The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown (Mac Barnett and Sarah Jacoby)

I was curious about this book. I've read a ton of Mac Barnett books and I wondered who Margaret Wise Brown was. Surprise! She is the author of iconic books like Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Apparently, she wrote over 100 books!

It did not seem important that
any one wrote these stories. They were true.
And it still does't seem important!
All this emphasis today on who writes what
seems silly to me as far as
children are concerned."

- Margaret Wise Brown

It tells you all sorts of interesting facts about the books she wrote and about her. Patience and Fortitude (the two lions in front of the New York Public Library (who also appear in Lost in the Library and The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler) You really get a god feel for the eccentric and amazing Margaret Wise Brown in this story. I loved it!

This would be a great book to read to start off our biography writing project!

Goodreads says:

A dazzling picture book biography of Margaret Wise Brown, the legendary author of Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, and other children’s classics, that is as fearless and groundbreaking as the icon herself was—from award-winning, bestselling author Mac Barnett and rising star illustrator Sarah Jacoby

What is important about Margaret Wise Brown?

In 42 inspired pages, this biography by award-winning writer Mac Barnett vividly depicts one of the greatest children’s book creators who ever lived: Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and The Little Fur Family. Illustrated with sumptuous art by rising star Sarah Jacoby, this is essential reading for book lovers of every age.

Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Start a Club by Accident (Julie Falatko)

One of my students gave me this book to read. He said, "This is really good. You have to read it."

I can see why he thought it was really good. It's silly and fun. Ever wondered what your dog is thinking? This book will give you insight into that! These dogs love their owners, meat, cheese and running in circles. Seems legit!

Goodreads says:

Sassy and Waldo love school! Everything smells like meat and dirty socks! And they love being able to help Stewart.

When Stewart has to stay late after school for a Junior Office Supply Enthusiasts meeting, Sassy and Waldo are left alone to raid the cafeteria's refrigerator. As Sassy and Waldo's after school antics escalate, hilarity ensues as the two dogs start a club...by accident. 

Saints (1815 - 1846): The Standard of Truth

Last year, there were only a few chapters of this book out. Now the entire thing has been published and I just finished it. I started it once seminary was finished....which was kind of counter intuitive, but it was a little overwhelming to read it while working and teaching seminary. I have really enjoyed it. It's very readable and gives a good perspective on many questions I have had about church history issues.

I'm looking forward to the next editions!

Goodreads says:

n 1820, a young farm boy in search of truth has a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Three years later, an angel guides him to an ancient record buried in a hill near his home. With God’s help, he translates the record and organizes the Savior’s church in the latter days. Soon others join him, accepting the invitation to become Saints through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

But opposition and violence follow those who defy old traditions to embrace restored truths. The women and men who join the church must choose whether or not they will stay true to their covenants, establish Zion, and proclaim the gospel to a troubled world. 

The Standard of Truth is the first book in Saints, a new, four-volume narrative history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, Saints recounts true stories of Latter-day Saints across the globe and answers the Lord’s call to write history “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8).

Better Than Before (Gretchen Rubin)

Strangely, I haven't blogged this book! This is a book I try to re-read every six months. I just finished a re-read and I still love it. It is a good review of how to get good habits into my life and to help them be routine...you know, like a habit should be!

What I like about Gretchen Rubin is that she accounts for differences in personalities. Everyone has their own personality quirks (although, she does put people into categories) that make it so that what works for one person does not work for another. The first part of the book is about recognizing what kind of a person you are. She has a sorting called The Four Tendencies but she doesn't just stop there. She talks about other traits:

Larks versus Owls
Marathoners, sprinters and procrastinators
Under buyers and over buyers
Simplicity and abundance lovers
finishers and openers
Familiarity lovers and novelty lovers
Promotion versus prevention focused
Small steps versus big steps.

After that, she talks about many different strategies for implementing habits:
- monitoring
- Foundation
- Scheduling
- Accountability
- Abstaining versus moderating
- Pairing
etc

She also discusses things that we do to sabotage our new good habits....
- convenience versus inconvenience
- safeguards
- loop-holing

The chapter about rewards was really interesting. It really reminded me of a lot of what I've read on children and rewards for behavior. We need to be careful about rewards.

She cites a lot of research and this time I noticed that she organizes her notes about this research in a reader friendly way.

I totally recommend this book!

Goodreads says:

The author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, tackles the critical question: How do we change? 
 
Gretchen Rubin's answer: through habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives.
 
So if habits are a key to change, then what we really need to know is: How do we change our habits?
 
Better than Before answers that question. It presents a practical, concrete framework to allow readers to understand their habits—and to change them for good. Infused with Rubin’s compelling voice, rigorous research, and easy humor, and packed with vivid stories of lives transformed, Better than Beforeexplains the (sometimes counter-intuitive) core principles of habit formation. 
 
Along the way, Rubin uses herself as guinea pig, tests her theories on family and friends, and answers readers’ most pressing questions—oddly, questions that other writers and researchers tend to ignore: 

• Why do I find it tough to create a habit for something I love to do? 
• Sometimes I can change a habit overnight, and sometimes I can’t change a habit, no matter how hard I try. Why? 
• How quickly can I change a habit? 
• What can I do to make sure I stick to a new habit? 
• How can I help someone else change a habit? 
• Why can I keep habits that benefit others, but can’t make habits that are just for me? 

Whether readers want to get more sleep, stop checking their devices, maintain a healthy weight, or finish an important project, habits make change possible. Reading just a few chapters of Better Than Before will make readers eager to start work on their own habits—even before they’ve finished the book

Who Has Seen the Wind (WO Mitchell)

On Goodreads, I gave this book a 3. Part of me says, who am I to give this a 3?! It's a classic that many people love. I didn't really love it. However, I also didn't hate it. I feel like it is one of those books that I would need to read again and again and discuss with other people who really gain a good appreciation for it. It rambled and I found it hard to follow. There were a ton of characters in the book and I had a hard time keeping them all straight.

I read this with my book club and the meeting was last night. After discussing it, I did find more reasons to appreciate it.

Favorite quotes:

p. 176 And when she was through, he looked down at her with his face slightly wry and ever so tender. What did you expect? You don't expect to be taken seriously, do you? You're only a schoolteacher. You're not the mayor, the banker, a businessman; you're not the wife even of a property owner. What you should do is pick a man of weight in town, marry him, then go to work.


Goodreads says:

When W.O. Mitchell died in 1998 he was described as “Canada's best-loved writer.” Every commentator agreed that his best – and his best-loved – book was Who Has Seen the Wind. Since it was first published in 1947, this book has sold almost a million copies in Canada. 

As we enter the world of four-year-old Brian O’Connal, his father the druggist, his Uncle Sean, his mother, and his formidable Scotch grandmother (“she belshes…a lot”), it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary book. As we watch Brian grow up, the prairie and its surprising inhabitants like the Ben and Saint Sammy – and the rich variety of small-town characters – become unforgettable. This book will be a delightful surprise for all those who are aware of it, but have never quite got around to reading it, till now.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

"It's Monday! What are you Reading?" is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

I always check out what Teach Mentor Texts is reading and who's talking on the Nerdy Book Club.

It's time for me to finally finish Who Has Seen the Wind by WO Mitchell. This book is taking me a long time to read.

I heard about John Eldredge from a podcast and now have a bunch of his books out of the library. I've dipped into Beautiful Outlaw, which is a book about the character of Jesus Christ.

I'm re-reading Better Than Before. This time I'm listening to the audio book.

I'm just about finished Saints. I've really enjoyed it!

Eat That Frog (Brian Tracy)

I love this type of book. I listened to this audio book. It is read by the author, who has a surprisingly calm voice. He doesn't sound as A-type and aggressive about life as the ideas are in the book. Actually, they're not overly aggressive, actually quite logical. This one would be good to read annually. Lots of good tips and very positive. The concept of eating the big frog first is great. I need a sign for my desk that says, "Eat the frog first."

Goodreads says:

The legendary Eat That Frog! (more than 450,000 copies sold and translated into 23 languages) provides the 21 most effective methods for conquering procrastination and accomplishing more. This new edition is revised and updated throughout, and includes brand new information on how to keep technology from dominating our time.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

"It's Monday! What are you Reading?" is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

I always check out what Teach Mentor Texts is reading and who's talking on the Nerdy Book Club.


Well, I'm four days into summer and I'm three books behind on my Book a Day reading! Time for some picture book catch up, I think!

This past week I finished Stella Diaz Has Something To Say and The Book of Mormon. This week I'm continuing on with Who Has Seen the Wind and doing my semi-annual read of Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. I'm a little undecided about what to read after that, but I do have a big bag full of books brought home from school to choose from. Or maybe I should read the Kate book that is due soon.

Here's hoping for lots of reading time this week!

The Girl Who Named Pluto: The Story of Venetia Burney (Alice B McGinty)

Who would have thought it was a little girl that named Pluto? Great story!

One of my favorite As it Happens stories on CBC was the one where people vented their anger over Pluto no longer being a planet. This book even addresses that in the afterward.

Goodreads says:

An empowering, inspiring--and accessible!--nonfiction picture book about the eleven-year-old girl who actually named the newly discovered Pluto in 1930. 

When Venetia Burney's grandfather reads aloud from the newspaper about a new discovery--a "ninth major planet" that has yet to be named--her eleven-year-old mind starts whirring. She is studying the planets in school and loves Roman mythology. "It might be called Pluto," she says, thinking of the dark underworld. Grandfather loves the idea and contacts his friend at London's Royal Astronomical Society, who writes to scientists at the Lowell Observatory in Massachusetts, where Pluto was discovered. After a vote, the scientists agree unanimously: Pluto is the perfect name for the dark, cold planet.
Here is a picture book perfect for STEM units and for all children--particularly girls--who have ever dreamed of becoming a scientist.