Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Penguin, 2014 352 pages I don’t read a lot of poetry, and I’m not entirely sure why. When my poetry-loving friends put up Facebook posts sharing a favorite line or two from what they’re currently reading, I always think, “How beautiful. I really should read more poetry.” Maybe verse is not … Continue reading Brown Girl Dreaming
Inside Out and Back Again
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai HarperCollins, 2011 272 pages The Vietnam War is kind of a nebulous area in my historical understanding. I know something about it--but only from an American perspective (how and why the U.S. got involved, our casualties, protests on the homefront). I know virtually nothing about the war … Continue reading Inside Out and Back Again
Out of the Dust
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse Scholastic, 1997 227 pages I first read Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust several years ago (maybe around 2005?) and remembered it as an inspiring book, good fodder for Read Like a Girl. What I didn't remember is that it's also one of the rawest, heaviest books I've … Continue reading Out of the Dust
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni; ill. by Larry Johnson Scholastic, 1994 38 pages Just a few weeks ago, I watched Thomas Balmes's documentary Babies with my husband and daughter. The film follows four babies “from first breath to first steps,” offering a mostly unadorned view into their daily lives. The babies are from very different … Continue reading Knoxville, Tennessee
Child of Faerie, Child of Earth
Child of Faerie, Child of Earth by Jane Yolen; ill. by Jane Dyer Little, Brown & Company, 1997 32 pages For my generation of women, "balance" is a buzzword concept. In fact, I would go so far as to say it's an industry. It would take me days to list all the books, blogs, articles, … Continue reading Child of Faerie, Child of Earth
Courage: It’s not just for boys anymore
The Adventures of Isabel by Ogden Nash, ill. by Bridget Starr Taylor Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2008 32 pages Some of the best, most enduring stories in kid lit started out as improv. The Hobbit, for instance, started out as a bedtime story for J. R. R. Tolkien's children. Peter Rabbit first appeared in a letter Beatrix … Continue reading Courage: It’s not just for boys anymore
Inspiration, Victorian Style
We just returned from a family vacation to the Florida panhandle, where we spent more than a week hanging out with my lovely--and lively--in-laws. Thirteen people (9 adults, 1 teenager, and 3 kids under age 8) in two small beach condos. It was glorious chaos. But one morning, looking to start my day with a … Continue reading Inspiration, Victorian Style
