Sunday Salon --Looking Forward ~ Looking Back... This Week In Books

Wow, great week for incoming books. Through the door came book 3 of Ness' Chaos Walking series, and book 2 of Dashner's The Maze trilogy. If only Patrick Rothfuss' second book in his series had come in, reading-life would have been perfect.

Here's what Dave, Lala and I have been up to.

ON THE NIGHTSTAND:

	The Witches' Kitchen by Allen Williams As an adult I found some elements of the writing that bugged me, but I would still recommend The Witches Kitchen as a fun read for Tweeners on up. It's really imaginative and a perfectly spooky October choice with just the right amount of creepiness. I've finished it, but am now reading it aloud to the kids. review here
	The Scorch Trials by James Dashner Just finished it last night and I'm awestruck. What a ride. Literally non-stop action and not a dull moment in the book. Readers should refresh their memories of the who-what-where because the book gives virtually no rehashing of what went before. (And ya know, W.I.C.K.E.D. really is.)
	Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown Finally a book that helps kids understand why they can't have that injured Robin or a squirrel as a pet. The premise of this one is so funny and cute though that you don't need a reason to read it. It's just a great book for Tweeners and younger.
	Dave the Potter: artist, poet, slave by Laban Carrick Hill The artwork in this book is mesmerizing. My 10 year-old Lala was just awestruck by Bryan Collier's beautiful illustrations that showed Dave pulling the pots out of the shapeless clay. Because of this we had to read Dave the Potter several times before the history part of the lesson started to gain her attention. We discussed how amazing Dave was as a person. How he rose above his circumstances to gain the admiration of generations that followed. And we used the book, with it's backdrop of the life in the South, as an example of how wrong slavery was.

INCOMING:

The Day Leo Said "I HATE YOU" by Robie Harris Regardless of whether you are a new parent or have been around the block a few times, this is one book that you should take the time to read every so often. It's a great reminder of how it feels to be on the other side of being 'the human no-machine'. Leo gets tired of hearing no all day and when he finds he can't escape even in his own room, he blows up and tells his mom he hates her. I read this with my Dave (who's 8) and he actually found the situation understandable and stressful. (Yes, we've had a 'hate' episode in our past.) I was happy to see that Robie brought the book to a happy, calming end. Simply great book.

Oh, Monsters of Men... you call to me from the nightstand. Now that Mr. Dashner's work is on it's way back to the library I can dive into Mr. Ness' fabulous sci-fi piece. Wondrously dystopic, if you haven't read The Knife of Never Letting Go get to it.