The Professor's Daughter

a graphic novel
by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert
Translated by Alexis Siegel
64 pages, Carver County Library

This was bizarre. The plot is similar to the movie "The Mummy.' A beautiful Victorian gal "wakes up" Imhotep IV while helping her father, a professor of Egyptology. Basically, it's a romance / murder mystery / ??? I don't know what. Very odd book. She marries and has children with a 3,000-year old mummy whose father (Imhotep III) has killed her own father. Weird.

Point Blank: the graphic novel

by Anthony Horowitz
reformatted and written by Antony Johnston
art by Kanako Damerum and Yuzuru Takasaki
Carver County Library, unpaged

The essential story remains true to the book, but it feels very encapsulated. I'm not sure how I feel about such a popular novel being made into a graphic novel (though I'm a fan of graphic novels). It is very well-done, but I don't know that I'll buy it for school. I'd rather get kids into the novels!

The Quilt

by T. Davis Bunn
audioCD, Carver County Library, 2 hours
read by Christina Moore

More of a character sketch than a novel, this tells the story of Mary and her last quilt. She is old and arthritic, but determined to make one last quilt. Many women come together to help her and follow her insistence that it be stitched with prayer.

I liked the example of a faithful woman being true to God and impacting others with her life. I didn't like the lack of a plot.

America the Beautiful

by Laura Hayden
Hennepin County, paperback, 389 pages

When my church book club was discussing this, I was in the thick of all-night grad party stuff. I had also just picked up my copy from the library. They lamented that I missed the discussion. Knowing how passionate some of my friends are about politics, that doesn't surprise me. I was actually kind of dreading this book. Politics. Yuk.

It surprised me how much I liked the story. I just finished it this morning. Kate is a wonderful character, but it seemed hard to see her sticking with someone like Emily. By the end of the book, I was disliking Emily more and more. It's believable stuff, though. It really serves to further my dislike of politics.

My favorite part of the story? Naturally, the entrancing Nick Beaudry and his change of heart, as well as the potential for future romance between him and Kate. I'm just a romantic at heart!

Not sure if I'll want to read the sequel when it comes out, though. Red, White, and Blue will be about the first female president . . . sorry for the spoiler!

Shepherd's Abiding

with "Esther's Gift" and "The Mitford Snowmen"
by Jan Karon
Hennepin County audiobook, 6.25 hours
read by John McDonough

Although I enjoy the Mitford stories, they're not in my top ten list, if you know what I mean. I had actually listened to this one many years ago. It's jumpy as the narrative hops between many different characters (and Father Tim's childhood). It made me wonder how she noted the changes in the book? Extra white space? Different font? There are some things that don't translate well to audio format.

I guess this is like curling up in a comfy blanket on the sofa. Nice, but not stimulating. Mitford stories are like that.

Destination Unexpected

Edited by Donald R. Gallo
CMSW, hardcover, 221 pages

This short story collection is one that the LA department is considering for their new curriculum. I really enjoyed the variety! The protagonists are teenagers and some of the stories had a little bit of "strong language," but nothing that made me cringe (like some of Chris Crutcher's work does - powerful, but painful too). My favorites were the first story, "Something Old, Something New," by Joyce Sweeney, and "Bread on the Water" by David Lubar.

Sweeney's story related the tale of a young, poor, talented black writer who wins an essay contest after his English teacher inspires him to enter. On his almost three-hour trip across town on mass transit (with lots of transfers), he sees the world and himself with new eyes. This is a very cool and inspirational story.

Lubar's work surprised me by not being funny. I'm so used to his fantastic "weenie" stories that this tale of religious hypocrisy really made me think. When the narrator and his friend get kicked out of church, they live out a kindness that the Bible talks about. Yet the adults don't get the message. Good stuff.

I didn't pay attention to the stories' use of figurative language or other "English teacher" type lesson material. I just read the stories for themselves, and definitely enjoyed them! Lots of good discussion material here.

