A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Homeschooling

Future Worlds

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Future Worlds) through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

What do you see the world looking like in the future?  What changes do you foresee happening in how we live? How will the world change in 100 years?  Do you think things might look different than what Lonely Planet’s Future Worlds suggests?   A good discussion book for thinking about the future with your kiddos. 

Future Worlds

Quick Run Down of Future Worlds

Future Worlds: A Guide to the Planet of Tomorrow was put together by Anna Claybourne and Robert Ball along with publisher Lonely Planet Kids. 24 pages which flip out, hardcover and geared to 9-12 year olds.  This book will make you think about what the world might look like further along in the future.   Consider, what new things might be invented?  Perhaps things might work differently, might be fun to imagine eh? 

I am reviewing a hardcover edition on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

Getting a broader view

One of the many aspects I like about Future Worlds is the foldout pages.  This turns this 24-page hardcover book into a more imaginative, idea-filled, question-filled resource.   As you open up those foldout pages don’t forget to lift the flaps too!  So much more to discover on each of these pages!

Most of the pages are on the horizontal, but occasionally a page set on the vertical could be found, helping us to imagine the height of some of out future buildings.   Lonely Planet tells us this tome is based on the latest in scientific thinking, but I have to wonder about that abit….  

…. because they have us thinking that theatres will be all VR, our food will either be all plant- or insect-based, and that robots will give us superhuman strength.  Not only that, our snacks will be 3-D printed, and we’ll only get around using electric, driverless cars and by hoverboard.

My question is this: would you really want this to be your world?   Or would you welcome such innovations and changes to the way we live our lives? 

Regardless of your answers to those questions, you’ll find ideas packed throughout, while giving lots of space for illustrations to future fuel the imagination. 

My older eyes did find the text a little small, but still quite readable.  Can you imagine an umbrella just hovering over your head?  That idea just spawns all kinds of imagined changes. 

I find it interesting though, I watched the “Back to the Future” movies, and hoverboards, flying vehicles, etc were part of the imagined future as well.  So thinking that we’ll have flying buses and cars fills me with some skepticism.  Those items are so often a part of an imagined future don’t you find? 

So is it one you should grab?

Books like Future Worlds are fun!  Seriously.  To see all the things that people imagine might happen in the future?  It spawns the imagination, and ignites ideas for potential research.  Can I see insects becoming more important in the future?  For sure!  I think more research and publicity needs to occur for the eating of crickets and superworms to become more acceptable.  🙂 

The idea of having a hovering umbrella makes me curious and has me asking questions such as: but what will stabilize it when there’s wind blowing at odd angles? What keeps it at the right angle?  Can you set an optimal height? How will those kinks be worked out? 

Isn’t it fascinating to consider?  I think so, and spurring on the ideas and imaginations of middle schoolers?  How much the better??!?!?!?  Just think about how you can use this in your creative writing program, or as a critical thinking exercise.  So many uses for a book like this to get your kids thinking!

Listen to the Language of the Trees

By 6 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Listen to the Language of the Trees) through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Too often adults dismiss the value of picture books when it comes to learning.  It’s so easy to think, it’s a book for little children, what can I learn from it?  What could a middle school or high school student learn?  The thing about picture books is they contain bite-sized bits of learning that you might otherwise miss in a bigger, more wordy book.   Those bite-sized bits can encourage anyone to look deeper into a new concept.  In Listen to the Language of the Trees, I learned about the importance of the mycorrhizal network and about the work they are doing in labs, with an eventual look at field research. 

Listen to the language of the trees

The basic details

Today I am reviewing Listen to the Language of the Trees: a story of how forests communicate underground.   My version is an ARC softcover that I am reviewing on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

Sourcebooks for kids has, together with Tera Kelley, published a picturebook geared at children 4-8 years of age. 40 pages come complete with full colour images, a teacher/parent help section, and an activities area, you have yourselves a small unit study for young children.  This same unit study will prove to be a great starting point for older readers.  

Digging Deeper into Listen to the Language of the Trees

One of the items I appreciate in this book is the clarity of the images. Illustrator Marie Hermansson did an excellent job of conveying how support happened underground.  Full-coloured illustrations demonstrate the path underground to help not only the little tree but also the big tree as well.  Rather neat how the mycorrhizal network is run.

