Squirrels, Cynics, and Superheroes

I promise to always turn back toward you.

Holy Bagumba!  It’s Wednesday and I’m writing Tuesday’s post.  Wow.  Maybe I, too, am living in denial.  Better yet, I’m trying to break into Rachel’s alternate universe—something tells me there’s a soft place to land there with books a plenty and ginger snaps that don’t sit on the hips.  A girl can dream, right?  

Speaking of dreaming…I wish I were Kate DiCamillo right about now.  DiCamillo is a rock star in the children’s book cosmos.  She’s a natural, so it’s no surprise she earned the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature title for 2014-2015.

Books like Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and now Flora & Ulysses have enrapt children and adults alike.  She is a decorated and delightful author.  If you haven’t read DiCamillo, you really should.  

I highly recommend meeting both Flora and Ulysses—they’re as endearing as they are eccentric.  In fact, the precocious 11-year-old cynic and her superhero squirrel have made the tough task of getting my boys up the stairs to dress for bed a piece of cake.  (Cake makes me think of Ulysses, whose appetite is as big as his desire to type poetry.)  My fifty-something husband took ardent offense one night when we had the gall to read this story without him.  He, along with the rest of us, has laughed out loud as we moved through this captivating tale involving a vacuum cleaner, superheroes, a little shepherdess lamp, spy advice, giant donuts, and love.  Oh, and seal blubber!  Did I mention there are pictures of this dynamic duo?  The novel is intermingled with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black and white and wit.  

It’s no wonder Flora & Ulysses was an instant New York Times Bestseller, a 2013 Parent’s Choice Gold Award Winner, and a 2014 Newbery Medal winner.  Let’s say you only love The Illuminated Adventures half as much as we do—you’ll still be an indisputable fan of an unlikely (and unforgettable) friendship.

P.S. Can’t wait to read DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale—it goes on sale April 12th, 2016!

Posted by Tracy

Book Club Monday...on Tuesday

The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.

Let's all pretend this is Monday. And while we're at it, we'll pretend tomorrow is Kid Lit Tuesday.  Welcome to how I live my life: in denial. Or maybe it sounds better to say welcome to my alternate universe? Heavier on the crazy but perhaps less pathetic? Not to worry though, this life-changing book is about to work its magic on me.

So here's how our little obligation-free book club is going to work: we'll post each Monday (yes, on real Mondays) about that month's book and invite your comments and thoughts. Feel free to eat yummy treats while reading our posts so you feel like you're at an actual book club. We'll also create a hashtag for each month's books so you can share your thoughts on Instagram as well. Or in this month's case: your clutter-conquering masterpieces. If you're really brave, you can post before and afters. I'm telling you now, there will be no before shot of my closet.

On the months we can manage to pull off being in the same state as each other, we'll host a chat on Periscope so we can talk live to all of you about the book. Talk about a win/win: we all get to discuss the book together and no one has to clean their house beforehand. That's my kind of book club.

So if you don't have your copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, get one quick and start reading and decluttering. Her companion book, Spark Joy, will be available on January 5th.

Posted by Rachel

Weekly Wrap-up

Now imagine yourself living in a space that contains only things that spark joy. Isn’t this the lifestyle you dream of? —Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Marie Kondo. She must have heard that we've chosen The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up as our January Book Club read, because she's releasing its companion book on January 5th. Not the magic wand we were wishing for, but hopefully Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up will be the next best thing.

You. For understanding that this whole blogging thing is new to us and we didn't anticipate how hard it would be to combine our chronic Christmas overachieving and keeping up on the blog. Here's to getting better at this in 2016.

Did we mention you? For managing not to roll your eyes when we say, yet again, that we didn't get to that review of The Gifts of Imperfection. By we, I mean me (Rachel). I'm the lone culprit in this debacle. There are few books that I want everyone I know to read. This is one of them and yet I can't manage to sit down and write a proper review. Again, I'm only in the beginning stages of my recovery when it comes to my chronic overdoing at Christmas. Clearly, I have a long way to go.

New books. We hope your Christmas was lovely and you found a book or two or three under your tree yesterday morning. Tracy gave me one I hadn't heard of via one of our most trusted sources for recommendations. I can't wait to dive into A Song for Issy Bradley.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Book Club Mondays. Details on how our little online book club is going to work.

I'm not even going to say a review of The Gifts of Imperfection because that would just be embarrassing.

Feeling Nostalgic

There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature. —Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

If I had to come up with one quote that best describes Tracy, that Jane Austen quote may be just be it. Tracy has never loved by halves—she's all in. Lucky, lucky me. My kids are lucky too. They've been the benefactors of so much of Tracy's goodness. Nowhere is that more evident than in our Christmas book collection, most of which comes from her. Like this gem. I opened it up to see what she wrote inside:

Merry Christmas Emma, Zannah, and Ben too! (2004) Toot & Puddle are some of my favorite characters as are the three of you. We love you, Tracy, Matt, Mattie, Abbey, Sam & baby too

She was just days away from welcoming her little Luke into the world, yet she still found time to send a favorite read our way. How fitting that it was a tale of deep friendship and how one friend will stop at nothing to keep his promise of being home in time for Christmas. I happen to know a friend just as true.

One of my favorite traditions when my kids were younger was to read a book each night around the tree. It was a guaranteed moment of quiet at the end of days crammed with too much hustle and bustle. And more often than not, that book would have an inscription from my favorite friend.

