EASTER BABIES by Joy Hulme

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

As  you can well imagine, my toddler has already amassed quite the library in his almost two years. I suppose that comes from having a parent who works in a library and has more than a passing appreciation of books.  Every holiday, I add a new book (or two) to his collection.  So, I was especially excited to get a copy of this book.  EASTER BABIES is a very sweet book filled with softly colored illustrations of animals. It combines the elements of a holiday book with rhyming and counting.  A child can assist in identiftying the easily familiar animals while working on counting skills. The rhymes are pleasant as are all the illustrations.  The book is more of a general Easter book with only a passing reference to the Christian holiday so it would work for most families.  I think it would make a lovely addition to anyone's Easter basket.

BOTTOM LINE:  Recommended.  A very sweet gentle holiday book with the added bonus of giving children the chance to practice their counting skills.

MEEOW AND THE POTS AND PANS by Sebastien Braun

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

We are a cat family so when I saw the bright bold cover of this book that featured a charming cat named Meeow, I knew we were in for a treat.  The illustrations in this book are wonderful!  The bright colors are appealing to young children and the simplicity of the story is perfect for toddlers. MEEOW and his friends discover the joys of using pots and pans and other kitchen items in order to make music.  The story ends with the little group using their imagination to view themselves as a marching band. The book is bright and lively and engaging.  My toddler insisted that I read it again immediately. 

One of the things that I really appreciate about this book is that it offers parents a chance to read the book and then bring kids into the kitchen to create their own kitchen band.  You can give your child a pot and a wooden spoon and encourage him/her to make music just like Meeow!  It is very easy to make a connection between real life and the story.  A great way to engage children in reading!

BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended.  This is the third title in the MEEOW series and we are already planning on buying the first two. I look forward to seeing the next installment!

POTTY ANIMALS by Hope Vestergaard

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

My little family is inching its way ever closer to potty training and the prospect fills me with dread. Diapers seems so easy in comparison! So, when I was presented with the opportunity to read and review a copy of POTTY ANIMALS, I jumped at the chance.  

POTTY ANIMALS isn't your average toilet training book. It goes far beyond ONCE UPON A POTTY to introduce toddlers to all the toilet basics and niceties from washing your hands to flushing when you are finished.  I appreciated the breadth and humor of this book. Parents will enjoy it just as much as children. Each animal presents a different "do" and "don't" in a funny and entertaining way. The illustrations are cute and funny and easily recognizable.  The book is wordy, however, so I would recommend it for older toddlers. I abbreviated it a little for my 2-year-old. But I know this book will prove an invaluable and entertaining reference during the next few potty training years!

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  A good addition to any toddlers library because they contain those basics that we all need to know!

Notes in the Margin

Hello bookish friends!

My reading seems to have slowed down as the sun is finally beginning to show its face around Sonoma County.  I managed to finish a few books (and reviews) and more are on the way.  I am currently reading PARROT AND OLIVIER IN AMERICA by Peter Carey and HERESY by S.J. Parris.  I hope to start ANGELOLOGY by Danielle Trussoni and SO MUCH FOR THAT by Lionel Shriver next.

Next week, I will be on Spring Break so posting will be sporadic. I have a few children's book reviews in the works so next week will be dedicated to those. I hope to come back from vacation with more books read and a lower stress level!

This weekend I'm having a secret birthday surprise event for my mom as she is turning 65. See the details here.

Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we'll have beautiful sunshine all next week. I hope Spring is springing wherever you are.  Happy reading!

Sunday Nights are Rough

Many of you know that I am a full-time working mom. I have a 22-month-old son who is the light of my life.  My family lives in one of the most expensive places to live in the United States.  And we have debt. And we get really wonderful insurance through my job.  So, not working isn't really an option for me. The upside is that I have a very good job and work with great people.  I get to be around books all day.  What's not to like?  I get frustrated sometimes, though. I never get to have playdates and can't seem to manage to get together with other moms for playdates because weekends are my only options. I hear about all these great classes that other kids are taking and I can't sign Noodlebug up because he is in daycare those days.  Even though I forego exercise (and have made peace with being 40 pounds overweight) in order to spend more time with my child, it is never enough. I live for weekends when I can spend time with my child and my husband. 

