Curses For Sale (Ravens Pass) by Steven Brezenoff is a fun, easy read for young adults and older children. For me, it was reminiscent of the Goosebump series of my childhood. Scary danger just around the corner but the main characters usually do the right thing, even if it means having to face their fears or let go of something I want. This story follows that pattern–it is one in a series of four books, I believe, though I haven’t read any of the other books yet. I definitely will. You can read them all or you can read just one, you will enjoy the experience, at least with Curses For Sale, you will!

This is the story of Jace who loves cars. He gets a little red toy car from a garage sale and it takes on a life of its own. Things start to “happen” and he soon, he and his best friend decide they must know where the car came from and how it became so extraordinary. And an adventure they have…

I won’t spoil the fun but rather encourage you to pick up Curses For Sale (Ravens Pass) and I will get the other three in the series and see what else happens… at Raven’s Pass. =)

*I received a free e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review of this book.

Skinny Dipping in Daylight by Cory Basil is a book of poetry and prose, words dancing from one to the next, in a melodic sort of way. Cory Basil is as talented with his words as he is with his art. I do not want to give too much away but if I had to choose a favorite poem, it would be The Searcher. It is a poem of struggle to find out who you are and trying to answer the question what is the meaning of life? In a way, it is written in a stunted sort of way, like each line drops off like a cliff of sorts, which lends to the emotional fear, the unknowing, we all face day to day in life, with the big questions, anyways.

Read the book to find out why I loved it, and then come back, we can discuss it. You can also visit the author’s site here.

Eep! by Joke van Leeuwen is really one of the best children’s books I’ve read in a long time. It started out with 3 words that just grabbed me,

All Rights Reserved by Original Publisher (Gecko Press) and the Author, Joke Van Leeuwen

Warren likes birds. He is married to Tina. They seem to live a rather ordinary life, filled with repetition, doing the same old-same old, like most of us. We get into our habits, our comfortable routines. They have as well. Until one day Warren sees a new kind of baby bird, a part human bird. He brings her home and it is love at first site—they decide to keep her. She becomes their daughter in many senses and they just love her to pieces. They name her Birdy but since that isn’t easy for her to pronounce, they change it to Beedy, as she cheeps out things like a bird, rather than speaking fully. Beedy is more bird-like than she is like a human and Warren and Tina struggle to protect her and keep her safe. Tina struggles a little more than Warren and tries to force Beedy into shoes that don’t fit comfortably, both literally and figuratively. So, off Beedy flies… to explore the world, just like a bird. Along the way she meets Lottie, a lonely little girl and a well-meaning fireman–emergency responder. Warren and Tina are very sad when she leaves so they set off to find her, breaking all their normal routines, all their comfort zones. Off they go to find their little Beedy. True to her nature, Beedy flies away from everyone but she also returns, a different kind of migration. All of them end up in Getovertel — get-over-tel– a hotel of sorts where people go to get over things, to get through their issues. And then…

You can read the book to find out the rest but it will be worth it. This was really an unexpected treasure of a book for me. I love love love birds and this story just resonated with me. It is written with silliness included, quirky little sketches and digressions—a book after my own heart. Birds, quirkiness and digressions. What more could you want from a children’s book? Here are some random screenshots from Eep!:

A digression, and also a lovely little description. I really related to this way of writing…

All Rights Reserved by Original Publisher (Gecko Press) and the Author, Joke Van Leeuwen

Here is one of the quirky sketches throughout Eep!, this one is depicting the terrible headaches, in a part explaining how the news tells us of all these horrible things we could possible get or suffer from, very relevant insertion…even into a kid’s book. You can use it as an opening for discussion about how the news isn’t indicative of all reality, just a negative slice of it,

All Rights Reserved by Original Publisher (Gecko Press) and the Author, Joke Van Leeuwen

We can all get into a rut, it only took a little humanly Bird, Beedy, to help stir up some motion in all these people’s lives, with love and adventure and a sense of getting to know one another in a disconnected world. This story really does have so much to offer. I will definitely be buying a hard copy to keep in my collection! You should, too! I hope the author decides to turn this into a series! *Fingers Crossed*

I also read aloud to her the first chapter of Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. This is one we read together years ago but we wanted to revisit it. It is a story of a boy and his paternal grandma, Ultima — La Grande – a curandera who comes to live with him and his family and teaches him so much about his culture, his family, himself and the world. It is an absolutely enchanting story. I’ll write another review, a proper one, when I finish re-reading it. =)

Good food, good friends, good books, good fun. =) It was a lovely day.

