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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: the short and incredibly happy life of riley, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 3 of 3
1. Let's Talk Food

by Jen Kulman

Our first house had a very small kitchen, but our current house is more generous in this respect. I accepted the extra storage space as my personal challenge. During a particularly good cereal sale, a fellow shopper saw my cart and exclaimed "
Wow! How many kids do you have?" Er, just the one. We're good eaters!
These are my cabinets for baking supplies and canned goods (with dog treats on the bottom for shameless beggars). I like being prepared for baking emergencies that pop up. Jen - we need four pans of brownies, STAT. I thought everyone stocked up like this, until some of my friends came over and made fun of me. I was going to give them each a bottle of corn syrup for quick energy, but they blew it with their snide comments.

In all seriousness, we actually stock up to save money. Our storage space and deep freeze make it possible to take advantage of store sales and coupons. When you have access to an abundance of food, it is easy to forget that others do not. Food banks across the country are asking us to help those who do not have the same resources. Our local unit, Gleaner's Community Food Bank states that one in eight families will need emergency food assistance this year. It is terrifying to think of not having food for your family.

Knowing that families across the nation are struggling with meeting their basic needs serves as a reminder of how fortunate we are. The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley by Colin Thompson is a great book for helping kids understand the importance of appreciating what you have.


Riley is immensely happy with the basics of life - food, shelter, love, and a scratching stick for his back. His life may be short, but he glows with happiness.
In contrast, humans desire more material goods, often unable to appreciate what we already have. This sweet purple rat allows us to teach our kids a valuable life lesson in a fun way.

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2. Award Finalists Announced

As if this week wasn't exciting enough already, we heard - just yesterday - the news that Colin Thompson's The Short & Incredibly Happy Life of Riley has been chosen as a finalist for this year's Children's Choice Book Awards.



I'm meeting with Colin Thompson (and some folks from Fox Studios) so if there are any questions I can ask him from his fans, pass them my way. He's thrilled to publish his picture book, The Little Book of Happy Sadness (coming in September, 2008) and even more from him in seasons following, including Norman and Brenda, a sequel to The Short & Incredibly Happy Life of Riley.


Norman and Brenda

(coming soon from Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Inc.)

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3. Star-Studded Review-a-Rama

Currently Reading: The Brothers Grimm: Two Lives, One Legacy, Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Just Finished:
Yang the Youngest and his Terrible Ear, From a Crooked Rib, Kitchen

Oh, I have a lot to talk about, I don't even know where to begin. It's like when you're writing a paper and you just become paralyzed with the enormity of the task before you and freeze up and never get started.

So... let's talk about some books, eh? I guess I'll focus on award winners and those with buzz. We'll see how far I get tonight!


First up on the block is the lovely A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama by Laura Amy Schlitz

All Maud wants is to be adopted and to have a real family again. When the elderly Hawthorne sisters take her home, Maud is overjoyed. She has nice clothes, good food, and indoor plumbing. What Maud doesn’t have is any friends—she’s not allowed to go to school or see visitors. Maud is a secret, and when she finds out why, she has some very tough decisions to make about what’s important.

This was a very moving story about the compelling need for love and a home, versus doing what is right. At the same time, we get a good dose of spirituality and mediums and ghosts. It was wonderfully spooky without being scary.

I loved the way Maud's friendship developed with Muffet, the Hawthorne's deaf servant. I also liked the way that Maud really struggled with her decisions about what to do-- she didn't always want to do the right thing, and how Schlitz handles this conflict makes Maud so much more real and likeable.

It was getting a lot of well-deserved Newberry buzz and even though it didn't win and wasn't honored, you should still check it out.


Rules by Cynthia Lord.

This was a Newberry Honor, as well as the winner of the Schneider Family Book Award (for books about disabilities.)

Catherine is a twelve year old girl whose little brother, David, has autism. On one hand she is fiercely protective of him but on the other, she is mortified when h

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