IT'S MONDAY- WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Not a very good reading week. I have a terrific stack of TBRs, including CAPTURE THE FLAG by Kate Messner, but I didn't get much read this week. I had made a 1000 mile round trip to Utah the weekend before and had "jet lag" or "car lag" or whatever you want to call it, most of the week.

I read NIGHTSONG standing in Barnes and Noble and immediately started to cry. I think it could be a classic parent to child gift, along the lines of LOVE YOU FOREVER or THE PLACES YOU'LL GO. Written by Ari Berk and illustrated by one of my favorites, Loren Long (OTIS, MR PEABODY'S APPLES, OF THEE I SING), NIGHTSONG is about a little bat named Chiro. Chiro is growing up and his mama has decided it's time for him to make a solo flight. Chrio is a little afraid of the dark, but his mama tells him, "Sing out into the world, and [listen to] the song the world sings back to you. Sing, and the world will answer. That is how you’ll see.” Chiro starts out timidly, but gradually gains confidence. And Loren Long's illustrations are absolutely perfect-- I'm thinking this one could even get some recognition as a Caldecott.

My other read this week was adult memoir. DREAM NEW DREAMS was written by Jai Pausch. Her husband, Randy Pausch, was in his mid-forties, a professor at Carnegie Mellon, and the father of three small children, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His book, THE LAST LECTURE,  was hugely popular about three years ago. DREAM NEW DREAMS tells their story from Jai's perspective. It's a book that could be really helpful, I think, for someone walking through the caregiver journey.

This week I really am going to get to CAPTURE THE FLAG.