PICTURE BOOK - The House of Wisdom by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland

Illustrated by Mary Grandpre

1999, DK Publishing, NY

currently OP

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.07 - 68 ratings

My rating: 4:  

Endpapers:  peachy/orange

Illustrations:  orangy pastels, no white on the very large pages

1^st line/s: "Over many lands came caravans of camels, six thousand strong, swaying and rocking as the padded single file across the sands and plains on their way to Baghdad."

My comments:  I always get excited when I find a well-written picture book for older kids.  This is certainly one of them.  Based on history, this is the story of 9th century Baghdad and its books, libraries, scholars, and inquisitive minds. I love that it points out that at this time areas to the west (Europe) were basically uneducated and, perhaps, crude.  And when talking about scholars, like Aristotle, coming a thousand years before, the father tells his son, "We are like the leaves of the same tree, separated by many autumns."  What a great quote!

Goodreads:  This is the true story of Ishaq, a young boy in ninth-century Baghdad. And it is the story of the House of Wisdom. More than a house, more than a library, more even than a palace, the House of Wisdom was at the very center of the new ideas that flourished in Baghdad. It was here that thousands of scholars gathered to read, to exchange ideas, and to translate the dusty manuscripts that were brought by camel and ship from all over the world. Ishaq cannot understand why ancient words, words from faraway places, can cause such excitement. Then he embarks on a difficult journey seeking lost manuscripts. But it is what he discovers when he returns that ignites his imagination and changes him forever.Lyrical prose and glorious illustrations capture the splendor of Baghdad when it was the center of one of the world's great civilizations. They tell the story of Ishaq's transformation from a bewildered young boy searching for understanding to a brilliant scholar, the greatest translator of Aristotle, whose work preserved Greek thought for civilizations to come.

PENGUIN Postcards Received

2901.  Gentoo Penguins

We live at a very quiet (and some people say "lonely") area, surrounded by nature.  I have a very large garden, and grow everything on  fruits and vegetables we eat (and mostly still enough to give to the kids) - This garden keeps me busy and fit, and the same do our 2 little dogs.  And even though I'ma a bit far away from "social" life, I never feel bored.  I'm more than happy.  All the best, Monique.

2900.  Emperor Penguins Huddling

Howdy from San Antonio!  I am married and have a do yr. old son.  I love to read, watch ice hockey especially the Pittsburgh Penguins and I have been collecting all kinds of penguins for 40 years.  I also started taking figure skating lessons in Feb. 2021 - something I always wanted to do.  It's a great cardio workout.  I hope your are staying safe & healthy.  Regine.

2131.  From Russia with love!

Good day!  Hello dear Mrs. Chris Graves!  I'm pleased to greet you from Russia.  Once I was lucky enough to travel around the USA.  I like your country, people, and culture.  I love to read and I have a very large home library.  I also love nature and my little garden.  Wishing you and your family peace and happiness!  Best wishes and Good luck!  Alexander

2130.  Sent from Taiwan

no message

2129.  Hello from Russia!

My name is Liukov.  I live in cultural capital in Saint Petersburg.  I like music and coffee.  It helps me in all cases.  So my favorite season is autumn.  I think rain is good for coffee and music.  :)

1981.  New Jersey

Greetings from the great state of New Jersey.  Take Care!

1971.  Juist Island, Germany

"King Penguin Pair"

Hi Chris,  Many greetings from island Juist in Germany.  Cars are forbidden here - except rescue cars.  Transports are done by horses, people ride bicycles.  Happy Postcrossing!  Martina

1911.  Sopot, Poland, on the Baltic Sea coast

Hello Chris!  I'm Natalia (33 y.o.) and I live with my husband and two lovely children (3 and 6 y.o.) in Sopot, a touristic city on the Baltic Sea coast.  Today here in Sopot is -6 degrees C (21 F) and it is snowing.  My children are going on a sled.  Wish you all the best in 2019!  Natalia

1296.  China

 CHN-42839

 received 5/12/18

Hello.  Greetings from China.  I hope you get this card successfully. 

"Accept what was and what is, and you will have more positive energy to pursue what will be."  

This is a sentence I like.

1271.  New England Aquarium

Rockhopper Penguin

"Rockhopper penguins are popular for their punk rock hair of wild yellow feathers.  Rockhoppers get their name from jumping over boulders and across cracks on the coasts of their native South America.

Received from suepier/CA in a swapbot postcard swap called "Two Good Movies #1

1236.  Suzhou, CHINA

I'm Zhong?? come from Suzhou of P. R. C. The red ink is my own stone seal engraved patern., a blessing!  I hope you can like it.

