I’m Back!

General 0

I haven’t been posting for awhile because I bought a home! My first home purchase, in fact!

It’s a two-bedroom condo and the really good part is the lake view!

That’s the view from my bedroom window.

I also love that it’s very close to my church. I hope people will start making a habit of stopping by after church on Sunday.

So on Friday, April 19, I became a homeowner, and on April 20, 24 people from church came to help me move! I felt so loved and cared for. They moved all the big stuff for me, and it was so nice to get moved in.

But it still took a week to finish moving out. I worked four days the following week, and spent all my spare time cleaning out the old place. According to the contract, I had to have the gutters cleaned, the chimney cleaned, and the carpets cleaned, and I decided to hire a maid service to do the scrubbing. My friends hadn’t moved much of the kitchen stuff, since that wasn’t in large pieces of furniture, so I still had to clean out all the cupboards and move that stuff over, which took several trips. Anyway, I finished moving out on Friday, April 26. I got internet hooked up in my new home on Sunday, April 28.

So I should be all set to post Sonderbooks again, right?

Well, here’s an idea of what I’m up against:

I’m currently most obsessed with clearing my garage so I can actually park there:

But then I’ll need to tackle unpacking.

Anyway, the nice thing about moving in is there’s no deadline. There are various little items I very much want to find (without my remote, I can’t watch Episode 2 of season 3 of Downton Abbey unless I let Episode 1 play through all the way!), but they aren’t actually desperate. So far, I’m mostly eating out, for example. But I’ll unbox my cooking utensils soon.

And I’ve been *tired*. Probably from all the toting boxes, but possibly from the latest migraine preventative I’m trying, verapamil. It seems to have worked well during the moving process, but I’m awfully tired. So we’ll see as life settles down if it gets better.

All that is to say, I’m going to try to get back to posting reviews soon! It is less physical work than carrying boxes up from the garage to the condo, and even less physical work than unpacking boxes, so I’m telling myself to get busy, if only for the break!

Review of Chomp, by Carl Hiaasen

Adventure, Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Chomp

by Carl Hiaasen
read by James Van Der Beek

Listening Library, 2012. 6 hours on 5 CDs.

This audiobook is a wonderful choice for family listening. Wahoo Cray (He was named after a wrestler) has always lived with animals. His dad’s an animal wrangler, dealing with exotic animals for TV shows or movies. Unfortunately, his dad recently had a head injury when a frozen iguana fell out of a tree and landed on his head. He gets headaches and double vision and hasn’t gotten many jobs lately.

So when the biggest reality survival show on TV wants to hire Mickey Cray, Wahoo has to make sure it works. Even though the star of the show, Derek Badger, is all too likely to get himself killed — either by their alligator or by Mickey himself.

When Derek Badger decides to take the show into the “real” wild Everglades, he insists that Mickey and Wahoo go with him. But then Wahoo runs into Tuna, a girl from school who needs to hide from her drunk dad, so they bring her along. And things rapidly get out of control.

Even though this book does skirt some heavy issues with Tuna and her Dad, the mood stays very funny and has eye-opening facts about animals and the environment and supposed “reality” shows. As it goes on, Derek Badger’s ineptitude went beyond funny to me into the range of downright unrealistic, but it’s all in good fun.

Highly entertaining and family friendly listening, with plenty of laughs and plenty of excitement. The narrator does a great job of distinguishing between the characters, including Derek Badger’s fake Australian accent. He had me avidly listening all the way. In fact, the characters were in a pouring rainstorm right while I was driving in a torrential downpour, and I think the line between fantasy and reality began to blur for me! I listened to this while driving back from dropping my youngest son off his first time in the college dorm, and it was fantastic to have something to completely take my mind off his empty seat! But I do think if the seats in your car are full, this is one the whole family will enjoy.

listeninglibrary.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/chomp.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of “I Love You But I Don’t Trust You,” by Mira Kirshenbaum

Nonfiction Review, Personal Growth, Relationships 0

“I Love You But I Don’t Trust You”

The Complete Guide to Restoring Trust in Your Relationship

by Mira Kirshenbaum

Berkley Books, New York, 2012. 294 pages.

I hesitated before reviewing this book. After all, I am not in a relationship any more. But I’ve posted reviews of so many books to help when a marriage falls apart, I wanted to mention this one, that looks like it would be great help at putting a marriage back together. And if I ever get in a relationship again, I want to remember that it exists!

I began writing Sonderbooks in 2001. At the time, I described myself as very happily married. And I honestly thought I was. Now I’m divorced and I’ve come to the place where I’m enjoying my life now. But I don’t want to cut myself off from people because I don’t want to get hurt again. However, a major betrayal leaves scars, and this book shows how to work with them.

There are other books out there that take you through a breach in trust. For example, NOT “Just Friends” takes you through the trauma of an affair. One thing I like about “I Love You But I Don’t Trust You” is that the focus is on rebuilding trust. This book gives you hope that trusting again is possible.

Here are some sections from the author’s words in the first chapter:

Can love survive betrayal? I believe it can. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. Hell, if betrayal necessarily kills love, then love is too fragile to exist in the real world. Because the world is made up of imperfect people who make mistakes. Imperfect people — people we love — will too often hurt us and disappoint us and betray us, which will set up a chain reaction that too often destroys a relationship.

Well, if we can’t stop ourselves from hurting the people we love and being hurt by them, then we have only one choice: We have to find a way to repair the damage that’s done when there’s been a betrayal.

We need to restore the trust because I firmly believe that while you can’t have people without betrayals, if only little ones, you can’t have love without trust.

Having trust makes love come alive. Trust isn’t just the basis for a relationship; it’s the lifeblood that keeps a relationship healthy.

The biggest difference trust makes in any relationship — and not just an intimate one — is that you can relax, be open, be yourself. Just think about it: If you can’t be yourself because you’re not feeling safe, then even if the other person “loves you,” he’s really just loving a stranger, the person you’re projecting who’s not really you. And so how can you feel loved if it’s not the real you who’s being loved? And how can you keep on giving love if you’re not feeling loved?

But when you trust each other so that you can be yourself and be open, the roots of love grow very strong. They grow into your very being.

This book will help you evaluate whether to stick with the relationship where you were hurt, it will help you calm your natural crazy-person reactions to betrayal, and it will help you learn to trust again, whether the new trust is with the original person or someone else.

One thing I like about nonfiction books is that without guilt I can quote the end of the book:

The good news is that we can learn from experience.

For some of us, that learning is all about how we can be hurt. And that’s too bad. But we can also learn that these hurts can heal. We can learn that there are people out there who are far less likely to hurt us. We can learn about how resilient we are. We can learn that trust makes sense. We can learn how to create the solidly based trust we’re so hungry for.

MiraKirshenbaum.com
penguin.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/i_love_you_but_i_dont_trust_you.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Librarians Help! – Library Snapshot Day

Library Links 0

Yesterday was Library Snapshot Day in Virginia. Later, when they’ve compiled the data, they’ll post statistics like how many people were served. Last year, for example, 412,969 items were checked out from Virginia libraries in just one day.

We had a busy day, since of course it was tax day. On top of that, the kids in the public schools were off for the day for a teacher work day. We had a Puppet Workshop that was well-attended. Kids got to use art supplies to make puppets and then try out our puppet theater.

My co-worker Jackie Butler was the one who cleverly took these lovely pictures that didn’t show anyone’s face. Those who think libraries are dying or aren’t necessary to the community need to take a look at a typical day!

Yesterday, I also learned that ALA’s “The State of America’s Libraries 2013” has been published and is available on the internet. Click through! It’s fascinating! Again, libraries are alive and well and thriving. And librarians are still a valuable part of libraries. 53% of the Americans surveyed in this research project used a library in the last year, and 50% of those asked a librarian for help. I told you! Librarians Help!

And finally, I read a wonderful post by author Jo Knowles about why libraries are important. Who has a personal stake in the survival of libraries? We all do.

Librarians Help!

Review of The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee, by Tom Angleberger

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 1

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

by Tom Angleberger

Amulet Books, New York, 2012. 193 pages.

I love the Origami Yoda books, but I was a little disappointed in the latest installment. I think my main problem was that this is really only the beginning of a story. Many things are left unresolved, and there are fearsome administrative school changes looming. When I reflect that Tom Angleberger tied up his other two books incredibly well, and that I wasn’t as enamored of them when right in the middle, I suspect that I will have more enthusiasm for this book once the storyline is resolved.

During this book, there’s not as much of a unifying theme, though I think the announced changes coming up will give the next book some urgency. In this book, the main problem is that Dwight is acting normal instead of weird, and it’s a little hard to see that as a problem. Even the characters aren’t sure if they should see it as a problem.

Tom Angleberger again does a marvelous job of mocking wrong-headed authorities. There’s a return of Mr. Good Clean Fun. And the school Dwight is now attending is simply scary when they all treat Dwight as “special.”

In this book, while Dwight’s away, Sara claims to have a Fortune Wookiee from him — a folded fortuneteller decorated like Chewbacca. His grunts and groans are interpreted by Han Foldo. Though the advice mostly works out, it’s not as mysterious and magically appropriate as that given by Origami Yoda in the earlier books.

Mind you, my disappointment when the story didn’t finish was minor. I’m still a big fan of these books and am very glad the series isn’t over. I’m not quite as enamored as with the first book (That one was fantastic!), but was glad to read more about the characters.

This is still a very kid-friendly book, with lots of drawings (by Kellen) in the margins, and chapters written by the different characters, giving their perspectives. It still captures well the lives of middle school students. I think readers should definitely read this series in order, to truly appreciate what’s going on. And once they’ve read The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, they will definitely be pleased with anything more about the characters. I’m looking forward to seeing how Tom Angleberger wraps up this tale.

origamiyoda.com
abramsbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/fortune_wookiee.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs, by Michaela Muntean

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, True Stories 0

Stay

The True Story of Ten Dogs

by Michaela Muntean
photographs by K. C. Bailey and Stephen Kazmierski

Scholastic Press, New York, 2012. 40 pages.
Starred Review

Stay is a picture book biography of a circus performer and the ten dogs that changed his life. The pictures are photographs, and the story is told with economy of language, the flair of a performer, and using bright circus colors as backgrounds, making a complete package just right for its subject.

Luciano Anastasini grew up in the circus and performed in the circus from childhood. But one day in Chicago, he fell fifty feet from a high wire and was told his days as an acrobat and trapeze artist were over.

But the circus was Luciano’s home, and he wanted to stay. He sold tickets. He put up posters. He dreamed of the day he’d once again have an act of his own. Slowly, an idea began to take shape in his mind.

In the act he imagined, he would need partners — furry, four-legged partners.

Of course, he could have found dogs through a breeder. Or at a pet store. But if his idea worked, Luciano would be getting a second chance. Perhaps he could give some dogs a second chance, too. So Luciano went looking for the ones no one wanted.

The book introduces each dog like a star, explains why their owners gave up on them, and then how Luciano saw that their apparent flaws were actually their strengths.

While Bowser’s previous owners had seen a sneak and a thief, Luciano saw a clever dog with a good sense of balance. [The accompanying photo shows Bowser balancing on top of a tube rolling another dog inside.]

Cocoa wouldn’t stop digging. As Luciano filled in the holes she made, he thought about why she did it. He suspected she had so much energy, she didn’t know what to do with herself. Digging was her way of staying busy.

Stick was quick on his feet and enjoyed strutting about on his back legs. “Shall we dance?” Luciano would ask him, and they’d waltz around the circus grounds together.

Then the author explains how he combined all these strengths into an act that kept audiences laughing and entertained, how he built the act before audiences and went on to circuses across the country.

The story’s simple. It’s told at a kid’s level, with plenty of action-filled photographs and bright colors. But ultimately, it’s an inspiring story for both kids and adults.

People frequently say to Luciano, “You saved those dogs.” To that, Luciano shrugs and says maybe that’s true, maybe it’s not. What he knows for certain is this: They saved him.

After his accident, they helped him put his life back together, and he is grateful to each and every one of them. Dogs don’t care about yesterday; they don’t worry about tomorrow. They live for now — right now, and Luciano tries to do the same.

“We are lucky, my dogs and me,” he says. “We have a job we love, a job that makes people smile. But most of all, we have each other.”

I read this book because it’s a 2013 Fairfax County Public Library summer reading selection, and now I’m looking forward to booktalking it to kids in the schools to spark their interest in reading this summer. A hard-to-resist choice.

I’m posting this review today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at NC Teacher Stuff.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/stay.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Sonderling Sunday – Der Knappenkonferenz

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. Strictly speaking, I probably shouldn’t do Sonderling Sunday this week. I’m moving in less than a week, and I need to get packed. But who’s being strict? Sonderling Sunday is fun, doggone it, and I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to do it again after I move, since I haven’t worked out my internet service provider yet. What’s more, instead of alternating with other books, tonight I’m going back to good ol’ Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, because I know I’ll find some delightful phrases I always wanted to hear translated into German, but just didn’t know it.

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge is the German version of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-fish, which is full of Odd-fish indeed, making it so much fun to explore in German.

Last time, we left off on page 161, Seite 204. You do not have to have read The Order of Odd-Fish to enjoy this series, though I keep hoping that the interesting phrases we find will intrigue people into picking up this book. I’m not even halfway, so I guess it’s too early to start being sad about the day when I finish the book. Tonight, I’m trying to limit my fun, so let’s dip right in and see what we can find:

“immediately knew” = wusste augenblicklich (“knew eyeblinkly”)

“below the floor” = unter den Bodenbrettern (“under the floorboards”)

This sounds better in German:
“Squires’ meeting” = Knappenkonferenz

“sheets” = Laken

“a tiny germ” = eine winzige Bakterie

“rotting wood” = verfaultem Holz

“mothballs” = Mottenkugeln

“bric-a-brac” = Nippes

“mildewed garbage” = schimmeligem Müll

“cobwebs” = Staubflocken (“dust flakes”)

“pile of pillows” = Kissenhaufen (“cushion heaps”)

“gavel” = Richterhammer

“gulp” = Schluck

“cough it up” = auszuspucken

“obvious” = offenkundig (“open knowledge”)

“behind Jo’s eyes” = hinter Jos Augäpfel (“behind Jo’s eye-apples”)

“A horrible tingle crawled up Jo’s body.” = Ein schreckliches Prickeln überlief Jos Körper.

“overgrown” = überdimensionierten (“over-dimensioned”)

“pile of pillows” (version two) = Kissenberge (“cushion mountains”)

“Advance copy” = Vorausexemplar

This makes me laugh because of how it sounds to English ears:
“jolted awake” = plötzlich hellwach (“suddenly bright-awake”)

“conspiracy theories” = Verschwörungstheorien

“the next episode” = der darauffolgenden Episode

That’s it for tonight! I don’t know when my darauffolgenden Episode will happen, but until then, may you avoid schimmeligem Müll and schreckliches Prickeln!

Review of Necromancing the Stone, by Lish McBride

Paranormal, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Necromancing the Stone

by Lish McBride

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2012. 344 pages.
Starred Review

I liked Necromancing the Stone even better than its predecessor, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. In the first book, Sam has to confront true Evil, and as much levity as the author combined it with, that’s not exactly pleasant. In this book, Sam deals with the aftermath, and the threat of more Evil, with true compassion and maturity, but the fact that it didn’t start with awful violence meant the humor and inspired silliness could shine through.

Let me start at the beginning. In the last book (Yes, you should read them in order.), Sam learned that he is a necromancer and has strange powers over the dead and abilities to speak with the dead. This happened when he defeated an evil necromancer, Douglas, who had tried to sacrifice Sam and take his power. Sam doesn’t like killing, but he had to kill Douglas. And as a result, he inherited Douglas’s position on the Council and his possessions. And, while he was locked in a cage, he got a werewolf girlfriend.

In this book, Sam’s trying to figure out his new powers and his new life. Early on, someone close to him is killed. His sister is threatened. What’s more, the reader knows who did these things, and that this could mean big huge trouble for Sam. But Sam doesn’t know who did it and he isn’t able to speak to the person who was killed, instead encountering a strange goddess in a place with flowers.

It all would be a trifle ludicrous if Lish McBride didn’t write it so well. Sam approaches his life with self-deprecating humor, and the reader can see that he wants to navigate it all and do the right thing. The books don’t just deal with Sam and his girlfriend, but with a wide range of characters — his best friend, Ramon, who was transformed by Douglas into a werebear; James, the pukis servant of the household, his witch mother and younger sister; a Big Foot who lives in the forest with a glamour to look human and work as a forest ranger; his dead friend who now helps organize his life; his girlfriend’s werewolf family; and even the garden gnomes who live in the house he’s inherited and don’t seem to like him much. You end up caring about all these assorted individuals as much as Sam does.

This book is a lot of fun. It’s a light-hearted, humorous book about someone who finds himself suddenly dealing with death on a regular basis. Sam’s not quite as much of a screw-up in this book, though he still is no wizard. And you can’t help loving him.

I hope there will be many more books about Sam and the supernatural creatures of the Pacific Northwest!

lishmcbride.com
macteenbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/necromancing_the_stone.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on an Advance Reader’s Edition I got at an ALA conference.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle, by Christopher Healy

Adventure, Children's Fiction Review, Fairy Tale Variant, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle

by Christopher Healy
with drawings by Todd Harris

Walden Pond Press, April 30, 2013. 479 pages.
Starred Review

I’m so happy to get my hands on the sequel to The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. Here’s more of the same: Silly, adventurous fun.

Yes, you should read these books in order. The first book tells you all about the Princes Charming, who aren’t named in their respective fairy tales. The author makes it very clear this is a second book right on the first page:

Now, you may be asking yourself, Who is this Prince Duncan, and what makes him such an expert on heroes? To which I will respond by saying that perhaps you may have skipped a book on your way to this one. You should probably check on that.

In this book, the selfish, cruel, and calculating Briar Rose blackmails her Prince Charming, Liam, into finally marrying her and getting the league of heroes to recover his family’s sword from the castle of the Bandit King. Hence the name, as the main action involves storming the castle to get that sword.

The plot, as before, is convoluted and full of setbacks, adventure, and silliness. The characters are colorful and cartoon-like. Although adults of marrying age (except the Bandit King), they are quite childlike in their motivation.

But it’s all in good fun. Here’s a random chapter beginning to give you the flavor:

The four princes, along with Ella and Briar, sat at the round table in Avondell’s War Room, waiting for a report from Smimf. Only one day had passed since the League of Princes sent the young messenger to Rauberia armed with a fake advertisement that would serve as his excuse for getting inside the castle gate (“SPECIAL DEAL FOR NEW MONARCHS! HALF-PRICE CROWNS! FREE ESTIMATES ON RESIZING!”), and already he had returned. He stood at attention before the group, loosened his scarf, and hiked up his shorts.

“What did you find out?” Liam asked.

“Well, I found out that the king is not interested in purchasing a new crown unless he can get at least seventy-five percent off,” said Smimf.

“What did you learn about the castle?” Liam more specifically inquired.

As with the first book, the story went on a bit long for my personal taste, but again I don’t think that will be an obstacle for kids who are once hooked. It reminds me of a Disney cartoon, with simplistic emotions, a convoluted plot and lots of gags. But in a good way! The illustrations perfectly fit that feel. I think that, like the first book, this one would make a good classroom read-aloud. It’s light-hearted and fun, even if as an adult reader, I get a little tired of the juvenile humor after awhile.

And there’s a larger plotline slowly building. We do have the sense that most of the princes weren’t necessarily paired with the right princess in their respective fairy tales. And the ending gives an ominous note of danger ahead. We know our bumbling heroes will be required to save the day.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a Summer Reading Program selection for our library system. I’m looking forward to booktalking it in the schools at the end of the year, and especially telling the kids that if they like the first book, there’s more fun in store for them.

Yes, it’s silly. Yes, the characters are somewhat cartoon-like. Yes, it goes on a bit long for me. But the fact is, these books are well-written. The plot is coherent, the characters are truly charming, and they’re up against high stakes, which they plausibly overcome, even with all their shortcomings. You can’t help but root for these guys. And I can’t help but want to find out what happens next.

christopherhealy.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/storming_the_castle.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on an Advance Review Copy sent to me by the publisher.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Halfway on the Prime Factorization Blanket!

Mathematical, Prime Factorization 0

I’m halfway finished with my new niece’s Prime Factorization Blanket!

That’s the good news. The bad news is that it doesn’t look like I’m going to finish before Arianna arrives. But the good thing about a blanket is that it doesn’t have a size, right?

I actually finished up to 49 a week ago. I did not take a picture and report my progress. And then — when I started on the next row and began knitting 50 — I discovered I had used the wrong color when I knitted 40! I had used the color for 3 in place of the color for 5! *shudder*

(Those who need to be brought up to speed, I explain the blanket in previous Prime Factorization posts.) 40 should be 2 x 2 x 2 x 5, so the square was divided into four sections, with three of them the color for 2 (blue), and one the color for 5 (green). But, horror of horrors, I had used the color for 3 (yellow)! And I didn’t even discover it until I after I had knitted 50 = 2 x 5 x 5, also using yellow when I should have been using green! Yikes! But then I was getting ready to start on 51 = 3 x 17, and then it dawned on me that the color for 3 is yellow, so it is NOT the color for 5, and I’d been doing it wrong!

Fortunately, it was on the end of the row, and relatively easy to fix. I took out the knitting I’d done on 50, undid the last white square in the row, and then undid just the yellow section I’d put on the top of 40. I replaced it with green, knitted the white square back, and then started up on 50.

But I’ve decided that taking a picture after each row and *checking* the numbers carefully is a good idea!

I did discover a mistake when I finished knitting my prime factorization sweater. I think it was in the rectangle for 48. But 48 has five factors, and in that piece of knitting the factor for three only was about four stitches. So I was able to pick them out and put in the correct color with a crochet hook! It would not be so easy to do on this blanket, so I am going to have to be more vigilant!

My posts on Mathematical Knitting and related topics are now gathered at Sonderknitting.