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Library Loot #10

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

 

1.  Raised from the Ground by José Saramago

First published in 1980, the City of Lisbon Prize–winning Raised from the Ground follows the changing fortunes of the Mau Tempo family—poor landless peasants not unlike Saramago’s own grandparents. Set in Alentejo, a southern province of Portugal known for its vast agricultural estates, the novel charts the lives of the Mau Tempos as national and international events rumble on in the background—the coming of the republic in Portugual, the two world wars, and an attempt on the dictator Salazar’s life. Yet nothing really impinges on the grim reality of the farm laborers’ lives until the first communist stirrings.

2.  Journey to Portugal by José Saramago

When José Saramago decided to write a book about Portugal, his only desire was that it be unlike all other books on the subject, and in this he has certainly succeeded. Recording the events and observations of a journey across the length and breadth of the country he loves dearly, Saramago brings Portugal to life as only a writer of his brilliance can. Forfeiting the usual sources such as tourist guides and road maps, he scours the country with the eyes and ears of an observer fascinated by the ancient myths and history of his people. Whether it be an inaccessible medieval fortress set on a cliff, a wayside chapel thick with cobwebs, or a grand mansion in the city, the extraordinary places of this land come alive.

And for the little one:

What have you picked up lately?

Mailbox Monday #228 and Library Loot #9

Mailbox Monday (click the icon to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page passed the torch.  July’s host is Book Obsessed.

The meme allows bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what Wiggles got at the library sale:

1.  The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

The Runaway Bunny begins with a young bunny who decides to run away: “‘If you run away,’ said his mother, ‘I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.'” And so begins a delightful, imaginary game of chase. No matter how many forms the little bunny takes–a fish in a stream, a crocus in a hidden garden, a rock on a mountain–his steadfast, adoring, protective mother finds a way of retrieving him. The soothing rhythm of the bunny banter–along with the surreal, dream-like pictures–never fail to infuse young readers with a complete sense of security and peace. For any small child who has toyed with the idea of running away or testing the strength of Mom’s love, this old favorite will comfort and reassure.

2.  My Potty Chair by Ruth Young

In My Potty Chair, a girl matter-of-factly discusses the use of her potty chair.

 

3.  Opposites by Sandra Boynton

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

4.  Doggies: A Counting and Barking Book by Sandra Boynton

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

5.  I am a Train by Ace Landers

Simple train facts in a board book shaped like a train!

I am a train.
I travel on railroad tracks.

All aboard for this fun and sturdy board book shaped like a train. Read along as trains travel from town to town delivering passengers and important cargo to train stations across the country.  Little engineers will love seeing these big machines in action. It’s a book and a toy in one!

What did you receive?

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

1.  Timmy Time Hide and Seek for Wiggles

2.  Shaun the Sheep: Spring Shena-a-anigans

She has a slight addiction to these sheep adventures, and we’ve been snagging them from the library on a pretty regular basis.  Have you watched these? or Wallace & Gromit?

 

3.  The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne because my ARC did not include the photos and images that are talked about in the text, making it harder for me to read the review copy.

In The Real Jane Austen, acclaimed literary biographer Paula Byrne provides the most intimate and revealing portrait yet of a beloved but complex novelist.

Just as letters and tokens in Jane Austen’s novels often signal key turning points in the narrative, Byrne explores the small things – a scrap of paper, a gold chain, an ivory miniature – that held significance in Austen’s personal and creative life.

Byrne transports us to different worlds, from the East Indies to revolutionary Paris, and to different events, from a high society scandal to a case of petty shoplifting. In this ground-breaking biography,  Austen is set on a wider stage than ever before, revealing a well-traveled and politically aware writer – important aspects of her artistic development that have long been overlooked.

4.  Queen of America by Luis Alberto Urrea

After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and “Saint of Cabora,” flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-New York, San Francisco, St. Louis. She meets immigrants and tycoons, European royalty and Cuban poets, all waking to the new American century. And as she decides what her own role in this modern future will be, she must ask herself: can a saint fall in love?

Have you visited your library?