Happy Friday Follow!

This friday Mrs. BG is participating in the Friday Follow hosted by Midday Escapades , One 2 Try and Hearts Make Families. Friday Follow is a great way to connect with other bloggers. It is all about sharing and having fun! I participated last week with my non-bookish blog and met so many interesting new bloggy friends. If you would like to join in the fun, link up at one of the host blogs.

If you are visiting from Friday Follow, welcome! Come back and visit anytime... we are always cozy here at Mrs. BG

Lesa's Top Ten Picks: Favorite YA Novels

Yippee! This week's Top Ten is favorite young adult novels. Finally, another Top Ten Picks topic that makes me blog wild! Sorry Jillian but the previous two weeks topics (books that make you cry buckets and worst books) just weren't my cuppa. To join in the fun, post your Top Ten Picks and head over to Jillian's Random Ramblings to link up.

Now I already have a reputation for fudging my numbers so I will go ahead and admit that I jotted down twenty seven YA novels today. Yep, twenty seven. All my picks are gush-worthy but I will do my darndest to narrow it down with minimal cheating.

So without further ado, here are a few novels that I adored at age thirteen and beyond:

1.

This was the book of my eighth grade year. I couldn't begin to count how many times my friends and I reread Little Women.

Note that I said friends... eighth grade is the year I met two wonderful friends. Now I had had best friends before but these two girls were truly kindred spirits. You see, I had never before had best friends who read books and to meet not one but two amazing girls who were also bookworms... I really can't express how amazingly wonderful that was at age thirteen.

And the day we discovered each of us loved Little Women... well, none of us could get a word in edgewise. We even acted out a scene for a Gifted and Talented project and went on to perform it in a speech and drama tournament. Too much fun!

After thirty years, I am still friends with both of those delightfully bookish girls. One of them you also know... Yes, it is DeLynne (aka Meg) my co-blogger here at Mrs. BG's Cozy Book Nook. The other, KK (aka Jo), may add her unique perspective to this blog in the future. KK is a fabulously talented tattoo artist and reiki healer who is in the midst of opening a new studio. She is definitely still a bookworm and I hope you get to meet her someday.

So you can see Little Women is very special to me and if you are wondering which March girl I played... Oh, I bet if you read my Top Ten Picks: Fictional Characters you can figure it out...

2.

Another eighth grade discovery shared with my friends. Perfect for adventurous science and magic loving girls. This book led me to explore the wonderful world of science fiction and fantasy created by such authors as Norton, Lewis, Verne , Burroughs, Tolkien and more.

3.

What can I say... I like boys and I like adventures. During my young teen years, I usually reread these every time a Tom or Huck movie played on tv... yes, Tom and Huck were cute in the movies.

4.

Anne of Green Gables already made my Top Ten Favorite Fictional Characters so no surprise that the book is one of my favorite rereads from my teen years and adult years.

5.

I discovered the Xanth Series at age seventeen and I still keep up with it... there are over thirty books in the series now! Xanth is a magical land of parodies and puns that always makes me happy. Xanth's geography resembles Florida and is inhabited by centaurs, dragons, harpies, nymphs, fauns, goblins, rocs, muses, maenads, ogres, curse fiends, demons, zombies and so forth and so on. Humans (unintentional immigrants from our world- Mundania) also call Xanth home. The magic rubs off on humans and their descendents are born with magic talents.

Xanth tickles me. Babies are delivered by storks and the Adult Conspiracy protects underage characters from all 'interesting' information that might cause them harm. I love that foul language is bleeped by the Adult Conspiracy but wilts vegetation. Xanth is so funny, zany, charming and delightful... I hope I never outgrow it.

Favorite young adult novels I discovered after age thirty:

6.

I love the Harry Potter Series. This is the series that reawakened my love of young adult fiction and I will be forever grateful. From my late teens, I reread my beloved children's and ya books many times but didn't read any new ones. I don't even know why except that I was busy reading regency and historical romances and adult sci/fi fantasy and thrillers. Never again will I turn my back on young adult fiction.

7.

Exciting and scary adventures take place on secret nature preserves containing all manner of faerie creatures.

