Stickler Loves The World (Lane Smith)

 

Happiness comes from noticing all the beauty around us. Stickler has that figured out! 


Goodreads says:

From award-winning author/illustrator Lane Smith comes Stickler, a woodland creature who reminds us to appreciate the everyday wonders we often ignore. In a picture book that’s both silly and sweet, readers will find Stickler’s enthusiasm irresistible and see the world anew.

And just think of the wonders we must pass every day without even noticing!

Stickler, an original character covered in sticks and with multiple ever-changing eyes, loves its little world. With best friend Crow, it shares the wonders of all the amazing things the world has to offer. Stickler is astonished by the ordinary, such as the sun and the stars, as well as fascinated by those things in nature that are often overlooked, such as swirling seed pods falling from the sky. The two pals wander about the world, stopping to appreciate the many marvels along the way, especially its beloved sticks, each one unique.

Stickler Loves the World encourages awareness and mindfulness with a joyous and lighthearted touch. The award-winning illustrator of bestsellers including Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems brings imagination and humor to a story that features a delightful and original character.

More Than A Body (Lexie Kite and Lindsay Kite)

 

My daughter recommended this book to me. I'm so glad! I think this should be required reading for all teenagers and women. For me, it'll take more than one read. I plan to put it on my list of books to re-read annually.

Goodreads says:
"An indispensable resource for women of all ages, this is a guide to help us better connect to ourselves, to value ourselves, to love ourselves, and ultimately, to be ourselves."

—Chelsea Clinton

Positive body image isn’t believing your body looks good; it is knowing your body is good, regardless of how it looks.

How do you feel about your body? Have you ever stayed home from a social activity or other opportunity because of concern about how you looked? Have you ever passed judgment on someone because of how they looked or dressed? Have you ever had difficulty concentrating on a task because you were self-conscious about your appearance?

Our beauty-obsessed world perpetuates the idea that happiness, health, and ability to be loved are dependent on how we look, but authors Lindsay and Lexie Kite offer an alternative vision. With insights drawn from their extensive body image research, Lindsay and Lexie—PhDs and founders of the nonprofit Beauty Redefined (and also twin sisters!)—lay out an action plan that arms you with the skills you need to reconnect with your whole self and free yourself from the constraints of self-objectification.

From media consumption to health and fitness to self-reflection and self-compassion, Lindsay and Lexie share powerful and practical advice that goes beyond “body positivity” to help readers develop body image resilience—all while cutting through the empty promises sold by media, advertisers, and the beauty and weight-loss industries. In the process, they show how facing your feelings of body shame or embarrassment can become a catalyst for personal growth.

Spectacularly Beautiful: A Refugee's Story (Lisa Lucas)

 

This is an amazingly simple book with a beautiful and true principle. Everyone is beautiful even though we all have scars from things we have experienced. Most of all, God loves us no matter what.

I'm curious about the style of the illustrations. It has realistic pictures as background and the characters are blobs of color. Maybe it is so that the people could be anyone? No skin colors or height or styles to get in the way. These characters could be any of us.

The author is a teacher who has taught children from difficult circumstances and clearly loves them as teachers do.

Goodreads says:

A young refugee living in America learns to see herself as beautiful, in spite of physical and emotional scars from her troubled homeland, thanks to a gifted teacher.

Spectacularly Beautiful tells the story of Shahad, a refugee who has moved to a new country and started at a new school with her new teacher, Ms. Truong. Shahad comes to school every day with perfectly braided hair tied in ribbons. But her hair can't hide the scars on her face and leg that are painful reminders of the country she fled, making her feel less than beautiful, and different from her peers. When a class project proves difficult for Shahad, Ms. Truong helps her come to see that her scars are only part of her story, and that she is not just beautiful...she is spectacularly beautiful. Little by little Shahad's confidence is renewed and she is able to return the same kindness to Ms. Truong.

Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)

This book kept me up way too late. Usually I don't like to read books about domestic violence and infidelity, but I loved this book. In some ways it seemed shallow and yet it seemed entirely realistic. The way everyone kept their secrets is what people really do. As a teacher who watches families who become friends through school, the banter between people in the story made me laugh. Each of the characters in this book represented people I know. It was very relatable. The story was well written and light-hearted while being very serious. I didn't figure out who died until way after most readers probably do. LOL


Goodreads says:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive. 

