The Haunted Library: A spooky read that combines friendship, family, and detective skills

The Haunted Library by Dori Hillestad Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A spooky read that combines friendship, family, and detective skills

I read this book as part of a book club with kids from 6-8 years old. The kids got to identify with Kaz who struggles with his confidence in "ghostly skills" and spunky Claire who's a budding detective. The two of them made a great team! Our assignments ranged from showing up to the (Zoom) book club meeting as our favorite characters, making fingerprint characters (and seeing how each of our fingerprints were unique), recreating our favorite settings ("haunts" in the book), and creating shadow puppets. The kids found the story really fun and exciting. My daughter, my co-teacher for the book club, couldn't put down the book until she figured out who the library ghost was. It helped her tap into her inner private investigator. Overall, a great read for early elementary readers.

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Hello, Universe: In celebration of introverted kids, friendship, and intergenerational relationships

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In celebration of introverted kids, friendship, and intergenerational relationships

I read this book as a facilitator of a book club for kids and it really struck me how four out of six of our all-girl book club members chose Virgil Salinas as their favorite character. They all mentioned that they could relate with his reticent nature. We enjoyed reading this together and some of our assignments were: to come (to the Zoom session) dressed as our favorite characters, create a zoological diary of our pets (inspired by Valencia Somerset), create horoscopes for each other (inspired by Kaori Tanaka), and tell intergenerational stories about different topics (inspired by Lola). The points of view of diverse characters, including that of the bully, made it an interesting read. The Filipino myths, legends, and memories of Lola also provided a unique flavor to the story telling. As a group, we discussed the book's themes of family, fate/ destiny, choices, and courage. Our book club members wrote very insightful essays on these. Overall, a great read for young readers.


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The Quest for the Diamond Sword: Fun and Friendship

The Quest for the Diamond Sword by Winter Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun read with the kids!

I read this book because I am co-facilitating a book club for four wonderful boys together with my daughter. I had no idea that this would be the book we would end up reading. I was expecting The Graveyard Book or Bridge to Terabithia. But this Minecraft book won the most votes! Even my daughter voted for it! The story is straightforward and simple (it's only 18 chapters long) but what I love about it is the friendship that develops among Steve, Henry, Max, and Lucy. They are not the most likely of friends and yet you see their personalities change and their relationships grow throughout the book. It was also because of this book that I appreciated how rich the world of Minecraft really is! It's a very complex system with an almost infinite amount of objects that you can store in your inventory. My daughter had fun with recreating the settings on Minecraft and even made Minecraft costumes and objects for both of us. :) So, go ahead, pick up this book because it's a great way to get into your child's world! You're sure to have great conversations about it.

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Behind the Burqa: On Hosseni's A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A friend of mine lent this book to me several months ago. It remained on my shelf for quite a while. I have to be honest. I didn't want to read about Afghanistan. But this same friend of mine told me a story from And The Mountains Echoed which left me in tears. Remember, she was telling me a secondhand fairy tale and the context for it. But even then, I was crying (actually we were both tearing up). When I told my husband the same story, my voice was cracking and tears were rolling down my cheeks involuntarily. If this secondhand tale was powerful enough to make me cry on recounting it...what more an entire novel? So that was when I plunged into A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was not disappointed.

Yes, it's about Afghanistan. But more than Afghanistan, it's about two women, Mariam and Laila. It's about two women who are brave and strong and unfortunately married to the same horrible man, Rasheed. It's about what two women will do for each other despite all the circumstances. It's about two particular women behind the burqa. It's about child brides and poverty. But it's also about the beauty of friendship and the redeeming qualities of love.

I read another review about how one-sided Hosseini is: Mariam and Laila can only do good and Rasheed can only do wrong. But the thing is...there are such men in this world. There is no explaining their cruelty. There is no explaining the cruelty of wars (and yet they go on). I loved the story telling and the characters. I loved all the little nuances that invests the reader in each character even if some of them are difficult to love. I didn't mind the Afghan words and dialects that were left in, it gives the narrative a sense of place, a sense of character.

There is a breathtaking scene in the book about the Buddhas of Bamiyan in the story. Don't miss it. It gives Afghanistan more cultural history and perspective. It was once a land where Buddhist monks lived (when it was part of the Silk Road). I didn't know that about Afghanistan. All I know of Afghanistan is war and the Taliban. How ignorant I am.

I'm glad I read this book.

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