Kid Books

Back in the spring, my bridesmaid & I got together for lunch. I wasn't sure what to do with her afterwards. Her allergies mean she wasn't up for a walk at the nature preserve, & she's so fidgety, she's got Restless Body Syndrome. ;)

She's a kindergarten teacher, & I have lots of extra credits over on paperbackswap.com, so I suggested ordering some books for her class. She gave specific searching parameters, & we ordered some things. So far, so fine.

But I'm the filkferengi, used to shopping for several people at once. At the next book sale, I started seriously checking out the kid books. It was a whole new revelation. Lots of the library book sales I go to had recently started raising their prices, to $2 for an adult hardback. That doesn't sound like much, but adds up quickly, & actually is a lot for a beat-up ex-library discard. The kid books, however, are still .25-.50 most places, which filled my frugal heart with acquisitive glee.

Bridesmaid Kim was very excited, too--at first. The first box was pounced upon with grateful glee, as was the second. By the third, she was getting a big glassy-eyed & starting to whimper. So, I quit buying for her, but that left me with lots of boxes potentially for me. There's the shelf in the hallway, the large box in the media room [formerly known as the book room], the two boxes in the living room, not to mention the tall stacks on the kitchen and coffee tables. Eep!

Still, finding all those made for a very fun spring and summer. It seems as if every author I like has written a kid's book: Jane Yolen, Jay Williams, et-extensive-cetera. Now I've discovered all kinds of groovy new authors, mostly artists: Jan Brett, Molly Brett, Steven Kellogg, Lesley Anne Ivory [cats!].

As I'm [very] gradually working through them, it's quite convenient. When ze spouse is watching a particularly news segment, it's the simplest thing in the world to reach down & read half a kid's book or so. If nothing else, it's certainly beefing up my monthly books-read total. Fun times in filkferengi town!

Books Read 2016: March & April

March, 2016

Ursula Vernon--”Pocosin”
Ursula Vernon--”Wooden Feathers”
Mary Robinette Kowal--”Midnight Hour”
Tasha Alexander--And Only To Deceive
Tamora Pierce--Reddit AMA
Seanan McGuire--Reddit AMA
Charles Finlay--”The Political Officer”
Katharine Kerr--License To Ensorcell
Terry Pratchett--Soul Music [reread--Mark Reads]
Krista Davis--The Ghost And Mrs. Mewer
Lea Wait--Shadows On The Ivy
Elizabeth Stowe--”Desuma’s Way” [Chalion fanfic novel]
Genevieve Valentine--The Girls Of The Kingfisher Club
Tamora Pierce--Google + AMA
Tamora Pierce--Battle Magic [reread--Mark Reads]
Catherine McLean--”Welcome To Mount Parnassus”
Cable69--”Transported: The Healer”
Labellementeuse--”And Remember Who I Am”
AlyoraShadow--”Would You Like Some Lightning With Your Soup?”
KiaraSayre--”Dear”
Grim_lupine--”Conflict Resolution”
Grim_lupine--”Welcome Silence”
Elizabeth Moon--Remnant Population [reread]
Dirgewithoutmusic--”In The Very Palm Of Your Hand”
Dirgewithoutmusic--”The Things You Carry”
Dirgewithoutmusic--”Ah, To Be A Thing Worth Loving”
Dirgewithoutmusic--”The Small”
Kate Elliott--”Writing Women Characters Into Epic Fantasy Without Quotas”
Seanan McGuire--”Velveteen Vs. Going Home Again”
Diane Duane--”During Their Morning Rituals” [Young Wizards]
Daniel Friend--”Honors 300R Ethnography: The Denizens Of Leading Edge”
Sherwood Smith--”Commando Bats”


