65 Books in a Year: Book #6 Mr. Popper's Penguins

OK, so back when I was still buying books *whimper* Open Road Media was having some sort of crazy sale on a slew of ebooks and Mr. Popper's Penguins was one that I picked up. I'd never read it before and it was on my radar as my friend and I watched the movie in San Antonio; during which she commented that she and her siblings had read the book or had the book read to them a million times.

Until the Jim Carrey movie, I'd never heard of Mr. Popper's Penguins. I blame the fact that when I was a kid I hated books about animals of any kind interacting with humans as that usually meant the animal was going to die.

In this book, rest assured that not a single penguin dies. I mean it has that requisite about of children's book suspense, but a grown-up will recognize where it's going early on.

I love reading books written long ago as there's always sexist or racist or sexist-racist language that has seeped through as being harmless for the time period. There's also everyday occurrences that give the reader a sense of wonderment, but you can tell that they must have been normal at the time. (You see that in Mary Poppins, even the movie,which was made in the 60s, took out some of the scenes in the book that just seemed a bit racist). Let me see if I can think of some of things in this book off the top of my head...Mrs. Popper doesn't work, nor does she have any desire to, Mr. Popper is a house painter who usually has the winters off and times are lean and he's always under foot (in that respect he reminds me a lot of Walter Mitty) while Mrs. Popper cleans--he does not help with the cleaning, the Poppers have the required two children--one boy, one girl, they order their ice from an ice man, and wear pants and gloves made out of wool even when it isn't cold outside. There are some cute little scenes in the book that didn't make it into the movie whatsoever, but that's just given you a lovely excuse, if you, like me, didn't know the book existed. Or, if you've read the book a million times and are leery of the movie ruining it for you, might I suggest watching the movie knowing full well that darned thing had to be modernized!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 28

Last year I found this book challenge (since then I have seen many variations of it, but I like this one best!), and have been intrigued about how I would answer the questions posed. Feel free to comment with your own answer or post the challenge to your own blog.

First favorite book or series obsession

At first I thought this one was going to be like all of those others where I put the same answer that I put for Day 01...but, it's not, it's first favorite book or series obsession! First, changes everything!

First favorite book

From Goodreads:
Sheldon has more than enough pancakes for his own lunch but not enough for his friends, so they proceed to make more.

Of course, ask me tomorrow and I might have a different book, as about 10 are floating in my head and there are about 10 more who's names I can't remember, but whose pictures and words (in my mother's voice) are always floating around in my head.

Series obsession

I got about 80 books in and matured to Sweet Valley High books, I think I read about 40 of those and then some University books...not very many. I was getting tired and, well, these books NEVER stop, NEVER! I hear the new book Sweet Valley Confidential isn't really how I want to remember my girls, so I haven't read it. My obsession with these books easily transferred to The Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew Super Mysteries, of which I read and own 25 of the original 36...wow! I really need to find and buy the rest of those! As for SV...I'm good with what I have...of course, there's whole e-series I can purchase for $1.99 each...hmmm!?

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)

Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11– A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book 
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever 
Day 24 – Best Quote from a Novel 
Day 25 – Any five books from your "to be read" stack 
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

N is for Nook

Nook as in Nook Tablet. Nook Tablet as in the most awesome invention ever...how did we entertain children before the advent of this device? Beats me!

Here's what we use it for:

Alphabet
ABC Owl: Preschool...goes through the whole alphabet, matching the letter to the objects, it has lots of sounds (repeats every letter and will say the name of any object) and I thought Lila would get bored, as it is the same every time, but she hasn't...yet


Fine Arts

Drawing Pad...she likes this app soooo much that she actually calls the Nook the Drawing Pad
Piano for Kids...like those little keyboards in the 80s, you can change it to animals, piano, guitar and each key is labeled (Do, Re, Mi and so on) and in the colors of the rainbow, it also plays background music
Sounds for Kids...in the beginning this was cool as it was instrument, zoo, wild and farm animal sounds, nature sounds and transportation sounds...then Lila learned them all, so...


