A Cup of Quiet by Nikki Grimes illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

 A young girl relates how much she loves spending two weeks at her grandmother's house. Spending two weeks crafting, baking, playing, acting out stories is glorious! This day, however, Grandma thirsts for a cup of quiet. Exiting the house, they find a quiet spot in the back yard where the girl collects sounds of nature in her imaginary cup. Grandma drinks deeply and is refreshed.

A delightful book  I especially like that it features a Black family with no mention of race.

-Borrowed from the library.

Glory, Too by Nikki Grimes

 What a creative and refreshing collection of poetry! Ms. Grimes takes portions of scripture and writes  reflective poems in response. Her poetry points to Christ and God's truths. Only a couple of poems focused on race. One poem I did not agree with her theology (speaking in tongues).

I did not finish it because I have books I own that need to be read! I need to ban myself from reading library books so I can focus on the books I own. I have not been successful with this ban in the past!!

-Borrowed from the library.

Bread of Life by Abigail Dodds*

 Mrs. Dodds's devotional includes encouragement for loving the Bread of Life and reading the Bread of Life plus bread recipes. I tried the zucchini bread recipe; it was delicious. I eventually may buy this book.

-Borrowed from the library.

*Highly recommend.

The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

 What a captivating and unique book. Ms. Wood  developed credible characters and created a entralling plot. Her writing is superb (sentence formation, metaphors/similies, word choice etc.). 

Quinn, a neglectful husband and father, finds himself fulfilling his deceased eleven-year-old son's Boy Scout assignment-doing chores for 104-year-old Lithuanian woman, Ona on Saturdays. As the Saturdays progress, Quinn realizes that he enjoys Ona and calls her his friend. He also discovers more about his son and decides to finish his son's goals for Ona, to have her earn an entry in the Guinness World Records.

Aspects I did not like-some swearing/including f-word, a mother, whose sons are in a Christian rock band, is quite rough and says their faith is just a phase-not exactly a positive of Christians, one of Ona's friends may have had relations w/ some high school boys she was teaching

The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman illustrated by Marla Frazee**

 I loved this book! Mothers will love this book! Children will find the kids in the story amusing.

Mrs. Peters loves her children. Each child has specific food preferences to which she caters. But as the number of children increases in the family, Mrs. Peters becomes frazzled. She goes to bed exasperated on the eve of her birthday. Her children, however, sneak downstairs to create something to demonstrate their love for her. What can go wrong?!

The entire story is written in rhyme! Ms. Hoberman was a marvel.

The illustrations add so much to the story. Ms. Frazee demonstrates through them how well she understands children and family dynamics. I also found the home endearing and magical. I want to live there (but without the chaos!).

**Highly, highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library (but would love to buy it!)

The Red Sea Rules by Robert J. Morgan*

 After a family member was in a serious accident, a friend from church dropped off this book for us to read. The truths in this book greatly encouraged us and aligned our perspective to God's Word. Mr. Morgan focuses on  Exodus 14 & 15 to point out how we can trust God and how we can glorify Him in our current crisis. He combines scripture and stories from other Christians in crisis to create his entries. 

*Highly recommend.

-I own this book.

Bad Badger: A Love Story by Maryrose Wood illustrated by Giulia Ghigini*

 The opening lines made me groan and almost not want to read it (reminds me of our current culture-"Septimus was a badger.  Or was he? This was the heart of the matter.") But I continued reading because Sarah Mackenzie recommended it as one of her books of the week on RAR.

It is a delightful story about a Badger who is atypical and his friendship with a seagull, Gully. Despite their differences, they learn that being a friend requires sacrifice and unselfishness. I loved the chapter subheadings-One-'A Visit from a Friend--Septimus was not terribly used to company.'

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.