Another summer session of Teens Read to Tots has come to an end. Cheshire Library has been running this popular summer program for many years. The program pairs “tots” ages 3-5 with “teens” ages 12-17 for stories and crafts. It’s hard to say who has more fun, the younger kids or the older ones, and some wonderful bonds form over the 6-week program. 
It’s a labor of love!
Cheshire Library
Jenn Reads: One Mississippi by Mark Childress
One Mississippi was a book club pick for the book club I run with girlfriends outside of the library.
One mississippi, two mississippi…
Imagine: It’s 1973. Your favorite television program is The Sonny and Cher
One Mississippi by Mark Childress
Show. Desegregation has just happened in your school. You’re moving to a new home, in a new state, for the upteenth time. And you’re a junior in high school. Could it get any worse?
It does.
Written by the author of Crazy in Alabama, One Mississippi is the story of Daniel Musgrove, a junior in high school in Minor, Mississippi. He’s moving with his family from Indiana (Yankee country, he believes) to Mississippi. The schools have just been integrated (seems a bit late to me) and they’re having their first interracial prom. Finding himself an outsider, Daniel gets a new best friend in Tim Cousins.
Things spiral quick out of control after the prom, when Arnita Beechman, is named prom queen, the first black prom queen in the school’s history, and she is involved in an accident. A small lie becomes a big lie and lives are forever changed.
While there were many moments of seriousness, there were moments of humor, wit, and “oh geez”. Childers wants us as readers, to remember what it was like to be in high school. We all had moments we’d like to forget, but we all also have moments we’d love to relive. A few of my favorites included Daniel and Tim meeting Sonny and Cher at a concert and Daniel’s house blowing up (you’ve got to read it!).
Unfortunately, Childers tries to stuff too many issues into 400 pages. There’s racism, teen sex, gay issues, bullying, Vietnam, etc, etc. As a group we felt if he had focused on just one issue, the book may have been more cohesive. Personally, I felt the storyline with Daniel’s brother Buddy, who goes off the Vietnam, was hugely ignored.
This is in no way a “teen” book, although it could be read by teenagers. And neither is it a book for those who lived in the 1970’s. My girlfriends and I, all in our mid-20’s enjoyed this book for a glimpse into life during that time period. While our own high school experiences were not as problematic as Daniel’s, we related and sympathized.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
On Our Shelves: New Picturebooks
Are you running out of picturebooks to share with your youngest book lovers, or just sick and tired of re-reading the same story over and over again? Well, here are some of the most recent arrivals in our collection that you may want to check out.
That is NOT a Good Idea!
That is NOT a Good Idea!, written and illustrated by Mo Willems is reminiscent of silent movies, with the classic damsel in distress. The story starts with a hungry fox inviting a plump goose for dinner and as the story continues in a familiar fable-like arc, a young chick (and young readers and listeners) repeat in growing volumes that they think the choices made are NOT a Good Idea. Full-color illustrations, the repeated phrase, and the unexpected ending will make this a fast favorite and a requested re-read.
Little Mouse
Little Mouse by Alison Murray is a picturebook about a young girl who has the nickname of ‘Little Mouse”. However, sometimes she is annoyed by the nickname and wishes it was not hers. Sometimes she likes to be as loud as an elephant, waddle like a penguin, or be as fierce as a lion. But then again, sometimes, like when she wants to cuddle with her mother, the nickname is just fine.
Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom
Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom by John Rocco is a fun picturebook about a boy and his friends that play superhero a lot. Rocco believes that his super powers come from his hair, and that the crazier his hair gets, the more powerful he becomes. One day Rocco is dragged to the barber and gets a haircut. In his despair about the loss of hair, and possibly his powers, he discovers that the rest of his crew and their crazy hair, have all met similar fates. In the end, Rocco discovers that he is just as super as ever.
