A Bunch of Books We're Reading Lately

 A rundown of what we've been reading around here. Some of these are still in progress! You'll notice that there aren't links to buy the books on Amazon. That's because I figure that if you want to read any of these, you'll go to your local library and check them out like we do.
Books that the grown ups in the house are reading are at the end.

Reading with Edmund:
(Picture books)

Extra Yarn
by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Jon Klasson
My favorite book on this whole list. I find myself offering to read it to Edmund. But it's not a picture book that parents like and the child tolerates. Edmund loves it, too. And some knitters I know would adore it. Go. Read it.

Billy & Milly, Short & Silly
written by Eve B. Feldman
pictures by Tuesday Mourning
Unlikely progressive one-word rhyming scenes.

Cheetah Can't Lose
by Bob Shea
The big-headed cheetah is finally going to be humbled. Or maybe these cats are his friends after all.

ZooZical
by Judy Sierra
pictures by Marc Brown
Told in rhyme. The Zoo animals have got to do SOMETHING to survive the winter. Don't I know the feeling.

If You Hopped Like a Frog
by David M. Schwartz
illustrated by James Warhola.
Math! Disguised as hilarious what ifs! Edmund adores this book even if the concept is beyond him. Includes detailed explanations of the animal facts and mathematical figuring at the end of the book.

Duck on a Bike
by David Shannon
I love Shannon's illustrations. And his sense of humor. Can a duck ride a bike? No? How about a horse?

The Bear's Bicycle
by Emilie Warren McLeod
illustrated by David McPhail
This one because Shannon recommended it.
Edmund wanted to read this over and over again. An oldie, but a goodie, as they say. Before bike helmets! Clever and wise.

Rosie's Walk
by Pat Hutchins
Also featured on Shannon's Book Nook.
This book actually appealed more to John because while the story is simple, much of it is told in the illustrations and John could more easily grasp the danger and hilarity that builds as the book goes along.

Fortunately, Unfortunately
By Michael Foreman
Monkey Boy Milo. A rainbow umbrella. Pirates, Dinosaurs, Aliens. This book has it all. I don't love it, but Edmund did, and I think he learned the concept of "fortunately, unfortunately" pretty well.

What John is reading on his own:
Back In Time with Thomas Edison (A Qwerty Stevens Adventure)
By Dan Gutman
and
Stuck in Time with Benjamin Franklin (A Qwerty Stevens Adventure)
By Dan Gutman

Fun historical-ish fiction. Gutman has written so much for young readers. Fun, harmless stuff.

And Charles:
Fablehaven 
by Brandon Mull
He's on Book Two--Rise of the Evening Star. It's not the thing he's reading quickly right now. He likes it, but he's not hooked.

Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable
by Dan Gutman
Again with Dan Gutman. I haven't read these. But books about geniuses really appeal to Charles. So he's on this series now.

NERDS
by Charles Buckley
He just finished Book Five. Again the genius theme.

He recently finished the Charlie Bone series. I hear mixed reviews on this series. All I know is that I listened to Simon Russell Beale read the first few in the series, and I LOVED them. SRB is top-notch. Then they switched readers, and I didn't want to finish the series. My Charlie, however, read all of them himself. No excellent narrator required. He liked them enough to want to start the spin-off series.

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen From the Future

By the Captain Underpants folks.

This is the sort of crappy comic book-type thing that I don't like. I tend to want to prevent my kids from reading them, but then they want to read them MORE. They are a little potty-humor-ish, and the thing that really bugs me is that words are intentionally spelled wrong in them. All over the place. How can they stand it!? But, I was on the verge of saying no, we can't check this out from the library; then I did that thing where you open randomly and read for a few pages. When I did that, I found myself laughing out loud in places. In spite of myself. It was clever. So I let Charles get it. I think John read it, too. Keepin' it real folks. (Oh, I didn't mean to make it sound like I think all comic books are crap. I make no such statement. It's not the comic book-ness that I object to about this.)

Reading With Charles and John (and Edmund, when he's interested):
The Abominables
by Eva Ibbotson
Jeremy is reading this aloud to them. I know it's about a young girl who falls in with Yetis who need a mother-type. Adventures ensue. All I really know is that when Jeremy is reading this with them, there are frequent outbreaks of cackling giggling shrieking laughter fits. And John has started writing his name on this school worksheets as one of the Yeti characters--Ambrose.

Reading with Jeremy:
Finished:
David and Goliath
by Malcolm Gladwell
Jeremy and I listened to this audiobook separately but at about the same time. We agreed that of the Gladwell books we've read, this is the weakest. I think Gladwell is an enthralling storyteller, and he has a fresh way of looking at some things, a creative way of constructing his arguments. But the evidence in this book seemed even more anecdotal than normal, and the thread of the argument is almost lost completely toward the end. Still, enjoyable to listen to / read because the stories in it are so fascinating. Yes, even the little girls' basketball part.

In process:
The Total Money Makeover
by Dave Ramsey
Yes. Don't know why I didn't read this sooner. I knew it was out there in the world, but I thought it was gimmicky or evangelical or something. It DOES have some bad physical fitness/financial fitness analogies that bug me. But, overall, just Yes.

Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
Again, listening to this separately and somewhat concurrently. It's a bit more sophisticated/academic than the Gladwell-type nonfiction book but still very accessible. Jeremy is fascinated by it; I'm interested but I'm also interested in listening to other things.

On my own:
Finished:
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide
by John M. Gottman
I love marriage books. The topic is endlessly fascinating to me. I've been meaning to get my hands on this one for a long time, and I finally did. When it says "A Practical Guide" it really means it. It's jammed with exercises and assessment quizzes to do on your own and with your partner. Even relationship building "games." Even Queen Ann, who endless wants to improve herself and her marriage, didn't want to do even half of it. But, it could be so useful! It's good stuff! What I really like is when he gives examples of real couples and what it is that they are saying and doing that causes the misery and dead ends. The love lab research regurgitated is really what I wanted. There's some in this book, but not enough for my fascination.

My marriage is fabulous, by the way. What I loved is that this book gave me a lot of hope for OTHER marriages. Gottman helped me understand that marriages can function happily in a huge variety of ways. I catch myself accidentally thinking "that could never work in my marriage, therefore, they must be unhappy." But it's not true. Not at all. I need this because I'd rather not walk through the world thinking that every marriage around me is fragile and troubled and so on.

In process:
Under the Wide and Starry Sky
by Nancy Horan
I'm only 6 pages in. My mother gave it to me. I haven't had much sit down to read time, which is why you see mostly audiobook versions here. But I am intrigued.

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage
by Ann Patchett
It's a collection of her essays. I love her writing, but so far all I can say is: terribly misleading title. Also, she can make a lot of things sound interesting--it's her gift. But I hated the one about her dog. Because I'm heartless. More when I've finished it.


Comment about books you are reading!