The Book Bench

Too Busy To Read or Dust

2010-09-11T10:16:00.002-04:00

Jill Stuart's The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise has been sitting on my nighttable doing what most things in my house do- collect dust. Do you mind dusting? I despise it. I would rather scrub toilets or sort laundry anyday. Back to the book, it is my book club's pick for this month although our meeting has been pushed from September 23 into October because September is so busy for everyone. Thank goodness everyone else is busy too. I am drowning in school forms, fall sports registrations, homework, internet, and behavior "contracts" my kids and I need to sign, as well as grading and lesson plans for my own students. Who has time to read? But the book, albeit a bit dusty, sits by my bed. My children have asked me when I plan to start reading it to them. The cover illustration makes it look like a children's story and they thought I had chosen it for a family read aloud. I am beginning to feel like they will be adults by the time I find time for nightly reading again!

Back to School Traditions- Old and New

2010-09-09T14:38:00.003-04:00

Since the school where I teach opened on the same day as the schools in my hometown, I missed putting my children on the school bus for the first day of school. It was my first time ever missing it. That was hard for me. Really hard. I had been a stay-at-home mom for years and when I went back to work as a teacher last fall, I started after my kids. I've always sent them off with notes in their lunches, hugs, and a camera at the bus stop. They still got notes in their lunches, but the babysitter did the send off.

I wanted them to start feeling calm, prepared, and loved. They probably did. But what I fixated on was not getting that photo of them all lined up with their backpacks on. That was killing me. Irrational, I know. Luckily, I arrived home before my youngest got off his bus. So I then lined them all up for our first annual "End of the First Day" photo. Sure, everyone looks a little more wrinkled, but I got it. After the photo, as we walked to our house, I heard lots of details about the joys and frustrations of second, fifth, and sixth grades. How, by the way, did I become the mother of a middle schooler? The walk home was followed by well earned ice cream.

In my own classes, I handed out a survey about likes/dislikes, goals for English class, favorite words, and so on. Even though I am in a different high school this year, there were some similarities to last year's responses. Of course, many, many high school girls cite Twilight saga and A Walk to Remember as their favorite books. I was surprised at how many of the boys said Louis Sachar's Holes was the best book they ever read. I heard that a lot from last year's boys as well.

I hope your school year is off to a smooth start!

Welcome to Back to School Season

2010-09-01T11:59:00.003-04:00

September has arrived and the school buses are soon to follow. We happened to drive past my daughter's elementary school yesterday, and she said, "Don't you just love the way your classroom smells on the first day of school? I love that smell!" One of her brothers asked what exactly is wrong with her brain and the other mused what it would be like to have a tail. I hope the latter's new teacher is ready for the onslaught of non sequitirs!

If I Was 13 and Artemis Fowl Was Real, I Would Totally Arm Wrestle My Daughter To Date Him

2010-08-31T21:35:00.005-04:00

As usual, it's all thing Artemis Fowl over here at the house of th Book Bench. My ten year old daughter happily, happily, ecstatically got her hands on the newly released latest in the series, The Atlantis Complex. She is parcelling it out, just a few chapters a day to make it last longer. To fill in the gaps of non-Atlantis Complex time, she is reading the graphic novel version of the second book in the series, Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. We have read the original novel and listened to it on CD and it is my favorite in the series. Hayden loves it because she loves the pixie villain, Opal Koboi who is deliciously evil. However, the graphic novel is like a thorn under her saddle because Opal does not look at all the way Hayden pictured her. That is irritating her no end. I'm worried that whenever the movie is made, she (we) will be disappointed

I do not have much time for "fun" books like the Artemis Fowl series because I am busily preparing for the classes I'll be teaching this fall. By the way, "this fall" means this Thursday as that's the day teachers report back to school. Anyhow, I did find a way to sneak a little Artemis in when I teach The Great Gatsby. I plan to do a lesson on Byronic heroes and have the students decide whether or not Jay Gatsby qualifies as one. Artemis is one of the many examples of contemporary Byronic heroes I will present to the class.

The Great Gatsby- Love It or Hate It?

2010-08-29T17:14:00.002-04:00

I have just finished rereading The Great Gatsby. I will be doing it with my juniors this fall. It's one of those books that evokes strong responses from people even years after they've read it. Responses along the "Favorite book ever!" or "I hated that book lines!" Which camp do you fall in?

Black and White Brought Me Back

2010-08-23T09:46:00.003-04:00

Because my parents are the greatest grandparents in the world, they have taken my three children to Maine with them for four days so I can lesson plan and prepare for my new teaching gig. Because I am the world's worst procrastinator, I am posting here on the blog. Don't be frightened by the dust and cobwebs- I know it's been awhile since I've written here. The summer has been an embarrassment of riches- hiking, biking, swimming, job interviewing, reading, and refereeing fights between the kids. Earlier today I did begin to focus on the curriculum for my junior English class which has a unit on modernism and postmodernism and I had an Alleluia moment. For years I have wanted to find a way to bring David Macaulay's picture book Black and White into the classroom. It is nonlinear, challenging, full of puns, and perfect for postmodernism. So now I will take my leave of this blog to go back to lesson planning, but not until I advise you to check out Macaulay's brilliant postmodern picture book. Read it with a kid you like. It will give you plenty to discuss!

The Middle Aged Woman Who Sat On The Beach

2010-07-02T19:29:00.003-04:00

My children are on our lake community's summer swim team. They are in different age brackets on that team which means they practice at different times. That means I sit on the beach for a minimum of three hours each Monday to Thursday. I know: boo hoo. I'm trying not to micromanage my children- Free Range Kids and all- so once the sunscreen is on, I try to do my own thing without hovering. I've only got so much chit chat, gossip, and complaining to other parents in me, so eventually I start reading. I tried reading for my new teaching gig, but it's hard to focus on Shakespeare with frequent interruptions for snacks and squabble settling, so it's strictly beach reading at the lake now. I'm almost done with Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played with Fire. I read his first last year for my book club (it was a big hit with the ladies, by the way), and I think I like this one even better. Honest to God, though, every single character and place name sounds like an item in the IKEA catalogue. That's not even me trying to be funny. While I was reading it the other day, another mom mentioned that she is on the third of Larsson's novels and had I read the review in the Times (NY I assume) that proposes that the main female character, Lisbeth Salander is actually the grownup Pipi Longstocking. I had not seen that article, but the notion has made me happy all week. I think I have written here about how much I loved Pipi as a girl and how thoroughly my kids and I loved reading Astrid Lindgren's book a year or so ago.

So, that's what I'm reading at the beach. Have you got a juicy summer book? Do tell.

If Only I Could Fit Into Their Jeans

2010-06-25T07:32:00.003-04:00

I am just like a fourth grade boy. I have spent my days at our local lake this week, swimming, jumping off the dock, eating ice pops and reading The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch. Two fourth grade boys there told me they are reading the same book. The mother of a third fourth grade boy told me her son is reading it as well. I am reading it (actually I finished it yesterday) at my daughter's urging. She has read the entire series and pushed me to read at least the first so we can discuss it. I'm glad I did. It is a fun read and has helped me get in touch with my inner ten year old.

The Name of This Book is Secret is the story of eleven year olds Cass and Max Ernest, misfits in their elementary school, who discover a dead magician's notebook and something called The Symphony of Smells. They end up trying to solve a mystery and save a classmate. The book is filled with riddles, word play, suspense, and much silly humor. It's the perfect beach reading for kids like me.

A Father's Day Question

2010-06-20T10:34:00.001-04:00

Who is your favorite literary father? Atticus Finch? King Lear? Papa Bear? I am partial to Mr. Weasley from the Harry Potter books and the main character in Gilead.

Cyclops

2010-06-18T12:45:00.004-04:00

We are moving right along in our reading of The Adventures of Ulysses ( akaThe Odyssey). Not surprisingly, the chapter with the blinding of the cyclops was a great big gruesome hit over here. I thought I would post about that today, maybe something about my boys and their bloodlust (at least in fiction), but then I found this image and it made me chuckle so much, I think I'll just leave you with it:

Pen Pals

2010-06-17T09:55:00.002-04:00

I have said no to all offers to substitute teach these last few weeks and have immersed myself in conspicuous parenthood. I have accompanied the fourth grade on its hiking field trip to a state park. I have attended band concerts, barbecues, and class parties. I handed out ice pops at the first grade field day, ran the scooter race station at the fourth grade field day, and ran something called "Water Works" at fifth grade field day. If it's possible, I think I have clocked more hours in elementary school than my kids have. There was one event that I missed however. In fact, parents were not invited, but what I wouldn't have paid to be a fly on the wall. It was yesterday when my daughter's fourth grade class met with their pen pals. My daughter had the great good fortune to have a creative, clever, and hard working teacher this year who brilliantly paired her students up with residents of a local retirement community as pen pals. It was a huge success for my daughter who I've always said is an old woman trapped in a little girl's body. She and her pen pal Marcia sent each other long detailed letters about their mutual love of cats and poetry. They learned that they each have a best friend named Susie. They shared details of their hobbies. Marcia sent Hayden a cd of big band music and Hayden sent Marcia a key from her key collection. That exchange went over a little better than the one in which a boy in Hayden's class received coupons clipped by his pen pal. But all in all, I think the whole program was a success. I just would have loved to watch their meeting. Luckily, the teacher took a photo of Hayden and her pen pal. The two plan to keep up their "correspondence." The whole thing makes me happy. I know receiving the letters has thrilled my daughter and I hope Marcia has enjoyed it too. I suspect she has.

Bedtime Reading Selections

2010-06-16T12:44:00.004-04:00

So I've got them listening to The Adventures of Ulysses which I will be teaching in the fall, what are the odds my kids will also want to hear Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Beowulf, and Introduction to Journalism? I'm thinking the odds are pretty slim. However, one of my boys would probably love "The Most Dangerous Game." Do you remember that story? It's almost like a Twilight Zone episode. I will be teaching that in the fall too. Hmmm...

We Quit A Book

2010-06-15T21:32:00.003-04:00

For the first time ever, we have quit a bedtime reading book. I have quit many a book on my own, but as a family it has never happened. Sure, we've plowed through some clunkers but we've always seen them through. A few months ago, we decided to read Katherine Paterson's Newberry Medal winning Bridge to Terabithia. It should have been a hit. As I said, it won a Newberry. It is read in elementary schools across America. It references Free to Be You and Me ( the soundtrack of my elementary school years). It was popular enough to be made into a movie a few years back. Despite all of that, the BookBenchers threw in the towel on page 32. I think I knew for sure it was not for us when my youngest son left my room while I was reading, saying "Keep reading. I'll be back soon" and went to his room and fell asleep.

That was a few weeks ago. The kids and I have been doing our own things for bedtime reading for awhile now, but they asked me to pick out a new bedtime read. Ever happy to kill two birds with one stone, I chose Bernard Evslin's The Adventures of Ulysses. I have to read it with freshmen in the fall so I figured I would dry run it at home. Bingo! We have a winner!

It has soldiers and sailors and lots of action. My boys are content. It has Greek gods and goddesses and cleverness. My daughter is on board. It is only 172 pages of short chapters and written on what I would guess is like a sixth grade reading level. That makes it easy on my voice. We are back in the family read aloud game! In case you care, tomorrow's installment will bring us to the Land of the Lotus Eaters.

Questions from the Backseat

2010-06-10T10:19:00.002-04:00

Even though my son still has a little over a week left of fifth grade, the summer reading list and assignment has come out for incoming sixth graders. My wonderful neighbor and friend, armed with the list and library cards, brought my son and her daughter to our public library over the weekend to get a jump on checking out the books. As they have to read two each, she saved me a good thirty bucks by getting the books before they are all checked out of the library.

From the short stack he brought home, my son asked me to pick out the one I thought he would like best. I was shocked but leaped into action and selected Gennifer Choldenko's Al Capone Does My Shirts. Apparently I chose well because he is moving through it at a pretty fast clip. On the drive to his allergist's office the other day, my son read in the backseat and peppered me with questions such as

"What is a phonograph?"

"What is a radio cabinet?"

"What is an asylum?"

"Tell me everything you know about Alcatraz."

I was shocked by how much I know about Alcatraz Island, which is where the book is set in 1935. The main character is the son of a prison electrician.

I hope we have as much luck with the summer math packet he has to complete!

We're Back!

2010-06-07T09:49:00.002-04:00

The Book Benchers have returned from Europe, our bellies full of Mars bars, fish and chips, lager, wine, cheese, croissants, chocolate croissants, almond croissants, and baguettes, our pockets full of Underground and Metro ticket stubs, Mars bar wrappers, foreign coins, croissant crumbs, and dirt, and our laundry room filled with a lot of filthy clothing. Actually, we've been home for about two weeks now and I've been too busy processing the laundry, helping the kids catch up on missed schoolwork, and getting a job for September (alleluia) to post.

It was a fantastic trip, the "best week of my life," according to my seven year old son. He is the one sporting a beret in the picture above. At seven, ten, and eleven, my children are the perfect ages for a trip like this one, which is a good thing too as it was probably a once in a lifetime event for us. It was magic, and fun, and immensely educational. The London highlights include Westminster Abbey, riding the London Eye, and Stonehenge. As an English teacher, I have to include Shakespeare's Globe Theater on this list as well. Having my family sing "Happy Birthday" to me on top of the Eiffel Tower was of course a highlight, but all three kids cite Notre Dame as one of their favorite things we toured in Paris. I am so glad we read The Hunchback of Notre Dame as preparation. Three hours in the Louvre was just about right for all of us. From the photo above, you can tell that we enjoyed biking around Paris. If you are ever there, I cannot sing the praises of Fat Tire Bike Tours loudly enough.

