January Reviews: Millions of Cats, Japanese Dolls, & the Science of Sleep Disorders
books here, books there, books and books everywhere!
For the Littles:
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
One of my favorite children’s books because of its rhythm (“hundreds of cats, millions of cats, billions and trillions and zillions of cats!”) and gorgeous artwork! Also, this book most closely resembles what it is like to raise and feed five children (“each cat took a mouthful of grass—and the hill was bare”). Let me get a bit obsessive about Wanda Gag for a moment. Just look at this font, y’all:
Love it. And this author picture of Wanda Gag:
I just want to be her best friend when I look at this picture. I think I could replicate this for my own author photo, with our little tuxi cat Sassafras. So go check out Millions of Cats—it’s worth owning—and all her books!
Family Readaloud:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
We read the beautiful author-illustrated Elvish on the outside pages version as a family readaloud—and I knew the Hobbit was good, having read it for myself before, but I had no idea how VERY good it was until I read it aloud to my children. It is simply masterful—the story has adventure, a main character everyone can relate to yet also admire with his brilliant strokes of bravery, evil and good, and it is a journey story (which I am a sucker for). If you have never actually read the Hobbit to your children or for yourself, please do it!
Miss Flower and Miss Happiness by Rumer Godden
Godden is the same author of one of my favorite Christmas books, Holly and Ivy. I love her writing style and was curious to learn more about her—it turns out she was a writer in the 30’s who wrote over 60 books for adults and children! I picked up Miss Flower and Miss Happiness and was not disappointed—this is a story of a little girl in England, living with her aunt and uncle and cousins while her father is working in India. She (born and raised in India) experiences culture shock and homesickness, and struggles to fit in to her new life until two Japanese dolls arrive in the mail and she begins to meticulously build them a Japanese-style home. I cried at the end!
For Myself:
The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep by Guy Leschziner
I’ve been reading nonfiction books about sleep to try to learn more about being plagued with nightly nightmares. While this book was not the solution offering book that I hoped for, I found it fascinating! Each chapter is a case study of a different sleep disorder—narcolepsy, sleep walking, RLS, etc. There’s a nice blend of personal, human stories of dealing with the syndrome, and the science behind why the issue exists and how to treat it.
This Asking: New and Selected Poems by Jane Hirschfield
I was disappointed with this book; I love her book The Beauty, but when reading so many of her poems all together, I felt like I was reading the same poem over and over again. A good poem, mind you!, but not enough variation. I much prefer some of her shorter, individual collections to this longer collected work. This poem, “I open the window” is a pretty good representation of her style.
Writing News:
Ironically, my essay on sleep won a contest and is in the January edition of Christian Century
Congrats on the essay win! That's wonderful. And sorry to hear the book wasn't personally helpful but now I want to read it too. :) I just heard someone describe nightmares and insomnia as our body's revenge on us for not processing everything during the day and working through trauma...I love this guy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRIts1oGF3E