1224.  from China

Greetings from China, I hope you like the postcard and stamps I chose.  Happy Chinese New Year!  Mazhanlong

1182 .  Greetings from Volgograd, Russia!

My name is Julia, I am 18 years old and I am a student.  I hope you enjoy this postcard.  I wish you all the best in the new year!  Julia.  20.01.2018

1177.  Hong Kong

Hello Chris, Greetings from Hon Kong!  This postcard was designed by a local artist.  He gave a chance for penguins to fly!  Hope you like this card.  Cheers, Stacey Tsang

1174.  Poland

Hello Chris!  Thanks you for registering my lost postcard (the lost postcard is the one above).  Here is a second one for you.  (It is of a book and rose with the quote from Umberto Eco:  "Who reads books, he lives a double.")  I am pensioner and after stroke I have troubles with handwriting.  Let me know when you receive this postcard.  With love, Halina

1156.  Oregon Zoo sent from Larsen Bay, AK

Humboldt Penguin.  These flightless sea birds inhabit the coast of Peru.  With their streamlined bodies and strong flippers they are able to swim at up to 30 mph!  The Zoo's colony of more than 35 penguins live in an award-winning exhibit that features below the water viewing and a wave machine.

Hugs from Alaska, where there are no penguins, Sherry

1142.  "Africa Rocks" at the San Diego Zoo

They just opened this new Africa Rocks section.  There's a new really nice penguin exhibit that also has leopard sharks in it - the zoo's first sharks!  Hope you're staying warm - it was 80 degrees when I sent to the zoo on Saturday! (Jan 15)

1092.  Vienna, Austria

1068.  Wuppertal (near Cologne), Germany

1059.  Yellow-Eyed Penguin

I saw on your profile that you like penguins, so do I.  Thought you might like this postcard of the Yellow Eyed Penguin.  These penguins live mainly in the southern parts of New Zealand and are protected as much as possible.  Unfortunately this year the numbers of these penguins have declined.  There is an organization that supports the Yellow Eyed Penguin here in New Zealand and I belong to that.  Kaxa   11-30-2017

998.  Higashiyama Zoo, Japan

Postcards from Croatia

977.  Croatia

Hello Chris!  I'm Ivan from Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.  Croatia is small, but very diverse country.  The population is 4 million.  The national flower is the iris.  The hit HBO series "Game of Thrones" was filmed on the Croatian coast in the cities Split and Dubrovnik.  Almost 105 of Croatia is made up of 11 nature parks, 8 national parks, and 2 nature reserves.  The most beautiful part is surely Adriatic Sea with over 1200 islands.  In fact, in Croatia should come to to enjoy.  Many greetings, Ivan

Postcards from Bulgaria

2027.  Bulgaria

Hello Chris!  Greetings from Bulgaria!  My name is Anita and I live in Sofia.  I like to travel and watch TV.  My favorite show is Master Chef.  Best wishes, Anita

1026.  Bulgaria

Hello Chris, Greetings from Sofia!  What a coincidence, I'm writing you a postcard on Friday the 13th - haha :)!  Wish you happiness and good health with the martinitsa!  Every aprince we exchange bracelets with good wishes, we tie them on our wrists and once we see a stork, we tie the bracelets to a blooming tree.  Curiou

69. The Lying Planet by Carol Riggs

read on my iPhone
2016, Entangled Teen
285 pgs.
YA SciFi
Finished 12/11/2017
Goodreads rating: 4.03 - 103 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Future on a faraway planet

First line/s:  "Right after morning sessions end on Friday, the scavenger team brings a charred body into the safe zone."

My comments:  A perfect YA Syfy, lots of suspense, creepy aliens, and hormonal teenagers (although the hormonal teenager stuff is pretty limited compared to everything else that's going on).  This is one of those once-I-got-into-it-I-couldn't-put-it-down books.  The main character, Jay, is a responsible, smart, well-liked young man who is the first to realize that something is not right ith the adults in his community.  His community happens to be on another planet in another galaxy, but one on which humans can not only live and survive, but thrive.  I highly recommend this thriller - suspenseful, otherworldly, and quite well written.

Goodreads synopsis: Promise City. That’s the colony I’ve been aiming for all my life on the planet Liberty. The only thing standing in my way? The Machine. On my eighteenth birthday, this mysterious, octopus-like device will scan my brain and Test my deeds. Good thing I’ve been focusing on being Jay Lawton, hard worker and rule follower, my whole life. Freedom is just beyond my fingertips.
          Or so I thought. Two weeks before my Testing with the Machine, I’ve stumbled upon a new reality. The truth. In a single sleepless night, everything I thought I knew about the adults in our colony changes. And the only one who’s totally on my side is the clever, beautiful rebel, Peyton. Together we have to convince the others to sabotage their Testings before it’s too late. 
          Before the ceremonies are over and the hunting begins.

