I love Gary Paulsen's writing. So much of his writing is taken from personal experience. Years ago he wrote a memoir for adults that went into detail about his childhood. To say the least it wasn't a pretty picture. As a middle school librarian I could count on Paulsen's books to grab the attention of reluctant readers, especially the guys. My latest book (not really a journal because there is no place to add thoughts) is based on Pullman's Golden Compass. Finding images to represent key points of the story is quite challenging.
Oooo I bet thé Golden Compass is turning out beautifully! I can imagine it would be tough for such a fantastical story though ✨ yes, I remember being one of the only girls in school who liked Paulsen’s writing, but I started hunting and fishing when I was very young with my dad and loved being outdoors, so it was nice to read that from another kid’s perspective. I think he balances the practicalities of the stories really well with the imagery. I’m definitely looking forward to reading his memoirs, but I’ve heard it’s pretty rough, because he grew up up fairly neglected 😞
🐳🐋The Discworld series made me look at death completely!! The series itself is really light and lots of humor but sneaks in different ways to look at life that are less negative!
@@darlingcottagediary Sometimes I even think I'm clever with them. Word play is truly an art form, nearly lost to the simplification of language these days. Tis part of why I do enjoy your commentary and videos. Pictures are worth endless words.
🐳🐋🌊 I remember a book called "Call it Courage" about a Polynesian boy who forced himself to leave his village because of societal abuse due to fear of the sea following his mother's drowning death. He travels to another island, survives harrowing adventures,, and returns to his village, a man instead of a boy. Written by Armstrong Sperry for the same audience as your book. It is still good reading and up there with my other childhood favorite, Robinson Crusoe.
🦭 I will find this book. We loved Hatchet. It is a curriculum standard read in these parts. We have just moved from the ocean a year ago, and miss it. Surfing in cold Canadian waters is a special relationship that impacts your soul. Your layout resonates this feeling. I love human experience views in books. I remember reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mays, and being drawn in to the descriptions she wrote. I remember being inspired by someone chasing their dream for another way of life, even if Italy was not my dream.
Ooo I haven’t read that, but I loved the movie adaptation (and I know the book is always better!)-i can imagine thé cold dips are something special, I can relate only for the few months I lived in Normandy, because the current beach I live by is regularly really warm. Locals know not to swim in July and august, because the risk of necrotising fasciitis is high. They typically give us red tide warnings about it, but most of us only swim during the other months. 85 degree sea water feels gross anyway 😅
@@darlingcottagediary Oh my word. YIKES. I do agree though, hot ocean water is not super pleasant 😂 .... The book is a different experience than the movie for sure.
🐋🦭🪼🐬 If you haven’t already read it - Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. And of course White Fang by Jack London. I too loved Hatchet but didn’t know about this one! Off to the book shop…
Hello Ashley, I finally read this book based on your recommendation! 🦭 This spread has always been one of my favorites of yours but I didn’t want comment on it until I read the book 🙂↕️ I actually gave it a 5 stars on goodreads it helped me out of my reading slump (just in time for september 🤣🍂) And it’s actually my first ever Gary Paulsen book 🌊 I think this was my first survival story that isn’t centered around a romance and it was so lovely - Leif’s connection with the grace whale , him humming the song while he sits next to her is so heartwarming. I think what tugged at my heart the most was the line “A dock boy, a wharf boy, nursed by sucking rags dipped in sour goats milk and fish oil, fed on scraps others would chew to soften” I don’t know it just made me emotional - over the years I’ve been much more sensitive(?) with media that has babies and small children in tough situations but that quote particularly stands out to me because although Leif does go through so much hardship and abuse at the hands of these ship men it warms me knowing that he was cared for as best as they could while out on sea. And the scene of him wanting to give Little Carl a proper burial 🥹 it was so sweet