Mia The Reader

The Lost Art of Mixing: A Review

Posted on October 3, 2013

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister is a beautifully written book about several people whose lives cross and sometimes become intertwined. The story centers around Lillian and her restaurant. Oh, how I would like to go there. I felt like I could smell the food described throughout the book. Bauermeister’s writing is clear yet full of senses. I can grab in my mind what she is describing. I love that kind of writing.

This is a character driven novel; the plot is a little weak at times, but all the characters are well developed. There is lots of talk about life rituals–picking up an empty suitcase and walking around the block, being lifted up on a chair, etc.) that was completely harmless but made me squirm. I’m okay with traditions, but when they turn into rituals…well, I squirm.

I found it interesting that every single character had a background of absent parents. It was as if all of the characters were searching for that anchor they missed in their own families. I especially enjoyed the relationship between elderly Louise and young Chloe; they were a pair of unlikely roommates. Finnegan was a little bit unbelievable, but I can forgive that because he was delightful.

If you like Ann Tyler, or books that feel kind of introverted into the characters’ minds, give The Lost Art of Mixing a try. This is my first book by Bauermeister, but I will definitely read The School of Essential Ingredients as soon as I can get my hands on it. However, I have to mention that this book doesn’t exactly give any answers. I enjoy a book with a little more philosophy mixed in with all the questions. Or a really good plot. One or the other. =) But I enjoy this style of writing, and maybe you will, too.

31 Days, Children's Books

Bing Bong Bang and Fiddle Dee Dee: A Wise Book

Posted on October 3, 2013

One of our family’s favorite quotes actually comes from a children’s picture book. And the picture book has a not so wise sounding name: Bing Bong Bang and Fiddle Dee Dee. But the quote can change your life:

“The morning is wiser than the evening.

And the light is better, too.”

Do you ever lie in bed at 3:00 a.m., worrying about something that you didn’t worry about during the day? Remind yourself that “the morning is wiser than the evening” and go to sleep. You can think about it better in the light.

Who knew children’s picture books are the best self help?

Do you have a favorite quote from a picture book? Share it in the comments!

This post is part of the 31 Days of Picture Books series. See the other posts in the series here.

And check out the other 31 Days bloggers at thenester.com.

31 Days, Children's Books

Books for Little Ballerinas

Posted on October 2, 2013

Day 2 of 31 Days of Picture Books is all about books for little ballerinas. (To read the other posts in the series, please go here.)

If you’ve been in the children’s section of a bookstore recently, you know it’s not hard to find books featuring fluffy tutus and the color pink. A current favorite with little girls is the Tallulah’s Tutu series. Then there’s the ever popular Angelina Ballerina (that little mouse has been blown way out of proportion). My four-year-old daughter Ella and I like those books, too. There are some others we love even more, though. I appreciate how most ballerina books teach an important lesson along with the tutus and toe shoes.

I had I Wear My Tutu Everywhere memorized when I was fourteen, thanks to a four-year-old sister who adored it. I re-memorized it when my daughter got her own copy at age 2. I have to admit, the words are pretty catchy. I now really appreciate the mental image it gives of a ripped tutu. When Ella asks if she can wear hers to the grocery store, I say “Remember what happened to Tilly’s tutu on the swing? Yours might rip on the shopping cart.” Works every time. However, we are not above wearing princess dresses to Publix. A few weeks ago, we did our shopping with a Disney Rapunzel riding in our race car shopping cart, replete with hair extensions (attached to a headband from The Dollar Store). I figure she’s only four once.

My great aunt gave me Harriet’s Recital for Christmas one year. I really related to the main character, a nervous bear-girl who is petrified of performing on stage. I especially identified with the way she said, “Oh, it was nothing” after the recital. I was just like that as a kid. Fortunately, I didn’t make any major mistakes in piano recitals until I was in high school. At that point, there was no use pretending anymore that I didn’t have a serious case of stage fright.

Susan Jeffers’s The Nutcracker is a beautiful book. I love the perspective from which she illustrates. However, I think The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet by Deborah Hautzig presents the story in an easy to understand yet more comprehensive way. The book is a great one to read before taking your little ones to see the ballet this Christmas.

Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella The entire Ella Bella Ballerina series are our favorite ballerina books around here. James Mayhew does a great job of telling a story such as Cinderella from the ballet background. The illustrations combine pretty ballerinas with a very cute little girl. And Ella is such a perfect name. =)

Finally, if you as a grown up need a crash course in ballet plots, pick up Of Swans, Sugar Plums, and Satin Slippers. I wouldn’t recommend it to children under ten or twelve (most ballets are rather tragic), but it’s helped me have a fairly decent knowledge of the popular classical ballets, and the illustrations are lovely.

Do you have a ballerina book recommendation? My Little Ballerina is always eager for more, and I can’t deny that I quite enjoy all these ballerina books myself. It’s a stage in Ella’s life that I’m clutching onto while it lasts. =)

31 Days, Children's Books

Little Books, Lasting Memories

Posted on October 1, 2013

Welcome to 31 Days of Picture Books!