Posted by Rachel

Weekly Wrap-up

Life and love are very precious when both are in full bloom.  —Louisa May Alcott

photo courtesy of Abigail Jackson

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Puffin in Bloom. We also love you, which is why we are giving away a set of these lovely classics with stunning covers by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.. Follow us on Instagram to enter.

The Gifts of Imperfection. We're embracing our own imperfections and reviewing this lovely book next week instead of this past one like we promised. We're certain Brené Brown would approve.

Oh my heavens, these. And if you aren't following @_megconley on Instagram, you'll want to remedy that pronto. Her brilliant one-sided dialogue with a hilariously disinterested store clerk while purchasing these bandages is not to be missed.

Every nursery or child's room needs one of these.

This is so lovely, it almost makes us want a Kindle.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Review of The Gifts of Imperfection. Really.

Is it horrible to say your guess is as good as ours? 'Tis the season.

I Need a Silent Night

A WEEK OF BEING STILL

How fitting that on a week we promised a post about finding time to read amid the hustle and bustle, we haven't found time to write said post. I'll be honest, I haven't had time to write, read, or even think these past few days. Or sleep. Here's the problem: I'm a chronic Christmas-over-doer. Although as bad as I am now, I'm a shadow of the beast of my Christmases past. Oh the stories I could tell. We're talking borderline crazy here, and if I'm being honest, maybe not that borderline. Pretty sure I rocketed right into full blown the year my husband woke up to find me hand painting Santa gift tags at 3 am.

I've scaled back. Way back. Partly because I woke up to the sheer madness of my ways, but mostly because I'm tired. This year I've crossed so many things off my overachieving, perfection-seeking list that I'm able to spread some actual Christmas cheer (not the hand painted tag variety) to my mom. I've come to New Mexico to spend a couple days with her. Smack dab in the middle of the madness, I mean, season. My old self would have gasped at the mere thought of such a brazen act.

Of course in order to pull it off, I had to throw myself into overdrive. The past few days have looked like my entire Christmas season used to: chaotic with a heaping side of exhaustion. Honestly, how did I do it? Or more importantly, why did I do it? The good news is my kids have fond memories of their childhood Christmases. I wonder though, would they have been less magical if I hadn't worked so hard at making them perfect? Something tells me not a speck of magic would have been lost—plus they'd of had the bonus of a more present mom.

I remember reading a post years ago about a tradition of the Pueblo Indians in Taos, New Mexico. At the end of every year, they close their pueblo to tourists for a week and have what they call "The Time of Being Still." The blogger went on to say she'd adopted that tradition for her little family during Christmas. For one week they'd step back from the holiday rush and spend time at home, enjoying the season together. You can read her lovely post here. I thought at the time, "a week of being still?" I'd be lucky to get one silent night. This year, with my girls home from their first semester of college, I'm feeling greedy. I want the whole week. And you know what? I'm taking it.

The icing on my Christmas cake? I had six glorious hours alone in the car yesterday to listen to my own music and most of Brené Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection. That's how you find time to read amid the hustle and bustle: you run away to home.

Posted by Rachel

Free Libraries For All

I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. —Jorge Luis Borges

I couldn't agree more, Mr. Borges, and while we're imagining, how about little free libraries on every corner as well. Why wait for paradise though when you can have one right in your own front yard? Our Pinterest followers have probably ascertained by now that we're a little in love with Little Free Libraries. Make that a lot of in love. This movement has our name written all over it. As does their British telephone booth model.

I need a Little Free Library for two glorious reasons: to spread book cheer and to add some charm to my charmless suburban neighborhood. Santa, I'm counting on you. I happen to know a cute young reader in Texas with library-building dreams of her own dancing in her head. Fingers crossed for the both of us, Abbie.

To learn more about building your own little library or finding one near you, visit Little Free Library. You can purchase one of their unfinished or finished libraries, or if you're handy with a hammer, build your own. Love the cause but don't have the time or space for your own little library? You can make a donation to help spread literacy around the world, one free little library at a time. A world with free books for all is paradise, indeed.

Posted by Rachel

Weekly Wrap-Up

It’s not a question of whether you will hurt, or of how much you will hurt; it’s a question of what you will do, and how well you will do it, while pain has her wanton way with you.

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Young readers. You know what else we love? The Boys in the Boat. Daniel James Brown must love kids as well because he's adapted his lovely book for ages 10 and up. We'd stick with the grownup version for high schoolers, but for kids in 4th-8th grade, you can't beat The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation). This should be required reading for all.

Subscribers. Are you one of them? It only takes 5 seconds; we timed it (okay, not really...that would be weird). What do you get for approximately 5 seconds of your sweet time? Never having to worry again about missing a book review—something we're sure is keeping you up at night. We can't sleep thinking about you not sleeping, so put us all out of our sleep-deprived misery and subscribe now. Thanks! We feel better already. (We only email when we post actual reviews, so we're talking 1-2 times a week tops.)

This explains a lot.

Little Free Libraries. We'll love you forever, Santa, if one of these shows up under our tree.

Writing journals inspired by the best of them. How can these covers not spark creativity and brilliance?

You. Which is why we're giving away a boxed set of The Puffin in Bloom Collection on Instagram next week.

COMING NEXT WEEK

A review of Brené Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection.

More on our obsession with Little Free Libraries.

Finding time to read amid the hustle and bustle.