March was a busy reading month for us! Ryan had a field trip to the local library, so we got a ton of great ideas of more books to read! A lot of my library holds become available this month as well, so I was able to listen to a lot of those! A few books we pre-ordered were shipped as well! Lillian is also becoming more confident in her reading and writing abilities and she wrote her own book. I loved seeing her creativity and her pride in it.
Lillian’s Book
Bunny 
Some Bunnies are floppy 
Some Bunnies are angry. Stop it! 
Some Bunnies are happy. 
Some bunnies are sad. 
The end!
First up are some of the books the kids read and liked! Circle and Square are part of a trilogy. We already own Triangle and loved the simple yet funny story. Circle or Square (I’m too lazy to check which one) was released recently and we knew we needed to add them to our collection. I won’t lie, I haven’t read these ones yet because Ryan LOVES reading them to Lillian while they are trying to go to bed at night. Ryan has been more into graphic novel type chapter books and to get him to read a picture book isn’t always the easiest, so I’m thrilled he loves these ones!
Bad Guys is a new series for Ryan. They are of the graphic novel/chapter book variety and he thinks they are great. They do use bathroom humor, but MOST of the books Ryan likes do have that same humor. Ryan is great (at least when I’m around) and doesn’t say words/phrases that we don’t like, and I don’t mind a little bathroom humor every now and again! He did fly throw this series and could read a book or two a day.
Victor Shmud Total Expert was recommended to us on our library field trip. Ryan read this one really quickly! He really liked it and we’ve added the second one to our wish list. He read this in his room at bedtime, so I’m not too sure how it is.
Dragonbreath was another fun one for Ryan. This one is a little harder than the Captain Underpants/Dogman type books. A little less graphic novel and a little more chapter book, but it was still a fairly quick read for Ryan. He didn’t seem to struggle reading it, it just took a little longer. (Which isn’t a bad thing.) We already have more in the series on the way!
Z is for Moose is a really cute picture book. I saw it as a recommendation on Instagram and bought a cheap used copy from amazon. It starts off as a typical alphabet book, but Moose is just SOOOO excited for his letter to come up he keeps interrupting the book! Loved this one! Both kids got a kick out of it.
Shark Lady was another Library recommended read. I LOVE the ocean, Love Sharks, and love stories that show my kids what cool jobs they can have! This book covers it all and we learned a lot about in this book! The pictures are great as well, I’m glad we added this book to our personal library.
Worry too Much. This book I saw recommended on Instagram for kids with big worries or anxiety. Its given us good talking points, and helped make the kids more aware of what is going on inside their brain and body when they have the big stresses and help them know how to deal with it. I have worrier kids and I’m a worrier. Its nice to be able to talk about these things with my kids and help them know what to to do with those worries!
We are Gardeners. This book was written by Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper, and I LOVED it! Its such a cute sweet story about never giving up, knowing its OK to fail. I even bought the audio version that is narrated by the Gaines kids. (I love having a physical book and the audio version as well so my kids can read, listen, and still see the pictures. This book is too hard for Lillian to read, but since we have audio she can “read” it whenever she wants, even without me!
Jack and Max Stalwart. We got this book to help us get excited about our trip to Thailand. These boys work for a global spy agency stop bad guys around the world. This time they are in Bangkok trying to get back the Emerald Buddha.
The Lottery Winners of Classroom 13. This is another library recommended book. Its about a very unlucky teacher who happens to win the lottery. She promised her class if she won, she’d split her winnings with them. She is true to her word when she does win the lottery, but it turns out the kids are just as unlucky as their teacher! Each chapter tells what each student did with their money. Its super funny and the kids loved it!
I read some really good books this month too! The Siren by Kiera Cass is a YA/Fantasy book. Its written by the author of The Selection Series, which I LOVED. (Just a good story!) The Siren was also great. I did get some serious little mermaid vibes from it, which was fun! Its light, its fluff, but I enjoyed it!
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt was great! I LOVE Gary D. Schmidt. Like LOVE him a lot! Trouble had just as much heart as any of his other stories.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor was new to me. I won’t try to explain it, because it seems strange and complicated. I will just say Strange is a boy’s name and he is a Dreamer. Thus Strange the Dreamer. I really liked this story, it is a YA fantasy. I do wish there was less teen love going on because I liked the story and wanted more story telling than just teen love. (The teen love didn’t start until towards the end of the book, and its not graphic or that inappropriate it, I just wanted more story!)
