The Butterfly Mosque:A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam by G. Willow Wilson

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published June 1st 2010 by Atlantic Monthly Press

The extraordinary story of an all-American girl’s conversion to Islam and her ensuing romance with a young Egyptian man, The Butterfly Mosque is a stunning articulation of a Westerner embracing the Muslim world.

When G. Willow Wilson—already an accomplished writer on modern religion and the Middle East at just twenty-seven—leaves her atheist parents in Denver to study at Boston University, she enrolls in an Islamic Studies course that leads to her shocking conversion to Islam and sends her on a fated journey across continents and into an uncertain future.

She settles in Cairo where she teaches English and submerges herself in a culture based on her adopted religion. And then she meets Omar, a passionate young man with a mild resentment of the Western influences in his homeland. They fall in love, entering into a daring relationship that calls into question the very nature of family, belief, and tradition. Torn between the secular West and Muslim East, Willow records her intensely personal struggle to forge a "third culture” that might accommodate her own values without compromising the friends and family on both sides of the divide.

I have to start off by saying that this one is 1) not necessarily a "YA" title (which is what I normally read and review) and 2) not one that I would normally pick up to read. With that being said, though, I am beyond glad that I did read it. Jaxon and I had taken our weekly trip to the library and this was on a "Feature" shelf at our local library. The cover got me in first and then when I read the blurb I thought, "Why not? I will give it a shot" and a few days later I was finished. It normally doesn't take me any time to read, but this book made me think as I was reading (heaven forbid, right) so I wanted to do it justice. 

As the child of a Baptist minister who is also a religion professor, I feel that I have a broad knowledge of the religions of the world and the basics to each one. Not all of the details, but enough to get by. My dad is very knowledgeable about world religions (teaches classes on it every year) so this book was one that I have taken to him and said... "You have to read this!" Getting a first hand account of someones conversion to Islam and their journey through the trials and obstacles is one that is very personal and often never shared by new converts (not just in Islam but in many cultures and religions). I learned a lot through Wilson's honest portrayal of her life and the amazing journey she took. This memoir was beautifully written and through her eyes, I was able to walk the streets of Cairo and experience her life. I enjoyed and appreciated every step. 

One of the main things that I realized from this novel is that as much of a "news junkie" as I am, I don't always understand what is going on. If nothing else, this book has challenged me to be more aware of news issues. It doesn't seem like any coincidence to me that as I was reading this book, the people of Egypt were protesting and trying to get their president to step down (he did, three days after I finished the book). I highly encourage you to read this book if you are interested in life issues and world issues... or you could just be like me and read it because it looks good! You never know what you are going to get out of a book and this time, I got way more than I bargained for!!

Happy reading!!

Python by Christopher Cheng

Hardcover, 32 pages

Published February 26th 2013 by Candlewick Pres

Python stirs and slithers out from her shelter, smelling the air with her forked tongue. It’s time to molt her dull scales and reveal the glistening snake underneath. Gliding along a tree, she stops and watches very, very closely as a bird drops onto a branch — and escapes the razor-sharp teeth just in time. But Python is hungry, so she slides on to stalk new prey. Combining informative facts, expressive illustrations, and a lyrical, mesmerizing narrative, here is a book to captivate anyone fascinated by this iconic creature.

 
 This book is something that I think all parents and teachers love.. it gets a child's interest all while teaching them valuable information! In this mix of both story and information Cheng shows us the natural life of a Python in her daily adventures while giving us information (including scientific vocabulary) that doesn't overwhelm the reader. Snakes are not my favorite thing in the world, but this book was a refreshing way to learn more about the Python while not having the information sugar coated but still keeping it accurate! 

Happy reading! 

Gardening Books that helped us!

I am lucky to be able to review books for Candlewick Press and I got even luckier when some of the books they sent me to review were books about gardening for kids. My kids and I decided to start a garden this year, so these couldn't have come at a better time. 

We planted squash, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers! Here is a picture of some of our lovely veggies so far...

 

We have a ton of tomatoes to go pick today and hopefully the okra will be ready too! I have never claimed to be a gardener, but I am really enjoying it! I know that my Papa would be proud since he was the definite farmer of the family. 

The first book that Kylie, Jaxon and I read was Maisy Grows a Garden by Lucy Cousins. 

In this book Maisy the beloved mouse and her friend Panda plant thier very own garden. I loved it because it showed what had to be done to plant and maintain a garden but on a kids level (and maybe a virgin-gardener's level too). Each page depicted what was being done and the tools that were needed in order to complete the task. The pop-ups and pop-outs were a great way for us to interact with the text and see what Maisy Mouse was up to! We really enjoyed this one and it definitely set us up for our own gardening experience! 



The next book we read was It's Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden by George Ancona. 

