This book has the simple story of Noah in verse. For an "uncredited" book, it is not that bad.
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
Monday, March 31, 2025
Parts
A kid worries he is falling apart. Stuffing is coming out of his belly button. His hair is falling out. He brain is coming out his nose. He is losing his teeth. The glue holding him is not working anymore. In the end he finds out that this is all normal and he is not falling apart. It is funny in text and drawings.
Ballet Stars (Step into Reading)
Little girls do ballet. There are some stickers at the end. It is easy to read, but there is not much to it.
The bear family is doing spring cleaning, but the cubs get sidetracked playing ball. They repent and clean their playhouse after papa chases away the spiders. The parents then quote some bible verses that may be tangentially related, but don't feel necessary for the story. It is not bad as the series goes.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Nothing is going right for Alexander today. Many of the problems are at least partially of his own doing. (He gets gum in his hair because he chewed it late. The dentist finds a cavity, etc.) He wants to go away to australia, but realizes that bad things happen there too. It has fun sketches of the boy having a bad day, and is easily relatable as everyone seems to have a bad day at some time or another.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
The classic Grinch book is a classic for a reason. It has an uplifting story told via brilliant verse. The illustrations are minimalistic, with only a bit of color. Grinch doesn't like the joy of Christmas so he tries to steal all the material trappings. However, the town still celebrates the spirit without the material means. Grinch decides Christmas is not so bad after all, and joins them - and brings the "stuff".
Curious George Pat-A-Cake
There are some monkey hands that can clap. There are also a few pictures from Curious George books, but at the core, this is just a nursery rhyme book, milking a Curious George brand extension.
The Kissing Hand
Baby racoon doesn't want to go away. Mom kisses his hand, and now he can feel his "kissing hand" any time he feels lonely and needs comfort. The illustrations are nice, but the book tries too hard to have a message.
Randomize: Forward collection
Randomize: Forward collection by Andy Weir
Quantum computing has made casino's random numbers predictable. The only solution is to install a quantum computer. However, the wife of the installation tech has entangled the long term storage, allowing her to know the values the casino uses. She plans to make off with a fortune. Alas, the casino checks her background and plans to arrest her. She tries to talk her way out of it by offering to partner to sell tech to other casinos. It ends with her getting escorted to her room. Was she really set free? Or is there more to come. Quantum computing can really cause issues with the security we currently rely on.
Little Sticker Dolly Dressing Fairies
There is a bit of text describing each of the fairies in this book, but it is primarily a sticker book. There are plenty of stickers to dress the fairies however you want.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell explores different things that have "tipped" to go from niche to widely popular. Hush Puppies were old shoes that were on their way out. After a few New York hipsters adopted them, they became incredibly popular and a fashion statement. Another shoe brand, Airwalk was crazy popular as it was adopted by the skater crowd. They released a "popular" version at shoe stores, but kept the performance brand at skate stores. However, once they dropped the special skate brand, their popularity faded. The book explores other "tips" such as New York crime and fare evasion, teen activities (like smoking, school shootings, sickness and suicides. The Stanford prison experiment even makes an appearance. There are interesting discussions on the influence of "connectors" and "mavens" in spreading fads. The book is a fun read, even if some of the explanation may have more nuance than he gives.
A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning
Some kids have inherited a large fortune. However, they are stuck having Count Olaf as their guardian. He wants their money. He plans to marry the girl to claim the fortune and hatches a plan to do it (by means of acting a play.) However, he is somewhat foiled by the fact that she signed with a left hand. (Their guardian can authorize an under age marriage.) Alas, the kids are still not able to have a guardian they like. There are weird things that happen in not so good ways. The book is not a horror book, but there are pretty weird things going on.
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak translated by Larissa Volokhonsky and Richard Pevear
Doctor Zhivago was a doctor that lived in Russia around the time of great change. There is a lot of talk of the Russian revolution and the onset of war. The Doctor seemed to attend to people and write poetry and concern himself with religion. There were allusions to religious teachings as part of his thinking about things. I wasn't quite sure what the point of everything was. It did seem like he had some wealth and was stuck in some internal conflicts. The novel was first published in Italy because the communist leadership did not want it published.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
And Both Were Young
A girl goes off to boarding school in Switzerland. She has trouble fitting in. She is seen as not good at sports, though she is good at drawing. With the help of a teacher, she gradually becomes more happy at school. She also meets a boy who she likes. Later some mystery man comes and claims to be the father of the boy. She has a plan to try to verify and ends up getting hurt. They later discover the man was a con artist and the boy's parents died in the holocaust.