8.

I read this a few years ago and it still pops into my mind at times. The moon is knocked closer to the earth and devastation follows. Civilization crumbles. Frightening book and the fact that the story is told in diary form makes it very powerful. After living through ice storms with no water, heat, toilets, cooking, I can say that the survival angle in this book is spot on.

9.

A very unique interdimensional series-- the Architect of the universe has been missing since the beginning of time and Arthur, a human boy, is the rightful heir of the Architect's Will. The Trustees of the House are not pleased.

10.

I really love a good dystopian novel and this is my favorite one for now. (but I like the Uglies series too)

To cheat or not cheat... that is the question...

11.

This creepy and exciting adventure takes place beneath London. I have a thing for underground novels too... I love Gaiman's Neverwhere and Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander Series.

I really enjoyed creating this Top Ten Picks and didn't cheat too much. It was tough because I really wanted to include so many more like Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy. And currently I'm reading Gone by Michael Grant and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan... I can tell both of these series will be favorites.

Oh, I truly love young adult fiction. Thanks, Jillian, for such a fun Top Ten Picks topic.

The Promise of Rain

It is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, lest we forget, and I read the perfect book. If you don't know what Anzac Day is, you could have a look on my blog.

My lovely Aunty Pat sent me this book from Perth, and I coincidentally started to read it yesterday without realizing the appropriateness. After returning from the march today I finished it with many tears. Donna Milner is a wonderful Canadian writer, who has published After River, which Aunty Pat reckons is great and is now on my TBR list.

The Promise of Rain a book about family, love, war and secrets. The story concerns a family whose father returns from Hong Kong after WW2 weak in body and damaged in mind. Despite the dark subject matter, the book was engaging and touching, with a glimmer of hope at the end. That didn't stop me from crying through the last third, though.

I found interesting parallels with the book, my recent readings and life in general. The main speaker at today's Anzac service spoke of the soldiers lost to war, but reminded us that often veterans and their families are forgotten. Life after war is not easy, and that is one of the themes of the book.

Family is another of the book's central ideas, and in particular, the love of a family for their brother who has Down's Syndrome. Not long ago I posted a link to Pioneer Woman's blog, who has a much cherished brother with an intellectual disability. I've also been spending time at my school with high school boys buddied to intellectually disabled adults. It has been a wonderful experience.

Books like this are special: they resonate in my everyday life and make a connection with my current mood and musings. I recommend you read it soon, or at the very least, next time your country honours its soldiers.

Let's Do The Hop!

Yippee! Mrs. BG is joining the Book Blogger Hop again. This is a great bloggy meet and greet event hosted by Jennifer at Crazy For Books. Please hop over to Book Blogger Hop headquarters to join in the fun. But hop quickly--- Mr. Linky fills up fast. (as I found out last week)

If you are visiting from the hop, Welcome!

So exciting to find new blogs to read! Can't wait to start hopping!

Are You A Bookish Goofy Doofus?

What a goofy doofus. I walked all the way from the car to the door of Walmart carrying my newly checked out library books! Thank goodness I realized in the nick of time--- the greeter would have tried to stick stickers all over them!

That was a first. My usual bookish doof is attempting to pay at a store with my library card rather than with my credit card.

Please say I'm not the only one. What bookish doofs have you committed?

By the way, my new library books are The Lightning Thief and Stolen. I hadn't heard of Stolen by Vivian Vande Velda but the synopsis sounds promising: a childstealing witch is hunted down then a mysterious girl with no memory appears in the woods. Have you read this one or any other books by this author?

Dinner dictionary 2

During a rectangle table discussion of religious beliefs we looked up the following words.

agnostic n. & a. of the view that nothing is or can be known of a god or of anything but material phenomena

atheism n. disbelief in the existence of a deity

I think I had the wrong idea for agnostic all these years. I had pictured it as more of a spiritual, non religious belief in a creator of some sort. Like people who say they believe in God but not in church. This definition above looks like a belief in only that which can be proven or shown.

Any thoughts?

Pioneer Woman's Black Heels and Tractor Wheels.

