My loyal readers might remember that last summer Lightening Bolt insisted on listening to one of about four CDs all summer long. This year, he has gone entirely off music. Instead, we are listening to audio books of the early chapter variety. He’s only beginning to be ready to listen to these read aloud at home, but when he’s stuck in the car, they are marvelous. Here’s what he’s enjoyed so far:
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Narrated by Mark Hamill. He’s asked to listen to these twice. A fun introductory fantasy, but note that the language is occasionally crude and that the three siblings are not kind to each other in the early books.
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond. Narrated by Michael Fry. It’s a classic, and still very funny.
Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi. Narrated by Alan Cumming. A light-hearted yet earnest tale of a boy who befriends a gentle and intelligent dragon, and then must save him from the fearful villagers.
Half Magic by Edward Eager. Narrated by the WTW Repertory Company. A fantasy classic. LB liked it so much that he insisted that Daddy listen to it, too. Daddy was not so impressed, until informed that it was originally published in 1954. Yes, it’s a bit old-fashioned, but it’s held up remarkably well.
The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne. Narrated by the author. These are the big hits of the summer. LB will now utter “Mary. Pope. Osborne.” in an extremely satisfied voice, and explain to anyone who cares to listen that she is and will forever remain his favorite author. We are now listening to book 37, and reading many out loud as well. I will note that the books starting in the late 20s begin to use more magic and vary from the strict 10-chapter plot formula of the earlier books, making them more interesting to older readers/listeners.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Narrated by the author. White’s old-fashioned country voice still let me notice the poetry of his language so much more than I did when I eagerly read the book for plot as a child. Really, no wonder it’s lasted so long.
Do you have any ideas for an adventure-loving yet still sensitive almost-Kindergartener?
Age of Bronze. Vols 1-3 by Eric Shanower There was this famous war in the Bronze Age in a city named Troy, about which many, many stories have been written over the centuries, including most famously the Iliad, which somehow doesn’t include some of the most famous bits of the legend. Shanower is doing his best to weave these stories into a cohesive whole. Not only did he read a lot of stories, but he did a lot of art and archeological research to make the settings, the clothes, and the people as accurate and realistic as possible. Naturally, this amount of research appeals to the library geek and the historical recreationist in me, but all would be lost if the story didn’t work. Shanower’s beautifully detailed drawings and expressive text bring the ancient characters to life. He’s made the decision not to have the gods appear in the story, though the characters nearly uniformly strongly believe in them and appear to receive messages from them. While a strong break from the Iliad, it’s a choice that makes the story more accessible to modern readers, who may pray for guidance but don’t generally view people as heroes who succeed only because the gods made it happen. It also makes the story deeper and more ambiguous: did Aphrodite really promise Helen to Paris? Or is this just another excuse from a young man who demonstrates overpowering arrogance and belief in his own charm from the very beginning, starting with deciding to win the royal athletic contests to win back his family’s bull and continuing on to kidnapping Helen instead of liberating the aged aunt he was sent to rescue, just because he didn’t care about an old woman. I just read the entry on the Iliad in Beowulf on the Beach by Jack Murnighan; one of the things he mentions is how cinematic Homer’s language is. This work feels cinematic as well, as the view zooms from close-ups to wide panoramas. Though in line with the Iliad, the war itself is just getting started at the end of volume three, there’s plenty of violence, sex and mayhem to keep things going in the meantime. This is a book that manages to be beautiful, macho and compelling all at the same time.
How to Photograph Your Baby by Nick Kelsh So you’ve got a baby cute enough to be a model, but not the fortune to spend on a professional to have the model-quality photos taken. In several short lessons, with big text and lots of pictures, Kelsh walks through the basics of taking excellent photographs of your baby with entry-level equipment. The basic technique involves getting up close and using indirect natural light; he also recommends having photo sessions when your baby is in a good mood where you just take a lot of pictures. It’s short, funny (I especially loved the “What Rembrandt would have looked like if he had used a flash” side-by-side comparison), and exceedingly helpful.
The Passion of the Hausfrau by Nicole Chaison Chaison’s memoir of motherhood hits both the humor and the hurt of motherhood, told in text with comic-style illustrations in the margins. She talks about giving birth – once in a hospital utility closet and once in a feeding trough; about grocery shopping and Halloween costumes with children; about trying to maintain her relationship with her husband. But she also traces her journey to self-actualization, aligning her journey with those of the male and presumably childless heroes in the classics that fill her bookshelves. It’s this angle, I think, that got her a cover blurb from Alison Bechdel, whose Fun Home, while less funny, also journeyed through the classics. Chaison’s version of motherhood requires large amounts of humor seasoned with profanity; for those of similar bent, this is well worth reading.
