Category: Uncategorized

Categories
Parenting Raising kids Raising Readers Uncategorized

And So It Ends…

When I started this blog in 2016, my kids were 5 and 7, and we were right in the middle of our #RaisingReaders quest. They were learning to love books with our #bedtimereads, and learning to read at the same time. As the years went on, both kids began to develop their own reading styles (audiobook preference for him, usually Science Fiction and for her Fantasy and more recently murder mysteries? while both dabble in historical fiction). Although things slowed down, we did still try to make sure to make time for #bedtimereads.

Then the Pandemic hit. I just knew that being at home was going to provide me a ton of time to read and I was going to have all types of stories to tell, books to review, and more. However, although I went strong for a little at the beginning, I (like many other readers) actually went into a reading slump for a while. And then, when I actually was reading, it was either for work or other books for adults. When it came to the #bedtimereads, we started a couple of chapter book sequels, but didn’t get very far in either one before I abandoned them. Our bedtime reads have become few and far between. All of this meant time for blogging was moving further and further down my list.

Now even though our time reading together has slowed, I still feel that at 13 and soon to be 11, they have cultivated a reading identity, and that my goal of #raisingreaders has been accomplished, at least for the time being. We still talk about books often and I recommend books that I think they will like when I come across them. And they are still down for a humorous picture book to read before going to sleep.

With all that being said, I’ve realized that I have reached the end of my time as a blogger. There’s still a few places I will write for for the foreseeable future. And maybe sometime in the future I’ll have a different topic I’ll want to blog about, but now is not that time. I want to thank each person who ever took the time to read something that I have written, even if it was just one time. I also want to thank any author who trusted me to read and honestly review their writing, it is a gift I did not and do not take for granted. And may each of you who interact with regularly with a child, even if it is not your own, please continue to #raisereaders!

Categories
Book Review Raising kids Uncategorized

Book Review– The One Thing You’d Save

Want a book that will invite great conversation with your kiddos? I have got the book for you!

The One Thing You’d Save by Linda Sue Park is a short 62 page book that is based around a class’s responses to one scenario–“Imagine that your home is on fire. You’re allowed to save one thing.” Good question, right?

Although this illustrated book looks like a chapter book, it is short enough that you could finish it in one sitting with your readers. I had my kids come up with their answers after I read the beginning to them, and then proceeded to finish reading the book to them.

Part of the beauty of this book is you can hear the distinctive voices of the classmates throughout the pages and we even get to learn what the teacher would take from her home.

It is intriguing to hear the thought processes of the students’ decision making, and it may even cause you and/or your readers to change their minds throughout the book. So if its been a long day, this may not be the bedtime book to go with, because it might spark lots of conversations. However, if you’re ready to chat–this is the one to go with.

I found my copy of The One Thing You’d Save at my local library, so you can find it there or anywhere books are sold.

Keep #RaisingReaders!

Categories
Book Review Parenting Raising kids Uncategorized

#Bedtimeread Book Review–How To Solve A Problem

Do you have a reader who struggles to keep going once they encounter a problem? Not while reading in particular, but in life tasks in general? One who gives up the first time they fail? If so, sharing this book with them is a perfect, real-life way to help them see problem-solving differently.

How to Solve a Problem: The Rise (and Falls) of a Rock-Climbing Champion is written by Ashima Shiraishi and illustrated by Yao Xiao. Ashima is a 20 year old professional rock climbing champion, who started climbing at the age of 6. In this book, Ashima takes us through her process of how she attacks the problem of climbing complicated rock structures. The language she uses is much like the process many people use to solve problems outside of the rock climbing world, including dealing with failure. She talks about falling multiple times, trying again after falling, and taking the time to reassess after falling. I really enjoyed the visuals by Xiao of the author attacking the rock combined with the poetic language Shiraishi used to inspire the reader.

We enjoyed reading this book at bedtime, and it is definitely one I would bring out again when the situation called for its inspiration.

#KeepRaisingReaders!

Categories
Parenting Raising kids Raising Readers Uncategorized

Who would I want to be stranded with?

Now this isn’t your normal “Who would you wanted to be stranded on a desert island with?” question, because the “who” is a little more specific. Instead, the question is, “What fictional book character would you want to be stranded on a desert island with?”

I saw this question once a couple of years ago and thought it was an original one that was a head scratcher for me, so today I decided to ask my kids to see what their responses would be. I was hoping that their responses would give me some inspiration. Here’s what they said:

9 y/o son: A dragon.

Me: Which dragon?

9 y/o: Toothless

Me: Why?

9 y/o (shrugging): ‘Cause dragons are awesome and I want to be with a dragon. Plus we can escape.

Me: Good plan

12 y/o daughter (smiling): Percy Jackson

Me (eye roll & smile): Of course. Why?

12 y/o: Because I can escape.

Me: How?

12 y/o: Because he can do stuff with water, so I can escape.

Me: Alrighty then.

So, did they inspire me to come up with an answer? Sorta. I’ve narrowed it down to two (really three). First, Elephant and Piggie. I feel like they’re a team, so its got to be the two of them together. And although they have silly antics, things always seem to work out in the end, so I would enjoy my time until we figured out how to get off the island. My next choice would be Tristan Strong from the series by Kwame Mbalia. He’s got some serious skills, plus some pull with African folktale characters like Ananzi the spider that I think could get us off the island. And in the meantime I think he would be fun to hang out with.

Try asking your reader this question and see who they’ll end up on their island with. Feel free to share their (or your) responses if you get a chance.

Keep #raisingreaders!

Categories
Parenting Raising kids Raising Readers Uncategorized

The Kind of Peer Pressure I Can Get Behind…

My 12 year old daughter loves reading, and can become obsessed with characters in some of the series she reads. I feel like it is an absolute bonus that she has some friends that also love reading.

A while ago she was on a Zoom call with a couple of her friends, one who had recently had a birthday. My daughter was down the hall in her bedroom, so for the most part I couldn’t hear the content of their conversation. But then, the friend shared that she had received a gift card from Barnes and Noble and asked the other girls if they had any suggestions as to what she should get with her gift card, and MAN, did things get shriekishly loud after that question.

The girls emphatically told the birthday girl that she needed to get the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, and why that was super important. And when I say emphatically, I mean it wasn’t just a casual suggestion, they were making it sound like a requirement, with tons of supporting details. My daughter then proceeded to move over to her bookshelf so she could accurately tell her what else she needed to get with her gift card. In the process, my daughter also got some new book suggestions from the other two girls that she proceeded to tell me about after the gabfest was over.

Now after I finish a really good book or a friend asks me for suggestions, I do often do like my child did and go over to my bookshelf or look at my Goodreads account to get titles. But I may be missing the boat here, maybe I also need to emphatically screech at my friends to tell them what they should be reading? Either way, listening (eavesdropping?) in to this conversation was a case of peer pressure this mama could actually deal with.

Keep #RaisingReaders!