Or possibly wearing a nice pantsuit and in sensible shoes. This is a wild, at times funny, at times a little too real, occasionally gimmicky ride of a book, but a wonderful treat at a time when pure escape is needed. I love anything Louise Penny writes. Can’t wait to see the movie.
State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
But there are tips! Ways you can fight back against a slide towards authoritarianism!
It’s something to think about, that’s for sure.
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder and Nora King
You might think a bunch of tigers would slow you down, but mangos! Mangos are tempting! And there are a lot of them! And even if it’s a bad decision — mangos!
Silly, and maybe a commentary on how we KNOW things aren’t going to work out sometimes and STILL make bad decisions. Or maybe just silly.
Maybe… by Chris Haughton
I can remember seeing part of the AIDS quilt back in the day when it was traveling the country, and while I don’t remember many specifics, I can picture how it just seemed to go on and on and how much love was put into those pieces. All those lives…
This morning on the radio, I heard that 140,000 children have lost parents or caregivers to COVID-19 so far in this country, and I wonder about those lives, too — how much we have lost in the hundreds of thousands — and how we will look back on this time and in the future and remember.
Stitch By Stitch: Cleve Jones and the AIDS Memorial Quilt by Rob Sanders and Jamey Christoph
A delight! A book from Kate DiCamillo is always a treat.
The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo
Spies, lies, shifty plans, countries working for total world domination… this book has it all. It’s a quick and interesting read, opening a whole time period to kids. And it’s a pretty great read for grown-ups, too, a reminder of how charged so many things were even then.
Fallout: spies, superbombs, and the ultimate Cold War showdown by Steve Sheinkin
I love Stick and Stone.
They just make me happy. And while you might not expect it, this kind of picture book can help kids think and talk about pretty hefty things, like who your family is and which relationships are important to you. Is it important to know where you come from? Is it important to recognize the love you have in front of you? Can you do cool things with your closest peeps?
Stick and Stone: Best Friends Forever by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld
When I was younger, people were always calling me by names or nicknames I didn’t choose. Being number four in the family frequently meant my mom and dad (love them!) could sometimes only get to my name by running through the oldest three. People decided I wanted or needed that diminutive form of my name, not my given one.
So, I’m with you, Blob. Someone is trying to make you Bob, but you’re not Bob. Live your truth, friend!
You be you, Blob.
Blob by Anne Appert
One wonders at times what makes such a complete dope of a prince such a catch.
But that’s the way it pretty much always is, although here at least the future princess/queen has NO interest in dopey princes at the beginning. Unfortunately, she both falls in love instantly and is the daughter of an ogre. Well, what can you do with all that, really?
I love folktales and fairy tales: the way they change depending on which version you read, the way villains don’t win in the end, how at times there are women with some agency in them. Maybe it’s only that they have magic stones or combs or other things that will save them and the dopey prince, but it’s something.
Blancaflor: the hero with secret powers by Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio Garcia-Sanchez
Bear is a Bear is a wonderful and sweet story by Jonathan Stutzman, but honestly, I’m really just here for anything Dan Santat (the artist) is involved in. And I’m not the only one. I told a co-worker that Bear is a Bear was on the way to me the other day, and she said, “Wait! Does that mean MY copy is coming, too?” There might have been a little squealing involved.
It’s a wonderful thing to have his work in the world, so if you’re not a fan yet, please investigate, people! Start with this one. You will not be sorry you did.
Bear is a Bear by Jonathan Stutzman and Dan Santat
Sometimes the library is like a cross between the best of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Sesame Street, and maybe PeeWee’s Playhouse.
You never quite know who will wander in from the neighborhood — the guys from the homeless shelter or halfway houses, the residents of group homes, the regular patrons, people who are just looking to print out a shipping label or want to get that one book about shapeshifters and skinwalkers (definitely not any of the books we actually own), the Mormon missionaries, or maybe if you’re lucky, that patron who’s kind of like Prince, going by one name only, 100% awesome, and far too cool to be doing more than picking up her books on philosophy or romance or cooking. Whatever! Who cares? It’s Athena (at least that’s what I’m calling her) and when she walks in and asks for her holds, it never fails to make my day. Because really, when the goddess walks in, you just smile and appreciate whatever great mystery in the world led her to become Athena, just Athena.
It’s a good thing in hard times to have a neighborhood deity, after all, especially one who appreciates you back.
So much about this book makes it NOT the book I should be reading right now — the strong, emotional connection, the young people trying to heal the environment, the scars of war and after-effects, the grief, the longing, the pain. I have been working my way through a lot of lighter stuff lately, exhausted by the world a bit, so this was a huge surprise.
But I am happy to be back in a world with Pax and Peter, in a world, it turns out, with hope, something we all need all the time, of course, but now seems so light and distant and far away on some days.
Reading brings you places you need to be rather than where you are sometimes. I’m grateful.
Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker
Some people are orphans; others just feel that way. Revenge, loss, grief, change, war — the lingering toxic effects of living life, it seems.
How to Find Your Way in the Dark by Derek B. Miller
Libraries, murders, small towns, gothic old buildings with quirks. Yes!
The Unkindness of Ravens by M.E. Hilliard
Gus doesn’t like anyone or anything except sausages. Sometimes we are all Gus, though our sausages might be pizza or mac and cheese or candy or our favorite stuffed animal. The only thing I am liking today is an extremely cold diet pop and a BLT with a home-grown tomato. Possibly also an ice cream sandwich later.
I work with the public, and sometimes I feel like THEY are Gus, and there is nothing I can do right. But I am like Gus’s little buddy — persistent and just a little oblivious or pretending to be that way. Some days, they really can’t see past their sausages, because they are grumpy and stressed and have had it with everything. We are a messed up kind of world a lot of the time.
This book is not about John Lewis and remembering the power of love and non-violence in promoting change — something which I have been thinking about a lot lately — but somehow, Gus reminds me that immovable and difficult and impossible people still love something.
This is Gus by Chris Chatterton
One boat. Many choices. Making the right ones can save us all.
The Old Boat by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey
Summer camp + moving + quirky kids + aliens? Yes, yes, and more!
Long Distance by Whitney Gardner
Middle school drama so perfectly drawn that it makes adults uncomfortable.
Clash by Kayla Miller
The joys and tribulations of revisiting your past through music…
Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani
Short and sweet and full of thoughts on how we all can live our lives with justice and needed change in mind. We will miss John Lewis for a very long time.
Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis
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