MOVIE - Boss Baby

PG (1:37)

Wide release 3/31/17

Viewed 4/21/17 with Tristan
IMBd: 6.3/10

RT Critic:  52  Audience:  51
Critic's Consensus: The Boss Baby's talented cast, glimmers of wit, and flashes of visual inventiveness can't make up for a thin premise and a disappointing willingness to settle for doody jokes

Cag:  2.5

Directed by Tom McGrath

DreamWorks Animation

Alec Baldwin (BossBaby voice)

My comments:  Friday night with Tristan - incredibly far fetched concept that doesn't really make sense in multiple ways, but entertaining nonetheless.  Tristan seemed to enjoy it, cut could't really tell me what it was about or what his favorite part was.  The teenager sitting beside me laughed all through it so it certainly help appeal for some! I've certainly seen worse.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  DreamWorks Animation and the director of Madagascar invite you to meet a most unusual baby. He wears a suit, speaks with the voice and wit of Alec Baldwin, and stars in the animated comedy, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby. The Boss Baby is a hilariously universal story about how a new baby's arrival impacts a family, told from the point of view of a delightfully unreliable narrator, a wildly imaginative 7 year old named Tim. With a sly, heart-filled message about the importance of family, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby is an authentic and broadly appealing original comedy for all ages.

PICTURE BOOK - Billy's Booger by William Joyce and his younger self

A Memoir (sorta) Illustrated by the author

2015, Atheneum

40 pgs. plus 12-page insert

Goodreads rating:

My rating: 5 Stars, Glorious!

1^st line/s: "Once upon a time, when TV was in black and white, and there were only three channels, and when kids didn't have play dates --- they just roamed free in the out of doors - there lived a kid named Billy."

My comments:  I'm always on the lookout for picture books for older kids.  Fourth and fifth grade boys will love this one...it's funny, and imaginative, and a teeny tiny bit gross...

Goodreads: A young lad who would rather draw than do math, spell, or gargle finds the perfect outlet for his always-on imagination in this manifesto to creative joie de vivre, featuring a book within a book, from the brilliant minds that brought you The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.
          Billy loves to draw. He draws on books and on his homework and even on his math tests—he might not get the answer right, but doesn’t it look swell sitting in a boat at sea? His teacher doesn’t think so, and neither does the principal. But the librarian has an idea that just might help Billy better direct his illustrative energies: a book-making contest!
          Billy gets right to work, reading everything he can about meteors, mythology, space travel, and…mucus? Yep, his book is going to be about the world’s smartest booger, who stays tucked away until needed—say, to solve multiplication problems, or answer questions from the President. Billy’s sure his story is a winner. But being a winner doesn’t mean you always win.
          Full of nostalgic references to a time when TV was black-and-white and Sunday newspapers had things called the funnies, this wildly fun story-within-a-story is based loosely on children’s book legend William Joyce’s third grade year, and includes a sewn-in mini-book of that tale of the world’s smartest booger.

22. The Dark Room by Jonathan Moore

listened on Audible
2017 Houghton Mifflin
294 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery - Police Procedural
Finished 4/11/17
Goodreads rating:  3.83 - 339 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary San Francisco

First line/s:  "It was after midnight, and Cain and his new partner, Grassley, watched as the excavator's blade went into the hole, emerging seconds later with another load of earth to add to the pile growing next to the grave."

My comments:  This had everything I love in a mystery.  Best of all, it's all show and no tell.  A setting - San Francisco - that I know, with lots of great description that emphasizes the map in my head.  Deeply interesting characters that are real and not superficial or just words on a page.  A small part of the story is about the protagonist and what's going on in his life, which is slowly unfurled and also tinged, just a bit, with mystery.  And a super suspenseful, intricate plot that keeps you wondering and thinking until the very end, then wraps everything up without any questions left in your mind.  Whew!  What a ride.  Masterfully read by David Colacci, I'm so sad that it had to come to an end.

Goodreads synopsis:  Gavin Cain, an SFPD homicide inspector, is in the middle of an exhumation when his phone rings. San Francisco’s mayor is being blackmailed and has ordered Cain back to the city; a helicopter is on its way. The casket, and Cain’s cold-case investigation, must wait. At City Hall, the mayor shows Cain four photographs he’s received: the first, an unforgettable blonde; the second, pills and handcuffs on a nightstand; the third, the woman drinking from a flask; and last, the woman naked, unconscious, and shackled to a bed. The accompanying letter is straightforward: worse revelations are on the way unless the mayor takes his own life first. 
          An intricately plotted, deeply affecting thriller that keeps readers guessing until the final pages, The Dark Room tracks Cain as he hunts for the blackmailer, pitching him into the web of destruction and devotion the mayor casts in his shadow. 

