Wednesday, October 28, 2015

"Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" by Doreen Cronin


Today is a bit of a "Wacky Wednesday" here at Bookmarks and Coffee Mugs! Let me explain. On the fourth Wednesday of every month, I'll post something "wacky!" By wacky, I mean something out of the ordinary for this page. It could be a tutorial, a bizarre picture I found that week, or perhaps something that's requested by you all! Subscribe to keep up with the craziness!

As today is the inaugural "Wacky Wednesday" post, I have a wacky review for you! Meet my best friend Zach! He is a piano extraordinaire, Taylor Swift enthusiast, pizza connoisseur, and all-around funny guy. He has a very special book that he would like to share with you. Take it away Zach!

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is a story that some claim to be "The greatest story ever told" (Unke, 2015). Some have referred to it as "A monumental children's book" (Radue, 2015). Some have called it "Oh, yeah, I think I read that one time. Is that about cows that type?" These people are not wrong. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is the greatest story ever told about cows that type.

For those of you who either live under a rock or simply haven't lived at all, let me break it down for you. Farmer Brown (he's a human) has a whole bunch of cows (they are not humans) that like to type on an old typewriter that he left in the barn. The trouble starts when the cows start making demands via typed notes nailed to the barn door (where the cows learned spelling, grammar, and sentence structure will forever be a mystery to me). When their demands are not met, they start to leave super passive-aggressive notes saying that they will withhold their milk. It's Blackmailing 101, really. Various other barnyard creatures decide to get in on the cow' blackmailing scheme and some other stuff happens, I think, and eventually the animals and Farmer Brown reach an agreement.

What's great about Click, Clack, Moo is that it has something for everyone - kids like the pictures, adults can relate to both the animals and Farmer Brown, and the typewriter makes old people feel nostalgic. It's a delightful story that will leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling almost like being wrapped in an electric blanket. While it may not have the greatest moral lesson to be teaching our children - be very stubborn until you get your way - it does have the most cows that can type, which I think is something that's lacking from most literature these days. Click, Clack, Moo fills the hole in my bookshelf just as well as it fills the hole in my heart.

Zach says:



Check out Zach Unke Piano to learn more about Zach's amazing music and to order your copy of his new CD "How Sweet The Sound!"

Comment below with your suggestions for future "Wacky Wednesday" posts!!!

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

National Day on Writing - #WhyIWrite

October 20th is a special day for two reasons. First, it's my mother's birthday (Hi mom!). Second, it's a day set aside by the National Council of Teaching English, the National Writing Project, and the Teaching Channel to reflect on and celebrate why we love to write!  People are turning to social media and using #WhyIWrite to share their thoughts on the subject, but I'd like to share some of my own here with you, my wonderful readers.

Those of you who know me well are aware of the fact that I struggle with a speech impediment. I've had a stutter since my early grade school years, which makes it hard to communicate with other people. I stutter when I'm excited, stressed, sad, happy, or angry; basically, if I'm not at an emotional level of zero, I'm bumbling my way through sentences. Over the years, I've come up with my own system of modifications to make the stutter less apparent in my speech, but I'm still nowhere close to perfect. Writing has become a way to express myself when I can't necessarily do so with my mouth.

I stared writing at a young age. There is a pile of diaries in my closet filled with the scatterbrained scribblings of eight-year-old me to the angsty rants from the teenage days. Also, hiding somewhere in that pile is a Taylor Swift-esque attempt at songwriting that consists of me trying (unsuccessfully) to rhyme the names of the boys who broke my heart with fatal diseases. Anyway, even though I wrote a lot, I did it for myself.  I thought that people weren't interested in what I had to say, or I thought that maybe I just sucked at writing. Either way, I didn't share my creations (the good or the bad) with anyone, which sort of defeated the purpose.

Only in recent years have I felt confident enough in my writing to start sharing my work with others. It started on a small scale by publishing a few devotions here and there. One of those devotions will be included in a synod-wide publication that's coming out later this year! Yikes! And then last May, I threw all caution to the wind and created this blog! Two months later I got a sponsor, and now in October I've found a group of dedicated readers. I'm so proud of the progress I've made and the outlet of expression that this site has become.

So why do I write? I write to share. And through this blog I'm sharing two of the things that I value most with you: literature and my faith. No stuttering or stammering, just my words on a page...well, a screen. So, thank you to all of you who have taken the time to read what I have to say, because without you I'd be back to writing really bad songs in my journals. I'm looking forward to continuing this journey and publishing the things that you guys want to read. I love you all!

Now it's your turn! Write a post on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and use #WhyIWrite to tell the world what inspires you!

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Author Duos I'd LOVE to See Write a Book Together!

Happy midterm!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by the lovely people over at The Broke and the Bookish! There's a new topic each week, and you can check out that list here.

This week's topic is to list ten author duos who I think should write a book together. I came up with this list based on authors I like and have read a lot of. If you don't like my combinations, go ahead and make your own. :)

  1. Jodi Picoult and John Green - Just think of all the feels that would be felt!
  2. Lisa See and Jane Austen - Feminists unite for the ultimate book for women, by women
  3. Ernest Hemingway and J.K. Rowling - These two, as arguably two of the best writers in history, uniting together would result in a novel so epic that it can not be spoken about.
  4. Frances Hodgson Burnett and Donna Jo Napoli - A magical fairy tale in the making
  5. Stephen King and Edgar Alan Poe - I'm thinking "American Horror Story" in print form.
  6. Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) and Agatha Christie - The crime novel of the century
  7. Sharon Creech and Richard Peck - My two favorite authors from growing up working together would be an absolute dream team.
  8. Jeannette Walls and Meg Cabot - The result would be equally humorous and heartwarming.
  9. C.S. Lewis and George R.R. Martin - Think of the fantasy world that would come out of this union of minds.
  10. Cornelia Funke and J.K. Rowling - Again, awesome potential for an amazing fantasy!
Can you tell I like J.K. Rowling?

Friday, October 2, 2015

Hannah Reviews: "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

Title: Schooled
Author: Gordon Korman
Published: 2008
Genre: Realistic Fiction, YA 

Hannah's back, everyone! This time she's put together a short 'n sweet review of "Schooled" by Gordon Korman for you!


I first came across Schooled by Gordon Korman when I was helping sort through extra books we had lying around at our house. Since my Mom is a teacher who has taught every grade from Kindergarten to eighth, she has quite a few books that seem to come from nowhere. I figured, being a future teacher myself, I would see what it had to offer. 

Although this book was written in 2007, you would have expected it to be written in the 60s or 70s based on the cover art. In fact, it is about a boy in 2007 who has been raised on a commune by his grandmother his entire life. When circumstances conspire that force him to leave the commune for a time, his world is shifted upside down. 14-year old Capricorn Anderson is forced to go to a real live public middle school for the first time ever. Crazy situations ensue, but in the end both Capricorn and the other students at the school learn a lot about each other. 

I rather liked this book, however I did think that only some students might enjoy this book. There is not much background knowledge involved, but I think it makes a little more sense if one knows a little bit about the hippie movement. I would probably recommend it for students from 5th-8th grade. I give it 3 out of 5 beans.

Hannah Says:



Guys, this blog would seriously not exist without Hannah! It's so hard sometimes to come up with content for y'all while trying to stay focused on school and work. So, I absolutely rely on her to help me out every now and then! Thanks, girl! I owe you a coffee (or five)!!!