THE LAST MAPMAKER by Christina Soontornvat Christina Soontornvat is really making a mark in the literary world! With 3 Newberry Honors under her belt her work is widely read! Rabbit trail for 1 moment - if you have not read her book All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team, it is well worth it. I read it aloud to the whole family a couple summers ago, and we all enjoyed it! I will post a picture of it in the comments. Back on track now! The books that I have read by Soontornvat all have had a Thai setting, whether a real place or mythical. This adds an enjoyable air of mystique to the books. The Last Mapmaker is the fictional story of Sodsai Mudawan "Sai." Soontornvat begins Sai's story dealing with Thai cultural issues. To be someone of importance in Thailand knowing one's ancestors is key. At age 13 any girl that is anything receives her lineal, a piece of jewelry, such as a bracelet or brooch, that is composed of links or rings. Each link or ring stands for a generation of ancestors that were known and that were honorable enough to be claimed. Sai has been able to play the part of coming from a wealthy family with her peers and her work-life, but her thirteenth birthday is quickly approaching and with the fact that she is actually the daughter of a thief there is no lineal in sight. Disgrace is quickly approaching. However, a unique opportunity arises. Sai is an assistant to a famous mapmaker. The queen of Thailand is anxious for Thailand's borders to expand and desires for the mythical land of Sunderland, a land of dragons and dangerous adventures to be found and mapped. The reward? Money, honor, a lineal. Get ready for a story with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Overall this is a fun and engaging read, but there are a couple things to be made aware of. HEADS UP- Sai's relationship with her father (mother passed away years before) is complicated. He is an alcoholic and thief, and she lies to him and her employer to be able to go on this voyage. There is some redemption at the end of the story. A young boy who is a pickpocket ends up becoming a stowaway on their ship. He constantly calls Sai names usually including the word turd, etc. There is some mention of Thai gods. The item that pushed this book to the upper age of the middle grade range for me is the issue of a member of the royal family who is a part of the voyage who had a romantic relationship in the past that was beneath her and would have caused her to be disowned, so she never married the man. A child was born from that relationship (no intimate details are given). The woman does refer to the man as her husband, but the book is very clear that they never married. There is a thread of the adventure that comes from this relationship.

AWAKING WONDER by Sally Clarkson Summer is flying by. My family is in a stage of life where the door is constantly opening and closing with the comings and goings of work, activities, and appointments (as I write this at 7:30 am, 2 just left for dentist appointments). In years past, by this time I had all my next year's curriculum picked, purchased, and it may have been on the shelf patiently waiting for the first day of school. I'm not there yet this year. I have some things settled on but not everything. I'm okay with that. I'm pondering. I'm revisiting methods. I had one child who was too bogged down last year, and I'm determined that this year won't look like that. Why do I tell you all this? Because a title keeps coming back to my mind as I ponder, Awaking Wonder. I have been officially homeschooling for 16 years now (although I would tell you it started from pretty much day 1 with reading stacks of books to my oldest daughter 21 years ago). Sally Clarkson was one of the first authors I read on motherhood/homeschooling, and I have gobbled her work up ever since. I read this one when it came out in 2020, but I'm wanting to refresh ideas in my head, Awaking Wonder is just what the title says. It is a book that is dedicated to helping you as a parent to awaken the wonder of learning in your child. With Sally Clarkson at the helm of this book, you can bet you're going to get the best, truly tried advice you can imagine. Sally comes alongside as the mentor most of us can only dream of having. In true Sally fashion, you can imagine her pouring you a cup of steaming tea, lighting a few candles, sitting down next to you and completely focusing on you as you relay your struggles. Then ever so gently, she'll offer up wisdom that will fill your soul and bring light to your home. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

THE BIG BOOK OF BLOOMS by Yuval Zommer It is the season of blooming flowers. For as many years as I can remember, my children have wanted to be a part of putting a plant in the ground and watching it flourish. There is something mysterious and miraculous about covering a seed in the dirt and a few days later a green shoot appears. Almost as amazing as stepping into a garden is stepping into The Big Book of Blooms by author/illustrator Yuval Zommer. Since this is a book about flowers, let's start with the illustrations. This masterpiece is full of color, and bugs, and butterflies, and animals just as you would find in an actual garden. Vines twist and turn around each other. Bees and butterflies sip sweet nectar while resting on colored petals. Hidden throughout the pages are 15 golden bulbs waiting for discovery. Loveliness and joy spill out from the pages. The text is delightful. Every two pages is a section dedicated to a topic such as roses, pitcher plants, pollinators, etc. Every section begins with a question that fires the brain's imagination. Examples of questions are What's inside a pitcher plant, how do plants defend themselves, why are roses red and violets blue, and so on. Written with the assistance of botanical experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Great Britain, this book is overflowing with information for inquiring minds, young and old alike. HEADS UP- One very small reference to millions of years. ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- This book is a launch pad of possibilities where plants are concerned. Pot a plant, grow a garden, bask in blooms! Visit gardens! There are conservatories, plantations, arboretums, estates, greenhouses, grandma's garden, etc. open for tours. Check them out! Read one section of the book and hunt for real life examples in your own backyard or if it's something more exotic one of the special locations listed above. Make pictures of flowers using tissue paper. Cut a stem shape out of green tissue paper. For a darker shade of green cut 2 layers of the paper. Glue onto white cardstock. Cut petal shapes out of different colors of tissue paper and arrange them on the top of the stem and glue them down. Use flower guides for colors and shapes if needed.

