1. Please Bring Balloons by Lindsay Ward
After a dry spell with new (good) book releases I feel like I've hit the jackpot the past couple weeks! In Please Bring Balloons, Emma finds a note attached to a polar bear on a carousel which starts a magical flying adventure to an arctic party and back again for bedtime. A perfect cuddle-up story for a snowy night.
I've been following the development of Goldiblox since last fall, when somehow or another I stumbled upon Debbie Sterling's kickstarter campaign. Boy, has she come a long way! I was thrilled when I saw these "more than just a princess" ads popping up all over the internet this week. Goldiblox is a toy for girls that encourages spacial learning through stories and will hopefully inspire girls to become future engineers. What is not to like about that?
I cannot help but reflect on the toy options available to myself as a child. It's no secret: I was a "girly" girl. The girliest of girls on the block. I wanted all of the Barbies, and all of the American Girl dolls, and all of the dress up clothes. There was only one aisle I ever spent any time in at Toys-R-Us, and you better believe it was the pink one. Sissy on the other hand didn't have much time for Barbie's and playing house. The only way I could get her to play along is if she was building the house. Sissy wanted the all of the Tinker Toys, and all of Lincoln Logs, and all of the K'nex. I didn't care much for those toys because, unlike Sissy who couldn't care less about the color of her toys, to me they were not pretty. I liked toys that were pink and purple and any combination thereof. Thank god my color pallet has evolved. Let's face it, nobody wants to see a thirty-year-old woman dressed head to toe in bubble gum pink. When I really think hard about what was actually in that pink aisle though... There were a whole lot of toys to cultivate my imagination for stories and art but hardly anything (if anything) to inspire me to build or invent. To find those toys would have required me to step out of the mass of pink and into the other 85% of Toy-R-Us, which was not a thought that even remotely passed through my glitter filled brain. What I like about Goldiblox is that the message that there is more out there for girls. That we can have the pink tutu and tiara but we're not limited to the pink tutu and tiara. So I guess what I am trying to say here is that 8-year-old me would have thought Goldiblox was bees knees.
3. Update: Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
I am about halfway through and it is really, really good. Completely different than The Thirteenth Tale but really, really good.
4. Sorry, I feel like maybe I cheated you on that last one but this should make up for it...
A Little Book of Sloth by Lucy Cook
Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!
For those of you who do not know me, there is only one thing you need to know: I. Love. Sloths.
When A Little Book of Sloth came to me this morning my heart melted. When I opened it up rays of sunshine were gleaming from the pages. Two toed sloths! Three toed sloths! Baby sloths! And who was I to find within the first few pages? Buttercup, Queen of the Sloths!
Okay, let me rewind.
Husbando and I got married this past July and decided to honeymoon in Costa Rica. We chose Costa Rica for the tropical romantic atmosphere, of course, but mainly because I reeeeeaaally wanted to go to the Sloth Sanctuary. It was amazing.
Buttercup was the first sloth to be rescued by Judy Arroyo over two decades ago. The Arroyo family maintains the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica and Buttercup still reigns as queen. If you ever find yourself in this beautiful country, I highly recommend a trip to the sanctuary. Not only do you get a tour of the facility, but a tour down a quiet winding river with a very knowledgeable guide who teaches you tons about the flora and fauna of the area.
Plus the best part: you can pet a sloth! This is Milly. She reached up and held my hand right after the picture was taken and I think my heart about exploded.
Anyway, the book is full of awesome pictures, sloth facts, and awesome pictures. (Yes, I meant to type that twice.)
5. Since I am running out of time, I am going to have to cut short number five. The video really speaks for itself anyway.
[FYI: Some not-so-strong adult language but adult language just the same.]
Girls Who Read, written and performed by Mark Grist.
That wraps up the things I loved about this week. Happy weekend!
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