We brought some great guidebooks with us. Here is my shout out to Fodor's. If you are planning a similar trip with kids, Fodor's has Around London with Kids and Around Paris with Kids which were invaluable when planning ahead. While on the trip, Fodor's London's 25 Best and Paris' 25 Best which come with pull out maps were very helpful.

For the plane ride and downtime (there was none, by the way), my ten year old daughter packed only books set in Europe. I was inspired by that and brought Chris Cleave's Little Bee which is largely set in contemporary London. It was a real page turner. More on it soon.

Vacation

2010-05-15T11:30:00.002-04:00

I am supposed to be gone fishin' or at least gone sightseein' as of this evening, but who knows as it seems my family and I are in a race against a new volcanic ash cloud to see who can reach London first. Hopefully I will be absent from The Book Bench for a week and will come back with tales of European books and such.

A Question for You

2010-05-13T14:22:00.002-04:00

Imagine you are going to be on an airplane for seven to eight hours. What book (or other reading material) would you bring?

The Nominee

2010-05-10T10:18:00.002-04:00

Ok, this isn't really about books, but it is big. Moreover, I plan to read lots more about Elena Kagan in the coming days. I love that she praised her late mother and brothers, all public school teachers, today when President Obama introduced her as his nominee to the Supreme Court.

The Thief Lord

2010-05-08T10:11:00.003-04:00

Here is a book I've recently finished and passed on to my ten year old daughter. I'm pretty sure she is going to love it. In all honesty, I did not pass on to her the actual copy I read since I listened to the audiobook on my drive to and from work, and I checked a paper copy out of the library for my daughter. Do you consider listening to the audiobook "reading"? I know some book clubs scorn it. It makes good sense to me as I can't stand overly political or overly hyuk hyuk silly talk radio in the morning.

Back to the book. The Thief Lord, written by master German storyteller Cornelia Funke (Inkheart, Igraine the Brave, and so on) tells an adventure story of two orphaned brothers who run away to Venice after the younger one is about to be adopted by an unloving aunt and the older is to be sent to boarding school. Once in Venice, the brothers, Prosper and Bo, meet up with other children on their own and join forces to survive. They also become involved with Victor Getz, a kindhearted private detective the aunt has hired to search for the brothers. Victor is easily my favorite character in the book, which is saying something as this is a very character driven book. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of plot going on as well. There is a lot of adventure, a touch of mystery, and even a tiny bit of magic. And even though it is written for young people, this old lady learned a good bit about the city of Venice from the pages of The Thief Lord.

Apparently the book was adapted into a film a few years back, but I was unaware of that. I am quite glad I "read" the book, and I think my daughter will soon be as well. It is a good choice for fourth through I'd say seventh graders who like a bit of adventure.

Two More Bits of Horseradish

2010-05-05T09:23:00.005-04:00

If this irritating Icelandic volcano cooperates, the Book Bench family will be heading to Europe soon. There were flight restrictions in Ireland yesterday and in Spain and southern France today. Aaargh! If nothing else, my kids are learning their European geography and some volcanology out of all this worry. I am trying very hard to ignore all of my anxiety and pretend that the trip will go off without a hitch. I've been told that emphasizing the "if" as in "if we make it to Paris," is a bit of a downer. I am trying to cut back on that and am proceeding as if we will be following our itinerary. That involves buying granola bars and gum, dragging suitcases down from the attic, and searching for the passports. The passports put me in mind of another funny bit of Horseradish from Lemony Snicket:

A passport, as I'm sure you know, is a document that one shows to government officials whenever one reaches a border between countries, so the officials can learn who you are, where you were born, and how you look when photographed unflatteringly.

Another Horseradishism my daughter feels applies to overseas travel and all of life for that matter is:

Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.

Horseradish

2010-05-04T09:01:00.002-04:00

Lemony Snicket is one popular guy in my house lately. My kids have been moving through and giggling at his Series of Unfortunate Events for the last month or so. On a recent library run, they picked up a book of his sayings, wit, and wisdom entitled Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid. It would make a good coffee table book if tweens had coffee tables in their bedrooms.

One of my favorite lines from the book is:

If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglascuyt[bn[pasdlgkhasdfasdf.

I love this one as well because it seems to agree with a long held suspicion of mine about royalty (well, the only royalty I ever had contact with):

One of the world's most popular entertainments is a deck of cards which contains thirteen each of four suits, highlighted by kings, queens, and jacks, who are possibly the queen's younger, more attractive boyfriends.

Come to think of it, I believe I will move the library's copy of Horseradish to my living room coffee table for awhile.

We Are Not Responsible For The "Sleeper" Part

2010-05-03T11:47:00.002-04:00

In the last few weeks I've been reading about how the animated kids' movie How To Train Your Dragon is turning into a real sleeper hit, gaining momentum and box office draws over time. Not to be all "I was into that band before anyone ever heard of them," but I did take my kids to see How To Train Your Dragon the first week it opened. Therefore, I am only responsible for the hit description, not the sleeper bit. We were inspired to see the film after reading several of the books in Cressida Cowell's How To Train Your Dragon series. Our favorite, by the way, is How To Be A Pirate. In our post-film discussion, held while grocery shopping, all three of my children found it impossible to say which was better, the book or the film adaptation. That allowed me to explain the "comparing apples and oranges" analogy. The plot of the book is quite different than that of the film. The main character is still Hiccup, the scrawny but plucky son of Stoick the Vast, leader of a band of Vikings. Please allow me to mention that Stoick is voiced by Gerard Butler in the film and somehow his Scottish burr is just as handsome as his Scottish face. It wouldn't be a punishment to have to share a box of Lorna Doones with him if you know what I'm saying. Back on point, there are new characters introduced in the film, and the 3D effects are quite good. That brings me to one advantage of the book. I didn't spend half our time reading the book pausing to wipe popcorn butter of 3D glasses. Anyway, if you haven't experienced them yet, I recommend How To Train Your Dragon, both the book and film. Once you've enjoyed one version, check out the other because both are appealing to kids and nothing is revealed in one the spoils the other. There is something in each for both boys and girls from about ages six to twelve.

Another Thing I Am Too Old For

2010-05-02T11:51:00.002-04:00

My precious bibliophile daughter turned ten this past week. Ten! I can hardly believe it. She had a pajama party here at the Book Bench house with a bunch of lovely but high spirited girls on Friday night. I am still tired. Her friends know her well and several gave her books and gift cards to the bookstore. We were in the aisles of our local Borders spending one of those cards by noon on Saturday. With a fistful of coupons, she was able to do some damage to their stock. Currently, Hayden is reading three books, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, Mary Poppins Comes Back, and The Magician's Elephant. She is also reading a book in school with her class. I don't know how she keeps the plot lines straight. I can't even remember where I put my book down half the time. It's good to be young!

Cultural Exchange

2010-04-29T14:17:00.003-04:00

Two of my children will read a book or try an activity because I suggest it. My youngest child, on the other hand, is more likely to avoid something because I have suggested it. In terms of getting him to read certain books, I have resorted to reverse psychological warfare, you know, suggesting that a book might be too difficult or scary for him. He is beginning to see through that though.

Luckily, this seven year old free thinker of mine is influenced by his friends. I understand that may be a problem later in life when cigarettes and graffiti or the like are in vogue with his peers, but right now it is working to my advantage. He just came off a The Adventures of Tin Tin bender. Do you know who Tin Tin is? I did not; he came highly recommended by a fellow first grader from the Czech Republic, or as my son likes to call it, The Czech. Apparently, Tin Tin is a Belgian reporter and hero of a comic strip that first appeared in European newspapers in the late 1920s. My son loves his adventures, and is even picking up some French phrases from the books he reads. Who ever could have predicted that? I am pleased to report that it has not been an uneven exchange. My son introduced his friend to The Boxcar Children series, another unlikely hit for seven year old boys if you ask me, but as I made clear already, my seven year old is not asking me for suggestions.

Travel Prep

2010-04-25T18:44:00.003-04:00

The Book Bench family has a trip to Europe planned for later this spring. We are preparing feverishly. Mostly that consists of hoping for the Icelandic volcano to behave and reading guidebooks. A little advice to parents out there: Fodor's and Let's Go guides are great as are the Rick Steeves travel guides and anything with "Kids" in the title. I would not recommend allowing your eleven year old son to check just any old guidebook from the travel section of your public library. If he checks one out published by MTV Books (you read that right), he might be able to tell you how many grams of marijuana you can carry without being hassled by local police and how to ask where to buy condoms in French. This will result in your having to explain to him what a condom is, not the most fun conversation imaginable.

My daughter is taking a much more enjoyable approach to travel prep. She is hoarding candy in case she doesn't like the food in Europe and she is reading novels set in London and Paris. Currently she is reading and loving Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery.

Musical Gifts

2010-04-20T22:05:00.002-04:00

I risk sounding like Sue Sylvester when she claimed that Madonna's "True Blue" album was released on her sixth birthday, but here goes. I remember only one present from the 1984 combined celebration of my birthday and eighth grade graduation. My brother Sean gave it to me. It was Madonna's debut album on cassette. I played the bejesus out of that tape. I still have it in fact. Perfection. Fox gave me a gift tonight with the Madonna episode of "Glee." It was genius, fun and thrilling. True, this has absolutely nothing to do with books. I haven't even read those English Roses picture books penned by Madonna, but I plan to listen to everything she ever sang again in the coming days. Every finger and toe I've got is now crossed for a Springsteen episode. Can you imagine?

Love is...

2010-04-17T09:55:00.002-04:00

Remember the "Love Is..." cartoons from the 1970s? In case you don't, Homer Simpson's description might ring a bell. According to Homer, they're "about two naked eight year olds who are married." I loved them back in the day with their Kewpie doll bodies and pithy definitions of love. "Love is... taking one day at a time." "Love is... turning his head."

I've got a new definition of love. My nine year old daughter checked out a Judy Moody and Stink chapter book from the library for my seven year old son. She loved that series when she was in first and second grade and was excited to share the experience with him. A few days later I saw him reading it with a resigned look about him. I asked if he liked it and he dropped his voice to a whisper and said, "It's horrible, but I don't want to hurt Hayden's feelings." That is love, my friends! Anyone can wear an ugly shirt or tie, spritz on stinky perfume or use an unwanted appliance that was given as a gift, but it takes someone special to read a book he does not like all the way through. I am so impressed with my son's selfless act of love I feel like letting him go pick out one of books he loves about superheroes or farts. Loving behavior needs to be rewarded after all. Let me tell you, sitting through him reading those is an act of love as well.

One more note about those sappy comics. John Hodgeman once stated on The Daily Show "Love is... a quasimental illness prompting the bizarre sexualization of genital-free infants into a daily cartoon strip." That leads me to my last definition of what love is. It is my husband staying up later than he wants to allow me to watch The Daily Show in bed all the way to the closing credits just so I can giggle about stuff like that the next day.

Forget All That Teaching Career Talk!

2010-04-16T23:05:00.002-04:00

Forget everything I said about longing for more time in the classroom. I've seen black bears in my yard on each of the last three days. On Wednesday, my eleven year old boy and his friend were playing in our woods and an adult came so close the boys felt they could have touched it. Wisely they chose to run to the house instead. So now I am dreaming of a career as a marksman (markswoman?)/ sharpshooter. It's very red state of me, I know, but that mama bear hasn't cornered the market on wanting to protect her cubs. SWAT team here I come. Don't tell them that I need a magnifying glass to read the account number on my credit card bill.

These Two Have A Lot in Common

2010-04-16T12:58:00.000-04:00

So September 2009 was when I returned to teaching after a nine year absence. I landed a nice maternity leave replacement job, worked like the dickens, and all was right with the world. The teacher I replaced returned, I started subbing with a stack of resumes to mail out for a job for this September. Only now New Jersey public schools are facing crazy big budget cuts resulting in program cuts and layoffs galore. It's looking like this very enthusiastic English teacher with a massive hole in her resume might not be able to find a job for September. It is all pretty frustrating and demoralizing especially when I am also concerned about the cuts being made in my own children's schools. What I ought to do is ignore my troubles with some good escapist fiction: science fiction, chick-lit, English mysteries, but no, instead I am reading books about teaching that make me excited about the imaginary job I probably won't find for next year. Or worse, everything I read that is not about education specifically makes me think about education anyway or about how I would use that material in a classroom. I guess I just like salt in my wounds or a big fat pity party.

Here are two examples: I just read Doug Lemov's Teach Like a Champion after reading about him in the NYTimes earlier this year. Lemov works in charter schools and has observed many successful teachers working in inner city schools. He has come up with a taxonomy of 49 techniques he has seen these teachers employ to help their students achieve. Some of it is common sense. Some of it is a fresh new way of doing things. Some of it bucks trends in education. All of it interested me and made me wish I had a book like this when I was in school to become certified. If you know someone in a teacher education program right now, I highly recommend this book. It made me think about how I use time, my voice, and the physical space of my classroom. It will remain on my desk as a reference if I should be so fortunate as to have one.

I also recently finished Steve Martin's Born Standing Up and could not help but notice the ways stand up comedy is akin to high school teaching. Both deal with controlling the audience. Both require the person at the front of the room to be entertaining, quick thinking, and reflective. I love Steve Martin from The Jerk to his SNL and Muppet Show appearances to LA Story and his novella The Shopgirl. His cleverness and embrace of the absurd delight me so of course I enjoyed this book about the development and demise of his stand up career. He writes about the stand up act with great affection but also the knowledge that that is over for him. I am still so affectionate about teaching; I certainly hope I do not have to put it on hold due to the economy. So what can I read that won't put me in mind of it? Sports Illustrated? Nope. I have a hundred ways I could use that in an English classroom. Cookbooks? No again. They make me think of Frank Mc Court's Teacher Man. I may have to take up home improvement magazines or nudie ones as there doesn't seem a book out there I can completely escape into at present. So I'm off to get some copies of Playgirl and Popular Mechanics. Just kidding.

