To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich;

to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart;

to study hard;

to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never;

in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common — this is my symphony.

                -William Henry Channing

Well, we made it.  It was very close.   There was a flurry of last minute activity, running around town, and last night crafting but all projects were finished, all gifts given, and a few tears shed.  But it was good.

Kulia rocked Kindergarten.  I was overjoyed that she was placed in Mrs. Derry’s class.  Leina had loved it and I knew it would be a good fit for Kulia.  Boy was I right!  Kulia looked forward to every single day of school and came home full of happy chatter and proudly displayed worksheets.  The end of this year was a bit sad.  I wish I had another McL waiting in the wings.  I’d love another year of hanging with Jenny.  She is beyond fabulous.

And, of course, no year would be complete without good friends.  Kulia’s very best friend from preschool was in her class this year and the girls were inseparable.  Emily finds Kulia uproariously hilarious and Kulia adores Emily’s sense of adventure and imagination.  They are a very, very good match.  I hope we get lucky and have Em in our class next year too!

Kulia also made a lots of new friends.  On her first day of school, she sat next to a sweet little girl named Payton.   That first new friend is so special.  Payton has an older sister so every day when we went to pick up Leina, Kulia and Payton would run around the front lawn together like the wild kids they are.  Never once did Kulia bemoan the fact that we had to get Leina.  She was always excited because she knew Payton would be there.  Her other good buddy is Julianne.  They are in a dance class together and have such fun working on all their steps.  Both girls are sweet, kind, funny and smart.  Just the type of girls I love to have around!  Kulia picks very very good friends.

Leina’s year was a bit rougher.  First grade started out hard.  None of her friends from last year were in her class.   Her teacher was 8 months pregnant on the first day of school and they didn’t know who would be subbing during maternity leave.   I was worried.  But, as it often does, what looks at first like disaster turned out to be better than ever!  The school managed to find the most fabulous and wonderful substitute teacher!  Mrs. Taylor was crazy and wild and full of ideas and energy.  She had big plans and loved a class that was loud and creative.  The kids adored her.  She was like something out of a movie.  While every other class was bent of worksheets in silence, Mrs. Taylor would toss them aside and decide on something totally inventive and fun.  Awesome.  Every Friday I helped out in the classroom and every Friday I was blown away by what she could accomplish.  Even better, after maternity leave was over, the two job shared so the kids got to keep their beloved sub right through to the end.  The only sad bit is that next year, Mrs. Taylor won’t be there.  So our end of the year farewell was a bit hard to swallow.

Mrs. Machan was the exact opposite.  Her classroom was quiet and orderly.  She had a ton of tricks to settle the kids and taught them countless songs about colors and numbers.  I didn’t get to know her as well as I would have liked since she was out on leave for more than half of the year.  I’m secretly hoping Kulia is placed in her class next year so I can get another shot.  But, when she was there, she really managed to teach those kids a ton and Leina adored her.

Friends were hard for Leina this year.  Many days, she came home in tears with stories of feeling alone.  She excelled in the classroom but felt lost on the playground.  She wanted her old friends and seemed lost on how to make new ones.  And then.  Somehow.  It happened.  About half way through the year, she found her group.  They were silly, silly girls who all loved Pokemon, drawing, singing songs, and teasing boys.  Perfect.  On the last day, Leina broke down crying again but this time it was at the thought of leaving behind these hard won friends.  I don’t blame her!  Here are all the girls in her class.  Sweet and silly!

OK, so, this book.

Wow.

It’s called Picture This by Lynda Barry and is best described as a graphic memoir/how to book.  Confused?  I know.  This book stands all on its own.  It is odd and compelling and dark and deep and delightful.  I have never read anything like it.  Ms. Barry asked herself a simple question: what makes us stop drawing.  She explores the odd notion that so many people have; namely, that they cannot draw.   I haveto admit, she is dead on.  I cannot tell you how many times I hear people tell me they are not “artistic” and they can’t “do art”.  And yet, every child I have ever met is more than capable of picking up a crayon and making something wonderful.   So what happens?  When do we go from happy drawing to this awful self-criticism?  I know I am just as guilty as the next person of this.  But after reading this book, I found myself picking up a pencil and just drawing.  Something silly and simple and childlike and perfect.   And you know what?  I’m actually proud of what I drew.  Me!  The “un-artistic” one!  A great book in a unique form.  See if you can find a copy for yourself.

Oh, this book!  So, this is the second in the series, Chaos Walking.  And it is a mighty mighty good series.  You must start with the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go.  This first installment was an unbelievable book.  Of course, it ended on a cliff hanger and the second book picks right up where it left off.   The Ask and the Answer is a bit like The Empire Strikes Back.  The heros get hurt.  The bad guys have the upper hand.  You are left wondering if good is going to triumph over evil and how.  I’m hoping all ends well in book three.  I will let you know.

What is so fabulous about this series is the world building.  To make a good sci-fi or fantasy book, you must build a good world and Mr. Ness knocked one out of the park here.  I’ve read quite a bit of sci-fi and fantasy in my day but this world is so totally unique it’s astounding.  The universe he creates leads into some very deep and hard questions about what it means to be a good person.  Staying true to yourself.  The power of love.  Sacrifice.  Redemption. The consequences of decisions we make.  Getting up after we fall.  I could go on and on and on about the many ideas this book is chalk full of: deep moral delimnas entwined with a racing plot line.  It is, however, rather dark and violent so be warned.  Just thinking the word “Todd?” makes me tear up even now.  Read the first book and you’ll know why.  But be warned, so far, this series is just tearing me apart.  Here’s hoping there are some Ewoks in part three….

I was so torn about this novel.  It’s a mystery and winner of the Edgar Award in 2008 for Best First Novel.  It is a suspenseful police procedural with great characters and storyline.  Two mysteries are intertwined in this book.  In the mid-eighties, three kids go into the woods and only one is found so traumatized he can not remember what happened to his friends.  The found boy grows up to the a homicide detective who lands a murdered child case in his old home town.  Trying to track down the murderer, the detective finds himself drawn back to the fateful day his friends disappeared.  Both mysteries are wonderfully well written.  However, only one of them is solved.  The other is left dangling in the most unfulfilled way.   This is the rare book where, as much as I loved the story, the ending killed it for me.  It was a real let down after such a great page turner.  From what I can tell, quite a few people felt the same way.  Great book, bad ending.  Ah well.  I guess some mysteries really are left unsolved!

And Only to Deceive

I forgot to take a picture before I returned this book but good ol’ Amazon came through for me.  Phew.  So, very cute book.  It’s a genre jumper.  Mystery + Regency Era + Romance.  Good times!  The author did not follow society rules precisely.  Her heroine flaunts convention and gets away with it quite regularly.  Of course, she is also beautiful, young, recently widowed and endowed with quite a fortune so she is free to sail her own course.  The book revolves around some mysterious artifacts left behind by our hero’s recently departed husband.  In solving the mystery, she also learns more about her spouse and finds herself falling in love with him even though he is gone.  Do not worry, there is a rogue-ish gentleman to ease her suffering, society matrons who wish to marry her off, and a few dastardly villains to round out the group.  A quick, fun read that has just enough sparkle to keep you interested.