Booking in March

During isolation, it seems like everyone has taken to social media, computers, screens and other devices to stay connected and entertained and sane. I’m finding that is somewhat true for me, but finding time to sit at the computer and type has been challenging. So today I made it a priority. The kids have been watching and drawing along with Matt Stanton and Mo Willems and I have been putting together a very rushed blog post.

For some reason, despite all this extra time and having a huge stack of books from school and the library, we are somehow having less time to read, especially reading aloud. We are out of routine, plus my time has been taken up with increased housework, meal preparation, squabble resolution, activity planning, supervising and clean up. , and somehow throughout the next week or so I need to re-focus us on reading, learning and working at home, together. Heaven help me!

In March we enjoyed some really great books. It was and especially good month for Freya as she tried out, with great success a couple of new series.

Picture Books

The Know Nonsense Guide to Money, by Heidi Fiedler and Brendan Kearney – We probably don’t read as much non-fiction as we could. I’m trying to change that, especially as Freya has identified herself as a lover of non-fiction.

The illustrations in this book were enough to hold kids’ interest, but the majority of the learning came from the text, so kids really need to be confident readers to tackle this book. This was a great, easy way to introduce upper primary school-age kids to some complex money concepts, such as debit and credit cards. I’d be keen to check out the other titles in the series, there’s one about grammar, one about measurements, and one about space.

The Snatchabook, by Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty – This one we borrowed as an interlibrary loan and we loved it. Given most of the book takes place at night time, there is a certain darkness to the book in a very sweet and cosy way. The title character is a little creature who travels to bedtime story sessions and steals away books. Eliza Brown notices and sets a plan to catch the thief, and realises that what the Snatchabook needs, just as each child needs, someone to read aloud to them.

The Boring Book, by Shinsuke Yoshitake – We absolutely adore Shinsuke Yoshitake’s books (and excitingly there is another one waiting for us to get from the library when everything re-opens). They are philosophy and critical thinking kids can relate to. The Boring Book follows the main character through his exploration of what ‘boring’ is, means and feels like. Who else feels bored and what might cure it. The kids were thoroughly amused and entertained by this thought-provoking book.

Booking for Freya

The search for books Freya will engage with and enjoy continues and social media is my main source for new books and series. I’m always on the lookout for a new series that is not too long, has illustrations and seems to have some substance or is different from what we have tried before.

We found a real ripper this month, it is the Lulu Series, by Judith Viorst, Kevin Cornell and Lane Smith. So far we have read Lulu Walks the Dog, Lulu Is Getting a Sister, and Lulu and the Brontosaurus (in that order) and have requested our library purchase the fourth book, Lulu’s Mysterious Mission.

The genius of the story is that the main character, Lulu, thinks, says and does all the things a kid wants to think, say and do but can’t because their parents have taught them how to behave. Lulu speaks her mind, in ways that are honest but are neither helpful nor kind. In other books, a character like Lulu would be the antagonist or the foil, set up to be a contrast to the protagonist. Lulu seems barely capable of being a frenemy, acting the bully towards almost everyone, including her parents.

Despite, or rather because of, this Freya and I are absolutely loving Lulu. We laugh out loud at the way she treats the other characters, especially as many of them seem not to notice the caustic barbs she throws down. They just keep coming back for more.

The secondary characters are in perfect juxtaposition to Lulu’s character. Some challenge her intellect, others challenge her patience, the results are really funny and interesting.

This is a very well-written series, with slightly more complicated storylines and vocabulary than Freya is used to in her personal reading material, but she is totally and completely loving it. Huge win!

Another couple of books that Freya read – and read by herself! – was The Fairy Dancers and The Fairy Dancers 2: Dancing Days, by Natalie Jane Prior and Cheryl Orsini. We borrowed these many years ago, and luckily they were still at the library. Each book contains 3 short stories about 3 girls who go to dancing classes together, making them easy to dip in and out of over a few days. I’ve blogged about how much I love Cheryl Orsini’s work, and these books are brilliantly illustrated.

Booking for Mum

Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz – I continued my Anthony Horowitz reading stream with this very different novel. I’ve never read a book constructed in this way. The first half of this book was the manuscript of a book that the main character, an editor, reads. The manuscript’s author, Allan Conway, is very dis-likeable and also very dead. The editor, Susan Reyland, on the hunt for the missing final chapter also starts investigating the circumstances of Conway’s death and begins to find dozens of similarities between the manuscript and Conway’s life and associates.

It’s a great mystery book with layers of clues and red herrings. Having an editor as the main character allows Horowitz to reveal some of the writing techniques mystery authors use, which was just so interesting to me. It wasn’t the easiest book to read, but it was very worth it.