More Newberry reviews

I finished Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse, this week at LOVED it! It was shelved in our library in the young adults section instead of the children's section, and for good reason. There's an awful, heart-breaking, fire-related tragedy in the book that will haunt younger readers, so unless you're ready for some tears and sleepless nights, I wouldn't let your pre-teen read this book. However, for a more mature mind, this book is touching and beautifully written. Ms. Hesse chose to present the story in a rambling sort of poetry instead of standard prose, and the effect was perfect for the subject matter. It's amazing how much she could say in just a couple of lines. Set in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Great Depression, Out of the Dust takes you to a time and place of alternating hope and despair, with hope eventually winning out in the end. Maybe the main character's love of piano struck a chord (no pun intended) with me, but even without that element, I still think it would be a wonderful book.

I also finished Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes. It won the Newberry in 1944 but stands the test of time. I started this book with my boys last year while we were studying the American Revolution during homeschool, but we didn't finish it. The kids had a little difficulty with the old-fashioned wording. I see now that if we had stuck with things just a little longer, the story would have pulled us in, regardless of the wording. My oldest son just finished studying the American Revolution again in public school (fourth grade). I'm going to encourage him to give Johnny Tremain another try. It's a good example of a living book that puts kids in the middle of a place in history so that dry textbook stories will have deeper meaning for them. After reading Johnny Tremain, I was ready to find a Paul Revere biography and dive in. However, there are still plenty of Newberry books to conquer, so I'm afraid Mr. Revere will have to wait.

National Quilting Day

Today, March 18, is National Quilting Day. I saw that advertised at the library this week but forgot all about it until I was surfing around Amazon to see if Jennifer Chiaverini's new Elm Creek book is out yet. It is, but only for pre-order. It comes out March 22. I read two of her books, The Sugar Camp Quilt and The Christmas Quilt while I was on the cruise last week. That only made me hungry for more.

In honor of National Quilting Day, Ms. Chiaverini is having a block design contest. The winner's quilt block will be used as the Elm Creek Quilts logo, plus she'll receive books, fabric, and a pin made from her winning design. More information is available at http://www.elmcreek.net. You must register for the Elm Creek Reader's Circle to enter the contest. I doubt I'll get energized enough to give it a try, plus I'm such a quilting novice. Still, it will be neat to see what other people come up with.

Hmmmm... Maybe I'll pull out my daughter's quilt and finally finish that binding tonight.

Through Gates of Splendor

I read Elisabeth Elliot's book on the flight to Miami for the cruise and finished it just after we set sail. It is an amazing account of mission work in Ecuador in the 1950s and the tragedy of five missionaries' deaths at the hands of a hostile jungle tribe. Eventually, several of the men who participated in the missionaries' massacre ended up in mission school, led by some of the missionaries' widows. Through Gates of Splendor is a beauitful story of devotion, forgiveness, and how the love of Christ can reach into the deepest, darkest places and hearts to redeem us. If you plan to see The End of the Spear when it inevitably reaches video, read this book first. The End of the Spear is a continuation of Mrs. Elliot's story, about Steve Saint's continued work with the tribe who killed his father when he was a child. I haven't yet seen the movie but am really looking forward to it.

Scrapbooking again

The Caribbean cruise gave me a great opportunity to scrapbook again. My sister-in-law secretly requested letters and photos for her husband's 40th birthday album, and plenty of family and friends responded. I got the honor of putting it all together in an album. I haven't scrapped a page in about a year, so it was good to get my hands back on a paper trimmer again. It turned out well, and the recipient seemed moved by the final product. Here's a photo of him and his family looking at the album for the first time.

Tubing

Tubing down the White River in Jamaica was definitely the most fun excursion for me during the cruise. Our guides were great, and the water was cool and clear. I would have loved to just float along without worrying about the group, but we had to stay together to make sure no one floated too far downstream. That made it very difficult for me to stay out of my husband's camera range! Still, it was peaceful, relaxing, and providing a beautiful view of the Jamaican foilage. Who knew they had kudzu in Jamaica? I've seen plenty of kudzu growing up in Mississippi, but never covering a patch of bamboo.

Honduras canopy tour

My husband joined some of the more adventurous members of our cruise group on a canopy tour of the jungle. They slid along cables above the trees to get a bird's eye view of the jungle below. I chose to stay on the ground, near the beach with a good book.

Sea turtle

During our stop at Grand Cayman during the cruise I visited a sea turtle farm with my sister-in-law. My kids think it was the coolest thing ever that Mom got to hold a real sea turtle!