What and Why I'm Not Reading Right Now As Planned

2010-04-11T19:28:00.003-04:00

For their birthdays back in January and February, my sons were given tickets to a professional hockey game. The game was for five pm today. The boys have been looking forward to it for months. It is the last regular season game for the NJ Devils and it is Fan Appreciation night which apparently means free hot dogs and soda. For my little Devils fan chowhounds it was shaping up to be a great night. My daughter and I had big plans of our own. She wanted us to go to Borders, spend a gift card that had been burning a hole in her pocket. Then she wanted us to come home and read our books on the couch while eating "a simple dinner like garlic toasts and carrots." She is my kind of girl; a little old lady that is. Oh, it was gong to be heaven.

Unfortunately, my seven year old woke up in the night with a stomach bug. After a lot of vomiting, he spent the rest of the day in bed in his pajamas. He, of course, could not go to the game, but was pretty brave about it, even generously offering his jersey to his sister to wear. She wore the jersey, a grim expression, and a book tucked under her arm. Rather than bookstore meandering and reading, I've made toast and Jello, played board games, watched Scooby Doo videos galore, and took a walk around the block with a cross between Alfalfa and Hugh Hefner as my boy insisted it was fine to walk around the neighborhood in his way too short pajama pants, no shirt, and bathrobe. I hope my daughter is enjoying her free hotdog and having at least as many laughs as the neighbors had when they got an eyeful of my walking companion.

What would I have read, you ask. Well, I'm in the middle of two autobiographies, Frank Bruni's Born Round and Tracy Morgan's I Am The New Black. Honestly, neither book is really thrilling me. I am, however, looking forward to The Irresistible Henry House which I plan to read the minute it is delivered via interlibrary loan.

Okay, it's back to Scooby Doo now.

In My Nest

2010-04-07T12:57:00.000-04:00

In a radical break from tradition, the Easter Bunny did not deliver any books to any baskets in our house this year. Easter baskets past have had board books and chapter books, easy readers and cookbooks nestled beside chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks. Weird. I guess the Easter Bunny never got her act together enough to organize a trip to the bookstore. I, however, did give one book as an Easter gift to my adorable baby nephew. It was Susan Gillingham's adorable In My Nest which comes with the cutest little finger puppet bird and ends with that cute finger puppet bird in his nest with his parents. They put me in mind of a bird family version of my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. There are others in the series like In My Pond and In My Tree. They would make precious new baby or shower gifts.

In other Easter animal news, on Good Friday, my son who is in the first grade played at a friend's house. They were playing by the pond in the friend's yard, and reported that they found "a dead snake and a lizard that passed out" in the grass near the pond. How they could determine the difference between dead and passed out, I don't know, but I've been laughing about the description ever since.

The Best Possible Scenario

2010-04-05T13:00:00.002-04:00

I know I have mentioned on this blog how much my kids (and I) love Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. It was with much glee and anticipation that we recently went to see the movie in the theater. It was funny and we laughed and elbowed each other at the good parts throughout. The best part for me, however, was as we walked out of the theater and the kids told me that although it was great, the book was better. I love when they like the book better!

Seven Things That Made Me Smile Today

2010-04-01T17:12:00.004-04:00

1. It is 73 degrees and sunny outside.

2. I played charades with a group of high school juniors today. I played it with them during the last period of the day on the day before spring break. All that separated them from a sunny spring break was 50 minutes and me. Instead of being cranky, distracted, or too cool for school, they threw themselves into the game of charades with abandon, and we had a lot of laughs.

3. During library duty I squeezed in a few pages of Kate Atkinson's latest Jackson Brodie mystery, When Will There Be Good News?

4. This afternoon, my son who is in the first grade informed me that he "is moving on from Flat Stanley to The Boxcar Children."

5. I ate a few marshmallow Peeps.

6. Anticipating a new 30Rock. I'm hoping The Office is new tonight too. What the heck. If you're gonna dream, dream big.

7. Rolling down my window and belting out Jackson Five tunes in the car.

I hope you had much to smile about today.

It Comes in Like a Sufragette and Goes Out Like a Lamb

2010-03-24T15:26:00.005-04:00

Earlier this week, my children were dong their homework. Big pat on the back to me because for once they were doing it at the kitchen table rather than in my car while I was driving to some sport or activity. One of the boys was working on spelling and the other was dealing with fractions. I tried to avoid eye contact with that one hoping he wouldn't call on me for help. That trick doesn't work any better now than it did back when I was in the fifth grade. My daughter did ask me for help with her homework. That should have alerted me to something strange afoot. She never asks for help. On that particular evening, however, she said she had to interview me. I figured I could answer a few questions while grilling cheese sandwiches and opening cans of soup. ( Don't judge!) After a few questions along the lines of, "When you were a girl, what career did you aspire to?" and "What is the most challenging thing about being a woman?", I had to ask what kind of homework this was. She informed that it was for Women's History Month. How did we get three weeks into Women's History Month without my realizing it I wondered and isn't it Black History month my son wondered aloud. Back to the interview questions. I had a problem with the one about what I find challenging about being a woman because I don't think my daughter's teacher really wants my honest response. Does she truly want my daughter to read aloud her homework to other fourth graders, telling them about her mother's issues with her period, approaching menopause, body image, and the high cost of bras? I didn't think so. So I lied or at least gave a wishy washy answer, but I didn't feel good about it.

Interesting to me, is the fact that I have read two great books this month about the challenges of being a woman. For my book club, I read Maggie O'Farrell's novel, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. It is set in Scotland and is the story of an elderly woman released from the mental hospital she was committed to as a teenager. She is released into the care of her grandniece who previously had no knowledge of the woman's existence. The plot held me in its grip from start to finish. I read about Maggie O'Farrell and her inspiration for writing this book, as the protagonist has been put in the mental institution on the flimsiest of causes. In one interview, the author cited other examples from history. It was sad and horrifying and an addictive read. I cannot wait to hear what the ladies in my book club have to say about it!

Speaking of the ladies in the book club, several of them also suggested Kate Walbert's novel, A Short History of Women. Mmm hmm; I was reading a novel with that title without realizing I was dead in the center of Women's History Month. Although I didn't enjoy this one as much as The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, it is quite good. It follows four generations of women in one family beginning with a suffragette who dies as a result of a hunger strike in England during World War I to her great granddaughters in the United States post 9/11.

So nobody can say I failed to provide a Women's History Month post. And for the fourth graders, I would much rather recommend a good book, such as The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate that I have written about on this blog, than to give them some half truths about the challenges I face as a woman.

Questions, questions, questions!

2010-03-22T11:46:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, I took my eleven year old son to his ice hockey tournament an hour's drive away from our home. At one point in the day, we had about three hours to kill between games so we headed down the road to Rutgers University, my alma mater. Actually it is my husband's alma mater too. We attended and graduated at the same time but never met then, but that's a story for another day. So my son and I enjoyed a lovely, sunny and unseasonably warm afternoon on a college campus. If I had known how many questions I would have to answer, I might have opted to stay at the rink and give my son quarters to kill brain cells on arcade games all afternoon. Here are some of his questions:

1. Why don't we see any war protests at home?

2. What are those things in the window of a "smoke shop?"

3. Hookah pipe?

4. Why would they sell those bong things if it is illegal to buy the drugs to smoke in them?

5. Why are there so many liquor stores around here?

6. Why would a Qdoba restaurant open right across the street from a Chipotle?

7. Pointing at a piece of particularly salacious graffiti,"Is that possible?"

8. Where do you think we can find a clean bathroom?

9. After using the bathroom in an art museum, "How much do you think it costs to tour the museum?"

10. While looking at exhibits, there were several questions about naked bodies I'm blushing too hard to type here.

11. What do you think could be in an exhibit that prohibits children if children are allowed to see the naked statues?

12. Can we get some ice cream?

13. Can I use a bathroom again?

I could go on, but I will spare you. The questions I kept asking myself were when did they start admitting thirteen year old girls to college because that's how old they all appear to me and why are they all dressed like Ugg wearing prostitutes?

As I did not have a Frisbee or hacky sack, we eventually sat on a bench in the sun with our books for the last half hour before heading back to the ice rink. I clocked many hours on the very same bench ages ago as an undergraduate. I loved it back then, but it was sheer bliss with my own boy beside me, especially when the questions ceased for awhile.

A Shortlist on St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T09:14:00.005-04:00

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. As a lover of carbohydrates (soda bread, potatoes, green bagels) it's a no-brainer. I also like to affect a brogue and green is one of my better colors so it makes sense. There are also many great picture books based on Irish myths and legends that I've enjoyed with my children over the years. Our favorite is Tomie dePaola's Finn McCoul which I mentioned here a few weeks ago when deciding on a read aloud book for my son's fifth grade class. dePaola's Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato and Jamie O"Rourke and the Pooka are also fun reads for the three to nine year old set.

For older readers, eight to twelve years old, Marie Heaney's The Names Upon the Harp is a lovely book of Irish myths and legends illustrated by P.J. Lynch. P.J. Lynch is worth an Amazon search of his own as everything he illustrates is beautiful.

For contemporary Irish fiction for that same age group I of course recommend Eoin Colfer. I think I have made it clear in this blog that his Artemis Fowl books are utter brilliance. His Half Moon Investigations about the somewhat inept twelve year old private investigator Fletcher Moon, set in a modern Irish suburb, is great fun. I've read that the BBC made a TV series of this book, and I'm curious to view it.

For adults looking for a compelling story wrapped up in the history of twentieth century Ireland, Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture is perfect. My book club read this one in the fall and I have not stopped thinking about it or giving it as a gift. It is sad and wonderful at the same time, telling the story of Roseanne (Clear) McNulty an Irish woman sent to a mental institution for the bulk of her life. The book begins as the institution is about to close and her doctor needs to place her somewhere. Her story and their relationship grow from there. Roseanne's personal story and fate are tangled up in the national story and fate. Loved it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

No Time for a Long Blog Post

2010-03-15T14:08:00.002-04:00

I have no time for a long blog post today as I am trying to think up ways to get a copy of this book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, into the hands of every nine to twelve year old girl in America. It is fantastic. I'll have you know that I cried on page 47, page 181, page 252, and on page 323. It was more of a lump in my throat than full on sobbing, but I was moved and it wasn't the perimenopause talking. It is a lovely book and Calpurnia's love for her brothers and grandfather reminds me of how I felt about my own brothers and grandfather at her age. More on that later; I'm off to at least convince my own nine year old daughter to move this book to the top of the pile on her bedside table.

Coincidence in the Graveyard

2010-03-10T14:30:00.003-05:00

Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife is one of my favorite novels, so I had looked very much forward to her next book, Her Fearful Symmetry. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. It tells the story of a British woman who dis and leaves her London apartment to her two American nieces with the stipulation that they must live in the flat for a year in order to inherit it. Interestingly, her ghost resides in the flat and eventually makes contact with the twins and her former lover who lives downstairs. The premise is great; the book just didn't deliver. What did interest me, however, were all of Niffenegger's descriptions of London's Highgate Cemetery. Guess who else was inspired by that cemetery? Neil Gaiman when writing The Graveyard Book, which, if you've been reading this blog for the last month or so, you know I love. I imagine you are getting tired of hearing about it. Sorry. Reading Her Fearful Symmetry did give me more insight into Gaiman's graveyard. It inspired me to look up Highgate Cemetery's website which was helpful to my son for visualizing Gaiman's setting. It looks like a beautiful and fascinating place. Finally, exploring the website has me trying to figure out if we can squeeze a visit to Highgate into our upcoming family trip to London. Karl Marx is buried there after all. So I guess I did get a good deal out of a book I did not like too much.

We Have A Winner!

2010-03-05T13:30:00.002-05:00

Today was the big day. I went in for my turn as guest reader in my son's fifth grade class. After much hemming and hawing (I hear you; I need a hobby), I chose Lane Smith's brilliant picture book, John, Paul, George & Ben. It takes hilarious liberty with snippets of history about John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. It met the requirements of being short, entertaining, and not at all babyish. Since my son's class has been studying the American Revolution in social studies it seemed like the perfect choice. There were giggles and laughs and audience participation at the end when I quizzed the students with the true and false questions Smith provides to set the record straight. In it we learned that while Benjamin Franklin did invent bifocals and the Franklin stove, he did not invent PlayStation76. This book is a lot of fun for kids who know a bit of American history. Without that bit of background, the humor is lost.

In other business, I know that I have not done a Foodie Friday post here in months. I'm not sure if I will start it up again. It is worth noting, however, that I am currently reading Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook. Last night I was inspired to make her "Comfort Meatballs" (pages 172-173). Some people sing for their supper; last night I sang to my supper. To know, know, know you is to love, love, love you... Delicious! Next up from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: "Simple, Perfect Enchiladas" (pages 176-178).

Oh The Pressure!

2010-03-02T14:38:00.003-05:00

Looking at that title, you may be wondering what kind of pressure I am experiencing. Or maybe you are not wondering, but I plan to tell you. First, there is water pressure. Glorious, wonderful water pressure has been restored in my home. I've been flushing toilets with abandon for at least an hour now. Apparently my water will be running brown and dirty for a few days, but at least it's running.

That settled, I can worry about more bookish matters. Here is the other pressure in my life: I have been invited to be Guest Reader in my fifth grade son's classroom this Friday. I have twenty minutes to read to the class. What do I choose? Keep in mind, he will be in middle school next year and there will be no more guest reading. What should I choose to entertain this audience?

Last year Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Duck! Rabbit! was a huge hit. It inspired conversation and doodling.

