Review: A Dog in the Cave

I have to admit, I am not quite sure how to write this review.

I found the book fascinating despite the fact that I don't believe in evolution.  I do believe that species can change over time to suit it's environment better, but I don't that reptiles can become mammals or that a one-celled critter can suddenly become a fish.  There are no gap animals.  This book is less about evolution, though that thought comes up frequently, and more about how two species influence the development of each other.

The book Synopsis:
We know dogs are our best animal friends, but have you ever thought about what that might mean?

Fossils show we've shared our work and homes with dogs for tens of thousands of years. Now there's growing evidence that we influenced dogs' evolution-and they, in turn, changed ours. Even more than our closest relatives, the apes, dogs are the species with whom we communicate best.
Combining history, paleontology, biology, and cutting-edge medical science, Kay Frydenborg paints a picture of how two different species became deeply entwined-and how we coevolved into the species we are today.

My thoughts:
The premise of the book is that does and humans have been together for far longer than has been thought, and the question is this... when did those first dogs start to coexist with people?

Numerous examples from archaeological finds are used to further the questions being raised.
Could prehistoric dogs be distinguished from prehistoric wolves?   Current dogs have a shorter, broader muzzles today than wolves have so perhaps that might be true from days gone by. 

Contained within the pages of this book you will find seven chapters.
1. Close encounters of the Canine Kind
2. Written in the bones
3. Wolf-dogs: these skulls are how old?
4. A meeting of minds
5. Written in the genes
6. The dog on the couch:  Canine Psychologists
7. A wolf on the bed

The premise of the book is this.   Dogs made us the people that we are today, and we made dogs the creatures they are today.  There is I think, some truth to that statement... from how dogs make the job of a shepherd easier, how dogs can provide comfort to individuals, and then on the flip side, how dogs are been specifically bred to be companions, guardians, or hunters.   

We shape them, they shape us.

Did they make us human?   Read the book...you decide.  :)

A Dog in the Cave: The wolves who made us human
by Kay Frydenborg

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt books for young readers
244 pages
Aged for 12 years old and up


 Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

 Amazon.ca: A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human


Amazon.com: A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human

Review: Really Woolly Easter Blessings

Really Woolly Easter Blessings is a sweet board book to introduce your littlest ones to the joys of Easter. and the truth of the resurrection.

Bonnie Rickner Jensen has written a cute little devotional to use with your littlest children, it is a sturdy board book, just a lovely size to stick into an oversized pocket or your purse. 

20 pages of lovely illustrations, carefully filled in with bright colours, each page containing an image of a woolly lamb doing different things with his friends. 

Each two page spread has a simple bible verse (including the reference), rhyming verse (generally two verses) an a simple prayer to say with your children.

It is easy enough for an older child to read with a younger sibling, with much one the page to draw the eye of a child.

 
 As you can see.... beautiful illustrations carefully added by Donna Chapman, that fit well with the verse and poem.

Simple prayers that you can easily teach your children, starting them along the way to a great relationship with God.

 A sample two page spread.   See how the colour covers the whole page, giving you loads of things you can point out to your children.   Cute figures that should appeal to most children.

Really Woolly Easter Blessings.
Author: Bonnie Rickner Jensen
Illustrator: Donna Chapman
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Pages: 20
Age Range: 2-5

Reviewed for: BookLookBloggers.

A God who hears and acts

Today we  are reading from Ezekiel 37, about the valley of dry bones.  Last time we met we learned about For His Name's Sake.   You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

The Lord has taken firm hold on Ezekiel and brought him to a Valley of Dry Bones.    Every where he looked there were bones... they were lying on the surface of the valley and were very dry.

God asked Ezekiel a simple question : “Son of man, can these bones live?”
Ezekiel didn't really answer him other than to say "O Lord God, you know."
The Lord then told Ezekiel to prophesy over those bones and tell them to hear the word of the Lord, telling Ezekiel that when he did so those bones would come alive.

Ezekiel did as he was told and behold
"there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army."

