SQUISHED by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter I don't normally post on the weekends, but after not being able to squeeze a post in yesterday due to a busy day, here goes. Squished is the newest graphic novel by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter. (This is the same duo that wrote Allergic.) Avery Lee is 11-years-old and has six siblings. Between the title of the book and my opening sentence, I think you have a pretty good idea where this is going! She's feeling "squished" or maybe we should say "lost" within her own family. There's a lot of responsibility helping to care for her younger siblings. Her relationship with her older brother (whom she used to be close to) is a little rough. She desires a room of her own for a little peace and quiet and a space to do her art. Now, her mom has just announced she's going back to work and interviewing for a job on the other side of the country. Avery is definitely feeling "squished." This isn't where we start to bash large families. (In case you haven't caught on, I have 5 kids!) In fact, I have known kids to feel lost in families of 2s and 3s for many reasons. While the love and strong family bonds are felt from the start of this book, there is a definite point where Avery turns a corner and realizes the value of her family, difficulties and all. It's a great lesson learned. HEADS UP- Just a couple of minor bumps. At one point Avery mutters that she hates her brother. She is also gets in to an argument with her mother. Both are resolved and relationships restored.

PALACE OF BOOKS by Patricia Polacco I had to really improvise on the picture today! I meant to take this book's picture about the importance of the library in a little girl's life in front of our hometown library when we stopped in to pick up books. Today is the kick off of our library's reading program, so my daughter stocked up with 44 books. I don't know what I was thinking letting her bring that many home, but here we are, and the book got its picture taken with her stack! Patricia Polacco's Palace of Books is the newest edition to her wonderful collection of picture books of events in her life growing up. Polacco shares the journey of the time right after her grandmother passed away and her grandfather sells the farm. Patricia, her mother, and brother move to Battle Creek, Michigan. There she discovers a building that resembles a palace that is the local library. What follows is the ability of a girl to settle into her community with the help of books and birds! As always Polacco does an amazing job in her storytelling and artwork. She continues to solidify my love of her books!

THE WORM FAMILY HAS ITS PICTURE TAKEN by Jennifer Frank and David Ezra Stein As we enter into graduation, vacation, and wedding season the cameras are a-clicking! This hilarious picture book entitled The Worm Family Has Its Picture Taken by Jennifer Frank and David Ezra Stein is the perfect read for this time of year! When the Worm family decides to have a family picture taken, oldest daughter Emma is concerned that their picture won't look very good because they don't have the same physical characteristics (teeth, hair, clothes, etc) as their friends who have had beautiful family photos taken. So she puts together costumes to help them look like other families. The result is that it backfires, but something special happens that just the worms can do! This picture book does not feel like a social issue book. This picture book feels like the fact that so many times we try and make our families do and be mirror images of the families around us by how we dress, look, etc. When kept in this light, we can celebrate the creativity that God has in making us unique.

FREEWATER by Amina Luqman-Dawson I have a confession to make. I wasn't overly excited at reading Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson initially. I picked it up solely because it was this year's Newberry winner. This one pleasantly surprised me with a fresh take on slavery in the south and the quest for freedom. We've all heard the amazing stories of daring escapes made by slaves to find freedom in the north. But did you know that some slaves escaped and made their way deep into the swamp lands not far from the plantations they ran from? Communities were set up and freedom found even in the deep south. Freewater is the fictional story of one such place. Homer and his sister escape from Southerland Plantation to the swamp sanctuary of Freeland, but their mother is left behind. Unable to live with this, Homer sets out with some help from his new friends in a daring attempt to rescue his mother from Southerland. HEADS UP- Obviously this book is dealing with slavery, so there is mention of whippings, one character is missing several fingers, and family separation is common. There are two times where the characters thank the earth for her provision. We miss the entire spiritual side that is so often intertwined with the slaves.

THE LIBRARIAN SPY by Madeline Martin I am quickly becoming a Madeline Martin fan. It was her fabulous book The Last Bookshop in London that got me started on The Count of Monte Cristo. Now I've just completed my second book of hers entitled The Librarian Spy. There are so many things I want to say about this book, but let's just start with this book is squeaky clean. There wasn't a word or a scene that needed flipped past! Next, Martin is spectacular at bringing other literature into her books. As mentioned earlier, Last Bookshop contained references to other works including The Count of Monte Cristo. The Librarian Spy does the same. The Librarian Spy is set during WWII and initially follows two storylines. The first is following Elaine in France while under Nazi occupation. Following members of the Resistance who are sending coded messages through printing you really get a feel for what they were going through and how their lives were in constant danger. The second storyline is following Ava in Lisbon who is working as a spy trying to decode messages and pass information along to the Allies. The two stories eventually come together in a single thread. I am really going to tiptoe around the details, because I don't want to give away any of the story. Just know that Martin is a master at developing her characters. You know them. It is as if you were a part of the two groups. Unfortunately, since this is a war story, there is tragedy. I will end with this. If you are a historical fiction fan, you will want to add this to your reading pile! HEADS UP- Be prepared for some torture. While not bloody, it is gut-punching.

