The 100 Books Pact - 50/100

Angel (and me) are in love with Robert Munsch (RM) books and we have read most of his books that our library has to offer. She loves these books so much that she gets them for her book bag program from school (the program where the children can choose a book to carry home for a week from the school’s library) even when she has read them a lot of times and knows the story and the characters by heart. I think his success sutra is the exaggerated sounds and words in each of his stories which the little ones find so appealing. Not to forget the colorful and cheerful pictures by the illustrators. So here I am listing 10 of Angel’s favorite Munsch books out of the many more!

41/100 Alligator Baby  

This one tops the chart. This is the first RM book that we read. Kristen’s parents are expecting a baby, but instead of going to the hospital, they end up in a zoo and got home an alligator baby in confusion. The book always leaves her in splits and she has kept the book for the maximum duration that we can borrow the book from the library (60 days) as well as in the book bag program (2 weeks).

42/100 Mortimer  

A story of a boy who wouldn’t go to sleep and his family is going crazy because of him. His whole family and even the cops tell him to be QUIET and he says yes, but does what he shouldn’t immediately. He sings. Loudly. And has a song for his noise. I think the song is what Angel loves most about this book. Ultimately he falls asleep while the whole family is fighting over whose responsibility it is. It’s great for a bedtime book even or despite of its predictable ending!

43/100 Get Out of Bed 

When Amy’s family couldn’t wake her up in the morning, they dropped her off to school in her bed. So the events of the day carry on around her/including her while she dozes through. What will happen he next day? Her classmates have a last laugh, for sure!

44/100 Andrew’s Loose Tooth  

It’s a good book to read to the age group of 5-6 when they actually start losing teeth. Angel was a little shocked at the idea of losing teeth and we saw some videos of children who had loose/missing teeth and eventually she was okay.

45/100 We Share EVERYTHING  

On the first day of school Amanda and Jeremiah didn’t know what to do and they fight over everything like toys, paints and books, their teacher tells them to share. Soon Amanda parades around in Jeremiah’s clothes and he is loving Amanda’s pink shoes. Fun book.

46/100 Mmm, Cookies 

Christopher’s play clay cookies look delicious and he offers them to everyone, everyone soon realizes that they have been tricked. The teacher decides to give him a taste of his own medicine. The illustrations are wonderful and it’s a fun story that any child will like to hear.

47/100 Ribbon Rescue  

Jillian is in love with the traditional ribbon dress, made of many ribbons (duh!). When she realizes that people need help and her ribbons will do the trick, she happily parts with her ribbons one by one. The plot depicts sharing and helping in a subtle and entertaining way.

48/100 Deep Snow  

This is crazy story about two little girls who dive into the snow and couldn’t get out. We first read it last winter when it was snowing here. This involves a father, a snow mobile, a plane and a dog (in the illustrations). WARNING: Do not attempt to try any of these antics at home - the story is purely silly and meant for a good laugh – we all need it every once in a while.

49/100 Smelly Socks 

Children like all the gross things and this is a reminder to just that.  Tina loves her new socks so much that she is never going to take them off. However when her socks start smelling, her friends take action! Its super funny, very exaggerated and over the top just like many other RM books.

50/100 Moose!  

One morning, Luke finds a moose in his backyard. He then wakes his parents up and nobody believes him until they go to the backyard and loot at the moose themselves. They try to get rid of the moose and are unable to so. Meanwhile Luke develops a special liking for the moose and want to keep it as a pet. It’s a perfect book for young children.

Unlearn

I was watching a conversation between J* & Angel. They were playing together when J* threw her Dory Mashem (a small squishy toy) towards her with the intent of giving her a catch and she missed.

Angel: Papa, it hurt me

J* : Sorry baby, throw it at me, to check if it hurts

Angel: No Papa, I want to be nice!

This is just one example at the top of my head which amazes me how at this age she has a strong sense of right and wrong! Even her teacher tells us that she doesn’t hesitate in telling her friends that “No, that’s not right” no matter how much they are into the game. Sometimes she is so full of worldly wisdom, at other time she drives us nuts with her question and questions on questions. She is essentially herself. And I want her to remain this way. Forever.

Like any other parent, I too have a list of things that I want her to learn. However there are certain things which I don’t want her to learn. Things that are deeply rooted in our society, things that we teach our children implicitly, if not explicitly, things that we tend to hear a lot but we should not. So l want to make a conscious effort of breaking this chain. So here goes the list I want my daughter to read whenever I give her the link to this blog.

1.       The standards of beauty: They will tell you that you have to be a particular height, a particular weight, a particular skin tone, a particular figure to look beautiful. Don’t believe them. You are beautiful the way you are. Remember that when you were 4, you hated to wear dresses, stockings or when mama made your hair, were least bothered about how you looked (believe me, there are children who are very self-conscious at this age) and weighed your comfort over everything else. This is one of the (many) things that I love about you. Don’t bother to change yourself just because people tell you to.

