Utterly Fantastic Fan Mail!

Yes! I did it! I was reading Clarice Bean Utterly Me, when I had this utterly amazing idea: To write to Lauren Child! (My absolute favourite writer in the history of utterly amazing writers!) 

So I asked my bestest friend in the whole widest world what she thought, and then it hit me! (Yet another utterly amazing idea!) We could both write to her, she LOVES Lauren Child too, so it works out.

 

So, we wrote the letter, and we included a drawing that we did. I was quite proud.

 And we even decorated both sides of the envelope!

Here is one side:

And here is the other side:

 

Writing fan mail is so much fun!

Have you ever sent fan mail to a favourite author? 

  Sorry for the photo quality!

:D

Bargain Book Bonanza (31): Drew in Blue by J. M. Kelley

Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!

DeLynne is hosting this week!

Drew in Blue by J.M. Kelly was free when I 'bought' it on Kindle, but now I see it's $3.99 or free for Prime members. 

 
Even if you have to pay the full $3.99 I think you will consider it money well-spent.

This is a romance story, but it's also about raising babies and making art and becoming a parent.  Drew finds himself unexpectedly responsible for his baby Nick.  You can imagine the usual Three Men and a Baby gags about diapers and spit-up, and yes, they are here.

But this is also a well-written story that made me smile and even tear up.  Don't expect a sob story because it doesn't take much to make me moist-eyed, it's a genetic thing. 

I loved riding along with Drew as he grew up, forgave his mother for dying when he was young, earned a living, fell in love with his son, and found the woman of his dreams.
  

As an added bonus, Drew is an artist, and we get to see glimpses of an artist's life.  You know, painter's block, working at home, choosing a media, meeting buyers, hanging the canvases, etc.  Not knowing any full-time artists I am not sure about the accuracy of these details, but they were interesting and made me wish I could paint.

You should know that Drew in Blue gets a little, erm, blue at times.  So if you're a stickler for keeping your reading G rated you need to move along.  Nothing to see here.  It's certainly not erotica (which Lesa says has 'all the particulars') but there are some intimacies and a bit of swearing.

The plot is predictable.  I mean Blind Freddy can see where it's going.  But it was sweet and funny: certainly more than just a Harlequin, Mills and Boon-type story.

I think you will enjoy getting to know Drew.




Not THIS Drew in Blue.

THIS Drew in Blue.

And to see even more blues, please hop over to Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally.

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BBB is a book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.

What Makes a Princess a Princess?

I happened to stumble on the most adorable story. I was at our local library and my little girl was running around (quietly!) yanking any book that was predominantly pink and/or had a princess on the cover. Most of them were the "perfect" blonde princess books. I replaced those. One was different though: Princess Grace by Mary Hoffman.

Isn't that the sweetest cover? So, why is this such a great story?  Let me 'splain. No. There is too much. Let me sum up:

There will be two princesses chosen to be in the parade this year. Grace hopes to be one of them - with a pink and floaty dress. But when she asks what a princess does exactly, it actually sounds boring. That is, until her teacher shows her books of real life princess and story princesses from other lands - princesses that wouldn't be wearing pink and floaty dresses

As she learns more, she decides what kind of princess she would really like to be and it doesn't involve pink either! "Will you still like it?" her mother asks. "There's more than one way of being pretty," answers Grace.

Another reason I appreciated this book is that her mother and grandmother remind her that she may not be chosen. THANK YOU! My kids are geniuses, could be models, and are hi-la-ri-ous (as are yours, I am sure). And they don't always get chosen. Positive reinforcement is important, but teaching your kids some of the realities of life is important too. I think this book did a nice job of that. It was light, but got some great messages across.

The illustrations are very colorful, very detailed watercolors. Lovely pictures. There is a brief lesson at the back of the book about princesses - real and legend. The reader is encouraged to learn more. Verrry interesting. I plan on looking up some of these stories.

This book says it is appropriate for K-2 (5-8), but I think you could stretch it a bit further in either direction, especially if you are looking for a positive story about accepting who we are. Have you read this? If you haven't,check it out at your local library. If you have, let me know what you think about it, or if you have a favorite "positive message" book!

Linking to:

Kid Konnection hosted by Booking Mama.
Book Talk Tuesday hosted by The Lemme Library.

Storytime (vlog): I Will Surprise My Friend! by Mo Willems

My, oh,  my! Since Leslie raved about Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie books here, Talon and I haven't been able to get enough. We've read  all in the series multiple times. And Leslie was right, these books never get old.  

I Will Surprise my Friend! is the first one we spotted at the library. We read it right then and there-- and giggled and laughed out loud. Yes, it is that funny. 

Here is Talon's Storytime vlog review:

As you saw briefly in the video, Elephant, Piggie and their friends speak and think in word bubbles.  And much of the meaning is conveyed through these cute little animals' facial expressions and body language-- and that adds to the funny. 

(Light bulb moment! Just realized these books would be a fun teaching tool for my students who have difficulty interpreting social language cues!)

 In this book, Elephant and Piggie decide to surprise each other by the big rock... they wait and wait on opposite sides of the rock and, of course, Elephant's imagination runs away with him...

  
He imagines scenario after scenario of horrible things that might have happened to Piggie.  The ever practical Piggie thinks Elephant must have went to lunch.

Then they nearly give each other a heart attack! Talon loves the next page when they both fall over on their backs. 

Such a cute book.  Aren't the word bubbles fun?! And the facial expressions are priceless.


That Mo Willems is a genius!


Talon and I join Leslie and her kiddos in highly recommending the entire Elephant and Piggie series. And the Pigeon series too... hysterical! 


If you are fans of Elephant and Piggie, which is your favorite book in the series?

If you haven't met Elephant and Piggie yet, go to the library immediately... read one ... don't laugh too loud and get shushed...then come back and report.



Linking to: Book Talk Tuesday at The Lemme Library

Kid Konnection at Booking Mama

Bargain Book Bonanza (30): Wildwood Dancing

Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!


Lesa is hosting this week!

Greetings, book buddies! BBB is back in 2012-- hopefully on a weekly or bi-monthly schedule. But possibly less if life gets too busy. That is the great thing about being a blogger: one can make up the rules then change them or break them.

Now on to my BBB book...

I can't wait to show off this beautiful book that I found for one dollar at a Texas Hastings (a chain that sells new and used books, movies, music and video games) during my Thanksgiving week of seriously bizarre bad juju. Finding this book was very good juju and a turning point in the juju department.  

Isn't the cover breathtaking?  There are so many minuscule delights hidden in the cover art that I discover something new every time I look at it.  

 But I didn't buy it just for the cover. 

The title influenced me too. It was just too evocative for a girl with the soul of dryad. You know how I love trees and forests.  

Then the synopsis clinched the deal. One of the shortest and simplest that I've ever seen but irresistible. 

Five adventurous sisters...

Four dark creatures...

Three magical gifts...

Two forbidden lovers...

One enchanted frog...

Cross the threshold into the Wildwood, and enter a land of magic, daring, betrayal, and true love.

That is it and all it took. 

Wildwood Dancing was lost amid all my bargain books but I found it this past weekend and I can't wait to read it. In fact, I'm going to start it even though I'm absorbed in a reread of Great Gatsby. I'm suddenly in a fairytale mood.  Fairytale moods are like that...

Have you read this book or any others by this author?

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BBB is a book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.