peacefulreader

Dog's day

Through our house this summer we’ve had a pack of entertaining dog books. Maybe because we have our own naughty puppy these picture books have a certain appeal for us.
First we read Be Gentle with the dog, dear! (2008)by Matthew J. Baek. This is a well-written story with very expressive illustrations and we love the shadow play which really demonstrates the toddler/dog conflict. My husband and I glanced at each other, with smiles playing across our faces as we read this book, remembering back to ahhh, yesterday as our six-year-old carried the cat, Pony around. She used to drag the puppy around when she(the dog) was much smaller. The puppy now weighs 41 hefty pounds (see photo above:) so it doesn’t happen anymore. Of course, since we have two teenagers this scene has been played out many times over with other pets. This is a great book to raise the issue to small children on how to treat a puppy or any pet really.

The second dog related book we’ve read is Before you were mine (2007) by Maribeth Boelts, a local Cedar Valley author. Seriously this book made me tear-up!! It begins like this: “ Before you were mine…Did you live in a warm house with warm smells, and a rug that was only yours?” The little boy character continues to have this conversation with the sweet yellow puppy throughout the rest of the book. We learn the puppy was abandoned somehow and at the shelter just waiting for this little boy! Wonderful example of how we can rescue a pet and give it a new home. The author’s note at the back of the book says a portion of the book sales will be donated to the Humane Society-added bonus for buying this very special book.

Dog Blue (2004) by Polly Dunbar is the third great dog book we have read. This one is all about Bertie, who loves the color blue! To round out his blue collection he really wants a blue dog and since he doesn’t have one he uses his imagination and creates a blue dog:

“So Bertie pretended he had a blue dog. He patted his pretend dog. He fed his pretend blue dog. He took his pretend blue dog for a walk. He threw a stick for his pretend blue dog.”

I like Polly Dunbar’s art and this one has a nice surprise ending!! Woof! Woof! Check out her fabulously creative website!

The last book and my personal favorite is Don’t lick the dog; making friends with dogs(2009) by Wendy Wahman . This one is a very creative how-to for any potential dog owner or dog friend. Her illustrations are zany and the text is rhyming!! Here’s how it goes:

“Easy now, take it slow when meeting dogs that you don’t know.
Don’t stick your nose in Stella’s face-until you’re friends, she needs her space.”

Each two- page spread has a suggestion for humans wanting to know more about dog etiquette. Love this one and so did J. and the husband as he took time to read it to our teenagers at the dinner table. Wendy has her own creative website here.

How many of you have dogs out there or a favorite dog picture book?

Vidalia in Paris by Sasha Watson

The cover and the first paragraph inside the front flap appealed to my sense of adventure, which reads:

“When Vidalia wins a scholarship to study art in Paris for the summer, she can’t believe her good fortune. Finally she’ll get some time away from her needy mother, and the small town where she feels like an outsider.”

I want to go to Paris! When I read the back author flap I found that the author had spent lots of time in Paris so I thought this might be a great way to “travel” there myself if even for a few hours. I liked the story and I liked Vidalia, who seemed independent at first. It was wonderful to read little snippets about cool locations in Paris. I want to go to Shakespeare and Company, the little American book store Vidalia’s mother directs her to visit. This is where Vidalia meets her first friend, Julien. Julien is a likable character and I wish more would have happened between him and Vidalia. Unfortunetely, she meets her bad guy character, Marco and well, let’s just say her independent nature goes out the window for awhile! In between Vidalia helps out an old friend and deals with her very needy mother. It’s wasn’t the great adventure I was hoping for but I do appreciate the work Sasha Watson put into her writing. I think she has what it takes and perhaps her next books will have more snap! Does anybody know if there really is a Shakespeare and Co. in Paris? I know there are in NY, but Paris? Has anybody been shopped there?
Compulsive Reader has a review.

Don't leave picture books behind, pleeease!

We are not reading as many picture books (small sob) now that J. is a member of that vast group of children who love chapter books, even though they are not really able to read them. She gets tired of reading after about 2 pages and hands the book back to me w/ a “you read the rest.” But the other night we took a small break from our chapter book to read a few picture books from the library.
We love Valeri Gorbachev’s new book, Turtle’s Penguin Day (2008) about a young turtle who falls in love with penguins after his father reads him a bedtime book about…yes, penguins! The little turtle dreams about penguins and wakes the next morning wanting to be nothing other than a penguin. He waddles to school w/ an old black tuxedo jacket on…looking very much penguin-like. I myself have parented several children who have spent their days morphing into cats, dogs, and wolves. They have insisted on drinking water from bowls on the floor and even food from plates on the floor-yum. Watching Little Turtle “become” a turtle struck a very funny chord for us. The teacher uses Little Turtle’s penguin fascination as a “teaching moment” and the whole class spends the day doing penguin-like things, like “during music time, they all danced a waddling penguin dance.” Lots of fun. J. said she liked all the details in his artwork and she helped me read it. I love all of Gorbachev’s books as much as Kevin Henkes’ books for teaching certain ideas to children. Not too didactic because of the cool animal characters. The end includes a page of interesting penguin facts. five cool stars.
Click here to find a list of Gorbachev’s other titles.