March 6th is a very special day in my house. It is someone’s birthday! And this someone happens to love reading. So, how very appropriate that March 6th is not only her birthday but also World Read Aloud Day. Directly from their website, here is some more information about World Read Aloud Day 2013:

World Read Aloud Day:
March 6, 2013

Read It Forward on World Read Aloud Day

Celebrate by reading aloud, giving away a book, or taking action in any way you can to Read It Forward on behalf of the 793 million people who cannot read.

Imagine a world where everyone can read…

World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.

By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world.

As an avid reader who loves to spread my love for reading, and as a friend, I will read aloud to friend on her birthday. I will also ask that others do as well. I will let you know how it turns out! =) Happy birthday, friend. And Happy World Read Aloud Day 2013. Let’s read aloud more often, shall we?

(You can click on the image above to go the official website for more information or to sign up.)

The Biggest Book Show on Earth 2013 Trailer from World Book Day on Vimeo.

I signed up and will be watching tomorrow live! I have recruited a few people to watch with me… care to join us? You can from your own living room or if you are local, you can come on over! For more information on World Book Day visit the official website.

About World Book Day

Background

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. World Book Day is a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all. A main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with
the opportunity to have a book of their own. To mark the day, school children are entitled to receive a World Book Day £1 Book Token (or equivalent €1.50 Book Token in Ireland). The Book Token can be exchanged for one of eight specially published World Book Day £1 Books, or is redeemable against any book or audio book of their choice costing £2.99 or more at a participating bookshop or book club. The World Book Day £1 Book Token will be valid from 25 February to 24 March 2013.

This was a very interesting read. Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels of the 1920s edited by Rafia Zafar, is just as the title suggests–five novels written by African American authors during or about the Harlem Renaissance. This was a fascinating period in black history for many reasons. One, it is where a lot of black intellectuals began to become known in various fields–literature, music, art, scholarly pursuits. It really was a golden age for post-slavery African Americans. The five novels in this book are: Jean Toomer’s Cane written in 1923 — it is a story about a woman in Georgia, a teacher, who struggles with who she is as a black woman and how her ‘race’ affects her; Claude McKay’s Home to Harlem written in 1928, a story of two young men with very different backgrounds, both African American, and how they deal with the prejudices and stereotypes of white America — it is rich with culture–jazz and excitement– prohibition and drinking, and even sex– this is a story of defining a race from within the race and starting a cultural revolution, it is a good peek into Harlem in the 1920′s; next was Nella Larsen’s Quicksand which is a story about a woman who is half black, half white–she struggles with who she is, who her people are and how she can connect within a society so divided when she is not white or black but both; Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Plum Bun written in 1928 is the story of two African American sisters–they are different in many ways–one, the main character, is pale and can pass as a white person and so she does, but she learns how deserting your roots and your culture is not always the best thing, rarely ever is, actually, but how to be black in a white dominant culture is the question she is trying to answer; and finally Wallace Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry written in 1929, is a story about a young woman, Emma, who is very dark skinned and how this influenced how other African Americans, as well as whites, treated her, this story digs into how the culture of color went inside the African American communities as well as the obvious discrimination by the white community.

All of these stories give ample, rich examples of life during the Harlem renaissance. It is definitely worth reading, Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels of the 1920′s.

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This book counts towards the following reading challenges:

Love Medicine was a really good book. It is Native American literature and it is filled with disjointed short stories, coming together, as a tribe would from all angles. The characters are strong and vulnerable, believable and the stories pull on your heart strings. This is a book with a message. In this book we read about two families spanning many decades, in a non-linear manner. This lends to the interconnectedness of the past, the present and the future. That is a main point, each generation affects the next and the last. And many more to come.

This book tells of the Governmental “re-education” of the Native Americans by predominantly white people and religious organizations. It tells of subjugation, of the woes of reservation, of alcohol and stereotypes. It tells of the struggle to cope with forced assimilation while still trying to hold on to who you are, the culture you have always known and that of your ancestors—while not being given the option to stay the same.

I do not want to give too much away but I would definitely recommend this book.

For one of my 2013 Reading Challenges, Reading Outside the Box, I chose this category:

It’s my Birthday! So, have a party! Read a book that was published in either your birth month or birth year!

And for my birth year, 1974, one of my favorite authors Shel Silverstein published one of his most popular books, Where the Sidewalk Ends. So, I read it. It was a fun, silly book of poems. The poems are silly and catchy. Some of my favorites are: Sick, a poem about a little girl who swears she is sick with all sorts of ailments as she is trying to get out of going to school but in the end, it is Saturday! And she recovers very quickly indeed–silly girl; Hug O’ War,

Because, I absolutely love hugs!; and, Spaghetti,

Because it is silly and messy fun; and Lazy Jane,

This book is definitely fun and I can see why it is so very popular! I would definitely recommend Where The Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein.