Circus Mirandus - 9.7 stars

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley.  Okay this may be one of my new favorite children's books.  The story centers around Micah Tuttle who lives with his Grandpa Ephraim after his parents pass away.  He adores his grandpa and his wonderful stories about the time he spent with the magical Circus Mirandus.  But then Grandpa Ephraim falls terribly ill and his sister, Aunt Gertrudis, comes to help.  She's terrible to Micah and Micah is understandably distraught about what is going to happen to him.  Will Grandpa Ephraim recover or will he have to go live with Aunt Gertrudis in Arizona?  Micah then seizes on the idea that finding Circus Mirandus will be the answer to his crises.  So Micah and his new friend Jenny Mendoza set off to find the Lightbender at Circus Mirandus and secure his grandpa a miracle.  The book is magical and heart wrenching and beautifully written.  I'd probably give it a 10 if I had a vote.

Suggested age: 8-13

Lourdes - I give it a 10 because I like they tell you about when Aunt Gertrudis tried to fly.  I also like that Micah got to see Circus Mirandus.  It is one of my favorite books because it is magical and I like magic.

Sabine - I give it a 9 because I liked how they told about how Grandpa Ephraim grew up, how Aunt Gertrudis was born, and how Grandpa Ephraim and Micah built the tree house.  My favorite part was when Micah went to Circus Mirandus for the first time with Jenny.

Finnegan - I'm giving this book a 10 because I liked how it has the Head be the only one that is magical and it kind of explains the point of Circus Mirandus' purpose really well.  And I liked how they fired Victoria, because she was a terrible person.  But I don't like how Grandpa Ephraim and Victoria got married.  That was a big mistake.  My favorite part was how Micah ended up at the end.

The Worst-Case Scenario: Everest - 8 stars

The Worst-Case Scenario: Everest by Bill Doyle and David Borgenicht.  This is an awesome choose your own adventure book that also provides tons of information about climbing Everest.  The back of the book contains an expedition file detailing the airport you would fly into, the trek to base camp and the people, culture and food of Nepal.  It also provides helpful tips on how to fend of frostbite, how to survive an ice avalanche, and how to avoid altitude sickness.  After reading the expedition file, you begin your journey to become the youngest group (along with Julia and Garrett) to reach Everest's summit by making the right choices along the way.  My kids were obsessed with this book and I enjoyed it as well.

Age group: 7-12.

Sabine: "I liked Julia because she's really smart, but also she sometimes gets sick.  You gotta choose if you want to tell Doc that Julia is sick or not tell Doc.  I would give it a 7 out of 10."

Lourdes: "I would also give it a 7 because it wasn't the best book, but it was pretty good.  Sometimes you die, but you don't have to start all over again.  You can go back to the part where you made the wrong choice and choose again.  Where I died is sort of near the end.  He went to sleep and you weren't supposed to go to sleep."

Finnegan:  "I rate this book a 10 because no one likes choose your own adventures more than me.  One reason I liked this is because it's really hard and how are you supposed to think the apple pie is poisonous!  That's where I died.  I also like it because they actually treated it like a missions, they gave you information about Everest and they also described the characters for you.  But they say Garrett is going to make a really big mistake, and all he does is crack jokes which I like.  So I don't get that part.  I think people ages 7 and up would like this book because below 7 you might not read the back and that could mean your 'doom' in the story."

Amazon link if you're interested:

Crenshaw - 8 stars

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate.  A book by the author of The One and Only Ivan, one of our favorites.  The story is told from Jackson's perspective as his family deals with financial difficulties, including food insecurity and potential eviction.  To cope with the uncertainty, Jackson creates an imaginary friend, Crenshaw, an oversized cat.  Through Crenshaw Jackson is able to come to terms with his feelings instead of bottling them up, and ultimately address them with his parents.  It is definitely a heavy subject matter, but I thought it was important to introduce Finn to these issues other children face on a daily basis.  Since we read it together, we could take breaks to address certain topics more fully.  For example, as the stress starts to overwhelm him, Jackson steals a few small items as a way of acting out.  After those chapters, Finn and I discussed why he stole and what he should have done instead.  Highly recommended.

Suggested ages: 8-10

Finn - "I am giving this book 8 stars because I like how it talks about the family's money problems from Jack's perspective, but I didn't like that the author left the book on a cliff hanger.  They don't actually make it a closing.  And I think kids 8 and up would like this book because it's a little bit more serious.  Jack steals two things because he's feeling stressed and out of control.  And I think that is something a 6 year old would not get.  One funny part is when Crenshaw (Jack's imaginary friend) keeps appearing with a bubble beard in a bubble bath and makes negative comments about Jack having a dog."

