Bud, Not Buddy and my buddy

"If I had to give a rating out of a thousand stars for Bud, Not Buddy, I'd give it a thousand. This is the best book I've ever read."

I love my boy. He's sensitive and insightful and says things like that when he's sitting around on the couch -- and he says things like that even after he's read the Percy Jackson series five times.


Here's what the book is about: A ten-year-old African American boy in 1930s Detroit who leaves foster care when he gets sick of being treated poorly. This is the story of his journey to find the man he believes is his real father, a renowned jazz musician, and how Bud deals with rejection, adventure, and his own sense of identity. It won the Newberry Award in 2000 and I love that a book with such big ideas spoke to Dane. I also love that there are writers like Christopher Paul Curtis out there.

Teaching Note: Dane chose this at the school library for his upcoming book report, which is supposed to be Historical Fiction, and he's supposed to create a diorama along with his written portion. He's already decided to depict a scene at a train station.

Blog Question: Would you have given a book a thousand stars when you were a kid? Which book(s)?

Feeling The Music

We got up early the other morning and walked to Puck's Donuts to get the dog some exercise (*wink wink*). While we were walking, the kids listened to their iPods. At one point, Dane turned to me and said, "Boy, Mom, I have to be careful when I'm walking with my iPod -- so I don't just bust out and start dancing."

RUNNER KIDS

I need to post something quick just to step back into the blogosphere. Just a little something.

So here goes: I've got two new running pals! Dane and Aubrey love to run.

I should've seen this coming, since they're fun and active and they like to root for me when I get off my fanny to run, but they've taken their running to new levels just in the past months.

As I wrote earlier, they placed 2nd and 3rd overall for the Siskiyou Challenge One-Mile Fun Run. That was exciting -- I also think it's what gave them the bug.

Next, the school lap-a-thon fundraiser took place. Aubs ran 11 laps, which was high or average for girls in her third grade class. Good job, Aubs. Then Dane... Wait, he needs his own paragraph.

Dane ran 26 laps and set a school record! He just set out, on fire, and kept going -- for 6 -1/2 miles! (That's what 26 laps equals, in case it's been a while since you were on a track.) Dane reflected after school that day that it was weird to have people high-fiving him and smiling at him all day after that (a dose of fame?), and the next morning he crawled his weary body out of his room, moaning (without a hint of a smile) because his legs were so sore. He'd played an hour of soccer the night of the run, too.

So Dane and Aubs have got the running bug.

And Aubrey just won her first little competition -- at the Halloween Monster Dash.

Dane and Aubs and I decided to do the 5k (instead of the 1-mile). Aubs and I chose to stick together, but Dane took off like a rocket. He kept his pace (maybe a 9-minute mile?) and finished 62nd overall, 6th of 11 in his age group (10-12 years, I think).

Aubs and I kept a steady clip while holding hands -- she in Miss Piggy ears and nose, me in a curly purple wig and gown -- and happily crossed the finish line together averaging about a 12-minute mile. We got a phone call a couple days later, though, instructing Aubrey to come pick up her award: sunglasses, a free movie pass, and a certficate saying she'd won her division. Ages 0-8. :) Good job, Aubs.

Okay, post finished. I'm up and running.

A Post Only A Grandparent Could Love

No, seriously.

 As promised, photos from Dane's Surprise Birthday Party!