The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

I first read these books when I was in the fourth grade. By the time I got to "The Silver Chair" I couldn't finish. I just couldn't follow the books. As an adult I picked up the books again. Now, I had a whole new perspective. This time around I saw all of the symbolism in the books. I understood why I wasn't able to follow along as well as a child. I enjoyed reading these books back to back and swimming in the symbolism found in the world C. S. Lewis had created.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

I really liked reading the story of how Jeanette took the lessons she learned in life to rise above her circumstances and live the American dream. It was so refreshing to learn about someone who acknowledged she had received a rotten hand in life and rather than expecting others to do something about it, she took destiny into her own hands and made her life something worthwhile. Sure, there are some disturbing things in this book, but only things mentioned in passing with only very brief details. I just laughed every time her mom said that it was time to do something for herself after everything she has done for others; all the sacrifices she had made. I wanted to say to her, "What sacrifices, what have you done?"

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This is an easy book to read. What I really liked about this book was how you don't have to let your situation in life control you. You can become a better person for it. You can overcome your obstacles. You can rise above your past and live the American Dream. There are people today who just accept where they are and don't even try to do what it takes to live better. Francie, the main character, knows what she wants in life and she works toward her goals. Her mother does the best she can and supports Francie. Each generation helps the next become better, do better, and live better than the one before. This is what I believe is the American Dream.

Horray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss with some help from Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith

I love this book. It is my favorite Dr. Seuss book. At the end of the book, it gives a brief history of how the book came about. Theodor Seuss Geisel (otherwise known as Dr. Seuss) had been working on a book about a teacher, Miss Bonkers. He would often tell his editor that Miss Bonkers was driving him Bonkers. He never finished the project before he passed away. His editor found Dr. Seuss's notes and hired children's author and illustrator Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith to finish the book. In this brief history, there are pictures of Dr. Seuss's notes. Prelutsky and Smith did a great job. There are even illustrations from Seuss's previous books and notes for this project throughout the actual book. I love the story behind the book but I also love the message this book gives. I read it every year to my students the week before standardized testing.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I was interested in reading My Sister's Keeper when I found out it was going to be in theaters. When I saw the previews I knew I wanted to watch the movie and so first I wanted to read the book. The book is very good. I enjoyed the story. Unfortunately there was some language in the book that seemed just too unnecessary. The language made me feel uncomfortable and there were some unsacred discussions regarding sex, fortunately those scenes were far less than the ones with the language. I am grateful that the movie is PG-13 because that would mean all the "F" words in the book will be taken out (most of them anyway). At first as I read the book, I thought, I really can't recommend this book, the language just ruins it. I truly got to know these characters and by the end of the book I was crying and saying that it was a great book and I just had to recommend it. Although I strongly caution readers, the language was inexcusable and truly almost ruined the book for me. Read this book if you don't mind language or knowing that you have been warned.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

At first I had difficulty reading this book because it is written in letter format. It was kind of hard to follow. It was easy to read and after awhile I was caught up in the story. It was fun to read the different letters and by so doing, learn more pieces of the story. I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a historical fictional story based on true events. It is a very clever way to read about events that took place during World War Two. I fell in love with the characters and desired to know more about them. This book is definitely worth reading.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

My sister let me borrow this book. Her brother-in-law is from the middle east. He read the book and he said the facts presented in the book were accurate. I learned so much from this book. There were things about Afghanistan that I never knew before. It was a great way to learn a bit of history. It gave me a better understanding of the Afghan people. Though there were some disturbing scenes, they helped to paint an accurate picture of the life some people struggle with. Some of the experiences expressed in this book are universal, people all over the world, sadly, experience similar circumstances. It was an easy book to read and I enjoyed reading about what would happen next. I think I came away from reading this book a better person than I was before. I certainly have a better understanding of some of the terrible things some people have to live through every day, in every country, in every culture, in every race. We all have our struggles and I think you can better appreciate what you have or feel you are not alone in your own struggles, depending on what kind of conditions in which you are living.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

I read this book in college. I really enjoyed the book. The ideas are fascinating and after reading the book, it is very fascinating. This book does cover some concepts that might be too disturbing for younger readers. It definitely brings to mind some great topics for a meaningful discussion. It also allows you to discuss things of the world without actually pointing to real examples. You can discuss the examples from the book. The setting is somewhere in the future. I enjoyed the story and I enjoyed the chance to really contemplate the ideas presented in the story. This book certainly deserved its Newberry Award.

