Translantic Cat

Transatlantic Cat

With birds  above me
and animals alongside
all
furless like the elf cat
we are leaving humanity
in a dream

Creative activities for teens

Therapeutic activities for children
Creative Facilitation Manual

Rookie Smarts

The Young and the Perceptive

Uplifting Leadership

Josephine Cochrane 1839-1913 invented the dishwasher

The Frog Toad Collection

The Frog and Toad has such lovable illustrations.
In 'The Icecream' when toad falls to the bottom of the pond, my little reader said 'Frog is rescuing Toad'. Words sound so beautiful, when a toddler says them.

'The Surprise' seems so dark, that the Frog and Toad will never know that their friends cleaned up their frontyard of leaves and the evil wind spread the pile of dirt all over. 

Whos stronger, the Wind or the Mountain?

I was very curious about this book 'You are not small' with its ads on goodreads. The sparse illustrations ramp up the curiosity. Some characters reminded me of the ones in 'Where the Wild things are'. with very few sentences and drawing strokes, big concepts of comparision and perspective are introduced.

Exile

The Improbable Exile and the invention of Exile.

The Exquisite Butterfly Companion

Some butterflies look like painting. Some have different shapes of wings.

The Fourteenth Goldfish

In a very simple manner, very serious issues have been dealth with. The goldfish mention may fool the reader that it is one of those made up things that you have to use a bit of suspended belief. But just like the umpteen goldfish that replace the last one so it seems immortal to the little girl Ellie. Many truths and lessons accumulate in this small book. Knowing the truth of gold fish life term is the metamorphism akin to whats in store for about to be teenager Ellie. Between new and old friends, she gets a peek into her new teenager friend who is her grandfather, a scientist. From him she learns and finds her passion, just like her parents want her to find one. She learns of the two way edge sword called science.
author Jennifer Holm has very cleverly used the plot elements of having a character duo of the granddaughter and grandpa translatable to her age. Award worthy work.

Cat in the Echo Canyon

From


Spelling teachers book of lists
Cat and echo

Schezuan, The cat found himself in a dark dingy place. He said 'Meow' and he heard th other cat say 'Meow..meow..meow..' He thought this is a speedy cat who cant wait before the next are-you-listening-to-me meow. But the speedy Cat Meow would never start his/her own meow first. It always followed his meow. Was this a shy cat?
Schezuan then recalled that this sounded much like a blast from the past. He heard this same cat in Golkonda fort, which can echo.

Cat and Ketchup
Honey Mustard, the Cat was drunk on ketchup.

Finger guest
Know the song. Daddy finger Daddy Finger, Mommy finger Mommy finger.. Guest finger is when a person has more fingers than family.

Jam Refrigerator

Steel Llama


Canal Knot
Rabbit Leggings

conrad Storad's non fiction writing workshop

Notes from conrad storads workshop

Monster in the Rocks

The author asked in a workshop about the smallest owl. And here I thought - burrowing owl. somebody said Pygmy owl. But we are told, there is an even smaller owl, the elf owl who is the narrator of this story.
The illustrations need a special mention, not only do they maintain the unique look from 'Rattlesnake Rules' but each page gives you a look at the wonderful Sonoran desert landscape with cacti, some flowering. The lesson is learnt by Gambel Quail chicks to stay off the trail and be wary of monster who doesnt look like one.

Snake Swim Ring and Rattlesnake Rules

Coogam 40'' 3D Snake Swim Ring Inflatable Pool Float Color Rubber Open-loop Inner Tube Water Donut Rafts Foam Toy for Adults Kids Summer Outdoor Beach Playing Decoration (Red)

I am trying to dispel my fear of snakes by learning about them and treating them as part of nature. 'Rattklesnake Rules' makes the rattle snakes look very cute with each having a hat, bow or some personal effect like that.
It is funny that mama snake has to tell the baby snakes not to be afraid of their rattles. The book shows how the world gets on well with every one following rules, just like traffic.

The author Conrad Storad is an amazing person. He conducts writing workshops at Tempe Public Library.

Ida M Tarbell

This is an engrossing story of a woman who 'was drafting a life plan, beginning with an outline and revising it as new ideas occured to her'.
The book does a very good portrayal of the times of Ms. Ida M Tarbell, her passion for learning, people who helped and influenced her. Pictures of the people involved and the water world kind of rickety oil derricks maintain the readers interest.
The saga of muckraking has suspense in it. If she will get to the facts fast enough before they are wiped out.
When asked to participate in many causes and on the boards she refused saying 'she was an observer and not a negotiator'.
Imagine interviewing Louis Paster.
It might challenge young readers but it is a good read for adults too.

One of Ms Ida Tarbell's lines - "I never saw a machine I did not want to run".

Arabic Poems

searching for wild kine I ended up at a book - Desert Travel as a Form of Boasting.

I found it
Rain Song
Brief and Timeless  reminds me of an answer a friend gave about how she was managing something - with 'help and difficulty'.
The City is arc of madness -  Adonis

I never ...

