The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

Book: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

Series:  The Vanderbeekers #1

Author: Karina Yan Glaser

Reading Level: Middle-grade (4th to 6th grade)

My Content Rating: G

My Star Rating: 4/5

 

The Vanderbeekers have lived on 141st Street for a long as most of them can remember. All their ideas of the future include them living in their beloved brownstone. Thus, it comes as quite a shock when Mr. Beiderman, their grumpy landlord and top-floor neighbor informs them, 5 days before Christmas, that he will not be renewing their lease and they will need to move out by the end of the month. The children take this news particularly hard, but they set out to win Mr. Beiderman's favor so they can stay in their home. In the process, they all come to learn a little more about life, love, and what motivates people.

This was a cute, heart-warming middle-grade read! I love the growth of many of the characters and the lesson of coming to understand others, recognizing that others have pain and sorrow we don't know, and learning to show love to even the most unlovable.

No content concerns.

Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

 

Title: Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock
Author: Carolyn Keene
Reading Level: middle-grade
Movie rating equivalent (in my opinion): G

It was very interesting to read this as an adult. In my pre-teen years, I loved Nancy Drew and read all these original books. I didn't remember them seeming quite so unrealistic back then. But I was young, and they are certainly written for young girls. And I think they are perfect for readers moving from early chapter books into middle-grade books. So while I can't say I enjoyed the story as an adult, I 100% feel this series has merit and is still a great choice, and I'm so glad my daughter loved it and is now on the 3rd in the series!!

 

If I had to apply a movie rating to this book, I'd definitely rate it a G.  Though my daughter did say she felt anxious during a couple parts, it was nothing too scary.  And there certainly aren't any other content concerns with language, mature themes, or otherwise.  

Also, I may have known this before, but I forgot it: Carolyn Keene wasn't  a real person!! It was a pen name for a variety of writers over the years. It makes sense, of course, but I felt surprised when I googled it.

Mom & Me Book Club -- January 2022

One of the goals I set this year was to do a "Mom & Me" book club with my 8 1/2 year old.  Each month, we will read the same book (not necessarily together) and finish it before the 15th of the month.  We don't have a set day to discuss it, so once we're both finished with the book, we have a mini discussion!  

This month, we read the first in the Nancy Drew Series:  Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock.  

My daughter is an avid reader these days.  As a parent, I hope to help her choose age-appropriate books.  But that means I need to know the books.  And how to do I know them?  Well, I have to read them.  She has gotten to the point where she finishes so many books so quickly that I can't keep up!  So I've been trying to find books to ease her into the middle-grade category:  books which will still be age-appropriate, but with a bit more length and a little less fluff.  Nancy Drew seemed a great place to start!

In case you're interested in what kind of questions we discussed, this is my list of discussion questions:

• What character traits or attributes do you think helped Nancy solve the mystery?
• Are any of those traits/attributes ones you would like to develop?

• This book was written in the 1930s and was likely set around that time.  That was a long time ago -- even before all of your grandparents were born!  What did you notice was different in the story's time-period from the way you know life now?
• Do you think the events of the story could have happened the same way if it took place today? Why or why not? 

• Did you notice any stereotypes in the story? What did you think of them? Do you agree with them?

• What emotions did you feel while reading the book?  Why?

• Did you enjoy reading Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock?  What did you like or dislike about the book?

 

I feel like this was a great start to a year of reading with my girl!  She loved that we could compare where we were in the book as we each read individually.  She loved reading a book that challenged her a little more.  She had the opportunity to learn some new vocabulary words.  And she has decided she really liked the book and wants to read the rest of the series!  She was also excited to be able to do our "book club" discussion, and at the end of the day, when our family each shared something that made them happy that day, our special book club was hers.  And that just melted my mama heart. 

 Tomorrow I'll put up my review of Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock, so stay tuned!

Playing with Fire -- Tess Gerritsen

 A talented violinist, Julia Ansdell travels around the world with her quartet to play beautiful music. Always on the hunt for rare music, Julia happens upon an old piece of music in a Roman antique shop. She purchases it and flies home to Boston.

And that's when everything changes. Every time she plays the music she bought in Rome, something awful happens: the family cat is stabbed to death, Julia is stabbed with a large piece of glass. The only other person present is Lily, her 3 year old daughter. Suddenly Julia is afraid of her own precious daughter. She's also afraid of the haunting music and the power it holds. With her own sanity being questioned, Julia boards a plane to Venice to hunt down the history of this mysterious piece of music. What she learns will both endanger her life and save it.


***Not my favorite Gerritsen book, for sure. At first it was just disturbing (possibly due to the fact I have a daughter roughly the same age as Lily). Then it became a little too "convenient" in some areas (which surprised me for a Gerritsen book). But I'm glad it ended as it did. Made it more believable to me. I guess I was kind of disappointed in this book -- but it's not a Rizzoli/Isles, so it's okay.

