Recommended Reading: January

Jessica Day George has some really fun kids stories. We read both Tuesdays at the Castle and Wednesdays in the Tower this month and have Thursday and Friday on hold at the library. I love the idea that their castle can change sections of itself and give mean guests worse rooms than nice guests.  All the kiddos are enjoying listening to these books in the car.

I read Good Germs, Bad Germs this month and it reminded me why I did my Masters in Public health.  I loved reading about how bacteria has evolved over the last 75 years since the advent of antibiotics. The chapter on the so called "dirt vaccine"  that helps other vaccines work better was insightful, as well as the research that shows how truly interdependent the relationship is between humans and some strains. The research supports my theory about vaginal birth and breast feeding naturally giving kids a better immune and digestive system.  And of course, it supports the idea that our "too clean" approach to everything is at the root of the huge outbreak of children's' allergies and asthma.  It is frightening to realise how adaptable bacteria are and how few options people who catch "super bugs" have. They also mention that small farms could prevent the need for treating animals with antibiotics (as they have to in the stressful factory farm conditions) and that would prevent a lot of needless exposure to antibiotics.

Big sister A just finished book #7 of the Ivy and Bean series -- she wanted me to add that book to our list. She liked it because it was "about science stuff".

I reread the Clockwork Angel series. I remembered how much I loved the ending. It was still a good read, but I was scandalized anew by a couple teenage love scenes.  

I came across Endless Steppe while I was looking at historical fiction books for the kids.  Of course, I wanted to read it when I saw that it was about Siberia.  Another great perspective on the experiences of people during WWII.  It shows that sometimes things that we think are horrible trials are actually saving our lives.