Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal is a Jane Austen novel with a little bit of magic thrown in. I think it's marketed for adults, but its content is all appropriate for young adults. It's a great book for lovers of Jane Austen or to recommend to a younger reader in your life who you'd love to introduce to Jane Austen. Though Kowal follows a lot of the same conventions and style choices as Jane Austen, it's more accessible because the language is easier for modern readers.

Kowal started her career as a puppeteer and used her skills in a book trailer for Shades of Milk and Honey:

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Shades of Milk and Honey

by Mary Robinette Kowal

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Year: 2011

Ages/Themes: Young Adult, Magic, Romance, Relationships, Fantasy, Books for Girls

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

In less than a month my husband accepted a job across the country, we prepped and staged our house, sold our house, packed all our belongings, drove from Florida to Idaho with three kids in a small car, and lived slightly homeless for a week. We've been living out of suitcases, and we finally got all of us stuff two days ago. So now I sit among boxes and stuff unpacked from boxes that I'm not sure where it should go. I've had very little time for reading and zero time for blogging.

But amidst it all, I managed to read Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. I saw it on the Indie Bound Summer 2016 List and knew I had to read it. It's by one of my favorite authors and it's set in Florida. I was trying to focus on going local in my reading. (Anyone know of any good books set in Idaho?) Though I lived there less than four years, Florida is such a unique place that you can't help but be changed by it and I loved reading a book with those familiar elements. It had a touch of the Southern Gothic about it.

Raymie is a great character and this book is my new favorite DiCamillo book (which is hard to do because I really love her books). It's a sweet and funny coming-of-age story. Though so many of her books have had at least a touch of fantasy, DiCamillo is apparently also really good at understanding children and how they think (much like Beverly Cleary). I would have loved this book when I was younger, I loved it as an adult, and I recommend it to anyone middle grade or up.

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Raymie Nightingale
By Kate DiCamillo
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year: 2016
Ages/Themes: Middle Grade Books, Coming-of-Age

Newbery Books Worth Reading: Island of the Blue Dolphins

I can't remember the first time I read Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. It was published in 1960 so it was already an old book when I got my hands on it. But I do know that I read it over and over again until my copy was falling apart.

Adventure and survival books with female protagonists may be common now, but not so much when I was growing up. Karana in Island of the Blue Dolphins is left on an island and survives alone for 18 years. It was a remarkable story to read as a young girl because I could not conceive of surviving alone, and at the same time, Karana helped me imagine that I could.

Sadly, my childhood copy has not survived. But Newbery books often stay in print and my research shows that a 50th anniversary edition was printed in 2010. I plan on putting it on my list of books to buy for my daughters.

What are some of your favorite adventure books for girls?
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Island of the Blue Dolphins
By Scott O'Dell
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Year: 1960
Ages/Themes: Middle Grade Books, Books for Girls, Adventure, Diverse Books, Newbery Books

Samanthasaurus Rex by B.B. Mandell

I went to the library without my youngest two children on Saturday. When I brought home the books, my four-year-old grabbed this one from the pile and exclaimed, "Oh, I love this one!" Since it's newly published, she had never even seen this one before. But that speaks to the power of a good cover and fun illustrations.

Samanthasaurus Rex is a T-rex who just doesn't act like a T-rex. She uses her brain instead of her brawn and feels like she might be a disappointment for her family. But then she has the chance to use her smarts and find a place in her family, even though she's different.

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Samanthasaurus Rex
By B.B. Mandell
Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Year: 2016
Ages: Picture Books, Young Children

Newbery Books Worth Reading: Princess Academy

I'm sure you've heard that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover (though as every book marketer and seller will tell you, people do it all the time). Well, I sometimes judge a book by its title. And that's why it took me a few years to give Princess Academy by Shannon Hale a chance.

I actually love fairy tales and their many retellings, but for some reason having the word princess in the title kept me from reading this book. But I changed my mind after reading it. It's certainly not for everyone, but middle grade girls will likely love the story, and lovers of young adult and middle grade books (like me) will likely enjoy this book as well. I don't think it's Shannon Hale's best, but it's still a good one. (Book of a Thousand Days is her best if you're wondering.)

