#7
Title: The Farilitos of Christmas
Author: Rudolfo Anaya
Illustrator: Edward Gonzales
Genre: Kid Picture Book
Rating: B
Published: 1985
Date read: 1/30/12

An especially heart-warming story for a special evening of bonding with granddaughter. Tonight she tearfully missed Mommy and after talking with her on the phone let me read her this book. Her tender-hearted grandmother shed tears as we read about Luz whose father may not make it home for Christmas because he’s been wounded in the war. A number of the words are in Spanish. Thankfully a glossary in the back of the book led us to learn what farilotos, luminaria and Santo Nino mean. By the end of the book, the tears we had shed were forgotten and soon the three and one-half year old slumbered off to dreamland.

#6
Title: Punxsutawney Phyllis
Author: Susanna Leonard Hill
Illustrator: Jeffrey Ebbeler
Genre: Kid Picture Book
Rating: B
Published: 2005
Date read: 1/30/12

Phyllis the Groundhog is not just any groundhog. She enjoys all kinds of weather -- springtime, the summer sun and winter snow, she’s happy every day. This year on February 2 she’s excited because she can feel an early spring coming on yet she’s not sure how to get Uncle Phil out of bed in time to make his official Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Day prediction. If he doesn’t do it, will she, the first girl groundhog ever get to do it instead of Phil Junior or little Peter?

#5
Title: Heavy Metal Mater and Other Tall Tales
Adapted by: Frank Berrios
Materials and characters: from the movie Cars
Genre: Kid Picture Book
Rating: B
Published: 2006
Date read: 1/30/12

Tow Truck Mater, good friends, of Lightning McQueen, we find out is storyteller extraordinare. We first find him telling the tale of when he started out in a rock band in a garage and went on to stardom. It’s a tale Lightning McQueen finds hard to believe. The second tale is call Unidentified Flying Mater. Mater and Lightning are cruising down Main Street one day when suddenly Mater mistakes a flying hubcap for a UFO and goes on to tell his friend of the time when Mater met a flying saucer and the adventure which ensued as a result. The final yarn Mater spins is of the time he ended up in Tokyo -- well, you’ll just have to read this and the other adventures to appreciate Mater’s outstanding imagination.

#4
Title: Untold Story
Author: Monica Ali
Read by: Emma Fielding & Nicholas Farrell
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C
Published: 2011
Date read: 12/23/11 - 1/27/12
Cds/Hours: 8/10

This story didn’t impress me much. It’s a what-if book; if Princess Di hadn’t died, what would her life have been like? She would have had girlfriends, a shrink, a paparazzi fellow stalking her. Except for the absence of her family this could have been her life anyway. Perhaps I missed something but the book seems to be assembled in a haphazard way. The journal entries from Lawrence who appears to be her psychiatrist is rambling and seems to be an afterthought plugged into the middle of the book. Not very satisfying to say the least.

#3
Title: Christmas House
Author: Ann Turner
Illustrations by: Nancy Edwards Calder
Genre: Kid Picture Book
Rating: B
Published: 1994
Date read: 1/24/12

While Christmas is long over with I decided I wanted to share this book of poetry with granddaughter. Turner takes each room, each person in the family and writes a free-verse poem of their qualities. Calder’s vivid and rich paintings frame Christmas in an old house full of love. We see the house itself as 100 years old, the cat whose fur has been sucked by the baby, Nicky who couldn’t sleep Christmas Eve, and Annie who with cousin Jeannie play in the attic and dress up in yesterday’s dresses. Each page, each drawing satisfies our need to experience the ideal Christmas.

#2
Title: Eloise Wilkin Stories
Author: Eloise Wilkin
Genre: Kid Picture Book
Rating: B +
Published: 2005
Date read: 1/7/12 - 1/9/12
Pages: 209

I remember Eloise Wilkin drawings at an early age. Now my granddaughter can enjoy both her classic stories and illustrations. This particular volume represents nine beloved classics as the front cover tells us. A forward, written by her daughter, Deborah Wilkin Springett gives us a bit of history on the life of Eloise Wilkin. Born on March 30, 1904, Eloise Margaret Burns hailed from Rochester, New York. She died October 4, 1987 and left a legacy of stories and drawings for generations of children and parents alike to enjoy. Among her stories are Baby Listens, Baby Dear and Baby Looks. She also illustrated books for other childrens book authors among them, Jane Werner Watson who also provided A Remembrance of Eloise Wilkin. She describes Eloise Burns Wilkin: The Soul of Little Golden Books as one whose work typifies the essence of Little Golden Books. From the time Eloise descended upon New York with a portfolio almost as big as she, she happily occupied her time illustrating books for children. I love how she describes Eloise as the mom of four, drawing and painting the chubby-faced, well-behaved toddlers every parent-to-be dreams of having. A devoutly religious person, she shared her values and sense of the beauty of order and love, of implicit self-discipline, and of regard for others. She has left us with rich reminders of a lovely time not so long ago.

#1
Title: Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God
Author: Mary Ella Randall, M. A.
Genre: Cliffs Notes
Rating: B +
Published: 1995
Date read: 11/29/11 - 1/4/12
Pages: 86

The Cliffs Notes for this book are outstanding. I love the Suggested Essay Topics and Research Projects. The F2F book group meets, Friday, January 13 and I have half a mind to bring a southern dish described in the essay about food. In particular, the Hoppin’ John sounds good. Made with black-eyed peas, bacon, onion and rice, this dish Janie prepared for Tea Cake. It takes forever to cook, though. Maybe my DH would consider prepping it for me!