Wolf-Children, Wreckage, & Wonderful Writing Prompts

For the Littles:
Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel
I love all of Arnold Lobel’s books, but this collection of connected stories (told by a papa mouse to his 7 sons) is one of my children’s favorites. It is great for an emerging reader but also pleasant to read aloud; and since it is a collection of short stories, it can give a young reader a good stopping point with a sense of accomplishment. I also recommend checking out Uncle Elephant by Lobel.

Family Readaloud:
Glitch by Laura Martin
We got a copy of this book free from the library reading challenge, and it sat on our bookshelf for a solid year and a half before we picked it up to read it (I chalk it up to unappealing cover art? Bad title? My kids had NO interest!). But once we started, we couldn’t put it down! This is a middle-grade time travel book, set in a time-traveling academy, switching between two narrators who are arch-rivals. My one warning with this book is that the main characters are very mean to each other at the beginning, and call each other names (like “stupid” or “idiot”). However, this is clearly depicted as being a BAD thing, and resolves later on in the novel.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
My 2nd daughter’s review: “The first chapter was boring and slow. This book is about children raised by wolves.”
Did I mention we are on summer break from school?
So, she said that but then proceeded to devour the rest of the book (like a wolf-child) in two days, and then her older sister started reading it too, and they are zipping through the series. I started reading it myself—it has the dry, witty style of Lemony Snicket’s unfortunate events with LESS unfortunate events (it is much less dark). Sometimes I’m annoyed when an author rips off another author’s writing style SO MUCH — but I happen to love the deadpan witty style, and the plot / characters are all very much Wood’s own, so I forgive it. And I’m on book two now.

For Myself:
Every Wreckage by Ian C. Williams
I loved the vulnerability and sensitivity in these poems. I feel that many male poets lean into a bravado in their poems (I’m looking at you, Robert Lowell…), I felt like Williams’ poems were the poetry of a person who feels things deeply. In his poem, “The Bread. The Knife.” he asks, “isn’t this what it means / to be human? To hold on / to a wound as if that will fix it?”. This collection does examine wounds—from childhood (“Self-Portrait as the Second Son” was a particular favorite there) and into adulthood (“Young Fathers”). I felt like this was the kind of book my husband would write if he was a poet—unashamed to deal with the domestic, the everyday, and to own the fears, pain, and desires that are plainly human, not just relegated to the feminine sphere. I’m looking forward to reading more work by this poet! (And would you look at this gorgeous cover?)

The Strategic Poet: Honing the Craft by Diane Lockward
Poets: buy this book. I love this book for many reasons: 1) Each exercise starts with an example poem, explains your prompt, then gives several more example poems inspired by the prompt. 2) The prompts are divided up by goals, such as imagery, sound, etc. 3) The guest essays on craft littered between prompts. This is one I plan to add to my home library.

For fiction, I’m reading Anna Karenina, as I continue obsessing over Tolstoy! Nothing like a little light beach reading.