Sunday, August 31, 2014

Travel the World in Books Readathon


DAY 14 

So...how'd it go? I'm quite happy. I feel like I've explored a bit of around-the-world children's literature, though I'd still love to have more recommendations. Let's see...how many books did I read? 
Wow. Sixty-nine! I've got tentative plans for a monthly read aloud in the library for some of my favorite countries, complete with a taste of an (imaginary) food, a costume, and some folk tales, nonfiction, and poetry. Looking forward to this. I think I'll start with Japan next week!

Thank you, Tanya for this great readathon!


DAY 9

Spine Poetry Mini-Challenge from Lost in Books

lost-in-books
Today, Becca from Lost in Books is hosting a Spine Poetry Mini-Challenge. Create a poem from your favorite book titles from around the world and share it on her blog comments or in Instagram. A fun and easy mini-challenge to create your own poetry. Stop by her Spine Poetry Mini-Challenge post for all the details and join in the fun.


At the same moment around the world...
the three Chinese brothers,
the boy from the dragon palace,
Aunt Elaine does the dance from Spain.
My dad is big and strong, but...
cactus soup,
mice and beans,
the pea blossom, 
the empty pot:
Yoshi's feast!
Ruby's wish:
Rabbit's gift...
Wangari's trees of peace...
rain school...
possum magic...
crocodile beat...
for you are a Kenyan child.
Wabi sabi!



DAY 6

Here are the books I'm trying to read!


DAY 2

Getting to Know You Questions

1. What’s the name of your blog, your blog URL  and how long have you been blogging?
* I’m Deb Nance from Readerbuzz. Readerbuzz is parked at http://www.readerbuzz.blogspot.com. I've been blogging since June of 2008. Whoa! That's six years!
2. How many kids and/or fur babies do you have?
* I have two grown sons, both married to wonderful women, so now I say two sons and two daughters. You don't really want to ask me how many fur babies I have...but here goes: a cockatiel, a Quaker parrot, a chinchilla, a blue-tongued skink, two turtles, five tropical fish, a leopard gecko, and a bearded dragon!
3. Where in the world does your family originate from?
* My people are from everywhere. I just say that I'm a native Texan.
4. Can you speak any foreign languages?
* Don't test me on this, but I can speak a little French and Italian and I can fumble through a lot of Spanish.

5. Give a shout out to a blogger you visited during the Readathon.
* I'm so happy that Tanya gave me a shout out on her blog: "I love it that Deb from Readerbuzz is using the Readathon as a way to choose books from around the world to read to her classes in the school library. She will be planning music and activities for the kids for each country. If you have kids’ book recommendations about a particular country/culture, stop by and let her know. She’s also giving 2 books away, so give her big thanks for that too!"
DAY 1

1. Tell us your name and what state and country you are from.
* I’m Deb Nance from Texas in the US.
2. What do you hope to accomplish during the Readathon?
* My plan is to read a lot of children's picture books from many countries. (See below.)
3. What book are you and/or your kids looking forward to reading most?
* Nerdishly, I'm looking forward to reading the nonfiction books about the countries.
4. What’s your beverage and snack of choice during the Readathon?
* Yep, just black coffee for me. 
5. Hop around to the other participants from the Sign Up Page or Goals Page and let me know who you visited that’s new to you.
* I'm off to do a little of this right now.
6. If money was no object, what would be your dream travel destination?
* Around the world, of course!
7. What are your favorite reading spots?
* I love to read on my front porch.



INTRO

Monday, September 1, will be the start of the Travel the World in Books Readathon. I've decided to travel the world in my primary school library this year. Every month I'm going to pick a country and read a book to my classes from that country. We'll put on a (virtual) hat from each country, have some background music for each country, find the country on the map, listen to a rhyme from each country, and (virtually) taste a little food from that country. My plan is to use this Travel the World Readathon to scope out the books I might read to each class.

