It’s February, the month to celebrate LOVE!  There are so many different kinds of love – romantic love, the love that families have for one another, love for our friends, love for our neighbors, love for our pets… Although I don’t think we need a particular day to remind us to share our love, I can’t argue with extra love and cheer during one of the coldest months of the year.  So, for February’s diverse kid lit title, I’ve chosen a book that celebrates love…

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

The penguins at the Central Park Zoo are pairing off and building their nests, getting ready to welcome a new flock of chicks!  All over the Penguin House, girl penguins and boy penguins are getting together and falling in love.  And then there are Roy and Silo…

Roy and Silo are inseparable, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that they pair off and build a nest together.  But neither one of them is able to lay an egg, because they are both boys.  In one of the most heartbreaking vignettes I’ve encountered in a children’s book, Roy and Silo find a rock and take turns sitting on it, hoping to hatch a chick of their very own.  A zookeeper notices the penguins trying to hatch a chick, and finds them an egg that needs a home…

Roy and Silo take turns sitting on the egg, just like all the other penguin couples… until the day when their egg hatches and Tango arrives!

A sweet, fuzzy chick, Tango settles right into her new family – “the very first penguin in the zoo to have two daddies.”

And Tango Makes Three is a true story of two male chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo, who built a nest and raised a chick together.  Tango’s egg was laid by a female penguin who had only been able to care for one egg at a time; when she laid two eggs, the zookeepers made the decision to transfer one egg to Roy and Silo, knowing they would be able to care for the chick and her birth parents would not.  I teared up as I read about Roy and Silo tending to a rock in place of an egg, and cheered when Tango hatched and made their daddy penguin dreams come true.

It’s sad but not surprising that And Tango Makes Three has been the subject of a great deal of controversy ever since its publication.  We love this sweet tale of a precious penguin family who become symbols of the power of love.  And Tango Makes Three is a wonderful way to introduce children to the concept that there are all kinds of families, and that what unites them all is LOVE.  (And Moms and Dads, if you haven’t watched the episode of Parks and Recreation in which Leslie performs a wedding ceremony for two male penguins and creates a storm of controversy in Pawnee – go watch it.  It’s one of the most perfect thirty minutes of television I have ever seen.)

Have you read And Tango Makes Three?

Day-ummmmm, you guys!  I’m sitting down to write a disgustingly overdue post showing you my ten favorite books read in 2015, and I honestly don’t know how I’m going to choose.  As usual, my first instinct was to look at my Goodreads stats and see which books I’d rated the highest – five stars.  Usually that gives me a pretty good indication of my top ten list… but not for 2015.  In 2015, I had so many five-star books, that I honestly don’t know, sitting here and writing this introductory paragraph, how I’m going to narrow it down to just ten favorites.  If you’d asked me last year at this time – in the throes of a reading slump – if I thought I’d be in this position at the end of 2015 (or – cough – beginning of 2016) I’d have said you were nuts.  Yet here we are, 2015 was a ridiculously good reading year, and I’m actually having a hard time deciding which were the best of the best.

In any event, somehow I’ve got the list whittled down to ten (-ish; I’ve cheated a bit, as you’ll see below, but I know my friends will forgive me).  Again, these are books read in 2015.  Some of them were also published in 2015, but not all.  So here, in no specific order, are my top ten, best of the best, ultimate favorites from a really, really great year in books:

 Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner – I’d been meaning to read Stegner since at least 2007 (when a friend with great taste told me she loved his books) and now I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long.  Crossing to Safety was a quiet but deceptively dramatic novel about friendship, and how it ebbs and flows through life’s changing seasons, and the mark that really deep friendship leaves on all of us.  I was astounded.

 Overwhelmed: Work, Play and Love When No One Has the Time, by Brigid Schulte – Seems like an odd pick, but Overwhelmed is the book that I can’t stop thinking about.  Schulte writes about that delicate balance we’re all trying to strike, between work, love, and leisure – how we fall short, how to do it better, and how the odds are stacked against us.  She’s an incredible writer – she brought me to tears describing the causes and consequences of America’s broken child care system – but the real reason that this book resonated with me so powerfully was that every.single.word seemed to speak directly to my life.  Schulte is a working mom, like me – but if that’s not you, it doesn’t matter and you should still read Overwhelmed.  Anyone who is busy, and that’s everybody I know, will find useful information in here.