Lesa recommended this blog as an inspiration of all that blogs can be, and I was stunned at the quality and scope of the posts. Ree Drummond shares her life, her family and her kitchen with, I don't know, thousands of followers. She's an entertaining writer, a talented photographer, the homeschooling mother of four beautiful kids, a cook book author and wife of a spunky cowboy she calls Marlboro Man.

I'll be frank and confess to being green with envy. No, I am happy with my hubby and my own kids, thanks very much, but she is so witty and lovely and warm and productive! There ought to be a law against such cleverness. No matter what your tastes, there is bound to be something here to interest you. The blog is divided into sections and just chock full of fun stuff to read and look at. She hosts some generous giveaways, too.

This is all very nice, but the reason I am posting about her here is that she seems to have written a novella by gathering up all the posts detailing how she met and married Marlboro Man. It's compelling stuff, like a Harlequin/ Mills and Boons, only from real life. I just couldn't stop reading. I spent an entire day, from school drop off to school pick up glued to my laptop. Actually, Columbia Pictures thinks it's pretty good, too, and bought the movie rights to it.

I recommended Black Heels and Tractor Wheels to my cousin, who, despite having young children and a real need to get her sleep, stayed up until 3 am reading it. I am just sorry about the time difference, and will be more careful about when I get people started reading it.

I say go over and have a look, but not if it's bed time at your house.

Am I the only one who had never heard of her?

Tuesday Treasures: Bookmarks

Tuesday Treasures are the bookish distractions that catch my eye in the school library I work in on Tuesday. I'm not the librarian; I am the speech pathologist.

The library moved into my classroom due to flooding but I'm not complaining. This little old school library collection is chock full of wonderful treasures. Plus, I get to release my inner-librarian. The students who wander in looking for books assume I am the Tuesday Librarian. Can't blame them since my nose is always in a book!

Noticed this handy basket of cute bookmarks on the librarian's desk.

I wondered where she found so many... then realised they were cut from greeting cards. Clever recycling! Have you ever wished for a use for pretty cards... such a shame to just toss them in the trash. From now on, my cards will be cut into bookmarks. The prettiest will be laminated and used as lagniappes .

A few of my faves... the pale pink one has a swirly glitter pattern

Yes, I do like flowers and gardens.

Aussie baby books

What to give a baby? Books, of course! My beautiful great niece was about four months old and I still hadn't given her anything. See, I don't usually give gifts to the unborn, and just hadn't found the right gift. Part of my problem was a determination to give this little Texan something made in Australia. Of course everything here is made in China, just like all over the world and I was searching in vain. And because she's there and I am mostly here, I wasn't sure of colours, tastes and sizes for clothing.

Finally, a lovely friend reminded of books for babies. She commented on how much her baby girl loved the books I had given her a year or so ago. I had forgotten, I suppose, but she said her little one was responding to books at six weeks. Mine were too, but that seems so long ago. So I sought out some Aussie board books for wee ones. They must be board books, to be chewed, bashed and played with. I found a couple of good ones.

Jackie French is an author I feel close to because I started reading her articles in the back to basics magazine Earth Garden many, many years ago. She seems like a distant aunty or long-time pen pal. Her personal story is interesting: she started writing in a desperate attempt to pay some bills and she is dyslexic. So I bought Princess the book Diary of a Wombat, illustrated by Bruce Whatley.

It is just what it says-- a recount of a week from the point of view of a marsupial. Oddly I never read this one to my own kids, but I was amused to hear my twelve year old reading it aloud to her little sister and a thirteen year old friend on the way home from the shop. The story is so charming, you can't help smiling. Mothball the wombat does a lot of sleeping, but works hard to train the humans that live nearby, and they do eventually catch on. In the end she concludes, 'Evening: Have decided that humans are easily trained and make quite good pets.'

My other choice was Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. Again, hearing this during the back seat recitation was strange. See, this book is my main foreign language teaching source with children from about three to five years old. My little students love doing hand gestures to the story, and reciting along with me. There's no Italian or French publication that I can find. I just translated it myself and show the kids the pictures in the English version, a copy of which is in almost every kindy or grade one classroom in Australia. So, I had never read it out loud in English and hadn't realized it actually rhymed!

