Ada Lovelace and Penguins

When you read this, Emily and I will either be getting ready for our Library's 17th Annual Chocolate Lovers Bake Off or we will have learned the outcome. I promise to let you know next week if we won or not, and I will share one of our recipes, so be sure to drop by again!

Meanwhile, during the past week it was business as usual. We did our school work, I worked on the seemingly never ending array of dishes and laundry, and we had a visitor. This week's visitor was the feathered kind instead of the furry kind. I do love my backyard wildlife. So glad the hubby puts out suet, and we have multiple feeders!

And speaking of homework, Emily finished reading a most fabulous book called The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency. She read it  out loud to me, so I can promise you I am not exaggerating when I say fabulous. From the end papers to the final notes, this book is truly a work of art. Author Jordan Stratford has taken real life individuals like Mary Shelley, Lady Ada Lovelace, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and Charles Dickens just to name a few and has created a work of fiction that will leave you wanting more. He pairs lady Ada and Mary Shelley as unlikely friends that form a detective agency and their first case leads them on an amazing journey to catch a thief. I find this to be a perfect book for mystery loving children in sixth to eighth grade.

Having also read Ada Lovelace - First Computer Programmer put out by PowerKids Press, I appreciated this fictional masterpiece even more. Lady Ada's real life wasn't nearly as exciting or as pleasant as the fictional one Mr. Stratford created and she unfortunately passed away at the age of 36.

And I read finally, I wrapped up this week up with a picture book entitled Little Penguins in honor of the snow that was finally deep enough for Emily to go sledding. This book by Cynthia Rylant is sure to be a pleaser for the pre-k to first grade crowd. The words are sparse allowing the illustrator to do his part in telling the story.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by Literacy Musings Mondays for more great blogs as well as my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.