reading – Page 2 – On the Children's Shelf

Magic Garden – story box

This past week I was talking to friends at work and the topic somehow turned to tv shows of our childhood. I love this topic as much as I love talking about my favorite childhood books. I shared that Magic Garden with Carole and Paula was my most favorite show. If you grew up in the NY area in the 70s/80s, you probably remember Magic Garden.

I loved this show. I can’t say that enough. I saw them perform live as child and many years later, when my children were small, I took them to see Carole and Paula perform live at children’s book day at Sunnyside, Washington Irving’s home.

A children’s tv show may seem like an unusual topic for a column about books but this show fits in perfectly here. On the show, Carole and Paula would open the story box (a giant trunk) filled with props for that day’s story. They would then use the props to tell their audience captivating stories. A few simple props became a magical tale with their ability to intertwine some magic….voices, accents, costumes, and the ability to keep their young audience’s attention. I loved their story time.

The oral tradition of telling stories is so important. As a young child, hearing those stories, I felt Carole and Paula’s excitement for the tale. I felt the magic of the story. I loved listening. I loved seeing their take on how the story came to life. I could never replicate it, but I can bring my own excitement to reading stories aloud to young listeners.

Many childhood books shaped me as a reader, but I would be remiss if I did not include the tv show Magic Garden in that list. Carole and Paula were a big part of my early childhood and they too shaped me as a reader. They presented stories in another way, and I learned from them that stories are so much more than simply words on a page. Those words on a page are so important but equally important are those stories we share. The ones that captivate the listener. The ones that might not be written down on any paper and might be told a little differently each time. They are passed on from storytellers to their audience.

I don’t remember the specifics of all the story box stories but I remember how it felt to listen to those stories (and I still remember the song “the stories are here, there all in here”). I remember that magical feeling hearing a story. For young readers and story listeners, the feelings of excitement, wonder, captivation that come from hearing a story aloud are the foundation of building a love of reading. Thank you, Carole and Paula, for making stories come alive for me.

The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington

“One if by land, two if by sea.” These famous words from the Longfellow poem immediately remind us of that famous ride of Paul Revere to warn that the British were coming. As a child I heard the story of that midnight ride and how important it was at a time when there weren’t phones or internet or any easy way to spread an emergency message.

Another rider also took off through the night, but her story doesn’t get told as often. On the night of April 26, 1777, young Sybil Ludington rode through the night to call the troops to fight the British at Danbury, CT (State Education Department 1935). Her historic ride covered nearly 40 miles through the Hudson Valley to tell the troops to meet her father in the morning to fight the British troops in nearby Danbury.

Growing up, I never heard of Sybil or her historic ride so I was captivated when my children came home from school years ago, sharing her story with me. This weekend marks the 247th anniversary of the Battle of Ridgefield and Sybil’s midnight ride so I thought I would share a few great books to learn more about this local heroine.

Sybil Ludington’s Midnight Ride (On My Own History) by Marsha Amstel

Sybil’s Night Ridge by Karen B. Winnick

Sybil Ludington: Revolutionary War Rider (Based on a True Story) by E. F. Abbott

For adult readers: Patriot Hero of the Hudson Valley: The Life and Ride of Sybil Ludington by Vincent T. Dacquino

I’ve mentioned before how transformative it can be for young readers when the story overlaps into their own world. Reading local history and being able to visit the locations can make the story feel more “real.” After reading the books above, there are several great local places to visit. There are statues and history markers nearby that recount Sibyl’s ride. Readers can visit the statues outside the Danbury library and in Carmel as well as historic markers in Ludingtonville and Carmel. We visited several locations and it put into perspective just how far this young heroine rode through the night and how important and brave she was.

Revisiting New Orleans…

Back in October, I read Paula Morris’ “Ruined” and I was immediately hooked. It had all the makings of the a great “spooky season” read….ghosts, New Orleans, history, a family curse, and New Orleans cemeteries. As I told a friend about the book, I looked it up online to check the author’s name and discovered there was a second book. It continued!

I’m always excited when the story continues and quickly ordered a copy of “Unbroken.” Rebecca returns to New Orleans with a friend from home to visit family and one friend, Anton. New Orleans without a ghost and a family curse should hopefully be less stressful until a mysterious boy shows up in New York asking for help in New Orleans.

While Rebecca tries to keep the ghost hidden, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Talking to an invisible person draws attention to you. Rebecca has to share the news with her friend from home….she sees ghosts and one needs her help. Helping a ghost is never easy and other ghosts become angry and try to stop her.

Sometimes second books don’t live up to the first. It feels like a desperate attempt to continue a completed story. That was not the case here. The story continued. It flowed. It made sense. Rebecca and her dad visiting family in New Orleans was logical. The ghost that found her didn’t feel forced. The story took different turns than the first and while the characters and location were the same, it was definitely a new story that continued from the last book.

I would definitely recommend both “Ruined” and “Unbroken.” I could see the streets of New Orleans as I turned the pages and I really enjoyed both books. If you are looking for a ghost story that isn’t scary, but rather friends and enemies that span centuries, be sure to check these books out.

“Promise me you’ll always remember…”

I love to start the day with coffee and a quick look at the memories that pop up on my phone “on this day (x) years ago.” An old photo or a funny quote from one of my children is a great way to start the day. Today’s memory was the image above that I saved several years ago. I love this quote. It is lines like this that make me truly love children’s books.

Children like to reread stories themselves or have someone read the same story to them many, many times. Parents often joke they can recite certain books from memory. Words like these make those 10,000 rereads so very important. As a young child falls asleep listening to the story being read aloud, I hope these words seep deep into their mind. I hope they realize A.A. Milne’s message wasn’t simply dialogue between two characters in a book, but rather he was speaking to his young readers.

Readers often identify the characters in books, even when those characters are animals (you may recall the many times I’ve discussed “The One and Only Ivan”). Reading (or hearing) those lines in a book in addition to hopefully being internalized, shows young readers true compassion between friends. While the image shows Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, it was actually said by Christopher Robbins to Winnie the Pooh (the quote appears in “The House at Pooh Corner”). The quote in its entirety is even better “Promise me you’ll always remember: you’re braver thank you believe, and stronger thank you seem, and smarter than you think.” The words I love most “promise me you’ll always remember.”

I hope every young reader who hears Winnie the Pooh read aloud or reads the book on their own, always remembers those words.

When your secrets go viral…

How do you keep things private in a digital age? When things can easily be shared online? When hackers can access devices and cloud storage, is anything ever really safe?

In “In Case You Missed It” by Sarah Darer Littman we see what happens when your safe protected cloud storage is hacked and shared online. Sammy, a high school junior is busy with the APs and getting her driver’s license. She keeps a personal diary on her computer so her little brother can’t find it and read it.

Sammy’s dad is the CEO of a major bank. He is under enormous stress because there are protesters outside the bank protesting bank actions. Sammy is aware of his stress, but she’s a teenager busy with her own school stress. While it might seem like there is no overlap, their whole world is turned upside down when hackers hack into bank documents then turn their attack on her father, personally. They hack into the family’s cloud storage and start sharing everything they find online…including Sammy’s personal diary.

Every thought, every frustration, the time she lied to her parents…all out there for her classmates and parents to read. Things at the bank are worse than ever and her dad stays at work for days on end because he is dealing with the issues there. Her entire school has read her diary, her friends are furious and refuse to speak to her. The ultimate irony in Sammy’s mind is that her mom tells her not to read any of their emails or texts shared online but Sammy’s mom reads her diary. On top of losing her friends, Sammy is caught lying to her parents through her diary and is now grounded. While Sammy’s secrets are on the internet being read, so are her parents’ secrets and Sammy learns the biggest secret they’ve been keeping from her. Definitely check out this book to see what happens when all those private thoughts and email exchanges are now available for the whole world to read.

This YA book is well written and readers of all age can identify with the question – how safe is anything online? The story flows well, is captivating and took turns I didn’t expect (which I really enjoy in a book). Friendships end, family dynamics change, Sammy learns a lot about herself, her real friends, and if you have to choose who is going to snoop through your diary….she’d rather it was just her little brother. I highly recommend this book.

Books as holiday gifts

I like to include a book among the holiday presents, even for a reluctant reader. While it might not be the most favorite gift for some, the right book can still be a welcomed present. Here are a few book gift suggestions.

The Daring Books (The Daring Book for Girls and The Daring Book for Boys) are fun. Siblings, cousins, friends who are spending a lot of time together over the holidays will hit a point of boredom. Those are great books to give them so fun ideas of something to do. While they aren’t reading chapters, they are reading parts (and reading something is always better than reading nothing).

Another favorite is Wreck This Journal. These are great stocking stuffers for all the children in the family. It’s fun to see how they all tackle the different instructions to “wreck” each page. I’ve seen siblings and cousins go off on their own to wreck their pages then come back together to see what each other did.