Obviously, the main idea is the search for the Green Sheep, and we have to meet lots of other sheep before we find him. For example, 'Here is the near sheep. And here is the far sheep. Here is the moon sheep. And here is the star sheep.' The story ends as we find that elusive sheep, asleep curled up behind a bush like Little Boy Blue…er, Green. Ending a bedtime story with a character asleep is great. Sets a good example, see?

While in the post office I saw a book by Pamela Allen with a magpie on the front, called Waggle Giggle Gargle. They are charming Aussie birds that make a fun sound (click here to hear it). This one's new to me, but I've always loved her books, and I popped it in the package. Princess' Mum and Dad will have to tell us if she likes it.

So I hope Princess' parents read her lots of books, especially ones to teach her about her family in Australia. And I hope they let her chew them, too.

Which books would you buy for a baby?

Congrats, Mystica!

You have won our first give away!

Hubby, ensconced in front of the TV with headphones was quite baffled as I held out a shower cap full of scraps of paper to him. I mouthed, 'Pick one.' and he complied. Seeing the name Mystica on it mystified him. No technology spared here...

Mystica, as soon as you respond to my email I will post it off to you. If you don't have an email from me, comment here. We are so excited to have found our first winner. Sorry to all those who came second, but we think we will be sending more books off into the world, so stay tuned!

In The News: E-Readers In Schools!

Check this out, bookworms! Fascinating! Well, I'm sure that educators will be intrigued by the ideas and possibilities this article puts forth-- But maybe the bookworms in other fields will be interested too.

Reading is such a joy that I'm always distressed when children have never experienced that joy. Oh, they enjoy being 'read to'-- in fact, they crave it but many would never consider reading for the pure pleasure of the experience. If kindles in schools increase literacy, comprehension and create a few more bookworms, I am all for it. What do you think?


E-Readers In Schools




This news is so exciting! Can't wait to share this information with my colleagues (especially the bit about special needs students). Maybe my poor schools can get grants for e-readers. Of course, it will depend on the quantitative data of how reading scores are affected in the forthcoming study. It is a shame but everything in education revolves around state test scores.

In The News: Tolkien's Grandson, Simon

While scanning bookish news on the net this morning, the name Tolkien popped out at me. Do all Tolkien fans go on point whenever they spot the name out of the corner of their eye or hear the name out of the corner of their ear? I know I do.

This news article is about Simon Tolkien coming into his own as a writer. I always knew about Christopher Tolkien, of course, but was not aware of a grandson. Apparently, Simon felt J. R. R. Tolkien's iconic status so keenly that he determined that he himself could not write. Wouldn't that be a daunting legacy to have hanging over one's head? I wouldn't have dared to even scribble!

However, the Tolkien DNA won out in the end and Simon is a published author. The premise of his most recent book sounds interesting but isn't my typical read. It seems more like a movie I would enjoy but I may have to read it anyway. Curiousity...
Here is a link to the news article which also has interesting information about Simon's changing views of the LoTR movies. Enjoy!
Tolkien Out From Under Grandfather's Shadow

Tuesday Treasures!

Tuesday Treasures are the bookish distractions that catch my eye in the school library I work in on Tuesday. I'm not the librarian; I am the speech pathologist.

The library moved into my classroom due to flooding but I'm not complaining. This little old school library collection is chock full of wonderful treasures. Plus, I get to release my inner-librarian. The students who wander in looking for books assume I am the Tuesday Librarian. Can't blame them since my nose is always in a book!

Today's Tuesday Treasure is inspired by last week's Top Ten Picks hosted by Jillian at Random Ramblings. The category was books you should read at least once. A particular book that I've never read popped up on the lists of several participants. Can you guess which book it was?


I really don't know why I've never read this-- but the situation is about to be remedied. Actually, I read four chapters today and ended up checking it out to myself to bring home. There are only about four Tuesdays left in the school year and I didn't want to be left hanging over the summer. Yes, I could get it at the county library but I love reading books out of this little school library.

