Archive for November, 2012

My fourth-grader rips through books in a single day. He is a precocious little reader, and I am constantly searching for series of books for him to read. I went into our local library this weekend and a lovely librarian came up with a great list of books for my little guys to tackle. And then she even walked me around to find them.

I am pulling the description and age recommendation of each book from Amazon.com but you know your kids best.

Here are the book she recommended for my 9-year-old boy:

“Gregor The Overlander” (Underland Chronicles, Book 1)by  Suzanne Collins

From Amazon.com: 8 and up

“This irresistible first novel tells the story of a quiet boy who embarks on a dangerous quest in order to fulfill his destiny — and find his father — in a strange world beneath New York City.”

“When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This …

Continue reading Have a precocious reader? Book series to keep even the fastest reader busy »

Twenty-one animated films have been submitted for consideration for an Oscar. Which one would you vote for?

From  The AP:

“”Brave,” ”Wreck-It Ralph” and “Rise of the Guardians” are among the animated features angling for an Oscar nomination….

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” ”Frankenweenie,” ”Ice Age Continental Drift” and “ParaNorman” are among the high-profile movies vying for one of five nominations. Other contenders include France’s “The Rabbi’s Cat” and Japan’s “From Up on Poppy Hill.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says several of the films listed have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying runs.

“Rango” won the prize earlier this year after 18 films were in nomination contention.

The 85th annual Academy Awards are set for Feb. 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.”

We have not seen “Wreck-It Ralph” yet  or “The Rise of the Guardians,”  it’s not out for a few more weeks, but my kids do want to see both of them. “Wreck-It …

Continue reading 21 animated films vying for Oscar: Which would you vote for? »

I was clicking through Facebook last night looking at all the different Halloween costumes and couldn’t help but pause on the little boy dressed in a Confederate solider costume carrying a very large Confederate flag.

I’m not sure why I paused. I love history and that’s an historical outfit but I just wasn’t sure it was OK.  Grown men do Civil War re-enactments all the time and that seems OK. But is a Georgia Reb costume out there without the other side somehow offensive or insensitive?

We know from Prince Harry that Nazi soldier costumes are not OK. I am thinking that a KKK costume would definitely NOT be OK. So what historical costumes are off the table? What can you definitely NOT wear and are Confederate soldier costumes in that realm?

Quick aside: I would like to add that my favorite costume was my cousin’s husband and their baby. Hubby dressed as a giant gorilla and the baby was dressed like his banana!  So cute!

Continue reading Is a Confederate soldier costume out of bounds? »