The Minimalist Home

The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker is the latest nonfiction book I read.  It is just as good as The More of Less, but definitely more specific on how to make your home a place where you want to be but not encumbered by stuff.  Chapter by chapter he talks about how to get your home in order so you can do the things you want to do instead of spending so much time taking care of your possessions.  At the end of each chapter, Becker gives step by step directions to take care of each part of the house.  Then he has a minimizing checklist.

A few quotes I liked from the book are

• Be remembered for the life you lived, not the things you bought.
• It is better to do stuff than to have stuff.
• You don't need more space.  You need less stuff.

Click, Clack, Moo I Love You!

Click, Clack, Moo  I Love You! by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin is a cute Valentine's book for preschool and elementary aged children.  Little Duck is having a Valentine's party and spends time decorating.  The familiar characters of Farmer Brown, the cows, the sheep and the pigs are all included in the story.  The party is going great with food and dancing, but then Fox shows up.  Thankfully, Little Fox isn't there to crash the party but have some fun.  The draw for this book is the illustrations, as there is glitter on all the pages.

Ice Boy

Ice Boy by David Ezra Stein is a book you worth reading to children.  Ice Boy is an ice cube who lives in the freezer with his family.  He wants to know what life is like outside, so one day he leaves on what became a great adventure.  He goes to the beach, where he becomes Water Boy.  Later, Water Boy changes to Vapor Boy, eventually turning back into Ice Boy.  As Ice Boy, he gets reunited with his parents.  Young children would enjoy this book, but my older students enjoyed it as well.  Though it is a silly story, it could be used to talk about the different states of matter, especially concerning water.