Not sure what I think about Holden yet-- so far he seems like a typical underachieving hormonal teen boy-- a bit cranky, a bit goofy, a bit critical. Tons of those sorts around my schools. I'm very interested to see how he develops and what makes this book so memorable.

Hubby has never read The Catcher In The Rye either but has always mentioned wanting to read it. Mainly to glean why some killers attribute premeditated murders to this book. I confess I'm curious about that as well.

Anyway, when hubby came home and saw the book lying on my desk he exclaimed: Did you get this for me? He was so excited that I hated to burst his bubble but I told him 'no'. Then hubby asked very seriously: Did you steal it? I laughed myself silly! Guess he thought The Catcher In The Rye was already leading me to commit criminal acts!

Out Of Reach...

Ended a wonderful spring weekend trip to the Ozarks and Branson, Missouri with Sunday breakfast at BillyGail's, a popular local dive located in an old gas station. (If you aren't familiar with Branson, it is like Las Vegas without the sin-- tame and tacky but still fun.)

While waiting for our order to arrive, I looked around at all the vintage knickknacks. Just happened to glance up and guess what I spotted on a beam...
Three old worn books sitting all by their lonesome. Sad forgotten books... well, I'm speculating that they are forgotten... possibly Billy or Gail remember the books are there. Still, the mere thought of those books sitting so far out of reach is worrisome, isn't it. Do you know how much I yearned to open the covers and read a few pages? Maddening, I tell you.

I settled for taking a few photos to share with my bloggy friends and imagining how I might reach the books if I was a super hero. Fanciful but kept me entertained till breakfast arrived. Didn't realize till later that my family never even looked up at the beam or asked what had me so enthralled--- guess they are too used to my bizarre behavior to be interested or embarrassed.

Here is a closeup of the books. The only title I can read is Hans and Hilda of Holland by Laura Rountree Smith. Couldn't find a bio of the author (1876-1924) but she wrote many children's books and books for teachers. A few of her other titles include: Fairy Babies, Cottontails, Little Eskimo, Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes. Don't they sound cute?

Really wish I could have read a bit of Hans and Hilda... and I'm dying to know the titles of the other two books. Next time, should I ask for a ladder or would that be going too far?

Dinner dictionary

Over dessert:

Spoken by a father to a daughter, 'Anyway, you have Hobson's choice, so don't argue.'

Hobson's Choice, no choice, having to take a single offer. [Hobson(d. 1631) hirer of horses]

By Lesa:
And you've called me a tease! I've never heard of Hobson's choice and it made me crazy with curiousity. Since you posted this, I've wondered: Who is Hobson? How did a hirer of horses get his own phrase?.... Thank goodness for Google!

Apparently, Thomas Hobson ran a large stable in Cambridge (UK) in the 1600s. He became tired of the scholars wearing out his best horses so he started rotating all the horses through the stall closest to the door. The renter had the choice of the horse in that stall or no horse.

That is a Hobson's choice. Take it or leave it. Like it or lump it.

Here is a portrait of Hobson, the stable nazi. If a renter complained, I can just imagine him saying: No horse for you! Wonder what Hobson would think of being so irking that he inspired a phrase still used 380 years after his death. Pleased, I'd wager.

So exciting to learn a new phrase especially one originating in England. (yes, I'm an anglophile) Thanks, DeLynne!

Competition finished. Winner announced soon!

DRAWING SOON!

After writing my post on Bianca's bumping off, I had a quick look on the large river book retailer and was horrified at the price of the book. For a second hand version it was about ten times what I paid in my local Australian Walmart-type store.

So I have decided to part with my copy of Who Killed Bianca? in a give away to celebrate our 38th follower. The rules are just about as simple as Lesa and I could make them.

• You can't be related to us, sorry Mom.


• You must comment on this post telling us about reading in the bath. Include a contact email address in case you are the lucky winner.


• No photos of you reading in the bath, please!

After a week from the moment of this posting, (more or less) I will write a number for each comment on a little scrap of paper and draw it out of a shower cap. The lucky winner will be immediately notified via email. As soon as the winner provides a mailing address, I will post your bath book tout de suite.

