I’ve always loved the following quote by Mr. Rogers, and it pretty much sums up this whole book: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” One […]
“Before I discovered the miracles of science, magic ruled the world.”
I’ve had this book to my to-read shelf on Goodreads for years (seriously, I think I added it after seeing William Kamkwamba on The Daily Show, which was…2009 according to Google). I finally found a copy at the library, and devoured it. William Kamkwamba’s story is fascinating, and incredibly well-told. If you liked I Am Malala, you should definitely check this one out. “I didn’t have a drill, so I had to make my own. First I heated a long nail in the fire, then drove it through a […]
“I am the Circle and the Circle is me”
My senior year in college, I took a Fantasty Lit class, in which we studied classic children’s fantasy novels from a smarty-pants lit perspective. We read 3 or 4 Harry Potters, 3 Narnia books and a couple from the Wizard of Oz series. I loved that class — I loved diving into these books that I’d read so many times before, and discovering how much they taught children about the world, and all the meaning hidden within them. I really hope that professor still teaches that class, […]
“It was sad and fierce all at once, alive with a lonely purity.”
I have heard so much good about this book — it’s won a ton of awards — so I was initially surprised by its 3.2 stars on Goodreads. Then I read it. Now I’m less surprised. Don’t get me wrong — Karen Russell can write. It’s a beautifully written story. But it still fell really short of what I wanted and expected. “THE ALLIGATOR IS AN ANACHRONISM THAT CAN EAT YOU!” Ava Bigtree has lived her whole (short) life in Swamplandia!, a small theme park in Florida where she […]