May Bell's Daughter

This is the last book my dearly departed Sunday School teacher, mentor and friend, JoAnne, loaned me.  She gave it to me right after her son died a horribly painful death from cancer.  She knew the value in a lesson learned instead of a lesson taught.  She knew that at some point, I'd find the answers to all those questions I asked her every Sunday.  :)  By loaning me this book, she knew I'd find the answer to why people suffer.  

May Bell's Daughter, which is Eva Whittington Self's life story, 
is written by Lisa Harper.  Through it, Eva describes her childhood growing up in North Carolina.  Her parents, her siblings, her teenage years.  Her tragic automobile accident which left her paralyzed.  And her question to God...why?  But most importantly, how she lived after the accident.  How she turned a crisis into a blessing.

I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages.  It's a quick, insightful read that will make you think.  It will make you question what you truly believe about the tragic events that have happened in not only your life, but the lives of others.  

Apparently, Eva visited a local church some years back and gave her testimony.  I wish I could have heard that.  Perhaps that's where JoAnne picked up her autographed copy.  I'll be returning this book to her family soon.  My hope is that they continue to loan it out to others...that's what their librarian mother/mother-in-law/grandmother would have done.  

According to the author info, Eva lives in Hopkinsville.  Maybe one day I'll get to meet her. And I'll tell her how JoAnne shared her story with me. 
 
Happy Reading!
RC

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Modern Christian fiction at it's best!  Loved reading Mindy Starns Clark's book 1 of her Million Dollar Mysteries series.  On loan to me by my cousin, I carefully picked off the $3 bargain price sticker from The Dollar Store and dug in.  My cousin hadn't disappointed me with The Cross Gardener, and so I dove in expectantly and wasn't surprised that it was a quick, thoughtful read.  Who doesn't love a "whodunit"?  In this series of mysteries, an attorney/private investigator, Callie, investigates nonprofit organizations for her boss, Tom, whom she's never met.  He's a mysterious philanthropist who grants money to deserving charities. 

In this first installment, Callie is sent to Philadelphia to grant Tom's friend a quick $250,000.  Not only is this unusual, because Callie always investigates the companies first...this turns into a mystery that she's asked to solve.  

Short, quick read.  Love that Callie is a born again Christian who takes opportunities to witness to others.  Love that sometimes she's met with opposition, as we all are.  Love that she gets the chance to win someone to Christ.  And, I love that she's a "real" woman.  She's made mistakes, has issues, and she's willing to deal with them in her own time.  That's a character I can identify with.  

Not going to pursue the rest of the books in the series right now, due to the overwhelming stack of summer reads, but I will definitely look into the second book, Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels, in the future.

Highly recommended for any age group, although this is published for adults.

Happy Reading!
RC

Dust Lands Trilogy book 3...a lesson learned

Had the toughest time reading Raging Star, book 3 in the Dust Lands Trilogy by Moira Young.  Not because it's a difficult read, but because I could not remember one single plot sequence from the first two books and nothing my book friends said brought anything rushing back to memory.  I even succumbed to a Google search for books 1-2 summaries...nope.  Nothing.  I could remember the main character, Saba...that she had a twin.  That she'd cut her hair off.  That she'd at one time been a cage fighter.  That she had a little sister.  That she was the typical Dystopian heroine.  But other than that?  No.

Now, this has nothing to do with the quality of the book.  Young knows how to write a dystopian novel.  Her plots are unpredictable, yet scattered with just enough clues to keep even the most avid mystery reader intrigued.  It's my fault.  I read too fast.  I absorb a book and blog a little about it, and then I move on.  I read the books as they were released.  Lots of time in between.  I remember enjoying them, I just couldn't remember them and I still can't.  I should have reread them.  But when I looked at my huge stack of summer reading material, I just couldn't force myself.  So, I trudged on and plowed through.  

I like Raging Star.  It's very well-written.  I can't give you any details because it's the final installment, but I can advise you to read them straight through.  You'll probably enjoy them so much more.  

I'm ashamed to say that by page 299, I still felt lost.  Still felt like I was missing something.  Felt very much like I'm sure some of my students who say they "hate" reading, feel when they try to read a book I've promised them is a winner!  

 You'd think I'd learned my lesson by now...I did the same thing with Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series.  But no.  The sheer volume of my summer reading stack pressured me to get this trilogy over with.  I'd like to say I'll try to reread it in the future.  But I won't.  Not unless I have to lead a discussion group over it.  Wow.  What a depressing experience I gave myself.  

For those of you reading this, I strongly encourage you to pick up book 1 if you haven't.  It's a wonderful trilogy.  I liked it better than The Hunger Games.  I bet you will too.  And yes, Ridley Scott has picked it up and it's in pre-production.  Can't wait for the movie!