The font is clear and easy to read, I only wish it has been larger to facilitate reading this tome with a group of interested children. 

Do you just love the details?   That squirrel!   Oh my, I could have so much fun talking with a young reader about the squirrel and all the other details provided in these fantastic drawings. 

You’ll love the teacher/parent notes at the close.  They are provided in three formats.  One with easy cutouts with brief explanations, this is written mostly for children.  The second, with more of an adult perspective, includes a more in-depth explanation of what they know and don’t know and how most research has been done in a lab.  Real-world experimentation/observation needs to occur yet.  And third, activities your children can do to add to their learning.

Add it to your shelves?

I have to admit, Listen to the Language of the Trees: a story of how forests communicate underground, surprised me.  I was rather skeptical about the whole mycorrhizal network so it led me to do a bit of research on it.  Such an interesting study!   This video below is just brief intro. 

So this is just a neat way to present this idea to children.   

I think it would be fantastic to also use with middle school and high school students to peak their interest in the unexpected connections in life.  My son in his biology class learned about the classic sea anemone and fish that co-exist and other symbiotic relationships.  Who would have thought that fungi could also do such things?  Rather interesting no?

July 2022 Books

By 4 Comments

It’s that time of the month again, time for me to share with you the books I read last month.  These are my July 2022 books, I hope you find something that might inspire you!   I will include links to reviews or to amazon.  (using my amazon affiliate account)

July 2022 Books

Books read for Reviews.

The Whale Who Swam through Time.  A wonderfully illustrated book that tells the story of a bowhead whale and the things she experiences throughout her life. 

Big Dreams, Small Fish.  I thought this was an excellent family-oriented book about a Jewish girl and her desire to help her family.  She was very persistent in her efforts and they won out in her multicultural neighbourhood. 

Cold: A novel.  DO NOT read this book.  I regret doing so. 

Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts.   For the most part this was a solidly good middle school read.  So much of it that I enjoyed. A great start to a new series. 

Hillary and the Ladybug Butterflies. This book was much better than the shorter books I reviewed earlier this year.  

The Story of a Butterfly.   A picture book walking us through the habitat needs and life cycle of the painted lady butterfly. 

A book I didn’t really enjoy was Into the Wind-Wracked Wilds. 

Looking for a simple bedtime story of littles?  One can be found in Blue Baboon Finds Her Tune. 

Physical Books for Fun

World Without End by Ken Follett.   This is a long book, I’ve gotten a good start on it.  I’ve enjoyed his books in the past so I’m hopeful I will enjoy this one.  Well okay, I guess I have read this one.  As I told my hubby “I enjoyed it the first time I read it, but not enough to slog through 1046 pages again!”  It tells the story of four children and how their lives were affected by an event in the early 1300’s. 

I still haven’t finished Gentle and Lowly   Harder to get through non-fiction books in the summer when I’ve gardening to do and work schedules to keep.  And I’ve been trying to use this more as a devotional than as a read-it just because book.  I’ve started bringing it along for my lunch breaks at work as I usually have focused time for 20 minutes then!  🙂 

Power Play.  A book about Petaybee, a sentient world, with her people integrally connected with her.  Fighting to survive in a materialistic universe. This is the third book in the series, and it does stand on its own!  Of course, now I want to go back and re-read the first two, and then go on and read the next books in this story.  Won’t that be fun?  🙂 

Audible Books

Cytonic.  The last in Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward Series.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this group of books about a young human in a futuristic society that wants all humans dead. Her skills are proving useful. And yet, she’s not sure how to use them as she is on a quest.  I also listened to each of the three novellas which helped tell the story from three different perspectives.  Sunreach, ReDawn, and Evershore.  Sanderson does an excellent job of telling a story.  

Secrets on the wind by Whitson.  This book has been an unexpected pleasure. As I am writing this I am wondering if it’s going to turn into a romance. Right now I’m just intrigued wondering how these people are going to heal from their hurts. Historical in nature involving a US army post in the late 1800’s. A widowed soldier, a laundry lady, and a woman suffering from hard captivity. Part of a series.   This was an enjoyable book…. grit and faith… a good read. 

More Kindle books….

Birthright by Nora Roberts.  I enjoy a good mystery and this one tied up two mysteries in one.  The question is, which premise is correct?  Are the bad things happening due to the archaeological dig, or because Callie is digging into her own past? There are romantic interludes, but for the most part, I just forward past them.   

I started Tuscan Daughter which I thought sounded interesting about the time period of Michelango and the other artists of that time period.  “Twas a bit whiney for my taste and I found myself irritated!  It’s a story about a girl missing her momma and wanting a love relationship with a man unable to return that love.   I returned it. 

But I did enjoy Daughters of the Night Sky.  I think I would have enjoyed it more reading it than listening to it as the narrator’s voice, was for me, a bit off-putting.  Good story about the bravery of women in a time when they were expected to be good little housewives and mothers.  Fighting with poor aircraft, frightening the enemy (Germans) in WW2.  My friend Lori recommended this one. 

July 2022 Books

Books on Kindle

I finally finished From the Ashes.  Turned out to be less of a romance as a story about the difficulties faced by the allies dividing up Berlin after WW2. It was well done I thought. The ending was too quick and short for my liking, felt like part of the story was untold. I am considering getting the next in the series but am concerned it will end as abruptly as the first book.  There are a total of four. 

I got a new tablet so I’ve started a new kindle book called The Lost Star.  Can’t tell you much about it yet as I’ve just opened it up.  It’s a sci-fi heroine type of story. It’s book four in a series so if I like it will probably stop reading it so I can get caught up on the rest of the series…   Well… just so you know… starting THIS book before bed was a BAD idea.   I stayed up much much too late so I could finish it.  🙂 

On vacation, I read The Last Dollar Princess.   The New York 400, the new rich, the English nobility… and money.  Who has the right connections to help the right person?   A love story that isn’t quite what you expect in some ways.   I cheered for the wrong person, but the story ended up good none-the-less.  🙂  You’ll find yourself catching a glimpse of the suffragette movement as well.  

Lola is Missing.  A mystery concerning divorcing parents and a little girl.  I have just started it but find myself hoping against hope that they’ll find the little girl safe and sound.  The first in a series concerning Detective Rachel Prince. 

How about you?

What is your July 2022 books read list?   Anything interesting that might intrigue me?   Send me a link or give me a list of titles, I’d love to read them! 

Others in this series:

The Story of a Butterfly

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Story of a Butterfly) through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

I don’t know about where you live, but here… butterflies!  Butterflies are always around in the summer, and as much as people say to kill the worms and caterpillars… I like seeing the resultant butterflies and moths despite the damage they do!   Since children often exclaim (like I do) over the presence of butterflies don’t you think they would be enchanted by The Story of a Butterfly? 

The Story of a butterfly

The Highlights of The Story of a Butterfly

The Story of a Butterfly was put together by Margaret Rose Reed.  A simple nature book helping young children understand the butterfly lifecycle and what they need to survive.  The focus is on the the life cycle and habitat of the Painted Lady Butterfly.  The picture book’s 32 pages are beautifully illustrated by Manu Montoya.  Preschoolers and kindergarteners will love the butterflies, flowers, and teaching to found within the pages. 

I am reviewing an ARC softcover edition for Raincoast Books. 

I adore letting children ask questions and then giving them the answer.  In this informative picture book, a child asks the questions filling your child’s mind.   I think it’s fantastic how each question is in large, easy-to-read font, and the answers are in a professional font. 

The explanations range from short and sweet to more lengthy.   Proper terminology is used.  This makes it a handy reference when answering questions from the nature studies you do with your children.

Natural progression is shown in the answering of questions, with the children eventually asking why they don’t see butterflies at school.  This leads to a whole new community project where we wordlessly get to watch it all come together.  

Don’t you just love the good use of colour throughout?  Even on the “summing up what we’ve learned page” you’ll find lots of colour!  It’s great to have a page that pulls all the learning together. 

Is this picture book worth your time?

Oh, I think so.  The Story of a Butterfly does a good job of telling us about the Painted Lady Butterfly.  It gives us many details about the life cycle and habitat needs of this particular butterfly.  If you learn how to take care of this one, you’ll take care of other butterflies as well! 

A good book for young children to help them learn more about butterflies, and a decent primer for older students just getting a start on a new unit study.   I enjoyed the use of colour and the details added to each page.  This provides good talking points when reading with a young child. 

