Review: Telephone by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jen Corace

As you know, dear reader, I finished my library science degree last year, and am now working in a real-life library.  What you might not know yet is that I handle children's programming there.  I've been tracking the books I read as part of several reading challenges, but I'm also keeping notes (via GoodReads) of books that I'll use for story time, STEM programs, my next book order, etc.  An unexpected side effect of that, is that my Total Books Read list for this year is already over 100!!   I've already had to update my expected/goal number twice, and I'm still ahead of schedule!  Looks like I'll be upping it again soon - gotta keep the motivation up after all ;)

 

No, not all of them are picture books! I've always got a book on my Kindle App for on the go, and an audiobook going in the car, plus several others at any given point in time, so a lot of what I've read so far this year would be considered "my" books as well.  But, there are a lot of picture books for story time in my list, I will admit.  And some of them are really clever and deserved to be chattered about just as much as my thoughts on my latest mystery.  So expect to start seeing a smattering of picture books and mid-grade reads appearing here too. 

 

First up:  Telephone by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jen Corace.
 

Plot: A fun illustrated version of the game Telephone, the message transmitted courtesy of an eclectic collection of birds on a phone line.  Will the message get to Peter Pigeon in time to make it home for dinner?  And will he even understand it when it reaches him?

 

I enjoyed the different birds, and how their hobbies obviously affected what they were hearing.  In a larger sense, it's the idea that what we are personally interested in will color how we see (or hear) the world - one of those Big Picture Ideas snuck into kids' picture books :)  I also enjoyed the connections between certain birds and their activities - the cardinal with a baseball bat, for example (any St Louis fans out there?).  My favorite birds were the (spherical) turkey and the owl.  The facial expressions were great!  The owl just looks so deadpan, listening to the Crazy that has reached him on the line.  And I also liked the two little penguins up on the wire with Peter at the end.  Just like the turkey - what are they doing on that phone line?

Extra Bonus?  Chronicle Books has a wallpaper with the owl on it for free on their blog!

 

 

 

Personally, I enjoy Mac Barnett's works quite a bit.  He was a presenter at the Texas Book Festival a few years ago when I was able to attend, and just cracked me up (he was presenting with Jon Scieszka, another favorite, so definitely enjoyed myself).  I've found that his books have a quirky, rather absurd sense of humor, and this one's no exception. 

 

Jen Corace's illustrations are wonderful.  They aren't Heavy Artistic pictures, or overly detailed, but they carry a lot of the story themselves - the ostrich with the feather duster?  The worry on the turkey's face?  Her illustrations add that depth to the simple story.  The simplicity of the illustrations make it a good choice for a story time too.  Books that have incredibly detailed illustrations are wonderful in their own way, but they can be a little too much for 20 4-year-olds at a time.  Barnett himself summed it up well: "Her birds are so bold and bright and charismatic, and can command the attention of a rowdy mob of kindergarteners, but there’s plenty of clever and delicate details you can study with a quiet kid in your lap."

 

As an adult reading the picture book, it's silly fun, but a little simple for me, missing that bit of oomph that would really make it a classic.  However, this is a good story time book, one that will tie in nicely with activities with the kids.  I'd have preferred a little more similarity between the garbled statements as they passed between birds, especially as I'll be reading it aloud at story time, but you could still see how one statement warped into the next. 

 

My rating: 3.5 of 5 (somewhere between Liked and Really Liked)

IFLA WLIC Day 9 - Last bit of sightseeing & Random tourist-y thoughts

My last tourist stop, and several odds and ends in this post, as I wrap up here in South Africa.

This morning we went to the Two Oceans Aquarium (a second time for me, since there was a reception there earlier in the week).  Got to see the penguins this time, though we couldn't stay for feeding time.  Silly planes to catch.  But we did have time to get our pictures taken!

And this time the penguins' area was open (it hadn't been the other night at the reception).  So more penguins before I went home!  :)  They have African penguins and Rockhoppers there at the Aquarium, and part of the display are signs giving their names and how to identify them (spots or bars on their chest, for example) and how they came to the aquarium.  Several of the African penguins were rescues, and the rest were born "on their beach" at the aquarium, while all seven of the Rockhoppers were rescues.  

