The Westing Game

I just finished the Westing Game.  It was good but not great and not one of my top favorites.  I felt it was very confusing and hard to follow.  There were so many characters and they were all intertwined and hard to keep track of.  I like a good mystery, who-done-it, type.  I did enjoy the mystery.  My favorite character was probably Turtle.  She is a super smart stock-savvy ten year old.  She figures it all out and outwits, outlasts and outplays all the adults.  Hey it's the original Survivor.  Good, short read.

Up, Up and Away

I just finished "Twenty-One Balloons" by  William Pène du Bois, published in 1947 and awarded the Newbery Medal  in 1948.  I actually had listened to this on CD with the kids in the car while driving up to Bear Lake last year.  Because of many interruptions in the car, I wanted to read it again.  I had thoroughly enjoyed listening to it but I felt like I missed some of it with all the stopping and starting.  I don't know why kids have to talk to you so much, especially in the car. Anyway, I just finished and I still loved it.  It is a great book.  The imagery is so wonderful and the writing is amazing.  I loved how the descriptions caused such great pictures to appear in my mind.  I wish I was a screen writer so I could make this into a movie.  I think it would be fascinating.  I loved how they had a restaurant-style government, that each family changed their name to a letter of the alphabet, how each house was built after a theme of a country that started with the letter of their name.  The whole idea of balloon travel and the way it is described is, again, I will say, fascinating.  The imagery (I think I need a new word) of the island, as a volcano, and the ground rolling up and down was incredible.  It was entertaining for adults and kids.  I think it would be a good read-aloud for a class.  It is a short, quick read but thoroughly enjoyable.  One of my favorites.

Miss Hickory.... cookoo

Okay, this book was really weird... I can totally picture a Tim Burton animated film.  Let me explain.... Miss Hickory is a "person" made of an apple tree twig for her body, arms, legs, etc.. her head is a hickory nut.  She wears clothes and cans berries.  She starts out the story living in a house made of corn cobs, she talks to crows, her house is taken over by a chipmunk, but crow flies her up to a next and she turns that into a humble abode.  She somehow makes facial expressions even though her face is a hard nut.  She eats somehow even though, again her face and mouth are a nut and her body is a twig.  She also talks to pheasants and cows.  A fawn and a cow become friends.  I wonder where Miss Hickory finds her tiny little mason jars to do her canning.  This book was really short but I just couldn't finish it.  I read about 60 pages and I couldn't get where this story was going.  It eluded, at the beginning, that there was some little girl that had set up her house, and would bring her things, like a stove or a teapot, but then there was no more talk of the girl.  They thought she moved away.  I am all about fantasy, I know Harry Potter isn't real and I really shouldn't wonder how Hedwig can find anyone to deliver a letter. But, that story is all set up with explanation, it's MAGIC!  duh...  But Miss Hickory is just a lady made of a twig and a nut that cans and wears clothes.  It doesn't say it's a magical forest or anything.  I don't know I thought it was weird.

Here is a doll someone had made that LOVED the book.  A little creepy if you ask me, but hey this book was not my cup of tea.  I guess not every book can be a home run (as my Dad would say)

I have decided that if I attempt to read, and don't finish the book, it still counts and I can check it off the list.  I had to get confirmation from my sisters, Lauren and Adrienne on this.  I have on my Bucket List to read all of the Newberry Book Winners, and I didn't know if I didn't finish them if it would count.  They said YES so hallelujah, I don't have to finish the books for them to count.