French Milk by Lucy Knisley This memoir in graphic form has been getting some good press. Knisley and her mother, both celebrating birthdays – 22 for Knisley and obviously older for her mother – decide to spend a month together in Paris. While there, they look at lots of art, do a fair amount of shopping, and eat lots and lots of good food. Some reviewers commented on the nuanced portrait of the mother-daughter relationship; I didn’t really notice this much. There was good commentary on the art, which I should have expected from someone enough into art to be drawing a memoir. Somehow I was surprised anyway. I was less surprised by the loving commentary on the food, given that the book is named for her love of the milk in France – many, many meals and snacks drawn out, with written descriptions. I put this in adult again because I wasn’t sure how many teens it would appeal to; the most graphic it gets in terms of actual sex or violence is a mention of missing her boyfriend with a drawing of a wrapped condom. There is also some humorous nudity in the art references, as Knisley talks about how tired she is of the female nude as a traditional art topic, showing a couple pages in a row full of sketches from museums. This is worth looking at for the lover of France or food.
The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears Many parents I know are concerned about vaccines. For the most part, unbiased information about them is really tough to find. On the one side, people who claim that vaccines cause autism and reduce the ability of the immune system to deal with disease. On the other hand, mainstream doctors who say that this is pure hogwash and vaccines are absolutely safe, effective and necessary. This book, while not entirely neutral (Sears believes at least in the theoretical value of vaccination) does the best job I’ve seen of discussing the proven benefits and risks of vaccines. For each disease we vaccinate for, the book lists what the disease does, how common (in the US and abroad) serious and treatable it is, the ingredients and side effects of the vaccines, and where it falls in the recommended schedule. He discusses for each how important the vaccine is from an individual and a community standpoint. Do vaccines help prevent diseases? Yes. Can they have serious side effects? Indeed they can, and Sears includes discussion of and reference to studies published in mainstream medical journals, including any industry ties the authors had. The one vaccine I was surprised by his reaction to was the new HPV vaccine. That’s one that seems to me very little testing and a whole lot of money to provide a very limited amount of protection from an easily detectable and treatable disease – but he’s wholeheartedly in favor of it. 
Timothy and the Strong Pajamas by Viviane Schwarz There is a stage in the preschool years when many children become obsessed with superheroes. What three or four-year-old doesn’t long for the power to fly and to beat bad guys ten times his or her size? Yet good books for this age on the topic are surprisingly difficult to find. Poorly written easy reader books based on big budget films inappropriate for the age abound, as do picture books of similar quality but much denser text-per-page levels. Even using my librarian-fu on the catalog has had very limited success. I have seen a few good books (and alas, not written them down!), but here is a good recent entry:
Aya by Marguerite Abouet & Clement Oubrerie It’s 1978 in the Ivory Coast, a good and prosperous time. Teenage Aya is growing up with her two best friends, Adjoua and Bintou. Aya studies hard and wants to be a doctor, while Adjoua and Bintou are more interested in going out dancing and meeting boys. Aya’s father agrees more with Adjoua and Bintou that marriage is the best ambition for a girl, as he tries to arrange a marriage for Aya with his wealthy boss’s skirt-chasing son. She’s not interested, but both Adjoua and Bintou, who’ve met him out dancing, are. It’s a slice of life from an Africa that, rare for Westerners to see, isn’t desperate, though the differences in culture and setting are especially apparent in the graphic novel format. The story (not too uncommonly for graphic novels, seemingly collected for size rather than neat plot arcs from comic books) ends rather abruptly, but there is a sequel. I bought it for the adult collection mostly because it’s a little more thoughtful than our teens tend to go for; still, there is nothing inappropriate for teens here, and plenty for them to relate to. The straightforward panel layouts and narration make this an easy starting point for those less familiar with comics, as well.
Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rea I heart this dvd! I’ve found myself neglecting all the other fitness things I was doing to have more time for it. There are three workouts of about 20 minutes each, followed by a four-minute guided relaxation, so I can do one, two, or all three sessions, depending on how much time I have. There is a model for each trimester, each wearing a different jewel-toned outfit, demonstrating adaptations of the poses for each, though they are still explained verbally as well. The moves seem to hit everything that gets achy or needs extra help during pregnancy – lower and upper back, leg stretches, side stretches, squats and Kegels. To borrow the words of the friend from whom I’m borrowing the dvd, after doing the workout, I go from feeling like I just can’t live in my body anymore to feeling comfortable in it again. The beautiful music and visuals help in making the whole thing feel like something special I’m doing for myself rather than the dull but necessary time that exercise can so easily be. 
Maternal Fitness by Julie Tupler, by comparison, covers most of the same bases, with a lot more explanation, but telling you to do a 1-2 hour workout every other day – difficult with a first pregnancy and pretty much impossible with a second. The big difference is the Tupler Technique, Julie Tupler’s special abdominal exercises, the same in both Maternal Fitness and Lose Your Mummy Tummy. These I find really valuable and do just those, and the prenatal yoga. Maternal Fitness comes as either a book or video/dvd. I borrowed the book and video from a friend. They both have a lot of useful information on preparation for birth and selecting a health care professional, though this is available many other places as well. I disagreed with her philosophy on belly breathing – she seems to want a lot of active pushing in and out of the breath, which doesn’t sync well with my Alexander training, but this is easily skipped and the idea of paying attention to breath might be more valuable for someone less musically trained than I. 
alibrarymama 