The other really neat exhibit I saw on Saturday that I hadn't seen Tuesday was one on plastic waste in the ocean.  It was a very sad exhibit, but animal death from human trash can't be handled happily.  There were several pieces of art on display, ocean animal statues constructed from plastic garbage.  The same way that there are giant or life-size models of sea creatures in other parts of the aquarium, these were just made out of trash.  Very striking, really.

One other little fun thing from the aquarium - their clownfish display is actually labeled "Nemos".  Seeing it during the day, with a handful of kids around, it made me smile :)

For the odds'n'ends now (and these are indeed pretty random)...

• Probably an effect from being part of the British Commonwealth, but there are tons of roundabouts here (not really as common in the States, for whatever reason).  They lead to some crazy looking lane arrows! 

 

• Definitely a British commonwealth side-effect, but I loved having an electric tea kettle in the hotel room :)
• For a crazy landmark, there is literally a road to nowhere in downtown Cape Town.  They started building a highway overpass, but construction was halted for whatever reason (the tour guide had heard several theories, including funding issues, land ownership issues, and an incorrect design creating a dangerously tight curve).  At any rate, there are two ends to this overpass but they don't connect.  They just end.  Apparently, the road is still regularly used though - movie crews and film students regularly take advantage!

•  I got to see sunsets over the Atlantic!  (For those of you who live on the Eastern US, you'll understand how backwards that feels, even to say!) 

 

• Penguin toilet paper!!!  I'm not kidding!  In the middle of the week, I'm in our hotel bathroom, and look down and our TP roll has these happy little dancing penguins on it!  (If you can't see in the picture, he's very happy and bunchy and reminds me of the guy from Happy Feet).  Best quilting pattern EVER!!!  Oh, and I wasn't totally oblivious either - talking to someone else, she hadn't noticed it until the middle of the week either.  Apparently the hotel just got a new batch of paper Wednesday-ish, meaning we just lucked into awesome TP for the last half of our trip.  

IFLA WLIC Day 7 - Boulders Beach

And here it is, THE PENGUINS!! You knew it was coming at some point this week, and today was the day :)  This is a very picture-heavy post; you have been warned.

Boulders Beach is on False Bay, to the southeast of Cape Town.  It is part of the national park, and it is a protected beach where African penguins come to nest!  Once you're in the park, you follow the little boardwalk around to the beach.  It's a short little walk, so easy enough for anyone who wants to see. 

And there they are!  They are RIGHT THERE near the boardwalk.  Wild penguins!!  See how close they are to the boardwalk?

This little guy was just too cute, standing so properly.

 

African penguins are unfortunately an endangered species.  The several large nesting grounds in South Africa are reporting fewer and fewer breeding pairs each season.  Like many animals, humans are having an impact - the fishing industry has depleted their food supply, their beaches are being built up with condos, global warming, pollution, and the occasional oil spill. 

We even saw a penguin release today.  Several people carrying large cardboard boxes with air-holes and labeled with the Shorebirds Conservancy logo crossed the fence, going off the boardwalk and onto the beach itself.  They carried the boxes over to a quieter part of the beach, lined them all up, and then tipped them slowly out.  And out came penguins!  I didn't get to ask the parks staff (dressed in that standard, international olive green shade used by Parks departments around the globe) if they were rescues or rehabilitated or what.  But whatever they were, they were released!

 

Aside from the pictures I'm in, I think this is my favorite one that I took.  I am actually quite proud of it.  :)

IFLA WLIC Day 1 - The Penguin has Landed!

And it's a reeeeally long flight from TX to SA!

Three flights actually.  And that's been almost entirely my last day and a half.

But it was not entirely uneventful, and I'll share a few things here as I try to calm down for sleep (yay jet lag!)

• I am a catastrophizer.  Really, though, no surprise there.  Everything worked out just fine, even with my long flight landing late in Johannesburg, I'd still allowed myself plenty of time for Customs before my connecting flight.  It was just amazing me again how wildly my imagination can spin worst case scenarios.  Especially when I'm traveling on my own halfway round the world (funny, go figure).  

• Motivational socks help combat the catastrophizing.  They also get compliments from TSA security guards :)

 

• The South African flag really can look like a rainbow.  The reflection of the wing tip on the South Africa Airline plane as it reflected on the wing was really rather pretty.

