Posted by Kimberly on January 27th, 2007 — Posted in The Ladies, iVillage, My Addiction
In honour of Family Literacy Day, I’m going to share one of my Lists of Essential Books. It’s by no means a comprehensive list; it’s more of a starting point, really. These are the books that form the basis of the The Ladies personal libraries–For each birthday, I buy them each a copy that is theirs and theirs alone (all the other books on the shelves are community property. Unless they’re mine. Then keep your grubby paws off!). I’m hoping that by gifting them with these libraries, I’m fostering in them a love of books and a sense of their value. I’m all for using the public library, but there’s something special about owning books that I think
is key to promoting literacy. When you own something, you understand its value. A book that sits on your shelf, that you can leaf through any time you choose, has a power that can’t be matched by the temporary nature of a story that is living on borrowed time in your backpack. So, because I want to raise readers who share my love of a quiet afternoon spent devouring a good story, I gift my children with books.
1. My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie
2. The Complete Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
3. The Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter
4. The Complete Adventures of Curious George by Margret and H. A. Rey
5. Mad about Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
6. Bonjour Babar by Jean de Brunhoff
7. The Ultimate Eloise by Kay Thompson; Absolutely, Positively Alexander by Judith Viorst
8. The Compete Ramona books by Beverly Cleary; The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
9. The Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder; The Great Brain books by John Fitzgerald
10. The Fudge books by Judy Blume; The Soup books by Richard Peck
11. The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
12. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
12. The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
13. The Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend
14. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series by Ann Brashares
15. The Time Quartet by Madeline L’Engle; His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
16. The Chronicles of Pern by Anne McCaffery
17. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkein
18. The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
19. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson
20. The Foundation Series by Issac Asimov
21. The Collected Works of William Shakespeare
It’s by no means a comprehensive list. There are a lot of books missing: Goodnight Moon, Little Women, Charlotte’s Web, Harriet the Spy, The Mixed up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankenweller…..It’s not that I don’t value those books as well. In fact, I’m looking at all of them on the book shelf, along with a raft of Roald Dahl and E. Nesbitt, right now. But these are the Birthday books. Chosen partly for their age appropriate value, and partly because, if you clicked on the links, some of them are bloody expensive, and it’s hard to justify that kind of money on books any other way.
The other important thing to know is that it’s not enough to give the books. You have to read them too. But, for me, anyway, that’s the best part: Taking these wonderful stories that I loved and sharing them with my daughters. I may give them the gift of the books, but they return the favour by allowing me to read with them.
Edit: After you chime in on your essentials, head on over to Bumblebee Sweetpotato for a discussion on books that suck (Lemony Snicket, we’re looking at you!)
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Posted by Kimberly on January 16th, 2007 — Posted in iVillage, My Addiction
A lot of companies, when they can’t fill your order, will either offer you a substitution or refund your money. Scholastic does both, and then still fills your original order
In our last order, one book we wanted was back ordered and another was no longer available. Instead of just saying, “oops, sorry.” Scholastic not only sent me coupons for the amounts of the books and a replacement for the one that’s not available, they also sent me the backordered book. They refunded my money, and then sent me the product anyway. Scholastic rocks!
In other news, we’re having a different sort of difficulty with this month’s order. Diva Girl and I are having trouble agreeing on our choices; other than a new copy of Charlotte’s Web, our circles aren’t matching up. Even there, we’re having a bit of debate: She wants the copy with Dakota Fanning on the cover, and I don’t. Call me a book snob, but I really, really hate movie tie in covers. I’m a purist; I prefer my books with their original art, not a movie poster, on the cover and that “Now a major motion picture!” banner that is inevitably plastered across the front makes me cringe. I hate the idea that that somehow validates the novel; that if it’s a movie, it must be ok to read.
The rest of our choices are even farther apart. Sabrina wants the new Hannah Montana and Zach and Cody novels while I’m leaning towards the Sir Cumference pack. I’ve had my eye on it for awhile now, and I’m trying to keep my promise to bring more non-fiction home this year. Diva Girl is understandably unimpressed. Afterall, how can the adventures of some math geek possibly compare with the shenanigans of those crazy twins?
