Winners Never Quit! by Mia Hamm, illustrated by Carol Thompson

Winners Never Quit! by Mia Hamm, illustrated by Carol Thompson

Rating: 3.5 stars

Do you expect this book to be a bit cheesy?  Well, it is.  But it's still worth checking out and reading a few times.  Especially if you've got a Lorelei around who is a bit reluctant to get dirty, and more excited about reading and putting on plays.  That's important, but...I want my kids to strengthen their weaknesses, or develop skills in activities to which they aren't initially drawn.  Okay, and I do think that it's uber-important for girls to be strong and play sports...it doesn't hurt that a zillion statistics back me up on this one.

Mia still hated losing.  But she didn't hate losing
as much as she loved soccer.

Anyway, little Mia in the story plays soccer with her brothers and sisters, but gets frustrated when she doesn't score.  So she quits.  The next day when she wants to play with them again, they don't let her because "we don't want quitters on our team."  She pouts (of course) but is happy when they finally let her play.  This time, when she doesn't score, she channels her frustration well and decides that playing soccer is more important to her than winning or losing.

The pictures in the back are the best part--photos of her playing as a little girl, a teenager, and then in National Championships and the Olympics.  We're gearing up for the Olympics here in a few different ways, so any book we can get our hands on that includes any mention of the games...we're happy.

Not stellar, but good.

Thunder-Boomer by Shutta Crum

Thunder-Boomer by Shutta Crum, illustrated by Carol Thompson

Rating: 3.5 stars

A few days ago an early fall storm passed over our house.  It was a classic: skies got dark in the early afternoon, thunder clapping like crazy, lightning zig-zagging across the sky.  The kids and I decided to go out on our covered porch and watch the storm happen.  We played around for about 15 minutes of the opening of the storm; Lorelei jumped and cheered every time it thundered, and Ben looked around him curiously, with a little alarm.  After it started pouring, we tried to drink some of the rain on our tongues from the top step and held out our hands to catch the raindrops.  We were channeling my husband, at work, who likes to do this exact thing when he's home during a storm.

Contrast that to three months ago, when Lorelei was shuddering in fear at thunder, and I'm pretty impressed at the growth.  Or knowledge?  Or maturity?  I'm not sure what, but three months ago, during the summer storms that come through our area, she was not so bold in the face of Mother Nature.  After one storm that worsened right during dinner, I had to drag her to the tiny spot on our first floor where she couldn't see out the windows.  She settled down to eat, but only after a few minutes of truly fearful crying. 

We started reading books about storms, including this most recent one.  Thunder-Boomer isn't my favorite storm book (I don't have one yet) and it doesn't even show the kids being particularly bold and excited by the storm.  In fact, they all run for cover as soon as the storm hits; the family huddles together and worries, especially when the rain turns to hail.  But, as Lorelei learned over the summer, the storm didn't last long, and the world was fresh and bright and misty afterward.  In the book, they find a tiny kitten that barely made it through the storm.  He's a gift from the storm, they say, and of course they name him "Thunder-Boomer."

I'm glad that Lorelei didn't want a cat after the last storm--she was content just to watch the rain fall and the trees of our woods swirl and whirl above.  Storms are pretty awesome things, and I love that Lorelei and Ben aren't afraid of getting a fairly close-up view of that.  I'm also glad that Lorelei is definitely learning from books--it's such a great habit, and I'm thrilled to help her start