PICTURE BOOK - The Longest Night: A Passover Story by Laurel Snyder

Illustrated by Catia Chien

2013, Schwartz & Wade Books

HC & price

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.84 - 102 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers:  Front: Very dark blue sky
Back:  Light Blue morning sky

1^st line/s:  "Every morning with the light
Came another day like night."

My comments:  This is a Jewish story, read and interpreted by a non-Jew, but a non-Jew who worked in a Hebrew Day School for 12 years and loved to learn all the stories and traditions of Judaism.  This story is written in couplets, with lovely rhythm in most places.  It tells the story from the point-of-view of a Jewish slave girl through the plagues and parting of the sea.  The language is beautiful, and when slowly and digested I loved it.  I was not a fan of the illustrations, and I hate saying that, but they were what I call "vague" illustrations.  Not abstract, but with a sense of abstractness.  I love abstract painting, but I like more detail in my picture books.  Personal preference, apologies to Ms. Chien.

Goodreads:  Here's a picture book for all Jewish families to read while celebrating Passover. Unlike other Passover picture books that focus on the contemporary celebration of the holiday, or are children's haggadahs, this gorgeous picture book in verse follows the actual story of the Exodus. Told through the eyes of a young slave girl, author Laurel Snyder and illustrator Catia Chien skillfully and gently depict the story of Pharoah, Moses, the 10 plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea in a remarkably accessible way. 
          "Evocative and beautiful... flawlessly evokes the spirit of the Old Testament story," raves Publishers Weekly in a starred review. This dramatic adventure, set over 3,500 years ago, of a family that endures hardships and ultimately finds freedom is the perfect tool to help young children make sense of the origins of the Passover traditions.

PICTURE BOOK - Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure by Daniel Kirk

Library Mouse #4
Illustrated by the author

2012, Abrams Books for Young Readers

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.57 - 190 ratings

My rating:  3

Endpapers:  red

1^st line/s:  "Late one night, Sam the Library Mouse was hard at work.  His friend Sarah dropped in and asked, "What are you doing, Sam?  Writing a new book?"

My comments:  I love Sam the library mouse, and the first book in this series is still one of my all-time favorites. In this, the fourth book about Sam - book writer and art lover extraordinaire, - he and his friend, Sarah venture next door to the museum.  Here they find that all their preconceived notions about cats being scary are wrong.  The museum cat has created a gallery of paintings depicting animals...like mice!  Sam insists that Sarah bring a journal, even though she doesn't want to, and discovers that it was an excellent idea.  Somehow, the whole journal thing felt a little flat, as did the meeting up of other animals in the museum.  It didn't touch me like the previous titles have. Still enjoyable, though!

Goodreads:  Sam the library mouse and his friend Sarah are off on a new adventure. This time they leave the library behind and go to a museum so Sam can make sketches in his explorer’s journal. Sarah isn’t so sure that explorers have the time or the interest to write in journals. But Sam shows her that a journal can contain anything, from a ticket stub to drawings of cool things like dinosaurs and ancient Egyptian mummies. As they explore the museum, they see all kinds of art and unexpectedly make friends with another artist. The latest book in this bestselling series is sure to entice readers to come along on the museum adventure.

21. Still Life by Louise Penny

#1 Chief Inspector Armande Gamache
listened on Audible
2005 St. Martin's Press
312 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 4-6-17
Goodreads rating: 3.91 - 63,992 ratings (that's a lot!)
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Three Pines, Quebec, CANADA (just south of Montreal)

First line/s:

My comments:  Dozens of people have told me through the years that this is their favorite mystery series of all of them, and I just HAVE to read at least one.  Just the other day, a coworker got really excited that I was reading this because it's her favorite - she was so excited.  When I asked her "why?" she told me she'd tell me when I finished reading the entire book.  (I'll go see her tomorrow!).  So what is my honest opinion?  The setting was beautifully described, almost like another character.  Characterization was deep and complete.  The mystery was interesting but not entirely surprising.  The process that Gamache goes through and the respect he commands from his people are thoroughly enjoyable.  So why only a "this book was okay" kind of rating?  It was almost too much like a cozy for me.  Which makes me wonder about myself.  Am I looking for blood and guts, thrilling adventure, fast action?  I always thought that it was the deep, intricate puzzle that drew me into totally enjoying a mystery  Well, this book certainly had that.  But it's pacing seemed really slow, just like Three Pines, slow and lazy.  I'm guessing this was intentional on Ms. Penny's part.  And yes, I'll read the next one, to see if I still get the same feeling....

