April 1 2018:
Forest Bright – Forest Night
Beautifully illustrated and short two sided book naming forest animals that sleep during the day and are awake at night and vice versa. Loved the illustrations!
March 24 2018:
The Year of Living Danishly
I really enjoy reading a creative non-fiction every once in a while. And, I actually accidentally read this one! HA!
I got it for Thomas as he likes to read about other countries. I opened it when moving it around and got pulled in ….
It was incredibly interesting to learn about the Danish culture and topics ranging from childcare, education, food, interior design, and taxes. With an up close learning about rural Jutland, the home of LEGO.
Some of the conundrums the author gets herself into had me literally laughing out loud. I do love when a writer does this with me! I got to learn in an interesting and humorous way and I like that!
One aspect I didn’t really care for was the off-color labels she gave to people and places, yet, I decided I wanted to learn what she had written about. And, when I read about the Danish views regarding animals, it saddened my heart deeply.
Lastly, I may have completely misunderstood or placed my own spin on what I was reading, but it seems as though happiness is measured by outside factors rather than coming from within. Except for the piece about how they remain happy during the dark and bitter cold winter months. They accept they cannot do anything about the weather and make the best of it.
Incredibly informative book …
March 17 2018:
The Little Piano Girl
The story of a little girl who loved music more than anything in the world. Mary Lou Williams began playing the keyboard at just four years old. When she was eight she became a professional musician.
“Jazz is created in the mind, felt in the heart, and heard through the fingertips.” Mary Lou liked to say.
We loved this story of a young girl that never lost sight or touch with what she knew and loved in her heart.
March 11 2018:
Big Magic
I read this when it was first published 3 years ago. Just read it again. Perfect timing as I read it at the same time as “Right to Write”.
If one is in the space for it, this is a powerful book. It held a completely different and more intense meaning this time around. Reading this inspired me to create a writing vow and a blog post titled “The Alchemy of Writing” …. xoxo
March 4 2018:
Liang and the Magic Paintbrush
An older DEMI book … from 1980. Yet, still so good.
This one is about a poor boy who receives a magic paintbrush and uses it for good deeds. This was before the illustrations in her books became so much more vivid with color. The illustrations are still amazing with beautiful detail.
February 24 2018:
Right to Write
This book and its powerful content was like a walk down a familiar, well-worn, and comforting path welcoming my writer’s soul home. LOVED every single bit of it. This is one I would love to own and have as part of my wee book collection.
Why should we write? For me, this is a powerful book. The author brought together so many of my own feelings and thoughts about writing, why I write, what happens when I write, and that EVERYONE should write.
One doesn’t have to share their writings. Simply the act of writing is healthy and therapeutic.
Cameron shares how writing can be playful, as well as a practical and profound experience. The art of writing will never be the same for you after reading this book.
A GREAT book for any of my writer friends!! And, pretty much anyone who wants to at least begin writing a daily journal for therapeutic reasons …. I’m serious! This is a powerful book!! I just want to hug and squeeze it! xoxo
February 17 2018:
Good-bye, Havana! Hola, New York!
Inspired by the author’s childhood in Cuba and New York in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Wonderful story of growing up in two cultures. We loved it!
February 10 2018:
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire
This has been in my collection for years and I just now got around to reading it. It is crystal clear to me why I just now read this book. And is absolutely NO coincidence. And not a coincidence that it is about coincidences.
This one dives deeper into the coincidences we experience. The content is deeply aligned with my heart and I feel it to be quite powerful.
I haven’t had time to write a post about my 2018 main theme word and two supporting theme words. Yet, the main word is Jump (interchangeable with Leap) and the two supporting words are Listen and Trust. This book is full to the brim of the use of jump, leap, listen, and trust.
Here’s just one example, “These leaps of imagination are constantly evolving into what we see as the universe.” … Yes, Big Yes! I loved this one!! xoxo
What’s interesting for me is that when I’m reading his books, I “hear” the words spoken in his voice rather than mine. Almost like he’s reading to me! HA!
February 3 2018:
Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Freedom
In the year 1859 the Statue of Freedom’s plaster model faced being broken unless a construction puzzle was solved. Philip Reid, a skilled and enslaved African American stepped forward and solved the puzzle.
In 1863, the Statue of Freedom was lifted to the top of the Capitol. Very interesting book! Had never heard this before and it was wonderful to learn about this amazing man!
January 27 2018:
The Mysterious Guests – A Sukkot Story
This was a GREAT book with wonderful illustrations about Sukkot, the Jewish harvest holiday. A story about two brothers and lessons learned by one of the brothers.