Author Joseph Bruchac

I like Joseph Bruchac…well, I like the three books of his I’ve read; Skeleton Man, Heart of a chief and his newest book, March toward the thunder (2008), a historical fiction novel set during the summer of 1864. The main character is Louis Nolette, an Abenaki Indian from Canada. He is 15-years-old and is recruited to join the Fighting 69th, Irish Brigade. He joins because he knows it is wrong to own another human, he likes the idea of a paycheck and perhaps also he is looking for a bit of adventure. What follows is a fictional account of the battles taking place from April to August.

What I loved about this book were the descriptions of what soldiers experienced in the Civil War. I’d always heard stories of brothers fighting brothers in battle but this book brings to life what it must have felt like to feel so close to the enemy. There is a two-page description (p. 34-35) of what it was like to load their issued rifle…one ball at a time, so each time they fired they had to reload. The description of the doctor’s tent is vividly real. I’ve read other fictional accounts of this time period; this one really helped me grasp exactly how those battles would feel. Louis tells us all about how each battle was won or lost in a remembering back sequence, which makes it easy to understand and feel how awful the battle really was. This is a great book to show what is truly lost during war.

Bruchac does a wonderful job of telling the story through Louis’ eyes in this first person narrative. Louis, a quiet soldier, easily makes friends and through his relationships we see what kind of person he is and how it is that through it all he survives. He experiences racism in the midst of putting his life on the line for a country that doesn’t even see him as a full citizen. I learned a great deal reading this book and now want to read Codetalker, Bruchac’s book about Native Americans in WWII. Anybody interested in the Civil War, Native life or great characters will enjoy this story.
Check out Joseph Bruchac’s website here.
American Indians in Children’s Lit. website reviews it here.
and a great review by Brian Griggs here.

What is your favorite historical fiction book?

Recap of last 17 days-Whew!!

Wow. I expected to write many posts while on vacation. Obviously, that didn’t happen!

Our drive across country was beautiful with one long stop in Ohio to visit Oberlin College for my 17-year-0ld stepdaughter, Kaylee. Beautiful campus-loved the school and spent money at the book store, of course. At this point in the trip I was reading Airhead by Meg Cabot. Interesting premise for a teen read; a smart, kinda nerdy girl swan dives into a model’s body and tries to balance her old life with the new life of an over-the-top-famous star! Today’s version of Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers. I received Airhead in the mail two days before we left for DC, after winning it from Lizzie @ Shelf Elf; read, write, rave. Thank you, Lizzie!!

We arrived in Sperryville, VA to visit my wonderful in-laws at their mountain retreat and by this time I was reading Jodi Picoult’s, Second Glance. Tucked so peacefully away, our destination, while breath-taking, did not have cell or internet service so out of luck again to post! Second Glance has been on my to-read pile for about a year so glad I can check it off. It’s a cool ghost mystery with, the usual Picoult twists. I love how she can combine so many characters and have them all tied together by the end!! I’ve enjoyed most of her books and while this one is not at the top of the list it is def. worth the read.
At this pt. in our trip I had to take a break from reading and spend some family time. My mother-in-law is the greatest though and we spent the rest of the time drinking wine, trading recipes, cooking together and playing board games with everybody else. J. and I took a trip through Little Washington to see the farm where they pick up their CSA vegetables. (CSA=Community Supported Agriculture) Buy Local is always our motto. The veggies were beautiful and delicious. J. discovered she loves beets on this trip!! Beets always make me think of my all-time favorite book, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins!

For the last half of our trip we headed to Silver Spring, MD and spent time in DC where Greg grew up. We took all the kids to the Capital for the 4th of July celebration-the Sesame St. part was our favorite. We weren’t really close enough to see how cute Jimmy Smits is in person but we had a great time listening to him, Barry Manilow and Aretha! We kept hoping to run into the Obama family but alas, it never happened. We did have lunch with our favorite White House intern though and that was great!!

On the way home I read Peter and the Starcatchers, which will be a 5th grade book club choice this year and I think it will be easier to read some of the selections over the summer instead of trying to keep up with the four clubs. I loved this book and can’t wait to read the rest in the series!
What about you? Which Jodi Picoult novel is your favorite?

M. Sindy Felin's Touching Snow

I purchased this book for my school library after reading about it on some random blog (wishing now I had kept track of just which blog). Even though the content is more middle school I thought I had fifth graders whowould handle the subject matter.