A DROP OF HOPE by Keith Calabrese How about a book from an author who grew up in Ohio set in an economically depressed town in Ohio? Can anyone relate? A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese takes us to a place that a lot of us know in Smalltown, USA. Welcome to Cliffs Donnelly, Ohio, better known as If Only, Ohio, thanks to a can of black spray paint and some jokester's outlining of certain letters on the town sign. Hope is in short supply in Cliffs Donnelly. There's trouble looming on the horizon for the local factory. Families are feeling the stress, and it's filtering down to the kids. The time is ripe for something completely unexpected. That unexpected happening is actually a two part deal. Following the stories of three kids, Ernest, Ryan, and Lizzy, one is gifted a strange pile of brand-new antique toys in his grandfather's attic. The second starts with a discussion in school about myths and legends. An old legend revolving a broken down wishing well located nearby is remembered. Through a chance happening the three kids (2 at first - one later) end up in the bottom of the well. Thanks to the discussion in school, kids start visiting the well and telling it their wishes. The majority of the wishes have to do with restoration for their families. Through bizarre, seemingly unrelated connections, the gifted, antique toys set off chain reactions of events resulting in the granting of wishes. With happenings like this the story starts to spread which can mean trouble. The question of magic is raised, but the book never settles if the happenings are by chance or magical. Little by little the town begins to heal and hope creeps in. This book does not have a mystical feel to it. Instead it has a feel similar to Tuck Everlasting. Overall it is a well written, enjoyable story. HEADS UP- It's mentioned that the well is located in some woods where supposed devil worshippers are. There are no devil worshippers. It's a hangout for teens where they party. One of the wishes is by a family member for one of the teen partyers. There are some family issues such as abuse (one time it was about to happen but gets stopped), some minor talking back to parents, and one of the kids lies to parents about where he is. Still, the overarching theme in this book is healing for the families and the town.

THE BEAR AND THE PIANO by David Litchfield Do you have a child that is musically inclined or community inclined? The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield is a beautiful meshing together of both themes. A bear stumbles upon a piano in the middle of the woods. Initially when he touches the keys the sound is terrible, but day after day, he comes back. Over time, he teaches himself to play. He plays for his community, his bear friends. Then an opportunity comes along to go to the city to perform. He takes it and becomes a great success, but after a while he finds he misses home. This wonderful picture book opens the door to great conversations about the love of music, using our gifts, and not forgetting where we've come from. The Bear and His Piano takes it one step further - using our gifts to bless our communities. This book hits home for us. We live in a small, rural area. Recently there has been a concentrated effort to let our young adults know how much we need them to keep our community alive and thriving. Litchfield is also the illustrator. The pictures are full of earth tones which gives the book a nature feel until the bear goes to the city. Lots of heavy, dark colors then fill the pages giving the feeling of weight on the bear. Then there is a change. Notice when the light really shines on the bear. It is when he is back, performing in the woods. A light airyness returns to the pictures. You can almost feel the sigh of relief from the bear to be back in his own environment. ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES - Take a few minutes to listen to some piano classical music. Some great ones are Moonlight Sonata, Canon in D, Fur Elise, Clair de Lune, Minute Waltz, and Flight of the Bumblebee. Talk about the work in truly learning to play an instrument. It takes years of dedicated practice, but it's an ability that you can use for the rest of your life! If you already play, share your talent in a nursing home, church, or other community gathering.

