The Book Search

I'm reading a wide variety of things this week and one of the things I'm really appreciating is the language of the writer.  One of the things I so admire about writers is the way they choose the words they do.  This first book is a great example of that.  It's called "The Hired Girl" by Laura Amy Schlitz.  It's about 14 year old Joan, who we first meet living on her father's farm, tending to the needs of her father and her four older brothers.  Her mother has died and so she's left alone with the tasks of keeping the house clean as well as cooking and laundry.  She really wants to go to school but her father has forbidden her to return (he thinks it's a waste of time as she's really only fit for cleaning and cooking).  Joan's mom has a small surprise for her and when Joan's father crosses a line, Joan decides it's time to seek her fortune elsewhere.  She buys a train ticket to the big city with a plan to get a job as a hired girl (...

I've been on a real reading jag this week.  The stars have aligned and I have had both time and opportunity so I have made the most of it. I started with "The Red Umbrella" by Christina Diaz Gonzalez.  I met Christina a few years ago at an April is for Author's event and I wanted to read her book then and something happened (something shiny!  Or maybe a squirrel!) and I completely forgot about it.  Until this week when I was wandering through the YA section at my local library and found it again.  What a treat this book is.  It's about a girl living a privileged life in Cuba just as the Revolution starts.  Her biggest worries are what her hair looks like and if her nails match her outfit.  Things change fast though and at first, Lucia just wants to play along.  She wants to go to parties with her friends (even if they are sponsored by the party), she wants to go shopping, she wants to read fashion magazines but her mom wants her stay in the...

I was so lucky last weekend. I got to volunteer at the April is for Authors event in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Here 's a link to their website. This amazing group invites nationally known authors to come and speak to our kids. The great part is, it's a free event. This year, the event got a giant boost from a local guy who is a pretty well known author-James Patterson, who was the keynote speaker. One of the things he said that really got me thinking was that parents aren't taking enough responsibility in making sure their kids are good readers. He said he thought if you could get your kid to the dinner table or get them to take a bath, that you should also be able to get them to read. I thought that was awesome and I also thought I really needed to do more to get my students reading! I was also lucky enough to get to meet Chris Grabenstein, who is my newest hero.  Here's a link to his website.  His book "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" is SO...