As a 16 yo, I didn’t experience a first love. A couple of crushes, but none of them were anything more than an occasional glance in the lift, or a quickening of pulse when they appeared in front of me. To read Rainbow Rowell describe it so minutely in normal-speak without being elaborate is a welcome peek into a world when feelings run amok, you barely understand what’s happening and yet you feel so much (so – much like my current mid-thirties, GOTCHA, dumb-ass […]
Boogie your Wiggle and Wiggle your Boogie
First, I am not a Laurie Berkner fan. Yet, Monster Boogie is a real treat. You do not need the music or a CD of Berkner signing or playing the music for you to enjoy it. As you read out loud you will fall into a natural rhythm of a song. You will love the bounciness to the words and will have fun. Therefore, this is not a before bedtime story. It would be great for a preschool classroom. The illustrations by Ben Clanton are […]
Lorraine’s Lesson
When I saw the title, Lorraine: The Girl Who Sang the Storm Away, I assume it was going to be a fictionalized story of a famous singer. But it turns out to be a fun story about a grandfather, granddaughter and overcoming fear with the song in your heart. The fact that the characters are black and in a non-traditional family setting is never brought to the forefront of the story. It is just “there” which makes this a nice book for anyone. Ketch […]
The Dance of the Violin
The Dance of the Violin is a delightful story about a young boy who loves music and finds a way to always play. And will use anything to make music: pots and pans and even rubber bands. This is when his family buys him a violin. One day he tells everyone he has to partake in a contest. It will be his first, but even so, he tells his teacher he must play this one piece of music, even though it is one of the […]
The Most Beautiful Song
Khalida wakes up one night to a special song playing in her inner ear. She tries capturing it right then on the piano, but she is told to go back to bed. She hears it again at school. But is told to go back to class. However, when she has a moment to play it, she cannot remember it. But finally, when the time is just right, she can give her song to everyone. As someone who considers herself a poet, I know the frustration […]
“Let’s be clear, a lot of people met because of cocaine.”
Lizzy Goodman opens Meet Me in the Bathroom with this quote from NME writer Conor McNicholas: “Everybody is living through their own golden age, but you only realize it afterward, so start living it now.” Get to the end of this book, read the first chapter again, and that quote makes perfect sense. MMITB is Goodman’s wistful love letter to her New York City. What I mean by her New York City is that, as she establishes early in the book, people move to NYC because it’s […]
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