New Non-Fiction Picture Books

I have really enjoyed the "Consider" series of books by Jennifer Grant and illustrated by Julianna Swaney, so I was delighted to see that they had a new book: Consider the Night Sky, especially since the original meaning of the word "consider" is to literally examine the stars! 

The book begins with the sun and daytime and how as evening comes "orange and pink and purple paint across the sky" and finally "the sky fades to smoky gray and then turns inky blue or black, it is Night!" Now we explore the night sky--phases of the moon, constellations, planets, empty space. Lyrical writing paired with beautiful illustrations lead a child gently to wonder about the vastness of the universe, how God knows each and every one of His creations, including the reader. A wonderful introduction to astronomy. Thanks to  NetGalley for a review copy. 

 

The Messenger by Lyndsay Roberts Rayne is a nearly wordless picture book that tells a story of love and sacrifice for a greater good so beautifully. One little girl gives up her beloved dog to be trained as a messenger dog to be used on the frontlines during WWI. The soldier and the dog develop a deep bond and when the soldier is injured, it is the dog who comes to his rescue. This is a  picture book for older kids--8 and up--because of the reality of war. At the very end, the author gives more information about the animals that were used during the war. Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.  

Journey of Shunya Means Zero

I just received my author copies of Shunya Means Zero, a book that's had a very long gestation...23 years!!! Sometimes, when you flip an idea on its head, it falls into place.

I've always been fascinated with numbers and patterns and so it was natural to write about the history of our numerical system. Magazine writing has trained me to have a tight focus so I decided to stick to the history of zero, which was invented in India, and followed it with an introduction to the history and culture of India using the tried and true method of counting. Zero violence. One Taj Mahal. Two Language Families. Etc.

 
I started submitting to publishers in 2003 and after about a dozen submissions over three years with only a few personal rejection letters encouraging me, I shelved it. I was busy writing other books and teaching. In 2017, I revisited Shunya (see Vijaya Bodach: Journey of Little Thief! Chota Chor! ) and flipped it--first the counting, then the history of zero and it was accepted right away by Reycraft. My editor, Sunita Apte, helped me make the text even tighter and I was so delighted that Nayantara Surendranath was again paired with me to do the illustrations. But it was a long wait...but God's timing is always perfect. And worth the wait. 

I wrote this for my children, but it is their children who will be the beneficiaries of this book. I was able to dedicate it to my grandbabies. Just five days after Dagny's baby boy was born, my editor sent me the final art (I'd seen some sketches before but seeing the art in full color took my breath away) and we went through another round of tweaking the text. I had the baby's initials for the dedication. Yay! I wrote to Max and Laura, asking whether they had decided on a name for their baby girl. I promised I'd keep it secret and only my editor would know, lol. But they hadn't decided. So I went with babyB. 

I got an email with the final proofs the day Max and Laura's sweet baby girl was born. We still didn't know the name until the evening, but once they decided, I shot back an email to my editor for the final dedication. Whew!!! 

More importantly, although I'm proud to be American, I have not forgotten my roots, the place that began shaping me into the person I am today. I have wanted so much to share it with my children, but by the time they were old enough that they'd remember a trip to India, my health was declining, and travelling was (still is) too hard on me. Max and I had the opportunity to go to Kolkata and work with the Sisters of Charity in 2020, but the lockdowns meant no travelers were being issued visas. It was a huge disappointment. I pray that we'll all be able to take a family trip to India with the children and grandchildren...but in the meantime, they'll have this book. It is so much more meaningful now than when I first penned it. I can't wait to share it with not just my grandbabies, but with school children everywhere. Here's Grandpa practicing for reading to the grandbabies :)     

Books

The newest issue of The Star arrived in the mail and with it my reviews of good Catholic books for kids and grown-ups. Happy reading! I have my trusty companions for reading, writing, and meditating. 

Passiontide

There's been so much excitement with the barbershop competition, it's been hard to maintain some of my Lenten devotions. It is already a busy time preparing for the liturgies so I am grateful that next year the competition will be in May. It was a shock to my system going for Adoration one day, where I could feast my eyes on the Blessed Sacrament and the Altar and then the next, with the statues covered up. Not only is the Gloria gone, but the Gloria Patri as well, and now some of the visual beauty. 

I've been praying the Stations of the Cross privately using Tina Jost's One Hour for My Priest. It might be my most favorite section along with Help Him! Our parish has been praying the Stations every Wed, followed by a soup supper. What I love about the corporate prayers is that the priest recites this beautiful prayer after Benediction:

O Jesus Christ, remember,

when Thou shalt come again,

upon the clouds of heaven,

with all Thy shining train;

when every eye shall see

Thee in deity revealed,

who now upon this altar

in silence are concealed.

Remember then, O Savior,

we supplicate of Thee,

that here we bowed before Thee

upon our bended knee;

that here we owned Thy Presence,

and did not Thee deny,

and glorified Thy greatness

though hid from human eye.

Accept, Divine Redeemer,

the homage of our praise;

be Thou the light and honor

and glory of our days.

Be Thou our consolation

when death is drawing nigh:

be Thou our only treasure

through all eternity. Amen.  

We're in the middle of Holy Week and preparing beautiful music for all the liturgies for the Sacred Triduum. Spring is here and I'm loving the warm weather and the promise of renewal. We had such a lovely weekend, riding our bikes to Waterfront park and providing some background music for the 379th birthday of Capt. Robert Daniell (our island town is named in his honor).  

Book Reviews

It's been nearly a year-and-half since we had another issue of the STAR but I got my book reviews in the Easter issue. I enjoy sharing all the good books I read and especially with my parish family. I hope you find some treasures for your own family here. 

On Holy Week and Triduum and Solar Eclipse

Some day I will have grandchildren, so I had to get my own copy of: My Book of the Church's Year! I know, excuses, excuses to buy books, especially children's books :) But Peter Kwawniewski echoes how I feel about giving children (and adults) the best books. Consider how we spend Lent with three practices: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. How beautifully Enid Chadwick shows that these are our weapons against the devil, the flesh, and the world respectively. She creates space to ponder the Mysteries of the Faith with all the details in her artwork.

This was perhaps the best Lent ever, bar our first when we were in RCIA; my niece is being received into the Church this Easter Vigil. Her marriage, too, is being convalidated. She will receive the Body and Blood of our Lord. So much to celebrate! Glory, glory to God! 

This Eastertide is special for another reason--signs from heaven. Fr. Ripperger has a wonderful reflection on the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th, the fact that its path takes it through the towns of Jonah and Nineveh. If this isn't a call to repent and turn to the Lord, I don't know what would be clearer. I especially liked that at the end, Fr. Ripperger reminds us how God created. He calls upon the waters to bring forth the fish and the earth to bring forth plants and animals. But when He creates man, He says, "Let US create man in our Image." He points out that if you take a fish out of water, it dies; if you take a plant out of the earth, it dies; and so it follows that if you separate man from God, he suffers a spiritual death. Anyway, Fr. Ripperger packs a lot in 11 minutes. For a more detailed description of all the cosmological things going on, see: Guest post: Laramie Hirsch on the April 8 solar eclipse – Nurse Claire Says. Granted, I have a fascination with numbers and names and coincidences but I've come to believe that there are no coincidences, simply signs from God. We should do as He commands in the Garden of Gethsemane: Watch and Pray! A Blessed and Happy Easter to you! 

Check out these cool maps! I like the patterns they make, the letter A, which is the beginning of the alphabet (aleph; I'm reading a fascinating book Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story by Michael Rosen), or the X's where a place experiences two solar eclipses. Just don't ask me to explain the difference between annular and total solar eclipses :) 

March Feast Days

Michael brews beer for the men's monthly group meeting at Stella Maris and always adds the name of the saint for the day it's held along with the type of beer brewed. This time he found a lovely pictorial of several March saints (found here) and I loved having some of my favorites all in one picture. Enjoy! 

Of course, I had to go down the rabbit hole to find out who made it :) The pictures are taken from My Book of the Church's Year by Enid M. Chadwick. Children's books are the best! Happy St. Patrick's Day! My baptism day too! Celebrating my life in Christ! I should decrease, He increase.

Books, Books, Books!!!

It's been much too long since I've blogged about the good books I've read, so without further ado, I'll begin with the most recent. Kids' books first :) I do try to post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads but I'm woefully behind on that as well. What are some of the best books you've read recently? Go ahead and add to my TBR pile!

Picture Books

A Hole is to Dig: A First Book of Definitions by Ruth Krauss and Maurice Sendak is simply delightful. See for yourself.

A Single Pearl by one of my favorite authors, Donna Jo Napoli, and Jim LaMarche's illustrations bring to life this retelling of a Persian folktale. A grain of sand feels hopelessly small and unimportant. But we get to see what occurs layer by layer as it is transformed into a pearl. Her book we are Starlings, written with her son, Robert Furrow, is another gorgeous book that delves into murmuration, beautifully illustrated by Marc Martin. I still remember the wonderful advice she gave at Chautauqua--write what you're interested in. It holds true, especially now, where there's so much emphasis of "staying in your lane." She inspires me with the depth and breadth of her work and I'm just tickled that she collaborates with her children. I hope to make more books with my kids too.

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall, another favorite author-illustrator, captures the joy and jumble of a large family. It's bittersweet--children grow up, move away. How I wish it could've been kept in the family somehow. But I'm glad Sophie did and made a book out of it. A treasure! At the end, she writes about how she made the book. Check out Hello Lighthouse too. I wouldn't mind making a retreat in one.

Wally the World's Greatest Piano-Playing Wombat by Ratha Tep and Camilla Pintonato is such a great book about what a competitive spirit can do for you--strive for excellence. Plus it's over the top funny. I gave this to my barbershop leaders because we are preparing for the Regional contest in May... 

Hum and Swish by Matt Myers is a lovely book about creativity, not knowing what you're making yet, trusting the process.

Middle Grade

Mind Over Anti-Matter by Rose Green starts out with a bang and just keeps getting better. We have kid inventors, an aging inventor, and the bad guys who'll do anything to get their hands on the Infinite Storage Device. I loved how real the kids were, how smart, how much heart they had. Rose Green is a very talented writer and illustrator and I was smitten by the cover and delighted by the interior illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I look forward to more stories from her. 

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman is a gorgeous book with reproductions of Merian's drawings and paintings. She was a mere child, doing what children do best, which is to observe the world around them and be in a state of wonder. She took it a step further--drawing what she saw. When she drew plants, she also drew the insects on the plants.

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate diCamillo and Sophie Blackall (two of my favorites) is a beautifully illustrated story about a girl, a boy, a monk, and a goat. The gentle girl and the fierce goat stole my heart. 

Bazriel and the Frozen Bells of Noël: A Reluctant Angel’s Rescue Mission into France by local author Pringle Franklin is an imaginative Christmas story for the whole family with over 90 works of classic art. It perfectly captures the idea that each of us has a unique mission to fulfill in this world and we have our guardian angel beside us to help guide us. It speaks to the power of love, of music, and of hope. I remember reading the first chapter during critique group and how enchanted I was. I didn't read anything more until Pringle asked me to read a proof copy. I made a few corrections but hated parting with it because it is such a beautiful book. But a year later--I have my own! 

Christmas Blossoms by Priscilla Smith McCafferey and illustrated by Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs is a luminous story about a Chinese artist who makes Christmas ornaments for people in the West. When he makes these little masterpieces, he remembers the joyful times with his family going to the Midnight Mass before the cultural revolution, what they suffered for choosing the Christ Child, and the Hope that remains. Now in his old age, Christmas has returned to China once again. Overcome with emotion, he paints one last glass ornament after he returns home from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This bittersweet gem of a book lends itself to contemplating the meaning of Christmas.

I've bought multiple copies of the last two Christmas books to give away as gifts. They are timeless. It just so happens that all my favorite children's books were illustrated. But visual beauty draws me in more deeply into the story. I still sit and just look at the pictures. I guess I never grew up. But I'll focus on adult books in my next monster book post.