Ely Plot by Joan Lennon

by Carol6 Comments
Ely Plot by Joan Lennon (Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6) Amber (10) and I read this aloud together, and I have to say it's one of my favorite middle school books I've read recently. It's a great mix of historical fiction and fantasy, but what sets it apart is the medieval background. Pip is a boy, an orphan, who lives with a group of monks in the monastery at Wickit. Life is pretty boring until he meets a small stone dragon Perfect, a living gargoyle. Now you see why Amber loves the series; she dreams of having a pet dragon. Pip along with his companion and two of the monks travel to the Cathedral at Ely during Holy Week. While there, Perfect and Pip discover a plot against the teenage king, who is also at the Cathedral. The two are determined to help save the King, leading to a daring rescue and dangerous chase through the fens of eastern England. Honestly, I don't remember reading...
Read More

Waiting for Her

by Carol5 Comments
And it was hard to say later how any moment this ghastly could possibly become a routine, but he knew no on else in the city, and she knew where Lilia was. He waited for her every night after that in the all-night coffee house on the corner of St.-Laurent and Prince Arthur Boulevards, drinking coffee by the window and watching for her shape, for the platform boot emerging from the cab or the narrow figure walking slowly up the hill. She came in exhausted but strangely bright, sometimes feverish, glassy-eyed. (pg. 149, Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel) I'll be starting this one later today, so this is truly a random excerpt. I don't even know who "she" is, but I love the detail in the writing. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your ...
Read More

“Mary Belle and the Mermaid”

by Carol9 Comments
"Mary Belle and the Mermaid" I read the saddest, saddest fairy tale today. It's a cante fable from South Carolina dating back to the early 1900s, although it may have a Portugese connection. A cante fable, I just learned today, is narrative interspersed with short songs conveying crucial information, in this case magical spells. The important difference is that while a lot of folktales contain verses, a cante fable storyteller actually sings the passages. In this story, a sweet young girl's mother dies and her father remarries. Sound familiar? Mary Belle gains two step-sisters, who, along with their mother are mean to her and she spends hours crying by the banks of the river. One day a mermaid rises to the top of the river, sympathizes with booy Mary Bele and brings her down, deep in the water. The mermaid gives the child something to drink and a delicious meal before sending her back home. The next day, Mary belle returns to the...
Read More

Winner!

by Carol2 Comments
Congratulations to the winner of a signed copy of Write the Right Words by Sandra E. Lamb. Kim V at Metroreader I hope you find it as helpful as I do. I'll be sending you an e-mail later today. That just seems wrong somehow given that the book is all about actually writing physical notes, but I need your address to pass on to the publicist. Thanks!...
Read More

Mommy Grace by Dr. Shelia Schuller Coleman

by Carol1 Comment
Mommy Grace by Dr. Shelia Schuller Coleman The book is based on the premise that all mom's tend to feel mommy guilt over not being the perfect mother. Sometimes we yell, sometimes we stop for fast food because there's absolutely nothing in the cupboards at home, sometimes we make hollow threats, and sometimes we even want a break. To be honest, I don't feel guilty about any of those things and never have. I'm not big on guilt. You do the best you can in life, apologizing and making corrections along the way when you need to. So, why was I reading this book? I love the cover, those two open hands layered with paint captured me, reminded me of my own daughter. I do feel I got something out of Coleman's honest and occasionally touching accounts of her own and others' experiences, screw-ups and all. I found instances I could relate to as I'm sure every mother will. Each of the chapters...
Read More