I Think I like this cover better!

Goodreads synopsis:  The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Surete du Quebec to a small village in the Eastern Townships.
     Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn't even have its own police force. But Gamache knows that evil is lurking somewhere behind the white picket fences and that, if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will start to give up its dark secrets...

PICTURE BOOK - Maya's Blanket / La Manta de Maya by Monica Brown

Illustrated by David Diaz

2015 Children's Book Press (Lee & Low Books\
$17.95 HC
24 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.1 - 124 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers:  Dark aqua fabric with "stitched" purple butterflies

Illustrations:  Bright and dark, completely filling the page with no white!  Heaven!

1^st line/s: "Little Maya Morales had a special manta that she loved very much."

My comments:  Another extra-special picture book to love.  And when it starts out with a quilt (or a blanket or manta in this case) made by a child's loving grandmother (abuelita), is bilingual, and is also illustrated by the incredible David Diaz....well, need I say more?  The rich illustrations that spread completely across the page from edge to edge in deep purples, greens, aquas, are wonderful.  The story, based on the Jewish folktale about Joseph and his overcoat, if great fun with repetition that isn't boring.  And in these days of recycling, re-purposing, and DIY, this "hidden" theme takes on new importance. Two thumbs up!

Goodreads:  Little Maya has a special blanket that Grandma stitched with her own two hands. As Maya grows, her blanket becomes worn and frayed, so with Grandma s help, Maya makes it into a dress. Over time the dress is made into a skirt, a shawl, a scarf, a hair ribbon, and finally, a bookmark. Each item has special, magical, meaning for Maya; it animates her adventures, protects her, or helps her in some way. But when Maya loses her bookmark, she preserves her memories by creating a book about her adventures and love of these items. When Maya grows up, she shares her book Maya s Blanket/La manta de Maya with her own little daughter while snuggled under her own special blanket. Inspired by the traditional Yiddish folk song Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl ( I Had a Little Coat ), this delightful bilingual picture book puts a child-focused, Latino spin on the tale of an item that is made into smaller and smaller items. Maya s Blanket/La manta de Maya charmingly brings to life this celebration creativity, recycling, and enduring family love."

20. Mourning Gloria by Andrew Downs

A Leah Hudson Thriller
read on my iPhone
2015, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
308 pgs.
Adult Mystery/FBI
Finished 4-6-17
Goodreads rating: 4.21 - 382 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting: Late 1980s California

First line/s:  "The Good Samaritan was famished...practically starving.  His hunger had been building for weeks, fueled by an insatiable desire, which could only be fulfilled by one thing...the kill."

My comments:       Something was just a little bit of with this book, but I guess I'm going to have to mull a bit to come up with what it might be.  I think it had to do with the characters.  The mystery was pretty decent, the setting - California from LA to San Francisco and in between - is a bit known to me and it worked.
     I used to tell my students when they were learning to write to "show me, don't tell me."  Well, I feel like the characters in Mourning Gloria were told about, not shown.  Either that or the parts about them that were showing didn't totally agree with what the author was telling.  Or something.  Can't quite put my finger on it. Definitely something to do with characterization.  As usual, I hate to say anything negative about an author's hard work, but I'll add more if I figure it out.

Goodreads synopsis:  From The Author Of The Alex Hollick Series Comes A Dark Heart-Pounding Thriller With Brilliant Plotting, Continuous Suspense and a Jaw Dropping Finale! 
          When a murder suspect escapes indictment on a technicality, Agent Leah Hudson is forced to shift her focus to a new task, a cold case. Five years after Gloria Stone disappears, Hudson must piece together the final days of her life, but Gloria was no ordinary girl. Shortly after surviving a brutal gang rape on her twenty-first birthday, the affluent wine heiress vanished, her car abandoned in a supermarket parking lot. 
With the help of her onetime mentor, Hudson retraces the steps of an old investigation, determined to succeed where all others have failed. Making her way through a slew of once discounted suspects, she edges closer to a horrifying truth - Gloria wasn’t alone…there are other victims and a misogynistic serial killer continues to lurk in the shadows of the Central Valley, threatening the lives of young women who fit his sick and twisted M.O. 
          Mourning Gloria brings together the elements of a thriller and a murder-mystery into one bone-chilling tale that examines the darkest depths of human nature. 