I had a good weekend this past weekend.  We finally got some sunshine. I had a date night with my husband on Friday night, a crafty get-together on Saturday and a family trip to see the new ALICE IN WONDERLAND movie on Sunday. (it was Noodlebug's third movie and he continues to be an absolute angel)  The best part of the movie? I was worried he might be scared of the Jabberwocky so before the big scene came, I removed his 3D glasses and turned him around in my lap.  He hunkered down and fell asleep on my shoulder. Since he is a very active toddler, I never have the opportunity just to hold him. It was awesome. We played and laughed and had a great time and then Sunday night came. My husband sees the transformation I go through each Sunday night when the realization hits me that I will be going to work the next day and sending my little one to daycare.  I get grumpy and generally unpleasant.  The transition from weekeend to work week is a hard one for me. I hope someday that circumstances will change and in the meantime I try and cherish the time we have together.

I did manage to finish another book so I owe you two reviews now!

LONELY POLYGAMIST by Brady Udall

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

This book grabbed me from the very beginning.  Not only does it have an intriguing and somewhat amusing title but I also enjoyed the Mad Men-esque cover.  THE LONELY POLYGAMIST follows the stories of three members of the Golden Richards family. Golden Richards is the family patriarch.  He is the husband to four wives, the father to scores of children and the owner of a construction company. Rusty Richards is Golden's fifth son by his third wife. Trish Richards is Golden's fourth wife.  The story is told from the perspective of each of these individuals.  Golden is facing a crisis.  The course of his whole life has been determined by others and he never exercises any real free will. Until now. While away from his family building a brothel in the desert in order to save his family from financial ruin, Golden falls in love with a strange quiet woman named Huila.  His son Rusty is dealing with his own crisis. Rusty is a misunderstood child who feels lost in his larger-than-life family. Branded the family pervert, Rusty struggles to deal with his burgeoning sexuality while trying to get some sort of attention from the people around him.  Golden's wife Trish feels terribly alone in the midst of all these people. Having struggled with multiple miscarriages and stillbirths, Trish feels set apart from the rest of the family and at a loss to discover what she really wants.

At first glance, this book appears to be Golden's story.  He is the Lonely Polygamist. But he isn't the only one.  Trish and Rusty are both lonely polygamists as well.  Each of the threads of this story reveal three very lonely people trying to find a way to fit in and make peace with their lives. It is a sad and tragic story that also has moments of grace, humor and beauty. 550 pages did not seem enough to truly cover this tale.  I had a hard time putting it down and then wished for more at the end.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  A lovely and sad book about the loneliness, alienation and disconnection that we can all feel no matter how many people we live with.

Listen Along Storybook Program

Sterling Children's Books has started a wonderful new Listen Along Storybook program with eight wonderful titles.  I was lucky enough to receive a copy of CESAR TAKES A BREAK by Susan Collins Thomas along with an audio mp3 download to test-drive.  The book is really adorable. It tells the story of Cesar, a classroom iguana, who is left on his own during Spring Break. He chronicles his adventures in the form of a diary. At first, Cesar is sad and misses all of his friends until he discovers new friends and all the adventures to be had for an iguana left to his own devices.  It is a light-hearted and fun story with really nice simple illustrations. The added bonus is the free audio download that comes with the book. 

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the audio version of CESAR TAKES A BREAK:



The voices are great and I especially loved the original music. It really adds something to the story.  I love the idea of not only getting a quality book to read but giving the kids the opportunity to read along with an audio version as well.  There are seven more titles in Sterling's Listen Along Storybook program and I am looking forward to reading them all.  Find out about the other stories and this new program at the Listen Along Storybook website.

GIVEAWAY:  Three lucky readers will receive copies of all 8 books in the Listen Along Storybook program. Leave a comment with your information below by midnight on Monday, March 8.

THE POACHER'S SON by Paul Doiron

I received an advance copy of this book through the Barnes and Noble First Look program.

