No Scrap Left Behind

No Scrap Left Behind is the newest book in my collection.  It is by my sister, and I enjoyed paging through it the first time.  I knew she was writing a book, but wasn't sure which quilts were going to be in it.  The one on the cover is one I want to try to make, as well as the mini nines quilt, though I am not going to make my squares quite so small.  If you like making or admiring quilts, this book is worth looking at.  There are also a few small projects at the end of the book for people who might not want to commit to making a quilt but have scraps from other sewing projects. 

Agnes and Clarabelle

Agnes and Clarabelle by Adele Griffin and Courtney Sheinmel is a fun book for early elementary students.  It is a beginning chapter book with great characters and pictures  Agnes and Clarabelle are best friends and enjoy an adventure for each season.  For spring, the two friends plan a surprise birthday party.  Summer finds them on a trip to the beach, while in the fall they go shopping and in the winter they make pizza.  The antics of Agnes and Clarabelle made me smile because of the real life situations in which they find themselves and how they solve their problems.

Mr. Goat's Valentine

I came across Mr. Goat's Valentine by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Kevin Zimmer at the library yesterday and I am glad I did.  When Mr. Goat realizes it is Valentine's Day, he knows it is time to find a gift for his first love.  He sets out and collects a variety of unusual items for his first love and then delivers them himself.  His first love ends up being his mother, though the reader doesn't know that until the very last page.  If you spend time with preschool or elementary students, it would be worth getting from the library to share with them.  The Day it Rained Hearts is still my favorite Valentine book, though this one is now number two on my list.  Do you have any favorite books for Valentine's Day?

new year, new hobby

Yesterday I went bird watching.  There is a Christmas Bird Count sponsored by the Audubon Society, and I took part.  The group I was part of has been meeting for years here in town.  We met up in the morning at a restaurant, and then we were put into groups .  Each group was assigned to cover a certain part of the area surrounding town.  We drove around, looking for birds, sometimes stopping to see if a grove of trees had any birds.  We also stopped when an individual saw a bird.  Then those with binoculars would try to determine what kind of bird it was.  The surprise to me is that we saw eighteen unique species-despite it being in Minnesota in winter.  Some of those were three kinds of woodpeckers, at least one dark-eyed junco, snow buntings, two types of finches, lots of blue jays, six robins, two cardinals, along with some turkeys and pheasants.  It was good to go with others (I didn't know what a junco was and didn't have binoculars either), but bird watching might be my new hobby.  I like the idea of it, as I don't need to invest in a lot of stuff (probably just another bird guide and a set of binoculars).  It is also something I can do anywhere and it doesn't produce stuff, though I will likely start a notebook to track what I have seen as well as when and where I saw certain birds.  

If You Give a Mouse a Brownie

If You Give a Mouse a Brownie by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond is the newest book by the popular duo.  Written in the same style as the other books, Mouse wants more than what he has and continues to ask for one more thing.  I enjoyed this story more than If You Give a Cat a Cupcake or If You Give a Dog a Donut.  For those of you who liked the other books or have children who do, this is worth picking up at the library or the bookstore. 

Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow

Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow written by Sharon Gibson Palermo and illustrated by Christina Song is a good book to share with children this winter.  Each page depicts a forest animal and what they do in the winter.  It could be shared with preschool or grade school children regarding animal behaviors in a cold and snowy climate.  The repetitive line "Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow," reminded me of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  by Bill Martin Jr, though the vocabulary in this book is more complex than Martin's work.  It appeals to me as an adult because it is not overly simple and it reminds me of the uniqueness of winter in the northern United States and Canada.