Holes by Louis Sachar

I like reading books by Louis Sachar. I read all of his Wayside School books and the Marvin Redpost books are so fun to read. When I found out that he had written a book that received a Newberry Award I was in shock. I could not believe that Louis Sachar could write a book that good. The cover of the book gave me an impression of Sci-fi and I could not believe that he could write a Sci-fi book worthy of a Newberry Award. Sadly to say, I judged the book by its cover. When I found out Disney was making a movie about Holes I decided that "Holes" must be worth reading after all. As usual with Louis Sachar books, it was a delight to read but I was still unsure about the Newberry worthiness. Then as I came near the end of the story, I discovered how cleaver and wonderful the book was and felt it deserved the award. I also chastised myself for waiting so long to read the book. The movie does a fairly good job following the book and I did enjoy watching it. There is nothing like the wonder of reading this book, it just is not the same if you saw the movie first. I am glad I read the book before seeing the movie.

Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

I was flipping channels one day and I stopped on a movie that looked interesting to me. I really enjoyed the movie and later found out it was "Love Comes Softly" based on the novel by Janette Oke. After reading the book I was happy to see that the movie captured most of the book, though there were some changes. I learned that Janette Oke had written a whole series. I bought the whole series! I also bought all of the movies (over time since they had not all been filmed at that time. . . I just got the last movie for Christmas!). I enjoy the movies as much as I enjoy the books but be warned. There are more and more creative licenses as the movies progress through the series. The movies become less and less like the books. The books are written in a mid-western pioneer dialect. If you find it difficult to follow, this might not be the right series for you. Here is an example, "Pa's got to go now, and yer gonna stay with yer mama."

Never Talk to Strangers by Irma Joyce illustrated by S.D. Schindler

Since I brought up "stranger danger" I thought I'd bring up this book too. The first time I read this book, I was babysitting. I had never read this book before but the child had selected it. I really liked it because although we teach children to not talk to strangers, there are times when they are allowed to and this book distinguishes the difference between the appropriate and inappropriate times to talk to strangers. The "strangers" in this book are animals and may require more adult-child communication on the subject but presents the message in a fun way.

The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt and Tony DiTerlizzi

When I first saw this picture book I was attracted to its gorgeous illustrations. The old fashioned black and white silent film look to it is really fascinating. I was at a book fair at school and one of my second grade students was near me.  She allowed me to read the book to her. When the story was over, I was in shock. I put the book down and she walked away. I had not been prepared for the ending. A few moments later, when the shock was over, I asked the student what we can learn from the story of the Spider and the Fly. Without hesitation she said, "Don't go into a stranger's house." This simple story teaches an important lesson in a very safe environment for children. Since that time, I have read this story to all of my classes. After the story is read, I ask them what we can learn from the story and each time, the first thing they mention is not to go into a stranger's house. The only exception was when I substitute taught a kindergarten class. I think the concept was too abstract for their young minds.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy

I saw this movie with Jane Seymour. I really liked the movie. I was excited to read the book. I didn't realize it had been a book before it was a movie. I usually like reading the books first. To my surprise, the movie added a lot of stuff. The movie had some of the very cleaver scenes from the book but the first part of the book doesn't really start until half way through the movie and the ending of the movie is totally different than the book! However, I found myself loving the book. I don't want to give too much away because the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel in the book is a big mystery, whereas in the movie, you find the identity right away. It was fun reading the book, knowing exactly who the Scarlet Pimpernel was and then being suspenseful not knowing exactly how the book was going to end. While reading the book I discovered I really loved Percy almost as much as I love Mr. Darcy! I hope I didn't give anything away!

The Quilter's Legacy by Jennifer Chiaverini

I was searching for an audio book to listen to in the car during my long commutes to work. This book seemed intriguing to me. It wasn't until I was half way through the book that I realized it was the fifth book in a series. I don't like reading a book in a series out of order. I really enjoyed the book and I did not feel lost due to the fact I had not read any other book in the series. I am not a quilter by any stretch of the imagination but I enjoyed this book so much I just might start reading the series.

This book was about a woman whose mother died when she was very young. She found out her older sister sold her mother's quilts and now she wants to find them. As she searches for the quilts, intertwined in that story (every other chapter) the story is told of her mother as it relates to each of her five quilts. By the end of the story the reader knows more about the mother than the main character. In any case, I really enjoyed this book.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

I saw the A&E 5 hour long miniseries and fell in love with Mr. Darcy. I read the book and soon it became my favorite book. The miniseries did a great job following the book but they did take some things out of the book. Some of my favorite parts are with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy near the end of the book. For those who don't know what this movie is about, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have five daughters and no sons to inherit their estate. Mrs. Bennett then becomes obsessed with marrying her daughters off to rich young men. Rich and handsome Mr. Bingley moves to town and he becomes smitten by the eldest Bennett daughter, Jane. His choice is not deemed worthy in the eyes of his esteemed friend Mr. Darcy. Thus both pride and prejudice must be overcome in the end. Oh, I just love this book! Just keep in mind, it was first published in 1813.