The Wolves Are Back. . .

Last summer, my kids and I went with some friends to Mission Wolf. It is a wolf sanctuary nestled in the Wet Mountains. We arrived on feeding day and my boys got into the spirit of the activity. Kent Weber (in green), director of Mission Wolf, and his volunteers spent quite a bit of time educating us about wolves and their importance in the life cycle. All in all, it was a great adventure.

When we arrived, the volunteers were cutting up a recently donated animal for the wolves' lunch.

My boys feeding the wolves. . . it was quite a sight!

The wolves are kept in pens - very natural looking with lots of room to roam, rest and hide. . .

One of the ambassador wolves. . . Mission Wolf ( below) . . . Kent shared with us about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone. He shared how bringing back the wolves has brought many unexpected, positive changes. The streams have grown colder, because the grasses and trees are now growing along the stream bed due to the wolves pushing the elk and moose back up into the meadows. Several songbirds have returned to the grasses and branches of the trees. I was fascinated with how the wolves have brought balance back to the wilderness.

Last month, I received a book in the library: The Wolves are Back by Jean Craighead George (author of Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain). It is a beautifully illustrated tale of the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone. This story teaches ecology and balance in nature. I read it to the fourth graders last week, and it fostered great discussion. . .

My Father, Maker of the Trees

I have read several accounts of the Rwandan Genocide, and each has moved me in different ways. I just finished My Father, Maker of the Trees: How I survived the Rwandan Genocide by Eric Irivuzumugabe. In 1994, Eric was 16 years old. As Hutu extremists plundered his village, he and his family fled to the nearby hills. Eric and his family were separated during the unthinkable violence. Eric found refuge in a cypress tree where he remained for fifteen days with little food or water. During this time, he witnessed the massacre of his people. One million Tutsis were killed in just one hundred days. Eventually, Eric finds two of his brothers and several uncles. The rest of his family were murdered by the Hutus. This is a story of God's sovereignty and grace in the midst of terrible suffering. Eric's story is a difficult one, but one that needs to be heard. There are 120,000 orphans in Rwanda as a result of the 1994 genocide (there were two other genocides - 1959 and 1972 - Eric's grandfather lived through the first two). This story offers a glimpse at a horrific event in global history, and tells the tale about the amazing restoration that is happening in Rwanda today.

Ya, Ya, Ya

I book talked to the sophomore class this past week. They were required to chose a book for an upcoming book project. Thought I would give you the same list of titles. All in all, it was a very satisfying sight to see an entire class checking out books and settling down to read until the bell rang. . . I love my job!

The Ghosts of War: the true story of a 19 year old GI by Ryan Smithson. Ryan was 16 years old when the Trade Centers were attacked. When he was 17, he joined the Army Reserves as a way to support his nation and help pay for college. By the time he was 19, he was in Iraq. This is the account of his year in Iraq. This is not a political rant, but simply the story of war from the point of view of a teenager.

Life as we Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. The story begins with a prediction of an meteor hitting the moon. For Miranda, it seems to be just an excuse for teachers to pile on homework. Then the collision occurs, altering the earth's weather patterns and changing Miranda's life forever. The book is written in diary form and is hard to put down. A great teen read. . .

Audrey Wait! by Robin Benway. Audrey is a normal teenager who decides to break-up with her musician boyfriend. He then writes a song titled "Audrey wait!" and plays it that night at a local club. Audrey hears it for the first time in the audience, so does a rep for a major music label. The band shoots to instant fame with the song and Audrey's life changes dramatically as she is thrust into the spotlight. A funny story of a girl who is hounded by the paparazzi and just wants her life to go back to normal. . . this one was snatched up instantly. (Actually, two girls played rock, paper, scissors to see who got this book.)

Graceling by Kristen Cashore. I read this book last weekend. It is the story of Katsa, a young girl living in one of seven kingdoms. Some citizens of the kingdoms are born with a special grace, normally discovered by toddler hood. Katsa is orphaned at a young age, taken in by her uncle, the King, and her grace is revealed when she is 8 years old. It is the killing grace. Her uncle begins to have her trained and she becomes his private assassin. The story opens with her as a teenager, questioning her grace and struggling with her uncle's power over her. She has started to use her grace for good, and as the book progresses she discovers that her grace may not be killing, but something else entirely. This was a great read with a very strong female character. It also was taken as soon as I was done book talking. The young girl who took it informed me (after a few pages) that she "loved it already".

