Summer Picks

As you can see, I'm having a really hard time letting Summer go. It's over, Emily. Just get on with your life, okay? Fine. But since I have been a slacker lately on goodreads. And since this was a landmark Summer for me - my first with THREE bikers, THREE swimmers, and THREE readers (big hurdles for our family - I feel like a new person!) - it just seems fitting to dedicate a post entirely to the books that filled our Summer (and accrued late fees at the library). Here are our favorites:

My Favorite Picture Book:
I love this book. LOVE it. I stumbled across it at the library this Summer and my life has never been the same. It's about a goblin who discovers his own ugliness and hides from the world in shame. Until one day he notices a family who is hurting more than himself and he helps each member of the family in secret. "planting where planting is needed". . . "digging where digging is needed". . . "fixing where fixing is needed."
The illustrations are heart-wrenching and magical - a story within a story. And the ending is profound. . . tender. . . and perfect. A reminder that out of all my duties during the day, the most important might just be to "sit where sitting is needed and sooth where soothing is needed."


Clayton's Favorite:
This book is so great. The illustrations are hilarious. The writing is clever. Each excerpt is detailed but succinctly written - not too long or bogged down. It's probably the best introduction to everything-science I have ever seen! This book is poured over. . . devoured. . . and in constant tow at our house.


Isaac's Favorite:
We now own dozens of fantastic ship books. This one is the most beautiful. It gives brief information about each ship, describing the events or sea captains that made them famous (Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind, Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge, The Amistad, Columbus's ships, and the Titanic). The layout is stunning. A double-page spread dedicated to each story with beautiful watercolor paintings. Awesome-awesome book. We can't stop drawing ships.

Brigham could not decide between. . .
and. . .
Both books are fantastic and had Nate and I chuckling from beginning to end. Bright and expressive illustrations. Clever character voicing. Both books capture the essence of little boys.


My Favorite Read Aloud:
My fifth grade teacher (Mrs. Weller - whom I adored) read this book to us. She cried at the end. I had never seen a teacher cry before. (until the next year when Mr. Louder's pants ripped open right in the middle of class. He totally cried.) I've loved this story ever since. Summer of the Monkeys is so well written it's like candy to read out loud. The words, the sentences and phrases, just roll off your tongue.
I don't think my kids loved this story as much as the Chronicles of Narnia (i.e. they didn't spend every waking hour re-enacting chapter after chapter) But they did dream about monkeys. And it spearheaded some great conversations about poverty, family, priorities, and the things that are really important. A perfect Summer read - especially for boys.


My Overall Summer Favorite:
Okay, I actually read the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series all Summer - which I liked even though they were total (and definitely second-rate) Harry Potter rip-offs. But the book that I thought and dreamed about all Summer (especially while driving through the Arizona territory, getting a feel for the lay of the land, and visiting the Mormon Battalion Center, where I was transported into the very age and time of the book) was one I read before school was out which would technically make it my overall Spring favorite.
"These Is My Words" is at the top of my list of favorite books OF ALL TIME. It's everything I love about Jane Austen. . . and then add Calamity Jane. It's everything I love about Gone With The Wind. . . except that the heroine is someone I want to be. It's everything I love and know about being a wife and mother. . . plus all the danger, beauty, and adventure of the wild west - a life so different from what I know. I loved this book. Loved it. Enough to read it again right now. (even though it'll make me bawl again.)

And now, goodbye to Summer reading. . .


and goodbye to Summer.


I really mean it this time.

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