Stolen Moons, Stolen Buttons, Stolen Hearts
For the Littles:
Mr. Squirrel and the Moon by Sebastian Meschenmoser
The squirrel thinks the stolen moon (a renegade wheel of cheese) has ended up in his tree…so he has to get rid of it before anyone finds out and puts him in jail! This book made me laugh out loud. There’s a good picture/word ratio so it is a quick read, and I love the frantic/sketchy energy of the drawing style.
James Herriot’s Cat Stories by James Herriot
Stories from the gentle vet’s country practice, focusing on his cat patients. My kids love cats so they loved this book, but I must warn you, not every story ends completely happily, and there may be more vet details than you want at the kitchen table.
Dog Says, Cat Says by Marilyn Singer
I was reading this one aloud to my two youngest children, but when it got to the part where the cat says “I would never wag my tail like that—unless I planned to eat you”—the big girls were all peeking over my shoulder so they could read along too. I recently reviewed her book of “reverso” (palindrome) children’s poems, and I find that her children’s books consistently have good rhythm and rhyme, making them a pleasure to read aloud.
For Readaloud:
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
We did this book for our summer girl’s book club. The classic tale is about a mouse-sized Borrower family—Homily, Pod, and their daughter Arrietty—who live under the floorboards of the kitchen of an old house—but, when Arrietty meets a boy who is living in the home as a visitor, their life is thrown into turmoil.
This is the first book of the series, and it plays up the “is it true or isn’t it” aspect of the story right up to the end; my children demanded that I immediately start the next book because of that. We have read the entire series before, and I like the second book better than the first—it captures the imagination to think of being Thumbelina-sized and inspires a lot of imaginative play in my kids. The last book of the series does get a little strange—for some reason, Norton feels compelled to add ghosts to the series—but overall, I recommend this for the whole family (and I recommend the Studio Ghibli movie The Secret Life of Arrietty).
For Myself:
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
This is my current favorite book. I know you see how long it is and think, “no thanks,” BUT think of it this way instead—you’ve just discovered a great show that is already completed but has 12 seasons! Isn’t it more exciting when you think of it that way? You get to live with Tolstoy’s characters for a long time.
Karenina is a double love story— Kitty & Levin, Anna & Vronsky—but also much more than a love story. Tolstoy is best at giving realistic portraits of his characters—their faults, strengths, and inner demons. It is a story of a specific time period when divorce is not so flippant and easy, and women have a different role in society (which Anna chafes against). I was moved to tears toward the end of the book, reading Tolstoy’s character work through the beginnings of his faith in God. Unlike War & Peace, which takes in national and worldwide political concerns, this book is more concerned about individuals and how they relate to each other, Society, and God. The writing is masterful—I can not get over the final chapter with Anna. If you are a local friend, you can borrow my copy!
Newly Not Eternal by George David Clark
This book of poems, largely formal, has at the center of the collection poems about the loss of his stillborn son, a twin to a son who survived. The poem that touched me the most was “Ultrasound: Your Urn,” where the poet compares the misbehavior of the living twin, Peter—who is “teething / on your mom’s Bluetooth” and “found the scissors / to derange his hair,” to “the tame and quiet twin / the easy one” “who never cries, or fights,/ or takes a breath.”
As a mother of an infant that died, I know precisely how your parenting is changed in that way. When our youngest was born, I couldn’t help but look at his wild shrieking and think that I wish Kit had had the lung power to blow all our eardrums like that. How I wish she could bite her sister or pull my hair.
If you are a reader of formal poetry interested in modern formal poetry, I recommend picking this book up. The sound and style of this collection is reminiscent of our formal great poets, so it would be a nice homey jumping-off place before entering the wilds of today’s modern free verse.
Update on the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood
I finished this series pretty quickly. The first book was by far my favorite, and I enjoyed the Lemony-Snicket tone throughout, BUT there were two books that felt weaker to me in their pacing and plot—book 3 and book 6. The last book felt especially rushed, which was a disappointment given that so much had built up to that book (there are fun mysteries throughout the series).
Writing Updates:
”Left in the Rain” was published on Story Warren’s poetry for children