Central Ohio Kidlitosphere Blogger Unite!

I was so please to be invited to breakfast and a book buying and viewing expedition with the Kidlitosphere Bloggers in the Central Ohio area. Although I am officially Southern Ohio, I was still included and I couldn't have had more fun! Because I am slow, I am one of the last to post on the topic, so I will do a round-up. I would also like to say it is so wonderful to be included with the Geek Chic of Central Ohio. (Inside joke) Everyone is so welcoming and I feel like I have known these people all my adult life. (They are just that nice... really!) Although none of us could make the trek across the US to Portland, we were with you in spirit.

Bloggers Reactions and Recounts of the Day:
A Year of Reading
Literate Lives
BestBooksIHaveNotRead
Books I Purchased at Cover to Cover:
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck By Lightning by Danette Haworth
Moving Day by Ralph Fletcher

ARC I Received at Cover to Cover:
Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee
Greetings from the 50 States: How they got their name by Sheila Keenan
Illustrated by Selina Alko
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

Teacher Swap!

How lucky is this??? You get randomly paired with another blogger who has many similarities to you, you have no trouble putting together gift for them, AND... you are blog invited to breakfast together on the very day the SWAP ends??? Well that is what happened with Kristine and I. Today we met and exchanged gifts. Oh, this was just too much fun!

Here's what I got:
S= Supplies (Day of the week magnets, post-its and pens
C= Chocolate A school must have. (Hot-fudge sundae Jelly Belly)
H= Health Tea to fight off kiddo germs
O= Organizer clips- You can't have enough
L= Luxuriate in warm bath with a good book. (Bath Fizz Ball)

I hope I get to do this again next year!

September Carnival of Children's Literature

I Remembered! Yes! One point for me in the month of September! I remembered to submit to the September Carnival of Children's Literature. You can view the carnival now at Jenny's Wonderland of Books.

Madeline and the Cats of Rome by John Bemelmans Marciano

Did you know a brand new Madeline book came out this past week? Madeline and the Cats of Rome by JOHN BEMELMANS MARCIANO. I put this in caps because it IS NOT the orignal Madeline series author, which was Ludwig Belemans, who of course is no longer with us.
John Belemans Marciano is the grandson of Ludwig Belemans and Madeline and the Cats of Rome is the first all new Madeline book in close to 5o YEARS!
There is so much history behind the original author and the legacy he left with his Madeline stories. John Belemans Marciano does a wonderful job of helping his grandfather's legacy live on. Marciano is a self-taught artist (as was his grandfather) who uses his grandfather's original art as a springboard for his own.
The new book Madeline and the Cats of Rome is such a reminder of everything I loved about being a little girl. I love that Madeline is still up to some antics, which always made me laugh as a little girl. And the flowing verse makes the story one that kids can remember each and every time the book comes out. (And you know it won't be just once.) The artwork was so close, you could be confused that it really was by Ludwig, but enough different that it becomes Marciano's own.
For all ye who heard Madeline read over and over as a child and for all ye who have read Madeline over and over to a child, here is a new book for your shelves and the shelves of your children to come.
**** Watch out!!! Shameless plug of my nieces coming... right... now....!!!**********
I will be waiting patiently to overread Madeline and the Cats of Rome to my favorite little monkeys!




Other reviews:
Charlotte's Library
Booklust
The Children's Book Review
Kiddos and Books

Teacher Swap

Oooo, if you didn't sign up to take part in the Teacher Swap you are T-totally missing out! I have been paired with Kristine from BestBooksIHaveNotRead. It is so bizarre that we are quite alike. She has posted the answers to the questionnaire we were provided here. So I will post my answers as well. By the way... I just know there is going to be a wonderful book to blog about very soon... I haven't come across it yet, but I know it is out there!

1. Do you have any hobbies? Beyond the fact that I love reading my other hobbies are really just things I enjoying doing such as: sunning, shopping, and vacationing. (But I don't think those are actual hobbies)
2. Do you enjoy crafting? If so anything in particular? I do enjoying crafting. I am more into card making and stamping than scrapbooking. But I get in the mood for both. I also have a sewing machine I tinker with now and then.
3. 5 favorite things you can't live without. Make-up, hair products, purses, all my school junk such as professional books and kidlit, and junk food. (Those are really superficial??)
4. Do you collect anything? Not really. I am a collector of anything and everything
5. Do you have any Children or pets? I do not have any children but I do have one great Mutt I love very much. (Rizzo)
6. Favorite things to do during "back to school" season. Shop for supplies, organize my room, look for new books to start the year off with, and FREAK OUT! ;)
7. What makes you think of school? Notebooks, books, and basically anything in an office supply store. ( I love that stuff)
8. Favorite treats? Candy bars (without nuts), Hostess Cupcakes, pretty much any kind of junk food
9. Favorite color combo. I love the colors blue, orange, green, pink in that order, but not necessarily together.
10. Any allergies? None that matter to anyone but me. Bee stings and sulfa ;)
More interesting information about me:
I am married. Live in Dayton, OH. I went to college at the University of Dayton. I teach in the town I grew up in Xenia, OH. I have taught fifth grade language arts and social studies for 11 years in the same elementary school. I have no kids but my sister recently had twins, so I have adopted them as my own ;) My husband as recently been very sick and is in the process of getting a new liver. Our life is improving so much each and every day.