Category Archives for love books

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Books for Kids to Give as Mother’s Day Gifts

Mother’s Day will be here before you know it, so I started researching books to give to my own mama. In the process, I stumbled upon so, so many cute books for children to give to their moms as gifts. As a kid, I would have loved to give my mom a Mother’s Day themed book that I could read to her. Heck, I still might read her a children’s book and I’m 27, ya’ll. Who doesn’t love story time?!

Here’s my top 5 picks:

5. what not to give your momWhat NOT to Give Your Mom on Mother’s Day
Martha Simpson (Author), Jana Christy (Illustrator)

A list-based book that tells the story of a child giving his mother Mother’s Day gifts better suited for animals.

Easy-to-read for the beginning readers, but this book may be a little childish for kids over 6.

4.  Mother’s Day Surprisemother's day surprise
Stephen Krensky (Author), Kathi Ember (Illustrator)

Violet the snake is stumped! Her forest friends are all making gifts for their mothers for Mother’s Day. But Violet doesn’t have any arms or legs or teeth! What’s a snake to do?!

Reptilian-loving kids will love this story. We all know those kids! But they may point out that snakes do have teeth (or fangs) and Violet’s teeth are showing on almost every page. A small flaw in an otherwise cute story.

the night before mother's day3. The Night Before Mother’s Day
Natasha Wing (Author), Amy Wummer (Illustrator)

One in the many and well-liked “Night Before” series, this book shows dad and the girls setting up a spa day and making a cake for mom.

What mom doesn’t want a spa day?! ‘Nuff said.

happy mothers day!2. Little Critter: Happy Mother’s Day!
Mercer Mayer (Author, Illustrator)

Mercer Mayer books are true classics. And this book is no different. This time, Little Critter has a special surprise in store for Mom. This interactive book encourages kids to lift the flaps of the pages to see what Little Critter has created for his mom. Fun for kids that need that tactile stimulation!

we love our mom

1. We Love our Mom!
Jan Berenstain (Author, Illustrator), Mike Berenstain (Author, Illustrator)

And for my number one choice, my sentimentality won out. I have such fond memories of my mom reading my sister and I Berenstain Bears stories when we were small. She even had a special voice for each bear!

In this recent addition to the Berenstain Bears collection, Brother and Sister look for a way to show their mom they care.

My mom is definitely getting this one for mother’s day. Maybe with a spa gift certificate as a bookmark?!

What are you giving your mom on Mother’s Day?

love,
melanie

Famous Last Words

famouslastwords

Hello, weekend! I am so glad to be back home from the conference I attended this week. Unfortunately, I won’t be home for long. On Saturday, I will be traveling to Raleigh to sell goods at the Raleigh Flea Market. Stop by and say hi!

Friday means it is time for famous last words. If you are the first person to correctly guess the last words from the book or story above, I will mail you a signed copy of the novel, A Moment in the Sun! Please submit your guesses in the comments. (This one is easy, peasy!)

Contest rules: Previous winners may not win the prize again. The prize applies to residents of the U.S.A. only.

love,
melanie

Famous Last Words

lastwords3It’s Friday, again! This month has been and will be a doozy. I’ve got a million projects going on and I am dreaming of the slow, warm summer.

Friday also means it is time for famous last words. If you are the first person to correctly guess the last words from the book or story above, I will mail you a copy of the novel, A Moment in the Sun! Please submit your guesses in the comments.

This one may be a bit more difficult than usual. Here’s a hint: it from a very short story!

Contest rules: Previous winners may not win the prize again. The prize applies to residents of the U.S.A. only.

love,
melanie

Famous Last Words Friday

lastwords2Happy Friday! Can you smell the weekend yet? I can! It smells like freshly-baked bread and freshly-laundered sheets.

Can you guess the novel these famous last words belong to? Leave your guesses in the comments! This week I’ve got a brand new copy of A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles for the first correct guess.

love,
melanie

Famous Last Words

LastWordsIt’s Friday! Can you tell I’m excited? I’ve been feeling super inspired lately and I want to run with it. This weekend I have some craft projects planned and I’m ready to lounge in my pajamas until the late afternoon.

I thought it might be fun to play a little game on Fridays. I post the last line of a novel and you guess it in the comments. This week’s famous last words are from one of my favorite series. Can you guess it? No Googling!

love,
melanie

Books and Looks: A Look Inspired by Weetzie Bat

DSC_0981weetziebat DSC_0979

Jacket: Valentine’s gift from George; Pants: vintage; Scarf: Free People; Moccasins: Minnetonka; Belt: vintage

I want to get back into posting outfits again. It is so easy to just put on a giant grandma sweater and go to work. My lack of enthusiasm for dressing lately made me think: “What am I enthusiastic about?” And the answer is books. So I thought it might be fun to combine something I’m not so crazy for with something I am crazy for and create “looks inspired by books.”

Most recently I’ve been reading the YA cult-classic, Weetzie Bat. I have to be honest with ya’ll, I didn’t love Weetzie. In fact, I’ve read other Francesca Lia Block books before and I didn’t like those either. I think the plot moves too fast and there isn’t enough dialog. But Block’s books do have plenty of rich description– and Weetzie Bat is no exception.

My look is inspired by not just the main character, Weetzie, but also inspired by her best friend, Dirk, and the city they love, Los Angeles.

What inspires you?
love,
melanie

Book Review: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

A few patrons of the library recommended that I read, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. Ya’ll know I haven’t been much of an adult fiction person lately– young adult is more of my bag– but I was feeling a bit whimsical, so I thought I’d give this book a try.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter spans almost a quarter of a century and follows the lives of the Henry family. The book opens on a rare, snowy Kentucky night in 1964. Mrs. Norah Henry is pregnant and goes into labor. The roads are treacherous from the storm, so Norah’s husband, Dr. David Henry, an orthopedic surgeon, must deliver the child at his practice with the help of his nurse, Caroline.

Unexpectedly, Norah delivers twins. The first child, a boy, is healthy. The second child, a girl, is born with Down syndrome. In a split second decision that changes everyone’s life, David tells Caroline to take the girl to an institution and tells Norah that the child passed away. Since Norah was under the influence of laughing gas, as was typical of the birthing process in the ’60s, she has little recollection of the birth.

Caroline drives the baby to the institution, but can’t bring herself to leave the child. So, the story of the next 25 years of the family’s life begins.

The premise of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is a fascinating one. Very few fiction books I am familiar with address Down syndrome before current times. In the not-so-far-away past, Down syndrome and mental disabilities were viewed as a death sentence– this book sheds light on this unpleasant part of the past.

The characters of the story are rich and unforgettable, but the language of the book can be overly descriptive. It took me weeks to get through the 400 page novel and at times, I must admit to skipping through the flourishing, mundane details.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is worth a read for those that enjoy realism, historical fiction and books about chromosomal conditions.

Did you read The Memory Keeper’s Daughter? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments.

love,
melanie

Back to School: 5 Books for Educators

Posts have been a little sparse ’round these parts because it’s that time of year again… BACK TO SCHOOL TIME! In the last week I’ve been busying myself with the logistics of a new print management system, hiring a new and much needed library worker (yay!) and registering a plethora of new patrons.

I love a fresh start, but I must admit, I’m not exactly pumped for the return of students on Wednesday of next week. I’m feeling a little unprepared. But the students are returning whether I finish updating our 300+ page procedure manual or not. So, to relieve my anxiety, I went searching for a few books to inspire myself and to recommend to our educators. Here’s what I found:

5. Work Hard. Be Nice.

Jay Mathews

The title of this one really says it all. I strongly believe in hard work and kindness. And so do Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin former Teach for America teachers who after feeling like failures in the classroom created the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). What I like most about the KIPP program is that it encourages lessons to be lively. Education could afford to liven things up a little bit.

4. Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

David Rock

Your Brain at Work may not be directly related to the education field, but let’s be honest, we could all afford to learn a few strategies for overcoming distractions and working smarter. In this book, David Rock takes us inside a 21st-century couple’s brain to discover how brain chemistry can lead our minds astray and how we can overcome everyday challenges.

3. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

Diane Ravitch

In The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Diane Ravich, former assistant secretary of education critiques the current business model of education. Ravich offers 40 years of insight and remedies for improving our nation’s schools. My favorite remedies Ravitch offers for improving our schools include paying teachers a fair wage and encouraging family involvement in school.

