Looking for a fun, seasonal, adventure story to read with your students, children, or grandchildren? Try JK Rowling’s The Christmas Pig for something different. Published in 2021, it’s not a new book, but it is a new take on a Christmas miracle story. It also touches a sensitive subject for many children: what happens when…
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A Classic to Consider: The Birds’ Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Classic to Consider, Care Givers, Independent ReadingLeave a Reply
While at the library looking for something else, I came across this thin Christmas novella. Kate Douglas Wiggin’s The Birds’ Christmas Carol is a charming and less popular holiday story that may be just what you are looking for. Wiggin, who also wrote the Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm series, tells the story of little Carol…
Cookbook Signing with Gina Homolka
Last night I got to meet the author of a series of cookbooks who has made my life easier and tastier since I discovered her during the Covid lockdown. Gina Homolka is the author of seven cookbooks, most recently of Skinnytaste Simple. Not only do her recipes taste good, they are easy to make, add…
August Reads (a little late)
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Monthly Reads, Summer Reading, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
Still catching up from a fast-ending summer…In August I read two middle-grade novels and two adult novels. Ashes to Asheville by Sarah Dooley is a book I picked off the shelf at a bookshop/toy store in Waynesville, North Carolina, while on vacation, and I’m so glad I did. The story takes place in about 24…
Summer Reading: Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
Caregivers and teachers, if you are searching for a middle-grade novel for your student’s summer work or for your bookshelf, Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk is a must read. Ellie and her family have moved to the woods of Maine and her father suffers an accident that leaves him in a coma for months. As…
July Reads
Not a huge pile for July. Kate Morton’s The Lake House is a hefty read with a cast of about forty people across three generations – a lot to keep track of. It’s a great story, especially if you like to get lost in a mystery full of dark family secrets, crimes, and hidden identities.…
Bookstores & More
While vacationing in western North Carolina, I visited the The Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar in Asheville. I think I’m in love. Forget the coffee & book combo. This place knows how to keep readers inside. A beautiful setting to sip bubbly from crystal glasses while browsing the shelves or sitting with a…
Monthly Reads: June
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Monthly Reads, What I'm Reading, WritingLeave a Reply
This month I’ve read two fiction books, and one non-fiction book on the craft of writing. Anne of Green Gables is a children’s classic that I just read for the first time. It is interesting to see how the craft of writing and publishing standards have evolved over the years. Hang the Moon was about…
What I’m Reading: the Beartown Trilogy by Fredrik Backman
I’ve finished reading Fredrik Backman’s trilogy, Bear Town, Us Against You, and The Winners. Backman is one of my favorite contemporary authors. Readers get to know his characters in their day to day routines: what they eat; if they walk, run, or drive; if they’re good at hockey or not. Backman breaks the rule about…
On My Bookshelf: books about mothers, motherhood, and mothering
I’ve been thinking about books that explore the relationship between mother and child. Pictured are volumes pulled at random from my own bookcase. Once I started pulling, I realized I had more than I thought – many more that are not in the picture. The mother-child relationship keeps readers engaged…do we see ourselves in the…