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Oh ho ho, look what I've got ...

Wendy, I'm finished! Such a sweet little book.

"We're going to miss you, Jeffrey," said Jane.
"We'll visit him in Boston," said Rosalind.
"And I'll visit you in Cameron," said Jeffrey.
"Just remember, if you don't, I'll kill you," said Skye.
"I'll remember," said Jeffrey. "Good-bye, Hound. Stay out of trouble."
Hound wagged his tail cheerfully. Just thinking about trouble made him happy.

Rosalind turned around and looked at Batty, very small and woebegone in the backseat.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"No."
"Endings are sad, aren't they?"
"Yes." And way in the back, Hound whimpered in agreement.

Reading with Cillian, finally! Here's hoping I don't hate this ...

Hound barked proudly. Aren't I wonderful? Aren't I great?

Yes, yes you are, Hound. ;_;

While the three older Penderwicks loathed Mrs. Tifton, Batty feared her. As she told Hound when they were alone at night, Mrs. Tifton was the meanest person she had ever met. So mean, said Batty, that the flowers died when she walked by, which wasn't true, but Hound knew just what she meant.

"You have our undying gratitude for rescuing us from a fate worse than death," said Jane.
"And could you tell Jeffrey we escaped?" said Skye. "And that he should come over to the cottage for soccer practice when he gets rid of that Teddy Robinette kid?"
"Actually, Cagney, you might be able to help Jeffrey with Teddy," said Jane.
"Jeffrey's trying to drown him," said Skye.

Lol, these girls are so dramatic.

"What do I do?" whispered Batty, so excited her wings were quivering.
"They want you to pet them, Batty," said Cagney. "It's a great honor. I've never seen Carla go right to a stranger before."
Batty gently stroked the rabbits, Yaz on her left and Carla on her right. "Oh, Rosalind, they love me."
Rosalind and Cagney smiled at each other.

This story is just too cute.

A bull is so much larger than a bug that at first Batty didn't understand what she was seeing. She looked back down at the bug, who had by now safely scuttled up another daisy stem, then looked back up again, hoping the black monster would be gone. Not only was it still there, it had come a step closer. It was only fifteen feet away.
"Nice horsie," said Batty hopefully.

All was at peace while Batty picked flowers and hummed a song about kangaroos. Above, the birds wheeled cheerfully across the sky. Below, the worms slid happily through the soil. In between, the summer breeze softly ruffled the clover and daisies. But soon the peace was disturbed. Across the field from Batty, the barn door swung open as if shoved by something very strong.

"Your little sister won't talk to me."
"She never does with new people. She waits until she's found a common interest."
Cagney leaned over and whispered to Rosalind. "What about rabbits?"
"She loves rabbits," Rosalind whispered back.
"I have two living with me."
"Oh, Batty, Cagney has two rabbits," said Rosalind.
Batty's eyes grew big with wonder and she forgot to be invisible.

Not a fan of the Hunger Games books or the movie (yet?) but this post really makes me sad. Some people are just awful.

This is already an adorable book - great pick, Wendy!

"Tell me how Mommy gave me my name.
"Daddy asked, 'What should we name her, darling?' and Mommy said, 'Name her after me.'"
"Then Daddy got sad."
"That's right. Daddy got sad and said there could only ever be one Elizabeth for him. So Mommy said, 'Then name her Elizabeth, but call her Batty. I think she has a sense of humor.'"
"And then I smiled."

If Rosalind had been the first to discover the tunnel, she would have noticed that it was too neatly trimmed and pricker-free to be there by mistake ... If Jane had been the first, she, too, would have realized that natural forces hadn't formed that tunnel. But this was Skye. She only thought, I need a way through the hedge, and here it is. And then she plunged.

"Lost and weary, the brave explorers and their faithful beast argued among themselves. Only Sabrina Starr remained calm," said Jane. Sabrina Starr was the heroine of books that Jane wrote. She rescued things. Rosalind knew that Jane was looking for ideas on what Sabrina should rescue next. Skye had suggested a man-eating crocodile, who would devour the heroine and put an end to the series ...

"It's Batty's fault," said Skye.
"We wouldn't be lost if Hound hadn't eaten the map, and Hound wouldn't have eaten the map if you hadn't hidden your sandwich in it.
"Maybe it's fate that Hound ate the map. Maybe we'll discover something wonderful while we're lost," said Jane.
"We'll discover that when I'm in the backseat for too long with my younger sisters, I go insane and murder them," said Skye.

... what is summer without a trip to somewhere special?

Middle grade read-along with Wendy!

"How can cats suggest things?" asked Benjamin.
"With their eyes, Ben," said Mr. Onimous, "and their mewing voices, and their swishing tails, and clever claws."

Benjamin had to bake his own birthday cake. This poor kid. : (

I'm finding it difficult to stop turning more pages! If I didn't have to work early in the morning, I'd be staying up for at least a few more hours to read this. It's a bit non-stop action and with each new revelation, the larger story has started to peek its head out. I'm excited to see where all of this is going ...

For some reason Benjamin was always being picked on by other boys. People stole things from him, tripped him, and laughed at him. Charlie tried to help his friend, but sometimes, Benjamin was beyond help. Sometimes, in fact, Charlie thought that Benjamin didn't even notice that he was a victim. He lived in a world of his own.

Benjamin is a sad fellow, isn't he? Charlie and Runner Bean are his only friends. : (

Brokenhearted, the Red King vanished into the forests that covered the kingdoms of the North. He did not go alone, however, for he was followed by his three faithful cats—leopards to be precise. We must never forget the cats!

No! We must not! Yaaaay cats!

A nice, little, book.

She was sitting at the same desk in the same school in the same city as always. And I ... wasn't. So I could say "I'm lonely" or "It's fun here," but she wouldn't know what I meant, not really ... especially when both statements felt completely true and totally inadequate. I didn't understand it myself, and I didn't want her to feel sorry for me. It was too hard. I stopped returning her calls.

"Everything's awful." As I spoke that sentence, I knew it wasn't entirely true. That wasn't fair. Everything wasn't awful. Gran was great, of course, and school hadn't been so bad. Then there was the bread box. But my anger felt like something I could give him. I could say it was awful for him. Maybe it would even get me home sooner if I did.

Personal goal: finish this before 3/22 so I won't have had this on my currently reading shelf for more than a year. 110 pages to read by Thursday. 110 pages. My god, I will do it.