Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty & Illus by David Roberts

Somehow, I had never really read any of these books. I heard all the great things about them, but I somehow never saw one in the library or bookstore to pick it up and look at it. 

They are fun little STEM related books!

In rhyming text and adorable illustrations, we learn the store of little Ada Marie, who "said not a word till the day she turned three."

I am not always a fan of rhyming text, but this text works. 

Her first word was "Why?" 

I love the brother and his tattling, pointing finger. 

Once she started asking, she didn't stop. 

Her family tried hard, but it was difficult to keep up with her questions.

Even at school Ada was always questioning and wondering.

I love this illustration!! 

Then she moved on to smell experiments

But her family had to put their foot down about something. 

She was sent to time out. 

Doesn't her mother have the grooviest fashion sense? 

When they came out to see if Ada had reconsidered her behavior, they found their hall covered in her musings, diagrams, and questions. 

I love that they support Ada in her endeavors. 

A Green Christmas by Theodora Kroeber & Illus by John Larrecq

I found this sweet little book on the shelf in my library. It is definitely vintage, but such cute little pictures and a sweet story of parents trying to help their children transition to a new place and new landscape. 

See? Cute pictures. And it is very green.

A little boy and his sister lived in the  mountains of Colorado.

Until they moved to California with rolling brown hills and so much warm sunshine.

Thanksgiving was rainy.

And so was Christmas. How could this be? How could Santa deal with green grass instead of snow?!

After assurances from their parents, the boy and his sister fall asleep. 

In the morning, before the sun is up, they quietly sneaked downstairs to see if Santa had really been there. And he had! And he left a note! 

Santa told them how nice it was to let his reindeer graze for a little while on new clover after delivering all the presents. 

They ran outside to look for footprints and found sleigh runner marks and hooves. 

And it turns out that green Christmases can be lovely as well. 

Pretty endpapers

Mabel and Sam at Home by Linda Urban and Hadley Hooper

Mabel and her brother Sam are clearly in the midst of a move. 

Just like we have been! Which explains the lack of involvement on the blog. All that packing and cleaning and cleaning and unpacking takes a lot of time.

Fortunately, they have a limitless imagination

But mostly Mabel. Sam is a little skeptical of his big sister and her imaginings. Just like little brothers generally are. 

I love how the illustrations show the movement from reality to imagination.

After sailing for some time, Sam starts to wonder about getting back on land. Mabel warns him of the danger. 

But the siren call of the pizza delivery guy decides things. 

"They might be dangerous," said Captain Mabel. 

"Starving might be dangerous too," said First Mate Sam. 

Little brothers are so hard to control. 

First Mate Same did not hear.

He was already heading for land, "ahoying" at the inhabitants.

In the second mini-story in this book, Mabel is a tour guide, giving Sam an up close view of important things. 

Most of the things Tour Guide Mabel point out happen to be about her. 

"This is the famous table where the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Sandwich was invented," said Mabel. 

"I eat those," said Sam.

"Yes," said Mabel. "But you at them second. Museums are about people who do things first."

 Being second is just no good Sam. 

Sam gets his own back though when he makes a unilateral decision to eat the "...Ancient Frosted Pitty-Pat of Calimari. The last one of its kind."

"And I am the first to discover it," said Sam. 

In the last story in the book, Mabel and Sam embark on a space odyssey just before bed. 

I love Sam. 

Then, the bold astronauts are made to head to bed. Even with alien noises echoing around. Or  maybe that is just Mr. Woofie who needs to go out. 

And then, a cozy, sleepy night in their new house. I adore cozy inside family scenes. They are just so... nice. And niceness is a rare quality in this world. 

Samurai Scarecrow

This is our current Halloween favorite. 

Kashi and her older brother Yukio are walking home, talking about an old rhyme about scarecrows. 

Scaring themselves just a teeny bit for fun!

Love the pumpkins everywhere decor!

But even good brothers and sisters can get annoyed with each other. And Kashi did everything like Yukio did. 

On Halloween night, she came out to see his friends dressed like a bird, just like Yukio. 

Harsh words are said and Kashi's heart breaks. 

I love that his friends tell him his reaction was over the top. Sometimes we need friends that tell us we are being excessive.

Kashi stayed home, peeking out of an upstairs window while Yukio and his friends went trick-or-treating.

I really enjoy these illustrations! And if someone had told me you could make fun and cute illustrations using shades of purple, orange, black and white ONLY I would have raised my eyebrows at them. But here we are. Perfectly adorable.

When the trick-or-treaters here a noise, all kinds of dread possibilities come to mind. 

But... it is the scarecrow. 

Dressed as a bird, Yukio gets the brunt of the Scarecrow's wrath. 

The scarecrow reaches out for who knows what terrible deed, and....

All is well again with Kashi and Yukio.

I love the little hearts that break and are sewn back together with words.