When I am sick, I lose myself in a good book. Unable to kick the horrid cold I had, I ended up home sick for two days. During that time I read a most POWERFUL book. It is frightening and real and compelling. Brain on Fire, My Month of Madness by New York Post Reporter Susannah Cahalan recalls, poor word choice, her survival of the the battle between her body and brain. Her parents were just, WOW. Their persistence in following that "mommy gut" I often refer to, helped this woman to emerge on the other side. We are parents for life, as this tale reminds us. And the more we learn about our bodies, the more we discover what we truly do not know. I just recommended it to another friend and I thanked my lifelong BFF Ria for sending the title my way. It is the type of real stuff I like to read even if I don't like the subject. Make sense? Probably not.
The next two books I read this week have some back story and are juvenile fiction, but I read them and I am adding them to my list. First, The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies was checked out of the school library for ME by my sweet LRHB. His teacher was reading the book in class and he just knew that I would like it. He checked it out in spite of classmates teasing that he just wanted to read the end before the rest of the class. He owned right up to them that he was checking it out for me! Oh, and I did like it. Moms/Dads that do read aloud with your kiddos, I recommend this one. There is no movie to follow it up, but if you have children that perhaps ever have sibling competition (and if you don't please message me so you can let me in on that secret), this is such a great book to read. It was a quick read (and would be even if you were reading it aloud) and the message was fabulous!
Next, The Journal of Ben Uchida by Barry Denenberg is part a "Dear America" Book. I find this series a wonderful way to introduce young readers to historical fiction. I chose this book for LRHB because he had just finished reading about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and I wanted him to see what happened to the Japanese Americans following that tragic event, perpetuating tragedy here at home. He is developing a passion for historical fiction and since his mom was just short of her history minor in college, I am thrilled. I love to share this passion of mine with my people. However, I didn't want to hand it off and let the story do the work of educating him which is why I sat up last night pre-reading it. He's currently snuggled under the blanket, having shoveled snow already, and reading away. Happy Mornings!
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