Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie


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20 Awesome Outdoor Classics for Kids!

Grays skies are clearing. Temperatures are inching upwards. Summer’s waiting in the wings. Even if you’re stuck inside, you can still roam the outdoors through books! Especially when celebrating Great Outdoors Month!

Today we’re highlighting 20 top outdoor titles for kiddos. These books are geared for children ages third through ninth grade, roughly.

All include strong characters, engaging plots, and superlative story-telling. All have stood the test of time. (You may detect a big canine bias here. Because as Kimber knows, everything is better with dogs. Yes sirree, Lassie! That goes double for the Great Outdoors!)

Besides. If you can’t go to the outside, we’ll bring the outside to you, inside with:

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What is Strong Writing?

What is “strong writing”?

“Strong writing” is somewhat subjective. Pose the question to 100 book reviewers or authors and you’re likely to get 100 different responses. Or variations on a theme.

Our Version

So what do we mean by “strong writing” in fiction? Glad you asked. Here’s the 4-1-1 (the short version):

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Big Kitty Litter Box Awards 5.0

One of us used to feel a teensy twinge when an author complained about a negative book review. For a lousy book.

Now she just laughs:

 

Newsflash, Cupcake: We do honest reviews here. We’ve panned Pulitzer Prize winners we thought weren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. We’ve also heaped praise on unknown indie authors who earn it. So don’t whine about a negative review. You sound like the “wah-wah” adult in Peanuts.

Cuz guess what, Toots? We So. Don’t. Care.

Now that we’ve got that outta the way, buckle up. Cuz it’s time for another rip roarin- edition of Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky Awards. Cuz, holy Meow Mix! You don’t want to waste your valuable time on lousy snoozers that make fish wrap look delish, right? We already did that. So you don’t have to. You’re welcome. (Note: We received complimentary copies of most of these titles in exchange for honest reviews.)

Here’s the short list of qualifications for a Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky award:

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20+ Mesmerizing Memoirs/Biogs To Read Before You Die!

Kimber: “Memoirs? Biogs? Is that like when that Barbra lady sings about misty water-colored memories? Like in the movie with Robert Corvette?”

Mom: “The movie is The Way We Were, Kimster. And the actor is Robert Redford.”

Kimber: “You drive what you want and I’ll drive what I want… Wait. Where was I? Oh yeah. Memoirs and Biogs.  Guess we better start with some definitions:”

  • A memoir is usually a collection of memories written by the person themselves. It’s the story of a specific time, theme, or experience in a person’s life.
  • A biography presents chronological events from the life of a specific person. It’s the story of someone’s life told by someone else.
  • An autobiography is a person telling their own life story.

Got that? Great. Cuz we’re gonna color outside the lines a bit. Bring you some of All of the Above, under the general-ish category of Memoir/Biogs. (We’re using the terms a bit loosely. So don’t blow a gasket, okay?)

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Celebrate “Great Outdoors Month” With These Awesome Outdoor Reads!

Frozen Lake Trail out of Sunrise, Mount Rainier National Park.

June is Great Outdoors Month. I love this month because… well… um… I love June because Mom loves June. And I love everything Mom loves. (Except broccoli. Gag me with roughage!)

Hurray for Great Outdoors Month!

Back to June. Check it out: Hiking! Frisbee tossing! Swimming! Canoeing! Frisbee chasing! Kayaking! Fishing! Frisbee-ing! Picnicking! Biking! Frisbees! The beach, the mountains, the desert, the plains!

Did I mention Frisbees?

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Recs for Your Summer Reading

What’s on YOUR Summer TBR?

Mom’s at it again. She’s skipping merrily around the house, opening every window in sight.  Humming that Temptations song. You know the one. About sunshine on a cloudy day.

Here in the omni-soggy Pacific Northwest, we take whatever we can get in the “sunshine” department. Maybe that explains Mom lately. Why she keeps crowing, “Summer’s comin’! Woo-hoo!”

Has anyone found my frisbee? Cuz frankly, what’s summer without a nice, chewy, frisbee?

Anyway, with the weather warming up and some blue skies finally putting in an appearance, we whipped up a quick list of books for your summer reading. Categories include:

  • Most Unusual and Imaginative.
  • Most Intriguing.
  • Notable Nonfiction.
  • Just Plain Fun.
  • Favorite Re-reads.
  • Most Poignant.
  • #1 Favorites.

Titles appear in no particular order. So without further ado, here ya are. You’re welcome:

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5 Worthy Reads ‘For Us, The Living’ On Memorial Day

Memorial Day typically marks the unofficial start of the summer season. But let’s also take time out to remember those who gave their “last full measure of devotion” for their country. To honor those brave men and women in uniform who gave their lives so we can enjoy the blessings and responsibilities of liberty today.

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‘Be Right Back’ Isn’t Your Average Book of Poetry – Here’s Why

Be Right Back – The Travelogues of a Wandering Mind

By Jeffrey Greenmun, 2023

Genre: Non-Fiction, Poetry (Don’t freak out, okay? More on that in a min.)

Pages: 174

Note: We received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, okay. Quiet down in the back. Especially those of you who want to jump up and run screaming from the room the minute you hear the word “poetry.”

You know who you are.

So just hang on a min, okay? Cuz if poetry isn’t your cuppa, give Jeffrey Greenmun’s Be Right Back – The Travelogues of a Wandering Mind a chance. Articulate and eloquent, this delicious blend of poetry and biography may change your mind. Here’s the 4-1-1:

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The Best ‘Box’ Novel Yet?

Kimber: Hey Mom! You know that author guy we stumbled upon a while back? The box-y dude who writes crime thrillers set in Wyoming?

Mom: “You mean C.J. Box?”

Kimber: Yeppers! Didya know he has a new book out?

… And that’s how Her Momness and I flew over to the library faster than Captain Kirk aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.  Here’s what we found:

The Setting

It’s early spring in Wyoming. State Game Warden Joe Pickett is facing the mother of all storms in C.J. Box’s latest crime thriller western, Storm Watch. And we don’t mean just the blizzard kind, either. No siree, Lassie! Although there’s enough snow and ice and freezing temps in this taut and tightly written novel to make you want to toss another log on the fire. Maybe two.

Well. The Cowboy State is about to get hit by an “apocalyptic blizzard” in more ways than one.

Kimber: The title has a double meaning, if you get my drift. As in snow drift. Also deep doo-doo of the political type “drift.”

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FRIDAY 56: ‘The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line’

TGIF! It’s Friday! Woop! Woop! Time for another Book Beginnings and Friday 56!

This week our Book Beginning and Friday 56 are from the same book, The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II. By Major General Mari K. Eder (U.S. Army, Retired.) 

Keep reading till the end for Our Rating!

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