April, 2016

Barbara Ross--Boiled Over
Catherine McLean--”The Un-Drowned Princess”
Unpretty--”Empty Graves” [Martha Kent fanfic]
Eve Rice--Once In A Wood
Catherine McLean--”The Hair Loom”
Marie Brennan--”From The Editorial Page Of The Falchester Weekly Review” [a Lady Trent Story]
Jane Yolen--The Last Dragon
Ursula Vernon--”The Tomato Thief”
Ursula Vernon--”Jackalope Wives”
Catherine McLean--”Javert’s Mercy”
Ursula Vernon--”Bluebeard’s Wife”
Hope Larson--Mercury
Ursula Vernon--”Never”
Ursula Vernon--”Elegant And Fine”
Ursula Vernon--”The Wolf & The Woodsman”
Ursula Vernon--”The Dryad’s Shoe”
Carrie Vaughn--”Origin Story”
Ursula Vernon--”Godmother”
Ursula Vernon--”Telling The Bees”
Ursula Vernon--”Razorback”
Lois McMaster Bujold--Answers 200 Questions on Goodreads
Colin Eisler & Lesley Anne Ivory--Cats Know Best
Jack Nicholls--”Dune Time”
Rosie Reeve--Lullaby Moon
Alyssa Satin Capucilli--Good Morning, Pond
Bill Martin, Jr. & Michael Sampson--Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Waking Up?
Dolly Parton--Coat Of Many Colors
Foz Meadows--”Gentleman Jole and the Vorkosigan Saga: Thoughts”
Catherine McLean--”Most High, Most Potent And Most Excellent Prince”
Seanan McGuire--”Ye Highlands And Ye Lowlands”
Tasha Alexander--A Poisoned Season

That's a whole lot of Ursula Vernon, right there! Most of those stories are up on her website, for free. Whee! It's also a lot of fanfic & interviews. I'm trying to give myself credit for things I actually do. It's important to do that.

Books Read 2016: May

Lesley Anne Ivory--Glorious Cats
Lesley Anne Ivory--Meet My Cats
Lesley Anne Ivory--Cats And Carols
Diane Duane--So You Want To Be A Wizard [reread--Mark Reads]
Terry Pratchett--Interesting Times [reread--Mark Reads]
Lea Wait--Twisted Thread
Spider Robinson--”The Guy With The Eyes” [reread--Mark Reads]
Spider Robinson--”The Time Traveler” [reread--Mark Reads]
Catherine McLean--”The Right To Mount The Scaffold”
Theodora Goss--”Red As Blood And White As Bone”
Lea Wait--Shadows At The Spring Show
Daniel D. Skwire, F. S. A.--”Actuarial Issues In The Novels Of Jane Austen”
Judith Tarr--”Cat And Jackal”
Ursula Vernon--Hamster Princess: Harriet The Invincible
Barbara Michaels--”The Runaway”
Elizabeth Peters--”The Locked Tomb Mystery”
Donna Andrews--”Cold Spell”
Mary Jane Maffini--”Cocktails With The Corpse”
Dean James--”All In The Family”
Donna Andrews--”The Birthday Dinner”
Dean James--”The Village Vampire And The Oboe Of Death”
Marie Brennan--In The Labyrinth Of Drakes
Carol J. Perry--Caught Dead-Handed
Jane Yolen--How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
Paul Galdone--Over In The Meadow
John Patience--Sigmund’s Birthday Surprise
Kevin Henkes--Julius, The Baby Of The World
Nancy Walker-Guye--Merry Christmas, Little Mouse
Mary Edwards--Australian Bush Animals
Haruo Yamashita--The Mouse Family Go To The Beach
Arnold Lobel--The Rose In My Garden
Audrey Penn--A Pocket Full Of Kisses
Phil Brucato--Mage: The Ascension
Margery Cuyler--The Biggest, Best Snowman
Edward Lear & Jan Brett--The Owl And The Pussycat
Jane Yolen--How Do Dinosaurs Learn To Read?
Catherine McLean--”Best Served Cold”
Joan Aiken--The Kingdom Under The Sea
Tomie dePaola--The Legend Of The Bluebonnet
Gale Cooper--One Unicorn
Demi--One Grain Of Rice
Barbara Cooney--Miss Rumphius
William Steig--Doctor DeSoto
Lesley Anne Ivory--Cats In The Sun
Seanan McGuire--”Swamp Bromeliad” [reread]
Seanan McGuire--”Waking Up In Vegas”
Dennis Danvers--”Orphan Pirates Of The Spanish Main”
Steven Kellogg--Tallyho, Pinkerton!
Steven Kellogg--Prehistoric Pinkerton

As Gary McKee, a former local DJ, used to say, that list is, "All right, mighty fine!"

