Ho, Ho, Hmmmmm....

Yesterday we were invited to a neighborhood Christmas party where Santa showed up. After reading a story to the kids and taking photos with each of them, he handed out gifts that we parents provided.

As toy after toy was opened, I began to get a little worried about what was in Santa’s bag for Cameron (who by the way remained on good behavior about the Santa issue, even taking a front and center seat to play along with the big guy). I had wrapped him up a book. I thought that maybe he’d be disappointed in his present compared to all the other kids.

But when he unwrapped his non-toy, he was so excited, and immediately ran to his friend Patrick to show him what he got. Then the two sat down and actually started reading it together!

Gotta love that Junie B!

Organized...briefly

Since I’m not working now, and I have my mom and Sara around to help out, I figure I should take advantage of this extra help and try to get some organization to the mass chaos that has accumulated inside my cabinets, drawers, and other storage bins.

The other day I bought these really cute wicker crates at Target (on clearance..whoo hoo!). I took the dozens of books that were piled into a storage “cube” in our family room, basically “lost” to the eyes of my kids, and arranged them in these crates, one for each of my munchkins. This actually took quite a bit of time.

Later, when I was in an other room reading with Cameron, Ella and Max discovered their book crates. However, instead of using them as storage for their books, they decided to empty them, and store their own little behinds in the bottom of the crates while they read their books.


So much for my organization.
I guess I should at least be happy that they were reading.

Traveling through pages

When I’m flying, and I don’t have portable DVDs I have to arrange, snacks I have to distribute, cups of juice I have to fill up, feet I have to keep pushing off the seat in front of them, and screams I need to tone down….

I can actually READ (and even sleep a little).

I finished 2 books on my flight to and from Philadelphia without the kids. They’re Young Adult books to review for my grad project, and they both were wonderful.

Laurie Halse Anderson is back at the top of her game with her newest novel Twisted. If you loved Speak (and I don’t know anyone who didn’t), then you will enjoy this story of a high school boy just as much. She writes it in the same sarcastic style and does not try to sugar-coat what actually goes on with boys in high schools today.

Cynthia Lord's book Rules is a well-crafted story of what it is like to live with an autistic sibling. The main character struggles to be a "normal" teenager, while also trying to protect her brother who most kids just think is "strange."


And this book wasn’t one I read this weekend, but one I read recently that was beautifully written, but hard to “digest.” Sold, by Patricia McCormick details one young girl's experience as she becomes the victim of sexual exploitation in India. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, but important to read.

If you haven’t discovered Young Adult literature for your adolescent or yourself…I highly suggest you pick up one of these texts and (re)discover the joy of a good book!

Controversy

During Max’s “After Hours” time, (that’s what I call it when he decides to make a visit after I already put him to bed), he often wants to do whatever I’m doing. Tonight, when I was drinking my wine, he wanted some grape Kool-aid. When he sees me typing on my laptop, he wants his Barney “computer” When I’m reading a text for my grad project, he, too, wants to be turning the pages of a novel…not one of his books, but one of MY books.

The other night he seemed quite interested in this year's Newbery Award winner, The Higher Power of Lucky. Despite the hastened ending, it's a heart-warming story.

Oh, gasp, some of you may be thinking. If you read the New York Times or have any interest or connection whatsoever with middle level readers, then you know that my son is reading a very controversial book.

This novel, which received the highest honor for books for young readers has the word SCROTUM in it……Gasp! Oh, wait, there’s more…because the word SCROTUM is in the book not just once, not just twice, but THREE times!

Goodness, if this is what my children will be reading, I might need to start burning my whole library! Wouldn’t want to corrupt them with realistic terms for parts of their body. What a travesty.

(For an interesting and more realistic portrayal of this book, read Young Adult author Scott Westerfeld's response to the NY Times article here...scroll down to Feb. 19th).