milly-molly-mandy's autumn

A throwback to simpler times.  Introducing Avery to Milly-Molly-Mandy, a girl growing up in a small English village, and some of her autumn goings-on—helping her mother make “lots of pots of pumpkin-and-ginger jam,” watching everything go aflame for Guy Fawkes Day, celebrating the blacksmith’s wedding and anxiously waiting to see what her mysterious plant will turn out to be.  This is one to read aloud at bedtime with a cup of warm tea in hand.  Written by Joyce Lankester Brisley, the first set of Milly-Molly-Mandy stories was published in 1928.

I came across this recipe for chocolate and ginger cake inspired by the book on the most charming blog about food in books, The Little Library Café (@bakingfiction).  Kate is also writing a cookbook with recipes inspired by literature (one of my favorite kinds of books), due out in fall 2017.

Also, be sure to check out what @the.book.report is sharing for #classicchapterbooks today.  Milly-Molly-Mandy’s Autumn was published by Macmillan Children’s Books.

imogen: the mother of modernism and three boys

A story about Imogen Cunningham, one of the most significant photographers of the last century and an original member of the f/64 group.  With her hands full raising three boys, she still found the time and means to weave her work into her family life.  She showed us that even in a time when there was a dearth of female artists and working mothers, it was possible to pursue her métier as a photographer.

"You can't expect things to be smooth and easy and beautiful.  You just have to work, find your way out, and do anything you can yourself."

Imogen: The Mother of Modernism and Three Boys was written by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Lisa Congdon and published by Cameron + Company.

oh no! not again!

I can tell Nate loves Oh No! Not Again! because it frequently gets pulled off the shelf and ends up on the floor of his room after he's done reading it.

The time-traveling bespectacled girl from Oh No! is back, and this time, is in disbelief over one incorrect answer on her history test (she still got an A, mind you).  Her plan to go back in time to 33,000 BCE to fabricate some cave paintings—which will render her answer correct on the test—goes completely and utterly awry.

Ridiculously clever and comedic with a slightly dreadful ending, Oh No! Not Again! has all the makings of a retro sepia-toned sci-fi film.  Perfectly executed, but would we expect anything less from a team like Mac Barnett and Dan Santat?

little lit book series: the family edition

We're sharing books on the theme of family in this month's #littlelitbookseries.

“Their little red car seemed to muster all of its courage as it waited outside, ready for the road.”  Stuck in their car in a torrential downpour on a trip home, Francie and her mother talk about what they will name her baby sister when she's born.  They run through different possibilities, with none of them feeling like a good fit.  But later a significant moment comes when her mother comes up with just the right name, one that Francie will remember forever.

We love how Bob Graham sets the scene with not just what's happening with the protagonists of the story.  He expands his narrative and paints a picture of the environment and other people in it, all part of the bigger picture, just like in our lives.  There is our narrative—the moments that string together to make up the course of our lives—and how that all fits into  the world around us.  Our story becomes a part of everyone else's story.  A beautiful reminder that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.

Home in the Rain is by Bob Graham and published by Walker Books.