MOVIE - Ghost in the Shell

PG-13 (1:46)

Wide release 3/31/17

Viewed April 4, 2017
IMBd:  6.4/10

RT Critic:  43  Audience:  51
Critic's Consensus:  Ghost in the Shell boasts cool visuals and a compelling central performance from Scarlett Johansson, but the end result lacks the magic of the movie's classic source material.

Cag:  4

Directed by Rupert Sanders

Paramount Pictures

Based on Japanese manga "The Ghost in the Shell"

Scarlett Johansson

My comments:  Creepy.  Good Creepy.  Delicious creepy.  Gross.  Violent.  Based on a Japanese comic book.  I don't remember much of Blade Runner - I saw it a zillion years ago - but the setting reminded me of what I remember about it.  You couldn't be bored with this movie, because you're thinking all the time, figuring out how pieces fit together, figuring out what's going on.  And it all comes together quite well.  I do enjoy science fiction, and I did enjoy this movie.  I bet it cost a bundle to make, the credits at the end for all the animation --and creepy stuff-- went on and on.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others. Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese Manga, "The Ghost in the Shell."

PICTURE BOOK - My Name is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter

Illustrated by Terry Widener

2016, Schwartz & Wade Books
Goodreads rating: 4.26 - 151 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers Front:  Brown / Back: Dark Green

Illustrations:  Acrylic on Bristol board.  Fantastic.

1^st line/s: "My mother, Sally Hemings, was herself born into slavery, as had been her mother, my grandmother Elizabeth."

My comments:  Here is a picture book for older readers (we need more of them!) that doesn't tiptoe around the truth.  Yippee, Jonah Winters!   Beautifully told from the point-of-view of James Madison Hemings as a child, he tells how he feels to be "owned" by his father, treated a bit better than the other slaves at Monticello, but nowhere near like Jefferson treated his white grandchildren.  Terry Widener's illustrations are right-on, perfect for the text.  Usually Jonah Winter's mother, Jeanette, does his illustrations, but as much as I LOVE her work, I really like the way this book is presented as a whole. It was a brave topic to be tackled for a children's picture book and Jonah Winter did an admirable job.

Goodreads:  Here’s a powerful historical picture book about the child of founding father Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved Sally Hemings. 
          In an evocative first-person account accompanied by exquisite artwork, Winter and Widener tell the story of James Madison Hemings’s childhood at Monticello, and, in doing so, illuminate the many contradictions in Jefferson’s life and legacy. Though Jefferson lived in a mansion, Hemings and his siblings lived in a single room. While Jefferson doted on his white grandchildren, he never showed affection to his enslaved children. Though he kept the Hemings boys from hard field labor—instead sending them to work in the carpentry shop—Jefferson nevertheless listed the children in his “Farm Book” along with the sheep, hogs, and other property. Here is a profound and moving account of one family’s history, which is also America’s history.
          An author's note includes more information about Hemings, Jefferson, and the author's research.

19. Mouse Scouts by Sarah Dillard

1st in a series
Library Book
2016, Alfred A. Knopf
118 pgs.
Fantasy - Anthropomorphism - Early Chapter Book
Finished 4-2-17
Goodreads rating:  3.67 - 123 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary anywhere, USA

First line/s:  "Violet placed her acorn cap on her head.  It made her forehead itch and her ears stick out, but that didn't matter!"

My comments:  There are three reasons that I really like this beginning chapter book.  First, it's about mice that are scouts....every Daisy and Brownie in the US can relate to this, the song, the pledge, the handbook, the uniform (including the acorn hat!).  Second, at the end of each chapter are step-step directions...for kids....about how to go about beginning and growing a garden, including taking care of pests!  It's like a nonfiction book written in fiction form.  I'm not a nonfiction lover, but would sit down to read this informative book in a second as a kid.  And third, I love some of the language that Sarah Dillard uses.  Although written for really young kids, she uses words that can be understood just from the context of the sentence in which they're written.  Looking forward to reading another in this series to see whether she follows the same format, because it's wonderful.

Goodreads synopsis:  Meet Violet, Tigerlily, Hyacinth, Petunia, Junebug, and Cricket, six new Mouse Scouts who are trustworthy and strong, thrifty and brave . . . and destined to be friends to the end! Best friends Violet and Tigerlily can’t wait to start earning their merit badges. But their troop leader, Miss Poppy, is one strict rodent. And earning their first badge—planting a vegetable garden—is hard work. Will the troop drive unwanted pests from the garden and earn their Sow It and Grow It badge? And will they ever get Miss Poppy to smile? 

PICTURE BOOK - A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards

A Story About Knitting and Love
Illustrated by G. Brian Karas

2016, Schwartz & Wade Books

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.34 - 386 ratings

My rating:  5 stars

Endpapers:  Front:  vague knit stitches  Back:  the same vague knit stitches plus pompoms!

