Tag: Books

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1881

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Bruce

1881“The town of Nada, Texas was small…” That’s how one of my favorite picture books starts off. David Small’s Ruby Mae Has Something to Say is a great story about Universal understanding and the power of tinkering. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, I really suggest you do.

I decided on this specific MINIon because (Yes, I once built my own Bobatron) some close friends are expecting and one of their requests for the baby shower was to bring a copy of your favorite childhood book. Sue, having never had a childhood 😉 just defaulted to me and I had a to come up with a list. While Ruby Mae didn’t make the cut (so many books) the process reminded me that I wanted to do a MINIon based on the story.  Many of the books on the list bring back memories of when I taught either first grade or preschool.  Many are out of print which was something we decided would be an added bonus, knowing that no one would give the book we did.  Sue couldn’t attend the shower because she’s more of a bath person… actually she was up in Ann Arbor with me.

What were on my short list?
1. Just Only John by Jack Kent – the story of a boy who wants to be something else and realizes that magic is a little fickle.
2. The Wuggie Norple Story by Daniel Pinkwater – C’mon just the character names are enough to put this on any list… “Lunchbox Louie, Bigfoot the Chipmunk, King Waffle…”
3. Big Bad Bruce by Bill Peet – uh, hello? a bear, named Bruce why shouldn’t this be on the list?
4. Ruby Mae Has Something to Say by David Small

“What no comics, or graphic novels?” you say. I knew the child’s father would be more than capable of taking care of that end, along with LEGO.

Literary Review Step by Step

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Bruce

When the first Harry Potter book came out I was clueless. But I did pick it up fairly early on. I have read every book waited in line at midnight for new releases… even worn a cape to last one (It happened during Midwest Geobash in Kendallville, IN and was amazing- but I digress). So I had some kids reading this vampire book and talking about how wonderful it was. I looked at the cover and it screamed to me “girl book” and “young romance” two genre’s I really have little interest in. Then I went to San Diego ComicCon and my view didn’t really change. I saw a bunch of pale kids with contact lenses creating chaos. I still resisted reading it or seeing the movies. I have enjoyed the classic horror genre, not slasher flims. One of my favorite stories is Robert Block’s “Yours Truly Jack the Ripper”. So kind of as a favor to one of my kids (No I don’t have children, I have a stuffed monkey… but my students have always been “my kids”) I said I would read it if she would loan me her copy. I really hated all those people who blasted Harry Potter without even reading a single word. So before I let my prejudice color my commentary I figure I should at least read the first book. So as I read it I’ll post some of my comments some may be brief… we shall see. Oh needless to say if you haven’t read the book this will most likely contain spoilers.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Chapter One
We are introduced to Bella our heroine, and I recall just how self absorbed high schoolers can be. Bella is moving (her reason has not been disclosed) from her mother’s home in the sunny desert to her father’s home in the always cloudy, always rainy Pacific Northwest. I believe the town is named is Sunnydale… no that’s another angst filled teenage vampire story. Basically, we go through Bella’s first day at school and how she hates everything about it. We meet a few fellow students and the strange group of new kids who are pale and don’t really associate with anyone else. Edward (music rises) is part of this group. The chapter closes with Bella, miserable, falling alseep to the sound of the rain while sobbing. The silver lining- she did end up with a nice old truck that is bound to break down in the middle of the night on a lonely road leaving her in distress. (Just a guess).

My prediction for the next chapter- Edward will still try to avoid Bella in Science class, and Bella gets more interested in Edward since he’s trying to avoid her. Note to High School boys- this tactic only works in the movies…

A Trip to Booktown

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Bruce

Well yesterday was a long day but really neat. We drove into a town just across the border into Wales. Hay-on-Wye has this magnificent book festival besides being known as “The Town of Books” since it has so many bookstores. After checking out the children’s section at the festival (and finding lots of cool books for my classroom) we wandered the town. It was raining (finally some english weather) but we were fine since we were given an umbrella at the festival. Besides books I did manage to pick up a replacement for my Tilley hat. The things are indestructible but that doesn’t help much when you misplace it. I’ve posted a bunch of pictures on Flickr, but all I can say is it was a wonderful day.

Reading a little before heading back after a glorious day at the Hay Festival and wandering around Hay-on-Wye.

One observation I have made as I search for the culture that brought about the Mini is- There are just so many of them over here! If you don’t own a Mini (or didn’t at one time) you knew someone who did. It was the British “Model T” the car everyone had. While the numbers are increasing in the states, you can’t turn a corner without seeing at least one Mini or MINI. For the uninitiated you may notice that I type Mini or MINI which in type distinguishes the old Mini from the newer MINI. There are many diehard Mini Geeks out there who hate, loathe, etc. the new MINI (now 7+ years since the first one was built). But yesterday was for the book geek in me. I spent way too much, but ended up with what I hope will be some gems for my classroom.