Award-winning author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of three young sisters on a summer adventure visiting their mother in California in One Crazy Summer. Visions of Disneyland and palm trees dissolve quickly when they realize their trip will be less vacation, and more adaptation to a strange neighborhood. The sisters learn about social activism, how…
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Summer Reading: Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
It’s summertime, and in addition to baseball, beach, and BBQ, let’s not forget books! Whether you have assigned reading or want to read on your own, Gary Paulsen’s Lawn Boy is a great story to start your summer off. A twelve year old boy needs some cash to fix his bike, but instead of getting…
On My Bookshelf: Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns is one of my favorite novels. It begins in July of 1906, three weeks after the main character’s grandmother has died. Grandpa has an announcement: he is engaged to another woman. The main character, Will Tweedy, is fourteen at the time, loves his grandfather, misses his grandmother, but…
What I’m Reading: Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Bookstores & More, Care Givers, Monthly Reads, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
Looking for something patriotic to read this Memorial Day? Kick off your summer reading with Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles. Set during WW1 in France, Miss Morgan’s tells the story of a group of women, most of them volunteers, who helped the citizens of France while the country was at war. In…
What I’m Reading: Italian American by Luigina Vecchione
If you are looking for a great story about family, perseverance, love, tradition, jealousy, and the American dream, look no further than Luigina Vecchione’s Italian American, the much-anticipated sequel to Greetings From Asbury Park. Both novels are inspired by real-life events and tell the story of when the author’s parents met during World War 2…
What I’m Reading: Careful What You Wish For by Hallie Ephron
I don’t usually read “novels of suspense” but I am an Ephron fan (especially of Nora Ephron), so I gave this book a try, and I’m glad I did. Yes, it was suspenseful but not at Silence of the Lambs intensity – although it does involve a storage locker. There was enough suspense to keep…
Independent Reading: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, For Kids, Independent Reading, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
Looking for a fun adventure that would be also work for a book report? Try the Doctor Dolittle books by Hugh Lofting. In The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, readers meet Stubbins, a boy who becomes the doctor’s apprentice, and is also the narrator of the story. Dolittle is the world’s first environmentalist, and first animal-advocate.…
What I’m Reading: Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
I’ve just finished reading Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy by the Sea, and as with her other novels, I enjoyed its calm pace and window into the domestic lives of its characters. Strout’s “Lucy” series is not for readers who prefer more action-driven novels. Lucy is a protagonist who readers watch doing very domestic, simple things, and…
What I’m Reading: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
I’ve just finished reading Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, who is the author of one of my all-time favorite novels, All the Light We Cannot See. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a different kind of novel, a different kind of story. It is about an ancient myth where a man turns into a donkey; it…
What I’m Reading: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Fans of Miss Benson’s Beetle, also by Rachel Joyce, will quickly become fans of Harold Fry. Harold embarks on a journey to see an old friend whom he has just learned has terminal cancer. His walk is spontaneous, and since it is across the country of England, he is more than a little unprepared. The…