Games
Bubble Birds...kind of hard for her to do, but she does like matching the birds and she likes the sounds
Music
Cupcake Yum...make cupcakes and decorate and eat them
Dress the Cat...there are several "Dress the..." games, but she chose this one. Dress the cat, choose a background, animate it, repeat until your mother takes the Nook away
Matching Zoo...matching with zoo animals, kind of hard for Lila at first, but she's getting better
Shape Builder...which is just about 50 interactive puzzles, there's a free version of this, but it's only about 7 puzzles

Numbers
Five Little Monkeys...singing (three different versions: country, rock, pop) and then interactive, you can make the monkeys reappear, open doors, windows, play with toys...and, you can make the monkeys 'go' and 'stop'

Reading...lots of reading...
The Animal ABCs...a book with letters and pictures to go with the letters, lots more fun now that she knows some of her letters and lots of the objects in the book...this book does not read to you
Biscuit...cute little story about a little dog that gets into puppy trouble
The Monster at the end of this Book...Grover actually reads this book, VERY AWESOME if you are like me and remember this book from wayyyyy back
Digger the Dinosaur...cute story about a little dinosaur
Cowboy Camp...adorable with fun pictures and I think Avery is an excellent name for a cowboy!
The Little Mermaid...um, it's Disney's The Little Mermaid...I love it!
Maggie and the Trouble Monkeys...not a story that reads to you, cute
The Smurfs...awesome just like the movie, GREAT narration!
The Island of Bum Bum Baloo...fun to read or listen to, who doesn't like alliteration
Tangled...sigh, we love this...it's just like the movie
Fun Facts About Pets...cool facts about all sorts of animals, that's how we learned all about bunny binkies, who knew?
The Elephant's Child: How the Elephant Got His Trunk...cute story by Rudyard Kipling, magical narration and we quote this book often, "And, the elephant did exactly that!"
Axel the Truck...great truck and engine sounds, nice message
Bible Stories...short, great for night reading, lovely pictures, all the major Bible stories
Greatest Fairy Tales of All Time...25 classic fairy tales, no pictures, but classic fairy tales don't need pictures, they need interaction and imagination

All of the apps were either free or $.99 to a $1.99 when I purchased them. The stories like The Smurfs, Monster, and Disney books, which were like $2.99-$4.99, but so worth it, they have background sounds from the movie or show, we read them a lot or she just sits and listens to them or talks along with them! The other books were free or $.99.

B is for Board Books

I can't get enough of these lovely things. Here's a post or two that highlights some of my favorites:

Entertaining Travel Reads Highlights books we bring with us when we travel. The tiny person is so entertained by books.

Childhood Books Books from my childhood that I still own and read practically nightly.

Christmas Sparkles A post about Lila's favorite board book...um, it isn't really about Christmas at all, but it does highlight her obsession with The Nightmare Before Christmas.

And, here are my new favorites!

“Baby Lit was created in one of those ‘lightning strikes’ moments,” says Gibbs Smith creative director and series editor Suzanne Taylor. “We knew there was nothing like it available for the age group, and that the books would be a great introduction to perennial classics both for very small children and parents who might never have read the classics before.”

And, you can pre-order Dracula!

55 Books in a Year: Book #7 Mary Poppins

"Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down" and Mary Poppins by PL Travers is a delightful spoonful of sugar in movie and in book form.

When I say things like what I'm about say I feel like I spent my childhood in a dark cavern, but I'm going to say it anyway. I did not read this book as a little kid, this book was never read to me, I did not even know this book was a series until I decided to download it to read on my Nook.

This book is just as delightful and enchanting as the movie (without the singing, of course). However, it is a bit different. There's a chapter where Michael wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and is given a compass which Poppins and the children use to visit every corner of the Earth. My favorite chapter that I didn't already know the story to involves the littlest Banks children (they are twins John and Barbara), they talk to Poppins, each other and the bird that lives outside their window and refuse to acknowledge that when they turn one not only will they not be able to talk to the bird and others anymore, but they will also forget they ever could. It is an excellent example of the bittersweetness of growing up.

I can't wait to read this book to Lila Jane, we've already seen the movie.

I have found out that if I want to read about all the things in the movie that I must read all of the books. There are eight and they are titled:

from Wikipedia

Mary Poppins, published 1934

The first book introduces the Banks family, consisting of Mr. Banks and Mrs. Banks and their children Jane, Michael, and baby twins John and Barbara. When the children's nanny, Katie Nana, storms out in a huff, Mary Poppins arrives at their home, complete with her traveling carpetbag, blown in by a very strong wind. She accepts the job, and the children soon learn that their nanny, though she is stern, vain, and usually cross, has a magical touch that makes her wonderful. 

Mary Poppins Comes Back, published 1935

Nothing has been right since Mary Poppins left Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane. One day, when Mrs. Banks sends the children out to the park, Michael flies his kite up into the clouds. Everyone is surprised when it comes down bringing Mary Poppins as a passenger, who returns to the Banks home and takes charge of the children once again. 

