Give yourself a gift! Here's the great way I started the year, and gave myself a most excellent gift for the soul! Along with ringing in the New Year on January 1st, I carefully planned my menu including my pitcher of water, prepared my stack of books and set my schedule. On Saturday, January 2nd, 2016, I had a Read-junvenation. (this is the first of what will be many more to come) It was dreamy, comforting, and infinitely repeatable. I first got the idea from Mel Joulwan's Well Fed blog in January of 2015 when she had her own special reading day; see
www.http://meljoulwan.com/2014/12/31/reading-day/
Here's what I did in five easy steps:
1. Woke up at 7:20am
2. Put on my glasses and started reading
3. Had food delivered per my schedule of breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner to my reading spot (this happened to be my bed with my standard poodle never leaving my side) and ate while reading. (Thanks to my fantastic sweetie pie for serving me!)
4. I read until Sunday morning at 12:45am (just over 17 hours)
5. ...and relished every second of no phone, texts, emails, internet, iPods - just my books, the light by my bedside table, my poodle, and me.
The sheer exuberance I felt dedicating my day to books is ineffable - but it's truly a reader's dream come true! I've decided to do this every first Saturday of the month; I'm reciprocating and being the "delivery person" in February, and I'm already pining for my turn in March.
Here's what I read:
- The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell Boyce
A pretty funny book full of impossibly hilarious situations (main character Rory Rooney turns broccoli-green), but it didn't quite meet my high expectations of Boyce's work; I loved his Framed and Cosmic; Broccoli Boy was good, but not great, but I did laugh out loud several times.
- The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman
Oh my - this one had so much potential, but it just didn't live up to the fun premise. The writing was clunky, characters not entirely fully developed, and the pacing was sluggish - often. Too bad. I still liked the book for its rich literary references and stayed with it even though more editing would have provided a cleaner novel. Still worth reading if you like magical books, Shakespeare, and an interesting exploration of relationships and memory.
- A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
Shines above all! Lord is at her best here with a wonderful story set in Maine; we have wild blueberries, a blueberry festival and pageant, and an unlikely new friendship on the tails of a fading and often confusing best friend. ...and so much more. Gorgeous, crisp, perfectly executed, and I cried...more than once.
For those who love Roald Dahl, you may really enjoy this book. I'm not a big fan, and I didn't, but I could see kids finding fun in the adventure of two kids trying to get back Dublin's funny bone from the Black Dog (Churchill's term for depression). Loved the beginning - brother and sister sneak under the kitchen table after bedtime to listen in on their mum, da, and granny's conversations, and then it gets pretty outrageous with a midnight quest to overcome the dog and get back that bone - impossibly, thousands more of Dublin's children join them. It lacked proper engagement for me, and fell flat. Still, it might be a good talking point for kids whose parents suffer depression, and the message that laughter can often overcome troubling times is, well, there - at least.
- In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III
11-year-old light-skinned and blue-eyed protagonist Jimmy McClean is bullied at school by a white kid and a native American who only team up to give him a hard time - they're not even friends! He and his grandfather embark on a journey which traces the steps of Crazy Horse. Jimmy learns about his heritage (he's 3/4 Lakota) but takes away an even deeper understanding of himself. Will it be enough to face the bullies when he's back in school in the fall? I very much enjoyed reading this fascinating historical account of Crazy Horse told through the words of Jimmy's grandfather and the sites they visit.
- The Tale of Rescue by Michael J. Rosen
First thing to note about the book is the beautiful watercolor illustrations - GORGEOUS! In this story, a family visits the Appalachian foothills in the winter and encounter an unexpected blizzard while out walking. Unable to find their way back, they travel in circles, the father whistling fruitlessly until finally stopping to huddle in a small snow pit they've dug. Their survival isn't likely. But a cattle dog from a nearby farm does hear the whistles, and she does what she always does - drive the "cattle" to safety. It's a lovely story of a determined dog and a very grateful family.
- Playing Julietby JoAnne Stewart Wetzel
Another bright star of the reading day! I loved this funny and crisply written story of a girl whose life revolves around the theatre. Author Wetzel is clearly an avid theatre geek, and she nicely integrates Shakespeare. It's a wholesome read, so even though the main character is in middle school, the shenanigans are all above board and will appeal to kids from second grade to high school. Delightful and funny.
- Escape from Baxter's Barn by Rebecca Bond
This one's a heart-warmer. If you like anything by E.B. White (Charlotte's Web, Trumpet of the Swan) you will adore this old-fashioned feeling story of barn animals who overhear the farmer talking about burning down the barn for insurance money! They need to escape! With well-drawn characters like the Nanny the goat, her kid Tick, the two workhorses Pull and Tug, Fluff the sheep, Figgy the pig, Mrs. Brown the old milk cow, and most of all Burdock, the one-eyed cat who doesn't quite feel he belongs - this endearing story casts a spell of enchantment. That Bond even does illustrations reminiscent of Garth Williams adds a bonus to this sweet little book. A perfect family read-aloud.
Do it! Try this out - I challenge you! If you like to read, you'll love giving yourself a Read-juvenation. The only problem it creates is the desire to do it every day. How many days till March 5th?