A very sweet wee yarn

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

I found my 12 year old engrossed in this picture book the other day. When she finished it she sighed a happy sigh. Because she knows just how much happiness a bit of extra yarn can bring.

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A cup of tea and a bit of book chat - September with The Conductor and Yoghurt Banana Muffins

Every quite often it seems a New Zealand author writes a book that I love so much that I can't stop talking about it. In the last few years there was Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs, then Mr Pip , and this time it is..... The Conductor by Sarah Quigley. The Conductor by Sarah Quigley It's cold, it's spare and it's very stark, but Sarah Quigley has created something powerfully beautiful in this book that follows the story of the composition and first performance of Shostakovich's 7th symphony amidst the seige on Leningrad by the Nazi's in 1941. Based around the story of Shostakovich’s single-minded endeavour to write his 7 th Symphony, and see it performed, the book shows the lengths that an artist will go to to express himself. While most people are fleeing the city, and others starving and dying, Shostakovich determinedly writes his piece of music, and it falls upon conductor Karl Eliasberg to rise above his own starvation and grief to bring toget

The young readers' dilemma

Sometimes it really hits me just how many and varied are the responsibilities of parenting. There's stuff like the values we model, and then there's other stuff like making sure they get to all their teeth when they brush. It's a big gig. It's a gig that gives me infinite joy, ( oh, and sleepless nights occasionally too ) but I don't take the responsibility lightly. I'm conscientious, that's just how I'm wired. And I'm also a librarian. So, imagine this: I go to my daughter's parent/teacher interview, and am told that my child is doing just fine (good), but....there's one thing....(uh oh) she could do with extending her reading . As I walk past the empty playground after the meeting I erupt; "bwah hahahaha". Because the irony certainly isn't lost on me. But, I'm so glad for that parent/teacher meeting. It got me to thinking. Both my older children have been hooked on reading book series - ch

Quiet Spaces

I have been reveling in holiday calm the last few days. Released for a moment from my full-time role as family taxi driver, I am amazed with how much free time and domestic energy it has left me with. I have cleaned, run along the beach, baked bread, taken long baths, and even managed an afternoon nap tucked up with a Joan Trollope book, ( Other People's Children) , and a cup of rooibus. Inspired by my current fave home and interior magazine (library issues only, often out-of-date, not complaining, at all. I love it), Homes and Antiques , I thought I'd share with you some nursery pictures I shot during my day of domesticity. Hope you are having a nice week too. x Library Girl

The Librarian

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