2. In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization

Deborah Meier

Deborah Meier uses her experience as founder of the Central Park East School in East Harlem and the Mission Hill School in Boston to argue in favor of trust in education and against standardization. Like Ravitch, Meier also strongly believes in family involvement and Meier makes the case for smaller, self-governed schools. Often too much emphasis is placed the standardization of learning over true learning, don’t you agree?

1.  Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56

Rafe Esquith

In Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire, Rafe Esquith details how he has perfected award-winning teaching methods over a 20+ year career teaching in Los Angeles. Tips from Esquith’s classroom include incorporating different subjects into all learning activities– involve math skills in art lessons and vice versa! Best of all, Esquith provides links and tools for incorporating his methods into your classroom. As a librarian, I love any kind of reference material!

Do you have any reading recommendations for educators? I’d love to hear ‘em in the comments!

love,
melanie

Books to Give as Wedding Gifts

Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.

It is upon us! Wedding season! For many of you wedding season has already begun, but for George and I, the majority of our wedding activities are beginning this weekend. The dresses, and devotions, and drinks will kick off with a trip to a friends’ wedding in West Virginia. Then, we’ve got two more weddings in September and our own wedding in December.

Questions always arise about a gift when one is playing the role of wedding guest. The majority of the weddings we will be attending do not have a registry– which can be a blessing or a curse. The idea of a gifting on such a momentous occasion has inflicted a little bit of worry in my mind, but going registry-less can also be exciting. It gives the chance to show-case talents or give the people what they really want– CASH.

With registry-less weddings, I like to give a thoughtful book with money inside. Picking out books is my talent. And yes, I’m spoiling the surprise. Oops! Here’s some of my tips and favorite books for wedding gift-giving.

1. If the couple is going somewhere exotic on their honeymoon, a phrase or guide book is a helpful and entertaining choice.

For our friends who were going to Italy on their honeymoon, we got them a Dirty Italian phrase book stuffed with cash. I hope they stunned the Italians with their knowledge and dirty-word skills.

2. I think marriage help or marriage advice books are way too personal to give at a wedding. Those types of books may even send the wrong message to the happy couple. But a book of other people’s love letters? Well, that just sounds divine.

3. Have the bride and groom expressed interest in learning a new skill or do they have a collective hobby? Now would be a great time to give a book on canning, gardening, or homemaking skills– if your couple is into that sort of thing. I particularly like Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry. It’s filled with hi-res pictures and makes canning look surprisingly hip.

4. Does your couple like fiction? Classic love stories like this illustrated Bronte Sisters collection would be fitting. Personally, I would prefer a few lovely classic novels to start a personal library in our home together. I’ve been swooning over this classic novels box set for over a year and would love to receive it as a wedding gift. Hint, Hint!

Do you have any tips about wedding gift giving? Have you ever given a book as a wedding gift? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: Audio Edition Review

Last week I took an unexpected trip to visit a few relatives in Kentucky. It was a long car ride, but visiting my family was overdue. During the 12 hour drive, George and I listened to David Sedaris’Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary. Or rather, I listened to it and George endured it. Audiobooks aren’t really his thing.

Anyway, if you are a David Sedaris fan, like I am, don’t start this book (or audiobook) with expectations of side-splitting personal memoirs. This book is a real departure from the David Sedaris I know and love. No stories of childhood angst lie within these pages. Instead, this book told modern fables of wood land and barn yard creatures.

Often the short story format works far better than the novel format for audiobooks and this recording was no exception. The book was read by four different folks: Sedaris, Elaine Stritch, Dylan Baker and Siân Phillips. By far, Elaine Stritch was my favorite of the voice actors. She is brilliant as Jack Donaghy’s vile mother on 30 Rock and it was so refreshing to hear someone with a non-voice actor voice read. Does that make sense?

Overall, I didn’t love this collection as much as some of Sedaris’ previous work. I did enjoy the tales of the creatures withdownright human qualities. The animals were prejudice, mean, dull, and of course, entertaining. I would definitely recommend the audio format to anyone interested in the book.

It just wasn’t my favorite David Sedaris piece. If you’ve never read his work, I’d recommend reading Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim or Me Talk Pretty One Day first.

Have you read Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk yet? What did you think?

love,
melanie