I’m beginning the series with the two books that started our family’s house of books long before we were even a family. It should be no surprise that they are Little Golden Books. If you don’t have Little Golden Books from the 60s-80s in your home, get to the nearest second-hand bookstore you can find and load up. They are called golden for a reason. Although, they’re more a dull silver after 30 years…

When I was 1 one year old, my parents gave me The Store-Bought Doll for Christmas. The book is by Lois Meyer and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson (famous for her version of The Twelve Dancing Princesses). It tells the story of Christina, a little girl (dressed in adorable calico) who lives on a farm with her parents and treasures her rag doll and best friend, Lucy. One day, she is given a china doll from the city. The doll is breathtakingly beautiful. Christina spends the day entranced by her new doll. But Christina soon learns that love is based on character qualities instead of appearance, even when it comes to dolls.

Looking back now, I can’t say for sure that this book is the source of my love for dolls, but I think it had something to do with my attachment to my too-many dolls from age 2 into my teens. Oh, who am I kidding, I still have most of them. How can I ever get rid of a doll after reading this book? Some of them my daughter (and son…he’s going to be a great dad one day) plays with now. However, there are two rag dolls in the attic that have been so well-loved, they are beyond playing with. One of them is named Lucy. But she’s not the only Lucy doll in our house. My daughter is 4 and she is a two-doll girl. She has others, but they are high on a closet shelf 95% of the time. However, Lucy and Christina are her constant companions. They play with her every day and sleep with her every night. And yes, she picked those names herself at age 2. Makes my heart sing.

My husband’s book foundation is a more well known book, The Boy With a Drum by David L. Harrison and Eloise Wilkin. It is a rhyming, sing song book of a little boy who marches off his porch one morning playing his drum. He is the Pied Piper of animals with that drum, collecting quite a parade that stretches from morning to moonlight. I’ve read this book a thousand times, and I’ve yet to read it to a child who didn’t want to read it again. That last image of the boy marching over a hill under the moon makes my mother-heart ache. It’s just a story, but I’d rest easier if that little boy ended up in his little, soft bed being tucked in by his mother.

I am becoming a collector of Eloise Wilkin books. Her illustrations feel like home to me. My Nana and Grandaddy gave me My Goodnight Book when I was almost one, and my mom always wanted to read We Help Mommy or We Help Daddy (I wonder why? Just kidding. I encourage the reading of those books now, too!). When I see an Eloise Wilkin book in a bookstore for a good price, I snatch it up.

Which books did you read over and over as a child?

31 Days of Picture Books

Books for Little Boys

Camping with Kids

31 Days, Children's Books

31 Days of Picture Books

Posted on September 30, 2013

I’m not very good at home decor (understatement). However, there is a blog I have followed for years that is all about decorating. I started following Nesting Place because a friend/sister-in-law who knows what she’s talking about told me The Nester’s style is perfect. Well, yes, it is. And heaven knows, I need someone to tell me what looks good when it comes to my home. Still, what sticks with me the most from reading years of the amazing insight The Nester shares has touched more than just my home (though I do have to give her credit for helping me realize I love the colors white, blue, and grey). What sticks with me about The Nester is her motto:

It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

I say that to myself all the time these days.

The Nester is one of my favorite bloggers, so I am thrilled to join in on her 31 days series this October. For 31 days, a bunch of blogs will pick one topic (any topic, doesn’t have to be about decorating) to focus on and blog about every day. Since I can’t tell you anything about color palettes, or how to unpack from a move a little each day, or how to save up for a European vacation, I’m sticking to something I can talk about to infinity and beyond: picture books.

I cherish the time I spend reading to my children. I treasure the memories of being read to as a child. When I see my parents reading to my children, there is a throb of rightness inside of me. I don’t know why reading to a child or being read to as a child is so significant, but I know it has always been part of my love language. Picture books tie me to my childhood like no other object. The pages of certain fairy tales make me feel as if I’m looking into a room that I’ve lived and breathed in. Yes, I had (have) an overactive imagination. But, as Meg Ryan says in You’ve Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way no other reading in your whole life does.” Yes, it’s just a quote in a movie. But I think it’s true.

31 Days of Picture Books starts tomorrow. I am looking forward to sharing some of the books that shaped my childhood and the books that are favorites of my own children. My goal is to feature books that aren’t so popular, ones that you maybe haven’t heard of. This won’t be an attempt to create a list of the best children’s books of all time. My choices will be based on those books whose words, beauty, whimsy, imagination, or awesome-fun story have grabbed my family and stuck with us. I hope you’ll enjoy diving into the world of picture books with me for this month. If you’re not into children’s books, don’t abandon me for the month of October entirely — I’ll still be posting some adult book reviews, too.

The 31 Days of Picture Books series is under way. Check out the posts so far, and feel free to tell me about the books that transport you back to your childhood, whether you read them as a child or are reading them to your children now. I’m embracing the child that has grown but is still in me. Here’s your invitation to do the same.

All the 31 days Posts:

Day 1: Little Books, Lasting Memories

Day 2: Books for Little Ballerinas

Day 3: Bing Bong Bang and Fiddle Dee Dee: A Wise Book

Day 4: Our Friends Lily and Milo

Day 5: Saturday Picture Book Reading

Day 6: A Book to Banish My Sunday Pity Parties

Day 7: Grab Your Winter Coat Books

Day 8: Introducing Young Children to Art Through Picture Books

Day 9: Rags

Day 10: Finding Balance in the Fairy Tale Frenzy

Day 11: Pilgrims or Indians?