I tried three recipes from this collection so far. My family loved the "Easy Fried Rice" recipe (better than a restaurant!). The "Mini-Chip Cocoa Pancakes" were also delicious. The pasta/ham dish did not have much flavor. I won't make it again.
Most of the recipes seem simple to prepare with ingredients you already have in your fridge or pantry.
-Borrowed from the library.
Mr. Bethke evaluates the state and priorities of families in our Western culture. Infused with studies and stories, this book will cause the reader to realize how we have been sacrificing our families to the culture.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed via ILL
Chicken wants Scarecrow's hat. Scarecrow will swap it for a walking stick. Chicken flutters away in search for a walking stick. Badger owns a "nice walking stick". He would trade it for a piece of ribbon. . . . Chicken perseveres and interacts with many critters until she is able to fulfill everyone's wishes!
I loved this book! If I see it at a store, I will purchase it!
*Highly recommend
-Borrowed from the library.
Caldecott Honor Book
How I love, love these illustrations! I want to step into the pages and walk along with the fox, devouring the countryside scenes.
Fox goes out "on a chilly night" to find a goose and a duck for his family's dinner. Yes, the fox family eats the goose and duck!
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
Thomas Harding's great-grandfather builds a wooden house by a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. The house hosts diverse families over a period of time. As a young man, Mr. Harding finds his great-grandfather's house, visits it, and restores it to its original beauty.
I found it intriguing to read about the five different families who resided in the house. This house provided shelter for individuals during a tumultuous time in history.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
What a fascinating piece of history!! The McClures float on their floatboat from Pittsburgh, PA to the Indiana territory. This book describes their exciting encounters and beautiful scenery on this journey. When they reach the settlement, they disassemble their flatboat and use its wood to build their home!
I wish author had included an "author's note" at the end to confirm that this book was based on fact. I had to look online to see if settlers actually traveled this way (they had😄).
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
A couple months ago I remembered a book from my childhood about a family building their own home and wanted to reread it. Because of my search online for it, I have discovered some great books about homes! My friend, a former librarian and bibliophile, figured out which book I was remembering in less than an hour. The book, The Little Stone House by Berta and Elmer Hader, costs $75 on Amazon!!
Back on topic-Henry David's House-describes his experience building his house and living in solitude in his own words. The illustrations fill entire page.
I wish I had known about this book when my oldest son read Walden.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed via ILL.
Award-winner-Newbery Honor, Michael L. Printz Honor, Coretta Scott King Award
Will's brother Shawn is dead. Shot. Will knows who the shooter is. He is following the three rules: 1. Don't cry. 2. No Snitching. 3. Get Revenge.
Entering the elevator, Will has a loaded gun tucked in his waistband. Revenge. Over sixty seconds dead friends and family, who have been shot, enter the elevator and talk to him about the choice looming before him. Is revenge really worth it?
Told in free verse I read this in one sitting and recommend this method. It is fast-pace. If you stop in the middle, it is almost like you lose momentum.
*Highly recommend for its literary & artistic value but see warnings. This book will lead to great discussions about revenge, misconceptions, and breaking cycles.
-Warnings: swearing (including f-word), gun violence, graphic description of Shawn's death & how he looked right after the shooting, smoking, gangs, selling drugs, stealing
-Borrowed from the library.
The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper
Helen Martini yearns to be a mother. She prepares her home for a baby, but she and her husband are not blessed with a little one. Then her husband, Fred who works at the Bronx Zoo, brings home a lion cub whose mother has rejected him. Helen cares for him like a baby until he is strong enough to return to the zoo. Soon Helen finds herself caring for three tiger cubs and many other creatures. Eventually, she remodels an abandoned room into a nursery at the zoo.
The word and illustrations placement are clever. I love this biography -for the interesting story and for the artistic/literary value.
**Highly, highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
A barn relates its history and the U.S. history over the centuries. Readers witness the changes to the landscape and the people. I loved the language and the imagery.
I researched where this story takes place and discovered it is along the Atlantic coast of New Hampshire (Hampton).
Pair with A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
....About What Really Helps (and What Really Hurts)
Mrs. Guthrie and her husband lost two children to the same disease. They are cohosts of the GriefShare video series.
If I owned this book, I would have been highlighting and underlining as I read. With a personal tone, Mrs. Guthrie shares how to interact and how NOT to interact with someone who is grieving. She includes stories and insights from grieving people.
It is very easy reading-an elementary student could read it (maybe not mature enough for the topic).
Chapters: What to Say (and Not to Say), Typical Things People Say (and What You Can Say Instead), Assumptions We Make That Keep Us Away (and Why We Should Simply Show Up), What to Do (and What Not to Do), Social Media and Grief (and When the "Like" Button Just Seems Wrong), Let's Talk about Heaven (and Hell), & A Few Quick Questions
-Borrowed from my church library
**Highly, highly recommend.
A papa bear encourages his cubs to put on their sweaters so they can enjoy the beautiful fall day. First the sweaters need to go on . . .minimal words but lots of humor and illustrations that tell so much more of the story.
Parents will connect to this the papa bear!
A child learning to read could learn to read this book.
Very clever, fun, relatable.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
How many of us as kids threatened to run away? I chuckled as I read this book. The author exactly captured my emotions as a young elementary kid . After a younger sister runs away to the lilac bushes, she begins to build a house. As her time away progresses, she adds on rooms for her family members.
-Borrowed from the library.
Within my extended family someone is hosting a student from South Korea. I borrowed these two books to have a beginning of understanding of the country and its culture-
Countries of the World-South Korea by Bryan Langdo (good for earlier elementray-not much text, lots of photographs):