 Dead Wake, by Erik Larson – Dead Wake was the book that busted me out of my reading slump in early 2015.  Larson’s history of the last crossing of the Lusitania was absolutely masterful.  He sets the stage with foreboding – as I told Steve, the image of the Lusitania chugging out of New York Harbor with smoke pouring out of only three smokestacks was one of the most chilling images of my entire 2015 in books.  And the crescendo toward which he builds is fierce, dramatic, and heart-pounding.  It’s history at its best, and it kept me feverishly turning pages even with a newborn in the house.

 Lumberjanes, Vol. 1 and 2, by Noelle Stevenson – Until I picked up Lumberjanes, I swore I would never read comics, that the medium just wasn’t for me.  Jo, April, Mal, Molly, Ripley, Jen and Rosie changed all that.  I loooooooooved their adventures – mythical monsters! anagrams! math! dinosaurs! three-eyed foxes! weird old ladies! creepy boy scouts!  These comics were fun, hilarious, and so smart.  I can’t wait for the third volume.  Ripley is my favorite – “I was a fastball!”  Lumberjanes is fun TO THE MAX.

 The Elephant Whisperer, by Lawrence Anthony – My mom recommended The Elephant Whisperer after her entire book club loved it, and I can see why – Lawrence Anthony’s memoir of his time gaining the trust of a “rogue” elephant herd was moving and powerful.  Anthony agrees to take the herd onto his game reserve after it becomes clear that he’s their last hope.  He has to throw out the book and learn to relate to the herd on their own terms, and it’s absolutely riveting.

 The Royal We, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan – This is Will and Kate fanfiction, and it is AMAZING.  Another one that kept me turning pages instead of napping when my newborn napped, so you know it was good.  The Royal We is the story of Nick, second in line to the British throne, and Bex, his American fiancee.  The best part?  When the future King of England signs off a conversation with his soon-to-be girlfriend’s dad by solemnly telling him, “Go Cubs.”  It’s fun and fabulous and, as my friend Katie mused, unexpectedly moving.  There are few books I’ve wanted as badly as I want a sequel to The Royal We.

 In the Unlikely Event, by Judy Blume – Blume’s first adult novel in some 17 years, In the Unlikely Event is a fictionalized account of real events that happened when Blume was a teenager and a series of planes crashed in her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, in the span of just a few months.  Because this is Judy Blume, the cast of characters is massive – but you’ll get everyone sorted out quickly, and you’ll come to care about all of them.  I rooted for Miri and her friends, I got a sickening feeling when I could tell they were about to get bad news (Judy Blume does foreshadowing as well as Erik Larson does it) and I cried as the whole town grieved tragedy after tragedy.  It sounds like an insanely depressing book, and parts of it were, but it was uplifting and fascinating too, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

 The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi – Satrapi’s graphic memoir of her time growing up in Iran was moving, horrifying in parts, and completely illuminating.  I’ve always been intrigued by stories of growing up in foreign countries, and Iran is one of the most closed societies, hard for Americans to picture.  Enter Satrapi.  Her black and white illustrations perfectly conveyed the story, and I was completely riveted by her life story.

 Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson – Gorgeous.  Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous memoir in poetry by an insanely talented young adult writer.  Woodson writes of growing up as a person of color in both the North and the South, feeling like she didn’t belong in either world, and finally finding a home in Harlem.  I read Brown Girl Dreaming on vacation this summer and finished it in a day – but it took up prime real estate in my brain for much longer than that.  I loved every one of Woodson’s poems, but the one about her grandfather’s garden was my very favorite.  I could feel the sun-baked soil and taste the warm products of Daddy’s labor and it was so beautiful.

 Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho – I first heard of Cho’s debut novel on the All the Books! podcast, when Rebecca Schinsky raved about it.  My taste doesn’t always collide with Rebecca’s, but it did here – I devoured it.  Cho has built an alternate Victorian England that is awash in color and teeming with magic, and her diverse cast moves through the world gracefully.  I recommended the book to my BFF (another Rebecca!) and she’s loving it on audio right now.  Everyone should read Sorcerer to the Crown!

