book reviews
Reviews of books that explore the complexities of family throughout history and across cultures.
Love You Forever
"I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.". Those words hit you so differently as a child as opposed to the way you feel them while hearing them as an adult. Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch has always been my favorite bedtime story. I think what had originally drawn me in was the rhythm that you can't help but to form a flow to every time you utter aloud those very words. The more that same phrase is reiterated throughout the story, the more rhythmic it becomes. Honestly, what toddler or adolescent does not start moving to the beat of almost every song they hear. That also makes it memorable.
By Sharon Smith5 years ago in Families
"Wild" read which never gets old
There was and still is something deliciously trippy about Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are". I don't know which is crazier -- the storyline about a little boy, Max, who is sent to his room and sails away to an island full of weird and wonderful creatures where he is subsequently anointed King -- or the illustrations themselves, all muted and sepia 1960s colors, grotesque and a tad frightening.
By Shirley Twist5 years ago in Families
Baby Bear
When I was a kid, my favourite book was about a baby bear. It was a story of a bear that got lost in the woods and had to get home to his family. It’s a classic introduction to animals with a basic storyline for babies, with the addition of some fake furs and feathers for some of the animals.
By Blake Smith5 years ago in Families
Dr Seuss; The Maker of Dreams
'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish' (Dr Seuss, 1960) It was the first book I read. In those long-ago dim memories of near infanthood, I can still remember sitting on the living room floor. Pulling my worn and well-loved copy of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish out from between The Little Golden Books, it shared a home with.
By J.B. Miller5 years ago in Families
Self Esteem cultivated by bedtime stories
I grew up in the 1980's. My mom was a single mom trying to raise me in a very expensive part of southern California. She had to work very long hours to support us. The most cherished time of my childhood was story time before bed. It was a special time for more than just the time I got to spend with my mother and have her undivided attention. She hated to read.
By Wendy Sanders5 years ago in Families
I Don't Read... and That's OK
I am known as one of those “over-productive” people. SHOCKER I hear my friends say. A bit of background – I’m a meeting planner and work full-time as the Senior Manager of Meetings for the Society of American Military Engineers. This is my work bucket. My family bucket contains my husband and 3 kids – 7, 5, and 1, and of course, the cat. Then there is my creative bucket - a small one-woman operation of reupholstering furniture, creating amigurumi crochet creatures out of yarn, DIYing the house and anything artsy. My 3 buckets, all inter-connecting, sometimes overflowing, but always containing love and fond memories.
By Sara Stehle5 years ago in Families
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
Themes demonology, Hell, demonic hierarchy, witches, superstitions, occult/Christianity, contracts/bargains, soul stealing vendetta, murder mystery, serial killer, twins/sisters bonding, manipulation/coercion female heroine, female protagonist, turn of the century, period fiction, fantasy, betrothal
By Kayleigh Harrier5 years ago in Families