Several times in the past I have read Tomie De Paola's Fin M'Coul. It is the perfect choice for March and I love to lay it on thick with the Irish brogue.

I am looking for something different this year. My son's teacher told me I will be reading immediately before phys ed class (I've been informed by my first grader that "Gym is a room and Physical Education is a class.") Maybe I should read about an inspirational athlete. David Adler's biographies of Lou Gehrig and Gertrude Ederle might be good selections. What to choose? Any suggestions?

What's The Difference Between a Hockey Blogger and a Pit Bull?

2010-03-01T14:11:00.004-05:00

In case you don't have hockey fans in your home, yesterday was a big day in ice hockey. There was nail biting and screaming and dropped jaws in my house yesterday as the Canadian team beat the US team in overtime yesterday afternoon. If "our team" had to lose, at least it was Sidney Crosby who scored the game winning goal. My boys really admire him. In fact, last February I posted an entry about a Crosby biography here at The Book Bench. I don't generally rerun posts, but I will provide the link in case you are interested. It is http://thebookbench.blogspot.com/search?q+sidney+crosby. That said, I would be much happier today providing the link to a book about Zach Parise or Ryan Miller. Ah well, good for Sidney!

If the link above does not work, my original Sidney Crosby post is from February 3, 2009.

My Husband Went to Massachusetts and All I Got Was This "I Told You So"

2010-02-27T17:39:00.002-05:00

I believe I have 28 inches of snow on the ground now. My driveway is shovelled enough that it is just barely maneuverable and my arms and back ache. Oh, and I have no running water. My well and/or well pump went kaput! in the middle of the big snowstorm meaning no toilet flushing unless I pour buckets of melted snow into the bowl. No dishwasher! No washing machine. No hot water and soap after dumping the buckets of melted snow into the toilet. Thank the Lord my daughter and I have extensive hand sanitizer collections! And my husband is in another state until tomorrow night. But I'm not complaining. People all over the world have it much, much worse. Okay, I am complaining a bit, but I am trying to keep it all in perspective. And, I have a "you were right" for consolation. I checked the audiobook version of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book out of the library for my husband's roadtrip even though it is fiction and not strictly written for adults. By cell phone this afternoon he reported that I was right and it is really good. Do you know what? I like being right about as much as I like indoor plumbing. Believe me, that's saying something. If only I could have both!

No Book Reports Today

2010-02-25T19:09:00.002-05:00

We haven't read a single page of a single book today. It's not really a fiction kind of day. This is the snow we had at breakfast time. Now at suppertime there's a good 14 inches on the ground. Today's snow had a kind of melancholy beauty to it. People we care about have received bad news and sadness this week. That made it difficult to feel lighthearted and silly in the snow. We did, however, enjoy taking a walk on our quiet snowy street and in the woods near our home. It felt kind of like being on another planet, a cold, quiet, intensely white planet. The kids are all lounging around now, drawing and playing with blocks. Stay warm and safe and hug the people you love if you can.

Words I Never Thought I Would Hear

2010-02-23T17:22:00.002-05:00

"I think this book might be better than Harry Potter," said my nine year old daughter last night of Blue Balliet's Chasing Vermeer. Gobsmacked I was!

A Little Shakespeare on This Thursday

2010-02-18T09:38:00.003-05:00

At a recent holiday party, the elementary school aged son of my school's principal asked one of the English teachers present to tell him a story. All she could come up with off the top of her head was Shakespeare's Hamlet. I believe she was in the middle of teaching it at school. She kept him happily entertained. I love that story. Actually, I love both stories- the one of the Christmas party and Hamlet. I do not love everything the Bard wrote, but I can see the influence of the storyteller. In the hands of a good storyteller (teacher, director, reader), it is easy to see why Shakespeare's works have stood the test of time. In the hands of a bad storyteller (ie the nun who taught my junior and senior years of high school English), studying Shakespeare's plays can make a student fall asleep, cry, or fantasize futilely about worse tortures. In the hands (or camera or mouth) of a good storyteller, Shakespeare's works can thrill and delight. For example, I read King Lear in high school and thought it was awful and boring and made little sense. Two years later in college it was taught to me by a professor visiting from England. He wore a big knitted scarf everyday, knew all of the play by heart it seemed, and loved it like it was a baby. I'll never forget him or how he made me see King Lear as a fabulous and heartbreaking family story. I've really liked the play ever since, although I haven't read it in about a dozen years. Then Gareth Hinds' graphic novel version came across my desk this week. I like King Lear even more now and would definitely use this book with my students if I ever have occasion to teach Lear in the future. First, I know that graphic novels can be a bridge, a way in, for many students. Secondly, the artwork is great and much of Shakespeare's language is kept. Finally, there is something about the way Hinds positions the characters on the page that makes the experience feel as much like viewing a dramatic production as it feels like reading a book. I am now curious to check out Gareth Hinds' version of The Merchant of Venice.

Too Busy to Read?!

2010-02-17T09:33:00.004-05:00

This is a ridonculously (as the kids say) busy week in my house. In addition to the usual homework, sports, activities, laundry, and so on, we've got a few big holidays of the religious and ethnic variety, two birthdays, and a fourth grade poetry celebration. If we had tshirts printed for the week, they would read something like, "Happy Valentine's Day. I Cannot Tell a Lie. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez. Happy Birthday Times Two. Poetry Rocks and To Dust You Shall Return."

How about that? Catchy, right?

In all of the madness, books are going unread around here. I've been trying to get in a chapter of How to Train Your Dragon (or as one seven year old I know likes to gigglingly call it, How to Drain Your Dragon) and the kids are completing their required minimums for homework, but that's about it.

I have been listening to Twilight on CD in my car. I figure it's necessary for my job as teacher since just about every teenage girl in America has read it and for my job as mom since sooner or later my own nine year old daughter is going to jump on that bandwagon. She even received some Twilight valentines in school this year. My opinion: it's okay, but not fantastic. It certainly is chock full of frequently tested SAT words. That's a plus. I can see why all of those girls love it though. Edward is dreamy, dangerous, brilliant and mature. He desires Bella but doesn't want to "violate" her. She is independent but doesn't mind being protected. It has all of the classic bodice ripper elements with no actual sex. I can't decide what I will say if my daughter wants to read it in the next year or so. Luckily, I don't have to decide for my son. He heard about five minutes of chapter nineteen in the car yesterday on the way to ice hockey practice and said, "No offense, but your book isn't very good."

Vancouver or Bust

2010-02-14T10:06:00.002-05:00

Is it just me or do you find yourself thinking,"Wow, Vancouver would be great for our next family vacation"?

Darn NBC and the Today show! They make everything look so good! Anybody know any good books set in or about Vancouver?

Stuff I Love

2010-02-12T20:40:00.004-05:00

As you know, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. It has me thinking of books about love. The loveliest of all those, in my estimation, is Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit. I have written about this book here before, I know, but it bears mentioning again. Revisit it if you haven't read it in awhile. Even better, revisit it with someone you love, someone who has made you "real."

In case you you now think I only love sappy sweet children's books, here are some other things I love in no particular order. (Actually not true- I saved the best for last.)

I love KFC! I mean I love it in an unhealthy obsession kind of way.

I love Harry Potter books and movies.

I currently love Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.

I love fuzzy socks.

I love teaching high school English.

I love the smells of Tide and Downy.

I love everything my mother bakes.

I love my mother and the rest of my family.

I love 80s music.

I love bubblegum and black licorice flavored jelly beans.

I love cute flip flops.

I love these three children and their dad!

Spend some time with who and what you love this weekend. Happy Heart Day!

If I Read Any Faster My Tongue Will Fall Off

2010-02-10T11:03:00.002-05:00

Awhile back I bought a paperback copy of Cressida Cowell's How To Train Your Dragon Book 1 as a potential book to read aloud with my three kids. Then other books cut it in line and it gathered dust. I finally got around to beginning it one night before bedtime last week. The kids all like it. One or two chapters in, I found out that it "Is now a major motion picture!" which is "opening in March at a theater near you!" which means I have to read like the devil is on my heels.

After six chapters, my three children and I all recommend this tale of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. a Viking boy, hoping to be initiated into the Tribe of Hairy Hooligans. The back cover promises that he will become known throughout Vikingdom as "The Dragon Whisperer." He is not there yet in our reading. In fact, at our point in the book, Hiccup has the lamest dragon of all the Viking boys, a pathetic little creature nicknamed Toothless. We cannot wait to read what happens next. As the kids are home today enjoying a snow day we might find out before bedtime tonight.

You Learn Something New Everyday

2010-01-31T12:57:00.004-05:00

Two weeks ago a good friend of mine and her husband were here from Ireland and spent an afternoon with me and the kids. My friends lovely Irish husband inquired about what nine year old daughter has been reading lately. She was happy to report that aside from her beloved Roald Dahl of course, her current favorite author is Eoin Colfer. She raved about the Artemis Fowl books and recommended The Legend of Spud Murphy for his young nephews. She and I kept pronouncing the author's name as if it is pronounced "Ian." When my daughter showed my friend's husband the books, he congratulated her on her wonderful taste in books and then informed her that Eoin is pronounced like "Owen." Who knew? Hayden politely thanked him for this information, but when he left, she told me that she "Ian" Colfer and so "Ian" is how she will continue to pronounce his name, at least as long as we are here in the United States. Then she went back to reading his The Supernaturalist. She has since finished and wants me to read it.

In other mother-daughter book news, I've finished Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, and I've been selling it to anyone with ears. My daughter took the bait, but asked me to check the print not CD version out of the library for her as she "can't imagine where she would find seven hours to listen to it." I did, but I think she will be missing out on Gaiman's fantastic reading. His voices and accents only enhance an already fabulous story.

It's cold out there today. At least it is here in New Jersey. I hope you can carve out some time to curl up with a good book in a cozy spot today.

On the Edge of the Driver's Seat

2010-01-26T22:04:00.002-05:00

In my ongoing quest to satisfy my boys' desire for scary books that I feel are appropriate, I have hit upon a real doozy. I've been listening to Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book on CD as I drive to and from work this week. I'm almost hoping for a traffic jam. It is gripping! Before checking it out of the library, the sum total of knowledge I had of this book was that its author also wrote Coraline and that it won a number of awards last year, including a Newberry. Now I know I love it. It tells the story of Bod, Nobody Owens, orphaned as a toddler when his family was murdered and now being raised by the inhabitants of a local graveyard, ghosts, that is. I don't want to give a single thing away, and perhaps I can't as I still have about an hour of story left, so I'll just leave you with these words- this is the best thing I've checked out of the library in months and I'm looking forward to reading it with my kids.

Haiti

2010-01-13T17:24:00.002-05:00

All day I've been thinking about the people of Haiti who are surely suffering in the wake of yesterday's earthquake. It serves as a good reminder to support the Red Cross. It also makes me think of Tracy Kidder's amazing book Mountains Beyond Mountains about Dr. Paul Farmer and the work he does in Haiti. It is a wonderfully written and inspiring book. It's a book about an infectious disease specialist and Harvard professor which I think about often. I recommend it and give it as a gift frequently. Let's all hug the people we love and be grateful for our safety today.

School Nurse Books

2010-01-12T19:27:00.005-05:00

Were you the kind of kid who frequented the school nurse's office or avoided it like the plague? As a kid, I was never a big fan of visiting the school nurse. Do not misunderstand; my elementary school nurse, Mrs. Koch, was a lovely woman. I even played her in a tribute/school play when she retired. I think I landed the part because my own mother is a nurse and had a uniform, complete with nurse's cap, for me to use as a costume. Despite that, I didn't want much to do with the nurse's office. I always failed the eye test and feared failing the scoliosis test (Deenie, anyone?). So I was a little shocked yesterday when my daughter was upset that she missed the school nurse's visit to her classroom. Head lice are apparently running rampant through my town's public schools. The nurses are coming in to check all of the kids' heads. (I apologize if you are now hypochondriachally scratching your head as you read this.) My daughter was out of the room as her class was being checked. When I asked why this bothered her, she told me, "The nurses puts these like chopsticks on your head and it feels so good." I love her, but that kid is strange sometimes!

It got me to thinking that I don't know of any school nurse books besides The School Nurse from the Black Lagoon. I also imagine that there might be a Cherry Ames: School Nurse, but that's all I can come up with off the top of my head. That is kind of odd considering the big role the nurse plays in the lives of many schoolchildren. I am curious if anyone out there knows of a good school nurse picture or chapter book?

2010-01-02T15:48:00.003-05:00

Somehow Santa got wind of our plans to take a family trip to Europe in the spring. The Bookbenchers are headed to London and Paris for a week this year and the giftgivers jumped all over that, much to my delight. We unwrapped maps and guides to those two cities as well as novels set in them. My boys received Stepping Stone easy reading chapter book versions of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Last night we read the first two chapters of Quasimodo and Esmeralda's tragic story before bed. We were all hooked and can't wait for tonight's installment. Before you get to thinking, "Wow, that Bookbench family is so cultured, reading 19th century Victor Hugo classics," let me just say we spent the two hours before the read aloud watching Dodgeball (funniest sports movie evah!) and laughing so hard someone fell off the couch. We are a mix of high brow and lowbrow over here. I'm worried the European vacation may have more than a little in common with the Griswold's European vacation.

Happy New Year!

A Holiday Cliche

2009-12-24T11:26:00.004-05:00

We have been read ing a chapter or two of this each night this week. Everyone loves it. It's a classic, it has ghosts, and there is an illustration on every other page. What's not to love? Merry Christmas and happy reading to all!