I’m not sure, but one of the great things about being the grown up is that I’m the one writing the cheque, Maybe I’ll get lucky, and there will be so many mean mommies out there that Sir Cumference will be back ordered. If he is, do you think that they’ll send me some Greg Tang to make up for it? Well, a mom can dream.
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Posted by Kimberly on November 30th, 2006 — Posted in Diva Girl, No Pudding Until You Finish Your Meat, iVillage, My Addiction
What is it about the word “lice” that its mere mention causes the skin to start crawling?
Sabrina brought The Note home from school today. The note no parent wants to pull out of the backpack. The Prelude to the Apocalypse note.
I suppose it coud have been slightly worse. It wasn’t the “You Might As Well Shave Your Head Now” note. It was the slightly less terrifying, but still scratch inducing The “We Regret to Inform You That Your Child’s Playmates Are Infested WIth Nasty Itchy Bugs That Will Never Go Away” Note.
The Note wasn’t the only thing in the backbpack today. The Scholastic flyer was in there as well (yippee! Too bad The Lousy Week wasn’t one of the featured selections.)
The other piece of paper that came home today almost made up for The Note, and at least briefly distracted me from my psychosomatic itching. Diva Girl got a Proud Pick* this month. For Friendship. After the rocky start to this year, I am thrilled that of all the awards she could have won, she got this one. So is she, which is really the important thing. It’s a nice recoginition of how far she’s come this year, and the lessons she’s learned about compassion and kindness in the process.
Now please excuse me; it’s hard to type and obsessively scratch at the same time.
*Proud Picks are monthly awards given out by Diva Girl’s school. Each month the school focusses on a different area: Respect, Organization, Homework Completion, etc. At the end of the month they have an assembly and hand out awards to the students who best exemplify that month’s focus.
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Posted by Kimberly on September 28th, 2006 — Posted in Diva Girl, Kipple, No Pudding Until You Finish Your Meat, iVillage, My Addiction
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It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!!!!!
I’m positively giddy today. Today, in addition to the half eaten lunch and still ever so exciting agenda, the package I’ve been waiting for since the start of school was stuffed into Sabrina’s backpack.
No, it wasn’t her school photo, although that arrived too. This was better.
Today I got my first Scholastic order of the year.
I’m a huge fan of Scholastic. I don’t have many vices, but those colourful catalogues are my drug of choice. I anxiously await their arrival, eager to rifle through the pages and be enticed by all the wonderful books offered at super cheap prices. Before I discovered the online bookclubs, it was a tossup whether Diva Girl would be greeted at the end of the day with “Hi! How was your day?” or “Did you get the bookclub flyers?” Now, I have my choices all picked out long before the order form comes home. It’s not the same though. While I enjoy not having to wait for my fix, I do miss circling my choices. There’s something about the Scholastic experience that demands sitting down with a pen and marking up the pages, circling every single book you’d like to purchase.
Looking at the overflowing bookshelves scattered throughout our apartment, most of them stocked courtesy of those pages, I have to admit that I tend to buy what I’ve circled more often than not. My major commitment this year is to buy more non-fiction. Last year I always felt a little guilty when I did have to whittle the order, because the resource books were always the first to be taken off the list. So many great books about the universe, ancient civilizations, math….all sacrificed in name of Arthur, Olivia, and Junie B. Jones.
I’m trying to be better this year, though; to indulge my passion for excellent children’s literature and show some self restraint at the same time. Now, the rule is that Sabrina, Regan, and I each get one pick–within reason. I usually choose a board book for Regan, and Brina’s choice is subject to negotiation and parental approval. In addition to those books, I order one non-fiction book.
It’s a system that’s working out so far. Today I pulled outHow Do Dinsaurs Play With Their Friends, How To Tame A Bully, Terry Fox: A Story of Hope, and The Book of Planets.
I may have to invest in a new planet one, though. Afterall, with Pluto’s demotion, all the reference books are out of date.
And if I’m getting that, I really should finally get A Poppy is to Remember.
And the new Olivia book.
And something for Hallowe’en.
And…..Well, I’m trying.
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Posted by Kimberly on July 1st, 2006 — Posted in Kipple, iVillage, My Addiction, Sanity and the Solo Mom
Happy Canada Day!