Hat AND PomPom instructins follow the story...and they're really easy!

1^st line/s:  "When Sophia was a tiny baby, Mrs. Goldman next door knit her a tiny baby hat to keep her warm."

My comments:  Okay, I love this book.  LOVE it!  Mrs. Goldman knits hats for everyone she knows, many, many hats.  Sophia tries to knit, but discovers she'd rather make pomp poms for Mrs. Goldman's hats.  She's really good at that, and Mrs. Goldman assures her that it's a mitzvah.  Okay, I'm sold.  Knitting.  Mitzvahs. Hooray!  You could end right there and I'd be happy. But then Sophia discovers that Mrs. Goldman has given her own hat away, and their long winter walks are cold and blow Mrs. Goldman's hair everywhere.  Sophia comes up with a plan....and problem-solves through issues she encounters until the story reaches a very satisfying conclusion.  Bravo!

Goodreads:  Here’s a heartwarming winter picture book that’s sure to appeal to families who love knitting. 
          Mrs. Goldman always knits hats for everyone in the neighborhood, and Sophia, who thinks knitting is too hard, helps by making the pom-poms. But now winter is here, and Mrs. Goldman herself doesn’t have a hat—she’s too busy making hats for everyone else! It’s up to Sophia to buckle down and knit a hat for Mrs. Goldman. But try as Sophia might, the hat turns out lumpy, the stitches aren’t even, and there are holes where there shouldn’t be holes. Sophia is devastated until she gets an idea that will make Mrs. Goldman’s hat the most wonderful of all. Readers both young and old will relate to Sophia’s frustrations, as well as her delight in making something special for someone she loves.

POSTCROSSING and Postage Postcards

1950.  St Petersburg, RUSSIA

Postcrossing Meet-Up

 23.03.19

1274.  Zweeloo, Netherlands

Zine-Go-Round Postcard

Hi Chris!  I see you are a postcrosser too!! :)  And that you also like mailboxes.  This mailbox is hanging outside my atelier (studio)  And in May 2016 I was interviewed by Porter (for their blog) because of this mailbox.  This was also the first card I designed for Postcrossing & since then I've expanded the collection quite a bit.  The other card I will leave blank for you, so you can use that one.  All the best...warm greetings from Ellen

AND

620.  Happy Postcrossing from Holland

Hello, My name is Monique and I live in Holland.  I hope you like this mailbox card.  Greetings from Holland

815.  Belarus

20 years of postage stamps

796.  Northeast Ontario, CANADA

Greetings from NE Ontario.  Today is your big holiday - we celebrated Canada Day on July 1st.  It's our 150th, so celebrations all year.  It's a beautiful day, sunny & 30 degrees C, we've had a lot of rain so the is welcome!  Hpe your mailbox is full of great postcards!

613.  Postcrossing the World - Shanghai, CHINA
Hi friend,
Greetings from Shanghai china.  Your profile shows that you like map cards so I choose this card for you.  Have a good time.  Zhang

591.  Postcrossing Bucharest Meetup, 25 September 2016, The Botanical Garden

ROMANIA

Signed by many at the 20th Postcrossing Meeting, Bucharest!

508.  Port Moody, British Columbia, CANADA

Hello!  Greetings from the north!  I live in the small city of Port Moody, which is near Vancouver in the lower mainland of BC.  I'm very happy to call it home.  Carmen

Happy Postcrossing!

I live in the old Russian city of Bryansk.  It's famous for its beautiful landscapes and churches.  I hope you'll like my post card with matroskkas.  Tatyana

698.  Postcrossing Indonesia - Batam

Hello.  I am Ucy.  I live in Batam City, but my hometown is Bukithngsi city, west of Sumatra province.  I like to collect stamps, coins, banknotes, and I like to crochet.  I hope you like this card.  Happy Postcarduniting!

Postcards Received from IRELAND

776.  Cork, IRELAND

Greetings from a beautiful and green Ireland.  My name is Ivone.  I am Polish but over 11 years live in Ireland.  I love this fantastic island but miss for my home in Poland.  I love to travel, make pictures, read books and postcards.  Ivone.

Postcards From and About ICELAND

777.  ICELAND

card sent from Malaysia!

Greetings from Ipoh, a small city in Malaysia!  My name is Ivy Fan.  I'm a housewife.  I love reading novels, watching TV drama, and writing journals.  Her's a card of Iceland Map.  Hope you will like it.  Have a nice day!