What is the subject matter your asking? Child abuse and the plight of immigrant families are the overriding themes of this well-written novel. The author does a brilliant job of writing in the voice of an eighth-grade young girl.

The book begins in a startling way, with Karina telling us what it feels like to walk the halls of her school after killing her step-father. I think everyone should read this book; just as I believe all humans should work in the service industry…it is important to know how the world works; really works and this book describes how child abuse works in many families!! Karina has two sisters; Enid and Delta and all three suffer beatings from their large Haitian step-father. Here the three sisters discuss how they are going to save each other as adults:

“We should all make a pact and swear that when we get married, we’ll never let our husbands treat our kids like Daddy does. We should prick our fingers and press them together and become blood sisters and swear.” (Karina says)
“We’re already sisters, Katu,” said Enid.
“Oh, yeah, I know,” I said. “but we should swear anyway.”
“How would we ever stop someone like Daddy?” Delta asked.
I shrugged. “It’s just an idea.”…
…”I think that’s a very good idea, Katu.” whispered Enid. It was all the encouragement I needed. “All you’d have to do is call for help. We could have a signal, like…like…”
“Like the eagle has landed,” said Enid.
“No!” yelled Delta as she jumped up suddenly and began twirling around and flapping her arms like a bird. “Your guardian angel has landed!”
“Yeah, something like that,” I continued.

The girls are just looking for someone to save them; saving themselves has proven to difficult. The pattern is that one girl gets a “beat-up” from Daddy and then they are forced to lie about it to any authority figure, with the girls taking the blame. It isn’t like anybody has a gun to their head to cover for “Daddy” but they know the routine. Mama needs “the Daddy” to be there in the house to pay the bills and even though, the mother is upset with the severity of the beatings, she feels the kids need his discipline to stay in line. Daddy works as a taxi driver and Mama works at a factory; often overtime to make ends meet. In any kind of abuse there is always an unwritten code to not get the offending parent in trouble and this family has the system down.

Here is another quote describing this vicious circle:

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Gaston,” said Mr. Levinson as her reached over and patted her arm. “We will do everything we can to get your family back together.”
I could not believe what I was hearing. Yeah, I knew what I had just told Father Sanon and Mr. Levinson. (the lie that she beat her sister, Enid) But if they couldn’t tell I was lying, then they were major retards. Why did I keep thinking some adult somewhere was finally going to start acting like one? Why did I think that Aunt Merlude would know what else to do when she found Enid half dead besides collapsing into a babbling heap of drool? Why did I think Uncle Jude would drive us all to the police station and rat out his brother instead of dunking Enid in a scalding salt bath, then letting the Daddy crash at his apartment? Why did I think that Mr. Levinson would listen to me tell him how I’d beaten Enid so badly she was still limping this many weeks later, then nod his head and pat my arm and say “Bullshit, Karina“?

Yes, there is a small amount of swearing, some kissing between Karina and a girlfriend, which will probably freak some people out. It fits with the story though and as the reader, I came away cheering for Karina, Delta and Enid for making their lives work amidst all the chaos. This is a wonderfully well-written tale about a harsh topic that had me racing to the end to see if any guardian angels show up to help.

Check out The Brown Bookshelf review.

Parenting and books

Today I was driving in my trusty Volvo, when an argument/disagreement broke out between my 14-year-old son and my six-year-old daughter. There is nothing like driving in an enclosed vehicle with a crying child; one that feels wronged by the older sibling and siblings’ friend. As my little J. was sobbing away, trying to tell me how her older brother had just wronged her I have to admit I was rolling my eyes and rubbing my neck with annoyance because I get really tired of all these little arguments back and forth.

I attempted to divert her after I took in one deep, long, cleansing breathe, with a quick little quip about how her brother would protect her from a playground bully, showing his love in this way even if on a daily basis it is difficult to feel his love. My son and his friend got involved, thankfully, in this tale I was weaving and soon the six-year-old was giggling with glee as her brother continued to explain to her how he would give the playground bully the evil eye with several demonstrations. I smiled as I listened to them, happy that I had diverted the argument and the tears-glad for my one moment of good parenting.

I thought to myself how I far to often give myself a hard time about my parenting skills; frustrated at my lack of patience with my teen-age son, who seems to work really hard on aggravating me, even though or because of our former great relationship. I have read many parenting books, trying to find the magic ingredient to show me the way. I have read and listened to Anne Lamott (a fabulous author, who often writes about her son, Sam) for guidance.

Then one night J. and I were rereading Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Cookies; bite-sized life lessons when a thought hit me! This is my parenting book!! This truly hits all that I need to remember when parenting my children and if I can show them these qualities, using this common language I use every day as a teacher-librarian we may get somewhere together!