• Speaking of South African Airline, they treat you pretty well!  We even got dinner on the 2 hour flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town!   On a lot of short flights in the States, I don't even count on drinks on a flight that short, let along expect a hot meal!

• It's been so long since I've had a chance to focus on a fun book, I forgot how fast I read.  I finished my book on the long flight (the 2nd leg of the 3).  So yes, day one of the trip.  Now I've nothing left to read for the trip except a text book, a guide book, and whatever light-n-fluffy thing I have saved on my Kindle.  :( 

• I had some time to knit (of course I brought a project - what did you expect?)  And I started Citron, a shawl from Knitty a few years ago.  It's been sitting on my queue, and with the mindless pattern and the lace-weight yarn, it made for a good travel project.  For those interested, I'm using the possum lace-weight that Sarah and I dyed a few years ago.  I've a bunch of the green left, so this is perfect for it.  I made it through the first two shawl sections on my flights.  What can I say, I'd finished my book!  I know I'll slow down now that it's getting wider, but here's a first glimpse :)

 

The best comment I heard through all the traveling was in the very first airport.  A young jetsetter businessman type saw me knitting as I was waiting.  "Oh perfect airport hobby - no charging!"  A good comment on its own, but it made me laugh because I was sitting charging my phone, on which I'd saved the pattern I'm working from!  Signs of the times, maybe?  Either way, it made me smile.

At any rate, busy day sightseeing tomorrow before the conference really starts on Sunday, so I must get to bed.  Think I've finally wound down enough for that :)

Oh, look - she's back!

Hello friends!

So, I know it's been ages since I've posted -  Life has been rather on the busy side.  Things have been rolling merrily along in our little corner of the country, though, so all is well.  I still knit, and run, and read, and all those other things.  But the thing that has been keeping me busiest is also the reason I'm posting again: grad school!

Normally, school takes up most of my spare time and mental energy.  If I've time to write, it's probably being spent on a paper or a discussion post or something similar.  Except for this summer!  

This summer, my two classes this summer are part of an independent study abroad, tied into a conference I'll be attending (this week!!). My courses are International and Comparative Librarianship, and Information and Cultures.  And to pull together everything I learn, I will be attending the International Federation of Library and Information Associations (IFLA)'s annual conference, the World Library and Information Congress.  To make it even more exciting, I'll be traveling to Cape Town, South Africa!!

Now you may be wondering why some rather intense sounding courses have me blogging again, especially when my intro courses were enough to keep me busy and off the blog.  Well, as part of my conference experience, I am posting about my travels here - people I meet, sessions I attend, experiences in the country itself, overall impressions of things.  Which means for you, dear reader, that the next week and a half or so, my blog posts will be frequent and will swing between Extreme Library Dorkiness (capitals warranted) and "Eee! Penguin!"  If that bothers you, then you probably don't know me all that well :)  At any rate, you have been warned and can skim the ones you aren't too interested in; my feelings won't be hurt.

I'm going to try and keep the momentum going, so hopefully we'll be seeing each other (reading each other) more, even after the conference when I return to my normal chatter on books and cooking and running and yarn. My next year looks to be an exciting one, so it'll be good to keep this ball rolling.

PS - And to add to the excitement (beyond the interesting classes, professional networking, and exciting travel), I do love the logo.  Just look at it - a book, a penguin, and a mountain!  Now why on earth would I be getting so enthusiastic over that?

 

http://2015.ifla.org 

Colorado Trip: Pike's Peak

The Big Deal.

The most popular tourist stop in Colorado Springs, bar none.  Pike's Peak.  We did it! 

Well, not hiking, obviously.  It's only 13 miles up, but the elevation change and the cold do require some gear.  We did the drive.  But even that's an accomplishment!  Our friends have lived out there for 3 years, but this was the first time they'd made the drive up.  Granted, they're like us, little homebodies at times, but the last time they tried to see the summit, they had to stop at the tree line.  If weather is too extreme at the peak, cars get stopped at the tree line, or lower, depending on the severity.  So it was new for them too!  Yay!

