The books I gave, and the books I got

I was rather surprised (although I shouldn't have been) to find that I didn't have any time to write long and thoughtful reviews etc in the last few days....t0o many children all under one roof (six, aged 9-5, all but one boys), and trees fallen on the house (well, just one, but it was enough), and all the snow to play in and cookies to make and all the other Christmas stuff...

But now things are a bit more peaceful, since there is nothing left to Do (although I still lack the focus that reviews require). So here is a simple list of the books that I gave, and the books I was very glad to get.

Books I gave:

For my six year-old boy:
Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, by Gene Barretta
Hot Hot Hot, by Neil Layton (a picture book about woolly mammoths Oscar and Arabella)
The Squirrel's Birthday, and Other Parties, by Toon Tellegen
The Riddle of the Floating Island, by Paul Cox (a book in a series about the adventures of Archibald the Koala on Rastepappe Island).


For my 9 year-old boy:

How to be a Genius: Your Brain and How to Train It, by John Woodward
The Case of the Botched Book, by Paul Cox (another Archibald the Koala book)
Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children, by Conn Iggulden
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, by Eleanor Davis

For my husband:

Leavings, by Wendell Berry (a lot of people must have gotten this for Christmas, because it's now out of stock at Amazon).
Gentlemen of the Road, and Maps and Legends, by Michael Chabon

For my mother:
Kaleidoscope, by Dorothy Gilman

For my father:
Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris

For my little sister:
The Encircled Heart, by Josephine Elder (a novel for adults by a British Girls' School story author).

For my big sister:
A Brief History of Montmaray, by Michelle Cooper

Books I got:

All Summer Through, by Malcolm Saville (1951). The summer vacation of a group of English children.

Rescue in Ravensdale, by Esme Cartmell (1946). English children strike a blow against the Nazis (I think). The jacket makes a point of describing it as "A girl's story, from a boy's point of view," I guess so that readers like myself, who like "girl's stories,"aren't put off by the boy narrator...

Wishing for Tomorrow, by Hilary McKay (just published!) The sequel to A Little Princess, which I know by heart...I am looking forward to this one very much! I got the British edition, (because it doesn't come out here in the US until January).

Waterslain Angels, by Kevin Crossley-Holland (2009). Angels are missing from the roof of a church in Norfolk; two children must solve the mystery.

Fire, by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson (2009), and Chalice, by Robin McKinley (2008), which I only had an ARC of. Robin McKinley is one of the rather small number of authors whose books I have to have all of.

Aren't they nice books to get?