Outer Order, Inner Calm (Gretchen Rubin)

I'm a big Gretchen Rubin fan. I've read The Happiness Project, The Four Tendencies and Better Than Before  (which I try to re-read about every six months). Since I enjoyed all of those so much, I pre-ordered this and was happy to get it as soon as it came out. I think it's definitely one to re-visit annually.

This one is different than the others. It's a quick read with a really narrow focus: lots of tips for organizing. One thing I love about Gretchen Rubin is that she doesn't get stuck on one way to do things. I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and didn't love it because she was too prescriptive with one right way to de-clutter and organize. Gretchen Rubin recognizes that there are a lot of good ways to accomplish the same thing. I especially connected with the section on the importance of the words we use (instead of apologizing for being late, thank people for waiting....instead of mindlessly wandering, explore and so on). She had some good tips. I read it while we were driving on a family trip and found myself anxiously looking forward to getting home to implement some of the strategies.



Goodreads says:

Bestselling author of The Four Tendencies and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin illuminates one of her key realizations about happiness: For most of us, outer order contributes to inner calm. In a new book packed with more than one hundred concrete ideas, she helps us create the order and organization that can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. 

In the context of a happy life, a messy desk or crowded coat closet is a trivial problem–yet Gretchen Rubin has found that getting control of the stuff of life makes us feel more in control of our lives generally. By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, as well as things that don’t work, don’t fit, or don’t suit, we free our mind (and our shelves) for what we truly value. 

In this trim book filled with insights, strategies, and sometimes surprising tips, Gretchen tackles the key challenges of creating outer order, by explaining how to “Make Choices,” “Create Order,” “Know Yourself–and Others,” “Cultivate Helpful Habits,” and, of course, “Add Beauty.” 

When we get our possessions under control, we feel both calmer and more energetic. With a sense of humor, and also a clear sense of what’s realistic for most people, Gretchen suggests dozens of manageable steps for creating a more serene, orderly environment–one that helps us to create the lives we yearn for.

North of Normal (Cea Sunrise Person)

I read this with my community book club. It is another book I likely wouldn't have picked up if it wasn't for book club. It was one of those books I read with one eye closed. Partially, it was because of the crudeness. Partially, it was because I couldn't stand the idea of a mother raising a child the way they did. And partially, it was because I truly can't imagine living that way.  I related to some of the one star reviews on Goodreads, but I'd have to give it more than one star, for sure. Although sad and crazy, it's a fascinating story. Cea's resilience was amazing. I was curious because they lived in areas I also lived and I could have quite easily crossed paths with this family. I read it quite quickly - in two sittings, pretty much. It's an easy read. I have to wonder at the luck she had though. How does someone grow up like that, one day decide to go be a model, and become successful at it? What are the chances??! It's a memoir though, so who am I to question her experience.


Goodreads says:

In the late 1960s, riding the crest of the counterculture movement, Cea’s family left a comfortable existence in California to live off the land in northern Alberta. But unlike most commune dwellers of the time, the Persons weren’t trying to build a new society—they wanted to escape civilization altogether. Led by Cea’s grandfather Dick, they lived in a canvas Teepee, grew pot, and hunted and gathered to survive.

Living out her grandparents’ dream with her teenage mother, Michelle, young Cea knew little of the world beyond her forest. She spent her summers playing nude in the meadow and her winters snowshoeing behind the grandfather she idolized. Despite fierce storms, food shortages and the occasional drug-and-sex-infused party for visitors, it was a happy existence. For Michelle, however, there was one crucial element missing: a man. When Cea was five, Michelle took her on the road with a new boyfriend. As the trio set upon a series of ill-fated adventures, Cea began to question both her highly unusual world and the hedonistic woman at the centre of it—questions that eventually evolved into an all-consuming search for a more normal life. Finally, in her early teens, Cea realized she would have to make a choice as drastic as the one her grandparents once had made in order to get the life she craved.

From nature child to international model by the age of thirteen, Cea’s astonishing saga is one of long-held family secrets and extreme family dysfunction, all in an incredibly unusual setting. It is also the story of one girl’s deep-seated desire for normality—a desire that enabled her to risk everything, overcome adversity and achieve her dreams.

