Books!

My nine year old niece recommended Laura Amy Schlitz's Splendors and Glooms and I am so glad she did!!  First Miriam read it and loved it and then I read it and loved it.  It is a Dickensian novel for upper elementary/middle school (but delightful for all ages).  It has some dark magic in it but nothing too creepy.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and put it in my basket at amazon to make sure I add it to my collection.  You might be familiar with this author.  She wrote Good Masters! Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village, which won the Newbery.  She also wrote The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer who Dug for Troy--one of my children's very favorite biographies.  In short, we're going to make sure all of Ms. Schlitz's books wind up on our bookshelf.  She's fabulous.

We listened to Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke on audio book awhile ago and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  So much so that I bought a copy for Emeline (age 8) for Christmas.  Since then she's read it twice (that I know about--sometimes I sleep and miss things) and has declared it her "favorite book ever."  If you have a child in elementary school who likes humorous adventure stories, I recommend this one.

We had Freight Train by Donald Crews when Cowen was a baby/toddler, but it was destroyed as only truly beloved books can be destroyed.  I figured Oskar would like it as much as my other kids had and so I gave it to him for Christmas.  It hasn't replaced Babies by Gyo Fujikawa as his favorite book, but it is a very close second.  My children were overjoyed when Oskar unwrapped the book because they all remember it and love it.  The best Christmas book reaction, though, was when Oskar unwrapped Jamberry, another book that was destroyed out of sheer love, and Miriam grabbed it right out of Oskar's hands and squealed, "Jamberry!" in pure delight.  Awesome.  

My dad loaned me Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and I loved it.  I rarely read adult books, truth be told, as YA was always my happy place, but I'll be purchasing this book for my library.  I loved everything about it.  

I am always so, so, so, so excited when one of my children read one of my favorite books and love it as much as I do.  Miriam just finished Sabriel, my favorite Garth Nix book.  She then promptly read the sequel the next day.  She loved it, I love it, anyone who likes fantasy will love it.  Read it.  Gold Star Book.

Trying to Get Back Into a Groove

We are trying to get back into the swing of school around here, but since there are still unpacked boxes and unexpected glitches (AC went on the blitz just as Utah hit 90 degree temps), there is still more "trying" than actual "groove."

Since we took so much time off for the move, we have a lot of material already planned and waiting to happen.  That is really, really, really nice for me.  I went to my library list and requested the books for life cycles and castles and knights.

The first thing we did was read some books about life cycles.

The kids were thrilled to read about sea turtles and kept referring to Diego and Wild Kratts when referencing information not in the book.  The kids also enjoyed reading about salmon since we all agree they are totally weird.  Everyone loves butterflies.

These books were good--about as good as any animal books.

Then we read our very favorite life cycle book.  It is a Gold Star book for sure.

The story follows Dahlia the dragonfly as she emerges from the water still a nymph, but sheds her exoskeleton on live insect TV.  My children love the end.  The author is Heather Lynn Miller and you should DEFINITELY check this book out if you are studying life cycles, and also if you are not.  It is just fun.

After reading about life cycles we created our own life cycle charts.

 Cowen's butterfly.

 Emeline's sea turtle.

 Emeline's salmon.

Miriam's salmon.


I was going to use an internet freebie to aid in organizing our charts but when I tried to print I learned that the printer wasn't connected.  Sigh.  I'm hoping my hubby has time to do that tonight.  If you want a free generic life cycle chart that will work for any animal, go here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Life-Cycle-Map-958122.

There are a bunch of life cycle freebies on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I think it is worth it to make an account.  I find it very helpful because you can search for a topic (ex: life cycle) and then click on "free" under "Prices" on the left side of your screen.  Then you can see all the freebies available for that topic.  I've found some great stuff.

But remember the true point of this post: read This is Your Life Cycle!

From My Bookshelves

Reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate made me think of some of my favorite books that also have a slower, more relationship dense feel to them.  Thinking about some of my favorite books made me think about some of my other favorite books, and then I thought it was time for a "From My Bookshelves" post.  I love sharing my favorite books!!  All of these books are GOLD STAR BOOKS.  I love them!!

