Lots and lots of picture books this week. Not a disappointment in the bunch.
I'm off in Mexico. I'm here to speak Spanish. I'm with a team of dentists. I'm bringing Pepe and a few books to help me entertain kids while the dentists work on their parents' teeth. I welcome your prayers.
Whew! It sounds complicated, but is really, really easy.
I would love to have you join BookCrossing and use me, debnance, as your reference. I love to trade books, though I limit my trades outside the US, due to cost. I am especially interested in trading for children's books listed in the book, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.
So, are you a BookCrosser? What is your BC name? What do you think of BC? Why? Would you like to trade books with me? What other trading spots do you like?
I Won an Award!
The rules of the Beautiful Blogger award are to pass it on to other beautiful bloggers and tell seven things about yourself. Thank you, Nan at Nan's Corner of the Web.
Seven things about myself? I love to learn new things.
In all the hubbub of the last few weeks (technology conference...book fair...book character parade...family night...Destination: Imagination tournament, to name a few), I have missed writing about one of my favorite events of the year...the announcement of the Cybils Award winners!
I am very proud to have served as a panelist for the Children's Nonfiction Picture Book Cybils Award for the last two years. I've happily read almost 150 nonfiction children's picture books. When I had a first grade teacher ask me a few weeks back for some recommendations for nonfiction books for her strongest readers, I could smile and say, "Oh yeah! I can give you a few!"
If you have ever visited my blog, I can already see the expression on your face. Say what? You are reading what book?
Have I ever told you this story? I grew up my whole life in Alvin, Texas. After I finished college, I went to teach in a nearby town. One day, a fifth grade boy in my class said, "Mrs. Nance, you live in Alvin. My gosh, do you know Nolan Ryan?" And my response (and I swear to you that this is absolutely true) was: "Who is Nolan Ryan?"
But, hey, there's stuff you don't know about me. Like, my husband and two sons are the greatest sports fans ever. They love sports. Basketball, especially, but they love all, any. And I love my husband and my sons. I want to share stuff with them. Result: Lots of time sitting on high school bleachers, watching men move rapidly up and down the court on tv, attempting to fit in this highly testosterone charged world. Goodness, one son wants to be a sports broadcaster and the other wants to be a coach.
And, if you know anything about me at all, you know I am a reader.
And a children's librarian. I love children's books.
And, while reading about the author, I discovered he especially loved to explain sports to non-sports fans. That would be moi.
So, this book.
And, so, what did I think?
Perfect. The book is readable. Great photos. Great choices of great moments. When the book arrived in the mail (thank you!), my husband and son and I had a wonderful time predicting which great moments would be included in the book (okay, truth time: mostly my husband and son did the actual predicting). Berman knows how to write.
Marvelous. A happy bonding time was had by all.
My favorite part: "Of all the athletes in this book, which one is the most magnificent? Before you say Muhammad Ali or Jesse Owens, here are some hints. The athlete I've chosen had a career that lasted only two years, and he never granted a single interview. He weighed 1,200 pounds. Wow, pretty heavy. Here's another hint. He had 653 kids...." Still can't guess? Here's a video of this athlete in action:
