The Smiley Book of Colors

The Smiley Book of Colors. Ruth Kaiser. 2012. Random House. 32 pages.

 The Smiley Book of Colors highlights some of the photos collected for the Spontaneous Smiley Project. It is also meant to be a concept book. The smiley faces are arranged or sorted by color.

The good news? The photos used in the book are engaging and interesting. While not every reader will "love" the photographs, I think they provide enough interest to make this picture book appealing--at least making it worth a browse. (I admit some of the pictures are a bit creepy looking.) The end papers provide further interest.

The bad news? Well. To be honest. I found the text a little lacking despite the boasts of the publisher's description: "Readers of all ages will appreciate the witty rhyming text, and its inspirational message about choosing happiness."  Granted, I am a bit picky when it comes to rhyming texts. And I admit that I can be hard to please when it comes to rhyming verses--if they don't have rhythm, if they don't have good flow, if they feel too forced or are too over-the-top with sentiment, then I have a hard time getting past it. 

Smile! Be happy!
It's contagious--
Like the good feeling you'll get
From these smiley-filled pages.

You'll find smileys
Wherever you turn....
We've found that happiness
Is something you learn.

Decide to notice,
And smileys appear.
You'll giggle! You'll laugh!
You'll grin ear to ear!

Smile! Be happy!
You get to pick--
When something is icky,
Do you focus on ick?

The text didn't bother me horribly at the first. But by the end of this one, I was tired of it. Some verses or stanzas really annoyed me. Of course, it is all subjective. And I suppose there may be readers out there of various ages who don't mind the text and may even like it.

Read The Smiley Book of Colors

• If you love looking at photographs OR taking photographs. The camera lens is used creatively to see the world, and it may inspire you to take your own photographs and start your own project. 
• If you are looking for a quirky color-concept book.
• If you like bright, sentimental rhyming books with a positive outlook.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Bug Off: Creepy, Crawly Poems

Bug Off! Creepy, Crawly Poems. Jane Yolen. Photographs by Jason Stemple. 2012. Boyds Mill Press. 32 pages.

I had low expectations for Bug Off! For one, I do not like insects. I don't like looking at insects, photos of insects. Even in a photograph, some can still make me squirm. And poetry is hit or miss for me, most of the time. So what did I think about Jane Yolen's Bug Off? Well, I liked it. It wasn't perfect. I'm not claiming that all thirteen poems are amazingly, wonderfully worthy. But the fact that each poem is followed by a nonfiction (prose) paragraph with detailed information on each insect, the fact that these paragraphs usually have at least one or two facts that are fascinating, it helps to make up for some of the more mediocre poems. In other words, I can be unimpressed by an insect's particular poem, but fascinated by the nonfiction prose about that insect. And then, of course, there are times where I enjoyed both.

The thirteen poems:

• Oh, Fly
• Praying Mantis on the Prowl
• Butterfly to a Flower
• An Army of Ants
• Honey Bee Mine
• Lovebug Alone
• Daddy Very Long Legs
• Spider to the Poet
• Dragonfly Lights
• Pop! Goes the Tick
• The No-Spot Ladybug in Court
• Grasshopper Green
• Swarm

My favorite poems were "An Army of Ants," "Butterfly to a Flower," and "Grasshopper Green."

Here is one stanza from An Army of Ants

An army of ants, an army of ants,
A-walk on a stalk, everyone in a trance;
Over and under a number of plants.
Too busy for beauty, not even a glance. 

Here is one stanza from Grasshopper Green

Greener than the grass he swings on,
Greener than the stalk he clings on,
Greener than the grass he sings on,
Green, green, green.

Some new-to-me facts...

• Many butterflies can taste food with their feet
• The number of spots a ladybug has depends on the number of spots its parents had
• The lovebug can fly as high as 1,500 feet in the air which is higher than the Empire State Building

Read Bug Off!

• If you're a teacher looking for a book about insects to share with your students
• If you're a teacher looking for creative poetry and nonfiction to share with your students
• If you have an interest in insects
• If you have an interest in nature photographs

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Sunday Salon: The Movies I've Watched (So Far)

Well, I've been sharing what I watch on Sundays since January. Here's a list of what I've watched so far. Sometimes what I'm watching complements what I'm reading, OR, should I say what I'm watching complements what I'm reading. In December, I read Jane Eyre and David Copperfield. In January, I was obsessively reading Babylon 5 novels. Pride and Prejudice and The Help were also books I'd read in December 2011. March's viewing reflects my renewed interest in nonfiction. I did watch the second and third parts of the Prohibition documentary, I just never got around to talking about them in a post. After the first post about the documentary, I didn't know if any more posts were justified. I've talked about twenty-six movies so far this year.