Can you imagine it?   Being in a valley and all these dry bones being gathered together into bodies?  I would seriously be freaked out.  But Ezekiel is apparently made of sterner stuff than I as he did as he was commanded and there is no sign in the writing that he was freaked out.

God gave him the explanation for this vision.

The bones are the house of Israel.“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel."

Israel has been saying "‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’"

So God is telling his people, through Ezekiel, that he has heard them and is going to take action.   Rising his people up from their graves and giving them his Spirit so they shall live.

 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

You know something?
I hear these words this morning and I feel like a new hope is starting to rise up within me.

I've been feeling hard pressed lately.
Fretting about the future, fretting over the unkindness of some folks regarding hubby and his work situation, fretting about the critters, my lad, my work and so forth.  Starting to feel beat up inside.

And here I find a Lord God who hears his people.  

I am brought to mind of the books I've read this week... about my calling as a parent to raise a child with God-conciousness and a God-submission attitude, about prayer and how it can change a whole neighbourhood and how sin is sin and needs to be recognized as such...and today's reminder of how God HEARS his people, he hears the cry of their heart and answers it.

It's a reminder to me that God holds me close in his hand.  He holds my hubby and my son and all I have to do is talk to him.  Tell him my frets and he'll hear them and he will take action.  He will.   His Spirit will be poured into me and I will have new life again. 

Three Great Middle School Reads

Recently Raincoast sent me a three middle school chapter books.   I thoroughly enjoyed them though they had completely different styles.  Affiliate links will be used in this post.  Thanks for blessing my family. :)

I Love You Michael Collins, The Journey to Dragon Island and Ten: A Soccer Story.

TEN: A Soccer Story, is the shortest of the three.   The story involves a young Brazillian girl who ADORES soccer, and has the gumption to start up a girls soccer team, in a time and area when "girls don't play soccer".   We are brought into her family difficulties and how she tries to solve them.   It is a well written book with excellent character development, showing growth in her and her brother, seeing how her team came together to play good soccer.   

 Maya, an odd ball girl, eleven years old, learning to stand up for herself, and for her family.  Learning to love up on her expanded family even if they don't "get her".   It's a nice book that should appeal to a broad range.  :)  It's a good upper elementary/middle school book.

I found this clip of her favourite soccer player and the moment, as talked of in the book, where he didn't get his penalty kick.

176 pages, published by  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, geared for 10-12 years old.  Softcover.

 Amazon.ca: Ten: A Soccer Story

Amazon.com: Ten: A Soccer Story

Oh..this book, The Journey to Dragon Island, made me laugh, oh my.  :)   It could have been my quirky sense of humour though. 

It was a great story.  A group of pirates in a world of magic. 
A rescue to undertake, a meaning of home to understand.

Brine, Peter, Tom, Cassie and the whole gang.. would they solve the mystery?      Would the figure out where the dragons went?

It's a great read that I am eager to see if my son likes it as much as I did.  :)

Written for ages 8-12 and published by Henry Holt and Co, it is the second in a series by Claire Fayers. 304 pages in length each chapter is predicated by a short verse. 

Amazon.ca: The Journey to Dragon Island

Amazon.com: The Journey to Dragon Island (The Accidental Pirates)

I have to admit that I don't know if my son would like this book, "I Love You Michael Collins" but I am fairly sure a couple daughters of a friend would.   Mamie is a young lady who knows her own mind.  She isn't the most popular child in school because of it, but she and her best friend are indeed the best of buds.  Set in the 1969 when the first planned landing on the moon is in the works.  Her school class is given an assignment, write to one of the astronauts.    Mamie chose "the forgotten astronaut" Michael Collins. 

This book is her series of letters to him, talking to him about her life and asking him questions.   It is written in conversational tone, you could just see a 10 year old lass writing like this.  :)   

Part of the conversation in this book is how to handle a fractured family, teen angst, selfish of a variety of people, and how family matters.