Around here, it’s not about the Barbeque–not a good idea on a eighth floor balcony–or the fireworks–that’s the August Civic Holiday. Around here, it’s all about the books.
Admittedly, a lot of occasions around here involve books. Birthdays, Christmas, the monthly arrival of the Scholastic catalogue (cut off for two whole months! sob)….a lot of opportunities for the book buying. But Canada Day is a little different.
Canada Day books give me the opportunity to ensure that The Ladies develop an appreciation for and pride in the literature of their nation. We have a tonne of books in our home. Books on shelves. Books in baskets. Books in boxes. Books on the bed and under the couch. It would be easy for really great Canadian authors to be overlooked in this avalanche of children’s literature, and that would be a tragedy. So each year, I take this opportunity to celebrate my country by celebrating its literature.
Over the years, we’ve amassed quite the collection of Dennis Lee, Marie Louise Gay and Phoebe Gilman, among others. This year we’re adding to our Marie Louise Gay collection by expanding the world of Stella with a Sam collection for Regan. While Sabrina still enjoys picture books, she’s a full fledged reader now and to celebrate, she’ll get her very first Classic Canadian Novel this year: Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
Some of it’s prizewinning, some of it’s not, but I hope either way, it serves to help my children realize that there is a wealth of wonderful literature in the world, some of it in their own backyard. It’s a reminder I need too sometimes, so I include myself in this tradition as well. In addition to books for The Ladies, I treat myself to a new piece of Canadian fiction each July. This year I had been planning on The Penelopiad, but when I saw this, I just couldn’t resist.
I’ve been a Gordon Korman fan since I could read, which coincides pretty well with as long as he’s been writing. The Macdonald Hall Series, Bugs Potter, and Don’t Care High all hold special places in my heart. As a child and young adult reader, Gordon Korman’s world, filled as it was with crazed, improbable, hilariously funny situations, over the top characters, and plots that had just enough nuggets of reality to allow you to suspend disbelief and jump right in, rocked mine. But then I grew up and so did he. And as I struggled to find my place in the adult world, Korman seemed to be struggling to find his adult voice in the literary one. Sadly, as often happens with childhood friends, we lost touch. Until I saw him sitting on the shelf–in hard cover, no less—and decided to give our adult relationship one last try.
I’m so glad I did. I respect an artist’s need to stretch and challenge himself, but the serious yet formulaic vein he’s been working in for the past few years has really not beeen the best showcase for Korman’s talents. Korman is a master of the fish out of water scenario. His most memorable stories often centre around a normal guy surround by capital C characters who constantly disrupt his life by sucking him into their zany antics. Leo Carraway, the Young Republican suddenly thrust into the world of a group of middleaged punk rockers on a comeback tour fits this mould perfectly, and takes it to the next level. Leo is not some boy caught up in high school shenanigans; he’s a young man coming to terms with himself and living life as an adult for the first time, and his perspective on the events that take place reflects this. While the themes of self-discovery and personal growth through extreme circumstances are fairly whitebread in the world of young adult literature, the vehicle Korman chooses to tell his story is not. This is no tale of a wild and crazy band trip complete with accidental rockstardom and idiot jewel thieves or a story of a high school election prank run amok. In Born To Rock, the basic premise centres around the consequences of sex, drugs and rock and roll–or what happens when you find out that you’re the product of a one night stand between your mother and the Angriest Man in rock and roll.
Heavy stuff, but told with that signature Korman style. It seems that after some false starts and experiments in other genres, Korma has finally managed to meld his comedic instincts with his maturity as a writer. Where he used to be manic, he’s become wry. From the opening line, “The thing about a cavity search is this: it has nothing to do with the dentist,” Born To Rock elicits smiles and chuckles, as Leo narrates the events that lead to this watershed realization. This is classic Korman, but it’s a young adult novel with a grown up twist. The themes are more mature, the characters, even the minor ones, are fully fleshed out, and the plot, while returning Korman to his zany roots, doesn’t demand nearly the suspension of disbelief as some of his earlier work. Like his original fans, Korman’s talent has finally grown up.
So, even though he’s not technically a Canadian writer anymore, I can’t think of any other book, or author, that could have possibly made me as happy to be Canadian as this one did this weekend.
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