2009-12-18T14:17:00.006-05:00

It was inevitable. My holiday stress and hormone levels reached the tipping point this week. After a few ridiculously busy weeks of work and motherhood and Christmas shopping, I was in the car with a dangerously full bladder and racing to meet my six year old's school bus when John Denver and the Muppets began singing "Silent Night." I immediately began weeping loudly. So I've reached that point in the pre-Christmas frenzy where just about anything can make me cry, throw up my hands, or bang my head against a wall. Luckily, I got the good kind of tear in my eye from our annual reading of The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey. It is such a beautiful book. I won't go into great detail about it now, as I believe I posted about it last December. It is just too wonderful for words anyhow. I will say this, however, the copy we own is pictured below, but the second photo here has a different cover. That cover includes my favorite illustration from the book.

That picture comes about midway through the book, the exact point when a lump forms in my throat and I have to pause in my read aloud to find tissues. My children love this book too, and reading it is a favorite holiday tradition. Speaking of holiday traditions, perhaps we instituted a new one. As soon as we set up and decorated our Christmas tree and decorated it last weekend, we sat in its glow and my husband and I taught the kids how to play poker, because nothing says Christmas memory like a good game of Texas Hold 'Em.

The True Gift: A Christmas Story

2009-12-16T16:49:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite holiday traditions is reading Christmas stories with my children in the evenings leading up to Christmas Eve. We have some old favorites, but every year I like to find at least one new holiday picture or chapter book. I struck gold with this year's new selection, Patricia MacLachlan's The True Gift A Christmas Story. Perhaps you know Patricia Mac Lachlan from her lovely and now classic Sarah, Plain and Tall. The True Gift is a short (which is a bit of a gift to me during this busy time of year) and gentle chapter book that highlights the beauty of thoughtfulness, generosity, and community. Liam and Lily work to find a friend for White Cow, the lone cow on their grandparents' farm. In trying to help the cow, they help a young boy whose family is struggling financially, and they in turn are helped by the members of their grandparents' farming community. It could inspire some good conversations about whether or not animals have feelings and what it means to give. Brian Floca's pencil drawing are quietly gorgeous. I recommend this one for readers from first through fifth grade looking for a good holiday book that is not too Christmasy.

In Which The Full Extent of My Geekiness Is Revealed

2009-12-11T20:06:00.004-05:00

Anyone who reads this blog has probably long suspected that I am a geek. Here's your proof positive. My latest favorite book is Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. You know Elements of Style. It is the wonderfully brief and informative guide to writing every writer and English teacher has on her desk. In 1959, E.B. White updated a style guide written by his own Cornell professor William Strunk Jr. It has sold well ever since. My own grandmother used to give it to young people she loved as an eighth grade graduation gift. I have consulted my own copy countless times, and it has never steered me wrong.

Stylized is the back story of the creation and popularity of that popular little style manual. For people like me, to whom E.B. White is a rock star, it is sure to be a hit. Much of his correspondence about the book is included, along with a surprising number of anecdotes about it. The author, Mark Garvey, admits that it is a slightly obsessive history, but it is a highly entertaining read. I especially enjoyed Frank McCourt's thoughts on Strunk and White's little jewel of a book. I also enjoy his confession that he was terrified of semicolons and maybe colons as well.

If you are looking to stuff an English teacher's stocking this Chritmas, no doubt he or she already owns a well used copy of Elements of Style, so fill that stocking with Stylized instead. And maybe a gift card to a local bookstore too.

Do My Cold Cuts Qualify as Reading Material?

2009-12-01T19:27:00.002-05:00

I recently read about the Wisconsin Travel Federation ( its tourism board, I suppose) needing to change its name due to the pervasiveness of texting abbreviations. The federation could no longer go by its initials. I loved that story and thought of it this morning while making the school lunches. The plastic baggy from my delicatessen containing a third of a pound of Land O'Lakes cheese read "LOL Cheese." As it was 5:30 in the morning, I didn't lol myself, but it is kind of funny when I think about it now.

I promise, I will go back to writing about books again soon. I will say that I just finished David Benioff's The Twenty Fifth Hour for my book club and enjoyed it. I didn't love it, but it was short and never lost my attention.

Menagerie

2009-11-29T11:21:00.004-05:00

My life is overrun with animals lately, none of them real. It began with traced hand turkeys a little over a week ago. We were coloring and decorating them in preparation for the Thanksgiving which largely wasn't due to swine flu. Piggy flu hit our household and we're still feeling its effects. To distract one son while he underwent a nebulizer treatment, I read some wonderful Aesop's fables. As you know, those are largely concerned with animals, clever foxes, timid mice, ants, grasshoppers, and the wolf the boy cried about. I have not read Aesop's fables in years, and I'm now on a mission to find some really good versions. It was pretty slim pickings at my local library. The best animal of the long weekend was a fox, Fantastic Mr. Fox specifically. My husband and I took the kids who we judged to be finally noncontagious to see the film last night. It is genius, genius, genius (I'll stop now before I wear out the "g" on my keyboard)!

It is based on the book of the same title by Roald Dahl. That was quite timely as my daughter who adores any word from pen to paper by Roald Dahl is writing a report on him this week. I am happy to report that my nine year old Dahl devotee was satisfied with the film adaptation. I never read Fantastic Mr. Fox, but can honestly say the movie is the best I've seen in about a year. George Clooney and Jason Schwartzman are brilliant as Mr. Fox and his son Ash respectively. The kids and adults in our family left the theater satisfied and talking about the favorite and cleverest parts. There were many.

One last animal note, my six year old son was thrilled to see a preview for the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, a "squeaquel," I can guarantee two things about that movie. One, it will not be as wonderful as Fantastic Mr. Fox and two, he will get me to bring him to it anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:21:00.003-05:00

I haven't added anything to this little blog in a long time now and that has been bothering me. I've been a bit overwhelmed with sick kids, a commute home from work which gets longer each day due to the Christmas shoppers at the mall on my route, my own holiday shopping, teaching a hundred sophomores to write research papers, grading their efforts, and ice hockey season. While it bugs me that these things keep me from writing, I am thankful for them all too. Okay, maybe I'm not grateful for the traffic and the virus, but I am glad of the job and the moments I can spend comforting my children. I'm sure I'll get back to writing about books soon. I have so much to be thankful for today. I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!

Foodie Friday: Clementines Are Here!

2009-11-13T05:53:00.002-05:00

I am soooo happy! Why, you ask. I'll tell you why. I am so happy because clementines, or as my children sometimes call them, clementimes, are n the groceries stores of the northeast once again. From now until January, I will have an easier time packing school lunches and I will feel better about my parenting. I will feel like a parent who dispenses citrus fruit rather than leftover candy as an after school snack. If we have company coming over, I throw a bunch of clementines in a bowl and tell myself I've created a Martha Stewartesque centerpiece. If I haven't really done that, please don't burst my bubble.

In honor of the return of the clementines, I have decided to mention Sara Pennypacker's Clementine books about a creative and challenging little girl named Clementine. These books are perfect for first through third graders. Despite the female protagonist, I've had success reading it with boys and girls. Like Junie B. Jones' voice, Clementine's voice takes a little getting used to, but it's worth it. Also worth mentioning are Marla Frazee's lively illustrations.

It Always Comes Back to T-Shirts

2009-11-08T12:21:00.003-05:00

I'm up to my eyeballs in research on Edgar Allen Poe. I want to do a good job preparing these lessons because a) I've never taught Poe before and b) Some of my students have told me they are looking forward to reading his works, and I don't want to disappoint them. Of course I keep thinking of the awesome Simpson's version of "The Raven." While I can mention it and maybe even show it, I think I need more than that. I've found some great ideas and biographical information on Poe, which is good, but as is so often the case, I end up at cool t shirt websites.

I love this Nevermore Raven, but I can't quite justify purchasing it to wear for only one school day a year.

I guess I'll just have to come up with a gangbuster lesson plan instead.

Everything is Relative

2009-11-06T10:04:00.003-05:00

Our current family nightly read is the first Hardy Boys book. My sons are very interested and my daughter hates it. She has no interest whatsoever in Joe and Frank Hardy with their motorcycles and sleuthing skills. It's just not her thing. It has gotten us talking however, about how different people view the same thing in different ways. Besides the Hardy Boys, a recent example is my daughter's Halloween costume. She made a candy button costume and kept it secret from her friends until the big day. About a week before Halloween we were at a neighbor's house and the kids kept asking me and Hayden what her costume would be. Of course I didn't reveal the secret, but I gave what I thought was a hint. I said,"It's delicious." The dad over there said, "She's going dressed as a rack of ribs" while his daughter asked, "Is she going to be a cupcake?" See, everything is relative.

In a similar vein, my older son dressed as an Ipod. Most people recognized him as such, but in one neighborhood where they trick or treated, a number of elderly people mistook him for a television remote control, saying things like, "Come here, Marge, there's a clicker at the door."

In any event, we'll be wrapping up the Hardy Boys soon so I'd better get looking for a book that will please everyone.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:53:00.004-04:00

Happy Halloween! While I LOVE these homemade costumes my children are wearing this year, none of them are particularly bookish. You could argue that my little guy's Frankenstein is inspired by Mary Shelly's novel, but it's not. He doesn't know the book exists. He just wanted to look creepy. I have seen some other people in good book-inspired costumes this year. One of my older son's fifth grade classmates is going dressed as a thesaurus! How great is that? A student at the high school where I work dressed as the other mother from Coraline, carrying around big buttons, a needle, and thread yesterday. And yesterday, on my drive home from work, I nearly crashed my car because I saw the cutest little girl, about three years old, walking down the street in a precious very hungry caterpillar costume. Whatever your costume and whatever you are reading, have a happy Halloweekend!

In A Dark, Dark Room

2009-10-29T18:26:00.002-04:00

Every summer, my children attend a camp out on the beach at our local lake. They enjoy setting up tents, roasting marshmallows, racing around in the dark with friends, and two of my three children love to hear and tell ghost stories around the campfire. Ghost story fever stays with them from the time of the camp out until Halloween. They spend those months on the lookout for new ghost stories. I try to find good ones at the library, but it is a difficult task balancing high interest with low fear factor. They don't want any "babyish" books, but I don't want to be woken up by children crying from nightmares. One of the best books we've found to satisfy everyone is Alvin Schwartz's In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories. It is an easy reader, perfect for first and second graders. It contains a good mix of spooky, creepy, and funny stories perfect for campfires or pre-Halloween reading. My daughter who is now in the fourth grade first checked it out of the school library when she was in the first grade. It has been a family favorite ever since. My six year old son now owns his own copy and does a spine tingling rendition of "The Green Ribbon" story in it. I imagine he'll graduate to Goosebumps and Stephen King someday, but happily he's satisfied with this book for the time being.

Foodie Friday: Fast Food Edition

2009-10-23T05:53:00.002-04:00

I haven't written a Foodie Friday since the summer and prepare yourself, this one isn't earth shattering. Three kids on three different soccer teams is killing me. Last night after an evening dental appointment and dragging the kids through Target for toilet paper and sundry other items, I treated them to dinner at Wendy's. I was feeling a small measure of guilt about the fast food dinner because they rarely pick the healthy side choices preferring grease and salt like their Mom. Redemption came in the form Kids' Meal "toy." Rather than a toy, each kid's meal contained a Scholastic Audiobook. And my kids liked them! They were excited about the selections. all Halloween themed, including a Jigsaw Jones mystery and a Geronimo Stilton. French fries and guilt averted. Who can ask for more at 7:30 on Thursday night?

Mixed Reviews

2009-10-18T19:42:00.002-04:00

On Friday night my ten year old son saw the new Where the Wild Things Are film as a guest at an eleventh birthday party. He loved it. He was inclined to enjoy the evening as he also went out for pizza beforehand and milkshakes afterward. My nine year old daughter attended the movie at a nine year old's birthday party. My daughter did not enjoy the movie one bit. None of the girls did. Indeed, the birthday girl cried at the sadness and darkness of the film. I did not see it, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to. I adored the book as a child. Actually, I still do. In some review I read, the reviewer made a big deal of the fact that the book only consists of nine sentences so it was doomed to fall short of the original. While I was mentioning that to my kids, my husband said he heard on NPR that it consists of just twelve sentences. Anyone out there curious/anal enough to check it out?

My children have reached unanimity on Jeff Kinney's latest installment in the Wimpy Kid series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Both kids laugh out loud love it. Particularly funny to them is when Greg (aptly referred to as a middle school Larry David by his creator) is signed up for a book club by his mother and then not allowed to quit it when all the other boys have dropped out.

Misc. Items

2009-10-17T15:52:00.003-04:00

I want to write about a variety of book related topics that have occurred to me this week, but I feel I must begin with the title of this post. I wrote "Misc." on the chalkboard at school this week and more than one student asked me what it meant. I explained that it was an abbreviation for miscellaneous and I was asked twice why I didn't bother spelling that word out. That struck me as highly ironic since so many of my students write in such a way that I can tell they are of the texting generation. Their papers are filled with "&," "b/c," "w/" and "LOL." Yes, "LOL" on an essay. I spoke with another teacher who told me to brace myself for the emoticons that are sure to come, as in "It was sad when Romeo and Juliet died at the end of the play :(" I didn't see that when I was last teaching high school students almost ten years ago.

On a positive note, this week I had one of my best book conversations in the classroom ever. I was discussing Benjamin Franklin's autobiography and his "Speech in the Convention." I asked the kids what they think he valued based on their reading and was met with blank stares. Someone said he might have valued the Philadelphia Eagles because (b/c?) he lived in Philly. After we went over the fact that football was not played in the colonies nor was there an NFL, I asked if it had been played then, what position did they think old Ben would have played based on what they read by him. They warmed to the topic so quickly. I then asked if he was dropped into our society today, what sport would he enjoy the most based on what they read. The answers were brilliant and I left work happy that day.

