journeys – Peaceful Reader

2015-Happy New Year to You.

{Xmas morn}

I can’t believe it’s here! I don’t have everything checked off my list from 2014! Do you? I still have miles to go in fact. I didn’t write enough, didn’t do enough downward dogs, and I’m three books behind on my Goodreads challenge.

I can reflect back and know that while I didn’t get everything done I did get so much accomplished. And I’m grateful for the year that I’ve had especially school-related. I didn’t think I could love kids the way I loved Highland students but Hansen proved me wrong. Grateful.

I’ve survived a year with handsome son out of the house and living in Colorado. I miss him fiercely but I’m happy he’s working on the next part of his own journey. I love to text back and forth with him and have received some amazing messages from him throughout the year. Grateful.

Groovy Girl and I have survived the first half of 7th grade together. Middle school is harsh because her elementary school was like home; filled with love and understanding. Middle school is the opposite of that. Rules, rules and more rules. She’s learning though and I’ve learned to listen as she rants about this teacher or that rule. In the long run we’ll both be better off. Grateful.

I’m happy that oldest daughter has figured out her next step after graduating in May from Oberlin. She’ll be off to Portland, ME in a week to study at the The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Just browsing their website makes me know she will love it. It’s good when each person knows what their next step into space is going to be. Grateful.

This new year will bring more surprises, more journeys, and more inner peace. What will the new year bring for you?

{Last night together for 2014 @Ciao Bella/Minneapolis)

Edward Tulane!

I love how Edward looks-Groovy Girl does not like to look at these
beautiful illustrations while we read. It is all in the imagination for her.

I’ve had a writer’s crush on Kate DiCamillo for years. I loved Winn-Dixie first, then fell head-over-heals with The Tale of Despereaux, understood both Tiger’s Rising and The Magician’s Elephant more than most people and now I’ve swooned over The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane! Groovy Girl and I finished reading it tonight and were thrilled by Edward’s crazy long journey!

The quote that stuck to us:

“I am done with being loved,” Edward told her. “I’m done with loving. It’s too painful.”
“Pish,” said the old doll. “Where is your courage?”
“Somewhere else, I guess,” said Edward.
“You disappoint me,” she said. “You disappoint me greatly. If you have no intention of loving or being loved, then the whole journey is pointless. You might as well leap from this shelf right now and let yourself shatter into a million pieces. Get it over with. Get it all over with now.”
“I would leap if I was able,” said Edward.
“Shall I push you?” said the old doll.
“No thank you,” Edward said to her. (189)

Okay, I know this quote shares the true meaning of this tale which makes it a spoiler but one I had to pass on anyway. I specifically marvel at the line “where is your courage?” If you’ve read it, you know it and if not, hopefully it will spur you to read it.

Buy it for a young friend for the holidays!

Edward Tulane’s website.
Judy Freeman’s Reader’s Theatre of ET.
Kate’s website.

The very unique Hardscrabble family in The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

Oh, I am having so much fun reading this week, getting books off my to-read shelf that have languished too long. I thought this one was going to be all copycat Lemony Snickett(poor, poor orphan children) and while it does have some similarities, the Hardscrabble family is very unique.

“There were three of them. Otto was the oldest, and the oddest. Then there was Lucia, who wished something interesting would happen. Last of all was Max, who always thought he knew better. They lived in a small town in England called Little Tunks.” (1)

It is written in a very meta-fictive style in that as the reader you are talked to in a certain, knowing way. Their father has to go out of town on a supposed business trip and sends the children off to London, to an aunt’s house. Once they arrive they find only the cat sitter who made the mistake of pretending to understand what their dad said when he called to make arrangements.

Their aunt is truly on holiday and the cat sitter won’t let them stay (she doesn’t know them after all!) so they spend one scary night in London and then head off to their Great- Aunt’s house near the sea. It’s quite a journey and once they arrive their Great-Aunt is not what they expect at all. They have a small castle to explore and they find themselves pulled into the mysterious kneebone boy fiasco, which really all leads to what the Hardscrabble children really need; answers to what happened to their mother.

I found this book to be wonderfully quirky and I could think of a whole list of students to recommend it to because you need a unique mind to enjoy the Hardscrabble’s as characters as well as their unique journey.
I found it so refreshing when the children find out (although Otto remembers) that their mother has been dealing with her own mental health and that that is where the father goes every time he sets off for a trip.

Ellen Potter breathes an unusual life into Otto, Lucia, and Max, creating this story and I wouldn’t mind hearing more about their adventures. Take note of the cover above and realize you will find yourself returning to it throughout the story, checking on details about the children-like Otto’s scarf, wrapped so tightly around his neck, as though he is continually cold. Details. Explore Potter’s website

Journey of Dreams/Picnic_Basket Request

Journey of Dreams by Marge Pellegrino is set in Guatemala during the 1980’s political upheaval . It is the story of Tomasa and her family’s decision to leave their tiny village and head north, walking toward first the border of Mexico and then to the U.S. border. Tomasa’s mother leaves with the oldest son, Carlos because young boys have been captured in the village and forced to serve as soldiers. It becomes obvious within a short time that it is time for the rest of the family to go as soldiers take over their village during a festival.

Their entire journey is filled with risk and mishaps, especially trying to cross the river between Guatemala and Mexico. Once in Mexico, Tomasa, her brother Manuel and the baby Maria live temporarily in a park while the father goes off to work everyday. Eventually they are lead to a “safe convent” where they can stay in one room. A visitor from the U.S. brings news of Mother and Carlos and within a few monthes the family is together again in Phoenix. While they endure many hardships there is hope along the way. Because the author has such a close connection to Central American refuges I felt a real sense of loss for Tomasa’s character. She loved her life, as “poor” as they were, they were rich in culture, the beauty of the land and their own family strength. While still in their village Tomasa describes her home:

“Through the open door, the late afternoon sun deepens the blue of the sky. At this moment of the day, the green of the field and pine trees beyond glow. The blue and green next to each other look magical. The green crops grow from the gifts of the sky and earth. And we, the people of the corn, grew from those crops. Maybe that is why I often weave blue and green next to each other.” p. 23

I also greatly appreciated the father’s story-telling abilities and that they had these rituals every night when together. If you enjoy reading about other cultures or refuge experiences this book is well-worth it. It is a hope-filled and satisfying journey.

Marge Pellegrino’s blog
Click here for a map of Guatemala-it would have been a very long journey from Guatemala City!
Politics and Prose provides a synopsis here.