Note:  This is a young adult trilogy that I would recommend for mature readers.  I keep it in the restricted collection of our school library due to the language and author's craft to not use any quotation marks.  (That can be very confusing to an emerging reader.)

Happy Reading!
RC

Doll Bones

I'm a big fan of Holly Black anyway, so I knew going in that I would enjoy Doll Bones, the 2014 Newbery Honor Book.  It had already received raves from some of my 7th graders and so I jumped into the fantasy world with Poppy, Alice and Zach right away.   This somewhat spooky story is made scarier if you are already afraid of creepy dolls.  And I am.  No creepy dolls or clowns for me please.  Never wanted them staring at me while I slept.  As a child I even kept my Barbies and their world closed inside my closet at night.  So when Poppy claims the doll they've been "playing" with might be made of crushed dead little girl bones, I was like "Yep, aren't they all?!"  LOL  

Seriously, this story speaks to those adults who fondly reminisce those long ago days of play.  Make believe.  Imagination.  Something terrible does happen to us as we grow up...we forget how to play.  We forget how much fun it is to escape.  And we have lots to escape don't we?  Stress?  Bills?  Work?  Health issues?  We should play more.  Forever.  That's Poppy's main argument throughout.  Let's not grow all the way up!

Zach, Alice and Poppy are in middle school and have been playing together for years.  They meet and play with their action figures and create a fantastical world of pirates, mermaids, Lady Jayes and Queens who all meet their match with William.  They create this story together and keep it going with questions even while in school.  It's their way to escape their realities.  Poppy has absentee parents, Alice is being raised by a very strict grandmother, and Zach's father is back after stepping out on the family for about three years.  No wonder they create a world that's fun and exciting for themselves.  Poppy begins to have dreams about a doll locked in her mother's china cabinet and that's where the quest begins.  

I enjoyed every moment of the story.  It's a fast read.  My students will love it.  Especially fans of Dan Poblacki, Mary Downing Hahn and Lois Duncan.  It will be an easy one to "sell" this fall.  

I love a story that takes me back to my childhood. 

Happy Reading! 
RC

Paperboy

You don't want to miss reading Paperboy by Vince Vawter.  I'm 
happy to have it on the KBA list for next year and excited to hear my students' thoughts.  Although I had not read this piece of historical fiction, I trusted a panel member who was passionate about it...when I see that passion, I understand.  This Kentucky lms was excited to share her experience reading it!  She reminded me of several reading teachers here who "own" the stories once they're read them and want to share them with as many people as soon as possible.  It's a natural response to an amazing book.  To me, it felt like she was sharing news about one of her children or grandchildren.  So, naturally I listened intently and voted for it based mostly on her booktalk and then once I learned this book was a 2014 Newbery Honor, I realized we had made a good choice.  I was also passionate about several of the books on the KBA list, but more on that later....

Here's the blurb as it appears on the Newbery Medal web page through ALA... 

"Little Man, a sensitive and resilient 11-year-old boy who stutters, ventures beyond the familiar and finds his voice while taking over his best friend’s paper route. Set in the summer heat of 1959 Memphis, “Paperboy” is a moving coming-of-age novel."

I love the setting.  I love the character's struggle.  I love the author's craft.  I love how it takes me back to the summer I read The Help.  My favorite passage so far is on page 154.  "Mrs. Worthington and her red hair.  That was the dessert of my thinking."   Love it!  I'm gonna use that one in casual conversation!  And of course, you have to read the book to know who Mrs. Worthington is and why her red hair is so enjoyable for Little Man to think about.  And yes, that's his nickname.  I'm still anxiously awaiting his real name.  I'm going to predict that it is either the author's name or something similar.  I haven't peeked, but I am picking up the context clues as the author drops them and I know the name is impossible for him to say without stuttering horribly.  I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that I'm guessing this story is somewhat autobiographical.  Which is nice.  Nothing like reading a story from the point of view from someone who lived it.  

This book has been the "dessert of my thinking" all day.  Gotta get back to it!

Happy Reading!
RC 

Summer is here...

It's the first day of summer break for our county kiddos and the first day of summer hours for me!  I can get so much accomplished when the school is empty.  I have always needed complete silence to study, work, etc... and it's nice to be able to sit and think about the past year and the upcoming year.  