68. Sofia Martinez: Abuela's Birthday by Jacqueline Jules

Illustrated by Kim Smith
Read the book - Bosler Library
2015, Picture Window Books
32 pgs. (3 chapters)
Finished 12/8/17
Goodreads rating:  3.48 - 25 ratings
My rating:  4
Guided Reading Level K

First line/s:  "Sofia carried a big bag across the yard to her cousins' house.  The bag held everything they needed to make a pinata."

My comments: Super easy first chapter book with Spanish words to learn in context, includes glossary and a couple of questions to ask the kids who read/listened to answer aloud or in writing.  Very cute, easy story.

Goodreads synopsis: Sofia wants to make her grandma's birthday extra special. With the help of her cousins, she has the perfect plan. But an uninvited helper might ruin the entire surprise.

PICTURE BOOK - Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp

Illustrated by the author

2016, Peachtree, Atlanta

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.45 - 639 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers: pale brown

1^st line/s:  "I do NOT like to read."

My comments:  So many people take reading for granted -- forgetting all those who struggle, get frustrated, then give up, only to spend their life thinking they hate to read.  Meet Madeline Finn, who struggles with reading but wants to be a STAR reader. With the help of a super librarian and a reading-to-a-dog program that's currently popular across the country, Madeline Finn's self confidence begins to soar.  This is a wonderful, feel-good book about a young girl, a dog, and reading.  It's special.  It's cute.  It's quite highly recommended.

Goodreads: Madeline Finn DOES NOT like to read. Not books. Not magazines. Not even the menu on the ice cream truck.
     Fortunately, Madeline Finn meets Bonnie, a library dog. Reading out loud to Bonnie isn't so bad. When Madeline Finn gets stuck, Bonnie doesn't mind. Madeline Finn can pet her until she figures the word out.
     As it turns out, it's fun to read when you're not afraid of making mistakes. Bonnie teaches Madeline Finn that it's okay to go slow. And to keep trying. And to get support from a friend.

PICTURE BOOK - Luka's Quilt by Georgia Guback

Illustrated by the author

1994, Greenwillow Books

HC $16.99 - looks like it's still in print

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.35 - 49 ratings

My rating: 3.5

Endpapers: solid green, the color of the background of the quilt Tutu made for Luka

Illustrations are cut paper Collage!  Gorgeous

1^st line/s:  "My tutu lives with us.  Tutu.  That's Hawaiian for grandmother.  Tutu takes care of me while Mom and Dad work.  We do lots of things together.  I like that, and so does Tutu.  But all that changed when the quilt came along."

My comments:  I loved the cut paper collage illustrations (gorgeous!) and the beautiful quilt that Tutu made for Luka.  I love all the information about Hawaii.  But I don't love that Luka's pretty much a spoiled little brat.  Nothing I can change about that, it's part of the story, and the story about making the quilt, and the leis, is super. Just don't like the kid.  At all.

Goodreads:  Luka and her grandmother Tutu are best friends until Luka shows her disappointment at the traditional Hawaiian quilt that Tutu makes for her. Tutu is hurt, Luka is upset, and things just aren't the same anymore. But when Lei Day comes, the two set aside there differences to enjoy the holiday.
          "Guback's storytelling proves as affable as her bright, intricate cut-paper collages." -- Publishers Weekly.

PICTURE BOOK - Dia de Los Muertos by Roseanne Greenfield Thong

Illustrated by Carles Ballesteros

2015, Albert Whitman & Co., Chicago

HC $16.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.93 - 189 ratings

My rating: 3.5

Endpapers: charcoal with small sugar skulls and simple flowers, all in gray and white

Illustrations: all aquas and oranges, with tiny bits of lavender and pink thrown in.

1^st line/s:  "It's Dia de Los Muertos, the sun's coming round,
as ninos prepare in each pueblos and town.
For today we will honor our dearly departed
with celebraciones -- it's time to get started!

My comments:  Here's another fun book about Day of the Dead to add to my collection.  The story is written in verse form using couplets and infusing many of the terms associated with this special holiday in Spanish.  There's a glossary at the back, but most meanings can be gleaned from the text.  The illustrations seem a little busy but they're fun and full of information and items to hunt for from page to page. There's also an excellent description of Dia de Los Muertos at the end, after the poem.  I liked it.