Published by Farrar Straus & Giroux, 204 pages long, written by Lauren Baratz Logsted, it's a wonderful piece of history.  Walking us through the divergent opinions of putting a man on the moon, how families interacted, and wonder of astronauts in space for middle school students.. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.   Geared to youth 9-12 years old.

Amazon.ca: I Love You, Michael Collins

Amazon.com: I Love You, Michael Collins

 

ACK!! Mom adjustment time!!

The other day my lad was complaining about his nose hurting, dad looked over and said "oh, pimple!"

And my heart just dropped.

TOTALLY unexpected.  My goal is to raise a God-fearing young man, who knows how to work and have fun, who WANTS to leave home and make his own way in the world.

BUT ACK!!!   A pimple...just totally threw me off and made me want my little boy again.     The boys laughed at me they did.   Mockery is a good way to ground a person again isn't it?  :)

Anywho.. moving on to our week.

Monday was a lazy day.  Honestly.  I was still on "I was away all weekend doing nothing and want that to continue" mode.   The lad did his basics and then we left for London.  He camped out at gramma's for the afternoon while Jim and I schleped about town.

I had a whack of books for sale in the trunk and met their new owners later in the afternoon.  I simply LOVE selling books and stuff.  Meeting new people and doing small talk... It's a wonderful thing.  (yes, I know.. I'm weird).

Tuesday we headed off to the Science Centre in Toronto.  We took in the new exhibit and an IMAX movie called "think big".  We wandered a bit more of the museum but then hunger struck.  We had a bit of a shorter day in the end, but it was still a good day.

The Lad's Research: First Nations Hunting Methods

This week I'm doing a report on First Nations hunting methods.

So here are two different hunting methods from the First Nations people.

The first hunting method is one for hunting buffalo also known as bison, this method was used by the plains and Metis peoples, it was their primary way of getting food, They could also get other resources from this such as hide furs sinew and bone, one of the was they hunted buffalo was by separating part of the herd, they would then case them off a cliff and butchered immediately.

The second hunting method is used to hunt whales, The resources they would get from this include oil, meat, bone, sinew and gut which would be used for containers. When they went out whaling they would wait for good weather and then they would set off early in the morning so they would arrive at the whaling grounds by daybreak, they would have eight people per canoe. When they found a whale they would wait until it surfaced they would then follow it to where it would surface again, then they would wait when it resurfaced, they would throw harpoons and the harpoons were attached to balloons, the balloons and harpoons were not meant to kill it just to slow it down and keep it near the surface, the killing blow would be done using a specialized lance.

The sources are below all the information I got came from them

kittensallday.www.com/link/www

livecatcam.com/link/www.com/ 

Mom here: I added a picture that I drew quickly to show one method of hunting.   The lad approved my one minute drawing efforts.  Can you spot the "fun" element my son added?     I did help him correct some spelling and typos before we posted it.  :)

Purpose in Blogging

Recently I have been reading that if a person wants to have a successful blog they need to be great right from the start, honing their craft right from the very beginning.  That if they don't have great material right from the beginning that they might as well not bother, cause all people will remember them for is their less than stellar work.

Do we really have that much expectations of people?

To expect perfection right from the beginning?   Do we not allow learning curves anymore?   Why do we put so  much pressure on folks?

All this information out there on this is the way to a bang buster blog.....but you have to do it all just so and write perfectly and have great graphics, and pin everyone else materials and .... the list goes on.

So much pressure to do it all correctly or .... the message is....don't bother or expect only for others be noticed or bothered about cause that first impression is all that matters.

I find that sad.

What about seeing what the true purpose is....honing a skill, sharing information important to the blogger, teaching/giving a reader new information.
Walking your way through what is most important to that person.
Knowing that telling folks to do it all perfectly right from the start is the only way to go, or you might as well forget about it.

Is there  one grace allowed, no time or gradual growth?   Should one really give up if they haven't perfected the craft in blogging before they even begin?

Is there really no point?  No purpose?

Sometimes I wonder....