Mary Poppins Opens the Door, published 1943

When Mary last left the Banks children in Cherry Tree Lane, she took a "return ticket, just in case." In the third book, she returns to the park in front of Cherry Tree Lane the way she came, falling with fireworks. Once again she takes up nanny duties in the Banks household and leads Jane, Michael, John, and Barbara on various adventures. 

Mary Poppins in the Park, published 1952

This fourth book contains six adventures of the Banks children with Mary Poppins during their outings into the park along Cherry Tree Lane. Chronologically the events in this book occurred during the second or third book (Mary Poppins Comes Back and Mary Poppins Opens the Door respectively). 

Mary Poppins From A to Z, published 1962

Twenty-six vignettes — one for each letter of the alphabet — weave unexpected tales of Mary Poppins, the Banks children, and other characters from Travers's previous novels. Each vignette is filled with fun and unusual words that start with the featured letter.

Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, published 1975

Mary Poppins comes to the rescue when the Banks' family cook has to go on an unexpected leave, teaching the young Banks children the basics of cooking in the process. The book includes recipes.

Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, published 1982

Mary Poppins takes the Banks children on yet another memorable adventure, this time on the magical Midsummer's Eve. 

Mary Poppins and the House Next Door, published 1988

The residents of Cherry Tree Lane are distressed to learn that their beloved Number Eighteen, an empty house for which each tenant has created an imaginary, wished-for tenant, is about to be occupied by Mr. Banks's childhood governess, Miss Andrew — otherwise known as the Holy Terror. Her dreaded arrival brings a pleasant surprise as well, for Luti, a boy from the South Seas, has accompanied her as both servant and student. 

Storyline Online...

Go the website here!

So, I found this online last week and Lila Jane and I have been having a blast! Actors and actresses discuss reading and the book and then read the story while sharing the pictures. We've listened to Sean Astin read A Bad Case of Stripes at least once a day since Tuesday. Too cool!

Booking Through Thursday (Loud)

         From Booking Through Thursday:

1. What do you think of reading aloud/being read to? Does it bring back memories of your childhood? Your children’s childhood?
2. Does this affect the way you feel about audio books?
3. Do you now have times when you read aloud or are read to?

             As a teachers of high school students I think it's for the birds. My students are so used to being read to that at times they don't have the proper skills to read and comprehend quietly to themselves. However, in the classroom reading aloud does have its time and place...when we read "The Death of the Hired Man", we listen to it as it has dialogue that is hard to follow if you don't hear it first. As a parent of an almost two year old I wouldn't have it any other way and love reading aloud to her...even if it's One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (which is pretty long for a toddler to sit and listen to) and enjoy when she parrots some of the words or reads certain pages to her baby doll. She wouldn't be able to do this if I didn't read aloud to her.

          Reading aloud does bring back memories of my childhood...of my mother standing in the hall, so we could hear her as she read aloud to us from The Bible or some book meant to teach kids about morals or Laura Ingalls Wilder.

          I dislike audio books, I'm not really an auditory learner and one sure way to make sure I run off the road or fall asleep is to start an audio. If I have to listen to something I'm usually taking notes or asking questions if I know I have to understand it, that takes all the fun out of pleasure reading...although if David Duchovny wanted to read me something I'm sure I'd be OK with that as his voice is just dreamy.



What's your learning style? Find out here.

Here are 3 learning styles.

Feel free to share your answers below, on the original post (above), on FB or on your own blog!

Six Word Saturday #16

My life in six words
"I cannot go to school today..."

Sick by Shel Silverstein

"I cannot go to school today"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry.
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox.
And there's one more - that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue,
It might be the instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke.
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in.
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My toes are cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There's a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is ...
What? What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is .............. Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"


How many days until Christmas Break???

Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. Feel free to explain or not explain. Add an image, a video, a song, nothing. The full list and linky can be found here. And, here's where I found it.

Entertaining Travel Reads

          As I plan several flights this summer I've been thinking about how to occupy the mind of a 20 month old on a plane full of people. At home, when she's bored I just pop on the TV, turn on the music or throw the bag of blocks all over the living room floor...these are not viable options on plane, as she doesn't use headphones yet, and for those of you who think these options are ideal (and, you know who you are...) shame on you as I'm not really in the market for annoying others on the plane, nor do I like the idea of treating the whole plane as my personal living room, as I am not so far removed from being on the other end of that experience. I remember quite clearly a mother and companion and three little people who sat in that space at the front of the plane (where there's leg room) and had crayons, markers, blocks, noisy toys et cetera all over the floor even as the plane landed and people wanted to get off the plane...not cool.
          To me, the easiest way to entertain a tiny tot is to give them books, one at a time. 1] Books are quiet, even if the tiny tot in question wants you to read the book you can read it to them at conversation level or a whisper (much quieter than a noisy toy). 2] Books are not messy, your tiny person cannot write with the book, sure, they can write on the book, but that's only if you give them a writing utensil. 3] Books are small and can be easily packed into your childs carry-on.

