I got lost inside this book, in a good way. I found myself caught up with all the drama that happened within this family. I could see why everyone wanted to be around the famous Rivas, as their lives were full. Each of the family members were a little bit different and they each brought something to the family when they all got together. The annual Riva Party was the event, the social event that you didn’t want to miss but this year was going to be epic.
I listened to this book on audio and I highly recommend that you go this route. I feel that the narration brings an additional element to this book. Although I enjoy adding my own emotions and attitudes to characters in books that I read, I enjoyed these characters immensely. I didn’t care for all the characters in this book, oh no! But I thought that their voices and attitudes were spot on. I like to listen to books while I do other busy work and I found myself paying more attention to this book than anything else. The anticipation of a few of the scenes made me stop what I was doing until I could breathe again. Although this book consisted of only one day, flashing back into their lives, the story covered a lot of ground. I thought about not reading this book but I’m so glad that I did as I really enjoyed it. 4.5 stars
Let’s talk about bees. What do you really know about bees and what do you think you know about bees? I think that most people know that bees make honey and that there’s a queen bee, a drone bee and worker bees in a hive. Did you know that there’s hundreds of drone bees in a hive and that they only live a few weeks? Did you know that the queen bee typically lives 5 years and that she’s the mother to most of the bees in the hive? I thought the worker bees were busy, but the queen bee, she lays about 2,000 eggs a day! Welcome to just one page inside this fantastic book by Charlotte Milner. With the bee population dwindling, reading about these fascinating creatures made me realize just how important they really are.
With bright colorful illustrations this book is full and I mean, full of information!! Upon opening the book, there is a Table of Content which consists of a list of comments or questions pertaining to bees with a corresponding page number. Thumbing through the book, I love just looking at all the different illustrations on the pages and reading the text that accompanies them. Some of these are just fast-facts about bees and some provided more detailed reading but they’re not long reports on bees that slow me down or overwhelm me. At the back of the book, there’s a great index too. Did I mention how wonderful the illustrations are and how bright and colorful the pages are?
I can learn about pollination, why pollination is important, what a honeybee is, where honey comes from, and tons of information on the honeybee’s hives. I can learn about the different types of bees that are needed inside a hive, why the bee population is dying and what I can do to help the bees survive. I can also read about bee swarms which sound like a horrible thing but according to the brief summary, they usually aren’t.
This is a wonderful book. It’s a book worth keeping and definitely, one worth sharing. I’m sure that everyone will learn something from this book unless of course, you’ve been studying bees for years. So, where does a honeybee store the nectar that it collects before he goes back to the nest? How many eyes does the honeybee have? Why does he have so many? Can the female honeybee sting you? Better get reading to find these answers.
A cute picture book about math featuring some Halloween characters. I liked the way the math facts are presents in the book, the repetition of the same number so the child can see a pattern taking place and I liked how the illustrations reinforce that same scenario. I like how each chapter is devoted to one specific number. The way that the characters try to explain multiplication is not confusing but give the reader a visual, a number sentence and an explanation. Great illustrations also. This book only covers the multiplication facts from 1-5 so don’t expect something like 1 x 7 because the highest this book covers is 5 x 5. This is not a scary book, if you are worried about that.
The cover of this book caught my eye at the library so I picked it up and brought it home. I love the idea of painting rocks and leaving them for others to find. I think this would be a great activity to do over the winter and then leave them when the weather starts turning nice in the spring. This book covers a lot of different ideas from animals, mandalas, portraits, monsters, hearts, mice, butterflies, trucks, feathers fish, lines, funny faces, sea things, fruit, ABC’s, balloons and even pets. I liked that the book shows you step-by-step instructions on how to make each of the rocks. and what you will need to make them. Each of the ideas is presented in a two-page spread.
There is also a section of how to find rocks, what you will need to paint them, how to make your own clay rock, how to even help shape up the rocks that you found, how to use the rocks that you have created, and there is a nice index in the back. If I look at one idea of this book, the pets: I see I can make the 3D animals and it shows the step-by-step directions for the hedgehog. The page also shows illustrations for a lion, a bunny, and a sleeping cat. These really are 3D as you painting the whole rock.
I see that Denise has some other rock painting books available that I’m going to try to hunt down as now, I have some great ideas and I want more! I’ve bought a bag of stone rocks at the garden center so I think I’m on my way to decorating some rocks when the time comes. This is a fun, detailed book and I’m glad that I stubbled across it!
I picked this book up at a garage sale because I loved the cover. The cover art is just beautiful with all the little pictures. This is a black-n-white book and looking inside the book’s pages, it’s the detail in the illustrations and the text that makes this book stand out. Most of the book’s 2-page spreads have text on one side and an illustration on the other. So what? Well, the text is not your typical text, its large bubble text, done in white against a black background. In the white bubble text, each letter has been artistically enhanced. Looking at each of the letters in the text is like a bonus in this book. Check out all the doodles/pictures.
The main story is about a girl who finds an old dog with a hurt paw while she and her friends were on their way to the circus. Gia tells her friends that she’s staying with the dog so her friends can go ahead and go to the circus. Gia carries the dog back to her house, bandages the dog’s leg and then, the dog gives her a $100. Yep, that dog is amazing! Gia, being a nice girl, thought she’d get bubble gum for everyone so she buys $100 worth of bubble gum.
When her friends get back from the circus, they all get some bubble gum and they blew bubbles! They blew one large sticky bubble that catches in a gust of wind and blew the gang, up and away. A seagull gets close to their bubble and yikes; they all come tumbling back down to Earth. This was a long fall but remember, you have nice Gia with you and she’s not going to let you get hurt. A cute, entertaining story with a fun illustrations. Kids will get their imagination flowing with this one.