Cruising

My husband and I just got back from an amazing trip through the western Caribbean. We went on a cruise to celebrate my brother-in-law's 40th birthday. The birthday boy and his wife (my hubby's sister, who planned the whole thing and kept it a surprise from the guest of honor) were in a stateroom right directly to our left. My brother-in-law's parents and sister stayed in a room directly to our right. They're all great folks and tons of fun to be around. We saw part of the Honduras, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.

Knitted purse

The little rectangle I had been working on got a bit longer and finally turned into a purse. I followed a friend's advice and crocheted the strap using double crochet. I crocheted a little chain loop and sewed on a button to keep it closed. The yarn is Patons Mosaic. I used size 10 knitting needles and a size K crochet hook.

Finally - a completed knitting project

I crocheted a couple of scarves at the beginning of the year, but this is my first ever completed knitted scarf! I made it for a friend who really loves purple. It's just straight rows of knitting. I used Patons Cha Cha yarn and size 6 needles.

Remains of the snowgirl

Three days after she was built, this is what was left of our snowgirl. Two days after it snowed, temperatures here reached 60 degrees.

Valentine roses

My sweet husband came home with these for me on Valentine's Day. We've been married for fourteen years, and he still brings me flowers. I'm so thankful to be his wife!

2006 Nor' easter

Well, I've survived my first nor' easter! Places north got more than a foot of snow, but we only got about six inches. Here's the view from our front porch and a shot of our son's first snow-shoveling lesson.

Snow angel

Our little Texas-born, California-bred cutie is actually a snow angel at heart. She had a fantastic time!

Our first snowman

Well, really it's a snowgirl. Her head fell off before we went to bed, but she looked pretty good for a while.

Beginning knitting

I am finally knitting! My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was little, but I hadn't picked up a crochet hook for years until 2005. I made a couple of scarves and got the itch to finally learn to knit. I couldn't fathom how something could be made without a hook, but I was willing to give it a try. I planned to sit down with my grandmother when I was visiting back home at Christmas, but we spent all that time talking and gathering with the whole family, so knitting never happened. Then, two weeks ago I signed up for a class at Michael's, and I am now a novice knitter and purler. This is my first project. I originally thought it would be a scarf, then I thought maybe a potholder, because I'm ready to move on to something else. This is just knitting over and over to make sure I get comfortable with it. Now I think it's time to move on to a combination of knitting and purling. But what to do with this little project? My three-year-old niece told me last night that she thought I should make a purse ... this could become a purse eventually, right? I'll post a photo when this little square of yarn gains an identity other than "my first knitting project."

Walk Two Moons

The most recent Newberry book I've read was Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, and it was a good one. I was not prepared for the stillbirth account, but the author did a great job showing how such a tragic event can affect a woman and her entire family. Be warned: There's more cause for grief here than the stillbirth, so this is definitely for older readers. I don't think I'd want my ten-year-old reading Walk Two Moons yet.

So many of these young reader books I've encountered tackle the subject of grief; it's heartbreaking to think that there are lots of kids out there who need to read these books to understand their own grief is okay to feel. My own children were so small when their brother was stillborn so many years ago, but I can see how these books for older children could help 8-14 year-olds work their way through feelings of loss. Still, I do wish for a few more books with lighter themes. It seems the Newberry medal is given to books about dealing with death or being forced to face huge obstacles with courage. Some of the books about being brave are great, but so many of these books are kind of heavy for kids.

That being said, I highly recommend The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo (Newberry winner, 2004). It's a sweet book about a mouse and a princess, perfect for eight-year-olds and up, I would think. In it, death is approached sensitively but with enough fairy-tale flair to make kids close the book smiling. Of course, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, by Robert C. O'Brien (1972), is pretty great, too. I guess you can't go wrong with a book about mice. Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1992), is still my favorite so far. Beautiful story about a boy and a dog that takes me back to my own childhood of front porches and dirt roads.

Kid books

I haven't made it a New Year's resolution or anything, but I've found myself drawn to the children's section of the library lately in hopes of reading most of the Newberry award books. I read a lot of them when I was in elementary school, but I forgot what they were all about. Now my kids are reading them in school, and I decided it might be a good idea to know what my kids are reading. I've been pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this project has become. I've found that kid books are a lot more fun than grown-up books.

Checkmate

Our middle child challenged his dad to a game of chess recently. Dad won, but he had to stay on his toes. The day is quickly approaching when Dad will have to relinquish his chess title.

New cousin

Here's our youngest taking care of her new cousin. We got to meet him when we visited the family down south for Christmas.