Leonard Rose by Steven Honigberg

by Carol1 Comment
Leonard Rose: America's Golden Age and Its First Cellist by Steven Honigberg I have an admission to make. I haven't quite finished this book yet. Leonard Rose is a fascinating man, devoted to the cello, dedicated, a perfectionist and the book is well-researched, detailed and truly interesting, I'm just finding it slow reading. It's tough to keep straight all the other musicians, composers and conductors Rose comes in contact with. I have some small bits of knowledge about classical music, but I feel like I would connect with this book so much more if I just knew more. I am thankful for the CD that was tucked into the cover. Actually hearing Rose play adds a whole new dimension to the book. One of the few cellists I have actually heard of, perhaps the only one is Yo-Yo Ma, who was actually one of Rose's students once upon a time. "If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing...
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Johnny Appleseed by Jane Yolen

by Carol6 Comments
Johnny Appleseed by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Jim Burke (Suggested reading level: Grades 2-4) Today is usually Fairy Tale Friday, but Tif is taking the day off for the holiday with the discussion of Rainbow-Walker postponed until next week. Rainbow-Walker is the story of Johnny Appleseed, and I happened to run across this book at the library, so I thought I'd go ahead and talk about the real Johnny Appleseed today, saving the legend for next week. Yolen does a wonderful job of telling the true story of Johnny Appleseed, or John Chapman, who was born in Massachusetts in September of 1774.  I knew the story of Johnny Appleseed, that he was an actual man who did plant apple trees across the US, but that's really not the whole story. Johnny learned to read and write before, at age 14, he went to work for a local farmer, working in the fields and orchards. He takes off west in his early twenties. I...
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Proust’s Overcoat by Lorenza Foschini

by Carol4 Comments
Proust's Overcoat: The True Story of One Man's Passion for All Things Proust by Lorenza Foschini, translated by Eric Karpeles I have to admit that I knew nothing about Proust before reading this short quirky book, but that in no way affected my enjoyment of the story. It might have actually enhances, since every bit of information was new to me. Jacques Guérin was at the head of a successful perfume company, but his true passion was collecting: books, art, photographs, letters, and other sundries. Among all of the artists and authors he collected, he identified most deeply with Marcel Proust. Guérin cultivated relationships with Proust's family and acquaintances, collecting all of Proust's manuscripts, furniture and personal items that he could, a collection crowned by Proust's overcoat, which Proust had worn every day and used as a blanket while writing in bed at night. Through Foschini's telling of Guérin's story, we also learn a lot about Proust, about his personal life, his...
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Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson

by Carol4 Comments
Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Matt Faulkner (Suggested reading level: Ages 4-8) I hate to admit that I had no idea Sarah Hale was before reading this. She was a writer, a teacher, a publisher. She argued against slavery and fought for schools for girls. She was a "superhero," which is what Thanksgiving needed. People were forgetting about the holiday, but Sarah Hale believed that the whole country should celebrate it, together, and made it happen. Never underestimate dainty little ladies. This book, for me, celebrates the power of a woman and the power of writing. Sarah Hale wrote letter after letter, article after article and never gave up. Finally, in 1863, President Lincoln delared Thanksgiving a national holiday. I love reading books with Amber (9) that talk about real women who changed the world, in small and big ways. This story was a little young for her, but sometimes it's nice to just sit down and read a couple of...
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