And just like that, Gary Schmidt does it again! A fantastic book containing two incredible main characters whose lives were meant to cross. As I was reading both of the storylines in this book, my mind was trying to figure out how the two stories were going to collide. I had a feeling their initial meeting would be memorable.
Meryl Lee was attending an all-girl’s prep school, a school where she felt she didn’t belong. Matt, he was living in an old lobster shack trying to keep to himself, helping out on a lobster boat. Both of their personalities were similar and the road that life that led them both on, had given them similar tests, so it felt as if they were destined to meet sometime in their lifetime.
Hollings car accident had left Meryl Lee devasted. Her parents thought that St. Elene’s Prep Academy for Girls was the answer that Meryl Lee needed to give her a fresh start but Meryl Lee isn’t so sure. The school was geared more towards the wealthier girls and the social aspects of the school don’t match those of Meryl Lee. It’s a difficult move for Meryl Lee yet she holds firm to who she is, as she’s called out for not following the prep school’s rules and her peers also see her as being different. Meryl Lee is a great character and it’s interesting to see the school through her eyes. Matt is a loner and the more that I read about him, the more I understood why. The pieces of Matt’s history are slowly revealed in the book and at times, I was losing my patience as I wanted more. He’s not had a typical childhood but as we start the story, Matt’s has a pretty stable life. Currently, Matt has a job, a place to stay, and most nights, he has a playful competition of skipping stones down by the water with a Mrs. Nora. Mrs. Nora took a walk one night down by the water and found Matt skipping stones and they started meeting up every night since. Matt’s street smart but not book smart, yet. Mrs. Nora decided that she wanted to educate Matt. Mrs. Nora is the headmistress of St. Elene’s Prep Academy for Girls and yep, that’s how Meryl Lee and Matt came together.
This book was quite the journey! Following Matt’s history and the roads that he has traveled was quite an adventure in itself. The book really took off when Meryl Lee met Matt. I had to laugh when Matt was waving a hatchet in his boxers and then, my body was covered in chills and the words seems to be running all together as Meryl Lee hides Matt on the bus. Dang, this book had my emotions all over the place. There were a lot of fantastic moments in the book, parts where the words on the page touched something deep within me. It may be set in the 1960’s but some things never change. Pick this one up, you’ll be glad you did.
I planted a new flower garden amongst my bird bath and bird condo this year. I also planted flowers along my neighbors fence row as I got tired of looking at the brown fence. I’m loving all the beautiful colors and variety that has sprung up!
We’re in the process of getting new siding for our house. The derecho that came through our city last year caused lots of damage & now, it’s our turn for siding. It’s also time again for caterpillars on our butterfly bushes which isn’t a good combination since they’re right next to the house. Right now, we have close to 35-40 caterpillars munching away on the plants. I’m a nervous mother as we wait to hear if the new siding is going on next week.
This is my first book by Marie Bostwick and I enjoyed it much more than I originally anticipated. I don’t think I would have selected this book to read on my own, which is why book clubs are so beneficial. With this book completed, I would love to continue on with the series, to see what the future held for a few of the characters.
Settling down into Too Much, Texas with the Templeton family, I followed a few younger sisters as they matured and became adults. Since the family unit is a huge and important part of being a Templeton, I ended up getting to know quite a few of the girl’s friends and family members. Leading an eventful life, I found that the story moved quickly with an engaging storyline that pulled me in quickly.
As the girl’s become adults, they began to get serious about the men in their lives and unfortunately, they started to drift apart. This begins a “muddy” period for them and their family. They can’t see what the future holds for them so right now, things look great and they’re excited to get their adult lives started. Oh, does it get exciting. Perhaps not the excitement that they were expecting, but it’s exciting! For it’s one thing-on-top-of-another and it-just-will-not-stop.
This book has almost a little bit of everything. I liked that the family ranch is passed down to the women in the family and how they take this responsibility seriously. There are parts in this book that are funny while it also has its serious moments. The family does have its differences and I like that they show this in the book without a lot of negative drama. There is a little bit of religion in the book but nothing preachy and there’s also romance in the book. I’m not one that’s into a lot of romanace but this was just enough for me. I enjoyed this book and Iwould like to read more of this series in the future.
“You wait and see if I’m not right. This boy is going to be something. One of a kind. Aren’t you, Howard?”
Sigh. As Langston made his way into the library, I felt that I could breathe again as he had finally found a place where he was safe. The father-son duo left behind their slow-paced life in Alabama for the hustle and bustle of Chicago, searching for a better life. As father works, Langston attends school where his peers constantly bully him. From his clothes, his shoes, and even his accent, the students wouldn’t leave Langston alone as he tried to adjust to his new surroundings. I got emotional as I read this section as the students physically and vocally abused him. His own classroom teacher even got in on the action, when they drew attention to his accent.
I felt for the two of them as living in Chicago was so different from their previous life in Alabama. When Langston discovers the public library, I was hoping this would provide some relief. Would he find a room that he could study in, could he make friends with a librarian so he’d have an adult he could talk with, or might he meet someone new there? In reality, Langston found much more there. Langston’s first discovery was that this public library was different than the one back in Alabama. Langston was actually allowed to walk through the front door. This library allowed everyone, regardless of color to use its facilities. It’s what’s inside the library that really changes him. As he walks inside, up on the walls, so that everyone can see them, are famous black individuals. Langston can’t believe he’s seeing them, on the walls.
The librarian Mrs. Cook is a nice woman who helps Lanston discover what the library holds and what Langston has within him. I felt this relief, a restoration working within Langston as he visited/thought about the library, for now with Mrs. Cook’s assistance, he had something bigger, a desire. I really enjoyed this book.
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