{read: story and war} No One Is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel

In a small Jewish village in Romania on the eve of World War II, the residents decide to reimagine the beginning of the world and create one with only themselves in it in a futile attempt to protect themselves from the war. The story is told by 11-year-old Lena, who thought this might save them from the atrocities of war. But she is soon struggling with her own problems when her parents give her to her aunt and uncle, who have been unable to have a child. In this new world, they figure, why shouldn't they have a child? After all, Lena's mother has three. Surely she wouldn't miss one. This is also a coming of age story and an exploration of what it means to be yourself, as within the space of a few years, Lena is first herself, then another family's child forced to grow rapidly from an infant to an adult, and then a wife and mother. Yet in the outside world, war has continued and the soldiers eventually find their tiny village. Lena has to decide what survival means and what she will do to protect herself, her family, and their stories.

The language and storytelling in this novel are beautiful, and while the beginning requires a suspension of disbelief, the premise kept me reading and I wasn't disappointed. Fans of The Tiger's Wife will like the way Ausubel weaves stories of the past throughout the main plot and explores storytelling as the essential element of life.

No One Is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel (Riverhead, 2012)
My rating: 5 stars

{crafts} Musical fun

My son loves music and loves to play with all of his instruments. Here is a great tutorial showing how to make a simple homemade instrument. The original tutorial can be found at http://www.minieco.co.uk/tubular-cardboard-bells/

Tubular (cardboard) bells!

This is really easy. Get a sturdy cardboard tube. Pierce holes at regular intervals round the outside. Using a needle and thread attach bells to tube. Hey presto…a cheap and very cool little instrument.

I got my cardboard tube from inside a roll of binbags. I reckon you could do this with a toilet roll tube but it may not last as long. Wrapping paper tubes would also work pretty well.

If you are handy with a pair of knitting needles then make some knitted ankle cuffs too!

I used a fairly thick thread to attach the bells to the tube. Please bear in mind they do come off from time to time so take care around little ones.

Keep your eyes peeled because I am doing a guest post over at ohmyhandmade.com in the next week which is very exciting.

I also want to do a big shout out for Michelle at michelemademe.blogspot.com. Michelle used mycrocodile design to make some edible art – check it out!

{a thought for Thursday} Purpose

This is the true joy in life -- being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. -- George Bernard Shaw

{wordless wednesday} roots

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

{read: Envisioning the Rapture} The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

This book has an interesting premise but failed to deliver on it. After a Rapture-like event in which a large number of seemingly randomly selected people disappear, families and friends are left to carry on. Many of those left behind are shocked that they weren't selected as paragons of goodness and light, and one man, a priest, goes so far as to dig up the dirt on all those who were taken and publish it. A group called the Guilty Remnant starts up, filled with people who wear white, don't talk, and smoke cigarettes. They follow people around and stare at them so that they don't forget about the Rapture-like event. While these things were funny and interesting in the beginning of the book, they wore thin as the book went on. I had a hard time getting involved in the stories of Nora, a woman who lost her husband and two small children, and Kevin, whose family didn't lose any people but suffered collateral damage when his wife went to join the G.R., his son went to join another group led by a fanatic, and his daughter shaved her head. To me, this was just another book about the quiet desperation of suburbia. I almost didn't finish it, but I was hoping for a great ending to make it all worthwhile. While the ending wasn't quite what I expected (in a good way), it wasn't enough payoff for the rest of the book.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta (St. Martin's Press, 2011)
My rating: 2 stars

{crafts} Paper Gems

Here is a fantastic tutorial for paper gems. How fun would it be to make these for display in a pirate's treasure chest! With minimal supplies (paper + glue) you can create beautiful jewels. If you have a little helper, glitter might be a fun addition. 

Paper gems (+ templates)

This has got to be one of my favorite projects to date…which is a good job because I nearly broke my brain putting the templates together!! I’m not so good at maths and figuring out angles (my lovely Mum is a retired maths teacher so I should know better!). By the way this project is quite fiddly so more aimed at grown-ups or older kids.

My paper gems were very influenced by these wonderful crayons (via Deborah’s Pinterest board).

You can use these paper gems as hanging decorations (for your Christmas tree) or you can incorporate them into a mobile or garland. I would love to make about a hundred and string them up in front of my window…however there is a limit to my patience!!

If you spray them lightly on one side they look very pretty and a bit more crystal-like! (Not very eco-friendly but I found it hard to resist). Skip below the jump for pdf templates and instructions.

If you love crystals and gems as much as I do then check out these cool projects:

Home-made rock candy
Home grown geodes

Edited to add: Check out this great advent calendar idea using my paper gems. Thanks Marta!

Kids craft coming up next week…I absolutely promise this time!

Off topic:
Huge thanks to Kathreen from whipup.net for choosing one of my images for her 2012 calendar. Be sure to check it out!

I’ve been a total slacker on email lately…but intend to catch up over the next week. So if you have emailed, sorry, you will hear from me soon!

How-to

You will need:
♥ Paper
♥ Scissors
♥ Cutting board (optional)
♥ Glue stick
♥ Silver/gold spray (optional)

1. Download the minieco-paper-gems.pdf
2. Print template onto a sheet of coloured A4 paper
3. Cut out the templates. (Cut along solid lines. Score and fold the dashed lines).
4. Stick together using a gluestick. (There is probably a better kind of glue to use…I would love to hear recommendations from any paper-crafters out there!)
5. If you want to spray the gems, lie them on an old piece of newspaper and lightly spray the top-side of the gems. (I think they look better sprayed on one side only).

!!If you want to hang your gems then thread a piece of cotton through before sticking the pieces together!!

Due to it’s fiddly nature, this project is not really suitable for kids.

Any problems then leave a comment!

{read: Olympics vs. family} Gold by Chris Cleave

I loved the fresh writing and plotting in Little Bee and Incendiary, so I had high expectations for Chris Cleave's third book, Gold, in which he tells the story of three British Olympic cyclists and how their lives intertwine. Yet while I enjoyed the story, it didn't compare to Cleave's earlier two books. This one, which explores the themes of how we define success for ourselves, how society defines success, the cost and joy of parenthood, and the ties of friendship, had somewhat predictable plotting. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but at times it almost felt like I was reading Jodi Picoult rather than Chris Cleave.

So what was the difference between his first two novels and this one? I think it comes down to two things. First, Little Bee and Incendiary made good use of first person narration, and Gold is told entirely in the third person. While this can work well in many cases, it seemed to keep me at more of a distance. Second, in his first two books Cleave took big, hairy problems like terrorist bombings, illegal immigration, and the problems faced by third-world African nations and made them personal. He showed you how they translate into the everyday lives of everyday people. While Gold deals with themes that interest me, I missed that connection to a more global problem and seeing its intricacies both distilled and concentrated into the characters' lives.

The cover, however, is awesome. It's an optical illusion that shows either two women's faces (similar to profile on the Little Bee cover)  or a gold cup depending how you look at it.

(This is a review of an advance copy. The book will be published in the U.S. by Simon and Schuster in July 2012.)

Gold by Chris Cleave (Simon and Schuster, 2012)
My rating:  4 stars