Notable Reads

An astonishing number of books have been read in our household this summer.  I only attempt to keep track of the books I read myself these days.  To be truthful, so far this year I’ve read a lot of books that were “meh” or “bleh.”  I’m not including any of those on these lists.

For more than a year now, I’ve been keeping track of what I want to read and what I have read on Goodreads.  I like the ease of finishing a book, clicking over there and rating it.  It keeps track of the date I finished it and the rating I gave it.  My indecisive nature wishes that you could give books half a star, though.  Sometimes a book just falls in between four and five stars, or three and four stars, or two and three stars.  Two seems too little.  Three seems too good.  All of these books are volumes that I gave four or five stars sometime in the last few months.

Children’s Picture Books

• Toad Weather by Sandra Markle.  I loved the illustrations in this book:  so realistic.  I thought the characters were multidimensional, which can be a challenge in the short length of a children’s picture book.  Plus, this is just a neat story about a real experience:  toads crossing the road.  
• Rory the Dinosaur:  Me and My Dad by Liz Climo.  This book is cute, and Mr. TOF loved knowing the secret when the protagonist did not. 
• Worst in Show by Ben William.  This book is off the rocker humor at it’s best, perfect for the five year old boy in your life, or maybe anyone in your life.  I loved the dramatic text that incorporated rhythmic repetition at the perfect times, and we all loved the monsters.
  
• A Perfectly Messed up Story by Patrick McDonnell  All the kidlets were in stitches over this.  It’s a wonderful example of the use of voice as a writing technique.  This could be Mr. TOF’s very favorite book right now. 
• The Right Word:  Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant  This is a beautifully illustrated and interesting book about Roget and his love of words.  
• Here Comes the Tooth Fairy Cat by Deborah Underwood.  It’s very funny.  We loved the short text and many pages in this book.  The illustrations were terrific.  
• Meet the Dullards by Sara Pennypacker.  Everyone loved the sarcasm and irony and exaggeration in this story.

Kids Chapter Books

• The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.  This story about siblings who left London for the countryside during World War II was well done, much better than I had expected.  The story was engaging.  YaYa and I both liked this book a lot.  
• Non Random Acts of Kindness (Life of Ty #2) by Lauren Miracle Sometimes I think it’s hard to find books with strong boy characters for early readers of chapter books, and this book along with the first book in the series does a great job of creating a realistic, multidimensional little boy. It’s fun to read how he interacts with people at school and his family at home.  The Banana and Mr. TOF both really loved this book.  
• The Glass Sentence by S.E.  Grove.  This was a long book, in the fantasy genre that I’m not always so excited about.  The story was action packed and plot driven, but what really made this book sparkle for me was the detail of the immense magical world that this author created.  It was a fascinating read.  
• Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.  This is an excellent middle grade novel about a girl with dyslexia.  
• One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.   I read this book the day that YaYa was at Minnesota History Day, because there was a lot of down time.  It’s one of the best fiction books about foster care I’ve come across.  I was completely engaged in this book, rooting for the main character.  It opened my eyes in so many ways to what foster care kids experience.  The ending was so emotional for me that I ended up crying right outside on a bench under a tree at the University of Minnesota. YaYa rolled her eyes at me, but she also liked the book.  I convinced Mr. SP to read it too, and it was a great book for all of us to discuss.  
• Dory Fantasamagory by Abby Hanlon.  Truly hilarious!  We all read this book.  The Banana and Mr. SP read it silently and then listened in again while I read it to Mr. TOF.  I haven’t laughed so much at a book for ages.  There was one part about candy disappearing into the depths of the mother’s purse for all eternity that caused me to laugh so much my stomach ached.  I strongly recommend this one.  
• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park  This book, a true story,  is sad and violent and eye opening.  Everyone should read it. 
• Operation Bunny, The Vanishing of Billy Buckle, and Three Pickled Herrings by Sally Gardner. The kidlets are loving this series.
• Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath.  I adored this book!  I loved the marmot best. I can’t wait to read the next one.  

Audio Books

• Matilda by Roald Dahl.  This audio book won an audie award, which caught my eye.  I downloaded it before a long drive to North Dakota, and the kids absolutely loved it even though some of them had already read the book.   It is so well read and dramatic.  The Banana is still talking in an accent like the narrator.
• All volumes of The Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume.  We’ve had these stories for awhile, but over the past few months Mr. TOF has absolutely fallen in love with them and has listened to them over and over and over again.

Young Adult Books

• Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth.  This trilogy has been sitting on my To Read bookshelf for a long time, waiting for the perfect week when I would have consecutive days to dive into dystopia.  Last week was the week!  I was impressed.  Again, this is that genre of fantasy/dystopia that often relies on action packed plots.  These books fit into that very well, but I actually thought they were very entertaining and so much better done that the Hunger Games trilogy overall.  I thought they were worth reading enough to recommend them to Dr. Peds, which was a mistake because then we were fighting over the books at the same time, which YaYa found absolutely hilarious, since they had sat on the bookshelf for over a year with no one reading them.  (She had already read them.)  In the end I “neglected” to tell Dr. Peds that we had the third book, so I could finish it without interruption.  I had to be interrupted.  
• Forgotten Sisters (Princess Academy #3) by Shannon Hale I love the Princess Academy books, and I liked this one.  
• We are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielson.  YaYa and I both really liked this book.  It’s perfect for middle schoolers.  
• Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen.  Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of her best books.  Read it!
• On the Fence by Kasie West.  This was an engaging story.
• West of the Moon by Margi Preus.  Duluth author alert!  This author lives not far from my house, and I love pretty much everything she has written.  This was a fun tale, and one of those books that is tricky to decide if it fits better into middle grade or YA literature.  I put it here because there are some tricky scenes that not all readers of kid chapter books might be ready for.  I do recommend it though.  
• Say What You Will by Cammi McGovern.  This is an excellent look at the life of a teenager with cerebral palsy.  I highly recommend this book.

Grown Up Fiction

• Digging to America by Anne Tyler.  It’s not my favorite Anne Tyler book, and there were parts of this story that probably families in the midst of international adoption would find frustrating because of inaccuracies, but the story is still good.  Anne Tyler is an author who really knows how to create deep characters.  

Grown Up NonFiction

• Love Does by Bob Goff.  I first heard of Bob Goff when he appeared at the IF Gathering last February.  I decided to read his book.  It was the perfect book for short snatches in the hammock and in the car while waiting for kids to finish music lessons.  It’s one of those books that you can stop and start easily, and although lighthearted at times, there is a lot to this book.  Some of the experiences and pictures and illustrations of who God is and how he equips us to love by loving us so deeply have stuck with me this summer. 
• Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist.  There are about 10,000 reasons why I loved this book.