Here are some books that I recommend as ideal travel reads:

• Baby Einstein Cats by Julie Aigner-Clark It's a tiny board book that fits easily into any compartment of a carry-on, or in a pocket. You're kid can eat it or bend it and if he/she wants you to read it, it's short and easy. This is a cat. Cats are warm and soft to hold.
• I'll Teach My Dog A Lot of Words by Michael Frith Again, it's a board book, not as small Cats (but, I'm guessing you'll be hard-pressed to find many other books as small as Cats) and I can attest to the fact that it's really easy to read on the plane and can be acted out with little to no interruptions to other passengers (it's all in the voice and the eyes). My kidlet likes to read this to herself and that's...well, it's nice. The first words I will teach my pup are dig a hole and fill it up.
• Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills This is a lovely interactive book where Duck and Goose ask questions about where to find a pumpkin, most of the answers are "No" and your kiddo can catch on pretty quickly and answer. Trust me it's fun. I hear there are other books in the series, but this is the only one we know by heart! "Is the pumpkin in the leaf pile, Duck?" "No."
• Baby Einstein My First Book of Numbers by Julie Aigner-Clark The tiny person can be entertained for hours by this book. Seriously...there's counting, there's colors, there's rubber ducks and marbles and flowers and bees, there's pictures of little people. This book is really big though, so big that when I've taken it on trips, it's been one of two books I take (and the other is usually a squishy bathbook like Seahorse or, a small board book like, um, Cats--can you tell what book my kiddo really likes?!) If you start with three and add one more, did you know you have the number four? Just draw a triangle and add a little line for a number four that looks just fine.
• Seaside Bath Books-Seahorse by Julie Clough We bought this book at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and then spent the 8 hr. train ride home being entertained by it. It has a squeaker, but so far Lila can't squeak it, which is fine by me! Sally the Seahorse love to dance.

And, finally...

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. An oldie, but goodie it seems that everyone knows this story. Lila likes to guess what's coming up next, she likes to label the colors and label the animals. This takes a book that might take 5 minutes to read about 15 minutes of entertaining reading and communication. Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see a red bird looking at me.

Whatever books you choose, reading with your tiny tot while traveling can be loads of fun! What kinds of books do you like to read while traveling?

Wonderful Wednesday (on Thursday) Childhood Books

I missed Sam's first Wonderful Wednesday post, so I'm doing it now...as I couldn't find a new one for this week and I know I can't link it, but I'll put it in the comments on her blog.

From Tiny Library:

The meme is called Wonderful Wednesdays and it's all about spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven't read them recently.  Each week will have a different theme or genre of book to focus on.

This week's theme: a book you loved as a child.
 We all have a book that we read over and over again as a child and still think of fondly as an adult.

          I don't know if I can pick just one...ummmm...there are three. Yes, three and I think about these books often, really. They are the foundation of my pre-teen years.

          The first is The Purple Pussy Cat, a book about a polka-dotted cat that comes to life at night and visits with all these nocturnal animals like an owl, raccoon, and a family of opossums...the pages are so pretty and full of cool colors and lots and lots of purple. This is a favorite book from my childhood because I taught my sisters how to read using this book. I remember all of us sitting on the bottom bunk as we went over the words...the word purple is hard when you are 5 years old.

           Popcorn is a book about a little bear whose parents go to the opera and while they are out he pops popcorn, literally a whole house full, he then invites his friends over for a Halloween party and ask them to help him eat all the popcorn. It's hilarious to read a book about bears dressed as ballerinas and ghosts et cetera having to eat tons of popcorn. I still have this book and can't wait for the tiny person to read it.

          And, a book that I can read again, again and again is The Phantom Tollbooth this book is all about words. He travels to Dictionopolis, where he eats his own words, rescues princesses Rhyme and Reason and goes through the Doldrums. There are so many play on words and puns that make this book delightful, especially if you have a love of vocabulary,  the English language and fantasy.

          Sigh, childhood.

Twist Your Noodle...

