How I Spent My Spring Break

I know I'm a little late with this post but better late than never. Spring Break was really only a partial spring break as the classes I'm currently taking (at two different community colleges) were not on break last week so there was still homework to be done. In addition, I had to do traffic school which took longer than I anticipated. As a result, I didn't do as much reading as I wanted to. The JLG shipment (pictured in a previous post) was delivered the Friday before spring break and I've been able to read a few of the titles.

The bold illustration style that Kevin Henkes used in A Good Day are use again in My Garden, the story of girl who imagines a much better garden than her mothers, with flowers that change color and patterns, giant tomatoes, and invisible carrots because she doesn't like carrots. Simple text makes it appropriate for pre-school to first grade.

Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan is a story from the author's own childhood. Khan is of Pakistani descent and tells a story that any girl with a younger sister will be able to relate to. Rubina is invited to a birthday party and is only allowed to go if her younger sister Sana can go with her. Sana ruins the party for Rubina and to add insult injury, eats Rubina's lollipop that she got for a party favor. Later, when Sana is invited to a party, she is expected to bring her still younger sister Maryam with her. But Rubina, remembering the repercussions of her own experiences bringing a younger sister to a party, convinces their mother to let Sana go alone. When Sana offers Rubina a gift of gratitude the sisters become friends. This is a wonderful story for grades 1 through 3.

Cloud Tea Monkeysby Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard is a beautifully illustrated book that reads like a classic fairy tale and is, in fact, based on an old legend that Graham came across while doing some research. Tashi's mother works on a plantation picking tea, but one day she falls ill and is not able to work. Tashi tries to fill in for her mother but she is too small. When her monkey friends come to her aid, her and her mothers fortunes are changed forever. This is a wonderful story for all ages.

I'm currently half finished with Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell, which also has a fairy tale feel to it with a little Alice in Wonderland mixed in. I'll tell you more about it when I finish it.

And here is some knitting that I was doing last week:

Sammy and Katie are sporting their new moustaches!

Katie models a hat for me.

Also, Mrs. Medalen and I went to see the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and we both thought it was hilarious! I'm really looking forward to reading the book now! Beware the cheese touch!