This will be particularly prudent as we head out on our major Summer Road-Trip to the DC area. I am going to make myself a cheat sheet with AKR’s key words; you know, like “cooperation, polite, loyal, optimistic, and respect” so I can use them repeatedly as we drive for days together. I’m happy we have our Volvo instead of this…
which was the way my family road-tripped back in the day. (well, it was more of a green 70’s version, really)

Watch this great video of Anne Lamott on Stephen Colbert.

The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy

My friend, Tina, from books are my thing, made me check this book out last week from our local library. She said, “Even though the cover is very unattractive, the story is great,” and it was!! Funny thing...at one point, during my reading, I made a mental note that the dialogue was a not that good..then, when I got to the end, I had a huge “aha” moment, which I will not share because I don’t want to be a spoiler!!

The story centers around Joan, who has just moved to a suburb of San Fransisco from Connecticut, with her family. Joan is sent out to “explore the neighborhood” one day while her mom is unpacking stuff and she meets a neighbor girl unlike any other. Her new friend goes by the name of Fox and appears to live in the forest area between Joan’s house and the rest of the world. Fox (aka Sarah) lives with her wise single father, Gus, who is a writer (and a tattooed motorcycle rider.) Joan’s father, on the other hand, is bitter and angry and takes it out on his family with sarcastic comments. Neither family situation is perfect, however, for Fox misses the mother who left her when she was seven.

Luckily, Fox and Joan end up in the same class and, toward the end of the year, enter a story-writing contest together, with one story they have created about “wild girls”. The girls’ story wins and they are invited to become part of a special writer’s workshop taught by a unique teacher, Verla Volante, at Berkeley. This opens up a whole new world for Sarah and Joan as they trek each week into the wild city and meet a bunch of “loose nuts” that help them understand their own unique qualities. This book is a wonderful romp with a great cast of characters, and lots of story-telling tips along the way!!
Pat Murphy’s website
Tina’s review
Sarah Laurence’s review
love the cover art on her copy-why did they change it????

The List

I’ve looked at this book, The Patron Saint of butterflies by Cecilia Galante several times at the library.
I finally brought it home to read.
I read it in one blissful day.
Interesting cast of characters including the independent and courageous Honey and when the time is right, Agnes and Benny persevere.
Religion is at the center of the story.
Not just any old religion but a cult led by Emmanuel and Veronica.
The cult began in some small Iowa town where Emmanuel was a professor.
Love the grandmother-Nana Pete (Petunia); she is not part of the cult-thank heavens!!
Winky, another cool character, has a beautiful butterfly garden(something I aspire to have also).
You should read this book just so you can see the battle that rages inside of Agnes and maybe all of us from time to time.

Also known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal

I finished it but I didn’t want to finish it, if you know what I mean. I wanted to be 14 again reading this book, loving it and then rereading it, which is what I used to do when I was 14 because my days were never-ending read fests.

Ann Haywood Leal has created touching and realistic characters focused around the central theme of poverty. Harper Lee and her brother, Hemingway live with their mom, who is barely surviving financially. Harper’s happiness comes from her family and her ability to transform words into poetry. Her mom works odd jobs, mostly cleaning other people’s houses and working at a laundromat. It seems at one time the family had happier times with Harper’s memories showing us a trip to the fair, and swimming together until Daddy’s life becomes consumed with “the whiskey”.

Harper’s memories also shift to show us this new bitter daddy and how his acerbic tongue belittles the women of the family. In another flashback we are witness to mom demanding dad leave because of his drinking. I think this will really help young readers see a side of poverty they might never be witness to and it may show others that what they are experienceing in poverty is very much like Harper’s life. I know many children at my elementary school have been traumatized by house fires or evictions. As the librarian, I often hear excuses like “i can’t get my book back…it’s at my dad’s and I’m not going there right now.” Sometimes I hear from teachers that this family is now living in a motel because a house fire took their belongings or certain kids have been taken from a mom or dad’s home, quickly. I’ve always been sympathetic to these situations but reading this book I will be more empathetic to how quickly life can spiral out of control, especially for a child.
I particularly liked how Harper, even though she couldn’t get back and forth to school, really wanted to get there. She deeply missed her teacher and her school surroundings. Harper is forced to miss school for a few days because she has to watch her young brother, Hemingway while her mom works as much as she can to try to raise any kind of rent money. I guess when I hear about kids missing school for days at a time because of living situations I think they must be enjoying their freedom. Harper, Randall and Lorraine show the other side of students just doing what they can to get by on a very daily basis. This book, realistic fiction at it’s best, will be a must-purchase for my library when I make my first book order in the fall. It reminds me of a series I read during my graduate days by Cynthia Voight called the Tillerman series; The Homecoming and Dicey’s Song. These books also featured a young family in crisis.

Ann Haywood’s website.