HISTORY SMASHERS: THE TITANIC by Kate Messner Each of my older kids went through a time of wanting to know more about the Titanic. The excitement of launching such a grand ship with the thought that she was virtually unsinkable, only to have her go down in such a short amount of time, taking so many lives with her, is haunting. To know that she is resting on the bottom of the ocean, a luxurious sepulcher filled with the dead and their belongings as she calcifies, is a testimony to the fact that man does not always conquer. Now we have our own tragedy to add to this watery grave - more wreckage, more lives. Don't misunderstand me. I, in no way, fault the men for wanting a peek at what lies in those watery depths. I appreciate the pulling back of the ocean curtains to reveal the barnacle covered giant, my revealing just comes in picture form. All this to say, that a new group of children are hearing the name of the Titanic intermixed with the name Titan for the first time. I recently picked up a new book about the Titanic by Kate Messner entitled History Smashers: The Titanic. It's a fun mix of chapter book with real pictures and graphic novel depicting certain pivotal points in the Titanic journey. In this series Messner tries to ferret out the truth and myths surrounding this epic story. In doing so she "smashes" the myths and verifies the truth. If you have a child in your home asking questions, this book is a great starting spot.

ONCE UPON A DREAM: A TWISTED TALE by Liz Braswell Well here goes on Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell. We have a lot of girls in our house of varying ages. Most of these girls have had a love for fairy tales at one time or another. That love grew into fairy tale retellings, and there are some really good ones out there! Unfortunately Once Upon a Dream does not make the cut for us! SPOILER ALERT Based on the classic Disney cartoon of Sleeping Beauty, Once Upon a Dream takes place in Aurora's mind as she is sleeping. Maleficent was killed in life, by Prince Philip, but she is able to attach her soul to Aurora and create a dream world where she is queen and Aurora is her ward. If she can complete her plan she will live and rule again in the real world, but there is a serious price tag for that to happen - that Aurora not wake up before her 16th birthday. Inside Aurora's dream, Maleficent is the one who cares for the kingdom. She has penned everyone up inside the castle to protect them from the supposedly destroyed Outside. Aurora's parents are prisoners in the dungeon because they were horrible rulers and terrible parents. After all, they gave their daughter away to be raised by fairies and never truly cared for her. So begins the framework for our "Twisted Tale." So our brain begins to adjust that the good ones are really the bad ones and the bad one is really the good one. So what? To keep this simpler I'm just going to bullet point my issues with the book- -Maleficent's henchmen are actually demons that she has summoned from Hell. The references to them are too numerous to document here. They come sometimes in the forms of loved ones and Aurora must try and figure out if they are the real person or the demon that she is killing. They appear as little children. They appear as great hideous beasts. To say they are troubling is an understatement. -To remain alive in the dream Maleficent must have the blood of one of the people every month. This is done by plunging a special stone knife into their chest, chanting a spell, and collecting the blood in the orb on top of her scepter. This includes killing Aurora's parents. - There is a reference regarding suicide- the people are depressed while kept inside the castle, so some of them commit suicide. At one point Aurora is depressed and considers suicide herself. - Death scenes include details that are a little more gory in detail - shredding flesh, opening innards, delicious crunches as bodies are crushed, etc. - There is a fair amount of language in the book. - When Prince Phillip and Aurora are traveling together and have to stop to sleep he places his sword between them, then proceeds to stumble over an explanation that it's to keep them from having sex. I really struggle with books like this marketed for 12-year-olds with Disney as the publisher. If something doesn't make the cut at our house, it hits the trashcan. After our discussion that's where this one will go.

BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL COOKBOOK Have you seen this recently released little gem? Just in time for blueberry season, this perfect little book, Blueberries for Sal Cookbook, will help you dive in deeper to the sweet, children's classic. Not only does it include 30 wonderful looking recipes for using your blueberries, it includes lots of the beloved illustrations and extra bits of info on McCloskey, Little Sal, bears, and of course, blueberries! As you can see, here in Ohio, our blueberries are just starting to ripen. I always get super excited for this time and will be sharing different pictures as we put this treasure to use! ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- If you haven't read McCloskey's original Blueberries for Sal you will want to grab it! Is there a blueberry farm around you? How about a visit! Extra research you can dive into: the health benefits of blueberries, difference between wild and cultivated blueberries, bears, where wild blueberries grow. Cook up a blueberry treat and share it with someone!

