Book Review: Unspoken

August 28, 2006

Hmmm. I'm not sure how to review this particular book by Angela Hunt. The story reminds me vaguely of Peretti's Monster, although Hunt is a better storyteller and a more believable writer. The story is interesting: a gorilla expert has raised a gorilla from babyhood, teaching her to be fluent in sign language. The gorilla must eventually be returned to the zoo. Ultimately, the gorilla teaches her owner about God. Sounds weird, I know, but it was rather intriguing. Anyway, this is a fast, light read, good for filler between more substantial books.

Book Review: Fall on Your Knees

August 22, 2006

An amazon.com reviewer likened this book by Ann-Marie MacDonald to a car accident, in which you know you shouldn't gawk but just can't help yourself. I should have stopped gawking a week ago. This was a painful epic about a completely dysfunctional Nova Scotian family in the early 1900s. The writing in itself was excellent and the characters compelling in a train-wreck sort of way, but I closed the book last night wondering what possessed me to wast a week's worth of reading on these horribly depressing lives. Double thumbs down.

Book Review: Ghost Riders

August 7, 2006

Ghost Riders is yet another Sharyn McCrumb novel that weaves a historical account of Appalachia in with a telling of a current fiction tale. These novels stand on their own, although the same characters appear in most of them. I've been reading McCrumb's novels since She Walks These Hills (which I think is the best) and always enjoy them. (I don't particularly care for her MacPherson detective series, however.)

Book Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

August 5, 2006

This is a wonderful combination of The Velveteen Rabbit and Hitty, Her First Hundred Years. This is the story of a china rabbit, Edward, who goes through a series of trials with various owners as he learns how to love. There is quite a lot of sadness in the book, if you have a sensitive child, and a lot of hard, depression-era reality. Duncan and Laurel were enthralled with the story, and I got all teary-eyed at the end. That's the sign of a great read-aloud for me.

Book Review: Sarah's Quilt

July 31, 2006

This book is a sequel to Nancy Turner's These Is My Words , which I read 4 or 5 years ago. I remember absolutely loving the first book; however, 4 or 5 years is too long in between books, and I couldn't follow the sequel very well. Too many references were made to the prequel, and I didn't start enjoying the book on its own until the last quarter or so. So,my recommendation would be: read These Is My Words right before you read Sarah's Quilt. I don't know why the book has this title, by the way. It makes it sounds like a corny romance novel when it's actually about life in the Arizona territories in the late 1800s.

Book Review: Fairy Tale Feasts

I stumbled on this book at the library last week: Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters. What a fantastic book! The premise is to pair a recipe with a fairy tale or folk story. For example, "The Little Mermaid" is followed by recipes for Seaweed Stuffed Shells and Tomato Sauce; "Hodja Borrows a Pot" is followed by Hodja's Kebabs and Cucumber Yogurt Salad. This week Laurel made--completely by herself!--Runaway Pancakes (to go along with the story by the same title) and fruit salad (to go with "The Fox and the Grapes"). Next on our list are Cinderella's pumpkin tartlets and sweet chocolate mousse from "Seven Hills of Sweet."

I love that nearly every page in this book contains an extensive sidebar giving further information about both the story itself and the foods. In the recipe Perfect Porridge, for example (which follows "The Magic Pot of Porridge"), the sidebar lists such facts as "In the old days, porridge was eaten by a wooden spoon, because..." and "Scottish porridge makers use a 'spurtle...'" etc. etc. Really fun book!

Book Review: Hitty: Her First Hundred Years

July 10, 2006


We're finally done! I've been reading this book by Rachel Field outloud to Laurel for months. I can't even remember when we started; it's been so long! We kept losing it, finding it, reading other books in between....but at long last, we're finished.

Laurel says, "I didn't love this book, but it was really good." Hitty traces the life of a handmade wooden doll through 100 years and a dozen or more owners. She travels from Maine to India back to the U.S. and all sorts of places in between. The book presents, through Hitty's eyes, a unique look at culture through several generations. I think much of it was a little bit above Laurel's head (she's 8). I think the book is better suited for 10-12 year olds. This would be great to incorporate into an American History study, 1800s-1930s.