I appreciated this book one a few levels... one as a new gardener, one as a mother, and yet another as a teacher. In this book we learned about an elementary school in Santa Fe where the children run outside not to play, but to work in the school's garden! We learned a variety of gardening techniques (such as the traditional Native American way to garden- the three sisters garden), but we learned more than that. We were able to see how not just the students took part in this garden and its maintenance, but how the community rallied around it. Even when school is not is session there are still parents and other volunteers who help take care of the garden! How cool is that? I loved that when all of the vegetables were harvested, the community came together to eat the produce in a variety of ways including pizza made in a brick oven that the students made! This is a great book to show a sense of community, but also for schools to read and get ideas for ways to improve community involvement. Teaching in a smaller district I can definitely see where this would work for us!


Our garden is growing stronger and stronger by the day (we are currently on week number two of majorly heavy rains and storms) and I fear that it may take over if I don't get out there soon to gather the veggies! Hope you are having a great summer!

Happy reading!

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose

Hardcover, 160 pages

Published July 17th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) 

 

B95 can feel it: a stirring in his bones and feathers. It’s time. Today is the day he will once again cast himself into the air, spiral upward into the clouds, and bank into the wind.

He wears a black band on his lower right leg and an orange flag on his upper left, bearing the laser inscription B95. Scientists call him the Moonbird because, in the course of his astoundingly long lifetime, this gritty, four-ounce marathoner has flown the distance to the moon—and halfway back! 

B95 is a robin-sized shorebird, a red knot of the subspecies rufa. Each February he joins a flock that lifts off from Tierra del Fuego, headed for breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, nine thousand miles away.  Late in the summer, he begins the return journey. 

B95 can fly for days without eating or sleeping, but eventually he must descend to refuel and rest. However, recent changes at ancient refueling stations along his migratory circuit—changes caused mostly by human activity—have reduced the food available and made it harder for the birds to reach. And so, since 1995, when B95 was first captured and banded, the worldwide rufa population has collapsed by nearly 80 percent. Most perish somewhere along the great hemispheric circuit, but the Moonbird wings on. He has been seen as recently as November 2011, which makes him nearly twenty years old. Shaking their heads, scientists ask themselves: How can this one bird make it year after year when so many others fall?  

National Book Award–winning author Phillip Hoose takes us around the hemisphere with the world’s most celebrated shorebird, showing the obstacles rufa red knots face, introducing a worldwide team of scientists and conservationists trying to save them, and offering insights about what we can do to help shorebirds before it’s too late. Through prose, research, and images, Hoose explores the tragedy of extinction through the triumph of a single bird. 

I can honestly say that I never thought I would be one scouring the Internet to see if a bird was still alive. Never having a bird when growing up, I didn't understand the love people had for them. Now, however, I am a regular checker-upper on Moonbird. This book was recommended to me by an amazing teacher friend who warned me that I would become invested in the bird. I didn't really take her seriously (about the "becoming invested" part), but I should have. 

This book was not only fascinating in what it had to say about this species of bird, but also in all the details of how the studying of Moonbird and his companions came about. I was drawn into the story of the birds, but also the lives of these fascinating creatures. Recommending this to my students and fellow teacher will not be hard. I checked it out from the library (again, I wasn't convinced I would care that much) and now I am going to have to purchase a copy before I head back to school. This will be one that will not stay on my shelf!

Like I said, I had to see if Moonbird was still alive after reading this, so I will just let you see for yourself.... 

Click here to see!

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

paperback 269 pages
published October 12th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers 

Features seven narrators, each with a unique story, and each with a different perspective on what makes their teacher so special.
It’s the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There’s . . . Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who’s having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for herself; shy Anna, whose home situation makes her an outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school.

Only Mr. Terupt, their new and energetic teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a fun place, even if he doesn’t let them get away with much . . . until the snowy winter day when an accident changes everything—and everyone.

Mr. Terupt is a new teacher with grand visions of how his classroom will run. The problem is that Mr. Terupt, like most new teachers, doesn't see what obstacles are ahead of him. He handles them with grace and poise in a way that I only wish I could on most days. He has a way to deal with each child and their needs in a way that speaks to each one of them and shows them what fun a classroom can be if you all work together.All of this is going wonderfully until something happens that changes the dynamics of the classroom and how the students see each other and Mr. Terupt.

  There are many books that I read where I feel like I see my students in the characters. This is one of those books with a slight twist... I saw myself in this wonderful book. I was so invested in each of the students' lives and their stories. Being invested in a book, to me, shows how well written the book is. Each student had their own personality which came out not only in their personal narration, but in the narration of their classmates as well. I literally could not put this book down because I wanted to see what happened that changed the classroom, but also how each students story would play out. Knowing that there is more to this story in the next book only makes me want to drive to the bookstore now and buy it. My husband my kill me though... he already says we have our own library in the house. Oh well... Off to the bookstore I go!

Happy reading!