WATCH US SHINE by Marisa de los Santos Watch Us Shine by Marisa de los Santos is a complicated moving read about much needed healing and forgiveness within a broken family. When Cornelia's elderly mother, Eleanor, is accidentally hit by a car the steady lines of family life are broken. Due to head trauma and not knowing what she is asking for, Eleanor begs for Cornelia to bring her the northern lights. Cornelia cannot understand what her mother is asking for. To her knowledge her mother has never seen the northern lights or even mentioned them in her life before. Cornelia then realizes how very little she knows about her mother's past and her upbringing. She begins to dig and unearths the story of two sisters raised by an abusive mother who suffered from bipolar disorder. They are the light in each other's lives even after each is able to escape and plant themselves into new lives. For a while everything goes well - healing begins and new possibilities unfold into realities. Then life takes a sharp curve as one of the sisters gets herself caught up in a situation that causes heartache and tragedy. While Cornelia is trying to figure all of this out, she is trying to recover from her own tragedy as a mother. A situation occurs with her own children that has left her reeling and questioning her abilities as a mother. As I close the cover of this one and set it aside I have several thoughts running through my head. I'll start with the negative ones. My first is it took me a little while to get into this book. It was a little slow and I needed to get the threads straightened out between the two ongoing stories and the different characters. Second, I get tired of what I will call box checking! Modern authors/publishers feel the need to throw in social issues that have absolutely nothing to do with the story line. In this case Cornelia has a brother who comes out as gay, and he and his partner are in the process of adopting a child. There are a handful of sentences dedicated to this. They are so minor I find myself asking did we really need to know that? The answer is no. It had absolutely no bearing on the story. Third, the antagonist is an evil church goer. The church has a little idea of what is going on, but they don't step in to do anything about it. This takes up more space than the previous item, but it is still a pimple on the overall size of the story. Fourth, motherhood is a topic that comes up and this book questions the perceived ideas and responsibilities that motherhood brings with it. Now for the positive thoughts. I'm going to lump it together into one continuous overarching theme, and that is the bond of women. In the case of this book that includes sisters, mothers, and friends. And healing. There is life after trauma and this book clearly points that out. Sometimes after a review like this I get messages asking if I'm recommending it or not. There is a lot of beauty in the story, but there's some storm clouds as well! It's not one I'll likely read again. HEADS UP- If you haven't read the above paragraphs, do! There are a couple of pockets of language including the F bomb a handful of times. Also, you find out that Cornelia is married to her sister's ex-husband. There was no adultery, but I'll just leave that at it's a unique situation.

BARBARA COONEY BOOKS Barbara Cooney authored and/or illustrated books have been on my reading pile recently. Glimpses of life with hardships overcome, lessons learned, and beauty left behind for upcoming generations are reoccurring themes in her books which invite lots of pondering no matter one's age. Beautiful illustrations, oftentimes folk art in style, adorn the pages and make them a true delight to examine. If you have never taken the time to read through her books, they are well worth it. If you happen to have a sweet, squiggly, little person full of life to share them with, all the better! (I may feature some of the books individually over the next few weeks!)

MAPS FOR PENGUINS AND OTHER TRAVELING ANIMALS by Tracey Turner. Illustrated by Hui Skipp. I am really loving Maps for Penguins and Other Traveling Animals by Tracey Turner and illustrated by Hui Skipp! Part of the Paperpie Company (formerly known as Usborne Books and More), this book comes from the Kane Miller collection.  Geography is a subject that often times is overlooked in our homeschooling. Many years ago while using a well known literature based curriculum, I learned and came to appreciate the idea of using literature to teach geography. Mapping settings and locations referenced in books was a very applicable and foundational use for geography study. Maps for Penguins would be a great base for such a study in world geography. Following the steps of 10 different types of migrating animals, this book gives the miraculous details of the long and arduous journeys these animals take. It is breathtakingly amazing! I feel like I'm about to step into an infomercial when I say, "But wait! There's more!" This book is a great science resource as well! The pages abound with information about each species. Included in each animal's section are items like size, coloring, habitat, what they eat, life span, predators, etc. Maps for Penguins brims with illustrations that are full of life and movement! Jewel tones make the pages attractive and engaging for young and old alike.

THE GOLDEN KEY by George MacDonald If you are a George MacDonald fan you might want to check out Rabbit Room Press's newest release - a graphic novel adaptation of The Golden Key. Confession time, I have 3 George MacDonald books on the shelf that were a part of a curriculum that one of my daughters have read that I have not. Reading this graphic adaptation leaves me thinking that I should pull the original down and read through it. MacDonald has a way of taking the journey of life, the search for wisdom and lifelong companionship, the journey to an eternal realm (Heaven) with our new bodies and meshing it with mythological elements such as fairies, creatures, Old Man of the Sea, Old Man of the earth, etc. I don't find these elements to be pagan. I find them to actually be imagination awakening into what can be in this world and into the next. I believe it was C.S. Lewis that referred to such works as fueling the "moral Imagination." After all we serve a God whose creative abilities far excel what we experience on a daily basis. Since closing the cover, I am finding myself pondering the imagery and trying to unravel the symbolism. There are a lot of components to this story and it is worthy of some time to unpack and examine. I will probably reread the graphic novel, but then reach for the original at some point. Even more interesting to me is that some of the greatest literary giants such as C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton refer to MacDonald as having a life changing influence on their lives. That's quite an endorsement.