56. Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

listened on Libby
432pgs.

2018
Adult CRF with a touch of magical realism
Finished 6/18/24
Goodreads rating: 4.19
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary northeastern PA, in the "Endless Woods"

My comments: Beautiful writing, clever story, wonderful characters, and a rich setting in the woods. This is definitely a favorite!

Goodreads synopsis:  The first thing you learn when you climb a tree is to hold on. Now it’s time for Harry to learn to let go…

Thirty-four-year-old Harry Crane, lifelong lover of trees, works as an analyst in a treeless US Forest Service office. When his wife dies in a freak accident, devastated, he makes his way to the remote woods of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, intent on losing himself. But fate intervenes in the form of a fiercely determined young girl named Oriana. She, too, has lost someone—her father. And in the magical, willful world of her reckoning, Oriana believes that Harry is the key to finding her way back to him.

As Harry agrees to help the young girl, the unlikeliest of elements—a tree house, a Wolf, a small-town librarian and a book called The Grum’s Ledger—come together to create the biggest sensation ever to descend upon the Endless Mountains…a golden adventure that will fulfill Oriana’s wildest dreams and open the door to a new life for Harry.

I couldn't remember the title of one of my favorite books and realized I'd probably not entered it onto the blog.  So I queried GEMINI and this is what I got....YAY! It's the right book!

The book you are thinking of is "Harry's Trees" by Jon Cohen, published in 2018.

It fits your description perfectly and is a wonderful "slump-buster" because it blends the grit of a life-changing tragedy with a sense of wonder.

Why this is your book:

• The Lead: Harry Crane is a 34-year-old analyst for the US Forest Service (the "forestry job") who suffers a devastating personal loss.

• The Setting: He flees to the Endless Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania to live in the woods.

• The Treehouse: He ends up living in a luxurious, multi-story treehouse on the property of a woman named Amanda.

• The Daughter & Fairy Tales: Amanda’s young daughter, Oriana, is obsessed with a book of fairy tales called The Grum’s Ledger. She believes Harry is a magical being sent to help them.

• The Money: After receiving a large legal settlement, Harry begins anonymously giving away money to locals in the nearby town who are in need, often in creative or "magical" ways.

---

Why you’ll love it (based on your tastes):

Even though it has a "magical" undertone, it is firmly a contemporary novel with many of the procedural elements you enjoy. It deals with:

• Grit and Redemption: Similar to Robert Dugoni’s emotional depth.

• Small-Town Secrets: It has that "everyone knows your business" Pennsylvania atmosphere.

• The Forest: Much like Paul Doiron’s work, the Pennsylvania wilderness is a living, breathing character in the story.

It’s a deeply uplifting read, which might be exactly what you need to get your reading momentum back!

47. Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

read the BOOK

2021
209 pgs.
MidGrade CRF  in Verse
Finished 5/6/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.59 - 1231 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: 1983 America

First line/s:  TWO

I have two lives.

One that is Indian,

one that is not.

I have two best friends.

One who is Indian,

one who is not.

My comments: Reha is in the eighth grade at a private school, where she has lots of friends.  She spends the weekends with her parents and all sorts of local Indian families that are not the people she knows during the week.  She has a best friend in each "camp."  And I guess the biggest theme of the book is:  where does she belong?  I very much enjoyed learning about the foods and culture of an Indian American family.  Another sad story, though.... There was a lot of talk about music, the music of 1983 to be precise, which is when the story is set.  Ah, such memories!

Goodreads synopsis:  An #ownvoices novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia.

          Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma, although their names are linked—Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”—but they are a universe apart.
          Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick.
          Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again. She’ll be the perfect daughter, if it means saving her Amma’s life.

45. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

listened on Libby/borrowed from library

narrated by the author, Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte

Unabridged audio (5:32)
2020
432 pgs.
YA CRF in Verse
Finished 5/5/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.32 - 52,442 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary NYC and Dominican Republic

First line/s: "I know too much of mud.

I know that when a street doesn't have sidewalks

& water rises to flood the tile floors of your home,

learning mud is learning the language of survival."

