From the Family Bookshelf

 

It’s time again–actually, this is past due–for From the Family Bookshelf–the weekly (so far, so good) column talking about the books we’re reading, have read or want to read. There’s Mom (me), Dad (slowest reader in the world), the Lil Diva (reluctant reader extraordinaire), and the Lil Princess (bookworm in training).

I’ll let Dad go first this time, but that’s because I’m going to pick on him. Yes, he is still reading the thriller, Prayers for the Assassin , by Robert Ferrigno. Can you imagine how big my TBR pile would be if I read as slow as he does?

As for me, I’ve lucked out and hit a really good patch in the reading cycle.  Not many books that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed. Since last time, I’ve read:

The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House a memoir by Melissa Anderson. Anderson played the character of Mary Ingalls on the classic 70’s family show, Little House on the Prairie

Jack’s Dreams Come to Life by Sara Jackson (children’s picture book)

The Raindrop by Brian McClure (children’s picture book)

Mr. Vinegar and the Frozen Sea by Chris Wardle (middle grade/tween chap book)

The Soggy Town of Hilltop by Kevin McNamee (children’s picture book)

My Dog Tim and Other Stories by Garasamo Maccagnone (literary story collection)

The Elf of Luxembourg: An Alex and Jackie Adventure by Tom Weston (YA fantasy)

Faith & Finances: A Journey to Financial Dependence by various authors

Some of these reviews have been posted here: Jack’s Dreams Come to Life, The Raindrop, Mr. Vinegar and the Frozen Sea, and The Soggy Town of Hilltop.  Tom Weston’s book will be reviewed here on Friday. My review of Melissa Anderson’s book appears at Laura’s Little Houses, my Laura Ingalls Wilder  blog. The other books will be reviewed at The Book Connection.

I just started reading the novel Conflicts with Interest by Michael Ruddy. I’m also reading The Three Dimensions of Character by Larry Brooks.

Wow! I take a up a lot of space. Now onto the girls.

The Lil Diva is still in Justin Bieber heaven, but she is managing to get some other reading done. She just finished Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren (RH Books for Young Readers) by Barbara Park. There are few books I can get her to read without an argument. Junie B. Jones books fall in that category.

The Lil Princess has read a few books this week. Now that she’s beginning to recognize more words she wants to read to me at night instead of the other way around. Two books I remember from this week are The Silly Scarecrow by Danielle Denega. This is a Clifford Puppy Days book from Scholastic geared toward kids in K – 2.

Her other popular book of the week is What Do Smurfs Do All Day? by Peyo. This book is part of the Dr. Seuss Beginning Readers Collection.  I’m sure it belonged to my son, who watched Smurfs, as did my sister and I when we were younger. My sister had the Smurf village toys that were popular when the cartoon first came out.  The Cartoon Network was airing reruns of Smurfs for a while and my girls really liked the show.  A great show, like a great book, never goes out of style.

Until next time, keep reading!



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Jack’s Dreams Come to Life by Sara Jackson

 Follow Jack into sleepy time with Jack’s Dreams Come to Life.

Jack is searching for something to do. His friends Sadie and Jeep want to play with him, but he is a big dog now and can’t be bothered with puppies. So Jack finds his favorite tree and soon falls asleep. In his dreams Jack soon discovers he might not be that big of a dog after all.

This is a cute story about a dog whose dreams get the better of him. He’s pushed aside his friends because he decides he’s too big to play with them now, and he learns a lesson through his dreams. 

The illustrations for this one are adorable and I’m certainly glad Jack is dreaming what he’s dreaming and not me. That would be a bit scary.  🙂 My one challenge with the book is that the reader doesn’t  get to witness Jack doing anything with what he learns. Jack wakes up and is relieved to see that things in his world are normal, but then he doesn’t join his friends in play after that. Actually, Sadie and Jeep aren’t mentioned again after he ignores their request to play. I got to the end of the book and felt like there was a little bit missing.

Despite that, it’s still a charming story brought to life by wonderful illustrations. Any kid who loves animals, and specifically dogs, will most likely enjoy Jack’s Dreams Come to Life by Sara Jackson.

Rating:  🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

  • Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
  • ISBN-10: 143924281X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1439242810
  • SRP:  $12.99
  • Jack's Dreams Come to Life



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