"In our new knowledge economy, if you haven't learned how to learn, you'll have a hard time."
---Peter Drucker

         So far my kid loves to read...no seriously, she does. If there are toys on the floor and a pile of books, she picks the books. She'll grab one of the books and hand it to me, nodding her head, while quietly and passionately saying, "Yes, yes". We read to her at night and well, frankly anytime she wants. She loves books that have animals, and Seussian sentence structures and princesses...I can't wait until she starts reading the Serendipity books. We watch "Super Why" where you learn that if you have a problem you 'look in a book'. This genius cartoon teaches theme, rhyming patterns, spelling, phonetics and has caused my kidlet to sing, "ABCDEFG" over and over...I know she doesn't know that these are letters, but isn't it a start?
          I don't know how to keep this passion for books going, I don't remember not loving books, nor do I remember ever being told to read, so I don't know how to fan the flames. My mother read to us at night, something from the Bible and then something that we wanted like a chapter from the Laura books, "The Purple Pussycat" (Kim's favorite), "Popcorn" "Sheldon's Lunch" et cetera. On the rare occassion that I got in trouble and was told to go to my room, my mother would say, "No radio, and no reading". For as long as I can remember I have had a book in hand, in brain and/or in head. There was one night, just a couple of weeks ago, that the my whole tiny family was reading. Lila with her books on the floor, Chris with his Nook and me with my book. No television, just books and the occasional grunt of happiness...over books. We do this often.
            The men we have married are readers, sure it's non-fiction, sports books, man magazines or, in the case of my husband, "The Grumpus Under the Stairs"...a book he still wishes he had, by the way...a book that I can't find for sale under $100, but it's still reading. In our different ways, all three of us girls have become avid readers...sure Kim reads boring books like the manual to my car and Marissa reads scary books or VC Andrews, but we are ALL readers.
            Of course, my sisters and I had the same upbringing and, because we grew up in the world's smallest town, we had the same wonderful teachers, all of which did their very best to instill in us a love for reading. One teacher I remember especially, her name is Mrs. Coday, because she had a reading bathtub. It was one of those claw toed tubs that she painted some sort of obnoxious lime green and she had this tub sitting off to the side by the bookshelves. It wasn't attached to water or anything, there was no swimming involved, it was just an empty tub. But, during reading time (if you had been good) you and 2 or perhaps 3, I don't remember exactly, of your classmates got to sit in the tub and read. These times were the best times ever. In 5th grade, I got to be in the 8th grade-level reading class. Even then I understood that splitting kids up by their reading level and challenging them to read, at no matter what level, made them better readers. I understood this because my sister was in her grade-level class and she learned as much and had as much fun with reading as I did.
          We had Book-It goals (free pizza was way cool, Book-It was not tied to our passing our respective grade-level) and SSR, we did not have AR.
          In our own different ways, my sisters and I have figured out that reading is essential to life and understanding. We understand that the power to read and process information is stronger than monetary assets and we do not take this for granted.
          Being a high school teacher has also shown me the pitfalls of people who don't have a love for reading and I have also seen to what lengths students--smarts students--will go to NOT read (I can't even get all of my honors kids to read books in the summer--something I still assume every honors kid should just do by nature)...I do not want my kiddo to be one of these kids.
          How will I be able to make sure that my kiddo has teachers who instill in her a love of reading and how will I make sure that these teachers are more concerned with her learning than they are test scores and AR scores and MAP scores?
          How will I make sure that I teach my tiny person a love of reading without killing, in her, the joy of reading?



Happy Sparkly Halloween



Grandma (Nona) reading to Lila Jane



    

Christmas Sparkles

Ok, so my kiddo is really into sparkly things ("What 14 month old girl isn't?", I'm told. I'll just have to take everyones word for it). She is also a voracious reader...ok, ok, I know she doesn't really read, but she does point to words and babble and then looks over or up at me to make sure that I'm paying attention. She'll read a page, I'll read the whole book, she goes back to the pages that she likes, and, the pages that she goes back to always have sparkles and bright colors. Yesterday, I finally got out all the board books for the holidays and we started reading those...there's one about an angel, one about the baby Jesus that plays "Silent Night" and one about a special star...the one that she's most drawn to, however, is one that got into the pile on accident...it's called Happy Sparkling Halloween, and she can't get enough of it!!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it's too dark to read." ~Groucho Marx

This is it. My first ever official blog post and what is it that I want to talk about, well it's books, of course. The other day I was thinking about the first book I ever chose to read on my own, Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski, not about the storyline as I don't really remember it...there's a girl, she picks strawberries, there's some sort of turmoil everything turns out happy in the end...but about how I felt reading it quietly to myself on the bottom bunk of our bed. In an apartment full of noise, there were, after all, three girls, reading alone in the semi-darkness of a room lit up only by the sunlight coming in from the corner of the shade was the way I survived and it is the way that I've survived up to this day...reading a good book...do you remember your first read?