Speaking of leaving work, I have something to listen to now on my drive home. A friend just lent me the audio book of Spencer Quinn's Dog On It, I've been told that it's a humorous whodunit with a canine narrator. Chet the dog and his owner, a down on his luck private investigator, solve a crime and have some adventures in this story that I have been assured I will enjoy greatly. While I'm in no hurry for Monday to get here, I am less cranky about my long commute now that I've got Dog On It to look forward to.

Book Club Report

2009-10-10T09:32:00.003-04:00

My book club met one night this week to discuss Stieg Larson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was a big hit with most of the ladies. I really enjoyed it and was happy for the opportunity to discuss it with others. It's a difficult book to describe as it is part corporate intrigue, part dysfunctional family saga, and part mystery with some sado masochism thrown in there too. It set in Sweden and all of the place names are these ridiculously long Swedish words which I couldn't begin to try to pronounce so I just glossed over them while reading. No matter. The story was a quick engaging read, and I'm looking forward to the other books in the series that Larson wrote before he died. The book club was a double success because I think I also brokered a workable ice hockey carpool with one of the other moms who is in the club. Win-win. Next month's selection is Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture.

Readable Rodents

2009-10-08T18:54:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I recently attended an athletic event where all of the participants were rodents. In a weekend with two childrens' soccer games and another one's ice hockey game, we squeezed in the Hamster Ball Derby at Petco. That's right; I gave up precious hours of my Saturday afternoon watching Mario, our pet gerbil, put to shame on a plastic track by a bunch of hamsters in plastic balls. While my children cheered, cajoled, and commanded him to the finish line, Mario paused to groom himself and I thought it's not a far leap from Petco to the greyhound track or that whole mess Michael Vick got himself into. Trying to be more positive, later in the week we reflected upon other rodents who have impressed us with their adventures. By the way, they are all imaginary. Our list included Ralph S. Mouse, Lily of the purple plastic purse fame, that mouse who got the cookie, went to the movies and school, and of course, the Big Kahuna, Stuart Little. If we lined them in plastic hamster balls and yelled "Go!" who do you think would win? My money's on Ralph S. Mouse.

Oh Books, How I've Missed You!

2009-10-03T15:07:00.003-04:00

Here's a bit of irony for you: I've been so busy working as a high school English teacher that I've been unable to read a book all week. Actually, I've been busy teaching high school and having three children who are all playing soccer this season, who all like to eat dinner, and who all want someone to check their homework. It's taking a toll on my reading for pleasure. I haven't even read a newspaper this week. Don't worry, I am all caught up with my Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly magazines. A girl does have to stay current after all. But I miss my books. It's a heartache walking past my night table and seeing that yummy looking stack gathering dust.

Luckily for me, I happened to ask the more than one hundred sophomores that I teach to write about the most memorable book they ever read. I only asked for two or three sentences from each. Every single kid found at least one book he or she could write about. Some told me it was to hard to narrow it down. Some gave me eight, nine, ten sentences about books they found memorable for either good or bad reasons. What fun I had reading their responses. So many of the girls named Twilight (one of the books on my to-read list), but there were Harry Potters, Holes, Unfortunate Events, Wayside Schools, Nancy Drews, Boxcar Children, The Outsiders, and more. It was like walking through a doughnut shop on a diet. It was tantalizing but also satisfying just to sniff the air, so to speak. I am more determined than ever to carve out a little book time in my schedule. 4 a.m. maybe?

This Is What Happens When You (Actually I) Blog at 5:30 AM

2009-09-25T15:30:00.003-04:00

It seems I'm having trouble linking to the NY Times article about Jan Brett and her fabulous life, home in the Berkshires, and show chickens. I'll try again soon. Happy weekend!

Not So Starving Artist

2009-09-25T05:52:00.002-04:00

I've always loved Jan Brett's books, especially The Mitten and the Christmasy ones. This piece in the NY Times makes me like her all the more. It also makes me a little jealous.

Frog and Toad Are Friends of Mine!

2009-09-22T09:49:00.005-04:00

Recently I found myself shopping for a small gift to give a three year old girl who just became a big sister. Arnold Lobel's sweet and funny Frog and Toad Are Friends fit the bill perfectly. When my six year old son came home from school last week saying he needs to read for twenty minutes each day as homework, I headed to the library to check out a whole stack of Frog and Toad books. When he saw them, Ethan told me, "You rock, Mom!" I'm sorry, but life doesn't get much sweeter than that. Although listening to him giggle his way through Frog and Toad Together last night was pretty great also. He loved how Toad lost his mind when he lost his list of things to do. Toad couldn't chase after the list because that wasn't one of the things written on the list of things to do. Don't we all love a good neurotic?! Arnold Lobel was a genius, and by the way, he illustrated the Miss Suzy book I mentioned back in Old School week.

Foodie Friday During Old School Week

2009-09-18T13:26:00.003-04:00

School is back in session, and no matter what I pack in my kids' school lunches, they get off the school bus, "Starving!" and "Sooooo Hungry!" Therefore, the topic of after school snacks has been much on our minds and in our conversations. These children are not satisfied with what was a perfectly acceptable after school nosh when I was a kid: pretzels and juice. They want cheeses and nuts, pomegranates and petit fours. Well, maybe they're not that demanding, but still...

While I was lecturing them recently on this topic, they reminded me that Harriet from Harriet the Spy ate a slice of cake and a glass of milk after school every single day. While they all love cake, they did think a slice of it each day would get old.

Then Ethan told me about an "old fashioned snack kids ate a really long time ago." He went on to explain how moms in the olden days would put peanut butter and sometimes raisins inside a stalk of celery. This was all related in a "Can you imagine?" sort of way. Can I imagine? Those ants on a log, while never a staple in the house I grew up in, showed up regularly at class parties and friends' houses in my youth. That is an old school snack never to show up again in schools with all of the nut allergy awareness these day.

I've got cucumber slices, grapes, and Ritz crackers ready for when my kids come home today. A tall stack of Ritz crackers was a favorite after school snack for me years ago. What was your favorite after school snack?

Look Out, Container Store; We're Talking Old School Storage Today

2009-09-17T12:00:00.005-04:00

One hot, steamy day in August, my sister and I took my three kids on a field trip of sorts. We left New Jersey and took public transportation into Brooklyn. Once there, we visited my sister-in-law and her scrumptiously adorable new baby boy. We all went out to lunch together, and my kids whispered to me that we have to buy Mo Willems' Knufflebunny for the baby because his neighborhood looks just like the one in the book. Plus it's really funny. That's one blank filled on my Christmas shopping list. After lunch, we left my sister-in-law and her perfect boy and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was interesting, fun, and ridiculously hot. I believe I told the kids my underwear was so sweaty you could grow rice in it. Or something like that. Once we made it to midtown Manhattan, we stopped in every place we thought might be air conditioned. One of those places was an old fashioned tobacconist shop. It had a wooden Indian outside and everything. I don't smoke and never have, but oh, the smell of pipe tobacco is divine. Combine it with air conditioning on a hot humid day, and I could have moved in. While my sister and I inhaled as deeply as possible and perused the tobacco products and their accoutrements, my three kids asked the salesmen if they had any extra empty cigar boxes. A very nice tobacconist (talk about old school words) led them into a room sized humidor to make their selections.

I'm not glorifying cigar smoking. In fact, I think it's nasty. But cigar boxes are magical. They seem made for holding collections even more than for holding cigars. They are perfect for stamps, baseball cards, comic books, video games, rocks, shells, photographs, paperback novels, coins, even buttons. Yes, that's my daughter's button collection shown above. There is something timeless about wooden and cardboard boxes with hinged lids and gold seals, pictures of Spanish ladies and foreign writing. Who needs Ikea or WalMart for storage solutions? Cheap plastic boxes hold cheap stuff; cigar boxes house treasures.

Old School Week Spirals On

2009-09-15T09:26:00.003-04:00

Did you Spirograph as a kid? That little construction right there, turning a noun into a verb, is pretty new school, so maybe I shouldn't have used it during Old School Week here, but actually, it's more about classic old books and products, not about writing in a retro style, so I'll repeat. Did you Spirograph as a kid? I did. I loved putting the little circle inside the big circle, sticking a ballpoint pen in the middle and making hippy dippy trancey spiral designs. As it turns out, all of those designs have definite mathematical formulas, but I never bothered with that aspect of the activity. I just liked decorating my notebooks, folders, and any piece of scrap paper I could find. The version I had back in the 1970s was put out by Hasbro and could keep me entertained for hours. A few years ago, my daughter received the "Hypotrochoid Art Set" pictured above as a birthday gift and fell in love with it. I hunted it down on the Internet (definitely not how my original set was purchased back in the day) and bought several to give as gifts at birthday parties. Patina Stores sells it for $7.95. By the way, Patina Stores has lots of other fun and sometimes retro gift items for the tweens and teenagers you occasionally shop for. Klutz books has The Spiral Draw Book which includes spiral wheels and pens but apparently it is not as easy to use and is more expensive than the Hypotrochoid Art Set. Therefore, I've only given you the link to Patina Stores. Have fun!

Old School Week

2009-09-14T09:09:00.003-04:00

My son' s homework for first grade this weekend was to find his favorite book from home to bring to school and share with his classmates. The students are not expected to read the books to the class, just share why they like them. I think that's great; I love a good book talk. The assignment got my husband and I talking about favorite books of ours from when we were Ethan's age. We both loved Caps for Sale. Who doesn't? We both remembered a book about an old man whose beard grows so long that birds build nests in it, but unfortunately we could not remember the title. Bill remembers loving Millions of Cats. That book never really did it for me, but oh, how I loved Miss Suzy! I dreamed of that book as a girl and read it so much! It is the story of a gray squirrel who is driven out of her oak tree home by some very mean red squirrels. Thank heavens she finds a doll house to live in and some toy soldiers to befriend. I haven't read it in years, but am now inspired to find a copy. Ethan chose the first Nate the Great book to share with his fellow first graders. All this strolling down literary memory lane has made me declare this Old School Week here at the Book Bench, celebrating books and things I loved back in the day-o. Feel free to comment with your old school favorites!

A Fair Is A Veritable Smorgasbord

2009-09-11T09:05:00.004-04:00

I had to give this post that title up there because it comes from my favorite song in Charlotte's Web, but this post really isn't about that kind of fair and would be more aptly titled, "Evidence of Our Collective Nerdiness." Over the summer, my youngest son read #35 of Mary Pope Osborne's 7,000 Magic Tree House books. This one is Night of the New Magicians. In it, those

time travelling, clue finding siblings, Jack and Annie, travel to the Paris World's Fair of 1889. At the same time, I was reading Richard Peck's Fair Weather about the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 held in Chicago. I've been fascinated by that World's Fair ever since I first learned of it when my book club read Erik Larson's wonderful The Devil in the White City several years ago. Fair Weatheris written for a much younger audience. I'd say it is perfect for nine to twelve year olds and humorously tells the tale of a humble farming family who end up at the fair with their wealthy aunt.

So we've read some books about World's Fairs. That should be it. End of story. But not in this household! My six year old Ethan decided we needed to hold a Family Fair with exhibitions all over the house. Because they love anything that involves crafts and glue and headaches for me, the other two kids were all over that idea like white on rice. I eventually agreed and set some ground rules. The exhibits had to be contained in bedrooms and last no more than ten minutes. We had about three days to prepare and it turned out to be really fun. Inspired by the scientists at the Paris Fair, Ethan gave us a quasi-science/magic show. nine year old Hayden donned a kimono and put together an impressive origami display, and ten year old Aaron set up Matchbox track all over his bedroom and gave us all marbles to try out his ramps and then allowed us to build our own. My husband and I each put on lame little exhibits. The children appreciated the fact that we tried, but they clearly outdid us. I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun it all was, and that is as close as this house will ever get to homeschooling.

Back to School

2009-09-08T09:23:00.003-04:00

My children boarded the school buses for the first time this year less than an hour ago. While I should be doing research and writing lesson plans for my return to work as a high school English teacher next week, I first need to blog the lump out of my throat. I am pretty blue this morning. My baby is headed to first grade! How can that be? Plus, it was a really fun summer packed with swimming, bike rides, ice pops, and loafing around. While I'm kind of sad, I am caught up in the excitement of the new school year and am happy that my kids all left with big smiles on their faces. Really big ones. Look:

I like that picture, but I recently read an article about taking back to school photos that describes just that pose as cliche and expected. The article suggested taking photos of backpacks, school lunches, or shoes lined up at the door. Eh. Our backpacks aren't too inspiring

and you don't want to see the state of my boys' shoes. so I lined up the family water bottles, and while that picture may say "Make love not landfills," it doesn't say "Back to School."

The older kids each were asked to bring a book for pleasure reading to school today. Lucky public school kids! Let me say I attended Catholic schools until college and was never told to bring a book for pleasure reading or do anything else pleasurable for that matter. Maybe a photo of the books would be a nice non-cliche memory, but my ten year old son was still hemming and hawing between Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from The Wayside School and a nonfiction book called The Kid Who Invented Popsicles as we walked out the door this morning. This is what my nine year old daughter packed:

She absolutely loves the wickedly evil pixie Opal Koboi in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books. It's a nice cover, but that shot doesn't scream "School Days" either. I believe the following picture does capture the essence of beginning school in September 2009. It is of what I think is the most important school supply my children have with them today, because as I was shouting "I love you! Have a great day!" what I was really thinking this morning as they got on those buses was "I love you, and don't you dare bring home swine flu!"

