Holiday Reading and Jammy Dodgers

Even though I am currently one-third into reading The Other Boleyn Girl, I couldn't keep myself away from my shiny new Christmas present aka Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby. In fact I galloped through it in a night and enjoyed it very much, despite being reminded - as I always am when I read his books - of my English ex-boyfriend, who shared many traits of typical Hornby male characters: pugnacious, insecure yet arrogant, a tendency towards misery and moodiness. Whenever I read a Nick Hornby novel I congratulate myself on finishing with the ex and finding a nice man like Fixit to settle down with.

Next on my reading list, and I'm still debating the order, are two more Christmas presents: Escape by Anna Fienberg and the new Nick Earls, The True Story of Butterfish. I'm a massive fan of Nick Earls, I met him when I was working with the Youth Literature Program and have a very precious signed copy of his first, and possibly my favourite, book Zigzag Street. If you haven't read this book you should, it makes me squawk with laughter every time I read it. I'm not quite sure if Philippa Gregory and her Boleyn Girls aren't going to have to stand at the back of the line, even if they are on loan from a friend. The good thing about being on holidays is extra time and energy for reading, so I daresay I'll get through!

A while ago Cherub declared that he wanted a rest from chapter books for our night-time storyreading sessions and so we've had a good time reading some of his excellent picture books, favourites like QPootle5 by Nick Butterworth and Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. But tonight we started Paddington Bear; chapters and not very many pictures. I don't remember ever having read this before despite knowing all my life all about the bear from Darkest Peru, but we enjoyed the lively opening chapter very much, so fingers crossed Cherub will get over his aversion to chapter books.



Last night I finished reading the very last book from the Rowan of Rin series (by Emily Rodda) to the boys. We have read all 5 of these books straight through, on the recommendation of Pea Soup, and boy was she on the money. Every night Climber would look dismayed when I finished the chapter and ask for just one more. They are fantasy adventures books, aimed at 8-12 yo's, set in the land of Rin where dwell fantastic creatures like Dragons, Ice Creepers and Grach; and the hero, in a land where the brave and the strong are valued, is a gentle, shy and nervous boy called Rowan. During the series he must battle with very frightening creatures and solve impossible riddles but he makes friends and triumphs in the end, despite what I consider VERY vague "instructions" from the grumpy wise woman. My sensitive Climber, the one who feels he can't stand up to the bolshy boys in his grade, has enjoyed them enormously, and told me one day as we were driving home and discussing how he was coping at school that he really felt that the Rowan books had helped him.



I picked up Don't Look Now, a Clarice Bean novel, (by Charlie and Lola author Lauren Child) when we were at the library last week, more to amuse myself while we waited for the call from the mechanic to come pick up the car. But the wait was long and the boys were bored, so I started reading it aloud, and since they seemed to be enjoying it we borrowed it. Anyway, during the book, Clarice has to go to the shop to buy some Jammy Dodgers. I was pretty sure they were a kind of English biscuit and I googled them the next day and later Climber and I made a batch. Fixit came home and said Have you made Jam Fancies? But I said no. Because Jammy Dodger is a great name for a biscuit and that's what we're going to call them from now on.