The RAHM Report for 2/12/18

What My Kids Are Reading

New picture books from Candlewick and a couple of Valentine-themed reads are in this week's Read-at-Home Kids Report.

What I Finished Reading

• The Wonderful Farm by Marcel Aymé
  I read this book aloud to my two older girls (ages 2 and 4) after lunch for several weeks. It's really different from other animal stories, and well-written, and the illustrations are by the inimitable Maurice Sendak. (This was the first children's book he illustrated!) My review is scheduled for March 15th. 
• Hooper by Geoff Herbach
  I have never read a Geoff Herbach book I didn't like. This is a bit different from the Stupid Fast series, but it's equally as well-written, fast-paced, and engrossing. I gave it five stars on Goodreads and will have a review up here soon. (I received an ARC from Katherine Tegen Books via Edelweiss.)
• Hamlet and Cheese by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
  I haven't kept up with every volume of this series, and I was surprised by how good this one really is. Stink attends a Shakespeare camp, where he learns a variety of Shakespearean insults and acts out a scene from Hamlet. My review will be up soon, probably on Goodreads. (I received an ARC from Candlewick via NetGalley.) 
• Hard to Resist by Kara Lennox
  I like to read love stories, but I don't like to read sex scenes, so I've been looking anywhere and everywhere for light-hearted and clean romance novels. I decided that I would try a book from Harlequin's "Heartwarming" line. This is not great literature, but it mostly satisfied my craving for a feel-good romance that didn't make me blush. (More on why romances often do make me blush in tomorrow's Top Ten Tuesday post...)

What I'm Currently Reading

• A Family of Saints by Fr. Stéphane Joseph Piat, O.F.M.
  I am supposed to be reading this for my book club, but mostly I'm not doing it. Every time I try to get into it, my eyes just glaze over. I think it's too academic for me. It doesn't have enough of a hook or story arc to grab my interest. I am probably going to read a few excerpts so I don't have to skip the meeting, but I'm definitely not going to read the whole first half like I'm supposed to.
• All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
  I've been slow getting into this one, but so far, it meets the very high bar set by the first book of the series, All Creatures Great and Small. I expect to take a few weeks to finish this, but I'm sure it will be very enjoyable.
• Clouds in My Coffee by Julie Mulhern
  I was listening to the audio version of this, but kept putting it aside in favor of podcasts, so now I'm reading the ebook instead. I'm enjoying main character Ellison's interactions with her sister, aunt, and police officer love interest as she tries to figure out who is trying to kill her. 
• Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
  This is an ARC I downloaded from Edelweiss. (The book comes out in March.) It's a cozy mystery starring a 27-year-old woman who works in her parents' Chinese restaurant. I've just started reading, but I really love the author's writing style, and I'm already looking forward to the rest of the series. 

Challenge Progress

• The Wonderful Farm counts toward the Old School Kidlit reading challenge, while Hamlet and Cheese fulfills letter H for the A to Z Challenge. 
• Hard to Resist fulfills letter H for the Alphabet Soup Challenge, and it also counts toward the Library Love challenge. 
• I also posted two reviews this week, which count for the Writing Reviews challenge: Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens and Clementine by Betsy Byars.

I'll be linking up today with Unleashing Readers/Teach Mentor Texts and Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?