Delivery and the OC Walk to Remember.
Books are still being banned in the U.S. in 2018. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why.
Mini Me and Dr. Bookworm debate the movie versus novel version of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda AKA Love, Simon by Becky Albertalli.
Part 3 of our Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone read-along. Trivia questions included!
A day in the life of the Bookworm family on the last day of summer break.
“First the colors.
Then the humans.
That’s how I see things.
Or at least, how I try.”
~The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Here is Part Two of our discussion of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for our summer read-along. Please note that because I’ve posted this late, I’ve extended the deadline to our summer contest giveaway to Sept 10 at midnight PST.