"I never saw a cloud I didnt like" - William Stafford
"I never saw a machine I didnt want to run" - Ida M Tarbell
I never saw a book that I didnt want to crack open

Easy to use Blood pressure monitor

The device is easy to wrap around the wrist and the numbers show up in no time. I havent checked the smart function yet.

Scissors

I like books on writers. I read mostly non-fiction. But Scissors, even thouh a novel is still within the reach of a non-fiction reader.
It is also humorous. Wait till you find out who is scissors and what he does. The rate of poin of view changes i like a musical chair.

Glitter and Glue

 


I tried to like this book but couldnt connect to it. The title and the underlying dynamic is catchy. This book had travel in it. So I jumped in to read. The dialogues with the Tanner family make the whole scene vivid. Imagine a Marsupial Encyclopaedia and you know where you are. The author has an arsenal of writing skills but the bull's eye kept changing with the back and forth with mom and present. I enjoy reading essays about mothers and daughters. I have enjoyed memoirs like 'The Florist's Daughter' by Patricia Hampl. I was looking for that rich texture in the mother-daughter experience landscape which I found lacking in the book.

Poached

I thought Teddy was an animal to begin with. Having been a volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo for the koala exhibit, I was all set to read the book. Phew, the pre-teeners, what they try to pull off.
For science week/month this year, Chandler, AZ had a small display to solve a fictional crime with some evidence and lab experts all in one tent. This chase too to solve the mystery, keeps whats in the domain of our little solver - some sleuthing, guessing, elimination, the real brainy things accessible and the lab expert kind of stuff in the hands of characters out of scope. This chiaroscuro of keeping just the things needed to solve the problem in focus makes the young readers easily fall into the game of playing detective.

Duck in the Fridge

The ruckus in the house with so many animals reminded me of a story from high school where Rampal the tailor had a big family to deal with along with lots of pets and horses.
The illustrations in the book are adorable with the animals calling the place their own.
But if this is back filling the story of how Mother Goose stories are effective in helping anyoone fall asleep, I am not thrilled. It could have been some nondescript book but then the jokes of the stories wouldnt find place in the story.
My only qualm with the book is banking on the Mother Goose characters as I am left wondering how would it have been independent.

Walking Home

My friend sent me the 'Walking Home' book by Simon Armitage after hearing about this book on NPR.
These books were made for walking
She said it reminded her of me and my walks.

Tomato Land

Shruthi was going on a vacation. To TomatoLand. As a reporter.
She went to a raspberry farm and asked for a dozen (rainbows) raspberries.
The vendor asked if she had a truck.
She wondered why would she need a truck for what she could carry by hand.
She then asked to see a raspberry.
He took a plastic hive frame that looked like the shape of a giant raspberry, from the cabinet and showed it to her. "This is filled with our best tomatoes". One Raspberry can hold upto 50 tomatoes.
She held her fingers to show the size of raspberry she was expecting. The vendor said, oh those raspberries, we don make them, yo have to go the Land of Things, you are in the Land of shapes now.

Pile of fruits

Just when Shruthi was done in Tomato Land, she got a message from her editor that she had to be at the Alaska State Fair to cover the news about giant cabbages. And how about a reindeer as a pet story.

Moral Maths

If you break a sketch in one day, how many days will it take to break 4 sketches?
Ammu was puzzled to find this question in her book.
What happened to good old  "If an orange costs 20Rs a piece, how many do 7 oranges cost?"
She asked her friend Pammi if she had a question about sketches in her book, she replied
"No. Its about Ducks."
If a duck lays an egg a day, how many eggs will it lay in 20 days?

Throw Like a Girl

Throw Like a Girl
Mone Davis

Word play

She has two eyebrows
She too has eyebrows
She has to have eyebrows

Teaching With Heart

At a school, a teacher was pepping up the student lagging behind. He answered that he is walking.
I asked him what does she teach
"Everything"
How do some leave an everlasting impression. Whats their driving force? Some of the teachers here share the poems and what they find in them to move on forward with the tough job of teaching. I am familiar with some of the poets but none of the poems except for one which I heard in a poetry reading recording - Margaret Atwoods' "You Begin"
some of my favourites in the book are
Purple
Kindness
Famous
Edgar Degas and Philip Levine
The way it is 
What is your thread?
At the end of a book is a steb-by-step of how to start your own similar projects.
 Cant wait to use unseasonable. Another Lilacs in september.
The Real Work

The Back Chamber

I didnt enjoy this book as well as other Donald Hall books like 'Unpacking the boxes'.
'Apples peaches' poem is the authors reflection on the time left to him.
'What we did', 'Searching','The Gardener', 'The Offspring','Freezes and Junes' - all meditations on the authors wife, posthumous birthday celebration like.
'Rics progress' is a long poem with a movie story and follows the life of characters to the fag end of it.
'Envy'- author envies his pet's granted euthanasia.
'Maples'- leaves the reader with a strong image of the solitary landscape.