Goodreads:  It’s Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and children throughout the pueblo, or town, are getting ready to celebrate! They decorate with colored streamers, calaveras—or sugar skulls—and pan de muertos, or bread of the dead. There are altars draped in cloth and covered in marigolds and twinkling candles. Music fills the streets. Join the fun and festivities, learn about a different cultural tradition, and brush up on your Spanish vocabulary as the town honors their dearly departed in a traditional, time-honored style.

PICTURE BOOK - The Girl With a Brave Heart: A Tale from Tehran by Rita Johanforuz

Illustrated by Vali Mintzi

2010, Barefoot Books, Cambridge, MA

avail in HC and paper - and at Bosler

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.37 - 112 ratings

My rating: 3

Endpapers- a solid muddy brown

1^st line/s: "On a quiet street in the city of Tehran lived a little girl called Shiraz."

My comments:  Another Cinderella Story - this time from Iran.  Shiraz lives in Tehran and loses a ball of yarn in a very strange woman's garden.  I would have loved a little more cultural "stuff" from Iran, but some of the illustrations give hints about this.  The title seems a little misleading, too, since they never talk - at all - about Shiraz being brave, only being loving and kind.  Excellent for comparing and contrasting several different Cinderella stories.

Goodreads:  After showing kindness to a strange old woman, Shiraz receives the gift of beauty but her lazy and unkind stepsister, Nargues, suffers a less pleasant fate in this adaptation of the Grimm's fairy tale, Mother Hulda, reset in Tehran, Iran.

PICTURE BOOK - Snow in Jerusalem by Deborah da Costa

Illustrated by Cornelius VanWright & Ying-Hwa Hu

2001, Albert Whitman Co.

Only available new, in paper, $6.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:3.58 - 65 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers:  an illustration:  the walled city, with a golden-domed building on the other side of the wall

Illustrations cover both pages, and the text is on top of the illustration, no white edges!

1^st line/s:  "In the walled old city of Jerusalem, which some call the Center of the Universe, Avi waited."

My comments: I didn't realize there are four ethnic/cultural sections in Jerusalem - Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian.  In this story, two boys from different cultures - Jewish and Muslim - find common ground because of a stray cat who "befriends" them both.

Goodreads:  Avi and Hamudi are two boys who live in Jerusalem's Old City -- Avi in the Jewish Quarter and Hamudi in the Muslim Quarter. To each boy, the other's neighborhood is an alien land. And although neither boy knows it, both are caring for the same beautiful white stray cat.One day the boys follow the cat as she travels the winding streets and crosses the boundaries between the city's quarters. And on this journey something wonderful happens, as unexpected as a snowfall in Jerusalem.

PICTURE BOOK - Math at the Art Museum by Group Majoongmul

From the copyright page:  "Majoongmul is a Korean word that refers to "priming water" poured into a pump to start the flow before pumping water from a well.  Group Majoongmul is the name of the authors' group that creates books that serve as the priming water within children's hearts.
Illustrated by Yun-ju Kim

2015 TanTan Publishing - originally published in Korea

HC $16.95

32 nice, thick pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.92 - 24 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers: Mottled cream

1^st line/s: "My sister and I are going to the art museum with our parents!  'It's interesting that math can be found in art," Dad says.'"

My comments:  Many famous artists' work is represented in this art appreciation book for kids, each named and identified well.  At first I was a bit reluctant to see particular paintings included until I realized that point-of-view/perspective is, indeed, math.  Included are famous paintings by Jasper Johns, Seurat, Kandinsky, Leger, Picasso, Degas, Magritte, Matisse, and Dali, as well as two that I must learn more about: Giuseppe Arcimboldo and Kim Jae-hong.   The last five pages are informational and include activities for kids that combine art and math.

Goodreads:  This charming and colorful book incorporates mathematical concepts by introducing children to a fresh perspective on math through art
          When his father tells him there’s math in art, a young boy is suspicious of the idea. But when the boy explores paintings and other masterpieces with his sister and their parents, he begins to understand there is math in art, both hidden and visible. He sees, too, that math in art is brilliant—and beautiful! Hands-on activities and elementary mathematical concepts that relate to perspective, composition, symmetry, patterns, and other elements in artwork turn exploring art into an eye-opening adventure.

