Obviously, I haven’t been posting many blog entries this month, and have decided to take a blog break for a little bit due to a health issue that has been dragging on and dragging me down. With any luck, I’ll be healthy and posting again sooner rather than later…
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Ophy the star
Yes, I know, I already posted this on my Facebook page, AND I forwarded the email to a bunch of different people, BUT I still have to brag here on my blog about my famous cat. Ophy, aka Ophelia, has been named this week’s Pet of the Week by the Humane Society of the United States. Ophy and I have tried for this honor before, unsuccessfully, but this time we (I mean she, of course…) made it within two weeks of our (I mean her) entry submission. Here’s the link for any who are interested: Pet of the Week.
Of course, I’m sure that the HSUS does this Pet of the Week honor to help boost donations to their very worthy cause, so hopefully Ophy will be able to drum up a few dollars for them. (Which reminds me, it’s time for me to make our yearly donation to the HSUS.)
And just a note on our submission being accepted this time around…I’m feeling fairly clever, because after studying the Pets of the Week emails for a couple of years, I figured out that submissions that have some relevance to the work done by the HSUS are the ones that get accepted. So, since Ophy and I care about cats being kept indoors, and since I often find myself counseling new cat owners (or cat owners who are less patient than I) about “destructive behaviors” like carpet scratching, I figured that including those two items in Ophy’s profile would help our chances. Seems that it did, too!
Now I just have to figure out a way to get Pippa featured, since Ophy’s fame is causing a bit of a rift between them. This could be tougher, since what Pippa cares about is food, especially her twice daily Fancy Feast treat laden with her anti-thyroid meds, and Pippa’s main bad habit is that she can be a bit of a cranky pants (to everyone but me, of course). I’m not sure those traits are all that appealing, or that any fame and celebrity can be based upon crankiness and fondness of food. Not in the cat world, at least (unless you’re Morris, and I think that’s been done).
Meanwhile, let’s raise a glass of catnip to Ophy, star for a week!
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
On Monday the 6th Grade Book Group and I discussed The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, and we all agreed that we like and appreciate the book. It’s not a typical piece of juvenile fiction, since the action is internal rather than external, and there isn’t any huge drama. And, of course, it’s historical fiction, which is a nice change of pace for me (and, I think, for the kids) from the usual fantasy fare.
My favorite part of the book is that Kelly addresses the relationship between Calpurnia and her somewhat crotchety grandfather with perception and gentleness. Their relationship truly evolves, as the title suggests, and feels genuine. No one establishes a strong bond overnight in real life, and I love that Calpurnia and her grandfather take their time getting to know each other.
The kids in the book group liked the scientific aspect of the story, and enjoyed Calpurnia’s intellectual curiosity and drive to know more. And we also talked about the role of women in Texas in 1899 and 1900 (the time of the story), and how hard it would be to be a girl like Calpurnia: a girl who wants to be a scientist and not a “lady.”
Towards the end of the group meeting, we talked about the Newbery Honor that this book won. This particular group has now read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (the 2010 Newbery Medal winner), Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (a 2010 Newbery Honor winner), and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was a 2010 Newbery Honor winner. I asked the group, given that they had read three of the top-awarded books of the last year, which they would have chosen as the Newbery Medal winner if they had been on the committee. Their answer? Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, in a unanimous vote. Their second choice was Calpurnia Tate, and, while they gave props to When You Reach Me for creativity, they all agreed that they didn’t think it was the best book of the three. I completely agree with the kids here (and I swear that I didn’t influence their decision AT ALL!!).
At any rate, if you have not yet read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, you should. I’m purposefully not describing much of the story in this post because I don’t want to wreak the reading experience for you. Which means your assignment is to go read this book, now!
Just three weeks to go…
Somehow, maybe because of all the heat and humidity, this summer reading program has seemed the longest ever. I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way: we’ve had a lot of great events and storytimes and book groups and kids coming in to get their prizes. But I keep thinking we must almost be done, and then we’re not…
Like every other summer I’ve worked at the library, I’ve been working like a dog, often staying late (and yes, I stay late for free – there’s no overtime, no worries) and only finishing dinner at 8:30 or 9:00 at night, especially if Jim is at band practice that night. At some point, I promise that I will sit down and write a good lengthy post on each of the performers who has come this summer, but so far I’ve only found the time to write about Yo-Yo People and the World Class Frisbee Show.
For today, my plan is to read tomorrow’s 6th Grade Book Group book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. I had actually forgotten that I needed to read the book for tomorrow until about ten minutes ago – ooooops! And then tomorrow starts the beginning of the third-to-last week of summer reading! Hooray!!!!