Amazon link:

I am Gandhi - 7.6 stars

I love this ordinary people change the world series.  The newest book in the series is I am Gandhi and it doesn't disappoint.  It is clearly aimed at a younger set than the Who Was series, but it still packs a lot of information while also making it funny and attention grabbing for little ones.  For example, I am Gandhi talks both about Gandhi's efforts to achieve equality for Indians in South Africa before then discussing his protests against British rule and treatment of the untouchables back in India.  It culminates with the salt march that set India on the road to independence.  Heavy stuff to be sure, but it adds some levity by discussing Gandhi's fear of snakes and having a little kid interject "Truth Force" in the pictures regularly - a reference to Gandhi's mantra of Satyagraha as the only way to fight against unfair treatment.  Highly recommend.

Suggested ages: 4 to 9.

Finn - 7 stars.  "It was funny in an informative way.  I think kids would like the book because it's a biography and for people who aren't as good at reading yet, they can read the "I Am" series and then grow into the "Who Was" series.  It was funny because this little guy keeps popping up and saying 'Truth Force.'"

Lourdes - 6 stars.  "It isn't the best book, but it was really good.  I liked that it was really funny when a person said "oh look a snake, would you like to see it?" and Gandhi said "I would very much NOT like to see it."  I also learned that Gandhi went to jail a lot of times fighting for what's right."

Sabine - 10 stars.  "I give it 10 stars because I learned that Gandhi was fighting for the right thing.  And I also liked how he gave a British guy shoes.  Then the British man gave them back to Gandhi because he really liked them and wore them for many summers but was never worthy of wearing Gandhi's shoes."

Note: we changed to a 1 through 10 scale because  my husband thought the 1 through 5 scale was allowing the kids to grade inflate.  This is what growing up with two lawyers gets you.

Amazon link in case you are interested.

Halloween Book Edition

As the kids have started pulling Halloween books off the shelf this week, we thought we'd share some of our favorite picture books.  These are primarily geared towards the 2-6 year age group, but my 9 year old still enjoys them.

Pinkalicious: Pink or Treat by Victoria Kann.  Trick-or-treating is cancelled after a storm takes out Pinkville's power.  The mayor doesn't believe it's safe to go door-to-door in the dark.  So Pinkalicious saves the day by planning a town wide Halloween party in the public park lit by pumpkins and flash lights.  Halloween is saved!

Sabine: "Why I like this book is because I liked how Pinkalicious thought about how she could save trick or treating.  She went to the mayor and told her the idea.  And the mayor thought about it and the mayor wanted people to still have Halloween so she went along with Pinkalicious' idea."




Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pies by Mark Kimball Moulton.  A cute book about the local witchy woman who makes everyone's Halloween special by serving her famous pumpkin pies to the town after trick-or-treating concludes.  She is most beloved as a result, even if she is a bit kooky.

Lourdes: "I give this book a 4 because it isn't the best book, but it is very good.  I like how Fiona serves pumpkin pie to everyone.  Not just she gets it, she serves it to everyone.  I also like how she picks one person to help her serve, but there are other Halloweens that the other kids will get a chance.  I like how she tells the specific person that was picked that year (a pink bunny)."



Frankie Stein by Lola Schaefer.  Mr. and Mrs. Stein are underwhelmed at little Frankie's scariness level.  They try to make Frankie be scary the same way all the Steins have been scary throughout history.  But Frankie has his own way of being scary that he comes to embrace and his parents come to respect.

Finn: "I think kids would like this book because Frankie basically is able to transform from babyish scary to scary enough to make his mom and dad faint.  I think that is kind of funny."


Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman.  A witch having trouble pulling her pumpkin off the vine gets some help from a ghost, vampire, mummy and bat.  They end up becoming friends and bonding over the yummy pie.

Sabine: "I think kids would like this book because the witch tried really hard to get the pumpkin off the vine.  Then she gets the pumpkin off the vine and makes pumpkin pie for the ghost, the vampire, the bat and the mummy.  They had a fun party.  Then the witch plants another pumpkin so her friends will come back again soon."



The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz.  A book that bridges both Halloween and Thanksgiving.  An "ugly pumpkin" has a rough go of it until he finally realizes that he isn't an "ugly pumpkin," but a perfectly normal squash.  He finally feels he fits in and marches off happily towards Thanksgiving.

Lourdes:  "I like at the end he finds what he really is and likes it.  Because he's actually a squash and not a pumpkin.  But it was mean to tease him at the beginning.  At the beginning, he says 'I'm the ugly pumpkin as you can plainly see.'  And he means, he doesn't fit in.  But at the end he finds out he's a squash and he's really happy."



Otis and the Scarecrow by Loren Long.  More of a fall book than a traditional Halloween one.  It is a cute story about how Otis is friends with all the creatures on the farm...even the scarecrow.  While the scarecrow doesn't respond or play with Otis and the animals, Otis still won't let him feel left out or alone.

Finn:  "I think this book is good because when they try to play the quiet game, the ducks' butts always wiggle and that makes everyone start laughing.  But I don't think the ducks know their butts are wiggling."