So there you have it – my best of the best in 2015!  I started off a bit slow, but in the end I had a great reading year.  As you can see, I cheated a little – including both trade volumes of Lumberjanes that are currently out, but I think that’s okay because the first story arc covers both volumes, so there.  Really, it was a marvelous year, I read so many wonderful books, and the best part was that I got to turn hundreds of pages right here…

How about you – what were some of the best books you read in 2015?

Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby.  I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book.  Here are my reads for January, 2016…

The Hundred Year House, by Rebecca Makkai – A story told in reverse, The Hundred Year House begins around present day, where Doug and Zee Grant are living in the guest house just a few hundred feet from Laurelfield, Zee’s ancestral residence, which used to be an arts colony.  The house has all sorts of secrets, which are gradually revealed to the characters in subsequent acts that move progressively back through time.  I enjoyed many things about The Hundred Year House – the structure was novel (pun intended) and the writing atmospheric – but felt that it was a bit sluggish in parts.  Still a good read, and a good start to 2016.

When I Was a Child I Read Books, by Marilynne Robinson – More Robinson essays to start the year off on a cerebral note!  Robinson’s mind is a truly awe-inspiring wonder.  These essays – like those in The Givenness of Things, which I read in December – blend theology, culture, and American history and politics into a fascinating meditation on the United States and all its complexities.  I found When I Was a Child to be a bit easier to follow than The Givenness of Things, but it was still a wonderfully challenging read.

Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers, by Bill Willingham – In this fourth volume, Fabletown is under attacks both internal and external.  A refugee turns up from the Homelands – for the first time in more than a century – claiming to be Red Riding Hood.  But is she?  Meanwhile, the Adversary has sent an army of soldiers into the Mundy world to attack Fabletown, and they’re… different.  And Prince Charming, devious and scheming as usual, is running for Mayor.  Will he oust King Cole, and with him Snow White and Bigby Wolf?  Lots of drama and excitement in the fourth installment – I loved it.

The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1), by Terry Pratchett – I wanted to pick up the Discworld novels after Andy Weir raved about them on the “Reading Lives” podcast.  The Color of Magic was wildly inventive and absolutely hilarious, and I enjoyed it.  My one complaint was that I found the world-building to be quite convoluted and really difficult to follow.  At times, I would be almost convinced that I understood who was who and what was what, and then the scene would shift, months would have gone by (in the story, that is) and I’d be back at square one.  I think if I continue with the series, it will probably become clearer to me.

Saga, Vol. 1, by Brian K. Vaughan – For as long as anyone can remember, the planet Landfall has been at war with its moon, Wreath.  Because destroying one celestial body will destroy the other, the factions have taken their conflict to other planets and moons around the galaxy, and the war has been long and violent.  Marko, a conscientious objector from Wreath, and Alana, a Landfallian prison guard, have fallen in love and deserted their respective forces.  Now they’re married, and the comic opens as Alana is about to give birth to their daughter, Hazel.  Their joy is short-lived, however, as the authorities on both Landfall and Wreath discover their marriage.  Both sides are determined to seize Hazel and kill her parents.  So, I put off reading this comic for a long time, even though I kept hearing that it was incredible, for a simple reason: the Landfallians have wings.  All kinds of wings – bird wings, bat wings, angel wings… and butterfly and moth wings.  And if you have known me for awhile, you probably know that I hate butterflies and moths.  Like, really loathe them.  Just thinking about them makes me shudder.  So I wasn’t sure I could get past that.  But I hate it when everyone is talking about something and I’m out of the loop, so I tried Saga, with great trepidation.  So far, I can say, the wings haven’t freaked me out too much – Alana’s wings are more akin to dragonfly wings, which don’t bother me – and the one or two pictures involving lepidopter wings have been small enough and unrealistic enough that I’ve been able to ignore them.  And as for the story – it’s incredible.  Some of the art (and I’m not just talking about the wings here) is really disturbing and not for the faint of heart.  But I’m hooked now and I’ve got the second, third and fourth volumes out from the library.  I just hope there aren’t many butterfly wings in those…

