Jump to the Skies

“We watched, and he taught us like he did every day we were with him. He showed us how to forgive.” 

Something wicked this way came. In the form of the flu.  I’ve been in bed for 21 straight hours, in and out of consciousness; there have been hazy moments where I wondered if Rachel thinks she’s ridin solo. A slightly strange thought to have in the throes of sickness I know, but still they came.  So here’s my attempt to give Rachel some reassurance and Mr. Terupt his due.  

The honorable Mr. Frost said, “There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you up with so much quail shot that you can’t move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.”  Mr. Terupt’s fifth graders find the azure thanks to their teacher who understands that the classroom is far bigger than most imagine.  Yes, he uniquely teaches math and science, but he also underscores kindness and forgiveness every bit as much. Terupt teaches lessons that last well beyond the bell. Without knowledge of their personal struggles, he gives his students the gift of perspective—and they are the wiser and more able because of it.  Would I trade my very own fifth grade teacher Mrs. Collins for Mr. Terupt.  You betcha.  And while I’m just guessing on this one, I think Luke and Jonah would too.  

Two thumbs way up for Mr. Terupt! Much as I don’t love sequels, something tells me I’m gonna be on the hook for Mr. Terupt Falls Again, and Saving Mr. Terupt. My boys are all in. 

Posted by Tracy

Weekly Wrap-Up

“One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Christmas books. Sorry Dumbledore, you can keep your stinky socks, we'll take new books every day of the year, especially at Christmas. Is there anything better than gathering the kiddos around the tree for a winter's tale? We don't think so. Which is why for years it was our go-to gift for each other's kids. It takes a captivating story to keep the tots still with all those sugarplums dancing in their heads, so last year we shared some of our favorite Christmas classics here. Be sure to click on over! If there was a Holiday Book Hall of Fame, they'd be in it. Right beside the obvious tales: How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Polar Express. 

Today we're sharing a few more worthy contenders, including a couple newer ones we haven't picked up yet but like the look of them, like Walk this World at Christmastime pictured above and The Christmas Wish below.

I'll be Home for Christmas or any of the Toot and Puddle Christmas tales

The Mitten or any of Jan Brett's winter tales

Eloise at Christmastime (and for an extra treat watch the movie on what Eloise calls Christmas Eve Eve)

I'm A Sucker For A Gentleman

"History is the business of identifying momentous events from the comfort of a high-back chair. With the benefit of time, the historian looks back and points to a date in the manner of a gray-haired field marshal pointing to a bend in a river on a map: There it was, he says. The turning point. The decisive factor. The fateful day that fundamentally altered all that was to follow."

Why oh why has it taken me so long to review this book? It's my favorite read of the year so far...and with a mere 30 days left before we sing Auld Lang Syne, odds are nothin's gonna knock it off its lofty perch. While The Orphan Keeper could prove to be a worthy contender, for now, A Gentleman in Moscow reigns supreme.

This book actually makes me long for a real book club. The kind where you all come over and we sit around my cozy fire sipping hot cocoa (topped with peppermint whipped cream and cinnamon) and talk late into the night about the Russian gentleman who won our hearts. We'd laugh at how the Bishop got what he had coming to him, then cry over life sometimes being "every bit as devious as Death," and wish it had been kinder to Mishka and Nina. We'd long to attend one more meeting of the Triumvirate, dine again at the Boyarsky, and play several rounds of Zut with the Count and Sofia. 

When it came time to call it a night, I'd reluctantly bid you farewell, feeling a bit melancholy over how seldom we see each other. And then, not ready to part with my beloved Count Rostov just yet, I'd curl up by the fire and start all over again on page one. Something tells me you'd be back home in front of your own cozy hearth doing exactly the same.

Posted by Rachel

Happy Birthday Louisa May Alcott

"I want to do something splendid...Something heroic or wonderful that won't be forgotten after I'm dead...I think I shall write books." 

Happy 184th, Ms. Alcott. I'm glad you wrote books. Especially this one. It's the book that made me a life-long reader, writer, and feminist—at the ripe old age of 10. I still have the hardbound edition that my mom read to me and then I read again on my own over a long, lazy summer. It's the very one I read aloud to my girls 30 years later. Lovely new editions like the one above have made it onto my shelves. but that old one with its dog-eared and tear-stained pages, separating spine, and frayed cover will always be my favorite. If I listen close, I can still hear my mom's voice, and then my own. reading aloud to my girls on the night they cried themselves to sleep over Beth, like I had years before them. 

As my family gathered last week for Thanksgiving, our conversation naturally turned to books we love. One sister-in-law asked if I have a favorite book. We laughed as another sister-in-law joked that was like asking me to name my favorite child. I finally decided that if pressed, I could maybe narrow it down to a top ten, although it would be an excruciating task. But tonight, if asked again, I'd be tempted to say Little Women. 