Books Read 2016: June

Eve Bunting--The Night Tree
Margaret Mahy--The Seven Chinese Brothers
Jane Yolen--Old Dame Counterpane
Holly Hobbie--Toot & Puddle
Margaret Kahn Garaway--The Old Hogan
Molly Brett--Tom Tit Moves House
Tasha Tudor--1 Is One
Seanan McGuire--Pocket Apocalypse
Seanan McGuire--Chaos Choreography
x_los--”Gentle Antidote” [Wimsey/Harriet soulmate AU]
Tomie dePaola--The Clown Of God
Kurt Cyrus--Oddhopper Opera: A Bug’s Garden Of Verses
Munro Leaf--The Story Of Ferdinand
Joanne Ryder--The Snail’s Spell
Claire Llewellyn--Whose Footprints?
Judith Tarr--”Tax Season”
Lesley Anne Ivory--The Birthday Cats
Steven Kellogg--A Rose For Pinkerton
Jane Yolen--Welcome To The Sea Of Sand
Eve Bunting--No Nap
Tasha Tudor & Clement Moore--The Night Before Christmas
Steven Kellogg--Pinkerton, Behave!
Dr. Seuss--One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Joan Aiken--The Way To Write For Children
astolat--”Nice Work If You Can Get It” [I Robot slashfic]
Barbara Rogasky, ed.--Winter Poems
Doris Orgel--Button Soup
Joanne Oppenheim--”Not Now!” Said The Cow
Tamara Kitt--The Boy, The Cat, And The Magic Fiddle
Doug Cushman--Inspector Hopper
Else Holmelund Minarik--Father Bear Comes Home
Susan Varley--Badger’s Parting Gifts
George Mendoza--The Crack In The Wall & Other Terribly Weird Tales
Walter Wangerin, Jr.--Elisabeth And The Water-Troll
Carol Carrick--Old Mother Witch
Elsa Beskow--Children Of The Forest
Else Holmelund Minarik--Little Bear’s Friend
Nina Shackelford--Bird Nests
Jan Brett--The Mitten
Laura Numeroff--If You Give A Cat A Cupcake
Laura Numeroff--If You Give A Dog A Donut
Laura Numeroff--If You Give Moose A Muffin
Robert N. Munsch--The Paperbag Princess
Mike Resnick--”Royal Bloodlines”
Lawrence Schimel--”Take Back The Night”
Harry Turtledove--”Typecasting”
Diane Duane--Deep Wizardry [reread--Mark Reads]
Wallace Tripp--Sir Toby Jingle’s Beastly Journey
Tomie dePaola--Now One Foot, Now The Other
Michele Maria Surat--Angel Child, Dragon Child
Audrey Osofsky--My Buddy
Shari Halpern--My River
J. Moria Stephens--Persephone The Ladybug
Joan Aiken--Past Eight O’Clock
Scott McCloud--Reinventing Comics
Ruth and Latrobe Carroll--The Christmas Kitten
C. W. Anderson--The Rumble Seat Pony
Anonymous--The Wand Of Siora The Wise [Dungeons & Dragons cartoon fanfic]
Jan Brett--The Hat
Terry Pratchett--Maskerade [reread--Mark Reads]
Nancy Luenn--Song For The Ancient Forest
Kathryn Lasky--Sea Swan
Scott McCloud--Sculptor
Beverly Brodsky McDermott--The Golem: A Jewish Legend
Carol Carrick--Paul’s Christmas Birthday
Conrad Aiken--Tom, Sue, And The Clock
Diane Duane--”Theobroma” [Mark Reads]
Lea Wait--Shadows Of A Down East Summer