Some real gems

We've found some amazing books lately. The kids love these, every one of them. They want them again and again and again.

The first is for older kids, eight and up. It's nonfiction. It's fabulous.


Unusual Creatures by Michael Hearst. The creatures in here are truly amazing, and I love the old-school format of this book. The pictures are thick, the colors rich. I know the cover isn't the best, but truly, this is a great book. Oddly enough there is a companion book called Songs for Unusual Creatures. I'm going to have to check that out...

Cute and Cuter by Michael Townsend


Ball by Mary Sullivan


The Beginner's Guide to Running Away from Home


Where do Presidents Come From? This is an awesome book of bizarre facts your kids will devour! Calvin in particular has been reading this book and spewing out random facts, giving us quizzes on the presidents, but I've seen everyone picking it up at one time or another.


And Mary has been loving these two amazing books:

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz


Bomb: the race to build—and steal—the world's most dangerous weapon by Steve Sheinkin
(This one is nonfiction, but absolutely chock-full of suspense. Mary is not into this sort of thing, but she LOVES it.)

Shaemus has discovered a beloved series:



The Wayside School series by Louis Sachar

And I have been stuck in the car almost nonstop, so I have been listening to this series, one of my absolute, all-time faves:



I didn't like the narrator the first time I listened to this audio book, but now I love it. Okay, I love his male voices, not so much his female voices, but these books are tough stuff, and all of the kids are dead silent as we drive along in the car. Shaemus, who is seven, even asked if we could listen to it inside. There is something about a great book read out loud by a great actor... And the subtle romance in these books is absolute brilliance.

Happy Reading!!!