A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt.  I am a huge Voigt fan and this is my very favorite non-fantasy book by her.  It is very pensive; sad and yet triumphant--my favorite type of overcoming adversity story.  By that I mean the action is downplayed.  There are no dramatic charges into battle or sudden amputations or a descent into cannibalism as a whole group of sailors starve.  The whole story pretty much takes place in the protagonist's brain.  I love that about the book.  If you're not familiar with Voigt, or have only read her non-fantasy then you are missing out.  On Fortune's Wheel is, of course, her best book so if you haven't read that one than repent immediately and do so.

A House of Many Rooms by Rodello Hunter is a relatively unknown and under-appreciated book.  It is the story of a family and how it grows and shrinks and changes over time.  There is a classic part where two of the children (girls) break one of their brother's arms (it was mostly an accident).  They threaten to break his other arm if he tells on them.  Classic sibling stuff.  Love it.

One Time, I Saw Morning Come Home by Clair Huffaker is one of my favorite romances ever.  By romance I don't mean bodice-ripper.  I mean that the story starts when the two main characters meet, follows them through their courtship and on through their entire marriage.  What is even better is the story is based on real people--the author's parents.  Since the couple married right before the Great Depression you can expect some sadness, but since they loved each other deeply you can expect a lot of a happiness as well.  It is just a beautiful and beautifully told story.

Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman.  The best love story of all time.  Enough said.  I think I've posted about this book on here a few times already because it is that good.  It is also based on a true story.

Big Doc's Girl by Mary Medearis is the "slowest" of the "slow" books in this post.  I adore this book.  The story is set in Arkansas during the depression.  The main character, Mary, wants to become a pianist but her life takes a series of unexpected turns until she winds up where she never expected to be, but realizes it is where she is supposed to be.  Was that vague enough while still sounding enticing?  Just take my word for it.  I love it so much.

I know some of these books are out of print, but that is why Abebooks.com exists.  You can find them for a reasonable price even if you can't get them at the local library.  (Although if you'd rather just pay a dollar or two, you could get them through interlibrary loan.)

Read them immediately.  Then return and tell me what you thought.

In other news, our house still hasn't sold.  We decided to move anyway and just trust that something good will happen with our current home soon.  We are listing it tonight as a rental and we dropped the sale price today.  We sign papers for the new house on April 30 and will move the following week.  On the one hand, my hubby and I are stressed to the max because of the risk we are taking by buying a house before selling our current home.  On the other hand, I am super excited to move!!  By getting into the new house, we alleviate all the pressure on me to keep the house ready for showings.  Plus, the kids and I can get back into a routine and enjoy living on the mountain all summer.

If you want to buy or rent a house in Clearfield, Utah--by all means let me know!!

Some Library Finds

I recently went to the library with my children and, while there, did something I almost never do anymore: I grabbed a bunch of books off the shelf without knowing anything about them, merely because I liked the covers and thought they looked interesting.  I still have a good, if rusty, nose for books and I found some winners.  I provide the links to amazon in case you want to read more about the books, not because I receive a kickback.

Breathing Room by Marsha Hayles is a historical fiction novel about a girl with TB who goes to a sanatorium to be treated.  The story is poignant and well told.  I especially liked this book because the topic isn't addressed much, especially for the upper elementary crowd.  Miriam (age 10) also really enjoyed it.  We'll be adding this one to our personal shelves.

Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge I'm including because Miriam loved it so much.  The premise is awesome--a 13 year girl who writes thrilling mystery stories under a different name who is called upon to solve a terribly strange mystery in an insane asylum.  It is supposed to read like something published in a penny dreadful of yesteryears and I liked the first half and then got tired of it.  Please keep in mind, however, that I almost never like mysteries that much (Victoria Holt's The Night of the Seventh Moon excepted).  Miriam, on the other hand, loved it.  Mystery is her favorite genre.  If you have an upper elementary aged child who loves mysteries or paranormal thrillers--this might be for you.

Moonkind by Sarah Prineas I didn't read.  Miriam did and loved it (I didn't realize it was the third in a series so I'll be checking out the other ones) and it is highly rated by amazon reviewers, so I thought I'd give a heads up that this author/series might be worth reading.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly is a GOLD STAR BOOK and the best find at the library that day.  The story is about a young girl at the turn of the century who wants to be a naturalist/scientist. At least, that is the basic premise.  Really this book is about the evolving relationship between Calpurnia and her grandfather, and also how her family is evolving as her oldest and favorite brother starts dating seriously.  Her family is changing and Calpurnia has to learn to adapt.

Amazon reviewers revile the book for two main reasons: one, the reviewer doesn't believe in evolution and doesn't think children should read about Darwin or grandfathers who give their granddaughters whiskey; or, he or she thought the book was too slow with no real plot.

I just plain disagree with the first complaint.  The validity of the second complaint is debatable.  This is not a plot-driven book, it is a character/relationship/coming-of-age focused book and it does read a little slow.  In fact, Miriam didn't even finish it she was so bored. (I don't think she read far enough in to get hooked.)

I am freely admitting that this book is not for everyone.  I, however, loved it.  I disagree with all the reviewers that claimed the book was too feminist or not enough feminist.  I don't think it was feminist at all.  I think it was an accurate representation of the time period, and her mother and the cook were both relatable, charming, well fleshed out female characters.  I also thought Calpurnia's six brothers were delightful.  I would have liked to know more about her dad, but by the end of the book I wanted to move in with the whole family and get to know all of them better.  Definitely my kind of novel.

Two Gold Star Books

You all know by now that I usually prefer reading silently to listening to an audio book.  Too many things can go wrong with an audio book and it takes forever to get through when you listen to every single word.  However, I wholeheartedly recommend that you check out the AUDIO version of the book Whittington by Alan Armstrong immediately.  The reader is amazing, fantastic, incredible.  He has this deep, raspy voice that is perfect for the story.  The children and I were riveted.

The book is "two books in one" as my son, Cowen, pointed out.  I'd say it is more like three books in one.  It is the story of the cat, Whittington, making friends and a place for himself in the barn.  It is a story about a young boy who struggles with reading.  It is also a story about Dick Whittington (yes, that Dick Whittington) and his cat.  I didn't know what the book was about when I picked it off the shelves, but it is works in beautifully to our Middle Ages unit.  The children were exposed to things like British woolens and trade with the East and Marco Polo.

This book is awesome.  I plan on buying it so I have it in my permanent collection but I can't decide whether to get the audio (it would be the only audio book I own) or novel form.  We just loved this book!

I judged this book by its cover.  I saw it on a library display shelf, thought the dog was cute, thought my son might like it, and grabbed it.  I've seen Eva Ibbotson's name around before but haven't read anything by her.  I'm rectifying that immediately.  I read One Dog and His Boy in one sitting--it is not long--and just loved it.  This is a story of benign neglect, selfishness, the need people (and dogs) have to be useful and wanted.  It is fantastic.

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I recommended this book to my sister and she *gasp* didn't like it. She thought it was too cliche.  My daughter, Miriam, loved it, as did my sister's children.  I didn't find it cliche, obviously, but would LOVE for some other people to read it and tell me what they think.  That would be so fun!!  Do it now!!

What else have we been listening to?  Ah, yes, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  My children loved it.  The reader was very good.  We started listening to Amos Fortune, Free Man and I couldn't handle the reader and turned it off.  Anyone read it?  Should I check out the novel and give it another chance?  We listened to the first three Harry Potter books to get ready for our Harry Potter themed family reunion.  The reader was superb and I enjoyed listening to them, but I don't want my younger kids hearing the other books so we're waiting on those.

Have any of you read anything great lately?

The Prydain Chronicles: Gushing Warning in Effect

Many of you might not know that I am a closet YA fantasy writer.  I have an agent and everything.  Well, not everything.  I have yet to publish anything.  Small detail.  The joy is in the writing!  At least, I remember dimly that the joy is in the writing.  I haven't written much in awhile.  Something about having six children, homeschooling, and being the relief society president.  I lack time--that most precious of resources.

I started writing fantasy in second grade.  Before then I don't remember spending all my time thinking about dragons and monsters and wizards and hexes--and writing.  That's because I hadn't read the Prydain Chronicles yet.  I, sadly, didn't even know the books existed.  Happily though, my mother gave me the whole series for Christmas when I was eight and I devoured it.  I was in heaven.  My life was permanently altered and I have never been the same.

Lloyd Alexander is my all-time favorite author.  I have a special shelf dedicated to his books and I own almost everything he has ever written (some of the out-of-print stuff is hard to get, but I keep working on it).  My children aren't allowed to touch any of it.  They are the only books written for kids that I own that I don't share.  Mostly because I have read the books so many times that a stiff breeze would blow them apart.  I want to cherish them the rest of my life.  I should really just buy another set as my "lending"copy.

Now, as many of you know, I have a son who just turned eight.  The PERFECT age for the Prydain Chronicles.  However, Cowen isn't an independent reader.  I debated back and forth between listening to the audio cd with him or making him wait until he could read the books himself.  Pros and cons either way.

Since I'm about as patient as a two year-old, I eventually (it took a minute of deliberation) decided to get the books on cd from the library.

My children all really enjoyed the first book in the series, The Book of Three.  They've been quoting Gurgi nonstop.  But then we listened to The Black Cauldron.  Instead of trying to convey to you how much my children loved it, I'll let Eli (my four year old) speak for all of them.  Quoted from my family blog:

We finished listening to The Black Cauldron on cd (in fact, I found an excuse to drive to Mom's so we could listen to it--thank you, Emeline, for needing a haircut so desperately!!) the other day.  At the end the reader said, "I hope you have enjoyed this production of Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron."

Eli yelled from the back of the van, "WE DID ENJOY IT!!  It was AWESOME!!!"  

If you haven't read this series or listened to this series, repent.  I don't care how old you are or how much you like or dislike fantasy.  Lloyd Alexander is brilliant.  He takes a bunch of funny characters and makes magic.  The best part is that Taran (the main character) really develops and grows and matures (unlike a certain Hogwart's graduate I could mention).  It is fantasy at its finest.  It is also YA literature at its finest.  

Now I must go . . . somewhere.  We just started listening to book three: The Castle of Llyr.

PS If you can ever get your hands on Lloyd Alexander's book about his wife, Janine is French, then you are a very lucky individual.  It is extremely hard to find, but if you have a good interlibrary loan you might be able to get it.  Totally worth any effort you put in.  When the people she works with teach her to swear.  No, sorry, no spoilers.  Just find it.  Read it.  Laugh.  Love life just a little bit more.

Great Books On Tape

 We have had a really good run of books on tape lately.  Sometimes they are hit and miss--one child really likes it but the others don't, or I love the book but the reader is so bad I can't stand to listen.  These are all fantastic!  I know you've all read Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare (of The Bronze Bow and Witch of Blackbird Pond fame).  It is a great book and the reader did a great job with it.

Heat by Mike Lupica was Cowen's favorite.  Everyone really enjoyed it, including my hubby, but Cowen loved it.  With a great, deep love.  As soon as it ended he asked to listen again.  I guess I'm behind the times with Mike Lupica.  I saw the book at the library and grabbed it because of the cover.  I thought it would be more about immigration issues, which interest me as I'm an immigrant.  It wasn't so much about immigration, but once I started reading I couldn't put it down. While it was on my shelves my sister came over and said that Lupica was all the rage.  She has a 12 year old boy, so maybe he helps her stay abreast of authors who write for boys.  Or maybe Lupica is crazy famous and I'm just getting sadly out of touch.  

The point--read this book, or listen to it.  The reader was fabulous.

I almost turned off Juliet Dove, Queen of Love by Bruce Coville after the first few minutes when I realized that it was an audio cast and not just one reader.  I usually hate casts.  However, while I'm still not in love with casts, this one did a great job and I enjoyed it.  I especially loved listening to all my little children say randomly, "Juliet Dove, QUEEN of love," in drippy voices.  Hilarious.  There are two magical mice in the book, Roxanne and Jerome.  You will love them.  Or, at least, you will love your children's imitations of Roxanne.  Hilarious I tell you.  Cowen didn't want to listen to this one but even he was won over and loved it by the end.

The reader did a great job with Ella Enchanted.  My children were riveted the whole time.  The first time we put it in we weren't driving very far so we only got to the second chapter or so.  I couldn't stand it and came home and read the whole thing.  It had been a few years.  Love this book.  All my children loved this one.

I will not lie--I did not like the cast for these books.  The person who did the dragon voice was terrible. Awful.  Bleh.  However, the story is so much fun and my kids enjoyed it so much that I forced myself to overlook the one really terrible reader and that it was a cast.  We immediately listened to the second in the series when the first ended, so again, worth listening to (if you like silly stories, that is).

Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine (who wrote Ella Enchanted) was a big surprise.  I expected to like it because of the author, but I was still surprised by how good it was.  The reader was AMAZING and since I hadn't read it before (I usually only pick books I've read so I won't be disappointed) I was as enthralled as my children.  There were several times we sat out in the car or "accidentally" missed the turn to our house so we could listen longer.  We also broke my cardinal rule of audio books stay in the van and we listened to the end in our house because we couldn't stand to wait for our next outing.  Stellar.  Just loved it.

Ancient Egypt Books

 It has been Mummy Madness around here.  My children adore studying ancient Egypt.  There is just something really cool about it, I guess.  They have been playing Egyptologist and archeologist and "tour guides through ancient Egypt" and several other Egyptian-themed imaginative games.

In all honesty, I didn't put together much of a unit.  I've bottled 71 quarts of green beans, 10 quarts of chokecherry jelly, and 11 quarts of beets so far.  My pears are coming next week and hopefully my tomatoes produce fruit worthy of the lush and extensive foliage on the tomato plants.  

In other words--school has taken a back seat to home production.  I'm so glad it happened during Egypt because my children were interested enough to educate themselves.  I only read half of the books I checked out.  Miriam read the rest to the kids.  I only did two crafts/activities but the kids have spent days devising their own activities.  I really like self-directed learning!

The top mummy was made by my hubs.  He helped with the mummy making.  The idea came from here.  Miriam wanted to add "amulets" to the "linen" so the mummies would be more authentic, so I pulled out some craft beads.  

These mummies are boys.  The one on the right is a ninja mummy and was preserved in the high kick position.  None of us are quite sure the point of all the eyes, but I think my son was going for a scarier visage.

The female mummies are a little more decorated.  Lithia (on the left) is quite a flirt.  She was stepping out with the mummy in the top picture.  My hubby kept saying things like, "So, Lithia, been dead long?" And, "Want to visit my pyramid?"  It was hilarious.

You might also want to check out these learning options:

http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/history/nixon/versions/flashindex.html

http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/kids/siteactivities/mehen.pdf

http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/kids/siteactivities/seega.pdf

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/ancient_egypt_salt_dough_amulets.htm

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/pharaohs_headdress.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/pyramid_challenge/index_embed.shtml

Now some books!  Keep in mind that there are more ancient Egypt books at the library than any other location during antiquity.  I looked through far too many.  I still checked out more than we needed but it worked out because the kids loved looking through them.

Tutankhamun's Tomb: The Thrill of Discovery is a GOLD STAR BOOK!  It is a compilation of the pictures taken by Harry Burton, the official photographer of the Tut dig.  It was so exciting for the kids (and me!) to see pictures that were taken at the actual dig.  The book is laid out beautifully and is very well-done.  Loved it.

Drawing History: Ancient Egypt by Elaine Raphael and Don Bolognese is about what you'd expect from a drawing book.  The drawings were too hard for most of my kids but that didn't stop them from trying.  Miriam chose to make a sarcophagus and mummy for her extra project.  As part of that she used this book to draw a bunch of things for her mummy to take with her into the afterlife.

Miriam had to read 4 books for her special project.  One of those was Who Was King Tut?  I only skimmed it so I can't say much but Miriam said it was "awesome."

You can't go wrong with Magic Tree House.  Miriam read both the fiction book about ancient Egypt, Mummies in the Morning and the non-fiction research guide Mummies and Pyramids.  Yes, Miriam read all the Magic Tree House books a few years ago, but I don't mind having her read below her reading level when the information is provided in an interesting and accurate manner.  These books are really well done.

All Aboard Reading: Mummies was a really good choice for my younger kids.  They lost interest in some of the longer, more involved mummy books, but they both really liked this one.

Love DK books.  We didn't read it but Miriam and Cowen looked through it at all the excellent pictures.

I was really impressed with the two Beginning History books we read: Egyptian Pyramids and Egyptian Farmers.  The information was right on target age-wise, there was just the right of text per page, and they covered a surprising amount of information.  Definitely some of the best books we read.

I'm sure most of you have read Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs.  It is a really good book because of the history, but also because you can talk about the difference between passion and obsession and taking care of yourself, etc.  Good one.

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw is the other book Miriam read for her special project.  Yes, her readings were all mummy/burial practices oriented.  She loved it.  It is a book I used with my 10th graders for history.

You Wouldn't Want to be an Egyptian Mummy!  Disgusting Things You'd Rather Not Know by David Stewart was Cowen's and Miriam's favorite book.  I read through a lot of books about mummies and some of them I rejected because of the unnecessary gore/pics.  This book is gross because getting your brain pulled out through your nose is gross no matter how you phrase it, but it wasn't unnecessarily gruesome.  I thought it was age appropriate for my middle elementary aged kids.

Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry was a lot of fun.  It is a fiction book that talks about shapes.  I happened to have a bag of wooden shapes that included the shapes discussed in the book, so I pulled the bag out and my kids spent a happy 30 minutes looking at the shapes and finding the ones that matched the ones in the book.  I love unintentional math lessons.  This book lends itself well to intentional math lessons as well.

The 5,000 Year Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt.  This was my children's other favorite book.  It is a combo of fiction and non-fiction and it was really fun to read through.  Then again, I have a daughter obsessed with solving mysteries but I think all kids would like it.

I didn't read Focus on Ancient Egyptians  by Anita Ganeri to my kids.  I intended to read it but then I got busy and forgot about it.  Then, one day, Miriam discovered it.  She loved it.  It is organized like an encyclopedia with short entries on various parts of Egyptian life.  Surprising me, it became the "go-to" book.  Or, as Miriam called it, it became the "tour guide."  Whenever they packed a suitcase (literally) to visit ancient Egypt, "tour-guide" had to go with them.  It was a huge hit.

One last thing about Egypt (sorry for the excessively long post).  One day I was canning and the kids were getting restless so I looked up ancient Egypt on youtube.  There is a whole national geographic video about how scientists took out Tut and examined him with new technology to figure out how he died.  It lasted 90 minutes and my three oldest children were riveted.  Science and history in one!  Wahoo!  You can find it here.

There are lots of ancient Egyptian videos on youtube, including other BBC and National Geographic movies.  Awesome.

Must Read Books!!!

 My niece (age 12) called me the other day to tell me that she had just finished the book By These Ten Bones by Clare B. Dunkle and she wanted another book exactly like it to read.  I'm the go-to aunt for books.  I told her to read The Hollow Kingdom by the same author because it is amazingly, fantastically good.

So she checked out the book from the library that day.  When she called to tell me that she was reading it, I started thinking about it--which led to me picking up the first one around 7:30 pm and staying up until 3:00 am when I finished the third in the trilogy.  Yeah, I really love these books.

The first book is The Hollow Kingdom and it is far and away Dunkle's best book (that I've read).  By These Ten Bones is also fantastic (about werewolves) but the incredible goblin world Dunkle creates in Hollow Kingdom is just so much fun.  Besides that, the goblin king is the love interest and he is awesome.  Makes you want to rush right out and marry a goblin.

 The second book in the trilogy is Close Kin and it is about elves and goblins.  The main elf girl is a rock star when most elves are kind of wimpy so you want to read the book just for her.  Her name is Sable.  You will love her.

The third book is called In the Coils of the Snake and it ties everything together by finding a leader for the elves and getting them squared away.  It isn't my favorite.  In fact, you can read the first book as a stand alone and you'd be fine.  I like them all but the first, like I said, is in a whole different caliber than then second two (although I love Sable enough that I reread the second book on a pretty regular basis as well).

So rush out and get them--from the library if you want, but you'll buy them once you read them.  I guarantee it.  I adore Dunkle.  Much like Megan Whalen Turner, I eagerly await and read anything she writes.  Usually long into the wee hours of the morning.  I'm just chock-full of self-discipline like that!