It is summer. And I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE for you to suggest a couple of movies. I don't promise to watch anything and everything you suggest, but I'd definitely check to see if my library has it. 

Top Seven (So Far)

1. Young Victoria, 2009
2. North and South, 2005
3. The Help, 2011
4. The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, 2009  
5. George Washington Slept Here, 1942
6. In The Beginning (B5), 1998
7. Prince of Persia, 2010

January

1. Jane Eyre, 1945
2. The Gathering (B5)
3. In The Beginning (B5)
4. Thirdspace (B5)
5. David Copperfield, 1935

February

1. Inception, 2010
2. Pride and Prejudice, 1940
3. The Help
4. In Name Only, 1939

March

1. Into the Arms of Strangers, 2000
2. Prohibition, Part One
3. Twice Blessed, 1945
4. Wallflower, 1948

April

1. The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, 2009 
2. George Washington Slept Here, 1942
3. Harold Teen, 1934
4. Prince of Persia, 2010
5. The First Grader, 2010
6. The Valley of Decision, 1945
7. It Happened to Jane, 1959

May

1. North and South, 2005
2. Victoria and Albert, 2001
3. Young Victoria, 2009
4. Lucky Me, 1954
5. On Moonlight Bay, 1951
6. Captain Horatio Hornblower, 1951

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2012 Challenges: Classic Bribe Challenge

I'm excited to join Quirky Girls Read's Classic Bribe 2012 Challenge.  The reading challenge is for classics, the goal to read at least one this summer. A random drawing will decide the winner, but each book reviewed and linked up to on the challenge posts adds to the winnings.

I definitely plan on reading some Shakespeare, some Victorian authors like Trollope, Dickens, Collins, etc., and some children's classics too. I would LOVE to reread E. Nesbit!

1. Othello. William Shakespeare. 1603.
2. Martian Chronicles. Ray Bradbury. (1950)
3. Man in the Brown Suit. Agatha Christie (1924)
4. The Light Princess. George MacDonald. (1864)
5. The Secret Adversary. Agatha Christie (1922)
6. The Princess and the Goblin. George MacDonald.
7. Cousin Henry. Anthony Trollope. 1879. 336 pages.
8. Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Agatha Christie. 1952/2011. HarperCollins. 272 pages.
9. Much Ado About Nothing. William Shakespeare. 1599.
10. Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. 1953/2003. Random House. 190 pages.
11. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.
12. Lin McLean by Owen Wister
13. Diary of a Pilgrimage by Jerome K. Jerome
14. Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
15.  Idle Thoughts for an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome
16. The Princess and the Curdie by George MacDonald
17. Lorna Doone. R.D. Blackmore.
18. Lady Audley's Secret. Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
19. Black Beauty. Anna Sewell.
20. After Dark. Wilkie Collins.

 

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Celebration Begins...

Yesterday was the start of A Literary Odyssey's A Victorian Celebration. It is a two-month event that has me quite giddy!!!! To say the least! While I wanted, in a way, to save North and South, both the book and the movie, for the event. Well, I found I just couldn't wait. It wasn't in me to be that strong. If you haven't read it, you can enter to win a copy at her blog. (The master post which is the place to share all your links can be found here.) (The sign-up post is here.)

I also couldn't wait to watch Victoria and Albert and Young Victoria. In a way, I'm glad I didn't wait because watching these two movies inspired me to pick up some nonfiction books about Queen Victoria. I'm not sure I would have included these if I hadn't seen the movies!

So what am I planning on reading in the next two months?!

Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch by Kate Williams.

Wild Romance: The True Story of a Victorian Scandal by Chloe Schama

Murder in the First Class Carriage: The First Victorian Railway Killing by Kate Colquhoun.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

We Two: Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill.

A Magnificent Obessession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death that Changed the British Monarchy. Helen Rappaport.

Inventing the Victorians: What We Think We Know About Them and Why We're Wrong by Matthew Sweet. 

