Articles

THE STORYTELLER’S SECRET A Novel By: Sejal Badani Published: September 1, 2018 Publisher: Lake Union Publishing Fiction – Historical Fiction After suffering from her third miscarriage, Jaya realizes her heart is empty and her marriage is likely over. When her own mother refuses to return to India at the request of her dying father, Jaya…

Today is the beginning of Banned Books Week. The purpose of this week is to bring together librarians, publishers, booksellers, authors, teachers, journalists, and readers to support the freedom of seeking and expressing ideas no matter how unpopular those ideas may be. The books that have been banned are books that have been asked to…

MY FIRST WILD ACTIVITY BOOK By: Isabel Otter – Barry Ross Illustrated by: Maxime Lebrun Published: January 2, 2018 Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books Nonfiction   This is exactly the kind of book I loved as a kid and the kind of book I purchased when our kids were younger. This is the kind of activity book…

ERASER By: Anna Kang Illustrated by: Christopher Weyant Published: August 1, 2018 Publisher: Two Lions Fiction   Eraser is tired of being the clean-up crew at school. Pencil is so sharp. Cobalt is cool. Everyone loves Tape and Glue because they can make anything stick. Then Marker tells Eraser she can’t come to the science…

I’m trying to read more books that I choose for my own reading enjoyment. Not for review, but because I’ve been wanting to read them or they caught my attention. Most of them have been talked about ad nauseam or have been on my to-read list for a long time so they don’t really need…

GOOD APPLES: Behind Every Bite By: Susan Futrell Published: September 1, 2017 Publisher: University of Iowa Press Non-Fiction Do you have a favorite apple? Have you ever thought of the work and care that goes into the planting, harvesting, and selling of the apples? Susan Futrell’s book takes readers through the history of the very…

EPPIE THE ELEPHANT (Who Was Allergic to Peanuts) By: Livingstone Crouse Illustrated by: Steve Brown Published: August 7, 2018 Publisher: Silver Dolphin Fiction   Food allergies are becoming more and more common and schools are making accommodations to make sure children with allergies are safe. Some schools are going completely “nut free” like our school or…

This is my monthly roundup of books that arrived on my shelves in August. I also share a bit of what’s been going on in our family’s lives as well. We have officially had two weeks of school. Patrick is all settled in at college and the homework has begun. We are already in the…

BIRDS AND THEIR FEATHERS By: Britta Teckentrup Published: June 5, 2018 Publisher: Prestel Junior Non-Fiction   When I was a child, I remember the delight in finding a feather on our farm. They were usually nothing too exciting, but they were always soft. I would brush my fingers across the feather and carry it around.…

Well, per the usual, every time I participate in Bout of Books, my week doesn’t go as planned.  I ended up having the chance to go to my friend’s lake house for a girls’ weekend and I couldn’t pass up that chance. So I left Friday and never touched a book all weekend. All reading…