Fables, Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons, by Bill Willingham – Well, the votes are in and Prince Charming has ousted King Cole in a landslide.  I’m sure he won’t last, but in the meantime, he’s taken over Fabletown’s government and replaced Snow and Bigby with Beauty and the Beast.  Snow has given birth to her cubs, only one of whom can pass as human, and none of whom can stay in Fabletown – so she and the babies have left the city and moved to the Farm, Fabletown’s upstate annex where all of the Fables who can’t appear human live in varying degrees of peace.  The Farm is the one place where Bigby is not allowed, which means he can’t see his cubs – and he’s not happy about that.  Meanwhile, a mysterious force is attacking Fables, and a new visitor arrives from the Homelands.  There was a lot of transition in this volume, and it’s really fun to see where Willingham is taking these characters.  I do hope that Snow gets those babies under control…

Boxers (Boxers & Saints, #1), by Gene Luen Yang – Yang’s two-part graphic novel tells the story of the Boxer Rebellion from two different perspectives.  Boxers, the first volume, shares the story of Little Bao, who learns kung fu and leads a group of boxers after witnessing the cruelty of the “foreign devils” toward his village and his father.  Little Bao is consumed by hatred for the “foreign devils” and “secondary devils” – Chinese Christians – and although his rebellion starts with a desire to protect the culture of China, it quickly gets out of hand.  Beautifully written and illustrated, but disturbing in parts.

Saints (Boxers & Saints, #2), by Gene Luen Yang – I started this second installment immediately after finishing the first volume, and I read it in one sitting.  Saints focuses on the other side of the Boxer Rebellion – the Chinese Christians who were caught between the foreign missionaries and their fellow countrymen.  This is primarily the story of Vibiana, one of the Chinese Christians, who made a brief cameo in Boxers.  Saints traces Vibiana’s journey from unloved child to Christian convert – her early lessons in the faith, where she sits in the living room of a local acupuncturist who terrifies her, listening to Bible stories merely to get the cookies his wife bakes (and I snorted out loud when Vibiana refers to Jesus as “an acupuncture victim”) to taking refuge with a foreign missionary, holding long conversations with a vision of Joan of Arc, and finally finding herself caught in a Boxer battle.  The ending made me cry – twice.

Saga, Vols. 2, 3 & 4, by Brian K. Vaughan – Lumping these all together for efficiency’s sake.  Toward the end of the month I went on a Saga bender and read three volumes in about 24 hours.  A lot happens as the series continues to unfold – Marko, Alana and their family take refuge on the planet Quietus for a brief time, but they are still being hunted by Prince Robot IV (on behalf of the Landfallians) and Gwendolyn and The Will, along with the slave girl The Will has rescued and named Sophie (on behalf of the Wreaths).  This is a really interesting, strange, disturbing, and often funny space opera.  IV and The Will are clearly the antagonists, but you sympathize with them – IV wants to finish this mission so he can get home to his pregnant wife, and The Will is surprisingly tender – for a feared bounty hunter – at least when it comes to Sophie and his pet, Lying Cat.  (Lying Cat is SO awesome.)  Of course you’re still rooting against IV and The Will, and rooting for Marko and Alana, but it’s complicated. At the end of Volume 4, Marko and Alana have split up – temporarily, I’m sure – and Marko has made an alliance with an enemy to try to get his family back.  I can’t wait to see what happens in Volume 5 (looks like Sophie gets glasses! can she be any cuter?) and I won’t have to wait long, because I’ve got it out from the library now.

January was a really busy month on the work and home fronts.  We spent most of our spare time packing up for our move at the end of the month, and we’re just now coming up for air.  We close on the house in a few days and I am crossing my fingers that it goes off without a hitch (or without any more hitches than we’ve already had, at least).  Steve and I have been like ships in the night – mostly me holding down the fort with the kids while he pulls double shifts between his regular job and getting the house completely cleaned out and ready for closing.  We are living in a sea of boxes in our little townhouse and I’m trying to unpack little by little, while hoping, at the same time, that we won’t be here long, and that something more permanent will come our way soon.  But that might explain why this was such a graphic novel-heavy month of reading.  Four volumes of Saga, two volumes of Fables, and the complete Boxers & Saints – yep, the comics definitely dominated this month.  And only two books – Boxers & Saints – by a person of color.  So not the best percentage to start the year off, but I’m keeping track and focusing on that goal and I’m sure I will get caught up.  

What did you read in January?