Reading

Drumroll. I won One Week of You by Lisa Williams Kline over on Carol's blog where she reviewed it--I'll wait while you read :) I fell in love with the cover when it was first announced and was so delighted to find out I won!!! I'm already in the thick of it--it's a fast read. More MG in nature than YA even though the narrator is a freshman in high school. In essence, perfect for your innocent girls from age 11-15. I often think this is the kind of book that is the hardest to place because kids like to read up (protagonist is older than them) but most kids are not ready for the grit and angst and sex and violence that can be present in a typical young adult book. I loved how the focus of this book is on friendship and discernment of how we choose and keep our friends. I also enjoyed the family relationships. It was just so normal! The characters are like real kids I know--sweet, funny, confused, exasperating, quirky. I know my 17-yr-old will enjoy reading this during Easter break (ummm, she hasn't seen it yet because I got the mail first and she has much work to catch up on...see what a good mom I am?) Thank you, Lisa, for writing this delightful book. It serves as an excellent mentor text for me for a friendship/immigration book I've been mulling for years. 

I don't often talk about picture books even though I read many of them. Typically, I'll check out a bunch at a time and soak them up, hoping some of their magic will rub off on me. I'm the only one in this household who's still poring over picture books. The best are for all ages. Here are a couple of outstanding picture books recently published: Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal. I loved the soft illustrations and the beautiful double-page spreads as Alma's daddy tells her about each family member who's contributed to her name. It's such a cozy book and one that invites the child to get to know his or her family history. Beautiful. 

 

The other picture book is Grandma's Tiny House by JaNay Brown-Wood and Priscilla Burris. It's a joyous celebration of getting together at Thanksgiving (or any other time) with family, friends, and neighbors. It reminded me so much of our own family get-togethers in WA. The rhymes are pitch perfect and the illustrations full of movement and energy!

Now that Passiontide has begun as well, we're practicing a lot of the Sacred Triduum music. The statues are veiled, the Gloria Patri and Alleluia are suppressed (but we in choir get a foretaste of it all) and we sink more deeply into the Passion narrative. But I almost forgot, the adorable Tammi Sauer has an equally adorable new PB that I am dying to check out. She does chicks and chickens so well. I get a chance when I do my reading and book-signing of Ten Easter Eggs at Barnes and Noble on Holy Sat. 10:45 am, Mt. Pleasant Towne Center. Local friends, I hope to see you there.