If the winner does not respond within three days, a second winner will be drawn from the shower cap, or maybe I will give it to my Mom.

Please be clear that this is a nice, clean, un-waterstained second hand book. We are not like those other blogs that give you books you can't bathe with!

What a pleasure to meet so many wonderful fellow book lovers and bloggers. Thank you for reading Baja Greenawalt's Cozy Book Nook and participating in our first giveaway.

Who killed Bianca?

Book bath time is a luxury in my house. The stars have to align with kids in bed, kitchen tidied, everything organized for tomorrow, nothing important on TV, the right book and, most difficult of all, a clean tub.

About the book, I clearly cannot read someone else's, in case it gets water damaged, so loaners and library tomes are out. It must be a paperback—for some reason I just can't carry a hardback to the bath. And it must be easily enjoyable without being a permanent keeper. So, I am looking for a good, but disposable read. To date I have not damaged any book, but I just can't take that risk with a treasured tome.

A few nights ago the stars were right and I settled into a tub with the perfect paperback, Who Killed Bianca? I was hooked, and ended up staying until the water cooled and I risked hypothermia. I was awake until midnight and back into it (the book, not the tub) the next morning. I just had to know who killed Bianca.

Emma Darcy is the pen name of Australian couple Wendy and the late Frank Brennan. After his death Wendy continued to write on her own, branching out from the romance novels they had been known for. This novel is, obviously, about Bianca being bumped off, second in a series that started with Anne's assassination and continued with Camille carking it. In this story some other people get killed, but not alphabetically.

This is absolutely an Australian book: at times it even reads like a travel brochure, listing the names and detailed descriptions of landmarks, transportation, accommodation, shows and attractions. The bumping off takes place on the Ghan, a famous train trip through the Outback, and the suspects continue to tour the area, bumping into one another and bumping one another off. I found the exposition a bit exasperating at times, but couldn't stop reading. I really did want to know who killed Bianca, and was surprised enough in the end to make it all worthwhile.

The origins as a romance writer are evident in strings of sentences starting with variations of 'but' and 'however'. The air of mystery is supported by collections of questions such as the succession of, 'Had he seen her…? But why? What had distressed her..? Had a frustrated Bianca..? Did they share a past..?' This string occurred within a page, start to finish. It's a cheap way to build suspense, but I fell for it completely: I wasn't even aware of this clumsiness and the cold water until later. The book was even a finalist for the Ned Kelly Award for outstanding crime writing, so maybe I am just being critical.

If you are an Aussie reader your cover will look like the grey one I picked up in Big W, and UK or US readers will have the colourful version. I wonder why? But, no matter which cover you end up with, draw yourself a bath and head to the dry Outback without leaving the comfort of your own tub.

Two must-reads.

Dear bloggers,
I have been asked to contribute two books to a list of must-reads. It was a bit of a challenge (well, one of them) and I found myself very puzzled as to knowing what I did and didn't like. I finally came to a conclusion.



9. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.
If you want to understand being Australian, you need to understand this book. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie are two gum nut babies who flee from their home to have an adventure. They spend most of the book scantily clad in nothing but a leaf, dodging the many obstacles of Australian bush life. I love this book so much, I have a little badge I wear on my school tie of them on a leaf. I am not sure as to whether the dress code requires personal badges on the school tie to be clothed, but I'm sure I will find out soon.


10. ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
Well, this one is much of a surprise. I have strongly expressed my feelings towards this book in my previous posts and I figured you would have guessed that I like it. There is not much I can say, except that you absolutely have to read it because Lewis Carroll changed literature as we know it. I mean, forget about Shakespeare, read ALICE!

xx.

Top Ten Picks: Books You Have To Read At Least Once

Top Ten Picks is a new meme hosted by Jillian @ Random Ramblings
This week the topic is books you have to read at least once. If you would like to participate, post your top ten and link up at Jillian's blog.

Lesa's Picks

Okay, so by now you know I need self-limiting parameters. For this list, these are a few of the books that impact the way I view the world. None are beloved books but I have read each one 3-4 times over the years. Extremely thought provoking and should absolutely be required reading for everyone. Actually, they were required reading in my highschool in the 80's. Hope they still are.

1. 1984 by George Orwell

2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

3. Diary of Anne Frank

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

These books taught me to be very wary of propaganda and to never take my rights and freedoms for granted.

And that is all for now... did anyone faint from shock? ;D

Actually, DeLynne and/or Izzy might add their picks to this list to make it a top ten or twelve. Would be interesting to compare/contrast our three perspectives, don't you think. If they can't participate this time around, I may add a few more.

DeLynne's Picks
I hesitated to participate, because it seems presumptuous, me telling you what you MUST read instead of what I've liked. So my picks are pretty universal, big-picture items.

5. The Bible. Even if you are not a Christian, it is important to be familiar with this canon of literature and understand what the majority of Westerners are on about. It's got some great stories that relate to our modern lives and has given us some words, even. Has anyone used the word 'babel' lately, for example? It's from Genesis 11. I'd like to read the Torah and the Koran, too.

6. Shakespeare. Get yourself some Cliff Notes or similar and dive in. The man was a genius: he gave us so much.



7. The Dictionary. One of my kids recently pointed out that most families don't consult the dictionary during dinner. It's a shame, I tell you, a shame! I wouldn't presume to tell you which one to get, but I've long loved my Oxford Australian Pocket Dictionary. And by the way, I've never had a pocket big enough to fit it!



8. If you are a girl, you really must read A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The riches to rags to riches plot just never gets old. I absolutely loved it. I imagined I was Sara, all bundled up in a carriage wearing beautiful clothes or all noble and proud as a servant girl. Too good!

Ok, that leaves two must reads for Izzy. I wonder what her number one will be?

Izzy's Picks

Dear bloggers,
I have been asked to contribute two books to a list of must-reads. It was a bit of a challenge (well, one of them) and I found myself very puzzled as to knowing what I did and didn't like. I finally came to a conclusion.

9. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.
If you want to understand being Australian, you need to understand this book. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie are two gum nut babies who flee from their home to have an adventure. They spend most of the book scantily clad in nothing but a leaf, dodging the many obstacles of Australian bush life. I love this book so much, I have a little badge I wear on my school tie of them on a leaf. I am not sure as to whether the dress code requires personal badges on the school tie to be clothed, but I'm sure I will find out soon.


10. ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
Well, this one isn't much of a surprise. I have strongly expressed my feelings towards this book in my previous posts and I figured you would have guessed that I like it. There is not much I can say, except that you absolutely have to read it because Lewis Carroll changed literature as we know it. I mean, forget about Shakespeare, read ALICE!

xx.

There you have it folks! An eclectic list of top ten books you have to read at least once based on three perspectives. Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Any others you would recommend?

Tuesday Treasures: Alice For Izzy

Tuesday Treasures are the bookish distractions that catch my eye in the school library I work in on Tuesday. I'm not the librarian; I am the speech pathologist.

The library moved into my classroom due to flooding but I'm not complaining. This little old school library collection is chock full of wonderful treasures. Plus, I get to release my inner-librarian. The students who wander in looking for books assume I am the Tuesday Librarian. Can't blame them since my nose is always in a book!

To welcome Izzy as a contributor to Mrs. BG's Cozy Book Nook, here are some photos of the 1960 edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass that I found in the school library. I haven't read Alice in years so I enjoyed glancing through this book.

The forward was very informative regarding the impact of Alice on children's literature and the changing educational system of the day when it was first published. Also, it explained that the illustrator, John Tenniel, was a political cartoonist for Punch magazine. Apparently, the mere fact he was chosen as illustrator subtly let readers of that era in on aspects of political satire in the book.

I realise this is old news to Izzy and all the other Alice aficionados but I thought it was interesting.

Tenniel's illustrations are amazing! How cool that Disney kept the integrity of Tenniel's art in their movie.

Izzy... thank you for blogging along with us. I know you are busy with school so I appreciate that you are willing to include Mrs. BG in your schedule. Feel free to post anytime. Three perspectives are much more interesting than two perspectives!