Resurrecting the Book Blog

 It's been over 5 years since I've done anything with this blog at all.  A LOT has changed in my life.  I've added two kids, for one thing.  We have experienced (and perhaps many would argue we are STILL experiencing) what it is to live through a pandemic (thanks a lot covid-19...).

What hasn't changed?  Reading.  I still read.  It's my favorite "me-time" at the end of every day.  In 2020, when life shut-down (due to the aforementioned pandemic), it also meant book club took a really long pause.  I started seeking out different ways to broaden my reading horizons and came across a reading challenge.  I loved the idea, so I did it in  2020 and 2021.  And I started sharing my "reviews" on Facebook.  And later I created a couple of Instagram accounts dedicated solely to my books:  one for all the reads I read for myself and one for all the non-adult books I read.

I LOVE sharing books!  And I love seeing what others read and share.  

Someone asked me if I have a blog.  And I remembered this one that I started so many years ago, mostly fresh out of library school.  Initially, I tried to stick with the librarian rule of book-talking, meaning that I didn't share my own opinion of the book, I only gave a brief synopsis of what it was about.  Eventually, I decided that was dumb.  At least for me.  I'm all about hearing about a book someone loved.  And, frankly, I'd like to know if a book is full of swearing or illicit sex.  Those things help me made a decision about whether or not the book is a right fit for me.  Others may feel the same.  So I started actually sharing my opinion on here too.

And now I'll continue that.  Only now I'll add photos of the books ;).  I'm just doing this as yet one other way to enjoy sharing books.  I have no goals beyond that.  So if you've found your way here, welcome!  Over the next little while, I'll try to post as much of my back-list as possible (but that's a lot of books!).  And I'll post the currents as I finish them.  

But as I kind of alluded to above, I have 4 kids now.  And they are young.  My time is limited.  So I'll see what I can do. 

On the Banks of Plum Creek -- Laura Ingalls Wilder

After leaving "Indian Territory," the Ingalls family arrives in Minnesota and trades their waggon and team for the dugout home and ox team of a man wanting to head West. Pa has big dreams of the wheat crop they are sure to garner and how wealthy they will be as a result. It is a beautiful beginning for the family as the girls enjoy playing in nearby Plum Creek while Pa begins creating a field for planting wheat and then builds a beautiful home for the family on credit -- which he plans to pay back once he harvests his wheat. The girls even start to school for the first time in their lives.

But soon the family learns what the locals meant when they said the mild Winter was grasshopper weather. Because the week before the wheat is ready to harvest, a plague of grasshoppers fall from the sky and eat every living plant in sight -- including Pa's beautiful wheat. Forced to find work to pay his debts, Pa leaves the family and walks East. Ma and the girls hold down the home-front while Pa is away -- not once, but twice -- and learn how harsh a Minnesota blizzard can be. And they all learn the most important lesson of all: what matters most is family.


***Another great book in the Little House on the Prairie series. I love reading about life from Laura's viewpoint in the 1800s.

Desperate Passage: The Donner Party's Perilous Journey West -- Ethan Rarick

The story of the Donner Party: their beginnings, their journey West, their tragedy, and their salvation.

It was 1846, and going West to California was on many Americans' minds. Most weren't willing to uproot their families and themselves and start the arduous journey West across an unforgiving -- and largely unknown -- landscape. But some were. Among those brave enough to undertake the effort were the members of the Donner Party. They were a group better-off than many, as several of the families in the party were wealthier and had made preparations for the long journey. And yet, due to a variety of poor choices (some blatant and others innocent), the Donner Party became trapped in the Sierra Nevada during one of the most brutal winters in an already unforgiving terrain. And so for years the Donner Party was infamous for what occurred while they sat as prisoners to snow and wind, high up in the mountains. Their only hope lay in some of their own surviving the bitter weather to go for help.

***I never intended to read anything about the Donner Party. I mean, it's morbid, right? But then I discovered that this group was going West around the time many LDS Pioneers went West to Utah. I also learned that this group had some wealth and had been preparing for a while and therefore had pretty awesome provisions, all things considered. So I wondered: why didn't they make it? This piqued my interest, so I sought out a book with good reviews and put it on my to-read list. I learned a lot. There were times when the story of the Donner Party lagged a little, but overall, I was intrigued as I read. Horrified by some of the choices made along the trail (given that I know the outcome and hindsight is 20/20); haunted by what happened. As a mother, I can't help but imagine (and pray that I never have to know) the "what if" scenario. I really appreciated the author's statement that the members of the Party were people, just regular people, doing the best they could to survive. Haunting, indeed. But I learned a lot. And I appreciate that the author didn't create a gruesome, gory story.