The girl has been secretly training in skiing with the aid of the boy and the teacher that befriended her. She enters a ski contest (to the chagrin of the PE teacher.) She fails to win because she stopped to help a fallen classmate, but gets the grand trophy anyway. She sees her father friends with the teacher she liked - but he says it is too soon after her mother died for him to get serious.
It is a nice boarding school story that has conflict, but does not get too extreme.
The Legend of Bass Reeves
Bass Reeves grew up a slave. He was skilled with animals and weapons. He later got in a spat with his master and ran away. He lived with the Indians for a while. Later when he knew he was free, he returned and lived as a farmer. When U.S. Marshals were needed to fight the lawlessness in Indian country, he was the ideal candidate. He had tracking and weapon skills as well as experience with languages. Being black may also have been a benefit, as the white criminals would not expect as much from him. He did a great job and caught many criminals - including his own son. The first half of the book covers his early history - this may be the most heavily fictional part. It does make a good story, but it is hard to tell how much is real. (He does come across as very naive and innocent.) The life as a Marshall may be a little more documentable.
Apple Pie Fourth of July
A Chinese girl feels upset that her family's store is open on the fourth of July selling Chinese food. Nobody seems to buy any. Then later in the day, they do sell a lot of Chinese food (as they make a new batch.) Then they close the store and watch fireworks while eating apple pie. It portrays the challenges of the melding of cultures in the world. with the mixture of cultures feeling both isolating, but also allowing new opportunities.
There's a Wocket in my Pocket: Dr. Seuss's Book of Ridiculous Rhymes
This is one of the weaker Seuss books, and this abridged version does not help. It is a nonstop list of "nonsense" words that rhyme with real words. Seuss has fun illustrating each of the nonsense items as some picture.
Go, Dog Go
This classic book has simple language and colorful pictures. A good number of the pages can be "read" just by looking at the pictures. This can help build confidence for reading some of the more complex pages. The book has various descriptions of dogs doing human things. There is recurring theme of a girl dog asking a boy dog if he likes the hat. The text and illustrations are fun to read.
Snowstorms (Wild Weather)
There are a few chapters in this short, easy to read book. It covers details on snow. It seems well written, but the kids were not interested.
The Three Little Kittens
This board book has a short, simple telling of the three little kittens nursery rhyme with some anthropomorphic kittens. Nothing awful, but nothing very memorable either.
Curious George's Train (mini movers shaped board books)
This is a derivative use of Curious George IP. the board book is shaped like a train, and has some spinning wheels and some things that can come out (which are now missing.) The story is a super short story of a train, with no "Curious George" content other than the monkey himself.
The Hug
A porcupine wants a hug. Others don't want to give him one because of the spikes. Moose borrows a sweater from another animal and gives him a hug. Then the other animals join in. It is easy to read and a simple story.
SIPPS Beginning Level: We Can See
This is one of the first books in the series and is very simple and easy to read, with different iterations of seeing.
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
Parents have become extremely protective of children's physical activities, but allowed them free reign on the internet. Girls tend to be driven to social media. Boys to videos and video games. Kids don't have as many experiences, nor take as many risks in the real world. However, they suffer more in the virtual world. The solutions include limiting kids access to internet and screens. Smart phones should not be had until later ages (like high school.) Social media should also be postponed. 13 is too young of an age. And younger children often fake the age. Kids should be given more opportunities to interact and take risks in the "real world". Can we really spin back the digital invasion that has negatively impacted the lives of children?
The Art of Fairness: The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean
The Art of Fairness: The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean by David Bodanis
Being nice but firm is a key to success. "Trust but verify" is a tenant that works. The Empire State Building was constructed by a firm that respected employees and didn't let excess graft go through. The Nazis thought of themselves as dominant and refused to respect "others", even if they supported them. The anti-Jewish speech worked well at first, but eventually there were few Jews left, and the Nazi regime faltered away. Roosevelt's polio caused adversity in his life, but also helped him to better respect others. At the other extreme, the US had a grand unification during the war. Even strikes could be resolved to the betterment of all.
The book also explores pilots on air and sea. Many people survived the Sioux City because the pilot was willing to take advice from a training pilot who was on board. On the other hand, a Korean plane crashed because the co-pilot was not willing to share needed changes with the pilot. The Mutiny on the Bounty captain was loved by the crew on the first part of his voyage, but then distrusted by them when times got hard. Having a balance of "niceness" with firmness is needed.
The book has interesting stories. The message is a tricky one. Be fair. But how do you do it?
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