2.       Since you are a girl.. : Be vary of statements which begin like this. For example –

a.      Since you are a girl, you have to get married and have kids by so and so age. Don’t believe this for the heck of it. Marriage and having children are huge responsibilities and require a lot of hard work. Do them when you are READY and when you WANT to, not because you HAVE to. And if either of these things don’t fall in place in the way of how you planned things for yourself, so be it. You are a complete person in yourself and don’t require anyone else to complete you.

b.      Since you are girl, you have to make compromises. No, you don’t baby! Adjustments yes, compromises no. Everyone has to make minor adjustments in their lives and you will too but don’t compromise on your life choices.

3.      The art of cooking: You don’t have to love cooking, unless of course, you plan to become a chef! Cooking is just another life skill which you should know to survive. If you love to cook, that’s great and if you can’t shell out n number of courses of meals that’s okay too.

4.      A spotless home: It’s okay to be messy! If while following your dreams, you can keep your home sorted, that’s great. Otherwise, it’s fine. Though a basic level of cleanliness is necessary for hygiene purposes and de-cluttering of mind, peace of mind and fulfilling your dreams is more important than a spotlessly clean house.

5.      There are no knights in shining armors: You will have to stand up for yourself and believe in yourself first. Because if you don’t, nobody else will!

Be kind and humble, but also be the brave and fearless girl that you are who knows right from wrong!

The 100 Books Pact - 40/100

31/100 The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

There are books and there are compelled-to-finish kind of books. This one falls in the latter category. I just finished reading this book and cannot get the characters out of my mind. To say that I loved this book would be an understatement! It started off a bit slow for me, didn’t grab my interest outright but it was gripping after a few chapters. It reminded me that books aren’t just entertaining, they are much more. I read this book over a couple of days and couldn’t go to bed without thinking about the book and the characters, all three of them – Natsya, Josh and Drew, which are so well written. And I loved the ending, it was really beautiful. Highly recommended!

32/100  Sam’s letters to Jennifer by James Patterson

This consists of two great love stories within a single book. Jennifer rushes to be the on the side of her grandmother Sam when she is hospitalized. She got to read the letters written by Sam, addressed to her baring her heart out about her life, unhappy marriage and the mysterious love of her life addressed as “Doc”. Not believing in love after the loss of her soulmate husband, Jennifer learns to open up her doors for a new possibility and discovers that the magic still exists. I liked the writing style of the author and picked another of his popular book. Read on.

33/100  Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

This is a very sad book, stay away if you are not in the mood. It left me disturbed and affected me which is a sign of a good book but keep a box of paper-napkins on stand by. Kate is pregnant and has planned a romantic surprise to reveal it to the father – Matt Harrison. Ironically, he chooses the same night to disappear from her life leaving nothing behind but a very personal diary - Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Suzzane was his ex-wife and Nicholas, their son. She has written about her relationship with Matt, how they met and fell in love. Reading the dairy was painful for Kate, but she also knew that the answer to weather she would be able to get back together with Matt lay within the diary!

34/100 Charlotte’s Web by E B White

I had always heard of this book as the best book for children, the top 50 book that your child should read before s/he turns 10 and I had never read it/ So finally, I laid my hands on it and it deserves all the accolades that it has got. This depicts the true meaning of kindness, friendship, loyalty and trust. I am waiting for Angel to be 6ish and discover this wonderful book.

35/100 Lady, You Are Not A Man by Apurva Purohit 

This book was recommended to me by a dear friend KD when I went back to work after my maternity leave and was having trouble finding the right balance and I am so thankful to her for that. It ended my dilemma of weather I should place a resignation or not. I read this book in bits and pieces a couple of times whenever I am low or don’t have anything to do. So irrespective of you are a working woman or not, you will connect with this book. I don’t agree with all the things that the author has to say, but most do ring a bell.

36/100, 37/100 and 38/100

The Clue in the Jewel Box, Nancy Drew Mystery Series Book 20

The Clue in the Crumbling Walls, Nancy Drew Mystery Series Book 22

The Clue in the Old Album, Nancy Drew Mystery Series Book 24

Also tried some Nancy Drew books which I loved in my childhood, didn’t enjoy them quite as much now. Ah the joys of childhood! I wonder what happens when we grow up.

39/100 The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 

I had heard so much about this book and was reading the name everywhere. So I picked it up to see that what the fuss was all about. It’s a crime thriller. I kind of identified with it because I am also one of those people who sit in the train, observes people and weave imaginary stories about their lives. But I was let down. I didn’t find it as good as the reviews say.

40/100 French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon

It’s a great book about children. And their eating habits. Enough said!!