Many people are surprised when they learn that I must work 20 days in the summer.  "What in the world is there to do?!" is a familiar question.  There's no way to go into all of it, but basically I wrap up one year in June and start another in July.  June days consist of inventory and creating an order for next year.  We lose about 8% of our collection each year to damaged and lost books.  Many books lost this year to house fires.  I spend some time creating fines for those outgoing 8th graders and blocking the 6th and 7th graders accounts who neglected to take care of their library responsibilities as well.  Things happen.  Books get lost.  But in order to hold students accountable, I have to create options for them to show their responsible for the books besides paying for them.  The reality is that some families just don't have the money for lost books.  So I analyze each student's case carefully and create a way for them to work off their fee.  Usually, it's reshelving books before school in the mornings.  Or, staying in from intramurals until their hours match the amount.  $5 = 5 intramurals.  I have to be prepared for them as they return to school because if I simply ignored their irresponsibility, they'd never be motivated to keep up with books.  I haven't ran my final report because inventory of nonfiction isn't complete, but I'm terrified at the amount of books I know are missing.  We had a super long winter and missed 20+ snow days.  Many books were forgotten on those days.  Also, I take the time to evaluate last year's lessons and reflect.  Sometimes lessons are much more powerful on paper.  I plan my lessons, book frenzies, book breakfasts and contests/promotions for the library.  I also take time to research new releases.  Sometimes it's more effective to plan a lesson around an upcoming movie release or book release.  Middle school kids respond well to pop culture.  And finally, I print out all the wonderful pictures taken at our Rewards Day Cafe.  I have done this since 2008 and have collected and displayed the pictures ever since.  It's become a favorite display during the month of May.  And, although it's messy and a lot of hard work, I'm always happy that LT and I have done it again.  And then I have a few moments where I wanna drop it...but that usually passes.  It's worth it to see these shining faces excited to be in the library talking about books and enjoying a cappuccino and fresh donut.  

So now you know what I'm doing here...in June at least.  More about July later!  
Happy Reading!
RC

Pursued

My son didn't want a 16th birthday party.  He didn't want a lot of fuss or attention thrown his way.  He's very much like his momma and for that, I'm proud.  The spotlight isn't the greatest or most comfortable place to live and he's already figured that out.  So instead, I rented a van and took him and two of his friends to a local theme park.  They had a great day and the weather cooperated.  Since all teenagers really like to be taken care of and mothered without acknowledging any such love or attention, I stationed myself in one location so they could check in to home base periodically.  They checked in more than I expected.  I loved it.  Although I really wanted to start another novel, I decided to take with me Pursued by Jud Wilhite.  It's nonfiction and easy to pick up and put down.  Good to read when you could be distracted all day.  Which I was.  In addition to my little crew that kept flying back to the nest all day, I was entertained by the sweet faces and sounds of many children.  I sat by the baby pool and watched as children with Downs splashed and giggled and smiled.  There was a get-together of families with Down Syndrome kiddos and a "Buddy Walk".  They were gathered together at Holiday World and I'm thankful to have been there with them on that day.  I  thoroughly enjoyed watching as their parents relaxed just a little bit and appeared to glow with pure joy as their babies had the times of their lives.  And so every now and then, I'd look up from my book, ponder the passage I'd just read about God's love for me and see a prime example of His love for others as well.

From this book, so far I've been reminded that God has been pursuing mankind since the Garden.  He went looking for Adam and Eve, he pursued them.  He wanted to spend time with them.  He needed them to listen.  I have learned so much from the case studies provided in the book...women who have burnt out on church activities...men who've been hurt by church gossip...families who have been neglected because of a man or woman's desire to serve.  God doesn't ask us to constantly search him.  He asks us to be still.  To listen.  To stop.  So we can hear Him.

I've been in church all my life.  Have served faithfully.  But now I am tired.  I've served and taught.  I realize I've needed to balance that serving and teaching with being served and learning because that's why we go to church in the first place...to worship, to serve, to learn, to grow.  This book has helped show me so far that I can stop and "let God catch up with me", in so many words.  My quiet time with God is something I cherish.  I love to just sit out on my patio or in my sunroom to be still.  I've learned to protect that time with Him fiercely.  Guard against anything and anyone who might try to interrupt my time with God.

I could have read this book in one day.  It's an enjoyable read.  The author and I connected immediately and I think his words would speak to many of my Christian friends today...and some friends who have been hurt by the church and refuse to return.  Here's what Jud Wilhite has to say about his book.  This is copied from his website, www.judwilhite.com

 "Christian faith isn’t blind obedience to a set of rules and regulations; it is entering into a relationship with a God who pursues us-not to punish, but to love. As the leader of Central Christian Church in the self-proclaimed “Sin City, U.S.A.,” Jud Wilhite has seen it all, and he knows that no matter how far someone has strayed from God, God always remains in passionate pursuit. Using the biblical prophet Hosea’s marriage, commanded by God, to an unfaithful prostitute as a metaphor for God’s unwavering love, PURSUED compellingly illustrates God’s plan for every person-to be freed to become his or her own unique self through intimate togetherness with the living, loving God."

Tell me honestly that you or someone you know couldn't use this book.  
Thankful to my bff LT for recommending that I not only read this book, but to purchase it to keep forever.  Now I understand why.  

Happy Reading!
RC