A perfect story for Valentine's Day! We have been focusing on friendship and so this one worked well too. My students were captivated by the story. It made total sense to them that one could lasso the moon and that it would taste terrible like blue cheese. After all, it has been around for a long time.
The jacket claims it is a romance. It is pretty subtle, if it was meant to be a romance. I'd say it's more simply focused on friendship. The trip around the world didn't phase them either.
I got to hear Marie-Louise Gay speak once. She was a lovely woman and I am always interested in anything she illustrates!
Goodreads summary:
Every great romance begins with Yuck, a Love Story. Austin_s life is perfect until Amy moves in next door. He doesn_t understand why a girl has to live beside him, or why girls have to live anywhere for that matter. Despite having no use for Amy, Austin seems to be strangely affected by every comment she makes and everything about her - right down to the bows on her shoes. Yuck, a Love Story will touch the heart of anyone who has survived that earth-shattering first crush, and is written with the wit and wisdom of one who has been to the moon and back. Marie-Louise Gay_s charming illustrations express a youthful innocence that matches the text perfectly.
I read this book because I loved The Book of Awesome. When I first started this book, I wasn't that impressed. The more I read the more I loved it though. I even loved it enough to keep it two days past when it was due at the library (this morning you could have seen me outside the library finishing off the last chapter as I attempted to return it before yet another day of overdue fines accrued). Some books are definitely worth keeping past the due date. I think this is one worth buying.
I am a goal oriented person. In the beginning, he talks about how you just need to be happy where you are. Just decide. Just decide to be happy. Quit pushing yourself. This idea didn't fit in my picture of self-improvement. However, the more I read, the more persuaded I became that he is right.
He says that success does not lead to happiness. I think he's right. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to be successful. It means that if you aren't happy along the way, when you arrive at the destination, it is likely that you still won't be happy because when you drill down, happiness is a choice. I would agree.
His theory that multitasking is a myth is also very persuasive. I'm going to quit trying to pursue that (although, I have to balance that with Gretchen Rubin's Coupling Tasks theory).
He also says that retirement is a broken theory. He talks about having something worthwhile to do. In our world we seem to esteem leisure over everything else, and really, it is a false happiness. I like his idea of always having something you're working on. I think it keeps you young.
He also talks about three tests to measure life: The Saturday Morning Test (what do you do when you have nothing to do on a Saturday morning...that reveals what you really love), The Bench Test ( ) and the Five People Test (you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
I like his advice on making fewer decisions. I am going to follow his advice by planning less variance in meals. It will make life much easier if I'm not spending time labouring over things that really don't deserve the time. I'm okay with eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day (might have to remain in creative mode for dinner though just to be safe). He says the elimination of options actually leads to more choice. Irony at it's finest.
I thought it was ironic that he ends the book with the idea that you should never take advice. The translation is the D&C 9:7-9 principle. Study it out in your mind then follow your gut (or the spirit...however you want to put it).
Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a Walmart executive, a New York Times–bestselling author, and a husband and dad. After selling more than a million copies of his Book of Awesome series, he now shifts his focus from observation to application.
In The Happiness Equation, Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing, do anything, and have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction, you simply haven’t unlocked the 9 Secrets to Happiness.
Each secret takes a common ideal, flips it on its head, and casts it in a completely new light. Pasricha then goes a step further by providing step-by-step guidelines and hand-drawn scribbles that illustrate exactly how to apply each secret to live a happier life today.
The Happiness Equation will teach you such principles as: · Why success doesn’t lead to happiness · How to make more money than a Harvard MBA · Why multitasking is a myth · How eliminating options leads to more choice
The Happiness Equation is a book that will change how you think about everything—your time, your career, your relationships, your family, and, ultimately, of course, your happiness.
This book is full of amazing facts and illustrations. We just touched the tip when we read it aloud. My class was very eager for it to be put in our library corner so that they could take in more of the details in all the illustrations. I loved that it also touched on how some people are afraid of or hate other people because they're different than what they're used to. Good topic for our political world today!
Goodreads summary:
With updated statistics and current geographical information, People by Peter Spier, first published in 1980, is a solid addition to any collection. Detailed facts and figures as well as a focus on the issue of diversity make this a great book for reference and a basis for discussion, both at home and in the classroom.
This is one of those books that makes you think, gee, kids are sure smart! They totally got it. We had a good discussion about how people see things differently and even though we may all be together all day, we all have our own experiences in that day.
The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws . . .
In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see?
This book is so fun! I thought it might be too young for my class, but they loved it. They zig zagged and yelled and whispered as they were encouraged to in the text.
Mac Barnett nails it again.
Goodreads summary:
Kids will giggle as they count all the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages. Full of fun reader interactions and keeps readers guessing until the very last page! Matching Mac Barnett's brilliant wit are Kevin Cornell's luminous illustrations, which will have young readers begging to count the monkeys all over again.
I can't really recommend this book. I didn't like the theme of the baby running everyone's world. The baby seems like a tyrant. He doles out commands. There really isn't a plot in this story.
Kate Beaton does have a sharp sense of humor...I just don't always buy into it.
The next picture book by Kate Beaton – Hark! A Vagrant creator and author of The Princess and the Pony – has been announced. Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine Books will release King Baby on September 13, 2016.
This was a delightful read in our class. My students were tickled by the idea of a duck on a bike. They loved the sounds of the animals as the duck passed by each one. When we got to the page where all the kids showed up they knew what was coming...and when all the animals got on the bike the roar of laughter was wonderful!
Goodreads summary:
Caldecott Honor winner David Shannon applies his wonderful off-beat humor to the story of a duck who decides to try riding a bike--and loves it! Another young, funny book perfect for reading aloud.
One day down on the farm, Duck got a wild idea. "I bet I could ride a bike," he thought. He waddled over to where the boy parked his bike, climbed on and began to ride. At first he rode slowly and he wobbled a lot, but it was fun! Duck rode past Cow and waved to her. "Hello, Cow!" said Duck. "Moo," said Cow. But what she thought was, "A duck on a bike? That's the silliest thing I've ever seen!" And so Duck rides past sheep, horse, and all the other barnyard animals. Suddenly, a group of kids ride by on their bikes and run into the farmhouse, leaving the bikes outside. Now ALL the animals can ride bikes, just like Duck!
