Book Week 26 - On beyond Zebra

On Beyond Zebra

We love Dr. Seuss in our house and one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books is "On Beyond Zebra" in which the young narrators teach Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell that the alphabet doesn't stop at Z.   

...Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor
When I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more!
A letter he never had dreamed of before!
And I said, “You can stop, if you want, with the Z
“Because most people stop with the Z

“But not me!
“In the places I go there are things that I see
“That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z.
“I’m telling you this ‘cause you’re one of my friends.
“My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!

 

He introduces many wonderful new creative letters such as Yuzz  as in the Yuzz a ma tuzz and Humpf for the  Humpf-Humpf-a-Dumpfer.  

The ending letter is left up to the reader to figure out a name for it.   We've reached the ending letter in our normal alphabet and this week marks the halfway point in the year and our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks.  How are you all doing?   Are you ready to go on beyond Zebra and explore a bit more?  Step farther outside of your reading box and create a new alphabet, dive into some new genre's, authors, stories?   Great! Let's go.......

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Link to your reviews.  Perhaps provide a half way there update on where you are in the challenge.   Plus, let's make this a bit easier.    If you have multiple reviews for the week, provide a link to your blog with (multi reviews) in parentheses after your name.  

Book Week 25 - Y is for Yellow, Yellow submarine that is.

What is the first thing you think of when you hear Yellow Submarine.  Why the Beatles of course.

 John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr

My husband was a big Beatles fan and last year introduced our son to their music. He loved their music which lead to me trying to track down and order the movie "Help."   Little did I know you could watch the entire movie via Google.   I found it on a movie website, ordered it and was surprised when my post man showed up with a package from Russia.  It's silly and interesting and a fun movie to watch.   What does any of this have to do with Yellow?   Why the Yellow Submarine of course.  The entire movie is also on line which you can find here.

Each of the Beatles wrote a book, or two or three over the years.

Postcards from the Boys

Blackbird Singing by Paul McCartney

I, Me, Mine by George Harrison

In his Own Write by John Lennon 

(written back in 1964 and reprinted 2000)

So, take a trip down memory lane and read a book by one of the Beatles or check out one of their movies. Happy Birthday to Sir James Paul McCartney who was born June 18, 1942.

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Link to your Reviews:

If you have multiple reviews, please link once to your blog with (multi reviews) after your name.  Much easier than multiple links. 

Book Week 24 - Things that start with X

Hmmm! According to the World Book "X is about the 23rd most frequently used letter in books, newspapers, and other printed material in English.   X, used alone or in combination with other letters, often stands for the word Christ, as in Xmas. X is the Roman number for ten.  X is used in physical science and in mathematics to denote an unknown quantity."

Some words that start with X

X-ray
Xanadu 
St. Francis Xavier
Xenon - colorless, odorless gas
Xenonphon - Greek soldier from about 355 BC)
Xenotransplant - transfer of cells, tissues, or organs from one species into another
Xerxes I - Ruled the Persian Empire during 486BC to 465 BC
Xunzi - Chinese philosopher from 245 BC
and of course, the Xylophone.


Your challenge: find a book (something that interests you, of course)  with one of these words in the title or an author whose name starts with X and read it.   My find and it sounds very interesting to boot. 

High Stakes at San Xavier by Rebecca Cramer

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Please link to your reviews: 

Book Week 23 - Way out west

Original artwork by Roland Castanie

How long has it been since you've read a western or watched a western?  Growing up in the 60's we used to watch Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Big Valley and Maverick to name a few.  We introduced our son to Rifleman the other day and I had forgotten how whiny the son, "Mark" was. Prompted a great discussion though and brought back a lot of memories.  I rarely read westerns anymore, preferring to watch them rather than read them.   Over the years I've read a few books by Louis L'Amour or Larry McMurtry or Zane Grey.  But none recently,  So, in additional to the tried and true, who are some western writers of today?

Johnny D. Boggs

James D. Best

Ralph Cotton

So, if you have a hankering to read something different, check out a western and take a ride through the old west.  

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