THE ADVENTRUES OF PIPPI LONGSTOCKING by Astrid Lindgren. Illustrated by Michael Chesworth. Are you an anthology book person or no? In general, I am. It's interesting, but there is some debate in the lit world as to anthologies or not. There are some understandable thoughts to this debate - heaviness of the book and sometimes the loss of illustrations. If there is a serious loss of illustrations, I will opt for the individual books. When we are traveling I like to visit bookstores (*surprise*). Bookstores are so different from each other especially when they are privately owned. You never know what you might find, and it can be based on the likes/dislikes of the owner! (Sure you're going to find best sellers no matter what, but it's the unexpected gems I'm talking about!) One of my girls seriously loved Ramona Quimby books. We read them, and I laughingly told her not to adopt Ramona's habits! From there we graduated to Pippi Longstocking. When she stumbled upon a Pippi collection at one of these bookstores it was very quickly brought to my attention with some persuasive words as to why we needed to bring it home. Since then the book has been very loved. It is also helping this girl build her upper arm muscles. I have mentioned Pippi Longstocking before when I read Pippi in the South Seas out loud. If you need a book with some down right rascaliness (my word), Pippi has you covered. This little girl who isn't afraid to tackle anything (sharks, robbers, etc) will keep you in stitches. Just know that she does outrageous things, but it's the absurdity of these things that is so humorous.

THE LADY'S MINE by Francine Rivers Christian writer Francine Rivers is back with a delightful Western set in a small mining town in the Sierra Nevadas. The Lady's Mine (I just love titles with more than 1 meaning!) is the story of Kathryn Walsh, a young woman, who is rejected by her wealthy, socialite stepfather and mother. Their parting gift to her is her murdered uncle's "estate." This consists of a filthy house with a printing press and an abandoned mine in the very tiny, unsophisticated, mainly populated by men, town of Calvada. Even though marriage is the farthest thing from Kathryn's mind, it's very much on the minds of the men in this one horse town. She's much more interested in controlling her own future by using the press and exploring the mine, but was it because of these things her uncle died? Francine Rivers is not a Christian writer that shies away from trouble/problems. Themes like desire pop up with regards to wealth and women. Prostitutes are written about. Men utter a "curse or oath" although the actual word is not spoken. There is a reality that is portrayed through her pages, but then there is a clear decision point in her characters' lives where a choice must be made - continue with a new life in Christ or keep following the old path of destruction. Not every character chooses the new life, but unfortunately that's what we experience in real life as well.

HOT DOG by Doug Salati How many of you have checked out this year's Caldecott winner? If you haven't, Hot Dog by Doug Salati is worth it! No matter if you have a dog or not, anyone can relate to hot summer days and the desire to find a quiet, cool spot! We recently spent a week at the beach, and after reading this book I was envisioning bringing our Australian Shepherd to the beach to see how she would act in the waves and on the beach. (This dream was short lived with the thought of packing her into our Suburban with 5 kids, and making the almost 14 hour trip with her serious carsickness issues.) The point is this is the type of book that pulls you in and you can envision! Since it's a Caldecott winner, let's talk artwork for a minute. This isn't your traditional, beautiful art book. It has a cartoonish feel to it, but it's fantastic none the less! It gives the book an element of fun since we are dealing with a sweet, little dog. The first several pages are filled with lots of reds, oranges, and yellows as heat resonates off the pages! As soon as we leave the city the color palette changes to blues and greens and an air of Ahhhh fills our minds! Delightful! One last note. If you need a fun way to teach alliteration and onomatopoeia, this is it! The pages are filled with examples. The moral of the story, pass this one on to all your kiddos, no matter their age!