My comments: Incredible, lovely writing.  Many times when you hear a book read aloud that has been written in verse you cannot tell that it WAS written inverse.  This, read by two readers (one being the author), the poetry just flowed.  Absolutely gorgeous words.  Very sad, depresssing, but the beauty of the writing ... and of the story ... made up for it.  Learning about the "DR" community both in New York City and the Dominican Republic and hearing the story told with a large amount of Spanish verbiage included added to the experience.  And it was read with lovely, lilting accents of two SpanishAmerican narrators.  The story was tough.  But I would consider this a masterpiece.

Goodreads synopsis:   In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

          Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…
          In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
          Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.
          And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

70. Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

listened on Audible
read by Brittany Pressley and Kirby Heybourne
Unabridged audio (10:16)
2017, Bloomsbury
391 pgs.
Contemporary YA Fiction
Finished 7/29/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.36 - 15,403 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary America

First line/s:   "I need to stop staring at this letter."

My comments: This was a pretty intense story about the relationship between two high school seniors who poured out their hearts to each other via anonymous letters and then emails.  Both had baggage.  Lots of baggage.  And very weird home lives, sad for one, debilitating for the other.  Their correspondence was better than therapy, and it was fun to watch as they discovered each others' real identity.  Definitely more intense than lighthearted, an interesting thought-provoking read.

Goodreads synopsis:  Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope.
          Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.
          When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.

42 Eventown by Corey Ann Haydu

read the book!
2019 Katherine Tegen Books
328 pgs.
Finished May 6, 2019
Goodreads rating:  4.03 - 456 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting: contemporary/dystopian Eventown, USA

First line/s:  "Jenny Horowitz likes horses and the color pink and asking questions about things I don't want to talk about."

My comments:  It's hard to separate my thinking about this book as an adult versus my thinking about it as a kid would.  I pretty much knew what was going on and what was going to happen, but most probably it would be hazier for a nine, ten, or eleven year old.  Like The Giver, this book gives the reader a chance to ponder upon the questions: What would it be like to live in a perfect world?  It was an OK so-so book for me as an adult, but would probably be quite a bit more than that for me as my 10-year-old self.

Goodreads synopsis:  The world tilted for Elodee this year, and now it’s impossible for her to be the same as she was before. Not when her feelings have such a strong grip on her heart. Not when she and her twin sister, Naomi, seem to be drifting apart. So when Elodee’s mom gets a new job in Eventown, moving seems like it might just fix everything.
Indeed, life in Eventown is comforting and exciting all at once. Their kitchen comes with a box of recipes for Elodee to try. Everyone takes the scenic way to school or work—past rows of rosebushes and unexpected waterfalls. On blueberry-picking field trips, every berry is perfectly ripe.
          Sure, there are a few odd rules, and the houses all look exactly alike, but it’s easy enough to explain—until Elodee realizes that there are only three ice cream flavors in Eventown. Ever. And they play only one song in music class.
          Everything may be “even” in Eventown, but is there a price to pay for perfection—and pretending?

81. Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman

read on my iPhone
2017 Viking Books for Young Readers
368 pgs.
YA CRF
Finished 8/18/18
Goodreads rating:  4.22 - 1251 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting:  The woods of northern Ontario, Canada

First line/s:  "Dear mom,  Thanks.  Really.  I can't wait for this tiny excuse for an airplane to take off into the sky, and then deliver me into the dismal middle of nowhere."

My comments:  I do enjoy these books that put the protagonist ubri a summer camp/survival situation, a sort of upward/outward bound of staggering proportions.  This is the second one I've read this year, but very different from Wild Bird (Van Draanen).  It's told by slipping back and forth between the three-week tough hiking/survival experience and Ingrid's life, which is entirely dependent upon and wrapped up by and with her mother.  A few interesting twists and turns, though not especially unexpected, add to the story, which is set in the forests of northern Ontario, Canada.  And I really did read this in one long sitting!

Goodreads synopsis:  Wild meets The Breakfast Club in this story of a girl who must survive an extreme wilderness experience to prove to her mother that she has the strength to pursue her dreams.
Then 
Ingrid traveled all over Europe with her opera star mother, Margot-Sophia. Life was beautiful and bright, and every day soared with music.
Now 
Ingrid is on a summertime wilderness survival trek for at-risk teens: addicts, runaways, and her. She’s fighting to survive crushing humiliations, physical challenges that push her to her limits, and mind games that threaten to break her.
Then 
When the curtain fell on Margot-Sophia’s singing career, they buried the past and settled into a small, painfully normal life. But Ingrid longed to let the music soar again. She wanted it so much that, for a while, nothing else mattered.
Now 
Ingrid is never going to make it through this summer if she can’t figure out why she’s here . . . and why the music really stopped.

MOVIE - Disobedience

R (1:54)

Limited release 4/27/2018

Viewed Thursday, June 21, 2018 at Majestic in Gettysburg
IMBd:  6.8/10

T Critic:  84  Audience: 80
Critic's Consensus:  Disobedience explores a variety of thought-provoking themes, bolstered by gripping work from leads Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alessandro Nivola.

Cag: 5 It was really wonderful

Directed by Sebastian Lelio

Bleecker Street

Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Alessandro Nivola

My comments:  Another powerful movie with exceptional performances.  Whoa, being gay in an Orthodox Jewish community!  Totally impossible, "Disobedience" showed a depth of humanity and love in the Orthodox Jewish community which, as much as I'd love to believe might happen, truly can't imagine that it would.  For most of the movie you get "typical" reactions from people.  Yes, my heart broke for a young woman of faith who was definitely not heterosexual, choosing to follow the beliefs she was raised with and marry a man she did care about but was not attracted to.  My heart broke even more for her husband, who ended up being an incredibly honest, loving, spiritual man.  The kind of spiritual leader that I could definitely believe in myself, and would help to heal our world.  Oh yes, I shed some tears, and I walked out of the theater thinking, "what could possible be the next step in a story like this one?"  Well done, well done.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From Sebastián Lelio, the director of the Academy Award-winning A Fantastic Woman, the film follows a woman as she returns to the community that shunned her decades earlier for an attraction to a childhood friend. Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality. Written by Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz and based on Naomi Alderman's book, the film stars Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola.

17. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor

read on my iPhone/Kindle/Book/Audible
2018 Katherine Tegen Books
336 pgs.
Mid Grades CRF
Finished 2/15/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.27 - 392 ratings
My rating:  4

First line/s:  "Tell you what.  I already know who stuffed this tee shirt into my locker.  Matt Drinker did that.  He took a Sharpie to it first.  Fat black letters.  He wrote STOOPID on it.  Same way I spelled my word in the spelling bee on Friday morning."

My comments:  This story is about bullying, friendship, love, and a sweet, sweet boy.
     I don't understand bullying.  I don't understand parents that allow it to happen,when they know it is happening.  Both and the giving and receiving ends, as in this book.
     I really enjoyed the story, but it didn't quite rate as a five to me.  There were a few too many weaknesses.  Shayleeen, for one. (They have so little money that they're selling off bits and pieces of their orchard to a developer and they take in a stray young adult - someone they don't even know - and let her spend all sorts of money - their money - on the shopping networks?  Take her in, great, feed her and cloth her, that's more-than okay, too, but let her rule the roost?)  And come one, Mason is being chased and abused by neighborhood kids and his grandmother and uncle either don't know about it (they should!) or don't do anything about it?  It's not as if they don't love him and carae about him.  And they are not oblivious people.  It just doesn't make sense to me.
     There ARE a couple of characters that do totally make sense to me - the wonderful counselor and friend to Mason at his school (oh what a wonderful, klutzy, classy, real person she is!)  and the cop who is trying to figure out what is happening.  They were believable.
     I kept drawing comparisons to one of my all-time favorite books, Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.  There are a lot.  That might even make and interesting paper/examination/comparison for me to write one day as I circumvent my journey towards a doctorate in children's literature, lol!
   
Goodreads synopsis: From the critically acclaimed author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor, comes a deeply poignant and beautifully crafted story about self-reliance, redemption, and hope.
          Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can’t understand why Lieutenant Baird won’t believe the story Mason has told about that day.
          Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground club space for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He’s desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin, and eventually, Benny.
           But will anyone believe him? 

16. Ordinary Grace - William Kent Krueger

listened on Audible - read BEAUTIFULLY
2013 Atria Books
307 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction
Finished 2/14/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.15 - 48,224 ratings
My rating:  4.5
Setting:1961 New Bremen, sourthern Minnesota

First line/s:   "All the dying that summer began with the death of a child, a boy with golden hair and thick glasses, killed on the railroad tracks outside New Bremen, Minnesota, sliced into pieces by a thousand tons of steel speeding across the prairie toward South Dakota."

My comments:  This story is about a minister's family in New Bremen, Minnesota in the summer of 1961, told in the first person by the middle child, a 13-year old named Frank, called Frankie by his family.  The story examines faith and the "awesome grace of God."
     I am genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.  Usually I go running in the other directions - screaming - when I discover a book contains ruminations about religion.  This one never ever shoved religion down my throat, and the minister father, Nathan Drum, was everything anyone could ever want in a minister.  It certainly game me lots to think about, particularly about grief.  It also made me ponder so many people's unquestionable belief that anything that happens is "God's will."  And, if anything, it strengthened my own beliefs. 
     So many strengths here - wonderful characterization, beautifully crafted plot, and really lovely writing.
     So many great things bout this book, but the best for me?  I really like the relationship between Frank and his stuttering younger brother, Jake.

Goodreads synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger comes a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.
         New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were at the ready at Halderson’s Drug Store soda counter, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a summer in which death assumed many forms.
          When tragedy unexpectedly comes to call on his family, which includes his Methodist minister father, his passionate, artistic mother, Juilliard-bound older sister, and wise-beyond-his years kid brother, Frank finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal.
          On the surface, Ordinary Grace is the story of the murder of a beautiful young woman, a beloved daughter and sister. At heart, it’s the story of what that tragedy does to a boy, his family, and ultimately the fabric of the small town in which he lives. Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer, it is a moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.

31. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

read on my iPhone
2016, Delacourt Press
328 pgs.
YA CRF
Finished 5/31/17
Goodreads rating: 4.11 - 16,116 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporary Los Angeles, CA

First line/s:  "Seven hundred and thirty-three days after my mom died, forty-five days after my dad eloped with a stranger he met on the Internet, thirty days after we then up and moved to California, and only seven days after starting as a junior at a brand-new school where I know approximately no one, an email arrives."

My comments:  4.5  This was a dreamy YA romance, cleverly told with a combination of first person narrative and text messages between the protagonist and her best friend from Chicago, her new friends in LA, and a mystery classmate at her fancy new unfamiliar high school....who befriends her by text message and won't share his identity.  No, I am not an enjoyer of romance fiction, but this one suckered me in (and I do mean suckered, not sucked...)  right from the start.  An excellent cast of characters, the LA setting (that I wish she'd given a bit more attention to) and the epistolary aspects of the book worked very well together.  The plot includes typical high school angst, typical bullying, but not-so-typical dealing with grief, a new step family...and poetry.  The new stepbrother is even gay, so lots of issues are being "hit."  There's lots of older ya stuff going on - Jesse is a junior in high school - so I wouldn't recommend this for middle schoolers because of some very explicit conversations about sex.  Possible Spoiler alert:  Even though you know practically from the start who her secret admirer is, it's still pretty cool how it's revealed at the very end of the book.

Goodreads synopsis  Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
          It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.
          In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
           Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends.

MOVIE - I'll See You In My Dreams

PG-13 (1:35)

Limited release 5-15-15

Viewed 8-18-15 At Century Gateway with Sheila

RT Critic:  94  Audience:   71

Cag:  2.5 - It was okay, I liked some of it

Directed by Brett Haley

Bleecker Street

Blythe Danner, Sam Elliott, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, June Squibb, 

My comments:  Okay, big time depressing.  Good movie though, especially the scenes with Carol (Blythe Danner) and her three best friends, all living in little cottages in a retirement community in southern California - Rhea Perlman, June Squibb, and Mary Kay Place.  But looking at Carol's life, thinking about some of the things people in the movie say about death, seeing how suddenly a life can end....as well as watching the poor young man who's hopelessly stuck cleaning pools when he wants to be writing poetry (I know, I know, at the end there might be a teeny, tiny turning of events, but who knows....)  Too much leftover thinking for me.  The kind of stuff I don't want to think about. Hmmm.....

RT Summary:  In this vibrant, funny, and heartfelt film, a widow and former songstress discovers that life can begin anew at any age. With the support of three loyal girlfriends (June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, and Mary Kay Place), Carol (Blythe Danner) decides to embrace the world, embarking on an unlikely friendship with her pool maintenance man (Martin Starr), pursuing a new love interest (Sam Elliott), and reconnecting with her daughter (Malin Akerman).

MOVIE - A Birder's Guide to Everything

PG-13 (1:27)

Limited release 3/21/14

Viewed 4/2/14 at the Loft

RT Critic: 95 Audience: 69

Cag: 3.5 A sweet and funny coming-of-age with a touch of teariness

Directed by Robber Meyer

Screen Media Venture/Focus

Ben Kingsley, James LeGros

My comments:  First reaction:  It was so short! (Lost of long movies lately, I guess.)  Totally enjoyable movie about three 15-year old geeky friends who are bird-watchers, focusing on one who lost his mom a year previously and his discomfort with his dad's remarriage (SPOILER:  to his mom's nurse).  Very cute movie.

Reviews:  David Portnoy (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history. 

Bluebird - Bob Staake

Illustrated by the author

2013 Random House Child

HC

Dedication: to John James Audubon

Goodreads rating: 4.12

My rating: 1.5 (I didn't really like it very much)

Acquired:  TPPL (The public library seems to be taking off the dust covers now when the same illustrations is on the cover of the book itslef.  I don't like the missing endflaps, which I like to read after I've read the book...)

Illustrations:   There are lots of boxes to pour over, until the end of the book, the only colors are shades of blue, gray, and white.  A small amount of brighter colors are added on the last few pages to accentuate the plot.  This part was actually quite clever...I guess...

1^st line/s:  None.  It's a wordless book.

My Goodreads review/comments:  I guess I'm one of the few people who aren't entranced with this wordless picture book.  The first 2/3 was okay, but - for me - well...boring.  Then, all of a sudden, right out of the blue, (Spoiler-of-a-sort coming) there's a shocking turn of events and then - what? - a spiritually uplifting ending?  I read it three times.  School just got out or I'd LOVE to give it to some of my 4th graders to see how they perceive it.  I hate giving "bad" ratings, but I'm being kindly truthful here....Let's say a 1.5 because I didn't HATE it....

48. Where Do You Stay? - Andrea Cheng

Boyds Mill Press, 2011
HC $17.95
for: Middle Grades
133 pgs.
Rating:  4

First line/s:  "Mr. Willie pulls every last weed in the driveway cracks, then sweeps the concrete clean.  Aunt Geneva comes out to pay him, but Mr. Willie doesn't want any money.  'A sandwich would be nice,' he says."

Setting:  Contemporary Cincinnati, Ohio

One-Sentence Summary:  After 11-year-old Jerome goes to live with his aunt and cousins after his mother dies of cancer, he has to learn to live without his precious piano.

Mr. Willie also played the piano, though he now is a squatter in the falling-down carriage house of the falling-down (and empty) big house across the street.  His fifteen-year-old cousin Damon is mouthing off to his mother, disappearing, and possibly getting into trouble.  His nine-year old Cousin Monte is afraid of everything.  And his Aunt Geneva is determined to adopt him, as she feels was his mother's wish.  The turning point in the story comes when a couple purchase the crumbling house across the street, not to tear it down, as everyone had thought, but to create a school. 

Isn't this one of the homeliest/unappealing book covers you've ever seen?  It certainly doesnt' say "pick me up!"I wasn't sure how to rate this book, 'cause I'm not sure how kids would like it.  Throughout the book, Jerome is comparing everything that happens to him to his mother's last days and death.  However, it's not particularly depressing, and it's a great way to worm yourself into Jerome's mind.  And the storyline is engaging and proceeds in a believable manner.  I discovered that I rather liked the whole package as I mulled it over after reading.

12. The Art of Mending - Elizabeth Berg

Audio read by Joyce Bean
Brilliance Audio, 2004
6 unabridged cds
6 hrs.
237 pgs.
Rating: 3.5 (I had my ups and downs with the protagonist)

Laura and her family travel to Minnesota to their annual family reunion/state fair trip. Her sister Caroline wants to talk to Laura and their brother Steve alone. Always strange - weird, even - Caroline opens up about issues with her mother from when she was a child. Neither Steve or Laura believe her, Steve is actually disgusted with her. Then their father died, the only person other than their mother who might know the actual truth. Laura watches, thinks, questions, and even has her mother come stay with them. Reality shifts and changes upon close examinations, of course. Interesting. But none of the characters was particularly likeable. Maybe it was the mood I was in. I enjoy Elizabeth Berg immensely, but this one didn't hit home at all for me.

Grandma's Gloves - Cecil Castellucci

Illustrated by Julia Denos
Candlewick, 2010
$15.99, 24 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: a sponged-looking orangy rust

I was so drawn by the cover and title of this book. And as I began reading it I was particularly tickled - I love books with smart, savvy grandmothrs that have great relationships with their grandchildren.
Then, five pages in, "Sometimes she repeats things. But I am very patient with her." Uh Oh.

Grandma hits the downward spiral fast - hospital, does not know her daughter or granddaughter, then dies. Needless to say, I was quite perplexed. And very sad.

The second half of the book deals with keepsakes and memories, what we share and what we savor about a loved one. It was a beautifully crafted message to us all. And once I stopped thinking of myself as a (very young, vital, with-it) grandmother I moved on to memories of my own grandmother, who helped raise me. I remember her gardening gloves, too, her always-blooming African violets, her rose bushes in the yard.

So, mixed personal feelings for me about this book. I guess the decline and loss of the grandmother simply took me by surprise.

It's really a wonderful book. But sad. Kids, particularly sensitive kids, should be prepared for what's going to happen.

The illustrations seems to be pencil and watercolor, and they're pretty darn wonderful. There are a couple that I really like - the two of them sitting at the kitchen table together and later, the full-page illustration of the girl sadly watering her grandmother's plants, in particular.

(NOTE: I went to Lowe's and purchased a pink African Violet this afternoon. Let's see if I can keep it alive, at least for a little while....)

Cecil Castellucci writes about how she came to write this book, her first picture book here.
Here's an intersting blog review by Book Reviews and More and another by Jean Little Library.

Cecil Castellucci's blog.
Julia Denos' blog.

Don't you love it that you can get to know authors and illustrators "up close and personal" by reading a blog they've written?

Ghost Wings - Barbara M. Joosse

Illustrated by Giselle Potter
Chronicle Books, 2001
$15.95
32 pages
Rating: 4.5*
Endpapers: pale yellow with 1 " to 3" monarch butterflies

Written in the first person by a young girl, she tells of her grandmother, who is also her best friend, the tortillas they make together, the Magic Circle they visit (where millions of monarch butterflies arrive and gather every fall), her grandmother's death, and the Day of the Dead celebration that helps keep her grandmother's memory alive.

Illustrations cover the whole page and accentuate the text without overwhelming. They would be what one of my students describe as "cartoonish." *And although I really like them, that is why I didn't give the book a 5 rating. I guess I would have preferred - for this book - more realism. The story is appears deceivingly simple, but is actually quite complex and multi-layered.

Four pages of "afterword" give more information on monarchs, Day of the Dead, and questions about the book along with activities related to the book. I love the idea ofd decorating frames to hold pictures of loved ones. I'm off to JoAnnes and Michaels!