and his song he made for him warmed my heart 🐋 And the human connection of wanting to record stuff! A habit as old as time. I can imagine the next person to find Leif’s drawings, the shock on their face when they realized someone has been here before - or maybe in the future people will study his carvings such as what we do now with old paintings. And hmm I think the most “life changing” books I’ve read have to be “Tatiana and Alexander” it’s the second installment in the bronze horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons. It’s a WW2 historical romance book set in soviet Russia. the second book is vastly different from the first so if you ever want to check it out look up “the bronze horseman” first! Without getting into spoilers, Tatiana, the fmc, is very selfless person (which is both a good and bad thing for her) and seeing the way she cares for the people around her and the MMC is absolutely beautiful and made me rethink my thoughts on family values, relationships and sacrifices for the ones you love. Alexander (the mmc) also goes through tons of tribulations and we see how far he’s pushed for her and ugh very lovely book - it’s my favorite of the three. Another beautiful spread as usual! I especially love the 3d waves and the far away island 🏝️💫
Ooo I’ll definitely look those up! And omg I knooooow, I teared up at so many parts of this book 😭 especially when he felt the spirit of his mother in the whale-I lost it. And yes! The need to record things! It really hit home with reminding me that keeping an art/paper journal is not a waste or a random hobby-it’s a need and so many people (myself included) record things digitally now and that it’s important to keep physical copies, because we don’t really have control over the digital stuff
Meraviglioso 🌊🌊🐚🐋 un bellissimo stile ✒️ grazie!
Thank you so much 🥰🥰 I got the pen here: stationerypal.com/?ref=DIARY
(code DIARY for 15% off)
Even your nails are creative. WOW!
Thank you 🥰🥰 I probably drive my nail tech crazy with all of my requests 😆
🐳🦭love your work. Love Gary Paulsen’s work as well!
Thank you so much 💖💖
I love Gary Paulsen's writing. So much of his writing is taken from personal experience. Years ago he wrote a memoir for adults that went into detail about his childhood. To say the least it wasn't a pretty picture. As a middle school librarian I could count on Paulsen's books to grab the attention of reluctant readers, especially the guys.
My latest book (not really a journal because there is no place to add thoughts) is based on Pullman's Golden Compass. Finding images to represent key points of the story is quite challenging.
Oooo I bet thé Golden Compass is turning out beautifully! I can imagine it would be tough for such a fantastical story though ✨ yes, I remember being one of the only girls in school who liked Paulsen’s writing, but I started hunting and fishing when I was very young with my dad and loved being outdoors, so it was nice to read that from another kid’s perspective. I think he balances the practicalities of the stories really well with the imagery. I’m definitely looking forward to reading his memoirs, but I’ve heard it’s pretty rough, because he grew up up fairly neglected 😞
🐳🐋The Discworld series made me look at death completely!! The series itself is really light and lots of humor but sneaks in different ways to look at life that are less negative!
Oooo i haven’t heard of that series! Thanks! I’m intrigued 🤩
🐳 🦭 of approval! Thank you for another book review to allow the mind to wander through your process and the summary of the story.
It's my pleasure ♥ I'm glad you like them! and I LOLed at seal of approval bahaha
@@darlingcottagediary The opportunity was presented to me, I couldn't 'kelp' but take it. 🦭 Shrug
@witchstix I will laugh at puns all day long 😆
@@darlingcottagediary Sometimes I even think I'm clever with them. Word play is truly an art form, nearly lost to the simplification of language these days. Tis part of why I do enjoy your commentary and videos. Pictures are worth endless words.
@witchstix I agree-definitely why I like reading a combination of classics and modern writing
🐳🐋🌊 I remember a book called "Call it Courage" about a Polynesian boy who forced himself to leave his village because of societal abuse due to fear of the sea following his mother's drowning death. He travels to another island, survives harrowing adventures,, and returns to his village, a man instead of a boy. Written by Armstrong Sperry for the same audience as your book. It is still good reading and up there with my other childhood favorite, Robinson Crusoe.
