Book Notes

Hooray! My reading slump is over. I just finished reading the most remarkable book. I am so glad the girls in book club chose this one. It won the Newbery Honor this year, and after reading The Higher Power of Lucky, I can’t believe it didn’t win the Newbery Medal. This one was so much better.

Catherine is 12, and her younger brother David has autism. She is frustrated with people staring at him and making fun of him. She gives him guidelines (rules) for everday life to help him get along better so that he blends in more. For both of their sakes.

Over the summer while her best friend is in California, a new girl just her age moves in across the street, and Catherine meets Jason. Her new neighbor Kristi is popular and pretty. Catherine was hoping they could be close friends, but can they when Kristi seems so awkward around people with disabilities?

Jason, is one of my favorite characters. Catherine meets him at the therapy clinic. Jason is wheelchair bound, and can’t talk. He has to point to words in his communication book. They develop a friendship, but one that Catherine only wants to have at the clinic. Can she learn to be friends with him outside of the clinic? In spite of the stares?

I absolutley adore this book! There is nothing fake about the characters. They act like real people. Nice setting too, on the coast of Maine. Definitely a must read.

I knew if I said that I was on a lucky reading streak that I would break the spell, and sure enough, I have nothing to read, and it is a rainy, drizzly day. The perfect type of day for reading a book.

It’s a very uncomfortable feeling for a reader to not have a book in hand. That’s why so many of us often have 2 or more books going at the same time so that no matter our mood we have a book ready to go that suits us. I have the 5th Harry Potter at my side, but I didn’t like all his whining in that one. I want something lovely and engaging. I read a review of a book coming out soon that looks fantastic called “When we Get There” but that won’t do me any good today. So, help me out. Give me some titles of a good, cozy book to read. I need your help!

Here is another terrific animal book. I’ve been on a lucky streak lately with my reading. Angus and Sadie are two Border Collies who are adopted as puppies by mister and missus to live with them on their farm in Maine.

The dogs each have a very specific personality. The writing is third person omniscient, so you know what everyone is thinking, including the dogs. All of their thoughts are in italics. At first they are cute, loveable puppies who get in a lot of trouble. Then they grow up and learn how to be good sheep dogs and good pets. I laughed out loud several times.

I feel a little bad for Sadie. Several time mister and Angus think that she is a slow learner, or not a good sheep dog. She’s actually great at both, she just does things differently. It takes most of the book, but eventually everyone else catches on. The story is sweet and funny, the drawings are perfect. Even the chapter titles are cute. A must read for anyone who likes dogs, farms, Maine or any animal stories.

I have not even finished this book yet, but I have to write up a review. Now, I have read Ivan Doig before and liked him just fine. But this is amazing. The writing is luxurious. I don’t know how else to describe it. Each word of every sentence is chosen with such care.

Doig is at times poetic, “The Rembrandt light of memory, finicky and magical and faithful at the same time, as the cheaper tint of nostalgia never is.” His observation unparalleled, “The pewter cast of light that comes ahead of winter crept into the schoolground as I performed the last of my winter errands, shadows growing dusky instead of sharp almost as I watched.” Not least of all is his humor and wit, “…if Father nicked himself shaving he thought he was two feet into the grave.” and “Damon’s eyes narrowed; if Aunt Eunice was on her way to the hereafter, it plainly seemed to be by a highly roundabout route.”

The writing is beautiful, the story lovely and credible. I wish the characters lived near me. I love them all, even the ones I was skeptical about at first. The setting is 1909 Montana, and the narrator is 13 year-old Paul Milliron. There is no involved overreaching plot, just the exquisitely drawn characters and their interactions with each other. I am enjoying this so much that I meter out my readings to make it last. I recommend with pleasure.

I just finished reading the sweetest book in the world. Toes is a very unusual cat. He has seven toes on each foot instead of five. His litter mates don’t want anything to do with him, afraid that they will “catch extra toes” so he heads off one night to find a place of his own.

Not only does Toes have double paws, he is extremely intelligent. He can turn on the t.v., he loves to listen to classical music, and he understands almost everything that people say. He winds up a stray cat in Sebastian Crabbe’s house. Sebastian is a very accomplished violin player, and loves having a cat around for an audience as much as Toes loves to listen to the beautiful music.

But Sebastian also has a problem. He would love to play with the Philharmonic, but he doesn’t have the confidence he needs. Toes has a plan though. And despite the fact that he is now up there in years, he will do what it takes to bring the Philharmonic to Sebastian’s house.

Of all the books I’ve read recently, this is one of my favorites. Toes is the sweetest, nicest cat. And his gentle nature makes him friends with mice, a dove, and of course, Sebastian.