February 2012 Reading Theme

I can’t believe this month is almost over, and I’m just now posting about my reading theme.  I’m also a little behind on my reading, but maybe I’ll catch up soon!

The theme for this month’s reading is nonfiction.  I got a late start because I was finishing up a Newbery title left over from last month, but now I’m truly working on nonfiction titles – biographies, parenting titles, memoirs, and others.  I have a slight dilemma about what to do about cookbooks.  At what point can I count one as having been “read”?  I’m probably not going to read them from cover to cover, but they do take a bit of time to sift through, and I hate not to count them at all.

I already finished an Eleanor Roosevelt biography.  It was for children though, so I’d like to read something more in depth at some point.  She was a fascinating person.  Now I’m in the middle of an audiobook on the assassination of President Lincoln and a book about disciplining children.  I’m also hoping to work in Mindy Kaling’s book – it looks like it will be a fun read.  I also have a stack of the aforementioned cookbooks.  Hmmm…

Recent Read: Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Ten-year-old Peter has a lot to deal with – he’s a blind orphan who has had to learn how to survive by becoming a thief.  However, on one particularly auspicious day, he manages to steal a mysterious box from a traveling peddler.  Inside the box, which he is able to unlock easily due to his spectacular thieving abilities, are three sets of eyes.  When he places the first set of eyes in his empty eyesockets (sounds a little disturbing, I know, but you just have to go with it), he finds that he has been transported to the home of a Professor Cake.  It seems that Professor Cake actually made the special eyes and sent the “peddler” to find Peter.  Peter is destined for adventure, and each set of the fantastic eyes that the Professor made will give Peter a different ability to help him on his way.

What is an adventure without a sidekick?  Peter’s sidekick is Sir Tode, a knight who has been bewitched into a part horse-part kitten creature.  Together the two set off to save the Vanished Kingdom.

While this story draws on several genres – adventure, mystery, fantasy – it is truly unique.  Auxier’s writing is clever and witty and had me laughing throughout, even though there are some pretty terrible things that happen in the story as well.  This is not for the squeamish – which you probably could have figured out from the putting the fantastic eyes into empty eyesockets bit, right?  Well, not to give anything away, but there are also some action-packed battles in the book that are pretty exciting, but quite bloody, too.

I would recommend Peter Nimble to any young reader who likes their fantasy packed with action and adventure.

January 2012 Theme Wrap-Up

I think the first month of my new challenge went pretty well.  I’m still a couple of books shy of the average I’ll need to hit in order to read 200 books this year, but I did pretty well.  January’s theme was the Newbery Medal, and I managed to knock quite a few titles off my Newbery To-Be-Read list.  Here’s the rundown:

Newbery Medal winners:

• Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (2012)
• A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard (1982)
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (1972)

Newbery Medal honors:

• Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (2012)
• The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (2008)
• Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (2007)
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (1995)
• The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis (1976)
• My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (1949)

2012 Newbery Medal contenders:

• Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy  by Albert Marrin
• Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor

For the most part I enjoyed all of these books.  A Visit to William Blake’s Inn might have been a better read for me if I were more familiar with Blake’s writing.  As much as I loved Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion, I had a little trouble with The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm.  It was definitely well-written and a highly creative mix of science fiction and traditional African folklore, and I understand why it received an Honor, but it was a bit more dense than some other  books on the list.  I would say that my favorites on the list this month were Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Wednesday Wars, Hattie Big Sky, and Inside Out & Back Again.

I was so happy for Jack Gantos’ Newbery win this year.  He’s such a great writer, who truly has a distinctive voice and style.  Dead End in Norvelt did not disappoint.  I had not read it before the awards were announced, but had already placed it on hold and moved it to the top of my reading pile after the announcement.  Like most of Gantos’ other writing, Dead End is full of dark humor (there are multiple deaths and the young protagonist, Jack Gantos, suffers from chronic nose bleeds – but it still manages to be funny!).  What keeps the book from being too dark is its heart.  Jack truly tries to be a good kid, but he just keeps running into trouble.  He also has two parents who truly love and care about him, as well as a dear friend, Miss Volker, that teaches him a lot about life (and death).  On a personal level, I’m really happy for Jack.  I’ve met him through our local Children’s Festival of Reading and other professional workshops, and he’s such a great guy.  A brilliant storyteller and so witty.  Yay, Jack!

Books of the Month: January 2012

Books I read last month:

• Strings Attached by Judy Blundell
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
• The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis
• Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor
• Rules to Rock By by Josh Farrar
• The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
• My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
• Abby Carnelia’s One and Only Magical Power by David Pogue
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
• Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
• Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin
• Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider
• Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
• Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
• A Visit to William Blake’s Inn by Nancy Willard