What Child Is This?

I read What Child is This?: A Christmas Story by Caroline B. Cooney for book club. It tells the story of several different people in a town, centered around two foster kids--Matt and Katie. I won't elaborate on the plot because I went into the book not having read the description, and I think it was better that way. Just know it's a beautiful Christmas story. :)

I thought this was a wonderful book. I read it in one day, and after reading it, I'm pretty sure I read it years ago when I was a teenager. The book is just a feel-good book, perfect for me to read a couple days before Christmas. It was a reminder of the true reasons behind the Christmas season and championed the idea that everyone can have good in them and can have hope, regardless of their circumstances.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Chosen

Another friend in book club recommended The Chosen by Chaim Potok as one of her favorite books, so I borrowed it from her. The book takes place in New York in the 1940s, and Reuven Malther and Danny Saunders became acquainted after an accident at a baseball game. The young men have different upbringings--Danny is the son of a Hasidic rabbi (and is set to take his father's place one day), while Reuven is a Modern Orthodox Jew whose father is a professor. The boys become friends, and the book just follows their friendship over a few years. The book description reads, "The intellectual and spiritual clashes between fathers, between each son and his own father, and between the two young men, provide a unique backdrop for this exploration of fathers, sons, faith, loyalty, and, ultimately, the power of love."

This was a surprisingly engaging book. The book doesn't seem super interesting, but I wanted to keep reading and finished it pretty quickly. I was involved with the characters and their experiences and learned a lot about the different sects in Judaism. (I still was confused about a lot of the details on the sects and history or details regarding Judaism, but it didn't affect my reading of the book.) I thought it was a good read.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Light between Oceans

I got The Light between Oceans by M.L. Stedman from the library after a friend in my book club recommended it as one of the most meaningful books she's read. The book is about Tom Sherbourne and his wife Isabel who live on an isolated island where Tom serves as a lighthouse keeper. Here's the rest of the summary from the book jacket: "Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a gift from God, and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them."

This was a good book that I couldn't put down, but it was seriously a terrible, heart-wrenching read. I don't know if I'd really recommend it. It was just so terrible with situations that couldn't possibly end well. I didn't even know who to root for most of the time because there was no happy ending possible. I spent the last chapter sobbing, and then I tried to tell Connor the summary of the book and kept crying before I could finish. Anyway, I don't even know what to say about this book. It was super good and engaging but also just terrible. Maybe don't read it?

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Hidden Like Anne Frank

I got Hidden Like Anne Frank: 14 True Stories of Survival by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis from the library after seeing it on the YA nonfiction shelf. It tells the story of fourteen Jewish children and teenagers who had to go into hiding in the Netherlands during the Holocaust.

This was a really meaningful book. Each child's account is written in first person, and the accounts aren't too lengthy--just enough to describe briefly what life was like before the war, elaborate on their time in hiding, and briefly describe life after liberation. The accounts were truly heart-wrenching. It's so hard to imagine these children being separated from their parents and everyone's desperation to just survive. I also was deeply saddened by the residual effects so many of these men and women had in their post-war lives. This was just a hard read. But it did really make the Holocaust feel really real--I got a sense of the emotions these children experienced. And just a recognition that sometimes terrible things happen, and there's no way to wrap it up in a pretty box and make it ok. I also came to really admire the immense courage of those who hid these children. I don't think I've ever thought this hard about what it would have taken to be someone who hid Jewish children. These people risked their lives (and their family's lives--even their own children's lives) to protect children they didn't even know. It's really a beautiful and incredible thing, and I hope I would have that kind of courage.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Turnabout

I needed a good, short book to read so wandered the chapter books in the children's section of the library looking for authors I've liked in the past. I found Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix. (I enjoyed her book Running Out of Time and the Among the Hidden series when I was a kid/teen.) Turnabout is about Amelia, an old woman in a nursing home who (along with a bunch of other elderly people) is given an injection meant to reverse the aging process. She soon begins to un-age and eventually realizes that at some point she will be too young to care for herself.

This was a fun read. It was a slow start for me because it was switching between two different times in Amelia's life, but once I got into it, I was interested and enjoyed it. I didn't feel like it was a super strong book with character development per se, but it was a clever story.

* * (2/3 = Liked it)

Night

I was looking for a new book to read and saw Night by Elie Wiesel at the library. I had been wanting to read this book again (I'd read it originally in high school) after I heard Elie Wiesel passed away in July. Night is the true story of Elie Wiesel's experiences as a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust and his time in two different concentration camps.

This book was a hard read, as most Holocaust books are. It is so terrible to read Elie's accounts of the things he went through and the way he was treated. Elie said in the preface, "The witness has forced himself to testify. For the youth of today, for the children who will be born tomorrow. He does not want his past to become their future." I'm really glad he told his story so that it cannot be forgotten. When I finished this book, though, it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth because it had such a different feel from books like The Hiding Place and Unbroken--instead of finding God amidst terrible suffering, Elie lost his faith. He described a time when thousands of men in the concentration camp were participating in a solemn service and praying, "Blessed be God's name." And Elie questioned, "Blessed be God's name? Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves?...Because in His great might, He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death? How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers ended up in furnaces?" Anyway, it goes on. And I don't blame him because I totally see where he's coming from. It was just a negative feel that doesn't align with how I see God even when terrible things happen in our lives and in the world. But, anyway, I do really respect Elie Wiesel--he ended up being a contributor to getting the Holocaust museum in DC built, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize. I read his speech online, and one part stuck out to me as applying well to the current events regarding refugees: "And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe."

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Unbroken

I re-read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and loved it again. It is really an amazing book--highly recommended. You can see my old review here: http://treasureinbooks.blogspot.com/2012/10/unbroken.html.

The Hiding Place

I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom a few years ago but decided I wanted to re-read it. It is the true story of Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian woman who helped Jews during the Holocaust.

After re-reading this book, I remembered why I loved it so much the first time. This is honestly one of the top 10 books I have ever read. It is so meaningful, so heart-wrenching, so inspiring. Holocaust stories always touch me deeply, especially when they are true accounts, but Corrie's experiences are just incredible. The things she went through are just unreal, but the desire she had to do good and the faith she and her family had in God are amazing. I feel like this entire book just teaches that God is real and loving and involved in our lives--in the good times but also when we are going through terrible injustices. I'm going to put some of my favorite excerpts below, but if you haven't read the book, don't read the excerpts. Just go read the whole book. :)

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)



Excerpts that stuck out to me or were particularly poignant or meaningful. I just want to have these here so I can skim through them sometime and remember how I much I love this book. Two of my favorites have *** next to them. (If you haven't read the book, these excerpts will have spoilers, so stop reading this blog post now. And go read the book.) :)

[When Corrie was a child and experienced death for the first time and was inconsolable and felt terrified that her family members would die:]
Father sat down on the edge of the narrow bed. "Corrie," he bagan gently, "When you and I go to Amsterdam--when do I give you your ticket?"
I sniffed a few times, considering this. "Why, just before we get on the train."
"Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things, too. Don't run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need--just in time."

[When young Corrie was asking her Dad what something meant that he wasn't ready to explain to her:]
At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor. "Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said.
I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.
"It's too heavy," I said.
"Yes," he said. "And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you."

[Advice from Corrie's mom to young Corrie about an aunt who was always unhappy:]
"Bep has been just as happy here with us--no more and no less--than she was anywhere else."
I stared at her, not understanding.
"Do you know when she started praising the Wallers so highly?" Mama went on. "The day she left them. As long as she was there, she had nothing but complaints. The Wallers  couldn't compare with the van Hooks where she'd been before. But at the van Hooks she'd actually been miserable. Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings, Corrie. It's something we make inside ourselves."

[When adult Corrie got her heart broken by a man and her dad gave her advice:]
"Corrie," he began instead, "do you know what hurts so very much? It's love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill the love so that it stops hurting. But then of course part of us dies too. Or, Corrie, we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel. God loves Karel--even more than you do--and if you ask Him, He can give you His love for this man, a love nothing can prevent, nothing destroy. Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way, Corrie, God can give us the perfect way."

[When Corrie's mom couldn't walk or talk but just sat in a chair by the window and still found a way to send birthday wishes to friends she saw passing by:]
Mama's love had always been the kind that acted itself out with the soup pot and sewing basket. But now that these things were taken away, the love seemed as while as before. She sat in her chair at the window and loved us. She loved the people she saw in the street--and beyond: her love took in the city, the land of Holland, the world. And so I learned that love is larger than the walls which shut it in.

[When Corrie had to find connections to help her form an Underground network:]
We didn't know, of course, the political views of all these people. But--and here I felt a strange leaping of my heart--God did! My job was simply to flow His leading one step at a time, holding every decision up to Him in prayer. I know I was not clever or subtle or sophisticated; if the Beje was becoming a meeting place for need and supply, it was through some strategy far higher than mine.

***[After Corrie's father got arrested, and the Gestapo chief saw the old man and said he'd like to send him home:]
"I'll take your word that you won't cause any more trouble."
I could not see Father's face, only the erect carriage of his shoulders and the halo of white hair above them. But I heard his answer. "If I go home today," he said evenly and clearly, "tomorrow I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks."

[After Corrie found out her father died and tried to call to a guard to help comfort her and the guard treated her horribly:]
Dear Jesus, I whispered as the door slammed and her footsteps died away, how foolish of me to have called for human help when You are here.

[When Corrie was being interrogated and talked to the lieutenant about God:]
"The truth, Sir," I said, swallowing, "is that God's viewpoint is sometimes different from ours--so different that we could not even guess at it unless He had given us a Book which tells us such things." I knew it was madness to talk this way to a Nazi officer. But he said nothing so I plunged ahead. "In the Bible I learn that God values us not for our strength or our brains but simply because He has made us. Who knows, in His eyes a half-wit may be worth more than a watchmaker. Or--a lieutenant."

[When Corrie had to leave behind her belongings and change clothes but hid a bundle underneath her dress that included her Bible:]
It made a bulge you could have seen across the Grote Markt. I flattened it out as best I could, pushing it down, tugging the sweater around my waist, but there was no real concealing it beneath the thin cotton dress. And all the while I had the incredible feeling that it didn't matter, that this was not my business, but God's. That all I had to do was walk straight ahead.
As we tripped back out through the shower room door, the S.S. men ran their hands over every prisoner, front, back, and sides. The woman ahead of me was searched three times. Behind me, Betsie was searched.  No hand touched me.
At the exit door to the building was a second ordeal, a line of women guards examining each prisoner again. I slowed down as I reached them but the Aufseherin in charge shoved me roughly by the shoulder, "Move along! You're holding up the line!"
And so Betsie and I arrived at Barracks 8 in the small hours of that morning, bringing not only the Bible, but a new knowledge of the power of Him whose story it was.

***[When they were in the concentration camp:]
It grew harder and harder. Even within these four walls there was too much misery, too much seemingly pointless suffering. Every day something else failed to make sense, something else grew too heavy. "Will you carry this too, Lord Jesus?"
But as the rest of the world grew stranger, one thing became increasingly clear. And that was the reason the two of us were here. Why others should suffer we were not shown. As for us, from morning until lights-out, whenever we were not in ranks for roll call, our Bible was the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope. Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered around it, holding out our hearts to his warmth and light. The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
I would look about us as Betsie read, watching the light leap from face to face. More than conquerors...It was not a wish. It was a fact. We knew it. We experienced it minute by minute--poor, hated, hungry. We are more than conquerors. Not "we shall be." We are! Life in Ravensbruck took place on two separate levels, mutually impossible. One, the observable, external life, grew every day more horrible. The other, the life we lived with God, grew daily better, truth upon truth, glory upon glory.

[Corrie describing what happened to her bottle of drops she used for medication:]
Another strange thing was happening. The Davitamon bottle was continuing to produce drops. I scarcely seemed possible, so small a bottle, so many doses a day. Now, in addition to Betsie, a dozen others on our pier were taking it.
My instinct was always to hoard it--Betsie was growing so very weak! But the others were ill as well. It was hard to say no to eyes that burned with fever, hands that shook with chill. I tried to save it for the very weakest--but even these soon numbered fifteen, twenty, twenty-five....
And still, every time I tilted the little bottle, a drop appeared at the tip of the glass stopper. It just couldn't be! I held it up to the light, trying to see how much was left, but the dark brown glass was too think to see through.
"There was a woman in the Bible," Betsie said, "whose oil jar was never empty." She turned to it in the Book of Kings, the story of the poor widow of Zarephath who gave Elijah a room in her home: "The jar of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke by Elijah."
Well--but--wonderful things happened all through the Bible. It was one thing to believe that such things were possible thousands of years ago, another to have it happen now, to us, this very day. And yet it happened this day, and the next, and the next, until an awed little group of spectators good around watching the drops fall onto the daily rations of bread.
[Later, Corrie got some vitamins secretly given to her and then--]
"We'll finish the drops first," I decided. But that night, no matter how long I held it upside down, or how hard I shook it, not another drop appeared.

[When Betsie and Corrie got to work together as knitters after being very sick:]
And thus began the closest, most joyous weeks of all time in Ravensbruck. Side by side, in the sanctuary of God's fleas, Betsie and I ministered the word of God to all in the room. We sat by deathbeds that became doorways of heaven. We watched women who had lost everything grow rich in hope. The knitters of Barracks 28 became the praying heart of the vast diseased body that was Ravensbruck, interceding for all in the camp--guards, under Betsie's prodding, as well as prisoners.

The Crown

I've been excited to read the last book in The Selection series: The Crown by Kiera Cass. This book concludes what was started in book 4--the selection to find Eadlyn's husband. As Eadlyn deals with family difficulties and whittles down the contestants, she also has to come to terms with her own flaws and weaknesses.

I really enjoyed this book. All the books in this series are super engaging and addicting, and I love reading them. I re-read The Heir (book 4) right before reading this one (since I have a terrible memory), but while I really loved book 4, book 5 didn't quite measure up. I'll be vague so I don't give anything away, but I just felt like it was lacking some character development that would have made the story more believable and the ending more likable. But I was still happy with how it ended. Great series. I wouldn't object if the author came out with more of these. :)

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Secret Life of Bees

I read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd years ago and was just thinking about it the other day and decided to re-read it. It is the story of Lily Owens in the 1960s in South Carolina. Lily, whose mother died in an accident when she was young, lives with her cruel father and her housekeeper Rosaleen. When Rosaleen gets in trouble with the law, Lily takes her chance to get away, and the two escape. Following the only clue Lily has about her mother's past, Lily and Rosaleen head to Tiburon, South Carolina and meet the Boatwright sisters. As Lily learns the ways of beekeeping with the Boatwrights, she slowly opens up and finds ways to let her heart heal.

This is a beautiful book. The only downside is that it has quite a bit of bad language in it. But the story made me smile, made me cry. The author's writing is so beautiful and powerful that you feel a part of the story and that you know the characters personally. The book also helps you see the serious racial tensions of the 1960s from the characters' perspectives. I loved Lily in this book, but I also loved August (one of the Boatwright sisters). Her life of compassion, wisdom, and love inspires me to just be more caring and thoughtful.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)



The quote from this book that I remembered from last time I read it, which recently came to my mind and encouraged me to re-read the book. A conversation between August and Lily:

   "You know, some things don't matter that much, Lily. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart--now that matters. The whole problem with people is--"
   "They don't know what matters and what doesn't," I said, filling in her sentence and feeling proud of myself for doing so.
   "I was gonna say, The problem is they know what matters, but they don't choose it. You know how hdd that is, Lily? The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."

Rules

I saw Rules by Cynthia Lord on the shelf at Emmeline's school library when I was volunteering and realized that I'd never read it even though I've seen it around many times. This book is about 12-year-old Catherine who has a younger brother with autism. She spends lots of time teaching David "rules" to try to deal with some of his embarrassing behaviors. Over the summer, she meets Jason, a friend at her brother's therapy, and Kristi, the new next-door-neighbor-best-friend she's always dreamed of, and she begins to learn a lot about herself.

This was a good read. I really love books that have characters with special needs because I just think it's nice to see things from a different perspective. I liked the characters in this story but almost wish some of the book was a little deeper. I also felt like it concluded a little....inconclusively. But parts of the book were very endearing. It was a quick, engaging read.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)


Here is a list some favorite books I've read with characters with disabilities or special needs.

• Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper
• Rain Reign by Ann M. Bartin
• Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
• Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
• Al Capone Does My Shirts series by Gennifer Choldenko

Roller Girl

I've started working on reading the 2016 Newbery winners, and Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson was one of the honor winners. It is a graphic novel about 12-year-old Astrid who goes to a roller derby bout with her mom and a friend and realizes that she has found something she will love. Roller derby camp ends up not being as easy as she expected, and things begin changing with her friends. The inside of the dust jacket reads, "There are bumps and bruises as Astrid learns who she is...and what it takes to be a strong, tough roller girl."

