Superhero School by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Andy Rash

from goodreads

3.5 stars

It is almost Hallowe'en. We carved our pumpkins on Sunday so they are all ready to go. When I go looking for pumpkins I tend not to go for the most perfect looking ones. I like the ones that are oddly shaped, or have weird bumps on them, or have scratches and scars. I find that those are the pumpkins that end up giving the jack o' lantern so much character. Also, my carving skills are not top notch. Triangles and a couple toothed grin are about the extent of my jack o' lanterns so the odd ball pumpkins are good enough for me.

We live in a rather aging neighbourhood. We don't have a lot of kids on our street. Our first year in our house we had two kids, not including my own. Last year we had no kids but we did have university students going around giving us chocolate to raise awareness about free trade chocolate. (It was very yummy).

The kids have gone to Hallowe'en parties at Brownies and Sparks (those are branches of the Girl Guide organization). It is always fun to see what other kids decide to wear. All the Sparks, so that is girls aged 5-6, were wearing princess costumes except for one wonder woman, and my girl who was a very fashion witch. At brownies, which are girls aged 7-8 there was a greater variety. There were zebras and cheerleaders and even Amelia Earhart. It's amazing what a year or two will do to children's interests.

Now the real test will be having my kids not change their minds about what they want to be before Friday. I am costume finding/making out. What do you like to do for Hallowe'en?

Synopsis

Leonard knows that there is something special about him so it wasn't a surprise that he was enrolled in a special superhero school. What he didn't know was they would be doing math instead of fighting monsters.

My Thoughts

This was a fairly amusing book. It was nice to see that even superheros need to have a basic education, that they cannot rely on their talents alone. It was cool how the author was able to weave math into superhero stuff and I loved how the kids were tested on their math skills.

Superhero stuff is so over done now with all the different movies that are out now. This book was able to have a fresh vibe with it, though it still had some cliche superhero stuff thrown in.

For me it was just meh. My kids enjoyed it more. I am glad that I read it, but it wouldn't be my first choice in books to read to them. So, the 3 stars come more from just a personal preference then anything negative or lacking from the author or illustrator.

So if you want to read about math learning, ice zombie finding superhero students this book might be right for you.

Wombat Walkabout by Carol Diggory Shields Illustrated by Dophie Blackall

from goodreads

4 stars

Last week my family and I went camping with a few other families. Of all the weeks of this summer it was the coldest and wettest yet. Not the best week to have gone camping but we still had fun. I didn't get as much reading done as I had hoped, but I did get to go zip lining, swimming and hiking. I also got to chat with a my friends which was nice.

But I am glad to be back to the blog and writing about what I have read! Here it is much warmer and drier, which I do appreciate.

Synopsis

A family of wombats go out for a walk. But they do not know that a wily dingo is about. Will they all make it home for tea?

My Thoughts

This was a cute book. It is nice that at the beginning they give definitions of some of the words that are used in Australia that are not as common in other parts. The depiction of the Australian flora and fauna enhanced this book, which without it risked being just another run of the mill counting book.

I liked the rhymes and the rhythm of the book. I love how the wombats are able to able to outwit the dingo. The wombats look so cute, though in real life I don't know if I would want to run into one.

My kids liked this book too. They were excited and felt a bit of dread when one by one four of the wombats did not come back.

This is a great book to snuggle up and read together. I think this is one that we will get out again and again.

Perfect Square by Michael Hall

from goodreads

5 stars

I like math. In fact, I'm pretty good at math. Adding a long list of numbers without a calculator does not phase me in the slightest. Heck, calculus is pretty awesome. As long as it is high school level and I don't have to understand why it works, I just have to know that it does. Yet, despite this non-abhorrence to math I am an artsy at heart. My major was in history and I would much rather be researching in archives and have my backpack full of books then take a university level math course or science class. Writing lab reports, blah. Give me an essay any day, well a history essay at least.

I married a mathy though. He is one of the weird ones that actually enjoys statistics. (Most people I know hated the stats courses they took.) When we were first married I went and sat in on one of his math lectures. The prof was proving that a circle was a circle. He used all this complicated mumbo jumbo and did indeed prove that a circle was a circle. In my head I'm like, why don't you just use your eyes. If it is round and looks fairly uniform it is probably a circle. When I told my husband that he did not seem as impressed with my astute powers of observation as I was. Oh well. Thank goodness for diversity, it keeps circle proving professors employed.

Synopsis

A square, as perfect as it is, is so much more than a square. In this book watch as it becomes a fountain, a garden and so much more.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading this book. My kids really enjoyed reading this book. They would look at it on their own, each choosing their favourite picture. They were excited to show me which picture they chose and telling me why it was their favourite.

I loved how they used the square shape in so many different ways to create so many beautiful pictures. Who knew just by scrunching a square or tearing a square and adding a few lines you can make the square into something totally different. I also liked the textures and colours that were used in the collages. It enhanced the visual appeal of the book.

It was really interesting how the author was able to make what seemed like random pictures into something cohesive in the end. They linked together seamlessly in a way that made complete sense and gave a real sense of completion to the book. It wasn't just a book of pictures made from a square just to do it. There was actual thought and a story to go with it.

This is one book that any artsy and mathy could love. It would appeal to a wide variety of children, boys or girls. And that is something that doesn't always happen.