That sounds fantastic! Definitely adding to my TBR 🩵 Thanks! Yesss Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson are good too!
🦭 I will find this book. We loved Hatchet. It is a curriculum standard read in these parts. We have just moved from the ocean a year ago, and miss it. Surfing in cold Canadian waters is a special relationship that impacts your soul. Your layout resonates this feeling. I love human experience views in books. I remember reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mays, and being drawn in to the descriptions she wrote. I remember being inspired by someone chasing their dream for another way of life, even if Italy was not my dream.
Ooo I haven’t read that, but I loved the movie adaptation (and I know the book is always better!)-i can imagine thé cold dips are something special, I can relate only for the few months I lived in Normandy, because the current beach I live by is regularly really warm. Locals know not to swim in July and august, because the risk of necrotising fasciitis is high. They typically give us red tide warnings about it, but most of us only swim during the other months. 85 degree sea water feels gross anyway 😅
@@darlingcottagediary Oh my word. YIKES. I do agree though, hot ocean water is not super pleasant 😂 .... The book is a different experience than the movie for sure.
🐋🦭🪼🐬 If you haven’t already read it - Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. And of course White Fang by Jack London. I too loved Hatchet but didn’t know about this one! Off to the book shop…
Oooo i love island of the blue dolphins! There’s another one called The Cay that’s good too. I was very into “marooned on an island” books as a kid 😅
🦭🐋
🥰🥰🥰
🦭🐬❤❤love it
Thank you so much 🤍🩵💙
Hello Ashley, I finally read this book based on your recommendation! 🦭 This spread has always been one of my favorites of yours but I didn’t want comment on it until I read the book 🙂↕️ I actually gave it a 5 stars on goodreads it helped me out of my reading slump (just in time for september 🤣🍂) And it’s actually my first ever Gary Paulsen book 🌊
I think this was my first survival story that isn’t centered around a romance and it was so lovely - Leif’s connection with the grace whale , him humming the song while he sits next to her is so heartwarming. I think what tugged at my heart the most was the line
“A dock boy, a wharf boy, nursed by sucking rags dipped in sour goats milk and fish oil, fed on scraps others would chew to soften”
I don’t know it just made me emotional - over the years I’ve been much more sensitive(?) with media that has babies and small children in tough situations but that quote particularly stands out to me because although Leif does go through so much hardship and abuse at the hands of these ship men it warms me knowing that he was cared for as best as they could while out on sea.
And the scene of him wanting to give Little Carl a proper burial 🥹 it was so sweet and his song he made for him warmed my heart 🐋
And the human connection of wanting to record stuff! A habit as old as time. I can imagine the next person to find Leif’s drawings, the shock on their face when they realized someone has been here before - or maybe in the future people will study his carvings such as what we do now with old paintings.
And hmm I think the most “life changing” books I’ve read have to be “Tatiana and Alexander” it’s the second installment in the bronze horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons. It’s a WW2 historical romance book set in soviet Russia.
the second book is vastly different from the first so if you ever want to check it out look up “the bronze horseman” first! Without getting into spoilers, Tatiana, the fmc, is very selfless person (which is both a good and bad thing for her) and seeing the way she cares for the people around her and the MMC is absolutely beautiful and made me rethink my thoughts on family values, relationships and sacrifices for the ones you love. Alexander (the mmc) also goes through tons of tribulations and we see how far he’s pushed for her and ugh very lovely book - it’s my favorite of the three.
Another beautiful spread as usual! I especially love the 3d waves and the far away island 🏝️💫
Ooo I’ll definitely look those up! And omg I knooooow, I teared up at so many parts of this book 😭 especially when he felt the spirit of his mother in the whale-I lost it. And yes! The need to record things! It really hit home with reminding me that keeping an art/paper journal is not a waste or a random hobby-it’s a need and so many people (myself included) record things digitally now and that it’s important to keep physical copies, because we don’t really have control over the digital stuff
🦭🐳💯
🩵✨🩵💗🩵