Category Archives: Reading

Reading

I still don’t get the title

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Clifford the Big Red Dog
Once upon a time, the angry mommy came to the happy foods. And the happy foods screamed like this, “AAAAAHHHHH!” And the mommy was SO MAD, she was so mad, and then the food cried.

And the toys blew away, and the angry mommy got rid of those toys and throwed them in the trash can! And everyone blew away. And they came back down, and everyone was happy. So was the happy mommy. While they were happy, they decided they wanted to play.

The End

Why is it called “Clifford the Big Red Dog”?
Because that’s the title.

But he isn’t in there anywhere.
He is! He’s in the title. He’s the illustrator.

Why was the mommy so mad?
Because they yelled and screamed like this, “AAAHH, Ahhh!”

What did the foods do to make the mommy mad?
They throwed everything out of the house, and the parts of the house blew away, and the friends blew away, and the angry mommy blew away, and everything was all gone. And so did the people. The people looked stern also. (That means very angry.)

Why did they look so stern?
Because the foods are still crying, and they’re saying “No.”

Why are they saying no?
Because the mommy ran, ran, ran away, and she didn’t like it.

What didn’t she like?
She didn’t like saying no.

Well, why did she say no?
I don’t know. Oh! I said “no”! I must be stern.

Reading

If you give a girl a letter …

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A few months ago, we checked out “If You Give a Pig a Party” and “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” by Laura Numeroff. One morning as we were writing some letters and drawing pictures, Pi decided she wanted to draw a picture for the author. So she did, and we wrote a little note to go along with it. I looked up her contact info, and we popped Poppy’s drawing and letter into the mailbox.

Can you guess what was in our mailbox today? It was a letter for Poppy, from Laura Numeroff! Here’s a bit of what she wrote:

Dear Poppy,

Thank you so much for writing to me!! Your drawing of the piggy and the cow is very special and beautiful.

I’m glad you love to read — and clearly you love to draw. Just be careful you don’t draw all over the walls with a permanent magic marker! And I love your name — it’s adorable! Ed: This got a very large smile from P.

I have an iPod and I love music and look forward to hearing “Personal Penguin” — thanks for the tip! …

She goes on to say that she’s working on “If You Give a Dog a Donut” and that “If You Give a Cat a Cupcake” was recently released.

The letter really brightened our afternoon. Poppy is always excited to get things in the mail, and receiving a note from one of her favorite authors was just terrific. I’m pretty sure Numeroff now has a lifelong fan!

Reading

The books of 2008

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I wasn’t as diligent in keeping my book list in 2008 as I’ve been in years past, so there may be a few missing here. Even so, I definitely didn’t read as many books this year as I did in ’06 or ’07. Heck, I didn’t even read as many as George Bush did this year.

But there were a few worth reading in my list. Those picks are in bold, and the links will lead you to my reviews.

  1. “The Blackbird Papers” by Ian Smith
  2. “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan
  3. “The Man Who Tried to Save the World” by Scott Anderson
  4. “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett
  5. “The Double Bind” by Chris Bohjalian
  6. “Mary Modern” by Camille DeAngelis
  7. “The Rabbit Factory” by Marshall Karp
  8. “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen
  9. “The Day After Roswell” by Philip Corso
  10. “Bridge of Sighs” by Richard Russo
  11. “The Best American Mystery Stories”
  12. “Good Poems for Hard Times“
  13. “The Rolling Stone Interviews“
  14. “At Risk” by Patricia Cornwell
  15. “Promise Me” by Harlan Coben
  16. “Toehold” by Stephen H. Foreman
  17. “Big Boned” by Meg Cabot
  18. “Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her” by Melanie Rehak
  19. “Sammy’s Hill” by Kristin Gore
  20. “Sammy’s House” by Kristin Gore
  21. “I Don’t Know How She Does It” by Allison Pearson
  22. “The Magician’s Assistant” by Ann Patchett
  23. “Devil in a Blue Dress” by Walter Mosley
  24. “A Red Death” by Walter Mosley
  25. “Dead Until Dark” by Charlaine Harris
  26. “Autism’s False Prophets” by Paul Offit
  27. “So Brave, Young and Handsome” by Leif Enger
  28. “Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s” by John Elder Robison
  29. “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks
  30. “Living Dead in Dallas” by Charlaine Harris
  31. “Made in the USA” by Billie Letts
  32. “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer
  33. “The Mulberry Tree” by Jude Devereaux
  34. “A Wicked Snow” by Gregg Olsen
  35. “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay

What was your favorite book this year?