It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (July 29): 07/29/19

Hosted by Kathryn of Book Date.

Last week was my art camp. The theme was birds and dinosaurs but it was clear early on that I needed to go off-script. So I made sure to do one bird or dinosaur thing each day but the other things were more "creatures" than anything specific.

Here are some turtles we made from paper bowls, tissue paper, splatter paint and fancy paper.

We finished off the week by painting a dinosaur mural.

Saturday I finally got a chance to work on my "Let's Eat" painting. I'm satisfied with the background now. My next goal is putting more realism into the turkey's face. I need to brighten the reds and do more with the shadows.

Here's the painting after another hour of work.

The other excitement/ frustration last week was my car. The road to Bisbee was hard on it and my husband took it in to be fixed. What should have taken a day or two to fix ended up taking eight days, mostly because the shop first needed parts and then needed the tools and didn't think to order them at the same time as the parts. On the day before my husband left for a business trip he was finally able to pick it up. Fortunately it runs great.

What I read:

I came home exhausted most days and didn't get much reading done until this weekend. The picture book was one a guest lecturer read to my campers on Wednesday while we were making masks.

• Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery; personal collection (re-read)
• How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers; library book
• Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams; personal collection
• Dread Pirate Fleur and the Ruby Heart by Sara Starbuck; personal collection

What I'm reading:

• Full Steam Ahead, Felix by Kate Moore; personal collection
• The Future is Blue by Catherynne M. Valente; personal collection
• Gideon Falls, Volume 2: Original Sins by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino; personal collection
• Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm; personal collection

Up Soon:

• Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse; personal collection
• The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir by Jenifer Lewis; personal collection
• If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann; personal collection
• Kneaded to Death by Winnie Archer; personal collection

Comments  (14)

Comment #1: Monday, July 29, 2019 at 01:51:37

Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out

I’m sure the camp was exhausting, but also rewarding for both you and your charges! I remember making paper plate turtles with my class when I was teaching :)

Wishing you a great reading week:)

Comment #2: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 17:43:00

Pussreboots

The bowl turtles were so popular that the next day they wanted to make bowl hats and have a fashion show. That's where my chicken hat came from.

Comment #3: Monday, July, 29, 2019 at 03:44:27

Kathryn

Those turtles are adorable. Nice lot of books - they all look eniticing.

Comment #4: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 17:48:00

Pussreboots

The turtles were fun to make. So far it's turning out to be a good reading week.

Comment #5: Monday, July 29, 2019 at 09:53:48

Yvonne

I'm sorry about the car problems, but I'm glad it's been fixed. Your artwork is great! Full Steam Ahead, Felix by Kate Moore looks like a good book. Have a great week!

Comment #6: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 17:55:00

Pussreboots

The car is running better than it ever has. It was worth all the frustration last week. I enjoyed Full Steam Ahead, Felix and will be reviewing it soon.

Comment #7: Monday, July 29, 2019 at 11:56:10

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz

I bet you are exhausted. Nothing is more tiring than working with kids. It looks like you and they had a great time.

I'm curious about If It Makes You Happy and Gideon Falls. I will be especially interested in hearing more about these.

Comment #8: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 17:58:00

Pussreboots

The hardest part was keeping the different age groups interested and on task. The best days were the ones where we had multiple, complex projects going at the same time. The kids could switch between them as they needed to.

Gideon Falls is a fascinating horror comic. I'll be reviewing volume 1 soon. I just finished volume 2. If It Makes You Happy will be reviewed sometime in August, probably near the middle of the month.

Comment #9: Monday, July 29, 2019 at 12:16:31

Beth F

Glad you were able to be flexible about the art class. And yay on the car.

Comment #10: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 18:07:00

Pussreboots

Fortunately the studio is well stocked to give soem wiggle room with projects. The hard part is coming up with something that's in the week's theme that all the age groups will be interested in doing.

Comment #11: Monday, July 29, 2019 at 12:19:44

Kathleen M Martin

Art Camp looks like it was fun! Come see my week here. Happy reading!

Comment #12: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 18:11:00

Pussreboots

It was fun.

Comment #13: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 16:52:56

Donna

Turtles are always big hits. It was the craft of the day once when I took my niece to the children's museum. We still have them thought it has been more than a decade (gosh that makes me feel old, lol). The turkey painting is awesome.

Comment #14: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 18:14:00

Pussreboots

I still have some turtles my kids made when they were little. It's an easy craft to teach but eats up a lot of time if you plan it right. I'm about half done with the turkey painting.