Guiness Book of Records seem to be a hit among elementary age children. The child who loves random facts can get lost in these books. Expect many questions over dinner that you won’t know the answer to but lots of great conversations start with “do you know the world record for….”

Some other ideas depending on your child’s interests…..a book of scary stories and a flashlight for the child who likes spooky stories. A child appropriate cookbook makes a great gift for an aspiring chef. The next book in a series is always a great gift for the reader who is deep in a series they love. A book on any interest…books on making friendship bracelets, how to braid hair, lego guides, are all fun gifts that will get young readers flipping through the pages.

If you are looking for a book idea for a challenging reader, leave a comment and I’ll try to find a good recommendation!

The Legend continues…The Horseman

I know I’ve mentioned in the past, I love Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” As a child in NY, my mom would take me to Sleepy Hollow and tell me the story of the legend. I have found memories of visiting the old Dutch Church and wandering the cemetery. Years ago, I went to a reading of the Legend in the old Dutch Church. It was lit only by candlelight with a fire burning in the wood burning stove.

Being in the Church listening to the story felt like I found this magical vortex where reality and story overlap. I dove into the story as it happened around me. I crossed the bridge the horseman couldn’t cross. I stood safely in the old Dutch Church listening. I was a real human and yet I was so far into the legend, I sort of expected to see the headless horseman ride by outside the window. Crossing that secret barrier from reality into the book and the story crossing from pages into the world around me, made me feel a unique connection to the story. In a weird way, I lived it. I’ve been inside those pages.

Embracing the spooky season, I revisit the legend. I rewatch the old Disney cartoon (it’s available on Disney+). I dive into one of my copies of the legend and some years, like this year, I revisit those grounds. I walk the steps of Ichabod, Katrina, and Broms. I stand inside the story and look around.

This year, I was looking for another legend related book. You can visit past reads of the Legend and Legend related books. The incredible librarians at the Ridgefield Library tracked down a copy of Christina Henry’s “Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow” for me. In “Horseman” we meet Ben, grandchild of Katrina and Broms over 30 years after Ichabod disappeared. Broms insists the Legend is just a made-up story to scare off Ichabod. Young Ben doesn’t think much of it, until a child goes missing and is found headless and handless in the woods. Ben has always been told to stay out of the woods and everyone in Sleepy Hollow believes bad things happen when you step off the trail into the woods. Ben is curious and wonders if the horseman might be real and tied to this discovery.

The story is divided into 3 parts. I really enjoyed the first two parts. The third is sadder and while I respect the writing, I wanted a different ending. Just simply personal preference. Others go missing in the story and face a similar horrific demise as the first missing character. We do find out who is stealing the heads and hands of their victims. The horseman does make an appearance of sorts in the story and another surprise character from the original legend appears. The book would be ideal for older teens, not younger readers. It’s gruesome at times but not scary but the gruesome level should definitely be taken into consideration when determining appropriateness (and again why I think older teens and up).

While many books based on popular tales struggle to capture the essence of the initial story, Henry does a good job. It does feel believable as a continuation of the story. If you are looking for a good Halloween spooky read, this is a good one.

Starting my October Spooky Reads

A few weeks ago, I was at a library book sale. While searching all the books, one cover caught my attention. The cover scene was a New Orleans cemetery. While you can’t judge a book by its cover, this cover captured my attention, and I knew it was worth checking out. I grabbed the copy of “Ruined” by Paula Morris and knew it would be a great October read.

I dove in last week and once I started, I couldn’t put the book down. Rebecca grew up in NYC, but her dad has to go on an extended business trip (for months) and sends her to live with a family friend in the Garden District in New Orleans. Rebecca feels completely out of place when she arrives. She is given one strong warning from her “aunt” (she needs to refer to her father’s friend as her aunt to be permitted to attend her new school) – stay away from the cemeteries, they are dangerous. Of course, this sparks her interest, and she follows schoolmates into the cemetery one night to see what they are up to. She doesn’t want them to know she is there, so she hides and manages to get lost. While trying to find her way out, she meets someone, Lisette, in the cemetery who guides her to the gate. Rebecca wonders why she doesn’t see Lisette anywhere else except the cemetery. On a visit into the cemetery to see Lisette, the other students are about to see Rebecca until Lisette grabs her hands making her invisible. Rebecca suddenly realizes why she hasn’t seen Lisette anywhere else…she’s a ghost.