Here's what I've planned so far (with books highlighted as they are read):

Japan 

Night of the Ninjas
Dodsworth in Japan
Japan in Colors
Wabi Sabi
Boy from the Dragon Palace
Crow Boy
My Japan
Tsunami
Yoshi's Feast
I Live in Tokyo

Italy

Olivia Goes to Venice
Look What Came from Italy
Strega Nona
Dodsworth in Rome
Pinocchio
Legend of Old Befana
The Year I Didn't Go to School


Antarctica

Antarctica
Antarctic Adventure
A Trip to the Bottom of the World
Eve of the Emperor Penguins
Sophie Scott Goes South
A Trip to the Bottom of the World


Australia

Australia in Colors
Diary of a Baby Wombat
Dingos at Dinnertime
Koala Commotion
Nic Bishop's Marsupials
Possum Magic
Boris Gets a Lizard
Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge
Over in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under
Are We There Yet?


China

China in Colors
Pandas
Lon Po Po
Yeh Shen
Five Chinese Brothers
Pea Blossom
Ruby's Wish
Story About Ping
Tikki Tikki
Rabbit's Gift
The Empty Pot


France 

Madeline
The Eiffel Tower
Family Under the Bridge
This is Paris
The Inside-Outside Book of Paris
Minette's Feast
Linnea in Monet's Garden
Everybody Bonjours
Anatole
Cat Who Walked Across France


Kenya

Kenya ABCs
Chirchir is Singing
Kenya in Colors
For You Are a Kenyan Child
Wangari's Trees of Peace
14 Cows for America
The Matatu


Morocco

Welcome to Morocco
Aladdin
1001 Nights
The Butter Man (public library)


India

India in Colors
Once a Mouse
Taj Mahal
Mother Teresa
Seven Blind Mice
A Child's Day in an Indian Village
Monsoon


Mexico

Cactus Soup
Cuckoo: A Mexican Folktale
Hill of Fire
Mexico in Colors
Mice and Beans
Gilbert and the Wind
The Pot that Juan Built
Chavela and the Magic Bubble


Spain

The Story of Ferdinand
Spain
Don Quixote by Eric Kimmel
Aunt Elaine Does the Dance


Russia

The Turnip
Russia
Bony-Legs
Baba Yaga
Clay Boy
The Firebird 


Other Places

Galimoto
Que hay para comer Jamela? (South Africa)
Rechenka's Eggs
Day of Ahmed's Secret
Not So Fast, Songolo
One Hen
Bee-bim Bop! (Korea)
Boundless Grace (The Gambia)
Rain School (Chad)
The Mitten (Ukraine)
Waiting for Biblioburro (Colombia)
Bintou's Braids (West Africa)
Goal! (South Africa)
I Lost My Tooth in Africa (Mali)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Malawi)
The Firekeeper's Son (Korea)
My Freedom Trip: A Child's Escape from North Korea
Journey to Jo'burg (South Africa)

The Whole World

Rhymes Round the World
Usborne Internet-Linked Children's World Cookbook
One World, One Day
If the World Were a Village



Do you have any book suggestions for me? (Hope somebody can suggest some more good books about Morocco!) I'd love to add your ideas to my list.

And it's not too late to sign up for the Travel the World in Books Readathon. There will be prizes and Twitter chats and fun mini-challenges. Hope to see you there!


Mini-Challenge

Today, Tanya from Girl XOXO is bringing us the Global Reading Exposure Mini-Challenge. The challenge is simple: share a favorite book that’s set in a different region of the world from where you live.
I have so many favorites, but if I was going to push just one I'd urge you to read the first book I read outside my culture, The Good Earth. 


My Week, Book-ishly Speaking





What I Read Last Week

 

Yep, it has begun. My weekly reading has begun to slow down dramatically.
There's probably a mathematical formula for how much time I spend at school and how much time I spend reading that would look something like a see-saw, and this week it's the Reading Time that's almost touching the ground. Sigh. 

