The Book Search

I can hardly believe that the school year is almost over and yet it is.  It seems like only yesterday we were just starting and now we're starting to put things away and dream of long days with less structure and MORE READING.  Some people have started to count down the days, but I don't do that until we are in the single digits.  So, here are a few books to put on your summer reading list! The first one is called "The World's Greatest Chocolate Covered Pork Chops" by Ryan K. Sager.  It's a very funny story about a girl named Zoe who is the arguably with world's greatest chef.  She is, at the very least, the world's best young chef, as she is only 12 years old and already has her own restaurant and a large group of very loyal patrons.  Zoe wants to open her own restaurant and convinces her parents that she should be allowed to apply for a business loan as well as choose the location and then open the restaurant.  Her parents, who are jazz musicians, ...

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 (...