TV Show - Glitch

Just finished watching Seasons 1 and 2
Premiered:  7/9/2015 Netflix - Season 1 (but I think that was in Australia, in America it was 2016) Current season 2 began 9-14-17
Number of Episodes:12 (6 each season)
Length of Episode: 60 minutes
IMBd:  7.6
RT Audience Score: 90
cag: 6 (Loved, loved, loved it)

Characters:  James Hayes, chief of Police (Patrick Brammall)
                       Dr. Elishia McKellar (the doctor who helps Chief Hayes try to figure everything out)
                       Kate Willis (dead wife)
                       Sarah Hayes (current wife)
                       John Doe (Rodger Corser) a highwayman?
                       Charlie Thompson (Sean P. Keenan) WWI hero
                       Kirstie Darrow (18-year old from the 1980s)
                       Maria Massola  (pious wife, mother, and schoolteacher)
                       Paddy (Patrick) Fitzgerald (the town's first mayor)
                       Beau (the boy who witnesses the dead digging themselves out of their graves)       

My comments:  I was immediately sucked into this series, and the 12 episodes were over much too quickly!  The cast, all unknown to me since this is an Australian production, were mesmerizing, as was the story, the characters, and the setting (the fictional town of Yoorana).  I love it when you're constantly wondering what will happen next, right along with the characters. The lead - a young cop - discovers his dead wife is one of the people who have come alive.  Also "risen" are:  an 18-year-old girl who died in the 80s, a young WWI era war hero, an Italian-speaking refugee (?) from the early 20th century, the first mayor of the town, who died in 1864, a 39-year-old mother who died in 1969, and a mysterious (and might I say extremely hunky) 40 year-old who we learn about more slowly than the rest.  SO GOOD!!!  How did this happen?  Why?  How are these people connected?  Will they ever be able to leave the boundaries that appear to kill them if crossed?

Storyline from RT:  A drama series where six individuals suddenly appear in a cemetery in the middle of the night with no recollection of who they are or where they come from. Trying to identify these people, and the truth behind how they are connected, will turn the life of the police officer put in charge of the investigation upside-down.

67. Consider by Kristy Acevedo

Holo #1
read on my iPhone
2016, Jolly Fish Press
288 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 12/3/2017
Goodreads rating:  4.17 - 621 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary Boston suburb

First line/s:  "When the Boston outbound T screeches to a stop, I lose my grip on the silver pole and slam into Dominick."

My comments:  What an interesting story, and one, I think, worth reading.  It presented a few problems to me, personally, but I'll look past them after a quick mention.  The protagonist and her brother, Benji, are always at odds with each other for some reason.  Although she explains it a bit, she never says anything about how or where it started.  Or why.  It's disconcerting, unless I didn't read carefully enough to pick it up, and that's not like me (I'm a fairly slow reader).  And I never fully understand her overwhelming need to protect her father, her thoughts and actions about and toward him show that she dislikes him.  Maybe she's more like him than she realizes?  Otherwise, the characters are fully relate-able.  The scenario is one that makes you think....and think...and think some more.  What would you do if there was insistence that the world would end and you had the opportunity to escape to another world, with no facts to base your decisions on?  No actual facts.  Whew!  I've got to read the next book!

Goodreads synopsis: As if Alexandra Lucas’ anxiety disorder isn’t enough, mysterious holograms suddenly appear from the sky, heralding the end of the world. They bring an ultimatum: heed the warning and step through a portal-like vertex to safety, or stay and be destroyed by a comet they say is on a collision course with earth. How’s that for senior year stress?
          The holograms, claiming to be humans from the future, bring the promise of safety. But without the ability to verify their story, Alex is forced to consider what is best for her friends, her family, and herself.
          To stay or to go. A decision must be made.
          With the deadline of the holograms’ prophecy fast approaching, Alex feels as though she is living on a ticking time bomb, until she discovers it is much, much worse.

MOVIE - Wonder

PG (1:53)

Wide release 11/17/17

Viewed around 12/1/17: 

RT Critic: 84   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  Wonder doesn't shy away from its bestselling source material's sentiment, but this well-acted and overall winsome drama earns its tugs at the heartstrings.

Cag: 5/Loved it 

Directed by Stephen Chbosky

Lionsgate

Based on the book by Patricia Polaccio

Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson

My comments:  The ultimate feel-good movie.  They did a really good job re-creating the book, choosing excellent actors and creating a wonderful setting for the two schools and the city of New York.  Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson were almost too perfect playing the parents of Augie.  I really enjoyed the weaving of the story of Augie with the story of his sister, Via, who was four years older.  Hooray to R. J. Palaccio for writing such a heartwarming story, which I've not only read to myself, but shared aloud with two or three different groups of kids.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman. Born with facial differences that, up until now, have prevented him from going to a mainstream school, Auggie becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters the local fifth grade. As his family, his new classmates, and the larger community all struggle to find their compassion and acceptance, Auggie's extraordinary journey will unite them all and prove you can't blend in when you were born to stand out.