This book isn’t exactly children’s literature, though it is appropriate for a young adult audience. I’m featuring it today because its subject is so incredibly intertwined with that of my latest book, Ella Wood. In fact, The Invention of Wings was recommended to me by two of my blog readers after I began sharing snipets of […]
A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park
This is the remarkable story of Salva Dut, a survivor of the Sudanese Civil War that raged from 1983-2002. Salva spent years walking, avoiding the war, living in refuge camps—surviving. He was one of the lucky ones who eventually migrated to America. He then chose to return to drought-ridden Sudan and drill wells in poor […]
The Cay, by Theodore Taylor, 1969
“Dis be de mos’ outrageous good story, Phill-eep!” I can almost hear the words as they would sound spoken in Timothy’s Caribbean cadence. Timothy’s an old friend of mine. So are Phillip and Stew Cat, the trio of castaways in The Cay. This is a book I’ve treasured since my childhood. I shared it recently with my […]
The Declaration, by Lars Hedbor
As soon as I finished Ella Wood, I picked up a couple books by my favorite historical fiction indie author, Lars Hedbor. I actually had the privilege of beta reading this one a year ago. I wanted to reread it in its complete form. While Lars writes for an adult audience, his books are clean […]
The Midwife's Apprentice, by Karen Cushman
I’d read this book many years ago. I happened across it in the library and picked it up for some Christmas break reading. Winner of the 1996 Newberry, it is a story of failure, courage, and finding that everybody is somebody, no matter how low their beginnings. Brat had no name. Cold and hungry, she […]
Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth E. Wein
Wow. Simply wow. I was actually disappointed when I first opened this book. The heroine, she calls herself “Queenie”, admits right away to being a Nazi collaborator. She’s spineless, cowardly, and terrified. And she swears. A lot. But this book won several awards last year (Printz Honor Book, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award Honor Book, Shortlisted […]
Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan
I have wanted to read Sarah, Plain and Tall for years and years. Decades. It just never got onto my reading list till I stumbled across it this summer and it came to memory again. This one is well-decorated. It took the Newbery, Scott O’Dell Award, and Kite Award in 1986—all prestigious honors. Did the […]
Navigating Early, by Clare Vanderpool
This is a strange book, one that has beautiful moments I’ve come to associate with Clare Vanderpool, but it doesn’t always resonate with me. At times, the book even feels over-written and abstract with images that are too great a stretch. And I struggled to get a handle on Early. Early Auden is a young […]
The Book Without Words, by AVI
Here’s the other Avi book I read over sping break. I just adore him and freely admit he has had a very strong influence on my writing. Once a Newbery winner and twice a Newbery honor winner, his works include some of my favorite titles ever. Though I’ve liked some better than others, I’ve yet […]
Crispin: At the Edge of the World (Crispin, 2), by AVI
Yup, I read two AVI books over spring break. This is a sequel to his Newbery-winning book, Crispin: Cross of Lead (my review). It picks up immediately after Crispin and Bear make their way out of Great Wexley. (If you haven’t read book one, get thee to a library and read it. In the meantime, I won’t give any […]