Are you a Shannon Hale fan? Which book of hers is your favorite?
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Princess Academy
By Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury Books for Children
Year: 2005
Ages/Themes: Middle, YA, Fairy Tales, Fantasy

Newbery Books Worth Reading: Invincible Louisa

In my early twenties I worked in a middle school library. It was one of my favorite jobs because I worked with books all day long. Middle school is the perfect age for reading Newbery books. I had already read a lot of them as a child, so I made the goal to read them all. It took a long time, but a few years ago I met that goal and have kept it up by reading the Newbery winner each year after it's announced.

The John Newbery Award is given to "the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." And I'd love to say that they are all great and you and your kids should read them all! But the award started in 1922 and I have to admit that children's literature used to be just plain weird. From too many horse and dog stories to downright weird and creepy. (I'm looking at you Miss Hickory that ends with a squirrel eating the protagonist doll's nut head. Sorry for the spoiler, but really, you can skip that one.)

So here I begin an ongoing series highlighting the Newbery Award books that are worth reading. Even though some are strange, many of them are on my list of favorite children's books of all time. I haven't read all the Newbery Honor books, but I will include some notable ones that I have read.

First we're going to go all the way back to 1934. (See? Some of the oldies are goodies.)

I read Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs when I was a young girl. It's the story of the author of Little Women. So obviously I recommend it for those who have already read, or at least watched, Little Women. I don't remember a lot of details, but I remember that it held my interest. I think it's a good book for young girls to read because it helps them make the connection between books and authors. Actual people write the books they read, which means that maybe they could too.

I also recommend reading the book Little Women and I even really adore the 1994 movie version of Little Women, and not just because Christian Bale is in it, though that doesn't hurt. Little Women would be a great book for mothers and daughters to read together. And then watch Christian Bale, I mean, the movie. If you haven't read it or seen the movie, just take my advice and keep the tissues handy.

Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore

I was a very short child. When lining up by height for class pictures in school, I knew to move to the back of the line. I was always on the front row next to the second or third shortest kid in the class. And my head just reached their shoulder. Adults tried to comfort me by saying, "Don't worry, you'll grow." I believed them. I thought that when I grew up I wouldn't be short. They failed to mention that all the other kids would grow too and an extremely short child usually just grows up to be an extremely short adult. I only ever wanted to be five feet tall--and I didn't even quite make that.

Freckleface Strawberry is by a beautiful woman you may have heard of before--Julianne Moore. It's the story of a little red headed girl who doesn't like her freckles. So she tries to get rid of them or hide them. Spoiler alert: when she grows up she learns to accept herself as she is.

I love this book both for me and my daughters. Everyone, especially girls and women it seems, have things they don't like about themselves that they can't change. There's humor in the story, but also an important lesson. And by the way, I'm okay with my height now. Until I just barely can't reach something on a shelf. . .

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Freckleface Strawberry
By Julianne Moore
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Year: 2007
Themes: self-esteem, individuality
Ages: Picture Books, Young Children

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

As a young girl, I went through a huge historical fiction phase. I loved learning about, and imagining myself in, another time and place. One of my very favorites was The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. My fourth grade teacher recommended it to me. At first I didn't read it because I thought it was about witches in the Halloween sense. But once I did read it, I couldn't put it down and I read it over and over again. Oh, how I wished to be Kit, and how much I loved Nathaniel Eaton.

Kit grew up with her grandfather on an island, but when she's sixteen he dies and she has to go live with her only living relative, an aunt who lives with her family in Puritan New England. You can probably guess that her free-spirited ways don't mesh well with her new community. And when she befriends an old woman who is thought by some to be a witch, things only get worse for her.

Besides romance and adventure, this book offers a glimpse into Puritan society, New England in the 1600s, and old witch hunts. It's a book about friendship, loyalty, accepting differences, and accepting yourself. I highly recommend it for girls ages 10 and up--including their mothers.

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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
By Elizabeth George Speare
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Sandpiper
Year: 1958
Info: Newbery Award Winner
Ages: Middle Grade Books, YA Books
Themes: historical fiction, New England, Puritans