Fifty-eight books in and this 100 Book Challenge continues to surprise me!
I have never enjoyed fantasy. Part of me has never been able to take dragons and fairies and magic powers seriously. My son (who is very much like me) felt the same way, leaning towards non-fiction books or realistic novels with complex characters and plot twists.
Filed under 100 book challenge
Our boy went through a year of not reading much when he was 8. He’d become bored of the junior non-fiction on offer, and despite his teachers trying to encourage him to try fiction, it just wasn’t his thing at the time. The last post I did was 2 years ago.
This past year everything’s changed again, and it’s back to nightly reading in bed – and we’ve again found ourselves telling him multiple times to put the book down and go to sleep. And… I’m pleased to report this year he’s finally found a taste for fiction!
1. Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
“This is fiction, but it’s like non-fiction. Because it could be a true story”. This was his summary of Goldfish Boy, which was the first non-fiction novel he finished cover-to-cover. He was so absorbed, he finished it in just a couple of nights.
It’s about a boy who lives his entire life inside, and from the clues he observes by looking through the window, he goes on the journey to solve a neighbourhood crime. The 9 year old was gasping, sighing and cheering out loud as he turned the pages and tried to solve the mystery himself.
Continue readingFiled under Top ten books
Last year I predicted that by now my little girl would be reading books all by herself, and the nightly ritual of me reading to her would be over. I was right in one way – she’s now racing through books on her own – but we’ve now started reading side by side before bed instead, which is a very special time for us both.
She’s discovered some really sweet books this year, and kept reading the absolute favourites. Here are the Top 10 for this little 6 year old!
1. Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls – 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
What a beautiful book! This one is filled with pretty illustrations, easy-to-read text, and inspirational stories. From Marie Curie and Greta Thunberg to many other women (some whose stories I didn’t know myself), this book is one that we both enjoy reading.
For a little girl who sometimes doubts what she can achieve, each page is a reminder that all the incredible women in this world started out just like she did. I believe that our amazing girl will have a story that could go in a book like this one day, and I hope that by reading these stories she can believe it too.
2. A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems
Oh how we love the Piggy and Elephant books! Number 5 on last year’s list, they are on the list again, because they are just so funny. Piggy is full of energy and emotions, where Elephant is a bit more serious (and very patient).
I can’t help but make the connection between these two characters and our own two children. Even the illustration on the front of A Big Guy Took My Ball is exactly how our two kids often are: the big one trying to play a game (or solve the world’s problems) and the little one draped across his shoulders yelling about a missing ball.
Continue readingFiled under Top ten books
Our little 3-year-old has grown so much in the year since I posted Top 10 books loved by my (other) 2 year old. She’s understanding much more complicated storylines, and has an amazing attention span when she’s curled up listening to her favourites books.
She’s started recognising words and sounding out letters (watching her older brother go through kindergarten last year has definitely helped her with that!) and I’m pretty sure she’ll be reading by herself before my next post next year. Her favourite books were hard to pick – there’s been so many in the last 12 months – but the below selection have really stood out.
1. Harry in a Hurry by Timothy Knapman
The 3-year-old still loves rabbits as much as she did when she was two, and I bought this book for her when I was away travelling with work. Harry the hare races around on his scooter so fast that he misses the destruction he’s leaving behind… until he crashes into a pond and is rescued by the super. slow. tortoise. Tom (who takes all afternoon just to blow his nose).
Filed under Top ten books
What difference a year makes! Last year the list was full of picture books and junior non-fiction. This year we’ve made a sudden change to a) chapter books that we read before bed over a number of weeks, sometimes months, or b) books my son reads himself. And it’s a whole new and exciting world!
It’s amazing what 6 months of school can do. Our boy who wasn’t interested in reading anything other than his own name is now reads absolutely everything. And I mean everything. From sign-posts and cereal boxes to TV captions and toothpaste tubes… if it has a word on it, my 5 year old will be right there sounding out each of the l-l-l-e-e-t-t-t-er-er-er-s… letters!
1. The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
Filed under Top ten books
I now have a second little one year old, and thankfully she’s mad about books too (read my previous ‘top ten’ posts here). She absolutely adores storytime, especially first thing in the morning in bed with me, or in the evening before dinner curled up on the lounge under a blanket.
This girl knows what she wants, and as I run through the list of book options she’ll shout, ‘No!’, ‘No!’, ‘No!’ until I get to the right one. Then with a smile and a ‘Yep!’ she’ll snuggle in close to me and hang off my every word.
1. Baby Touch Playbook by Ladybird
This book has everything to catch and keep a baby’s attention: Bright colours, different textures, holes, lift-the-flaps, and mirrors.
My 1-year-old chats away to the animals and laughs at the rabbit hiding behind the bush. She peers into the mirror and names all the people she can see – Mummy and ‘Bubby’ and if we’re lucky, ‘Brother’ is in there too.
Filed under Top ten books
Invite me to your parties, Jay!
It’s the characters that make this story. The narrator, Nick, is fairly plain and uninteresting, but the people around him are such complex, intriguing and entertaining characters that I loved this book from beginning to end.
The story follows the life of the rich on Long Island in the 1920s. They invite themselves to parties, they complain about the heat and are utterly unhappy in their marriages. It’s the perfect recipe for an engaging story where the characters drive the plot, not the other way round.
After a few recent disappointments in my 100 book challenge, this was a refreshing change.
Filed under 100 book challenge
Number 12 on the 100 book challenge
Coming off the back of Pride and Prejudice, I needed something that was short, easy to read and straight to the point. This book promised all of these things. It delivered… but I was left with an uneasy feeling that the story could have been so much better. That it was almost a very good book.
The positives are many. For one, it’s a brilliant concept: that, at the moment of your death, you meet five integral people from your life to help you realise things about your life. Two, the characters are interesting. Three, the story is revealed slowly throughout without pages of info-dump.
But I didn’t love it.
Filed under 100 book challenge
A (very) average lawyer's musings on the Australian legal profession. With occasional pug pictures.
A great WordPress.com site
A Newcastle writers group
Flash fiction - mostly
Writing about writing
Finding balance after a difficult year
independent, candid and frugal
Blogs about writing and other bits and pieces
Writer. Mother. Editor. Geek. In no particular order.
An encyclopaedia of distant shores - by Aidan Walsh
This is a flash fiction site where you finish the story!
"Cats, Twitter, Coors Light, & Everything In Between"
Poetry, Fiction, & Non-Fiction Writings
The uncensored mind of a Crazy Cat Lady
Growing older is inevitable. Growing up is optional.
Observing the world, taking mental notes and writing fiction
Jessie Ansons 