The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot
The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf
The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf by Mark Teague Three pigs spend their money on different things: potato chips, sody-pop, and building supplies. It comes as no surprise that a wolf is able to blow down the first two pigs’ houses. When the wolf can’t blow down the third pig’s brick house, everyone comes together and the fun begins. The first two pigs give him potato chips and sody-pop, and the third pig makes everyone a healthy meal. Since only one pig has a house left, the other two pigs and the wolf move in with her. The somewhat bad wolf is no longer hungry.
Some of my other new favorites include Cheetah Can’t Lose by Bob Shea, Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? by Julie Middleton and Russell Ayto, Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, If You Want to See a Whale by Julie Fogliano and Erin Stead, The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten by Maureen Fergus, and Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira and Poly Bernatene.
Do you have a new favorite or discovery that you want to share?
9 New Cozy Mysteries for August
New titles available at Cheshire Library for your reading pleasure!
New for August:
1. Cross-Stitch Before Dying by Amanda Lee (An Embroidery Mystery)
2. Do or Diner by Christine Wenger (A Comfort Food Mystery)
3. Remnants of Murder by Elizabeth Lynn Casey (Southern Sewing Circle Mystery)
4. Seed No Evil by Kate Collins (A Flower Shop Mystery)
5. Cloche and Dagger by Jenn McKinlay (Hat Shop Mysteries)
6. Pall in the Family by Dawn Eastman (A Family Fortune Mystery)
7. Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz (A Food Lovers’ Village Mystery)
8. Cover Story by Erika Chase (An Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery)
9. If Bread Could Rise to the Occasion by Paige Shelton (A Country Cooking School Mystery)
Jenn Reads: The Boy In the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberol and Agnette Friis
The Boy In the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberol and Agnette Friis was a mystery book club pick by one of our members.
The book starts off fast-paced and with a great premise: Nina Borg gets a
The Boy In the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberol and Agnette Friis
phone call from her friend Karin, who says that she needs to go immediately to a Copenhagen train station and open a public locker. She’s told she will find a suitcase in the locker, but to not open it while in the train station.
She finds a three year old boy, drugged but still alive, in the suitcase.
Surprise! Given the title, there’s no surprise in that bit of knowledge.
Many comments on Goodreads indicated how frustrated people were with the first 60 or so pages of the books, as the authors introduce characters who seemingly have nothing to do with each other. Hang in there! They do!
The action takes place over the span of two days and in several different countries, Denmark and Lithuania. After Nina finds the boy in the suitcase, the logical thing for her to do would have been to bring him to the police. But does she do that? No… she drags him around with her, leaving him in a hot car for a period of time, neglecting to feed him, and letting him see a dead woman.
Nina is supposedly a “do-gooder” but I find fault with that. She’s a terrible mother, wife, and caretaker of this small boy. Nina ignores her family for two whole days while she “takes care” of this boy. At one point, the police go to her house and talk with her husband, who believes her injured or in serious trouble. As indicated in the previous paragraph, she doesn’t take very good care of the little boy, providing him with the minimum of food, sleep, protection, and comfort. And she’s irresponsible! By the end of the book, I’d about had it with Nina Borg.
What I did enjoy in this book were the social issues the authors touched upon. Prostitution, sex slavery, child kidnapping, child trafficking, and the underbelly of Europe were exposed. And let me tell you- it ain’t pretty. Denmark in the past is said to have one of the highest standards of living and some of the happiest and fulfilled people in the world. A socialist nation, they get free healthcare, free college education, long maternity/paternity leave, child care, etc, etc- all of which sound pretty good to me. But, like in any culture, there are also the unsavory aspects of a nation.
A quick, easy, fast-paced read, I thought The Boy In the Suitcase was an excellent pick for this time of year. I listened to it on audio and thought the narrator was excellent. It was very helpful listening to it because I likely would have struggled with the pronunciations of the names, places, etc. The Boy In the Suitcase is the first book in a series featuring Nina Borg, and while I liked this book, I won’t be continuing the series. Nina just drives me nuts.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
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