--------------

This is a five minute Friday post. the word prompt is brought to us by Miss Kate.  Today the word is purpose.  What is Five Minute Friday?  Well it's a party of a group of like minded folks who gather on Friday to do a five minute free write around a singular word.  AND THEN we take the time to offer up encouragement to each other on this writing journey.  It's fun, though it's not always easy, but it is always good.   Come join us won't you?  You are always welcome.

Books Read in February

February was a good month for getting some books read.  I hardly know where to start!

Books read with the lad

- Haunted Canada - a series that the lad loves and I need to take a break from.  Spooky stories from around Canada about paranormal activity in Canada.

Fiction book based on the life of Jesus and people's thoughts about what a redeemer would be all about.  Hard times learning the truth, and seeing a new way.  I loved this book as a child, and now my boy loves it too.  :)

 Recommended reading.

 The lad and I have enjoyed all the books in this series.

This one focused on the tropical Rainforest habitats that are found all over the world.

Great images contained within.
Lots of information of a variety of plants, animals and more.

Excellent book.

Scene is the Israelites in the desert.  Story of a girl with her family, just a great story that had my lad so intrigued.

Recommended reading.  :)

This book was not quite what I expected, written for a younger age group as a reader/study book.

When I asked my lad if I should put it away and pull out something different he refused.  He wanted me to read it to him anyways.  He found it interesting to learn what wheat becomes and how oil refineries work even in a simple terms.  

C is for Canada.

A great picture book for a first introduction to Canada.
Surprisingly meaty.




Books read on his own:


This is a book my lad read on his own.  One person a day, and then narrating what he learned about that person.

He's learning who some of the important people of Canada are.

Good stuff us Canadians have done.

He's working through another book right now








 
The lad continues to work through the warrior cat series by Erin Hunter.

Books read as reviews

• Armstrong & Charlie.   Friendship between cultures.I liked this book. 
• 642 Things About Me.  Authors and Artists draw and write through yourself.
• A Dog's Purpose.  A dog and it's many lives...pros and cons to this one.
• Jack London and the Klondike Gold Rush.  Good book.
• Earth-Space Colouring Book.  Interesting style to this colouring book.
• Same Kind of Different as Me.  Picture book.
• The Painting-In Book.  Art book for youngsters
• One Last Word.   Cool book on poetry.

My reads:

I've read a couple books this month but failed to write down what they were (been too busy lately)!   Man!!!! (frustrated about that)  I've taken up reading through three non-fiction books and posting on them once a week (I've missed this week and will hopefully catch up with weekend).   

I've recently started reading "Shepherd, Potter, Spy and Star Namer".   It's a good book. Looking forward to finishing it.  :)

Art Series: 642 Things about Me.

You know how art is about more than drawing, painting, cutting, gluing and making.  How art is also about words and how to use them beautifully?   Here is a book to encourage beauty in both of those formats for your young artists and writers.    642 things about me.

Chronicle Books has come out with another 642 things book!    This one is geared for the 8-12 year old writer and artist.    

As you can see there is plenty of space to write and to draw, sometimes to do both for the same topic.

Some of the things you might be asked to write about are:

• something you collect
• a cheer you could chant
• describe what thunder sounds like
• the music at the dentist office

Things to write and draw

• an historical figure image, quote, question to ask
• an artist that inspires, art work, a project you could do

Things you can draw:

• treasure chest at the bottom of the ocean
• colossal bike ramp
• flag of your country
• a valentine 
• a merit badge for bravery

So many things to write, to draw.
So many things to see and to listen for.  Thoughts to consider, quotes that inspire.

Get this book into the hands of your young artist and watch them get busy being inspired to learn, draw, grow, and develop.  A good thing yes?

You can find my reviews on 
642 Big Things to Draw
642 Places to Draw.

If looking for the complete series of the 642 books visit Chronicle books.

642 Things About Me: Young Writer's & Artist's Edition
Chronicle Books
7.5 x 8.95 
304 pages
Ages 8-12

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.