Peace is an Offering by Annette Le Box & Illus by Stephanie Graegin

This is a sweet little book Elsie got from the Imagination Library book thing. (I do love that whole concept--free books for kids! It makes my mother/librarian heart exceedingly happy.)

This one is seriously adorable and gentle. A soothing, reassuring kind of poem about all the little things that build up into a child's understanding of what peace is. 

Darling endpapers

Peace is an offering, 

a muffin or peach. 

Peace is gratitude for simple things. Light through a leaf, a dragonfly's wings.

This may be a bad picture on my part, but in reality it is a delightful picture. 

Aren't the illustrations nice? So peaceful and gentle. 

This picture is mind-mindbogglingly cute!

(Like all Imagination library books, it has the English words with Spanish words underneath or nearby.)

And this one! 

So much cuteness! I am definitely going to check out Graegin's other books. 

All these questions that are so important. 

9-11 is referenced. 

Peace is a joining, not a pulling apart.

It's the courage to bear a wounded heart.

The courage to bear a wounded heart--this book even makes me stop and think. 

How to encourage peace--

So offer a cookie.

Walk away from a fight.

People gathered around an upright piano always make me happy. 

And then a lovely blessing. 

May peace walk beside you

Wherever you are.

Grover Cleveland, Again! by Ken Burns & Illus by Gerald Kelley

This is a pretty cool book! Ken Burns used to put his daughters to bed by repeating the lineup of American presidents. Apparently his daughters always said, "Grover Cleveland, AGAIN!" and giggled every time he came to that part. He told them that one day he would write a book about the presidents and call it that. So here it is.  

Each president has a two page spread, with facts in the blue banner, a short biographical blurb in the middle and random facts about the president or his time in the red. I love the set up, but I feel like the facts were a little... well known. They discuss the cherry tree "I cannot tell a lie" tale, his teeth, England as a ruler and how the colonies became states. 

But for young kids, they might be just right. I was hoping for more intriguing facts. I mean, Ken Burns...! But the facts are mostly pretty good. 

Ole T-Jeff was the inventor of the lazy susan and swivel chairs. 

I did not know that. 

Ulysses S. Grant was originally called Hiram Grant. When he went to West Point, they mistakenly registered him as US Grant, which he liked. So he changed his name. 

There he is! AGAIN! Only President to be married in office or to have non-consecutive terms. 

TR--gave an hour long speech with a chest wound.  

Harding has a fairly nice handling actually. He is generally hailed as one of our worst presidents, but Burns doesn't seem to see him in that way.  

FDR-the man in a wheelchair who was hardly ever photographed in a wheelchair.  

JFK--the catholic president who was so charming on TV

LBJ was a bit of a bully.

Gerald Ford threatened to quit his college football team when they agreed to keep his roommate (a black) from playing against a southern team. His roommate told him to play, so he played and won the game for his roommate. 

And he was clumsy.

HW parachuted to safety in WWII, so he celebrated his 80th, 85th and 90th birthdays by jumping out of a plane.  

And Obama. Who promised his daughters they could get a puppy if he became president. 

This is a pretty awesome resource for kids who are interested in history or kids who need some background on a particular president. 

Winter Adventure by Margaret Wise Brown and

Winter Adventure

Once I followed rabbit tracks 

           Up to a hollow tree.

When I looked in                 

                        A rabbit looked out at me.

His ears were down,             

His eyes were bright,

And his nose twitched          

Constantly.

I put an apple there            

For his delight

Then I stepped back--          

One step,      

                       Two steps,

                                              Three--

He shot like a bullet 

                From out of that tree. 

Leaving tracks in the snow, 

                       And the apple there for me.

                                                                 --Margaret Wise Brown

The Friday Nights of Nana by Amy Hest & Illus by Claire A. Nivola

This is a fabulous book about family and grandmothers and Jews. 

I love the artwork so much! Those blues and reds! 

The Friday nights of Nana begin early Friday morning in her kitchen and we are eating bread with sweet peach jam, which is her favorite and mine. 

Jennie has the day off school, so she can help Nana get ready for her Friday night dinner to celebrate the Sabbath. 

"Today I have no school!" I sing. "Lucky me!"

"Today you have no school!" she answers. "Lucky ME!" 

I love how delighted they are with each other. 

This picture right here is what made me decide this book needed to come home with me. I love interiors! 

Jennie is a little impatient for pie making and challah bread making.

They buy some flowers. 

Finally the house is scrubbed clean and it is time to get dressed.

And it is snowing! Jennie's impatience is a theme here--she is so excited for everything. 

Family

I love big families. 

And I love this view in through the window of the Friday Nights of Nana. 

The Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Conner & Illus by S D Schindler

This book is so adorable! I happen to have a thing for snow globes, so I am a bit biased, but it is super cute! The reviews on Amazon were mixed, some people saying it was difficult to keep track of which family was which. 

I say pooh-pooh to all of them. I thought it was pretty good about delineating which family was which. 

And it is cute! Did I mention how cute it is? 

The wee, tiny snow globe family.

The real family and the Snow Globe family live in this house. Because it is Victorian times, so why not? 

The big house family having tea of an evening.

The Snow Globe family having tea in the snow globe.

The snow globe family would love a big snow storm, but they haven't had a one in years. 

But the baby in the big family is intrigued by the snow globe, even if everyone else is too grown up to shake it.

The Snow Globe family reminiscing about past big 'uns.

Now they only have a slight flurry when the maid dusts.

In the big house, they are getting a huge snowstorm. Father and the older kids head out. 

Baby is untended for a little while and decides to check out the snow globe.

Woah! Babies meeting.

And the big house baby gives that Snow Globe family the storm they had been dreaming about. 

The big house baby is taken out to go sledding. Meanwhile the Snow Globe family finally has enough snow for sledding. 

Both families are out enjoying the winter!

Big house family

And then both families went to sleep, dreaming of sledding. 

If the Snow Globe family had a weather forecast, I think there would be a winter storm warning in the forecast.....you

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

This was a really fun read! It is a lovely teen romance.  

Jessie’s mother died a year or so ago. Her father recently went off the deep end and remarried a wealthy movie executive in California. Jessie is uprooted from her familiar Chicago life to try to make a happy family with her father’s new wife and step-son. Her new life includes Wood Valley private school, filled with amazingly wealthy and beautiful people. Jessie feels hopelessly Chicago-an. The popular queen bees take delight in bullying her, most people act like she doesn’t exist, and no one seems even vaguely normal. But then she gets an email from somebody/nobody. He offers to be her guide to Wood Valley High and help her navigate the hazardous landscape of this new school. Is it Liam, the handsome lead singer? Or Caleb who spent his summer hiking Kilamanjaro? Is it her new step-brother who pretends she doesn’t exist, but is surprisingly nice at times? Or is it someone else entirely? Through this anonymous relationship, Jessie gains confidence, friends (“Dri is cool. Befriend her.”), and intrigue that get her through the bumpy first few months of her new life. And the ending, when she finally finds out who Somebody/Nobody is, is delightful and happy making.

So typical teen romance in many ways, but I cared about the characters. They felt realistic-ish. And the anonymity of the email format for Somebody/Nobody is sort of fun. Like a persistant secret admirer--Jessie can tell him things that she might feel awkward telling other people. And how fun to go around thinking I wonder if it is HIM? Or him? Someone nice and interesting likes me! That would have been pretty fun for my teenaged self. 

If you like YA romances without a ton of angst, you will like this! 

He prayeth best, who loveth best Coleridge & Tasha Tudor

He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us, 

He made and loveth all. 

                                                                    --Samuel Taylor Coleridge