Wrapped in Rain

subtitled "A Novel of Coming Home"
by Charles Martin
Hennepin County, paperback, 317 pages

Tucker and Matthew have different mothers, but the same abusive father. Their only saving grace growing up was Miss Ella Rain, a God-fearing, Bible-quoting, tiny black woman with a heart filled with love. This novel was quite different from the first one of Martin's that I read, but it was just as enjoyable. Tucker and "Mutt" reacted to their father's cruelty in different ways, but both were traumatized dramatically. I especially loved Mutt's ability to fix things and Tucker's gentle way with Katie's son Jase. I also loved Ella's powerful faith! The Judge was a wonderful character, too.

The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern

by Lilian Jackson Braun

CD, Hennepin County Library, 5 hours
read by George Guidall

I read this book a few years ago and didn't really remember "who dunnit" so I listened to it in the car. As much as I enjoy this author's mysteries (along with Agatha Christie and others of that style), I have to admit that Qwilleran's "luxuriant mustache" gets irritating after a while. How many times to I have to hear that he felt "vibrations in his mustache," "his mustache was tingling," etc. Koko is a cool cat, but I think I'm done with the "cat who" series. I own some, but donating them might help free up a little shelf space. I need to find a new mystery author that I like.

The Crossing

by Gary Paulsen
CMSW, paperback, 114 pages

Manny Bustos is an orphan on the streets of Juarez. He hopes to get to America where he has heard there is food, shelter, and opportunity. Robert is an American soldier who has seen too much death and goes to Juarez to drink himself into oblivion. The two meet on three different occasions, and their lives are dramatically altered. Although we never find out if Manny makes it across the border for sure, the implication is obvious. This book is serious in tone and more contemplative than action-oriented (until the final scene).

Let's hear about it!

Hey, I'd love to know how your books were . . . since we never got around to actually meeting!

Leave a comment on this blog, if you can grab a minute. (Mary & I already did ours.)

- Jeanne - The Great Expectations School by Dan Brown
- Kristie O - Educating Esme by Esmé Raji Codell
- Sarah B - "I Heard You Paint Houses": Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa" by Charles Brandt
- Sheryl - Send Yourself Roses by Kathleen Turner
- Lupe - Home: A Memoir of my Early Years by Julie Andrews
- Christie - Beautiful Boy: a Father's Journey Through his Son's Meth Addiction by David Sheff

The Wicked History of the World: History with the Nasty Bits Left in

by Terry Deary and Martin Brown

CMSW, hardcover, 98 pages

Reading this actually depressed me. There are plenty of "nasty bits" throughout human history. There was a good message at the very end - that kids can learn from history and not do some of the terrible things that humans have done to one another throughout the years - but I wonder how many kids will read to the end of this book!

My least favorite part was the mocking tone toward God and the Bible throughout the book. Granted, items like the Crusades are ripe for ripping open in this type of book, but I hate to see the Lord maligned.

The illustrations are cartoonish yet also horrible, with lots of blood and gore. I thought that it would be a somewhat "fun" book when I bought it, but it really just saddened me. It was informative and a fairly easy read, but not a positive one.

Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope

by Jenna Bush
Carver County, CD, 3 hours, read by the author

The story was heart-rending. It took a while to get to the "hope" part (from the title). The author's voice was irritating!!! She should have hired a professional. Her pronunciations were atrocious - "impordant" was a frequent one. It amused me that she had over 100 chapters for what was probably 250 pages of material.

Ana is a very young woman who was HIV+ from birth. Her mother and father died young, she was abused and lived in a number of houses, and she became a mother at age 16. What a sad story! But there were some very positive messages about health and family and AIDS education.

Dear Miss Breed

by Joanne Oppenheim
CMSW, hard cover, 271 pages

I didn't finish this book, because I'm just running out of time. I was a little disappointed that there was such an imbalance between the actual letters that children wrote and the historical research that the author had done. My favorite parts were the children's own voices. Subtitled "True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II and a Librarian who Made a Difference," this book documents the appalling treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII. It makes me so sad that this could have happened in my country within the past 70 years! I would love to finish readin this book when I have more time. Clara Breed was an exceptional woman to make such a huge difference in so many people's lives.
(I'm on page 87.)

