Two chains today, with one where I am keeping it simple, really simple, with children’s books about museums in the chain. Just the word museum connecting all the books, and the other one is a mixed bag of sorts, a little museum-y and then not.
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A Bookish Museum Chain
The 6 degrees of separation starter book this month is The Museum of Modern Love, and as with almost all others, I am yet to read this one, but it is definitely going to be read soon!
Here is the description:
Arky Levin has reached a dead end. Unexpectedly separated from his wife, he suddenly has the space he needs to work composing film scores—but none of the peace of mind he needs to create. As he wanders the city, guilty and restless, it’s almost by chance that he stumbles upon an exhibition that will change his life.
The installation the fictional Arky discovers—which is based on a real piece of performance art that took place in 2010—is inexplicably powerful. Visitors to the Museum of Modern Art sit across a table from the performance artist Marina Abramović, for as short or long a period as they choose. Although some go in skeptical, almost all leave moved. And the participants are not the only ones to find themselves changed by this unusual experience: Arky finds himself drawn to the exhibit. He returns day after day to watch other people sit with Abramović—and as he does, he begins to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do.
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The Museum of Modern Love –>> The Museum –> The Museum of Mysteries –> The Museum of Lost and Found –> The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers ->The Night at the Museum ->Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums
Since it is the word that connects them all, I am leaving it this way. No pairs for this chain needed!
The books:
The Museum
I love Peter Reynolds and I had to pick this one up. It is a delight, both in Reynolds’ art (as always, no surprise here) and Susan Verde’s lyrical rhyming text! (3 – 7 years, and up)
The Museum of Mysteries
A book I purchased on a whim, and so glad I did. Check out my review here and if you love math or mysteries or both, this one is for you! It is kind of a make your own adventure book where you move forward depending on the answers to the math puzzles presented at various points in the book.
next up, is The Museum of Lost and Found
Leila Sales book is a middle-grade read about friendships and shrines to lost connections. I am reading it currently (almost done with it) and this one is sure to warm your hearts. (8 – 12 years, and up)
The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers
Check out my review of this book here. This is a cool and delightful non-fiction read for young readers, well, for all ages, since I enjoyed it and learned a lot as well! Rachel Poliquin’s narrative and Clayton Hanmer’s illustrations pair up to present a fun learning experience to readers through a museum within this book! (7 – 11 years, and up)
What about The Night at the Museum
Have you watched the movie(s) with this title? Well, if you have, then read the inspiration behind it. Milan Trenc’s The Night at the Museum is sure to delight young readers. Make a book-and-movie night out of this one. (4 – 7 years)
And if you want something for slightly older readers, then check out Leslie Goldman’s Night at the Museum: A Junior Novelization (8 – 11 years).
Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums
A most fascinating read indeed. Full of so much to enjoy – it is like a literary museum within these pages! This is a read for all ages (as far as I am concerned)…
A Little Less So
Museum of Modern Love –> The Mona Lisa Vanishes –> A Piece of the World –> A Bit of Earth –> Lasagna Means I Love You –> Love in the Library –> Lovers at the Museum –> Museum of Modern Love
The Pairs
Museum of Modern Love –> The Mona Lisa Vanishes
The Link: Museums .. and famous artsy things
The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day with illustrations by Brett Helquist (Children’s Nonfiction, 10 – 14 years). This one might be a non-fiction but reads like a thriller!
The Mona Lisa Vanishes –> A Piece of the World
The Link: Famous paintings
I have A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline in my TBR. The painting that inspired this book always fascinated me and now the book has done the same.
Here is the description from Amazon:
To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century.
As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America’s history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.
Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.
A Piece of the World –> A Bit of Earth
The Link: A piece/bit of the world/earth!
I love how these names are so parallel to each other. Karuna Riazi’s A Bit of Earth is a beautiful read.
A Bit of Earth –> Lasagna Means I Love You
The Link: Foster kids, novels in verse
Love the name – Lasagna Means I Love You. And this Kate O’Shaughnessy title for young readers is a bittersweet, “pulling at your heartstrings as you read it” kind of book. Read it.. (8 – 12 years, and up)
Lasagna Means I Love You –> Love in the Library
The Link: Love.. and children’s books
Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s Love in the Library is an essential read. Sweet love in the confines of
Love in the Library –> Lovers at the Museum
The Link: Love and public places..
I have been meaning to read Isabel Allende for a while now. And when this book popped up as a first read shorts on Amazon recently, I decided it would be a good start. Lovers at the Museum is kind of weird, and while I am not sure how to rate or recommend this read, it gave me a glimpse at Allende’s brilliance anyways. So I know I will still go ahead and read her books soon. (Romance, Short-reads)
Lovers at the Museum –> Museum of Modern Love
The Link: closing the loop with love and museums!
The Museum of What?
Some of the weirdest museums ever, in my opinion.. Which ones would you want to visit?
- Baku Museum of Miniature Books in Azerbaijan is definitely calling my name!
- For those who love espionage, there is the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C.
- The Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia.
- Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, India. You will see Sulabh public toilets in many places around India. But you can also see a museum that has a lot to share about the history and more of this very necessary facility.
- UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell is for all those who are looking for the answer out there in the Twilight Zone or similar..
- This Underwater museum in Cancun, Mexico is on my bucket list (towards the top ‘xyz’) and I am fascinated everytime I see pictures or mentions of this anywhere.
Some of my favorite museums so far (may or may not be weird ones)
- One of the first ones I have memories of visiting and being awed by is the Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad
- Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Tiny but so very cool.
- The Getty Center and Villa
- California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
- Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
- The Met, NY
- American Museum of Natural History in NY
- The Smithsonian museums in DC
- Miniature World, Victoria B.C.
References, h/t, Further Reading
- How Museums Evolved Over Time From Private Collections to Modern Institutions (MyModernMet)
- Museums (Wikipedia page)
These sound like fun books. I tend to always enjoy the ones set in a museum. Makes things interesting!
These sound like they’d be great books. I enjoy ones like these too.
My kids loved the movie At Night at the Museum. I didn’t know it was based on a book.
It has been so long since I’ve been to the museum. I need to go one day with my son.
This post reminded me of the movie Night at the Museum. If you haven’t seen it, you should.
This is an interesting list of books to read. I am keen to add the Museum of Modern Love and The Mona Lisa Vanishes into my reading list. I have been enjoying thrillers lately.
All the books sound so interesting. It has been a long time since my boys and I have gone to a museum. I would have to visit one really soon
I think museums make such a magical and intriguing setting for a book. You’ve made some great suggestions