I have been putting off my review of this book because it was such a disappointment.  I have had the privilege of participating in the Barnes and Noble First Look program many times and I have really enjoyed every single selection. When they announced that the next selection would be a mystery/suspense title, I couldn't be more excited.  THE POACHER'S SON is set in Maine and follows Mike Bowditch, a game warden who just received news that his absentee father, a "ne'er do well" poacher, is the main suspect in the shooting of a timber executive and a cop.  Bowditch has had a long love/hate relationship with his father and is conflicted about how to react. He is dedicated to his job but cannot stop himself from wanting to help his father.  The book follows Mike's attempt to locate his fugitive father before the authorities do while he tries to discover who really committed the murders.

This is a classic father/son conflict story that reveals how such relationships can be extremely complex and difficult. The setting is wonderful and Mike's position as a game warden offers a new and interesting twist on this genre. I loved the descriptions of Mike's job and the different people and animals he ran into as part of his work.  Mike's relationship with his father was compelling at first but lost momentum somehow.  It is confusing how a book that starts off in such a solid way seemed to lose its way and flounder. The story and setting are solid but the characters become more and more unbelieveable and unnecessarily complex.  The ending just felt ridiculous and rushed. Perhaps if Doiron had stretched the story out and taken a little more time with it, it could have been great.  As it is, a promising beginning was ruined by a hurried slapdash end.

BOTTOM LINE:  Not recommended. A weak mystery that wasn't especially suspenseful. It would have worked better as a simple look into a troubled father/son relationship.

Notes in the Margin

I feel as if my reading has been slowing down a bit but I did manage to finish two books. Both books (reviews below) have got me thinking about depression.  I will post something personal on that topic later. Although I have started a few more books, I keep getting distracted by the Olympics and other good television. Since getting DVR, I have become a bit of a television junkie.

Some of my favorites:

LOST
FRINGE
MODERN FAMILY
HOUSE
PROJECT RUNWAY
REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY/NEW YORK CITY (embarrassed to admit that one)
GLEE
GREEK

And then there are all of those great shows on the premium channels:

DEXTER
BIG LOVE
NURSE JACKIE
CALIFORNICATION
TRUE BLOOD  (I have a love-hate relationship with this show)

I'm on the verge of turning into a couch potato!  Especially since the weather lends itself to staying indoors and hibernating.  In other news, these books landed on my doorstep over the last week:

THE LONELY POLYGAMIST  by Brady Udall (ARC)
A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan (ARC)
THE POACHER'S SON by Paul Doiron (B&N First Look)
HERESY by S.J. Parris (ARC)

For my fellow children's book fans, I will have something special for you next week.  There will be a giveaway of some downloadable audio book titles that are really great.

I think it's going to be a great year for reading!!!

KEEPING THE FEAST by Paula Butturini

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

KEEPING THE FEAST is a memoir by Paula Butturini that recounts the painful recovery of Butturini and her husband after a series of tragedies.  Butturini and her husband John were both foreign correspondants in Europe when they met and fell in love in Rome. Soon after their marriage, Paula is severely beaten while covering a news story and a short time later John is shot while covering an uprising in Romania.  As if these events weren't painful enough, Paula's elderly mother commits suicide while John is struggling to heal. During these difficult times, Paula clung to the ritual of preparing and eating food to carry her through.  She weaves stories of the importance of food while growing up into the story of her and John's recovery. Much of the book revolves around the effects of depression on Paula's family and John's own dramatic slide into depression in the aftermath of his shooting. It is a reflective and meditative memoir on how devastating depression can be on the individual and those around him/her as well as the healing powers of the rituals surrounding food.

The book was slow to get going.  I wasn't sure where Butturini was going with her story at first.  The transitions between Butturini's current struggles and the food memories of her past were sometimes jarring. However, the book soon found its voice and offered a compelling look at depression and recovery.  The connection between food and healing was interesting. It made me think about my family's own food rituals and how healing cooking and eating can be.  I loved Butturini's descriptions of Rome.  Having been lucky enough to visit Italy four times in my life, I found her descriptions very evocative and accurate.  Her descriptions of food and dishes made me so hungry!!! One of my only complaints about this book is that I wish she had included some of the recipes that she describes.  It would have been wonderful to try cooking some of the dishes and eating them while I read the book.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  For anyone who has ever been touched by depression, this book will be especially meaningful.  It isn't just a story about physical recovery but the emotional recovery of the soul as well.  The food angle offers a nice and welcome twist.