Comfort & Joy

by Kristin Hannah
CD, Hennepin County Library, 6 hours

Read by Sandra Burr

This book honestly surprised me. For a while it seemed like a fairly typical romance . . . but a little lame. (Self-absorbed main character, pondering her life and traumas a bit too much.) But then there was a plot twist that had me really caring about what happened and wondering how it would all end.

In the end, a sweet story. I liked it. But it isn't one I'd necessarily recommend to others . . .

Caught in the Middle: Nonstandard Kids and a Killing Curriculum

by Susan Ohanian
paperback, New Prague Middle School, 195 pages

This was a very read-able book! As she shares stories from her experience teaching remedial reading and writing in New York, Ohanian points out the frustrations of trying to make kids who are severly below grade level reach "high academic standards." Sometimes she is radical and anti-establishment to an extreme, but it's easy to see where her frustrations are coming from. The kids she works with need something different than the same-old style of education. She is very willing to teach differently and think differently about kids and their educational needs. I enjoyed this book, but wished that she offered more in the way of "here's what works" ideas. (Though she sensibly points out that there is no silver bullet that will help all kids.)

Mary V's biography - Still Life With Rice

To the phantom media specialist…

I went to the conference room – cupcakes but no people. I went to the media center – lots of books but no people. I looked high and low and found book club members hard at work in their rooms but the phantom media specialist remained elusive. I went back to the conference room. No cupcakes, no books, no people – just a lonely empty table. Sometimes meetings are like that.

The good news is – I read a book that is not professional literature! The title is Still Life With Rice. It is a biography/memoire written by Helie Lee (Scribner 1996, 320 pages). She has written the life story of her Korean grandmother. I love the book because of the amazing story it holds. It is a story of a common woman in common times who lived an extraordinary life. However, if her granddaughter had not written this story no one would have ever known Hongyong-yah. On the surface her story is reminiscent of the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan but it doesn’t dwell as tediously with minutia and although there is hardship and tragedy, Hongyog-yah takes life with her instead of life taking her. She is an amazing woman with an amazing family who survived war and political persecution and lived life. She is not anyone famous or politically important – just valuable and fascinating. It is a marvelous story. It is well written and a great read.

Mary Verbick

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

by Jeff Kinney
paperback, CMSW, 217 pages

Not quite as funny as the first book, this is a middle-school pleaser! The kids love these wimpy kid books (with illustrations, big print, & lots of white space). This is a funny book, with some genuine observations about middle school and brother relationships.

The Great Expectations School by Dan Brown

Hennepin County Library
hardcover, 267 pages

Wow. The author graduated from film school and participated in the Teaching Fellows program in NYC. After a crash course and some summer school experience, he received a class of notorious fourth graders in the Bronx. His day-to-day reality horrifies me (both for him and for his students). No wonder it's hard to retain teachers in those schools!

More than classroom horror stories, Brown shares some really cool success stories, some observations about what needs to change, and some real insight into disparities in education. (The following year, he was hired at a private school to teach visual media.) The contrast is stark!

This is a worthwhile read for educators. It sure made me appreciate my teaching community even more!

Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue

by Julius Lester
hardcover, CMSW, 176 pages

Based on a true account, this book is a painful look at the realities of the slave trade's impact on lives. Emma is a wonderful girl who has helped raise Frances and Sarah Butler ever since their mother left. Mr. Butler's gambling debts take a toll on everyone, especially when he agrees to sell slaves he had promisted to never sell.

Told from multiple perspectives, this would be an ideal discussion book. It is a challenging read (due to content) and has a lot of pain told out in people's own words.

One of the MHL nominees for 2008-09.

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

Carver County Library, paperback, 336 pages

Book club meets tonight and now I understand why everyone's been asking, "Have you read it yet?!" This was really good! The question of why Reese was trying to hide out was answered well. Emma's back story was doled out in small portions. Annie, Cindy, Davis, Charlie, Termite, Sal Cohen, . . . they were all memorable characters. The ending surprised me a bit (with a twist before the expected conclusion). I loved it when Charlie produced one last letter from Emma. This was a beautiful book. One I'd consider purchasing and owning. I will also put his other titles on my "to read" list.