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I know, this book is "so last year", but with the sequel due to arrive in my library any day, I decided to book talk this title. It is a futuristic book, set in a different North America. North America has been divided into twelve districts, and each year the Capital hosts "The Hunger Games". . .

Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch—this is the Capitol's way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. (p. 18)

Two kids are taken by lottery from each district to fight each other while the nation watches. Katniss from District 12 ( they never win) steps up to take the place of her younger sister who is chosen. This book is impossible to put down. It contains violence (obviously), but it is not the over-all theme of the book. The young man who chose this title visited with me the next day, he had read the entire book in one night. . . It is that kind of book. My waiting list for the sequel is already a page long, and , yes, I am at the top.

Savvy by Ingrid Law. To be honest, I have not read this title, but it is up for several teen awards and has a great cover (very important) . . . it is in my pile of "to-read" books. Will review it at a later date. . .

Other great YA titles that were taken, as I book talked from the stacks:

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz - this a great choice for a non-reader boy. Action packed, fast moving story - it a sure winner every time.

Deadline by Chris Crutcher. Love this book. The story of a young boy who goes in for his football physical and comes out with the knowledge that he is dying. He chooses to keep the information from his dysfunctional family and because he is 18, the doctor is forced to keep his secret. In typical Chris Crutcher style, this story is gripping and intense.

Bonemaker's Daughter by Tedd Dekker. He is always a popular choice in my library.

Other titles were taken and will be read, but these were the books that were grabbed before I could put them down. Like I said, I love my job.

Roomful of giggles

Those of you who know me, know I love Mo Willems. I originally thought the Elephant and Piggie series were his best work ever. I can't even pick a favorite book. I love them all (okay, I Love my new Toy is my #1 followed by Elephant and Piggie Play Outside.) My high school aides act like they're 6 years old when we get his books in the library. They sit next to me while I catalog, reading Mo Willems and giggling. I laugh along with them. . . his books are irresistible.

So, I thought Elephant and Piggie could not be replaced in my affections, and then I met the pigeon. Seriously, you have to read these books. If you don't have small children, rent one. . . I read Pigeon wants a Puppy today to the second grade. It was one of those moments where you wish you could capture the laughter and expressions - priceless. They begged for one more story, so we read Pigeon wants to stay up Late. And then because we couldn't stop ourselves, we read Elephant and Piggie Play Outside . One little boy almost fell out of his chair he was laughing so hard. Please don't make us pick our favorite, we only stopped reading because our time was up. . .

Needless to say, there is not a single Mo Willems book left in my library. . .

The Thirteenth Tale

Last week, a colleague walked into the library and asked me if I had read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I had not. She told me I had to read it, set the book on my counter, visited for another minute and then walked out.

From September to May, I read a fairly steady diet of YA and cross-over lit (books written for adults, but read by teens). This may sound like work, but, in all honesty - YA is my guilty pleasure. I love this genre. Feeling like I should read one more novel, I started the book that same night. My plan was to give at least 25 pages (my advice to kids), skim the rest and return it. I was hooked from the first page. There were some sentences that took my breath away. Brilliantly crafted in Gothic style, it was reminiscent of Wuthering Heights (hated it) and Jane Eyre (one of my favorite books of all time), this story captivated me. The ending completely surprised me - me . . . I almost always read ahead to the ending of a story (this book was no exception) and I was still surprised!

This is not a book I would have read from the summary on the back. It was only read to appease a friend, but I am so glad I gave it a try.

S0, in the continuing spirit of stepping out of our comfort zones . . our book club has chosen to read Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Lance and Dave selected it for us and most of us are looking forward to being forced out of our tried and true genres - will keep you updated on what our group thinks of this book. Why don't you read it with us?

Zakhor. Al Tichkar. Remember. Never Forget.

I recently read an article in SLJ by Diantha McBride. Titled Tough Love: an open letter to kids' book publishers. You can read the full article here. One of her points that made me smile was "Thanks, but no tanks" - encouraging a moratorium on publishing more books about WWII. It started me thinking about how many titles my library owns (both historical fiction and non-fiction) about this time period. A LOT.

As I was pondering this article, I began reading (totally unrelated) the book Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. This book was published in 2007, but just recently came to my attention. It had been in my "to read" stack for some time.