Here Comes Fall

2009-09-04T09:00:00.006-04:00

It's T minus four days until my kids go back to school. Fortunately we've had a bit of a cool snap here in northern New Jersey which makes the idea of school seem logical rather than horrible. We've had a week of weather that makes you grab a sweater and think about apple picking and high school football games. The cool days inspired a bit of organization. Don't worry- it didn't result in full on fall cleaning. We straightened up a bit and returned all of the library books, audio books, and DVDs we've amassed this summer. So long, Artemis Fowl. Fare thee well, Geronimo Stilton. Now I need to dust around the book bench, dagnabbit! The kids and I also made our annual school supply shopping trip armed with lists mailed to us by their teachers. I could get on my high horse about suburban teachers requiring expensive and hard to find items like twistable colored pencils, but frankly that high horse is exhausted. Fortunately, the whole $5.49 twistable colored pencil thing didn't kill the joy I get from sniffing new notebooks and organizing folders and loose leaf paper.

One other side effect of this autumnal weather is that it has inspired a whole rash of play dates. My kids have been hanging out with friends like crazy before homework and soccer practice get in the way. A few days ago, I had three boys building a fort in my yard and three girls playing "Adoption Center" with baby dolls in the house. And while I know it would have made Gloria Steinem wince, I let everyone stay in their little gender role boxes. In fact, I eavesdropped a bit on the adoption center, and it was more compelling than any soap opera I have ever seen! After that, I provided conditioner for a Barbie makeover. Yesterday, it was girls baking cupcakes in the kitchen while little boys ran through the room with paper towel tube light sabers. I tried to mix it up some by having the boys help decorate the cupcakes. They did so while saying, "Sayonara, sucker!" to every sprinkle they ate and by coming up with synonyms for "constipation" and "diarrhea." Won't their language arts teachers be pleased with their verbal skills next week?

Here's hoping that the weather stays cool enough that they don't resent climbing aboard the big yellow bus next week, but not so cool that it ruins recess, because everyone knows that recess is the best part of the day!

Easy Packing

2009-08-25T19:22:00.003-04:00

I'm in the middle of packing for a quick little vacation we're about to take. It's more of a really long weekend than anything else, but it's the best kind. We've got very few plans other than to hang out with friends and relatives by the water. It's the kind of trip for which I've packed my junkiest clothes (yoga pants with shot elastic and holes in the knees even though I don't do yoga) and my best books. It's so much better than going somewhere that you have to put on lipstick and impress people. The juicy plum I've been saving for this getaway is Stieg Larson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo My nine year old daughter has packed L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Avonlea and what she calls "cozy clothes." That apple didn't fall very far from this old tree.

Here's One for the Baby Books (Or King Solomon)

2009-08-25T09:12:00.003-04:00

Okay, so when I was pregnant with my second child, one of my major preoccupations was what I would do if both babies cried at once. Not many baby books covered that topic but probably because you figure it out quickly. Who needs you most. (Interestingly, when I was pregnant with my third child, the biggest concern to my then three year old son was how we would all fit into a bathroom. By all of us, he meant me, his potty training sister and the new baby. That all worked out too.) Yesterday I had one of those child rearing moments no book prepares you for. What do you do when two of your children come crashing into your house waving their arms and screaming like they are being chased by an axe murder? by a bear? by a flaming avalanche of shrapnel? Oh, and they are screaming, "We've been stung by bees! We've been stung!" And one of them has a stinger sticking out of his ear and the other one's back is swelling up before your eyes turning her into a slender nine year old female Quasimodo who is still screaming! Who to help first? There was no time for triage. I just picked a kid and started pulling out stingers and dispensing Benadryl.
So you would think our house was done with tears for the day after that. But no, a few more quiet ones trickled down the cheek of my ten year old son as he closed the last page on Where The Red Fern Grows. His brother and sister were fast asleep from the trauma of their day (and the Benadryl), but he lay up in bed reading until about 10:30. He couldn't believe that the dogs, Little Ann and Old Dan died.He didn't see it coming and it hit him hard. While I was sad for him, I was happy for him too. He will remember that book always and he's the kind of boy who can be moved by a powerful story. That makes for a wonderful life.

I'm A Sucker for a School Bus

2009-08-24T17:53:00.003-04:00

I saw the cover of Gordon Korman's Schooled and knew I had to pick it up. I'm a sucker for a yellow school bus. I've always been that way; it's not just these last weeks of kids home on summer vacation talking. I've bought yellow school bus shaped cookies, PostIt notes, pencil boxes, and rulers in my day. This past weekend while my kids were oohing and ahhing over funky Habitrail type cages for their pet gerbil, I was trying to convince them that a little yellow school bus shaped one with a handle would be perfect for Mario, our family pet. They nixed my suggestion, but I bought the Korman book. I'm glad I did. It's a funny and satisfying read for tweens, telling the story of Capricorn (Cap) Anderson who was raised on a farm commune and home schooled by his grandmother named Rain. When Rain has to stay in a hospital after falling out of a tree picking plums, Cap ends up living with a social worker and her teenage daughter and attending a public middle school. There is a great deal of fish out of water humor. Can you imagine a teenaged, sandal wearing, tye died hippie who's never watched television in your local eighth grade? It's not just outsider gags though. There is a lot for young readers to think about in terms of what makes someone popular and how they respond to teasing and unkindness. I'm glad the cover sucked me in. It worked its charm on my nine year old daughter too. She saw the book on my night table and uttered "Ooooh. Can I read this after you?" However, she might also have been attracted by the author's name. She's a big Gordon Korman fan.

Ethan Allen, Eat Your Heart Out

2009-08-22T09:41:00.003-04:00

Earlier this summer my husband built bookshelves for my daughter's bedroom. She had fun planning them and helping him build and paint them. I'm having fun watching her organize her books and treasures on them. It reminds me of that wonderful quote by Anna Quindlen: "I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."

Foodie Friday: Soup Kitchen Chicken

2009-08-21T10:05:00.004-04:00

When my babies were first born, I assumed that they were Americans, two boys and one girl of mixed Irish, Scottish, English, German, and a little Lithuanian descent. The ensuing years have proven me wrong. I gave birth to three Italian grandmothers who want to feed the world. "Mangia!" they practically shout at their friends who come over to play as they push snack options at them. While they may not always share their toys, books, and patience, they always want to share food with others. When we go to a party or potluck, they urge me to make my best recipes. When their aunt was undergoing chemotherapy last summer and we were on a dinner cooking rotation for her and her husband, they threw themselves into the project with gusto, thinking about the recipes, writing up hand lettered menus, and helping deliver the food to her home. One time, my then five year old son insisted on wearing a sombrero as we delivered a meal of Mexican lasagna and tortilla chips. My sister-in-law wasn't home so we left the food in a cooler by her front door, but at least we gave the neighbors an eyeful. When my children's religious education classes were collecting canned goods for food baskets last Thanksgiving, my daughter was horrified that she was assigned to donate yams. Her heart broke for the poor children that would get her class basket. She's not a fan of yams you see. She convinced me to donate a few boxes of instant hot chocolate as well. Given their desire to feed others, it is not surprising that we spent a wonderful afternoon last week purchasing ingredients for and cooking a chicken casserole to be served at a local soup kitchen. Of all of our projects this summer, that was my favorite. At church one recent Sunday, we received an empty aluminum casserole pan, a recipe, and directions for delivering the frozen casserole to the church parking lot the next Saturday morning where the meals would then be delivered to a soup kitchen near us that serves a hot lunch to over 200 people 365 days a year. First we had to shop for the ingredients. The children located everything on the store shelves. It was a great lesson in comparison shopping, reading, and nutrition. If I thought it was hard for me to eat nothing from a box, check out the recipe below to see how impossible it is for the poor and homeless. We brought our purchases home and prepared the casserole together. Lessons were learned there in patience, food handling, and more math. I'm always going on about nonfiction reading, and this was an ideal nonfiction reading experience. All three of my little Italian grandmothers obsessed over the meal being cooked just right and made to look appetizing. They talked about how sad it would be to have to patronize a soup kitchen and things they hope the people who run it do to make the experience as nice as possible for the diners. All three asked if we can do it again next month. Talk about a win-win situation! Here's the recipe in case you are curious:

Eva's Kitchen Chicken Casserole

6 Large Boneless Chicken Breasts (cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces)
2 Boxes Rice-A-Roni (Chicken Flavor)
1 Package Frozen Peas
1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 Cups Water

Prepare rice according to directions on box. Mix rice, peas, chicken, soups, and water together. Spread into greased pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through. Serves 10.

Updates

2009-08-17T18:54:00.003-04:00

Okay, eating no packaged foods is HARD! I don't mean hard like when I beg my husband and kids to help me fold a load of laundry because it's HARD (and it is). No, this is really hard. We can't seem to get more than two consecutive meals before breaking out a boxed, bagged, tubed, or shrink wrapped item. I have noticed how very much pasta I serve my family as well as prepackaged snack foods like crackers and cookies. Even if I fail to get 48 straight hours with nothing from a box, I am becoming much more aware of what we put in our mouths. So that's something. And, since it's not just about our health, but the health of the planet, we finally bought a Sig water bottle for our youngest son so we now each have one and we have been great about using them in place of plastic water bottles for the last six months or so.

On the reading front, I found out I'll be teaching The Red Badge of Courage this year. I haven't read it in 15 to 20 years. Does anyone out there remember it? Any thoughts? Memories? Ideas? Warnings? I guess we know what I'll be getting from the library when I go back to look for more healthy cook books.

Nothing From A Box?!

2009-08-13T09:46:00.004-04:00

While on vacation last month, my husband, kids, and I played many rounds of a game we'll call "Don't Say A Particular Word." For instance, one evening during dinner the challenge was to avoid saying the word "and." My sons and I were out in less than two minutes. My husband lasted until we were washing up the dishes. My nine year old daughter held out the longest. With a few exceptions, that's pretty much how all of the rounds went all week. My sons and I talk a lot and often without thinking. My husband is less loquacious than us and our daughter always thinks carefully before she opens her mouth, game or not. Despite the fact that those two kept winning, it was a great game because it got us thinking about how frequently we use certain words in conversation. Try an afternoon without "it," "the," or "to." It was also good because whoever got "out" first usually laughed about it and didn't pout or stomp off- a major step in our family's game playing evolution.

I am currently considering a different, much more challenging, game of avoidance for the family. Instead of "Don't Say a Particular Word," it's "Don't Eat Anything From A Box." If you know me, you know that's going to be more difficult than having a conversation without using any word with letters in it. We like our cornflakes, cookies, and Saltine crackers over here at the Book Bench. On the other hand, with books like The Omnivore's Dilemma (and everything by Suzanne Sommers) and films like The Future of Food out there, there is a high level of discourse in America right now not just about the health implications of our food choices, but the environmental, economic, and ethical implications as well.

These conversations about responsible eating are not just being held on CSPAN and liberal arts college campuses. I've been talking about it with the other moms at the lake while our kids have been splashing around this summer. So you know it's reached the people. I've always tried to feed me family healthy foods, but I'm far from perfect and could really up my game. Recently, a friend told me about a woman she met recently, "a health food nut," who doesn't feed her family anything from a box. Nothing from a box? Reactions were swift and strong. I think I was loudest. Crazy! Impossible! Expensive! But I've been sitting with the idea and have decided to give it a try for 48 hours. I'm a little pissed that I didn't start yesterday because the kids and I made our own bread, but now it's gone. And of course I'm looking for loopholes- perhaps the girls at the Dunkin' Donuts drive through window could throw our munchkins in a bag instead of a box? If it used to be packaged in a box but now comes in a "new, resealable pouch!" does that count?

As with all my projects, I picked up a few books at the library to get me started. I have to admit that I haven't yet cooked anything in Mariel's Kitchen: Simple Ingredients for a Delicious and Satisfying Life by Mariel Hemingway, but to be honest, not much in it appeals to me and I don't know where I would find many of the ingredients such as Xylosweet, whey protein, and hemp protein powder.

On the other hand, I cannot wait to start making some of the recipes in Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond. The authors are sensible rather than militant in their philosophy and present recipes with ingredients I recognize. The photos delicious. Some recipes call for meat, but in smaller quantities than traditional recipes. Moreover, an explanation is given for using grass feed beef and more expensive "certified humane" organic chicken. This book might really help me with the nothing out of a box challenge.

I have yet to spring the idea on my family. Wish me luck with that and with avoiding convenience foods. If you're headed my way with a Nutter Butter in your hands in the next week or so, kindly keep it out of sight. My dignity will thank you. I'll keep you posted.

I'm All About Anecdotal Evidence and Unscientific Research

2009-08-11T10:19:00.004-04:00

If the movers and shakers of marketing and publicity in the publishing world want to know what people are reading at swim meets in New Jersey this summer, I'm their girl. I worked the admissions table (charging an entrance fee and stamping hands) for a good six hours on Saturday. It's remarkable that I could even perform my duties as I had been chased by a bear on the walk to the meet (see yesterday's post), but as I told my brother, it was "for the kids," so I persevered. Sitting at that table for six hours, I saw a lot of swimmers and parents walk in for a long day of sitting around. I couldn't help but peek into their beach bags. Let me just say that about half the women who had books had Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love. I don't even know if they plan to read it, I just think American women feel they must own a copy of it. I was happy to see two women come in with Stieg Larson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as it is my book club's book for this month. Unfortunately, when questioned about it, one woman said she hadn't yet begun reading it and the the other just made a little face (a moue, I believe it's called) and said "Eh." A number of men carried in folded newspapers. Three kids had copies of Zilpha Ketley Snyder's 1966 Newberry Medal winning book The Egypt Game. This piqued my curiosity as my daughter recently checked it out of the library. It turns out those three kids are all in the same grade in a nearby elementary school and that book is their assigned summer reading. One kid walked in with The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch and was really excited to discuss it. Many little girls who would be stuck waiting around for their older siblings to swim had fairy books packed along with their beach toys and towels, but my absolute favorite was a girl with a copy of Tomie de Paola's fantastic classic Strega Nona. That's my kind of girl - one who chooses a lovable Italian witch with a magical pasta pot over a glittery Disney fairy.