Posted by Rachel

Ya Gotta Learn to Love the Grind

“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” 

Hello Wits End.  Can’t say that it’s nice to meet you.  We were bound to run into one another sooner or later. Not sure why I can’t give chaos the shake—we’re way too close these days. This week he came in the form of a teenage car crash, my dog Ringo chewing up the Google fiber cable not once, but twice.  (Who needs the internet anyway?) The washer broke. I have five kids, and no washer.  That’s enough to make a grown woman cry uncontrollably.  Let me tell you, late-night laudromatting is a thrill a minute.  Wash. Rinse. Repeat.  I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Only 12,403 days left to go to beat Murray’s dizzying record of being trapped in a day. That’s nothin’, right? 

Not to mention, I have complete strangers badgering me for college-essay help.  And monotonous grant deadlines.  Oh and a CNP telling me to get more sleep or I’ll never find balance, or worse fatigue will wreak havoc on my adrenals. Funny, I haven’t even thought about my adrenals, but I am now.  Obviously, I haven’t started reading The Gratitude Diaries. Tomorrow I’ll kick chaos and deadlines to the curb to have a little turkey, watch some professional football, rest, and read. I’ll be making a Christmas mix for me and Rae too.  Life will feel a little mellower and a little sweeter.  In a quiet moment, I’ll remind myself not to sweat the small stuff.  And it’s all small stuff.   

Which reminds me…if chaos is your shadow too these days, you may want to check out Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff.  It made publishing history as the #1 best-selling book in the U.S. for two consecutive years.  Wisdom on a page is hard to resist.  I’m not a worrier, especially over the stuff I can’t control—I do, however, appreciate reminders—perspective savers.  If you haven’t developed a taste for the mundane, this book will teach you to do as my father repeatedly suggests: ya gotta learn to love the grind.  I’m not there yet, but I have taken things in stride all week.  And I have an awful lot to be thankful for, including all of you.  

Posted by Tracy

Weekly Wrap-Up

"I will defend the importance of bedtime stories to my last gasp." —J.K. Rowling

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Book giving. As promised, this week's wrap-up is all about finding more ways to spread literary joy. One of the best ways to serve is giving your time. Ask your local schools if you can come read in classrooms each month. To make the biggest impact, choose schools where parent volunteers are lacking.

The folks over at Book Riot rounded up a list of bookish charities and Project Night Night immediately caught our attention. It's a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a little love to homeless children 12 and under in the form of comfort items and, you guessed it, a great book. There are ways to go big or small with this one—you can simply mail or drop off donations or run your own drive to help out a local shelter. 

United Through Reading. This beautiful nonprofit provides a way for parents serving in our military all over the world to video themselves reading bedtime stories for their children back home—guaranteeing a good night's sleep for all.

"Nothing can be compared to the charm of reading a good story book." We wholeheartedly concur with Rezaul, a student in Bangladesh, who thanks to Room to Read, has more access to that magic than ever before. Their mission: provide education and literacy programs to children, with an emphasis on girls, all over the world. Knowledge is power.

This may be exhibiting a little hometown favoritism, but when I saw that Reader to Reader just donated 500,000 books to schools in Gallup, New Mexico and the surrounding Native American communities, my heart swelled. 

Public libraries. Either your own or one in a struggling neighborhood. Go online to find out if they accept book or monetary donations. Or better yet, just stop in and ask. And check out a book or two while you're there.

In other news: have you seen this movie yet? You really should.

Posted by Rachel

 

Turn Off The News And Love Your Neighbor

“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.” —Kahlil Gibran

@emmawatson/Instagram

Raise your hand if you could use a shot of joy right about now. Both of mine are high in the air. I'm not prone to grouchiness or fits of melancholy, but I gotta say they've been hangin around with alarming frequency as of late. The woe-is-me blues are drownin out the Christmas tunes that usually fill my ears as soon as the clock strikes November. And that, my friends, just will not do. So when I saw a sign posted on Facebook encouraging us all to "turn off the news and love [our] neighbor," it was like someone reached through the screen and gave me a good shake. Time to snap out of it, get over my tired self, and start serving my neighbors (as in everyone).

Enter that trusty intern of ours with stories of book-giving sure to inspire even the grouchiest among us, meaning me. What better way to spread love and cheer than with free books? (That's a rhetorical question, in case you're new here.) Emma Watson, a.k.a. the book fairy, has been busy delivering up delight underground in New York and London by hiding copies of Maya Angelou's Mom & Me & Mom for lucky subway riders. Good on you, Emma. The giving doesn't stop there though, our favorite Free Little Libraries friends just planted their 50,000th little library. Even more impressive? That's double the libraries that were in existence a mere year and a half ago. Just thinking about all those books finding their way into the hands and hearts of readers makes my weary heart skip a beat. 

This all has me wanting to find ways to spread more literary joy. Stay tuned for our Weekly Wrap-Up this Saturday for some fun ideas on sharing the book love. I feel better already, don't you?

Posted by Rachel