The Whale Who Swam Through Time

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Whale Who Swam Through Time) through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Do you have an interest in understanding the lives of whales?  Then I urge you to check out this lovely picture book by Alex Boersma.  The Whale Who Swam Through Time walks us through the life of a bowhead whale and her 200 years of life. Swim through the waters and watch how the world changes from her perspective and gain a deeper insight into what whales need. 

The whale who swam through time

The Whale Who Swam Through Time in a nutshell

Through 48 pages the reader is brought through a 200 year journey alongside a bowhead whale.  We get to read this story in a book published by Roaring Brook Press entitled The Whale who Swam through Time: a 200 year journey in the Artic.  A picture book geared for children 4-8 years old, it’s suitable for people of all ages who just want to learn a bit more about whales.

The copy I received from Raincoast books is a hardcover with a dust cover.  This time-traveling book was written by Alex Boersma and Nick Pyenson.  Alex Boersma also provided the illustrations. 

Taking a Closer Look

Start with the birth of one bowhead whale.  Then follow her as she moves through time, through her life, with pages illustrated boldly with her life. 

You’ll discover boats with adventurers and hunters, and watch her break through the ice and have her dinner.  Even watching her dive deep with her mom away from danger, and give birth to her own child. 

There is so much more to discover within the pages of blue and white.  So much life and potential danger, will she survive?   With an easy-to-read text for reading with a child at your side. 

I was so pleased to see the information provided at the close of the book, filling in the cracks that the pictures and text merely highlighted. 

Add it to your shelves?

Homeschoolers studying whales, or teachers in a classroom should add this to their book list.  It is so interesting to watch this whale and her life and how the world around her changed.  These changes added new challenges to her life and her offspring. 

Alex Boersma did a great job of bringing The Whale Who Swam through Time to life.  All those blues of the ocean, along with the bright colours of the boats, sea life, and nature.  Just a lovely book to page through indeed. Loads of talking points to help children develop their observational and story telling skills.  A well-illustrated book helps with this so much. 

Big Dreams, Small Fish

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Big Dreams, Small Fish) through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Imagine that you are little.  Just a child in your family.  Easily shunted aside because the adults have to do the work.  Now suppose your family has a business, and… it’s not doing as well as you had hoped.  Now what do you do?  And then a family emergency arises .. NOW, What will you DO?!?!?!?!  Ah, I know, call in the neighbour lady.  She’ll mind the store, the family business, and she’ll mind the child too!  All good, worry about the store later.  Deal with family first.  And therein lies the start of Big Dreams, Small Fish.  Come on, this story will make your heart smile.

big dreams, small fish

Big Dreams, Small Fish in a nutshell

Paula Cohen brings us a touching immigrant story with Big Dreams, Small Fish.  A small family with a grocery trying to make things work and care for family at the same time.  What does one small child know that could help?  You’ll have to read to find out of course!  🙂 

Published by Levine Querido this preschool picture book is geared for children 4-8 years old.  Featuring a Jewish family living in a multicultural neighbourhood.   I received a 40-page hardcover book with a dustcover.  It is a standard picture book size. 🙂 

Reviewed on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

Looking More Closely

I love the pictures! 

That cat staring at the fish…. it’s so spot on!  And Shirley’s willingness to help… that sly little smile.  She knows her plan will work! 

The images often span a two-page spread, like an invitation to join in on a family going about their lives.  With a colour palette that suits the family and the various characters you run across.  People from all across the world fill the pages, it’s rather neat to see.  

Such a problem for this family.  Wanting so hard to pass along part of their heritage to the people around them.  Knowing it will be liked, but getting people to try, it’s just so very hard to do.   In the process, pick up some Jewish terminology as you go through.  It’s fun to learn new languages no? 

Part of me wants to quibble about the font, but as I look at the book as a whole it fits.  A big bold font doesn’t suit the temperament of this family-focused read. I would love it to be a tad bit bigger simply because I have older eyes and imagine reading to a group of children.  But sitting down with a child at my side, the font is perfect. 

Should it be on your shelves?

While I do get tired sometimes of girls, in various stories, being the heroes lately, Shirley fits this story.  A young lady, with her cat, trying to help her family.  You can just see her getting underfoot and trying different ideas, albeit unsuccessfully.  Her heart is on helping, on serving her family.  I love that.  Her never-give-up attitude of let’s try this, and let’s try that.  It’s very good. 

I love that at the close of the book we are invited to make our own gefilte fish.  Then we too can have Big Dreams, Small Fish!!!  A heart-warming story that showcases persistence and serving your family as best you can.

