Book Review: Touch and Feel Farm

 This is little man's favorite book of the moment.  It's the first book that he's actually interacted with time and again!  Touch and Feel Farm is the perfect book for sensory, repetition, and early vocabulary development.  I just read that it is important for young ones to associate animals with the sounds they make.  This helps them learn different sounds and the animals associated with those sounds.  This book is fun. . .and extremely appropriate for infants. 

 Happy Reading!

Little Free Library

I'm getting my own library!  And I am so excited!

Little Free Libraries is a not-for-profit that tries to put books into as many hands as possible.  I love reading and I love discussing books, so, these little libraries are PERFECT for me!

A good friend of mine is building me my very own library that we're going to stock with books.  We've already created a budget for books--$50 a year.  I'm also hoping to have books donated to the library.  Since I'm a teacher, I really want to have a wide mix of children's, young adult, and adult books. 

My little library has walls now!

My biggest "issue" with Little Free Libraries is that a lot of times the books seem to be outdated.  I am going to work very hard to make sure that the books are readable and that people in the neighborhood make my Little Free Library a regular destination.

If you are interested in learning more about Little Free Libraries, their site www.littlefreelibrary.org has great information (please you can see where Little Free Libraries are located in your area).  Of, if you want to help me stock the shelves of my Little Free Library, please let me know.

Happy Reading!

A Thought Provoking YA Read

Wow. . .I just finished reading "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys.  What an incredible book.

As a high school teacher, I like to read some young adult fiction to stay up-to-date on what my students are reading and to have another conversation tool.  I saw a couple of students reading this book last month and decided I should try it out.  I am so glad I did!  Not only was this book a great piece of fiction, it also taught me a lot about what happened in Lithuania during World War II.  The Soviet Union rounded up millions of people and either murdered them, sold them as slaves, or sent them to work camps.  This happened for over 15 years!  Once the Lithuanians were released (in the mid-1950s), they were not allowed to speak of what happened to them for fear that the KGB would imprison them.  It was not until 1991 that Lithuanian was once again their own country and out of the control of the Soviet Union.

I would highly recommend this novel for both teenage readers and adults.  It was very well written and brought to light an issue that many are not aware of.

Old Read Meets Book Group

I remember being a young student and reading the book, "The Family Nobody Wanted" by Helen Doss.  It is about a young couple who are not able to have biological children and end up adopting. . .12 children!  This simple story talks about the joys and challenges of raising such a young and large family.

I just got back from a book club where we discussed this book.  I haven't read it in years but enjoyed reading and discussing it again tonight.  As I read it this time, I caught more of the racial issues of the time (the book takes place in the 1940s) and how economically disadvantaged the family was.

As you can see by the picture below, my copy is well-loved.  I'd recommend you try out this book.  It's an easy and enjoyable read.

My much-loved copy of "The Family Nobody Wanted" by Helen Doss

Gone Girl = A Great Read!

I just read an amazing book--the kind of book that you cannot put down (hence the four hours I spent on the couch reading this morning).

I would highly recommend, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, as your next summer read.  The plot is simple yet there are so many twists throughout. 

The basics of the story are:

1. Husband and wife have a marriage that is decaying

2. Wife goes missing on 5th wedding anniversary

3. Husband is the main suspect in wife's disappearance

4. Husband has secrets

5. Wife has secrets

6. Neither one is perfect

Soooo good!  Please read this book. . .and, if you do, let me know what you think of it.

On another note, if you do choose to read this book, Real Simple has chosen it as their No Obligation Book Club book for the month of July.  Read the book and then hop on over to their website to see what other people are saying about it.

A Successful Evening

It is 7:22pm. I am already in my pajamas. Sipping a glass of wine. And reading Jodi Picoult's newsest book. Could life be better?

Wishing you a relaxing evening too!