The day we went, it was clear, beautiful, windy and COLD!  Yeah, yeah, January, Colorado, mountain top... you and your logic!  Doesn't change the face that it was still REALLY REALLY COLD!  I've never been that cold before, ever!  The wind cut right through my hat and gave my ear windburn, actually.  In hindsight, I should have worn the other hat I'd packed for the trip - has an extra lining.  Also is a penguin - appropriate for such temperatures!  But that might be besides the point...  When they announced the conditions at the summit house (which they did regularly), it was announced that it was 19 degrees, with windchill putting it "well below zero."  Like I said - cold!

But the view!  You can see quite a ways at 14000 ft up :)

The drive itself was pretty too.  The snow was so dry, it would blow about in the wind and swirl, just like the sand did in Irwin.  Only so much prettier!

 

Along the drive, you got more of the gorgeous view, of course.  Crazy driving, too - tons of hairpin turns (NOT for those who get carsick!).  Thankfully, there were plenty of pullouts where you could stop and appreciate the view without risking driving off the mountain.

At the start/end of the drive is Crystal Reservoir, a very pretty stop in its own right.  The lake was frozen over (it's January, after all), so when we stopped there on our way out, the light reflecting was absolutely beautiful.  The chunks of ice on the lake just glowed!

 

 

And did you know Bigfoot has had a bunch of sightings in Pike Forest?  They even have a Bigfoot Crossing sign, just so you stay on the alert - you never know!

 

So, yes, if you are ever in the Colorado Springs area, you must try and go up Pike's Peak!  Be prepared for a crazy drive up, and some altitude sickness when you get to the top.  Dress for the weather - it will be much colder and windier at the top, even in the summer.  But the views are incredible - both from the summit and on the trip up/down.  Definitely a must-do!!

Oh my goodness! The cuteness!!

Such adorable food!!  Some people are so clever at these things.

Hello Cupcake is blog by a pair of cupcake bakers.  They have a pair of books, too:  Hello, Cupcake and What's New Cupcake?  Such clever decorations on these cupcakes!  I personally love the corn/Indian corn cupcakes, and the mini-pie cupcakes.  Lots of creatively arranged jelly beans on these.

Hello, Adorable is another website with lots of cuteness.  They have office and home supplies and so forth as well, but the section I really like is the edible section.  Cute cupcakes from Hello Cupcake, and some adorable bento boxes too.  I really like the Totoro bento on the first page, and the Cookie Monster cupcakes on page 2.

Speaking of Totoro, Icanhazcheezburger has a food picture spin-off site, called My Food Looks Funny, which featured this coffee art.  Awesome!  But would I want to drink my coffee when it looks so cute??

And of course bento is a wealth of cute food ideas.  Cooking Cute is a great intro to bento site, and check out the bento on the main page :)

And the piece de resistance, the Knitting Basket Cake at Cake Journal.  Too much fun!!  Now to find someone to help me make it for my next birthday...

I can't wait til I'm able to help friends and family make fun cupcakes and cakes for young folks' birthdays :)  Zach doesn't appreciate the wondrous fun of corn-on-the-cob cupcakes...

Pre-race fun!

We're here in Long Beach!  Race weekend all ready!

(The logo above is from the goody bag we received with our shirts and numbers and all. I really like that more races are going to the reusable drawstring backpacks for their swag bags.  More earth-friendly, and I certainly do use them!)

Of course, any good race expo means fun racing stuff!  And with expo sales too :)  I found a SPI Belt like I'd been looking for.  None of my running shorts have pockets, and if I'm going on a shorter run, it's nice to have someplace to stick the phone, keys, iPod, etc.  It's amazing how much the pocket stretches to hold!

The fun find of the day, though, was a Sock Guy sock sale!  They have some of the cutest socks!  As you can see, I found several pairs that were very "me."  The penguin pair says "Cold Feet  Warm Heart" on the bottom, and the bunny ones say "Chubby Bunny."  The watermelon socks don't say anything on the bottom, but are the pinkest socks I've ever seen!  In case you hadn't realized, bunnies and penguins are my running mascots ("quick like a bunny!") and two of my favorite critters, so I nearly squealed out loud in the expo.  And for watermelon, well, I have been known to try and eat my weight in it during summertime...  These 3 socks were just "me" and too much fun to resist :)

The expo and start/finish line areas were all at the Long Beach Convention Center and the adjacent Rainbow Lagoon City Park.

