Caribou Song / atihko Nikamon by Tomson Highway

Brothers, Joe and Cody live with their mother and father. They don't live in any one place, rather they follow the caribou all winter long. Joe and Cody love to play, dance, and sing and they often sing a song while they travel, to attract the caribou.

This is a wonderful adventure book that children of all cultures will enjoy. The Illustrations by Brian Denies are stunning. Give your children a treat and a small glimpse into Cree culture, read this book with them.

Written in both English and Cree, Caribou Song is the first in a trilogy of children's books. I plan to read the other two as well, so stay tuned.

Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch, Art by Michael Martchenko

Stephanie decides to have a ponytail and asks her mom to do it for her. When she arrived at school, all the children chanted, " Ugly, Ugly, very ugly. Stephanie says, "It's my ponytail and I like it." The next day to Stephanie's dismay, all of the girls were wearing ponytails. She called them "copycats."

The next day she wore her ponytail one side. The kids at school did the "ugly chant again. However, the next day the children, even some of the boys were wearing ponytails on the side. This went on for a few days, Stephanie would wear her pony tail a different way and the next day the kids wore theirs the same way.

Stephanie finally got fed up with all of the copycats and announced that she was going to shave her head. Read this book to find out what happened next.

This is a really fun book that teaches about conformity and individuality. It's a wonderful book to read with your kids and then discuss it with them. The art work is colourful and creative. Highly recommended.

Challenge Roundup

This is an update on my progress for my 2009 challenges:

Here is a list of all of the challenges that must be completed by the end of 2009, some of them end sooner.  my progress is noted at the end of each(these do not include perpetual challenges):

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 1st Jan 09 to 31st March 09 Completed
Book Awards II Reading Challenge August 1, 2008 to June 1, 2009 Completed
What An Animal Challenge July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 Completed 
The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009 Completed
The 2009 ARC Reading Challenge 25/26 (1 more book to go)
The PUB Challenge - 2009 Completed
New Author Challenge 2009Completed
Themed Reading Challenge - 2009 Completed
Read Your Own Books Challenge 2009 24/25 (1 more book to go)
2009 TBR Lite Challenge Completed
World Citizen Challenge Completed
2009 READ & REVIEW CHALLENGE  So far this year, I have reviewed every book I have read
The Chunkster Challenge 2009 Completed

A Well Rounded Challenge 2009 Completed

To summarize, I only need to complete 2 more challenges in 2009!  I only have one more book to read in each.  I can feel the finish line approaching!

Below is a list of all the challenges that don't end until sometime in 2010 and my progress:

What an Animal II Challenge 1/6, This ends Feb. 28th, so I need to pick up the pace.

The Canadian Book Challenge 3 3/13 This ends July 1st, so I need to pick up the pace.

China Challenge! 0/1 This challenge ends Sept.1st, so I have time yet.

Challenge Roundup is hosted monthly by Chris of book-a-rama.  If you have a challenge up-date, please link it to her update.

Completed: 2009 TBR Lite Challenge

Thanks to Jenn for hosting this challenge.

To Complete this challenge, I read 6 books:

1. Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse

2. Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

3.Jackie Ormes The First African American Woman Cartoonist by Nancy Goldstein

4.The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville

5.The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
6.Etta by Gerald Kolpan

Completed: New Author Challenge 2009

Thanks again to Literary Escapism for hosting the New Author Challenge for 2009.

To complete this challenge, I read books by 20 new to me authors: 

1.Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse
2.Jackie Ormes by Nancy Goldstein

3.A Long Stone's Throw by Alphie McCourt

4.Still I Rise by Roland Laird with Tanesha Nash Laird, Illustrated by Elihu "Adofo" Bey

5.The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick

6.Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
7. King's Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives, and the One Man Who Knew Their Secrets by Margaret Campbell Barnes

8.Bark Up the Right Tree by Jessie & Ruth Tschudin
9.Signora Da Vinciby Robin Maxwell

10.The Help By Kathryn Stockett

11.The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christoper Meeks

12.My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse

13.The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein

14.Drood by Dan Simmons-Audiobook

15.The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo

16.The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
17.Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad 
18 .Etta by Gerald Kolpan
19 Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
20.Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick

Completed- A Well Rounded Challenge 2009

I hosted this challenge this year.

I completed the challenge by reading 5 books for 5 different challenges:

 1.The Canadian Book Challenge 3:

 Where is Gah-Ning? By Robert Munsch, Illustrated by Helene Desputeaux

2.New Author Challenge 2009:
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner

3.The 2009 ARC Reading Challenge:
Dragon House by John Shors

4.Read Your Own Books Challenge 2009:

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

5.2009 TBR Lite Challenge

Etta by Gerald Kolpan

Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick

Rachel, a young prostitute enjoys the peace and beauty of the city garden in Arles. She falls asleep there and when she awakes, she finds a man sketching her. He turns out to be none other than Vincent Van Gogh. After their first encounter, Vincent visits Rachel at her brothel, 1, Rue du Bout d'Arles. He comes with a bouquet of wild flowers in hopes of convincing Rachel to let him paint her. This is the start of their romantic relationship.

As Rachel's love for Vincent deepens, her friend from 1, Rue du Bout d'Arles, Francois warns her not to get pulled in. She questions Vincent's love for Rachel and worries that Rachel is being set up for disappointment and possible ruin. Yes ruin, Rachel could be thrown out of the brothel and it's protection and be out on the street.

Vincent does seem to love Rachel however , he is supported financially by his brother Theo and does not think that he or his family would approve of the relationship. As Rachel and Vincent's love deepens Vincent all of a sudden goes mad. He comes to the brothel to give Rachel "a gift", part of his ear that he cut off. Vincent ends up going into a hospital, where Rachel isn't able to see him very often. From then on he gets better for awhile and then relapse often. Eventually the mental illness Vincent suffers forces him to leave town to get better treatment. Will Rachel and Vincent's love endure this separation? Read the book and find out.

Sheramy Bundrick writes in first person narrative with Rachel being the narrator. I loved how Bundrick takes Rachel, a little known person and writes an entire book about her. Her beautiful prose describes Van Gogh's paintings so well that I could picture them in my head.

Bundrick weaves a good tale of romance between Rachel and Vincent but after awhile I found the relationship monotonous. Rachel seemed to have a lot of freedom to come and go from the brothel. She went where and when she wanted to go and I question how realistic this is. Some of the women in the brothel are written as either really good or really bad, hardly any in-between which, also seems unrealistic to me. I also would have liked to have had more of 1889 Aries to bring more of the historical into it.

Once Vincent's first bought with illness comes, I found that the book picked up and I especially enjoyed the last few chapters. If you love historical romance, you will probably enjoy this book.

3.5/5

Thanks to Sheramy Bundrick for sending me this book. Sheramy did a guest post back in August on my blog, here.