Meghan: A Hollywood Princess (Andrew Norton)

Let the summer reading begin!! This was a fun and relaxing way to start my summer reading.

I am a royal follower, for sure.  I hope what the author write is true. Meghan sounds like a lovely person who will be a wonderful wife for Harry.

Goodreads says:
 From Andrew Morton, the New York Times bestselling author of Diana: Her True Story, comes a revealing, juicy, and inspiring biography of Meghan Markle, the American actress who won Prince Harry's heart.

When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were set up by a mutual friend on a blind date in July 201, little did they know that the resulting whirlwind romance would lead to their engagement in November 2017 and marriage in May 2018.

Since then, our fascination with the woman who has smashed the royal mold has rocketed. So different from those coy brides of recent history, Meghan is confident, charismatic, and poised; her warm and affectionate engagement interview won the hearts of the world.

In this first-ever biography of the duchess-to-be, acclaimed royal biographer, Andrew Morton, goes back to Meghan's roots to uncover the story of her childhood growing up in The Valley in Los Angeles, her studies ta an all-girls Catholic school, and her fraught family life - a painful experience mirrored by Harry's own background. Morton also delves into her previous marriage and divorce in 2018, her struggles in Hollywood as her mixed heritage wasa time and again used against her, her big break in the hit TV show Suits, and her work for a humanitarian ambassador - the latter so reminiscent of Princess Diana's passions. Finally, we see how the royal romance played out across two continents but was kept fiercely secret, efore the news finally broke and Meghan was thrust into the global media's spotlight like never before.

Drawing on exclusive interviews with her family members and closest friends, and including never-before-seen photographs, Morton introduces us to the real Meghan as he reflects on the impact that she has already had on the rigid traditions of the House of Windsor, as well as what the future might hold.

The Secrets of My Life (Caitlyn Jenner)

In my conservative social circles, this is an explosive topic. That is one reason I read this book. I felt like I had very little understanding of people who transition from one gender to another. I'm not a Kardashian fan. I've never watched the show actually and I can't keep the names of the Kardashian children straight, nor do I really care to. I was well aware of Bruce Jenner as an Olympian. I'm a fan of all things Olympics. When I first heard of it, his story really surprised me. I suppose that is one thing that compelled me to read this book.

A lot of people say this is a scourge of our day. They say that people are only doing these kinds of things because it's trendy right now. That wasn't the case for Bruce Jenner. This wasn't something he came up with just recently. It was a struggle his entire life. It is only now that it is really "safe" to even attempt to live as he felt most comfortable.

I am not part of the crowd that condemns people who choose to transition. I don't know why God makes people like this. I just hope that we can all be a little kinder. I"m glad to have a little more understanding of what life was like for Bruce and then late, Caitlyn Jenner. I appreciated the honesty found in the book.

Goodreads says:

The book will cover Caitlyn Jenner's childhood as Bruce Jenner and rise to fame as a gold-medal-winning Olympic decathlete; her marriages and her relationships with her children; her transition; and her experience as the world's most famous transgender woman.

The Promise (Nicola Davies)

This works well with our decodable: Chinlow of Singboat.  It's about making something beautiful and changing the world.

I had to pause on these pages:

Her bag was full, but when I tried to snatch it from her, she held on with the strength of heroes.

and then: ...and I understood the promise I had made. I held a forest in my arms, and my heart changed. 

The illustrator wrote about it on the Nerdy Book Club blog.


Goodreads says:

An allegorical tale of hope takes on new life in this stirring, gorgeously illustrated story.

On a mean street in a mean, broken city, a young girl tries to snatch an old woman’s bag. But the frail old woman, holding on with the strength of heroes, says the thief can’t have it without giving something in return: the promise. It is the beginning of a journey that will change the thieving girl’s life — and a chance to change the world, for good. Here is the story of a magical discovery that will touch the heart and imagination of every reader, young and old. In an exciting collaboration, author Nicola Davies joins forces with illustrator Laura Carlin to create a contemporary tale inspired by Jean Giono’s 1953 story, L’homme qui plantait des arbres.