Curled Up With a Good Book and a Cup of Tea

Who Should Read It: Everyone. Raised in both South Carolina and New York, Jacqueline Woodson grew up feeling like each place was both home and not quite home at the same time.  Living in both the South and the North in the 1960’s and 1970’s Civil Rights era, it seemed as though she lived two different lives.  In Brown Girl Dreaming , the National Book Award winner shares the moving story of her childhood, what life was like for an African American girl growing up in the Civil Rights movement in both two very different places.   But this book is much more than your standard memoir.  Woodson writes in a beautiful and touching manner, sharing her childhood through incredible free verse.  The book originally is aimed at a middle grade audience but it will move and touch readers of every age.   Jacqueline was born in Ohio but at a young age moved with her siblings to live in her mother’s hometown in South Carolina.  As a young teenager sh...

In 1985, Salva is a young boy growing up in Sudan, helping his family at home and attending school.  But one day his village is attacked while he is at school and he escapes into the forest with a bunch of strangers.  His country is in the midst of a civil war and he is about to become one of the famous "lost boys," young men who walked across countries to find safety. In 2008, Nya is a young girl growing up in Sudan who spends her days getting water from a pond that is over two hours from her home.  She does this twice a day to help provide for her family.  Education is just a dream for Nya, there are more pressing needs at home. Their lives collide in present day Sudan, when Salva's survival story provides him with an opportunity to make a better way for his country and Nya's life changes forever because of it. A Long Walk to Water is a novel by Newberry Medal winner Linda Sue Park that documents that real life story of Salva, a young man forced to...

Little Readers is where I share the books that my kids have been reading over the past week.  These are their favourites, or ones that I really enjoy for learning points. Fifteen Animals  by Sandra Boynton This is one that my son read at his speech therapy.  The farmer has fifteen animals and they all seem to be named Bob!  Bob is great for the articulation my son has been working on, but all kids are going to find this book cute and funny. Le club des verts  by Annette Aubrey ( The Rainbow Club in English) Kids at school start a club where it's members wear green but other kids begin to feel left out.  A great book for talking to your children about bullying and the feelings that go with it. J'ai perdu mon chat  by Philippe Beha ( I've Lost My Cat  in English) A little boy has lost his cat and his friends try to find him.  But they end up bringing home animals that don't quite match the entire description!  A huge s...

It's time to check in with what my kids are reading this week! My daughter loves ballet.  She is very excited that next month she'll be old enough to take the proper ballet lessons in our neighbourhood.  This week she picked up Bea at Ballet  by Rachel Isadora and Dogs Don't Do Ballet  by Anna Kemp at the library.   Bea at Ballet  is a fantastic book for any young girl or boy who is taking ballet. This week my daughter's Scholastic order arrived and thus our favourite French book this week is Fraisinette: Ma première soirée pyjama by Presses aventures.  It's a cute little book about Strawberry Shortcake and her friends having a sleepover, with one of the girls being nervous because she has never been to one before. Where is Boots? A Lift the Flap Story  by Kiki Thorpe and Troubles with Bubbles by Frank B. Edwards are the two books my son has been reading this week for his speech therapy.  They are repetitive books that work...

In Little Readers, I like to share the books that my kids enjoyed reading over the past week.   The Great Tulip Trade by Beth Wagner Brust My daughter picked this one up from the school library because it takes place in the Netherlands, which is where my family is from.  It takes place in the 1600's during the Tulip Mania and is about a young girl who trades her birthday bouquet of tulips for things for her family.   A Crowded Ride in the Countryside and New at the Zoo  by Frank B. Edwards and John Bianchi These are books that are being used in my son's speech therapy.  They're cute, they rhyme and are great for working on repetition of words.  And they're Canadian! Imagine un arbre  by Barbara Reid This book pictures trees in every season, all kinds of weather and from the beginning to end.  The illustrations are done in Reid's signature Plasticine style and are beautiful.  It is available in English as Picture a Tree...

What My Child is Reading is a weekly meme hosted by  Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns  where we share what our children are reading (hence the title!)  I don't review children's books but I think it's a great way for me to share which ones are being read in my house. Both of my kids signed up for the summer reading program at our library and are eager to get a start on earning their stickers.  Here are some of the books we read this week: Big Pig and Little Pig  by David McPhail - this one my daughter is reading to me.  It's easy and repetitive, perfect for beginner readers. Llama Llama Mad At Mama  by Anna Dewdney - this one is too cute!  The little llama is mad he has to go shopping with mom.  It rhymes so it's fun for the little ones and great about teaching little kids about tantrums.   Goal!  by Mina Javaherbin - a group of boys in South Africa get a brand new soccer ball to play with.  Both of my kids are...

The year is 1968 and eleven-year-old Delphine and her two young sisters are leaving behind their home in Brooklyn and heading out to Oakland for the summer. Their father has decided that the girls need to spend some time with the mother they never really knew. But when they arrive in Oakland, they find that their mother isn't exactly glad to see them. Wanting her home to herself, their mother Cecile sends the girls to the People's Center where each day they attend a Black Panther day camp. But the girls, especially Delphine, had high hopes of getting to know their mother. Slowly, over the course of the summer, they begin to learn not only about Black History but the true nature of their mother and why she left them. And in the end, they form a bond that no one expected. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is the 2011 winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, which is awarded for books about the African-American experience and written for a youth audience. This book is...

We have all seen the stories and pictures on the news, of the suffering and needs that exist in the world. In just the last few weeks we have seen floods and earthquakes tear apart people's worlds. And close to home we see poverty, hunger, and prejudice making life difficult for so many people. What if we had an opportunity to change that? What if we had an opportunity to make a difference in the life of one person or the lives of many? In Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference Max Lucado shows you how you can do that. Armed with stories of Biblical and contemporary greatness, Lucado introduces you to the many people who have outlived their lives and left a legacy in this world. In each chapter, Lucado will help you overcome the obstacles in your life and give you inspiration to go out into the world and do so. This book will definitely challenge you and inspire you to look for ways you can make a difference in your neighbourhood and the world at large. E...