The Ickabog: We Couldn't Put it Down

Eric and I read and listen to a LOT of kids fiction. Over the past three months alone we have read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, The Tale of Despereaux, The Rescuers, Henry and the Paper Route, The Wishmakers, The Wishbreakers, Artimis Fowl and the Lost Colony, The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard, every Dog Man book, and--most recently, The Ickabog.

While Eric has enjoyed all of these stories very much, and I've enjoyed at least half of them, I have to admit that some of them weren't exactly what I would call riveting. But The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling is the best book I have read in a long time. I don't even mean best kids book--I truly loved it, and probably kept Eric up later than I should have each evening because I wanted to find out what happened next.

We found The Ickabog just browsing the shelves at the library the day before we left for Whistler. I thought the cover looked interesting, but I had low expectations. While we are all huge Harry Potter fans, I haven't really liked anything J.K. Rowling has written (or co-written) since that series. 

But, while I was waiting for the kids to choose books and do a scavenger hunt at the library, I started reading about the book. I learned that J.K. Rowling had told the story to her own children and written it on and off while she was working on Harry Potter, then put it aside while taking a break from writing. I was fascinated to read that she had finished it up and released it online during Covid lockdowns to give kids something to do--and even had children create illustrations for the story, which were then published throughout the book. I also discovered that all proceeds from the book were being donated to charity.

Then I started reading. After the first chapter, I knew Eric would love it, so that night we took a break from whatever we were reading and gave it a try. After that, we read it as much as we could as often as possible. I downloaded an electronic version so we could read it easily while on holiday. We read in the morning as well as at night--and anytime during the day when we were waiting for someone to finish something or just had nothing else to do.

We finished this morning. I couldn't read the last line aloud because I was too choked up (luckily Eric can read now and finished it off for me), and later in the day, Eric said it was "even better than Harry Potter." Not a declaration that happens often in this house!

I still like HP better, but I think The Ickabog is just as well written and captivating. I loved the way the story unfolded, drawing us into its fairytale world. The characters were interesting, the plot suspenseful, and the sentences perfectly crafted. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read (Alaina is already on Chapter 3!). Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as we did.

A Few Days in Whistler

When I was looking for somewhere to go for a few days during our kids' spring break this year, I kept going back to the idea of Whistler.

Even though it's only a couple of hours away, we hadn't been there for almost 12 years. In fact, this is what Ben, Janae and Alaina looked like last time we went: 

(For a few more pictures, visit "Tip of the Iceberg," April 2010, https://literarylamb.blogspot.com/2010/04/tip-of-iceberg.html). 

Eric wasn't even around at the time!

This year we ended up combining our trip with Jason's 49th birthday. We sang to him at home and had a piece of chocolate cake, then took the rest of the cake with us to Whistler :)

We stayed in a cozy condo just 5 minutes from the village--and from everything else as well.

That evening, we found a Mexican restaurant and got takeout to celebrate Jason's birthday, then watched Iron Man--something Eric was very excited to do! He couldn't believe Jason had never had an Iron Man-themed birthday before :)

When we woke up the next morning, we went for a hike on Train Wreck trail.

We got to see lots of snow as we walked through the beautiful woods.

Then we found the railway cars that had been part of an actual train wreck in 1956. At the time, the cars had been pushed out of the way, into the forest, so the trains could get back on schedule without too much delay. Over the years people have come across them, and now they're covered in graffiti. A few years ago a suspension bridge and trail were built so people could access the area safely.

After the hike, the kids tried our condo's (heated!) pool. Even though it was cold outside, Janae, Alaina and Eric had a great time swimming. I swam for a few minutes but spent most of my time in the hot tub.

Next, we went to see the village. We stopped at Cows ice cream--where 3-year-old Janae had had a meltdown when we were there 12 years ago ... she did great this time, though :)

We saw the Olympic rings from 2010,

and the kids did some shopping.

Then we stopped at the Sliding Center, where the 2010 Olympic bobsled, skeleton and luge events were held--and where people can now ride the bobsled with an experienced driver. We just watched!

We waited too long to try to find somewhere to go for dinner and discovered that Whistler restaurants fill up early--for both dine in and take out. Eventually, we picked up burgers and fries from a place called Alpine Café, and everyone was happy with that. Then Eric chose us another movie: Spiderman Far from Home.

On Saturday morning we went tubing at Bubly Tube Park at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. This included a gondola ride up from the village.

I wasn't sure if I should join in or stay back and take pictures, since I didn't have any snow pants.

As you can see, we don't have any good action shots because I ended up in a tube as well :)  It was fun, though, especially when we slid down together in groups of two or three. 

Then more hot tubbing in the snow (I wore a toque this time!).

There was a ping pong table by the pool, so we played a bit of that as well.

Learning from the previous evening, we booked a table early and were able to enjoy a local pizza restaurant called Creekbread.

Afterwards, Jason, Ben, Alaina and I went for one last walk through the snowy trees.

Then Sunday morning we packed up and drove home. Everyone was happy to be back, and it felt a lot more like spring at home after being up in the snowy mountains for a few days. 

Jason said he had a good birthday, 

and the rest of us still have another week of spring break!

Our Now 15-Year-Old and Her Latest Fashion Creations

Janae turned 15 on Saturday! She and Alaina had play practice all morning, then Janae went shopping with her good friend Ava (who now goes to a different school). I met the girls at Claire's afterwards to sign all the (electronic) papers for Janae to get her second ear piercings. 

Then Janae and Jason went out for Indian food ... and later we all had homemade ice cream cake.

Janae has been really into sewing lately, creating whatever she can imagine without even a pattern. I can barely make a pair of kids' pajama pants with a pattern, so I am amazed at what she can do!

On Friday she wore these red pants that she'd just finished, complete with satin-lined pockets.

She paired them with a leather jacket she had bought at a thrift store for a Halloween costume a few years ago, which she has since painted to look like the ones the "T-Birds" wear in Grease.

Janae had been asking her friends to get similar jackets for her to paint so they could all be T-Birds, and on Friday they surprised her by giving them to her as a birthday gift. She thought this was pretty much the best birthday present ever and has already started on the design.

(Don't worry ... Janae's friends are as different from the actual T-Birds in Grease as it is possible to be. They are all studious introverts who just happen to like musicals!)

Yesterday, Janae also got to present a sewing project she had recently completed for her Applied Design Skills and Technology (ADST) class at school. She wanted to make a Marie Antoinette style dress, so once again, she used what she had and watched some internet tutorials to come up with an amazing design.

She even figured out how to add padding to the back :)

She made the underneath structure with coat hangers, zip ties, cotton filler and an old bedsheet. Pretty resourceful!

Anyway, as I'm sure you can guess, she got lots of attention walking around school wearing it and inspired several of the textiles students to try something similar. She's now looking for a Marie Antoinette wig to complete the look.

She has also made this dress (again without a pattern!).

She taught herself to crochet and made this top, as well as this skirt out of a "shapeless dress" she had hanging in her closet.

And she made this little top as well.

I love hearing the sewing machine at night and seeing what she comes up with to make.

It has been amazing to watch Janae grow and develop over these past 15 years! She is definitely one of a kind and adds so much fun and creativity to our family.