June 2022 reads

By 2 Comments

Hey!  I read (and listened to) some books this past month.  Want to know what my June 2022 reads were?  Well, then read on.  Some of them were very good!   I will either link to reviews I’ve written or to the Amazon link if you want to seek it out for yourself.  🙂 

June 2022 reads

Books on Audible

Collegium Chronicles (all three books).  Mags!  I can’t tell you how much I love the world of Valdemar.  Are the characters super good and nice?  (as one reviewer complained), yes. yes indeed they are.  But that doesn’t change how much I enjoy reading a story about the good guys defeating the bad guys.  It’s not always easy, it’s sometimes really hard and good people are lost. But still… good winning out in the end with a well-told tale is worth something to me.   I listened to Foundation where we are introduced to Mags and his white companion Dallen.  Then Intrigues where Mags figured out a problem with foreign assassins and his parentage.  Then I listened to Changes before I got distracted and listened to a different series… I’ll come back and listen to books 4 and 5 at some point.

Dragonsdawn.  I’ve gone back to the world of Pern. Anne Mccaffrey has long been a favourite author of mine.  This first book talks about how Pern came into being.  This is not the first book I read when I initially met this world, but it’s a good place to start to get a good grounding.  Dragons and being able to ride them while fighting to save your world?  What more could you ask for?  🙂 

Calling.  I had to wait for this third book in the series to come out and then I had to relisten to the first two books so the whole story would flow together for me.   A world of magic with strong female characters and the guys come along nicely too!  Very victorian feeling with proper dress and all, but well done I thought. 

More June 2022 reads

Redemptor.  This is the second book in the Raybearer Series.  Thoroughly enjoyed this series even though it took me a while to get used to the importance of drums, and I occasionally found the other-world a bit confusing in how it worked.  Decent fantasy novel. Again a book with a strong female character, but one where a team kept saying “let us help!”. 

Women in White Coats.  I did enjoy this book of history.   It’s not the normal type of book I listen to but since I like listening to lectures on Wondrium (formerly great courses) as I work I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised to enjoy listening to history as I worked as well. Learned alot about the battles women needed to fight against the good old boys club. 

The Chrysalids.  I wish I had read this book years ago, but it was a fun listen.  A good story about how we treat the different in society and what makes a person a person.  

Physical Books for Reviews

The Lost Dreamer.  Thoroughly enjoyed this read, want to read the next in the series.  Learning about the world of the dreamers and the changes they needed to deal with.

Front country.  A counseling trip that turns out with unexpected problems. The teens felt real, the situation that arose very plausible, and the help realistic.

Lolo’s light.  A sad read, taking us deep into the heart of grief. 

Build your own Science Museum.  I have to admit, I love these books.  I find them well done with interesting builds. 

Decrypting Cryptocurrency.  A good book to introduce people to the terminology of Cryptocurrency and how to invest in it. 

slow growth equals strong roots.  A mindset growth book from a Christian perspective.  A gorgeous book that reads like sitting down with a good friend. 

Becoming Beatrix. A good history of Beatrix Potter.  Well worth reading if you’d like to know more about her and her life.

The Souls of Lost Lake.  I needed to read the last chapter before I could finish this read as it was just a touch too suspenseful for me.  The answer intrigued me enough that I had to see how it all fit together and made the story enjoyable. 

Physical Books for Fun

Daughters of the Occupation.  What a fantastic experience to read a book about WW2 that isn’t predominately a romance.  This was a story about family and about what hatred does and how it hurts even past its immediate action.   I enjoyed reading it over several lunchtimes at work.  It is not a very easy read, it’s hurtful to see how mean people can be. 

I still haven’t finished Gentle and Lowly Finish it, I will, but it takes time. I’m enjoying it and learning more and considering more the heart of Christ. 

On the Kindle

I’m reading another WW2 novel, but it’s slow going as my tablet seems to be dying and runs out of juice very quickly.  From the Ashes by Marion Kummerow.  I’m not very familiar with the story of how Berlin was handled by the various governments post- WW2 so I’ve been enlightened and occasionally startled.  I wasn’t expecting some of the brutality.  This is the first of four books, and contains some romantic elements but not as the focus. 

How about you?   What books are reading?  What type of books grab your attention?