Good Reads {May 2017}

"Books are a uniquely portable magic." -- Stephen King

People sometimes ask me how I read so much, and I guess one of the reasons is that I am rarely without a book! I almost always tuck one into my bag so I have it when I'm waiting for a doctor's appointment or waiting to pick up the kids. Books are portable and they certainly are magical, taking you to new places and letting you experience incredible new worlds. Reading is my favorite!

May is an insane month, as anyone with kids knows, but I still managed to read 12 books in May -- partly because all I wanted to do at the end of a very long day was curl up in bed with a good book.

Here are my favorite reads from the month of May: 

Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan

This new middle grade novel by the author of Counting by 7s was so much fun. Julia is short for her age and ends up in a summer performance of The Wizard of Oz, as a munchkin, of course. As the story unfolds, Julia discovers much about herself. I just adored this book!

Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout

If you have read My Name is Lucy Barton, you'll want to read this collection of nine stories set in Amgash, Illinois. The stories aren't directly about Lucy Barton, but we learn about Lucy through the lenses of others. Strout is a masterful storyteller.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore

Beginning in World War I, thousands of young women took coveted jobs in radium dial factories, painting watch and clock faces with luminous radium. Assured that radium was safe and even beneficial to their health, these women literally glowed. But the glory days were short-lived, because within a short time, these radium workers began to fall mysteriously ill. Their stories and the fight for workers' rights are incredible. This work of nonfiction may be my favorite book of the year to date. 

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

This psychological thriller was my book club's May pick, and it was a fun, suspenseful read. Told in reverse, two girls go missing from the same small town in North Carolina, ten years apart. Are the cases related? A fun read for those who enjoy thrillers.

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

Joshilyn Jackson is one of my favorite writers. She deals with serious issues (domestic abuse, racial tensions) while still maintaining humor and lightness. In Gods in Alabama, Arlene returns home after being away for 10 years and has to come to terms with the past and missing quarterback Jim Beverly. The plot line (missing person, returning home after 10 years) is the same as All the Missing Girls, but with a completely different feel. This is Southern literature at its best.

The Dry by Jane Harper

This debut mystery also ties in nicely with All the Missing Girls and Gods in Alabama. All three novels deal with missing teens and returning home after a long period of time but all three are so different. The Dry is a police procedural set in western Australia. The small town of Kiewarra is reeling after Luke Hadler commits murder-suicide. When detective Aaron Falk returns home for the funerals after 20 years, he starts investigating the murder-suicide to determine if it is connected to the case of the missing girl from 20 years before. A fantastic debut. 

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

I listened to this on audio and it was a fun, light read, perfect for summer. The story follows Rachel Chu as she visits Singapore with her boyfriend, not realizing his family is insanely rich. The story is laugh-out-loud funny and I highly recommend the audio version. 

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

This Pulitzer-prize-winning work of nonfiction is an incredible, heartbreaking book. Set in the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee, Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond follows eight families as they struggle with evictions, homelessness, drug abuse, hunger and all the other problems that result from extreme poverty. The American system doesn't work for the poorest of the poor. This is a book that everyone should read.

What have you read lately?  

The End of the School Year and Fifth Grade Graduation

School ended last Thursday and the week leading up to the last day was full of celebrations and parties! This last week was bittersweet -- it was Will's last year of elementary school and his friends are going to all be at different schools next year, so it is both sad and exciting.  

Here's a photo of Henry at his wild luau-themed end-of-year party.  

Will's end-of-the-year party included a field trip to Diary of  a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul and then festivities at Southside Place. 

5th Grade Graduation Day!

Will had outgrown all his pants, so we grabbed him uniform pants for next year. With a blazer, this is basically his uniform for dress days at school.

The 5th grade class sang two songs for the parents.

And then it was graduation time!

 

Congratulations, Will! We are so proud of you and all your accomplishments!

The graduation ceremony also included a massive photo collage.

Then and now -- he has grown so much!

Final song: "Wave Your Flag" -- the kids all waved flags that they designed with the logo of their future middle school!

Two proud parents

Each year, fifth graders decorate figures and the teachers put them up in the hallway as a huge bar graph showing the middle school plans. We are excited to be Kinkaid-bound! 

On our way out, we said goodbye to the best librarian ever!

The fifth graders then celebrated with a pool party at Colonial Park. What a fantastic way to finish off their elementary school career!

I picked up Henry at 3pm and we also had to say one last goodbye to our librarian before heading to the pool to get Will.

And then it was back home for our annual "Welcome to Summer" celebration!

Crave cupcakes + books

Will's cupcake!

So many books!  This is Henry's stack,

and this is Will's.

 

Summer is here, and we could not be more excited!

Lately: May Recap

School is out for summer (yay!!!) but May was jam-packed as always. The kids had so many fun activities both in and out of school. Here's a peek at what we've been up to in the month of May:

Both boys had STAAR testing at the beginning of the month, and the third graders celebrated the end of testing with Camp Read-A-Lot in the classroom. We sent Henry to school with letters and a cool care package.

Henry loves to read so much, and this day was a highlight in his year! 

More reading fun -- our Name That Book Club ended the year with a book exchange. It has been such incredible fun to work with this group of kids who just adore books and reading! 

Will had double testing one day -- STAAR science at school followed by a math placement test at Kinkaid that same afternoon. We celebrated the end of testing with frozen yogurt on the way home. 

Henry's sweet teacher invited all the moms to a Mother's Day breakfast on May 15.

She had a feast for us -- quiche, fresh fruit and orange juice! 

The kids read poems about their moms

and gave us mother of thousands plants.

It was such a special morning!

Henry also brought home this vitex flower for me! He found it on the playground, and surprised me with it for Mother's Day.

The boys also had their final Hands On Art classes at West U -- final because we are finally getting an art teacher next year! It has been such a joy to teach these kids and I am so grateful that we've had the opportunity for art, but having a regular art class will be so much better!

Splatter paintings in the style of Jackson Pollock

So very messy but oh-so fun!

Gene took the boys to MineFaire, a Minecraft extravaganza at NRG Park.

I hear that it was a tremendous amount of fun!

Will even met the YouTuber, Unspeakable Gaming, and got his autograph! A highlight for a Minecraft-loving kid!

Our annual piano recital was also in May. Both boys are taking lessons and had songs ready, but Will chose not to perform this year. Henry did a great job with his two songs -- Kookaburra and Red-Hot Boogie.

 

May Madness is a third-grade competition at our school that combines multiplication facts with basketball. Our class didn't win but the kids sure tried hard!

Our 13th anniversary was May 22. We had no luck finding a sitter this year (it's finals time in Houston!) so we ended up taking the boys out to dinner with us at Carrabba's. They really enjoyed joining us for a fancy dinner out.  

13 years already? What an adventure it's been!

Also at the end of May is Pop's birthday! Nancy was out of town, so Gene and Mike spent the evening celebrating with Pop. 

And finally, I'll leave you with this photo of Ruby and me. She is obsessed with "helping" me wash the boys' lunch kits each night. Such a goofball! 

End-of-the-year school photos and 5th graduation pics coming soon!