As you can see in these pictures, it was perfect running weather!!  The temperatures hung out in the 60s, with plenty of clouds and just a bit of mist or fog.  For a long run, that's AWESOME weather - couldn't have asked for better!  And just being closer to the water made for easier breathing too.  Heck, just being out of the desert helped with that!  Looking forward to the race!!  Bring it on, Long Beach!

Sport Your Pink!

Again time for the October Public Service Announcement, brought to you by the Knitting Penguin. Our family is buxom, with our own share of breast-related issues, but thankfully, no cancer as of yet. However, friends' and coworkers' families have been touched by this disease, as I'm sure it has affected many of yours, or your circles.

So pass on the Penguin (courtesy of JGoode Design's Penguin)! Get your checkups and keep the boobies healthy!

Oh, and if you were wondering, the title to the post is from this shop, first noticed several years ago on a car sticker back home in VB. Still tickles our philanthropic funny bone :)

Save the rainforest! Save the whales! Save the sea turtles! Save the ta-tas!

Back down to San Diego!

So, to escape the cold front (read: wind storm) that rolled through the High Desert, and to escape post in general and get away to civilization, we took the weekend as an excuse to scamper down to San Diego. A perfect afternoon to hit up Sea World! So much fun. I hadn't been to a Sea World park since we lived in Orlando when I was a kid.

First stop - feeding time at the otter area. The California otters get treats which the keepers call otter pops. Shrimp and shellfish and fish bits, put into a plastic tube, filled with water and frozen. Otter pops! The otters have to bang the tubes to get the treats out, so it simulates the natural behavior of cracking open shells. But, the plastic tube is a lot gentler on the habitat than actual shells. We learned that at the Monterey aquarium - using real shells scratches up the tank badly enough that you can't even see in anymore! We were lucky because this one otter brought her snack over to the corner right against the window to bang on it. We could see her pounding away to get her treat out - so cute!

The dolphins had great viewing windows at their tank, and were very interested in the people watching them too. And one, I swear, had a sense of humor! There were signs all over the dolphin viewing areas saying not to reach over the wall (i.e. into the tank). One dumb teenage chose to ignore the signs and start to reach over. This dolphin below splashed him! And then had this smile on its face - I swear he was laughing!

The Shamu show is required viewing at Sea World, isn't it? The parks have reduced in-water parts of the acts, since the trainer at the FL park died a few months ago, but these are still impressive animals to watch. I was excited too - got some nice pictures. The whales are so big that their jumps are not too fast for my camera's shutter speed (unlike the penguins!). Means I can actually catch pictures mid-jump, not the splash afterward :)

And of course we had to visit the penguin exhibit! So, there I am with the Magellanic penguins outside (the ones that live in South AMerica, not Antarctica). And with a cute little toy too. Sea World has all the dolls for sale, of course - Barbie as a trainer, Barbie as an Arctic Explorer, etc. This one was a little friend of the 'main dolls' and we just got such a kick out of it. She had a long reddish-brown braid, freckles, and what was her animal friend? The penguin! Too funny :)

I remember feeding the stingrays when we were little in Orlando, but I hadn't ever fed the pinnipeds before (seals and sea lions for those of you less science-dork than I). Zach and I split the tray of fish between us to feed them. So much fun! Yes, I am a giant little kid at parks like this :)

We had truly gorgeous weather while we were there. Flowers in bloom, light breeze, comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt.... lovely. We don't really get "spring" as such in the desert, so we enjoyed it a lot in San Diego. The sunshine was beautiful, but the breeze was enough to keep us off the water rides. Would have been a LOT chillier if we'd have been damp! And the sunshine made for some lovely pictures - I particularly liked the belugas. Since their tank is outside (unlike at the GA Aquarium), the sunshine created some wonderful patterns on them as they swam.

All in all, a lovely quick weekend trip. The only downside to the whole weekend? Finding out our favorite little pizza place in San Diego closed!! They actually made real garlic knots, but it looks like their building changed management, because the whole building was empty. Very upsetting :( Still, being in a city again means tons of eating options again, so we still enjoyed our dinner out, just minus the garlic knots. I swear, we're gonna be at a city again when we leave this post and not know what to do with ourselves, so many regular dining options!