Reading any good books? I am!

Well, I went MIA without planning on it. But in between my last post and tonight, we took a four-day trip to visit my Grandma, had swimming lessons (Sister, to be precise), and hosted playgroup (which involves a LOT of cleaning... before and after!) So, it's been busy. And we've also just been enjoying summer. I've been logging on a good bit less these past weeks, and that's a good thing sometimes.

One of the perks is that when I do go to read my favorite blogs, there is a lot of new stuff! Fun!

Rather than share lots of little anecdotes from life (not in the mood tonight), I'll give you a few book reviews.

Here are some good books we recently checked out from our library: (The cover images are from Amazon.com)

The Circus is Coming by Hilary Knight

This one is a classic, but the new edition is printed in rich color on glossy paper and it's fabulous. Depicting fantastic scenes from a circus parade, Sister can pore over these illustrations for hours.

Peter Spier's Circus!

Another classic! If you've never seen this book, it's a must. I love Peter Spier's super-detailed illustrations (so much to see!) This book really shows circus from start to finish, from setting up the tent and seeing that the circus performers are real people with families to seeing the spectacle of the performance.

Toy Boat by Randall de Seve

This is a sweet story of a little boy and his homemade toy boat. They are best friends, but one day the boat gets tired of being restrained by the string and decides to go out sailing on its own. Of course, the sea is a big, scary place and in the end, the boat just wants to be back with his boy. Happy ending!

Ladybug Girl by Davis Doman and Jacky Davis

This is a cute one. It's starts with a little girl standing in a pile of discarded costumes, enjoying her "ladybug girl" reflection in the mirror. (Reminds me of Sister from page one!)

What I like most about this book is that the message is about learning to entertain oneself. Lulu (aka Ladybug Girl) has "nothing to do"- said while standing in a room FULL of toys. (Sound familiar?) Her parents stand firm, however, and require her to fill her own time. In the end, she does so in traditional childhood style- walking through the yard, imagining heroic scenarios, rescuing ants from a rock, etc. It's definitely worth a library check-out.

The Littlest Mayryoshka by Corinne Demas Bliss

What a wonderful story! A Russian doll-maker makes six matryoshka dolls but the littlest is knocked to the ground before they are sold. Her "sisters" are sold to a little girl but can't stop worrying about their littlest sister. Meanwhile, the littlest doll has quite a traveling adventure (reminded me of the steadfast tin soldier.) Fortunately, there is a very happy ending. A sweet story of sisterly love and reunion.

I'm still playing along with Jade's Expose Yourself challenge. But I'm waiting on some "after" pictures. (Plenty of "before" shots, don't you know!!)

I'll try not to be gone another week before I post again. But, hey, it's summer, so if I don't do my homework, who cares?