I really loved this book. I think it made it even better that a year or two ago, I went to a roller derby bout because my friend/neighbor plays roller derby. The story was engaging, the characters--especially Astrid--were real and believable, the pictures were descriptive and expressive, etc. I just loved the progression of the story as well as the life lessons Astrid learned about friendship and endurance. Normally I don't love graphic novels because they aren't long enough to engage me or they feel choppy, but this one was awesome. I'm a fan.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Early Readers

I had a friend ask me yesterday about recommendations for early readers for her 4-year-old who is starting to read. I figured I'd do a post about that to share some of the best resources I've found. I know a lot of people use Bob books, and they work well for tons of people. I actually don't really like Bob books that much for me and Emmeline. (I feel like the character names and story lines revolve around their word/sound bank rather than making stories that are interesting or engaging.) After Emmeline became interested in basic reading, I started her on some leveled Guided Reading readers. I used these (click link). Those books are very repetitive, and the child can use the pictures to decipher the unknown words. It works on sight word recognition and helps your child gain confidence in reading. It doesn't work as much on sounding out words. To help Emmeline learn the principle of sounding out, I used Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons (click link). I never ended up finishing that book because I feel like she caught on super well and became more interested in just reading regular books on her own and kept improving that way.

Anyway, here are some great resources for early readers if your child is already starting to read and has some background. I really think every child learns differently, so it's good to scope out some different options (especially at the library) to see what engages your child best and go from there. I just did this post in one sitting, so I may add more to this later if I think of more. :)

• Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Williams: These are some of the best books ever. Emmeline loved them when she was a toddler and preschooler, and then when she started reading, I realized they were easy readers! They are great because Emmeline learned how to read with expression from these books because the characters have a lot of animation and emotion. Mo Willems's Pigeon books are also great and can be early readers--maybe after you've read it to your kid a time or two so they can use familiarity with the book to help them. I really like Mo Willems's books too because they are good literature. (As an author, he was won Caldecott Honors and Theodor Seuss Geisel awards.)
• Biscuit books by Alyssa Satin Capucilli: These books have lots of sight words, animals sounds, repetition, etc. Emmeline has always liked these books, so they were some of the first ones she tried out reading on her own. It's best to look for the ones that say "My First I Can Read Book" on the cover. They are simpler than some of the others.
• Starfall books: If you're looking for a free option just to see what your kid can do or is interested in, you can print/cut PDF books from Starfall's website (click link). (Scroll down to "Level-I: Cut-Up/Take-Home Books.") These aren't anything special, but they are simple and can help your child find success with reading.
• Phonic readers: We had given to us a Hello Kitty "phonics reading program" set. I don't know if these books are super great really, but Emmeline loves them. And sometimes, your kid loving an early reader set is more important than how "good" of literature it is or how well it teaches. There are lots of phonic reader sets on amazon (Star Wars, princesses, Little Critter, Fancy Nancy, Batman, Pinkalicious, etc.) So if you're trying to engage a child in reading who is maybe not super interested, I think these are a good way to go.
• Rookie Readers: I got a bunch of Rookie Readers from the thrift store. I think they are great early readers, but on Amazon, they cost like $4.95 each for a little paperback....which seems a little steep. But if you can find some kind of deal or get them from the library, these are fun because there are so many with different topics. We have ones called Car Wash Kid, Bugs, Firehouse Sal, etc.
• Pictureback Readers: These may be hard to come across. They say "A Pictureback Reader" at the top. I have a few (one from my childhood and two I got at thrift stores), and I love them. I have Wait for Us, Mud, and The Prince Has a Boo-Boo. I saw some are on amazon used, so maybe they're possible to find. But they are engaging and funny stories with a limited number of words used in each book. I found that some of the copies I have are now available in a newer version--Mud is a "Hello Reader" in Scholastic, and The Prince Has a Boo-Boo is available in the "I'm Going to Read" series. So these options (especially the "I'm Going to Read" books) may be good alternatives to "Pictureback Readers."
• Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman books: This is the obvious answer, but these are really good ones. Emmeline really loved Go, Dog, Go when she first started reading. She also liked Are You My Mother?, Ten Apples Up On Top, Green Eggs and Ham, and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. I never really got her into The Cat in the Hat or Hop on Pop, but those could be good ones as well. On these Dr. Seuss type books, you can look for the key words on the cover: "I Can Read it All By Myself." Some of these books say instead, "Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners." Some of those are great early readers (like 6 Sticks), but some are a little more complicated.
• Berenstain Bear books: The regular Berenstain bear books are quite long, but there are some stories that are short and are more of early readers. Some ones we have liked are The Spooky Old Tree, Bears in the Night, and Inside Outside Upside Down.