Why is Rebecca able to see this ghost no one else sees? While Rebecca wonders about this, the rest of the school (and city) are getting ready for Mardi Gras. Aside from the parades, there are many parties. Rebecca is invited to an exclusive Mardi Gras season party by a boy in her school. Her aunt does not want her to go but she plans to sneak out and attend. Lisette surprisingly tells Rebecca she will be there. Why would a ghost attend a party? I’d tell you more, but you really need to read it find out why.

What I loved most about this book is the twists and turns. Lisette’s appearance at the party sets off a chain of events that the reader does not expect. Really well written and the perfect book for a spooky (but not scary) October read!

Ivan – the Shopping Mall Gorilla

“The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate is one of my top 10 favorite children’s books. I’ve written about this book before. I still have the same feelings I had then…how many times can I use profound, brilliant, and amazing without it feeling repetitive or unnecessary. Ivan’s story is one of those rare books that touches your heart in a way that profound and brilliant simply can’t be said enough about it.

Visiting the library this past week, I saw another favorite Ivan book that I previously shared here…Katherine Applegate’s “Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla.” I haven’t looked at this book since 2015, but I saw it and needed to revisit my old friend, Ivan. Yes, Ivan really did live in a shopping mall for 27 years. My heart hurts to think about this poor lonely gorilla trapped in a cage in a shopping mall for most of his life. The book begins and ends with the same line “In leafy calm, in gentle arms, a gorilla’s life began.” The story follows Ivan’s life from a tropical forest in Africa to a house in Washington, to a shopping mall once Ivan was too big to keep at home, and finally, to Zoo Atlanta where vets and scientists gave Ivan the closest life they could that tropical forest in Africa.

Books like these make the readers feel so many emotions. Readers of all ages feel frustration for Ivan, anger that he is held captive, relief when he ends up in the closest place to the forest (Zoo Atlanta). This is why I love a great children’s book. Initially a reader may wonder how they could possibly relate to a gorilla in a cage in a mall, but Applegate brilliantly shows the reader they can. Gorillas are incredibly intelligent animals who feel emotions like us. It is impossible to read this book and not feel a connection to Ivan.

Children will love that “The One and Only Ivan” is told in first person gorilla. The Ivan picture book is told by a narrator. Initially, I expected first person gorilla to make the book feel more childish, but it didn’t. It made me feel more of a connection to Ivan. It made me feel like I was stepping into his world and seeing it through his eyes. If you are interested in knowing more about the incredible Ivan, these videos show his life in a cage in a mall, his later life at Zoo Atlanta and more about his life.

A great children’s book doesn’t mean it is only written for children. It means the book is written appropriately for children BUT is a great book for readers of all ages. Visit the brilliant (yes, I’m using that word again) Ivan stories through both books and you will understand what I mean. I can’t recommend this book enough and I will definitely revisit my friend, Ivan, again soon.

The Elephant in the Room

I love Holly Goldberg Sloan books. You can visit my past reads here: Counting by 7’s, Short – the passage a friend texted to me, Short (review). One thing I noticed looking back at my previous reads – they all involved photos of a passage that impacted me. This book is no different. I took a photo of my favorite passage while reading (before I revisited those previous articles).

“You had to hope for the best.

You had to keep going even when things weren’t fair.

You had to believe in the possibility of days like this day.

And you had to work to make them happen.”

Let’s dive into this book. Sila’s mother has to return to Turkey to straighten out her immigration paperwork. She expects to be gone for a week but a week turns into a year. Sila struggles through this separation while she waits with her dad for news of her mom’s return. During this time, Sila meets an assortment of characters who change her life in ways she could never imagine. Along with her dad, Sila meets Gio a retired lottery winner who was married to Sila’s favorite teacher (who passed away). She is paired by her school with Matteo who she doesn’t plan to befriend but sometimes the universe seems to have different plans. The failing circus owner who is so desperate to sell an elephant, he will throw in a bear too. The largest character in the book (both in size and impact on Sila) is Veda, a retired circus elephant that Gio rescues who gives Sila a sense of purpose and distraction during the separation from her mom. How do these characters come together? Read the book, trust me. While it sounds like unlikely friendships and scenarios in my description, Holly Goldberg Sloan weaves in incredible tale.

The story combines sadness, loneliness, hope, promise. We find friendship in people we don’t expect. Strangers become not only friends but help in ways Sila and her dad never imagined they could. Her characters are fascinating, frustrating, wonderful humans. She tackles a tough topic, separation due to immigration issues and doesn’t sugar coat it at all but addresses the myriad of emotions in a way that is appropriate for young readers. I can not recommend this book enough.