Daily Poetry Courtesy of the Victorville City Library

   Earlier in the blog I mentioned the lack of classics and its accompanying vocabulary and thought in the daily lives of me and the young 'uns. We have looked to the library to assist us and added among other expanded reading selections for the kids, poetry readings. (I actually started a poem a day notebook with them over the summer; sadly, we discontinued it.) I read to the kids and then they take turns reading to us. It's been a lot of fun.
   Added to the fun of reading Shel Silverstein is the practice they get reading aloud as they stand before an audience. My number four has instinctively added drama to his reading, my number three starts and stops as she walks over to ask for assistance and then walks back to recommence. Numbers two and three intermittently crack themselves up over what they're reading.
   I decided to add some pictures (mostly because I like to brag about my kids).

     My Sixth Grader, Sensitive and Earnest

                                                

My Fifth Grader, The Natural Ham

                                                      

My Third Grader, Our Precocious Boy

                                                   

My Baby, The Second Grader

                                                

Eleventh Week Wrap

   Another week, another book. Well, books actually. This week saw...almost what last week saw. This week also puts us that much closer to summer (thumbs up). Hmmm. I think this wrap is done. It feels done. It feels overdone.
   Well, off to the library. I have seven books to return and seven new books to check out. Can't wait to see what's waiting!

Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

Children's Fiction Pick

   Jason is sent to his room for misbehavior and, with the assistance of his cat Gareth, goes on an adventure through time. Jason learns different lessons when he encounters problems faced by the people he meets that need solving.
   The story is a perfect fit for someone in the third or fourth grades, perhaps a high level second grader. I think fifth graders might find the story a bit juvenile. Some of the characters and times might be familiar to the readers. If you elect to use it as a read aloud the historical aspects of the story can be great jumping off points for interesting discussions.


Favorite Quotes:

None


Overall Opinion:

Boys especially will like Jason and Gareth. If you add some nonfiction elements to introduce the chapters (things like pictures of the Forbidden City, the pyramids, St. Patrick, etc.) the book can be even more exciting.


Rating:

7

Jailbait Zombie by Mario Acevedo

Teen Fiction Pick

(A Note to Parents: If you're looking for a book for your young preteen/early teen you might want to consider that Mr. Acevedo's other Felix Gomez character titles include The Nymphos of Rocky Flats and X-Rated Bloodsuckers.)

   I like a vampire/zombie/supernatural thriller as much as the next person, unless the next person really liked Jailbait Zombie. Then, not so much. Some of it was that I expect vampires to be a little more impervious to pain; running on bare feet shouldn't hurt so much if you're a vampire.
   The rest of it was simply the writing. There was way, way, way too much description and not enough just getting to the point already!! Did that sound a little emphatic and frustrated? That's okay, because, "Whew!" I think I needed to get that off my chest.
   (A little more calmly said.) I didn't find the characters very personable (they were supposed to be), I found the antagonist ridiculously caricatured (he was not supposed to be) and the rest was simply flat. I would say insipid, but the use of vocabulary might actually elevate the story.
   One other thing. Felix (the main character) is in his twenties, but comes across as a teenager. I can't put my finger on why he does, it's just something about him. I would have preferred a twenty-something who seemed like a twenty-something or a teenager who seemed like a teenager. Just a thought.

  
Favorite Quotes:

"If wisdom comes from making stupid mistakes, then someday I'm going to be a genius."

"I sipped the warm brew and it comforted me like a hug from a chubby hooker."

"Her right eyelid blinked repeatedly, semaphoring her anxiety."


Overall Opinion:

Eh.


Rating:

On a scale of Take It or Leave It, I would Leave It.

Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams

   Written with a charming disregard for anything approaching pithy speech, Mostly Harmless is the fifth book in the Hitchhiker's Trilogy, but the first and only book in the series that I found on the shelf. Having a teenager I have seen the "Hitchhiker" movie (several times), howsomever it has been several years leaving me with just the memory of its quirkiness.
   Mostly Harmless is definitely quirky. Mr. Adams employs the longest, most circular way to say the shortest things without managing to drone. His writing is enchanting which is funny in that his story is in no way a fairy tale. He is also able to tell a fifth story in a series without having to return to the previous four. This is a stand alone book, though I think it would be even better had I read the first four before it.
   To number four. Arthur Dent is traveling, rather lacklusterly (not sure if I can say that with an -ly, but since I just did, I guess I can) through the universe looking for something like home. Ford Prefect is battling Infinidum, the new corporate owners of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Trillian pops up to bestow Arthur with responsibility.
   I think that was it in a nutshell. The nut took much longer to write and was much more amusing to read. Try it yourself (reading the book, not writing the review) and let me know what you think (in the comments as a short review).  :)


Favorite Quotes:

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof was to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."

"The last thing he wanted after a hellish night like this one was some blasted day coming along and barging about the place."


Overall Opinion:

I haven't spent a more pleasant time taking forever to get to the point of a sentence.


Rating:

If there was a rating system for increasingly wordy books with ever expanding sentences that went in everlastingly magnified circles then the rating would exponentially mount in number until the person saying it would run out of breath in a steadily decreasing gasp so that the person patiently, or impatiently as the case may be, would only hear an almost inaudible "hhhhh".

Going Through the Gate by Janet S. Anderson

Children's Fiction

   Going Through the Gate looks like any other children's book does; unremarkable and uninteresting to most past the fourth grade. It is neither of those things. Instead it is a well written story of the county's last one-room schoolhouse's sixth grade graduating class.
   Hmm. I have been sitting here trying to think of a way to describe the book without giving anything away. Perhaps a few short words will suffice.
   Everyone in the town participates in the ceremony as graduating sixth graders.
   No one talks about what happens.
   Something happened twenty-five years ago.


Favorite Quote:

"...maybe nothing hurts you more than going against what God meant for you. Trying to escape what you are."


Overall Opinion:

Is it fantastic literature that will become a classic for the ages? No. It is, however, a good book.


Rating:

7

Baby Girl by Lenora Adams

  Teen Fiction Pick: I wouldn't recommend it for someone under the 7th grade. The story is one that you could chew over with your child.

    I initially thought this would be another Abbott book and was chagrined to see that I would have to write it. I decided to just read it and get it over with. It was not the chore I thought it would be.
   Sheree is a tough, street-wise seventeen year old who knows the game and how to play it. Her mother has taught her all she needs to know; how to recognize weed (everything else is bad for you), how to run the game so you get what you need from men (they're just looking to use you), to always be honest with her mother (listening to how her mother's male companions were in bed).
   Sheree's story is told in a letter to her mother after she runs away from home. She tells about the men coming in and out of the house, her first time with a boy (she was twelve), her desire for her dad (absent), her friend Ange and her boyfriend Damon (22 and a drug dealer). Sheree is looking for a mother and father, struggling for love and too wise to open her eyes.
   I liked Sheree. I wanted her to succeed. I wanted her to use what she saw and knew was wrong to make the changes she wasn't brave enough to make.
   My only qualm with the book was the author's writing style. Sheree speaks a mix of slang and English; Ms. Adams wasn't able to quite tie them together. It seemed that she wanted Sheree to authentically speak like a teenage tough girl while illustrating her intelligence. I think it can be done (I've heard people transition between the two); Ms. Adams either wasn't well versed enough in speaking slang herself or just couldn't make the blend. This is my only complaint; it made for a bit of jarring reading. However, Sheree was a compelling enough character that she carried me through the bumpiness.


Favorite Quote:

"Aunt Carlita is taller than Uncle Louie by a bouffant."


Overall Opinion:

Sheree made you like her and hope for the best for her. She saw the mistakes of those around her and her own and works to change them.


Rating:

7