The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories. Edited by Michael Sims.*

So you might think that I'm reading anything and everything but the Victorians themselves. I really, really, really hope that isn't the case. I hope to supplement my reading of the Victorians with some nonfiction and biographies. But. I want to really read some of my favorite Victorian authors and maybe even try a couple of new-to-me authors.

I definitely plan to read:

• Charles Dickens: Dombey and Son. 
• Anthony Trollope: Can You Forgive Her? OR standalone novel;
• Wilkie Collins: I'm so completely undecided on which of his to read next. I want to read them all...or reread them all as the case may be with some of them! I'm going to wait until I've finished Dombey and Son (my current novel) before deciding.

I hope to read:

• Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore (1869)
• Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1862)
• Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (1866)
• Shirley by Charlotte Bronte (1849)
• Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell (1853)
• At The Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald (1871)

*The Table of Contents:
Introduction: Prophets looking backward / by Michael Sims -- The secret cell / by William E. Burton -- The murders in the Rue Morgue / by Edgar Allan Poe -- On duty with Inspector Field / by Charles Dickens -- The diary of Anne Rodway / by Wilkie Collins -- You are not human, Monsieur d'Artagnan / by Alexandre Dumas -- Arrested on suspicion / by Andrew Forrester Jr. -- The dead witness; or, The bush waterhole / by W.W. (Mary Fortune) -- The mysterious human leg / by James McGovan (William Crawford Honeyman) -- The little old man of Batignolles / by Emile Gaboriau -- The science of deduction / by Arthur Conan Doyle -- The Whitechapel mystery / by Anonymous -- The assassin's natal autograph / by Mark Twain -- The murder at Troyte's Hill / by C.L. Pirkis -- The Haverstock Hill murder / by George R. Sims -- The stolen cigar-case / by Bret Harte -- The absent-minded coterie / by Robert Barr -- The hammer of God / by G.K. Chesterton -- The angel of the lord / by Melville Davisson Post -- The crime at Big Tree Portage / by Hesketh Prichard -- The tragedy at Brookbend Cottage / by Ernest Bramah -- The case of Padages Palmer / by Harvey O'Higgins -- An intangible clue / by Anna Katharine Green.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Library Loot: First Trip in June

New Loot:

• Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936 by David Clay Large
• Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World by David Maraniss
• A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson
• Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics by Jeremy Schaap
• Inventing the Victorians by Matthew Sweet
• The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi
• Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

Leftover Loot:

• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Farmer Boy Goes West by Heather Williams
• George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I by Miranda Carter
• The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale
• Murder in the First Class Carriage: The First Victorian Railway Killing by Kate Colquhoun.
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
• 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
• Towards Zero by Agatha Christie
• Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin 
• City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell
• Crooked House by Agatha Christie
• We Two: Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill.
• The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz: A True Story of World War II by Denis Avey  

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries. 

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Secret Adversary

The Secret Adversary. Agatha Christie. 1922/2012. HarperCollins. 352 pages.

 I enjoyed The Secret Adversary. I have read Agatha Christie's novels out of order, without much of a plan. So I've read many of her later novels first. This is my first Tommy and Tuppence novel, however.

I definitely liked it. It has a certain charm to it, I suppose. This first novel introduces readers to the two characters, and introduces a romance between the two. A romance that perhaps seems obvious, but, a somewhat sweet romance nonetheless.

World War I has not been over that long when the novel opens, and both Tommy and Prudence (Tuppence) are continuing to make adjustments now that the war is over and their service has ended. (She was a nurse, I believe.) These two happen to bump into one another one day. And they happen to have a conversation. Their conversation is overheard by a gentleman, a man who assumes Tommy and Tuppence know more than what they in fact do, know a BIG secret somewhat connected to the early days of the War. A secret concerning the identity of Jane Finn. When this man approaches Prudence, all of their lives are changed...

Essentially, Tuppence and Tommy team up (with a few others for help now and then) to solve a mystery, to find out about a woman's identity, to trace her, to trace some important documents. Their adventure is dangerous. Both will risk their lives to find out the truth.

I liked this one. I didn't quite love it. But I did like it.

Read The Secret Adversary

• If you're a fan of Agatha Christie
• If you love mystery/spy novels
• If you want to read one of Christie's earlier novels
• If you love mysteries with a historical feel to them

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews