Saugatuck Dunes State Park, Laketown Township (Spring): Guide to West Michigan

(Travelogues--West Michigan)

Saugatuck Dunes State Park, Laketown Township (Spring): Guide to West Michigan

This also contains some footage of the Felt Mansion (from a distance), but there was an event going on there, so we couldn't get any closer.

Address: 6575 138th Ave, Holland, MI 49423

Related Playlists:

Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9

West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F

Allegan County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5xcXQjPJdTGXMk4DUCuZS5&si=-9BMhMMlG1NoE9yR

Laketown Township Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x407lrYcpiH5A93OKWPed0Z&si=5iKrkADAbJOKR9br

This Week in Booktube: May 17, 2026

(These are the Booktube videos I watched this week. As always, I encourage you also to check out each of the videos I've linked to down below.  Support Booktube.  And let me know what you've watched this past week.)

Google document: docs, pub

Abby Reads "The Silence of Six" by E.C. Myers | A 5P Review

Randy Ray What Happens if You Quit Social Media and Read Instead

Steve Donoghue Response Video:My BookTube Experience - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

Marian H Mrs Bridge A Great American Novel

Steve Donoghue Epic Comic Book Wednesday: Superman - The Triangle Era!

Michael K. Vaughan Superman: The Triangle Era

William's Library The Apocrypha (part 4)

William's Library The Apocrypha (part 3)

Steve Donoghue Another Solo Vacation Book-Haul!

jim's books reading & stuff What are YOU Reading Wednesday (52)?

Joseph Francis Burton JFB does The BOOKTUBE NUMBER TAG CHALLENGE..!!

Bucky749 Booktube: Astro City : vol: 2 issue 3 review

Joseph Francis Burton A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening, Mario de Carvalho - Book Review

Reading is a Skill I'm not sure I get Sapiens

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald read by Tamaryn Payne: Review

(Book Review--Audiobook, Rereads, Children's Books, Classic Books, Fantasy)

This is a reread.  I originally reviewed this book on March 9, 2006.

Started: April 26, 2026

Review of an Audiobook: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald read by Tamaryn Payne

The video announcing my new audiobook project: https://youtu.be/pCo4kRRwx4s

For my first video on this book, see here: https://youtu.be/Vex9dxIxDFk

My review of The Hobbit here: https://youtu.be/fBnzH2HFLTA

Related Playlists:

Audiobook Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5JU_hUo4gD5WYCgfJeBiNg&si=LXjd2NzZ8z8Dso9E

Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY

Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy

Rereads Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5dMXnK5v4Yc7a8MF5p32Bx

Fantasy Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4NClast3lkLp_cQ1Tn-2cb

Classic Books Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x53EsuWSZ-z0uFGL_0Jl6F1

Young Adult Literature: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5xhu8yD4fcSu3Lw6jJNDxS

The Day the Earth Blew Up--Movies that I've Half-Watched

A few days ago, my kids came into my room and saw me on the computer while I was reading Freddie Deboer's substack, and they were immediately attracted to the Daffy Duck gif.

They wanted to see more of it, so I indulged them by showing them the full cartoon on Youtube.  And since then, they've asked to see that cartoon again every time they come into my room and see me on the computer.

My kids haven't been exposed to Looney Tunes yet (something that was often on TV when I was a boy) so I thought it might be nice to show them some Looney Tunes on the big TV screen downstairs.

Unfortunately, as I already knew from Vince Mancini's complaining about it, Looney Tunes are not available on any streaming service now after having been pulled from HBO Max.  

Okay, so we can't find the Looney Tunes cartoon shows on HBO Max anymore, but maybe there would be a Looney Tunes movie, I thought.  So I set about searching.  

Bugs Bunny: Superstar?  Nope, turns out that one isn't available.

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie?  Nope, not that one either.  

...and right on down the list.  Turns out they've only got a couple of Looney Tunes movies available, one of which is The Day the Earth Blew Up, which I had never heard of before, but it looks like this came out last year.  

Since both I and the kids were in the mood for some Looney Tunes, I was already predisposed to give this a try, but I checked the reviews section on Wikipedia first just to make sure I wasn't wasting my time:  

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 111 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Restoring much of Looney Tunes' quintessential charm with a daffy dose of high energy and inventive gags, The Day the Earth Blew Up goes to show that these iconic characters remain evergreen fun."^[43] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[44] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 89% overall positive score, with 72% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.^[41]

Peter Debruge of Variety praised the film for its comedy and emotional core, and felt that the entire project was "crafted with love and a genuine respect for the franchise".^[5] Rafael Motomayor of IGN awarded the film a 9 out of 10-star rating. He praised its comedy, emotional core, animation and Bauza's voice performances, and referred to it as "one of the funniest movies of the year".^[45]

Yeah, okay, sounds like this could be good.

...and, it was not good.  I made it 15 minutes through the movie before I decided I was out.  I told my kids to enjoy the rest of the movie, but that I was going back upstairs to read my book.

They made it another 10 minutes after I left.

The Best Game the Fairies Play by Rose Fyleman: Poem

(TESOL Worksheets--Poems ESL Listening)

Transcript: docs, pub
Video: HERE

The Best Game the Fairies Play by Rose Fyleman: poem

Video: https://youtu.be/imlVYl4Q5tw

The best game the fairies play,

    The best game of all,

Is sliding down steeples—

    (You know they’re very tall).

You fly to the weathercock,

    And when you hear it crow,

You fold your wings and clutch your things

    And then let go!

They have a million other games—

    Cloud-catching’s one,

And mud-mixing after rain

    Is heaps and heaps of fun;

But when you go and stay with them

    Never mind the rest,

Take my advice—they’re very nice,

    But steeple-sliding’s best!

Related Playlists: Poems ESL Listening Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7ReDXIOlVgC1Ci0mGdDWqd ESL Listening Exercises Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7xq-zLjulU2DRTjg2TNmAx Rose Fyleman playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4xUwv4w9lyRwzhwcOr3STr&si=EH6dD3aCICn53mpX https://sites.google.com/view/reading-and-listening-practice

Started: Superman: The Triangle Era Omnibus Vol. 2

The Decline and Fall of the British Empire: 1781-1997 by Piers Brendon: Book Review

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-decline-and-fall-of-british-empire.html

Related Playlists:

* Book Review Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7

* Scripted Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BKcEIufNKlS58JHU_glyL&si=Pje0KQqIqOgWGGUI

* Scripted Book Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x53WSp_2mGcDRHBR7ubQkDa&si=T_0QPBDOZqhqN-oa

* 2014 Reading List Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6Qz8okehoyhie5HTXe_LMx&si=LWfalvGt8PPorKr6

* History Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x52uI39vSXVrJvUFjdN9QkL

Aman Park, Tallmadge Township (Spring): Guide to West Michigan

(Travelogues--West Michigan)

Aman Park, Tallmadge Township (Spring): Guide to West Michigan

Address: 0 -1859 Lake Michigan Dr, Grand Rapids, MI 49534

Related Playlists:

Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9

West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F

Ottawa County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6OddthAYeQq7rW7rG0oTTd&si=Yy1NZMrBVurS_s1x

Tallmadge Township Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4da2ZV069k97AW9aBMRm8E&si=3jL_fdR2P-Wiu9yy

Floating Weeds: Movie Review

My review of Good Morning: https://youtu.be/71gvPOv_qiI

My review of Late Autumn: https://youtu.be/WzuPOLlJkrw

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2014/05/floating-weeds.html

Related Playlists:

Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6N06WoIoV2fLb6xRYrepTk&si=EDHi2_Y41ACLnCmA

Scripted Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x49ts8TV1DbXQo8zN_e65us&si=_gzqGAmaz337NVCP

Scripted Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BKcEIufNKlS58JHU_glyL&si=Pje0KQqIqOgWGGUI

Movies I Saw in 2014 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4WRnfM_TDQClWj8OOCg9f_&si=Uu6SYX9o1qm1Ndhc

7 Stars Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6c43OnKT_AjWtENJ2ixmRC

Japanese Films Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x738yBNX9ZmrWVmm5Jp7m2d

Stuff Connected with Japan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6SEX_17-owvbxrDnJSfkMr&si=RZ06SuQFHMn63NGg

Yasujiro Ozu Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4m6pSF9GrOxdccV87GSIOA&si=svoYp63CTHlbL_7X

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

 (Graded Readers)

I've previously recorded a version of this book for my ESL Listening Storybook project.  

And I also posted about it for my grammar questions.  

And here I am posting about it again.  (I recently used this book with a group of students who to practice their reading.)

So for all that, you would think I was a big fan of this book.  But truth be told, I never liked this book when I was a kid.  I always found it boring, and repetitive, and the ending I thought had very little pay-off.

But, despite my own lack of enthusiasm, it has remained a popular book over the years, and is still in bookstores and libraries everywhere.

And it is good for beginner readers, because of it's simple words and repetition of vocabulary.  Which is another reason I used it.  (In addition just the fact that it was readily available in my school library.)

Supplementary materials:

Kahoot: I found a Kahoot online that worked well with this book.  After my students had read through the book, we played the Kahoot as a reward: Are You My Mother? Kahoot