I’ve got your Number by Sophie Kinsella. This was my first by Sophie Kinsella and I enjoyed it. Its a British romantic comedy type book. There are F words, and references of an affair. (But I didn’t find it offensive at all.) Its light and its funny and it doesn’t take its self too seriously. I didn’t love the main character, but I still enjoyed the story. Its about a woman who loses her engagement ring (that is her fiances family heirloom!) And her phone gets stolen the same day! She finds a new phone in the trash and decides to keep that as her new phone. Like I said, its funny, its cute, its fluff, but its fun!
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I’m nearing the end of my Shannon Hale books. I LOVED Princess Academy. I like it more than The Goose Girl. Its a fun book about all the girls in a village between the ages of 12-18 going to an academy to learn to be a princess. In a year the prince will come and chose one of them to marry. I loved that the story was more on the lead character gaining confidence and knowing who she is, instead of the lead just marrying a prince. I’m excited to read the rest of the series!
Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge. I almost loved this one, but not quiet. Its a story about two people who survive a plane crash and are stranded on a deserted island. It melds their stories before the crash, while they’re on the island, what their life might have been like if they never crashed, and very quickly, life after the island. I wish that they spent a little more time on life after the island/getting off the island. If that were the case I would have loved it. I did really enjoy this book regardless though!
Zillow Talk by Spencer Rascoff and Stan Humphries. This book is more appealing to me than maybe a lot of other people since Chris works for Zillow . They also reference Seattle quite a bit. Its a good book with lots of facts about buying/selling houses, but its still interesting to read.
The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Gailbrath aka J.K. Rowling. J.K. Rowling is a great story teller, and I did enjoy this story. There are quite a bit of F words and it can be a bit crude. At points I wondered if she added some of that sort of stuff just because it wasn’t Harry Potter and she could. (Language honestly doesn’t bother me in a book, as long as it fits its character/dialogue/story line/etc. At times I just feel like it was excessive, just because it could be. So reader beware on the language. That being said, I liked most of the characters. I liked the story. And I will be reading the rest of the series!
First Boy by Gary D. Schmidt. (I am working my way through ALL of Gary D. Schmidt’s books!) This was my least favorite of his, but still a fun middle grade read. A politician running for president, claims the president has a son that she abandoned years ago, and that said boy is being targeted to bring down the sitting President before the next election!
Forest Born by Shanonn Hale. Last book in the Goose Girl series. I really liked this one and enjoyed the Goose Girl series as a whole! Easy YA/Middle Grade Fantasy books.
Stephen King:On Writing by Stephen King. I LOVED this book. Gave great insight into how Stephen King writes, why he writes what he writes, etc. I recommend this one to anyone, who can handle the F word (quite a bit). Such a great book though!
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King. I’ve learned I really like Stephen King’s writing and his story telling. I’m a giant wimp though so I’m reading the not so scary ones. Dolores Claiborne is about a woman who is being questioned by the police. The WHOLE book is Dolores being questioned for a murder and her telling her story. It is only her talking but she will answer questions that lead you to know she is being questioned by someone. I really enjoyed this book! (F words and a daughter is molested by her father).
Sleeping Queens by Stephen and Owen King. I really liked this book too. Again F words, some same sex relationships, and nasty men in this story. All the woman get a disease that puts them to sleep. When they fall asleep they cannot wake up and they are coated in a floss/cacoon like substance. If that substance is removed the woman wake up long enough to attack whomever is around, then they fall back to sleep. Women are trying to keep themselves awake, the men don’t know what to do. Another good story!
The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner. I loved this one too about a girl growing up in a fundamentalist Mormon group. Her father was a polygamist but was martyred. Her step father is also a polygamist. They are poor and have terrible living conditions. I’ve learned people do terrible things in the name of religion or use religion/their beliefs as a cop out. There is some language and a step father molests his step daughters.
We all had a great reading month and I can’t wait to see what we read next month. For sure more Gary D. Schmidt and Shannon Hale for me!