It is the fictional recounting of Vel' d'Hiv'. In July of 1942, thousands of Jewish families living in Paris were rounded up by the French police, locked for days in an indoor stadium in horrific conditions and eventually sent on to Auschwitz. To be gassed.

The story begins with Sarah, a ten-year old girl who is arrested with her family in the middle of the night. Thinking they will soon be able to return to their apartment, she quickly locks her four year old brother in a secret cabinet, promising to come back for him. The narrative then fast forwards to modern day and begins to intertwine with a journalist who is researching Vel'd'Hiv' for an article on its sixtieth anniversary. This is a gripping, haunting tale of a terrible time in our global history. As I read the story, I kept picturing my own nearly 10-year old daughter. I wondered what it was like to have your daughter ripped from your arms as you were loaded into a cattle car. I wondered how the children who managed to survive the holocaust even functioned as adults. I wondered how we as humans get to a point where it is okay to treat another race, religion, or group with such intense cruelty. Unfortunately, I know this is a story that has been repeated in other places like Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

So, I agree with Ms. McBride that we need a broader historical perspective in most of our collections. Yet, personally, I realized that I am drawn to this time period because I feel an almost desperate commitment to "Zakhor. Al Tichkar. Remember. Never Forget."

Where there's smoke. . .

We just returned from a fabulous month long vacation. . . We saw Mt Rushmore. . .

Spent an afternoon exploring Custer's Battlefield . . .


Spent a week in SunRiver with my entire family - biking, rafting, swimming, eating, eating, eating ( you get the picture ) - the perfect vacation!


My husband pitching in a family kick ball game. . .

Floating the river. . . . Really, it was an amazing vacation. . .

A day at the Oregon Coast - does it get any more perfect?

And then we came home. . . I wish I could tell you that after four weeks off, I was invigorated, motivated and energized. I wasn't. All I could do was dream about (you guessed it) vacation. . . I spent two days moping and then today woke up determined (notice, I am still not using words like motivated) to get back in gear. I had been serving my family grilled cheese and soup (out of a can) and keeping the house clean enough to prevent a visit from social services. Today, today, was going to be different. I cleaned the house, went to work for a few hours ( Ugh!) and worked out. I even had a menu plan! I was going to serve a yummy salad, homemade bread and grilled fish - a far cry from soup in a can. . .

As I was preparing dinner, I took a break and went out to visit with Lance ( you know the one that NEVER stops working?). He was working out in our garage - insulating - a terrible job. This is after he spent a full day at school. I thought he was looking a little tired and began to feel a few misgivings about my meal of salad and fish (and homemade bread). So I went back into the house, determined to redeem my meal. I went where all desperate cooks should go when looking for a good recipe: www.thepioneerwoman.com, and found the perfect recipe: blackberry cobbler. **The pictures on PW's sight are absolutely mouth-watering.

While vacationing, I had also picked berries (shocking, I know) . . . I was going to make my husband marionberry cobbler.

Here is the salad I served for dinner - a yummy combination: fresh lettuce, beets and hardboiled eggs. Served with a mayo dressing - even Lance gobbled it up. As I watched him eat, I relaxed, maybe my dinner would impress after all ( not a huge leap after canned tomato soup).

Half-way through dinner, I got up to check the cobbler ( I was keeping it as a surprise for Lance) and this is what I found: (seriously)



I almost started to cry ( and not just from the smoke). . . . . The cobber had run over the pan. I couldn't take a picture of my oven - it was too terrible.


Go ahead, compare this to the PW picture. I know, they look NOTHING alike. . . .


I told my kids they had to do the dishes ( I was feeling a little testy) . . . Tommi tried to find survival gear. Yes, my kitchen really is this smokey - this is with ALL the windows open. I finally took pity on them and finished the dishes myself. I did cry this time. . . In fact, my eyes are still burning.

As I was blindly finishing up the kitchen, my kids called. . . there were seven bucks (deer not dollars) in our neighbor's yard. . . I went running out with the camera - those of you who know me well, know that deer do not normally excite me, but I was looking for ANY excuse to escape my house. . . I was able to get a picture before the wind blew the smell on my clothes their way and they ran off. . .

Lesson learned: Always keep chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in the freezer. . .

**Disclaimer: I am sure that PW's cobbler was as wonderful as it looked. I made the mistake of putting mine in a pan that looked exactly like hers, but was obviously a completely different size.