It wasn't great reading time either. Thursdays in the Park was the first Mood-Boosting Book that I wasn't wild about. It didn't boost my mood; it saddened me. Striking it from my personal list of MBBs. 

And I'd waited with great anticipation for Girls Standing on Lawns. And it was a lovely book. But it's  only sixty-four pages. Just a bit of text. Okay, I hoped for a little more.
        






What I'm Reading Now

 FRIENDSWOOD by Rene Steinke
 

Good news: I am enjoying all of these books.
Bad news:  I am reading very slowly now.
           









What Arrived in the Mail

  

Happy to receive these three new books!

           







What are you reading today?!

What is the Sunday SalonImagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 
 It is now being hosted here.


Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Happy




My 87-year-old dad dancing with my beautiful sister at my son's wedding in Chicago this summer.



For more wordless photos,
go to Wordless Wednesday.




Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Books I Really Want To Read But Don't Own Yet

Books I Really Want To Read But Don't Own...Yet

Sometimes I stumble across a book that I love. What do I want to do then? Read more by the same author.

Unfortunately, some books are not widely available. Wouldn't it be lovely if you could use a 3D printer to instantly print any book you wanted to read? Or what about a plain old magic wand?

Here are some I really want to read but that I don't own yet:

Paris Dreambook by Lawrence Osborne

Looking for the Lost: 
Journeys Through a Vanishing Japan
by Alan Booth

The Man in the Empty Boat
by Mark Salzman

My Favorite Things
by Maira Kalman

By the Book:
Writers on Literature and the Literary Life
by Pamela Paul

True Stories, Well Told:
From the First 20 Years of Creative Nonfiction Magazine

Small Victories:
Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace
by Anne Lamott


Bilgewater
by Jane Gardam

The Desert Fathers:
Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

The Public Library:
A Photographic Essay


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

My Week in Books





What I Read Last Week


  

     Aimless Love by Billy Collins                     The Year of the Book              The Upside of Your Dark Side



The Awakening of Miss Prim                  Life With the Lid Off                        Murder Strikes a Pose



I'm really not sure how it happened, but, despite starting back to work after my summer break, I still managed to finish six good books last week. Here are my one sentence summaries:

Aimless Love is Billy Collins and I think that's all I need to say. The Year of the Book's main character always has her head in a book. The Upside of Your Dark Side reframes bad things; I like that. The Awakening of Miss Prim and Murder Strikes a Pose were both absolutely solid books, but I'd say to skip them both unless you have a desperate need for a Person-is-Transformed story (Awakening) or a Yoga story (Murder). I heartily recommend Life With the Lid Off, my latest read from the Mood-Boosting Books list.



         





What I'm Reading Now



 Biggles is from my 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up list. It's about the fighter planes from WWI. I read two pages and stopped; I didn't understand a single thing I'd read. I'm not giving up yet, but I can see this is going to be a tough read for a war-stupid person like me. Thursdays in the Park is my latest choice from the Mood-Boosting list. And Dinner: The Playbook is a for-review book sent from the publisher.

           







Have you read any of these? What are you reading today?! 



What is the Sunday SalonImagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 
 It is now being hosted here.


Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Headed Back to My Happy World






For more wordless photos,
go to Wordless Wednesday.



Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Smug: A Cautionary Tale


I am stubborn. I am arrogant. I am smug.

This makes life difficult for me. People are often trying to share good reads with me. But I am quick to cut them off with a scathing remark. Oh, no thank you, I say, that's not really my kind of read. Not my kind of read. I say it very stubbornly. Arrogantly. Smugly.

Every now and then I let down my shields and try something that, initially, I might condescendingly scorn. 

And I'm shocked to discover some amazing reads. 

Here are ten of those books I almost (smugly) passed up:








Please tell me you are not a book snob like me. 
But, if you are, do you have books that have surprised you out of your smug-ness?
And, if you're not, do you have recommendations for me? (I ask this very humbly.)



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.