The High King
by Lloyd Alexander
Ages: 9+
Interests: fantasy, magic, war, violence, bravery, coming of age, ethical dilemmas, romance
The High King
12 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
in Books, books 9+, Illustrators, Uncategorized Tags: bravery, coming of age, ethics, fantasy, Magic, romance, violence, war
Shackleton’s Journey
05 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
in Books, books 6+, Uncategorized Tags: adventure, antarctica, boats, exploration, geography, history, maps, travel, wilderness survival
Shackleton’s Journey
written and illustrated by William Grill
Age: 6+
Interests: exploration, history, survival, antarctica, ships, adventure, travel, maps, geography
There Is a Tribe of Kids
26 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in books 2+, Uncategorized Tags: animals, birds, family, friendship, nature, word play
There Is a Tribe of Kids
by Lane Smith
Age: 2+
Interests: nature, animals, word play, family
The Slave Dancer
19 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in Books, books 11+, Uncategorized Tags: American history, boats, history, racism, slavery, violence
The Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
Age: 11+
Interests: American history, slavery, racism, ships
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
13 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 12+, Old Movies Tags: history, music, musicals, religion, rock music, theatrical plays, violence
colour, musical (rock opera) drama
released: 1973
director: Norman Jewison
starring: Ted Neely, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman
rated: G (PG would be more accurate, due to the violence – see below.)
length: 1 hr, 48 min
age: 12+
interests: musicals, rock music, theatre, religion, history
Movie Night: Watching Classic Flicks with Your Young Adult
10 Feb 2018 2 Comments
in Movies, Old Movies, Parenting, Silent Movies
My eleven-year-old has become more reclusive and immersed in her own activities and projects. She heads up to her room after school and apart from a hastily eaten dinner, I don’t see her again until I have to start bugging her about bedtime.
Okay, so I’ve been feeling a little lonely.
I wanted to reclaim at least one evening a week for us to spend time together, so I announced that from now on Saturday night is Movie Night. We are going to sit down every Saturday night and watch a movie together. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Oh, and we’re going to watch Old Movies.
A Wrinkle in Time
26 Jan 2018 Leave a comment
in Books, books 9+, Classics Tags: family, fantasy, Magic, math, politics, religion, sci fi, science, siblings, strong girls, time travel
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle
Age: 9+
Interests: fantasy, science fiction, time travel, family, magic, science, math, strong girls, siblings, religion, politics
A Year Down Yonder
18 Jan 2018 Leave a comment
in Books, books 11+ Tags: bad behavior, bullying, grandparents, Great Depression, high school, poverty, romance, small town life, violence
A Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
Age: 11+
Interests: Great Depression, small town life, grandparents, high school, poverty, bullying, romance
The Grey King
08 Jan 2018 Leave a comment
in Books, books 9+ Tags: England, fantasy, folktales, King Arthur, Magic, Wales
The Grey King
by Susan Cooper
Book 4 in The Dark is Rising series
Age: 9+ (advanced reader)
Interests: magic, fantasy, folklore, King Arthur, England, Wales
Welcome to 2018!
01 Jan 2018 2 Comments
Happy New Year! Or as my daughter put it at midnight last night: “Happy Totally Random Reason to Celebrate!”
The year ahead looks full of projects and new initiatives, but I pledge to continue reviewing and sharing my thoughts with you on this humble little blog. After all, if my calculations are correct, I’m only 14 reviews away from finishing ALL the Newbery medal winners! And after that I’ve still got Carnegie winners to cover, so (happily) the work goes on and on.
My bedside table.
My own writing projects outside this website can be followed on my official authorly blog here. In a nutshell, I am at the moment writing a play, developing a fiction podcast, finishing a book about early childhood development, and researching a particularly rich historical fiction topic. Plus another half dozen things, including the most important job of all: being an Awesome Parent… or at least a Not Entirely Out of Touch, Embarrassing and Hopeless Parent.
And another stack over here. (I’m out of cookies!)
If you’d like to follow along with my admittedly eccentric reading list, I’m on Goodreads, where I’ve just set myself the audacious goal of reading one hundred books in 2018. (gulp) Look me up if you are a Goodreader too.
Wishing all of you exciting projects and prospects this year, along with the good health and energy to tackle them all, as well as peace, happiness, and many, many good books to read!
cheers!
Kim