The Print Equivalent of Cheese Fries

2009-08-10T09:56:00.003-04:00

I wish I could report on some smartypants book I read this weekend. I wish I was walking around smugly having finished the books about educational philosophies and new fangled lesson planning sitting by my bed. I would give fifty bucks to be able to say I've read what I need to for my next book club meeting. Instead, I'm caught up on People and Entertainment Weekly. It was a busy weekend which included my computer crashing after having an explicitly obscene picture pop up and stay fixed on the screen. It was so dirty at first I didn't know what it was, but once I puzzled it out, I felt nauseous for several hours. I was chased by a bear. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but just a tiny bit. At six a.m. on Saturday, as I walked to our local lake to volunteer at a swim meet, I was alone on the shoulder and a smallish black bear was on the other side of the road. We glanced at each other and I ran. I did not see another human being or car until I arrived at the lake parking lot a half mile away. In my book that's as good as being chased by a bear. And finally, on Sunday afternoon, my minivan refused to start while parked in my neighbor's driveway. My husband had to come with his pickup truck and jumper cables to get me out of there. Luckily, they are very nice neighbors who were able to suppress wincing as my husband had to drive a little on their grass and staring in disgust at the mess of sand, gum wrappers, and books on my car's floor. Needless to say, the most challenging thing my mind could handle last night was reading about how J.Lo did actually lose all the baby weight and who the real Farrah Fawcett was.

Foodie Friday Tidbits

2009-08-07T09:39:00.004-04:00

A number of blogs I read run a Random Thoughts Tuesday feature. Today's post here could be called Random Friday Foodie Book Stuff. First, we got a hold of Eric A. Kimmel's fun new picture book, The Three Little Tamales, that I wrote about here several Fridays ago. It is a retelling of the three little pigs story featuring adorable tamales. My older kids have read it aloud several times to my six year old son. It begs to be read with accents and silly voices.

We've also recently read Wiggens Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant about a cute little puppy who learns some etiquette lessons. It would probably be best for a preschooler or kindergartner read together with an adult.

My last bit of Foodie Friday randomness (besides mentioning that I need to get to the grocery store pronto) is that I flipped through Roy Finamore's new cookbook, Tasty, just before bed last night. It is filled with scrumptious sounding recipes that seem relatively simple and don't call for too many ingredients. I had several food dreams last night, including one about sundried tomatoes and crusty French bread which made me drool all over the pillowcase. Sadly, when I woke up this morning, Cornflakes and frozen waffles were my only breakfast options. As I said, I must get to the food store.

Have a great weekend!

Popcorn or Candy?

2009-08-04T21:32:00.004-04:00

You know those preference questions which supposedly reveal so much about a person quickly? John or Paul? Beatles or Rolling Stones? Batman or Superman? I've never been good with those because I have few absolute favorites in life, except that my current husband is definitely my favorite (actually, he's my only husband). I guess I'm moody- my favorite husband would testify to that. Some days John is my favorite Beatle, but some days it's Paul. For weeks breakfast is my favorite meal, but then I get really into lunches. Anyway, since some of my favorite books are opening as movies this summer, I thought I'd put a question to you: Popcorn or candy in the movie theater? For the record, I'm popcorn with butter.

The Lunch Lady: Serving Sloppy Joes, Jokes, and Justice!

2009-08-02T12:08:00.003-04:00

How happy am I? Lunch Lady happy. That's going to be my new measurement of happy because these books are so enjoyable. When I lose a few pounds or see a great movie, I'm going to tell people the experience made me Lunch Lady happy. Speaking of movies, I've read that Universal Studios has picked up the movie rights to this series with Amy Poehler to star! Now I'm even more Lunch Lady happier (that needs a little work).

Let me back up and tell you that my daughter and I have just finished reading the newly released Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute and Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. The length, humor, and subject matter of these books make them ideal for second through fourth grade readers. The limited color palette reminds me of the popular Babymouse books with yellow here substituting for pink. The plots, however, are very different.

Lunch Lady is, of course, a lunch lady by day, but she's a a crime fighter in her off duty hours. She's wonderful, but the real fun in these books (for me) comes from her sidekick Betty. In the boiler room, Betty, like James Bond's Q or Foaly in the Artemis Fowl series, supplies Lunch Lady with the gadgets that make her crime fighting possible. As we know from Batman, Bond, and Inspector Gadget, all crime fighters without superpowers need super gadgets. Betty invents a spatulacopter, Taco-vision Night Goggles, Hover Pizzas, and more. The possibilities for cafeteria technology are endless and I can't wait to see what author Jarrett J. Krosoczka will have Betty create in future adventures of Lunch Lady.

Only three students in the school, Hector, Terrence, and Dee (aka The Breakfast Bunch) know that Lunch Lady and Betty do more than just ladle out helpings of tuna surprise. It's unclear what grade the students are in, but that's okay. Having them be in a particular grade might limit the appeal of these books. Their involvement creates opportunities for a variety of adventures. For instance, the plot of the second book revolves around the simultaneous release of a new video game system and the annual school book fair. I love that the villains in that one have created The League of Librarians, although one of their number, high school librarian Jane Shelver, makes it clear that she prefers the term media specialist. This and many other little details make the Lunch Lady books fun even for a hesitant graphic novel reader such as myself.

The Clever Stick

2009-07-31T13:48:00.005-04:00

One afternoon this week, I read John Lechner's new book, The Clever Stick, to my kids while they ate lunch, my daughter reread it herself, and then I read it to everybody again. It's a short book and I don't provide especially large lunches. According to my daughter, "It's short and sweet, but it has a point." Get it? A point? It's about a stick. Hyuk. Hyuk. The Clever Stick tells of a stick that is quite clever; it appreciates beauty, enjoys poetry, and solves math problems. There was just one problem in that the stick can't speak and its cleverness goes unnoticed. This was the point which inspired the most discussion from my kids. Is it important that other people recognize your talents? Passionate opinions were expressed. Fortunately for the stick, he learns to draw in the sand, and the world, or at least the plants and animals where he lives, appreciates what he can do with his "voice." The whimsy of this quiet fable appealed to my ten year old son and he and his six year old brother agree that this is "the kind of book they read in school." I believe the "they" means teachers and librarians. I agree with them and think it would be a nice addition to a kindergarten and first grade classroom library.

Spending an Afternoon in the 1960s

2009-07-30T08:12:00.005-04:00

Rail all day yesterday forced the kids and I inside. Around the time animals in the neighborhood lined up in pairs with ears cocked for the sound of a hammer, we took a virtual field trip to Manhattan in the 1960s. First, we read a few chapters of Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy. My nine year old daughter read it herself last year and chose it for our current read aloud. My sons
are enjoying it, but I can tell they'd appreciate a bit more action. Of interest to all of them is the idea that the parents of a girl not much older than themselves allowed her to roam around New York City (or at least the Upper East Side) for hours every day after school. When we put Harriet down, we created MadMen avatars of ourselves over at AMC. I love the setting of that show. The costumes remind me of pictures of my parents when they were dating and newlyweds. Here's how my son pictures himself looking in 30 years:

My daughter would have me looking like this in 1964:

I gave myself a more schoolteacherish look

The sun is shining today so I think we're gonna get out there and enjoy July 2009 while it lasts.

Today's Special

2009-07-29T08:17:00.003-04:00

For most of elementary and middle school, I attended a Catholic school which served hot lunch only once a week. The high school I attended provided a mere 25 minutes for lunch. In order to spend more time yakking with my friends and touching up my 80s hairstyle and less time on line, I never once purchased a hot lunch in those four years. Rather, I bought from the a la carte menu (one turkey or roast beef sandwich, one can Diet Pepsi, one bag Dipsy Doodle chips and either a Reeses peanut butter cup or package of mini powdered donuts if I had an athletic practice that day). As a teacher, I always brown bagged it. Therefore, I've had minimal contact with lunch ladies in my life. For all I knew, the hairnetted stereotypes and Chris Farley SNL skit could be spot-on accurate.

That is until I sent my oldest son to first grade. Every once in awhile, I would send him to school with money for the oh so exciting purpose of buying lunch. Apparently he impressed the lunch ladies with his eagerness and manners. Right before his birthday that year, I received a phone call at home from one of the lunch ladies who said something along the lines of, "Hi, I'm Mrs. So and So, I'm a cafeteria worker at your son's school. I hope you don't think this is strange and I wanted to clear it with you. Can I give your son a birthday present? I love talking with him and I found a gift I think he'll love." That's how we ended up with a Sea Monkey tank on our kitchen windowsill for two years.

That same son of mine has moved on to fifth grade. At his current school, there are days when he is the only customer for soup. I send him in with a bagged lunch most days and a dollar for soup. He comes home raving about the Italian Wedding Soup, the minestrone, the navy bean, and so on. Sure, lots of kids purchase chicken noodle and tomato, but on other days, he's the only soup eater. The lunch ladies see him in the hallways and tell him what the soup of the day will be. They have also hand delivered cups of soup to his lunch table and given him free refills. He loves those ladies. So of course I'm going to have to get him Jarrett Kroscoczka's new graphic novel Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute. It's the first in a planned series aimed at seven to ten year olds. I don't know much more about it yet, but it certainly looks fun!

Home Smelly Home

2009-07-28T09:44:00.005-04:00

The Book Benchers are home from a relaxing week in Maine. It was the kind of vacation you imagine all year (unless you are an extreme sport, go-getter, action type of vacationer). Everything was perfect except for the mountain of disgusting and malodorous clothing and linens we brought home and dumped in a laundry room containing a gerbil cage and fish tank badly in need of cleaning. Ah well, it's a small price to pay. I hope you'll indulge me by viewing a few vacation pics.

Here is my ten year old and a snapping turtle he caught. He spent several mornings in a kayak stalking turtle sunning themselves on rocks. Every time he got too close, they slipped quickly into the water. Finally this guy was a bit too slow. My husband showed us all how a snapping turtle reflexively? instinctively? snaps by placing a stick near its mouth. He immediately clamped down on it. We all yelled "Do it again!" He did. We yelled "Do it again!" This went on for an embarrassingly long while. We have no television at the house in Maine, and we're a bit simple, I guess.

Here we are at the Portland Head Light. It's a very predictable family photo op, but I don't care, because it's a nice one. Speaking of predictable, my youngest son is not looking at the camera even though we were all admonishing him to do so from the sides of our smiling mouths. Of interest to me is that this lighthouse is pictured on the cover of the American literature textbook I will be using to teach this fall.

This shot is of two of the kids eating lunch en route from New Jersey to Maine. Before you alert the authorities, the truck was parked in a lot. While the truck was moving, everyone was buckled into their seats and bickering about elbow room. I just include this photo to show how Beverly Hillbillies we roll. And to give you a glimpse of the beautiful sailboat my husband built.

Finally, speaking of boat, after twelve months of schlepping my kids around to school and sports, play dates and activities, it was nice to be in the passenger seat and let my six year old son do the driving.

As far as books go, I finished To Kill a Mockingbird and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while sitting by the water. On the car trip to and from, we listened to Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl. We all enjoyed it, even my husband who is usually more of a nonfiction guy.What more could a vacationer ask for?

Be Prepared

2009-07-18T14:59:00.004-04:00

We are all packed and ready to go on vacation. We've purchased enough sunscreen to send a family of five to Mercury for a week. We've stocked up on magazines, ice pops, pretzels, and beer. My six year old son found this bag in the attic and insisted on packing his clothes in it:

Farewell, Thomas the Tank Engine suitcase. My boy is shipping out without you. He did, however, pack a few of his men to keep him company:
.

My daughter learned her lesson last summer when she ran out of books and had to visit the local library. Although, it was kind of fun to visit a library on vacation. She's got an entire bag filled with fat books. We need to decide if we are going to listen to Artemis Fowl or Tuck Everlasting on CD for the seven hour drive and then we're set to go. Well, we have to cram all of our stuff in the car and forget a few things first as is our routine, and then we're off. I hope to see you back here in a week. In the meantime, what are you reading this summer?

2009-07-16T09:21:00.004-04:00

Once again, luck has saved the day here at the Book Bench. I was at the public library with all three of my kids yesterday. They were laughing with friends, pulling favorites (books and DVDs) from the shelves, and begging for time on the computer. We were in a bit of a hurry, and I had to keep telling them to "wrap it up." Each kid checked out a few books to bring on our upcoming vacation, then we ran out of there to quickly eat a hastily thrown together dinner before racing off to a swim meet. Once we arrived at the meet, it soon became apparent that goggles and a swim cap had been left on our kitchen table. I left the kids with another mom to warm up with their team and drove like the devil to retrieve the cap and goggles. On my drive home, I couldn't help but think of something I'd read at the library earlier. While the books were being checked out, I managed to flip through the August issue of Parents magazine and read that "Kids who grow up in an organized and calm home are more likely to have good early reading skills at ages five and six" according to a study done by Ohio State University and Teachers College of Columbia University. Having set mealtimes and bedtimes, using a family calendar and turning off the TV during dinner are all key to developing these early reading skills. We don't have a television anywhere near our kitchen or dining room, but those other three challenge me. In light of this study, it is surprising that my youngest son can read at all, given that he has spent the first six years of his life in a state of unrelenting disorganization and hurry. His kindergarten teacher obviously deserves a big thank you, but I also think somebody needs to study the effects of eating a salami and cheese sandwich and banana for dinner in a moving minivan while your older sister reads to you and your mom drives everyone to a soccer game on reading skills. Luckily, that method seems to have worked for us because I know the calm organized home won't appear anytime soon.