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus SPOILER ALERT To actually talk about this book you are going to have to know what happens. There is a lot I don't share, but this is the main gist of the book. I know I said I have a busy week and wasn't going to post, but I finished reading Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I didn't want to forget my thoughts before getting to this post, so here goes! Lessons in Chemistry is big in the reading world right now. I belong to a couple different Facebook reading groups and there is a lot of chatter about this book. Set in the 1960s but bouncing back into the 1950s, we follow the life of chemistry genius Elizabeth Zott. Working in a male domineering world where it is thought she should be barefoot, pregnant, and stirring a pot in the kitchen, she just wants the recognition she never receives, but deserves, for her work. Zott sets herself on a trajectory to save what she thinks is a cultural abuse on women that expects them to give up all hopes and dreams to stay at home, and keep the home fires burning. But that's not where it ends. Zott has had an extremely complicated life beginning with her father and mother. Her father was a preacher convicted later for tax evasion. That's not it, though. Her only beloved sibling, a brother, is discovered to be gay. (Zott already knew this and was fine with it.) The father told him that God hated him, so he went out and hung himself. Elizabeth was 10 years old when this happened, her brother 16. Elizabeth Zott has determined to never give anyone authority over her. When she falls in love with a brilliant scientist, she refuses to marry him. Instead they end up living together. Through an unfortunate happening he died, and she finds out she is pregnant. The complications continue to grow. Zott ends up fired from her job, and through a random series of events is offered a job as the host of a cooking food show. This goes against everything that she stands for, but she has a child to feed. She takes it, but refuses to become the stereo-typical smiling, beautiful clothes and make-up host. No, she sets out to teach women chemistry in the kitchen, to give them hope outside the four walls they find themselves trapped in. The book deals with so much more than this thread I've given you. It includes topics such as rape in the workplace, sexual abuse in a boys home, value of life -people are just animals, etc, etc. BUT EVERYTHING BOILS DOWN TO ONE THING - a complete and utter rejection of God. When asked multiple times throughout the book about her feelings about God, especially since she is in a science related field, she emphatically denies Him. I have to ask myself if I can blame her after all that she has been through and the answer may surprise you. No, I can't. BUT, and there's a lot in this but, she hasn't come to know the TRUE GOD. Her parents actions were not representing God. Her co-workers were not demonstrating God. Honestly, I walk away from a book like this intensely sad that this is someone's view on God, because it is! This author, Bonnie Garmus, is speaking to us! My heart weeps for her that this is her view. This book is nothing more than a human trying in her own power to take the shreds of her life and piece them together. I pray that the author has an encounter with someone who can introduce her to the real Savior! HEADS UP- Alongside all the other things mentioned, there is language. There are f-bombs that pop up periodically.

THE HUMMING ROOM by Ellen Potter I have been feeling like Mary Lennox over the past few days. Cleaning out the garden beds from last year, I came across some cilantro, dill, and tomato plants that have reseeded themselves and are valiantly pushing through the weeds. I admit I get a thrill when I see those little plants soldering through the weeds. I imagine that's how Mary felt in the Secret Garden when she discovered the little green shoots poking up through the earth. I'm sure you're all very familiar with Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, but did you know there's a modern version? The Humming Room is Ellen Potter's rewrite, and its foundation is close enough to the original to recognize its predecessor but fresh enough that it brings its own story to the table. Roo Fanshaw's father is dead. Her mother, well, she was just one of the many girlfriends her father had at one time. She's long gone. Now the police are at the door with a lady she doesn't know to take her to an uncle she's never even heard of. His house? Oh it's enormous, but it's an abandoned tuberculosis sanitarium in the middle of Cough Rock Island. The house is heavy with grief, and it all circles around a locked room of the house, an atrium filled with secrets. HEADS UP- There is a little bit of native magic.The wife had a certain flower that was called liana, also known as the tongue of the jungle spirits. By whispering someone's name to its tip three times it calls to them. This is how her uncle is called back home. Roo also listens to the ground. She has the gift of hearing if plants are living or not.

MUSHROOMS by Niko Summers. Illustrated by June Lee. We are making use of our field guides with this beautiful weather and enjoying God's amazing creation. I usually rely on the National Audubon Field Guides, Google, and Google Lens  to help identify our finds. However, this beautifully illustrated Mushrooms Field Guide by Niko Summers (illustrated by June Lee) was in my Easter basket this year, and it is just a delight to flip through. I look through it and dream of all the beautiful fungi I hope to find. On the top of my list is Dead Man's Fingers. They are really wild! (If you don't know what they are, look them up!) It is possible to find them in Ohio, so I'm keeping my eyes open!

NORA'S CHICKS by Patricia Maclachlan It's spring time and Facebook is full of pictures of chicks and ducklings. 4-H is in the air and that means the start of animal projects for us! It was time to pull my copy of Nora's Chicks by Patricia Maclachlan out and share it with the family. Nora's Chicks can really be used two ways with your kids. First is through hearing the original story itself. Nora is an immigrant from Russia who is struggling to make friends, because she is shy. Through a series of events, chicks help her bridge that friendship gap. The story is very sweet. That's not where it needs to stop though! Second, we don't have to be an immigrant to be desiring friendship, right? You may have a child that is on the hunt for a good friend right now (or maybe I'm speaking to you!). They may be lonely and feel left out. Nora's Chicks demonstrates to us that friendship can be found through unlikely circumstances and not on our timetable. It can always be right around the corner! ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- If your child is on the hunt for a friend, pray with them often that the Lord will direct their steps to a good one! - Do you know someone with chicks? See if you can visit them and learn a bit about them. What kinds are they? Are they egg-layers or meat chickens? - Learn about Russia. Find it on the map. -Do you know what borscht is? I was raised in a home where my mother made us borscht to eat.