So B. It
So B. It by Sarah Weeks, HarperTrophy: New York, 2005; $6.99 So B. It is possibly one of the most moving, wonderful, descriptive books I have ever read. In this story, the main character, Heidi,...
Issue: <span>September/October 2007</span>
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So B. It by Sarah Weeks, HarperTrophy:
New York, 2005; $6.99
So B. It is possibly one of the most moving, wonderful, descriptive books I have ever read. In this story, the main character, Heidi, is living with her mentally disabled mother and her neighbor, Bernadette. Heidi is used to living in a, well, different household, and has lived that way all her life.
The wind whistled against his head as the leaves blew in a cyclone and rain threatened with a distant rumble of thunder. The man turned, his black overcoat flapping. Walking slowly away, he hoped his memories would not be blown away as the dry brittle grass. His hand felt empty and cold without her small hand gripping his. The streets were empty as he boarded the bus.
It was a warm, brisk Saturday afternoon, and Jack and I couldn't wait to get to the river. Crisp, dry auburn leaves were settling to the ground like fairies relishing their last ballet before reaching the forest floor. We knew they would soon be buried under mounds of snow, obscuring the path to the forest.
It was a bright and clear Monday morning on the Flying T ranch in Texas. Almost everyone at the ranch was still asleep, except a little Blue Heeler named Patches. She was a small dog with short brown legs and a stumpy tail. Her ears were black and she had a black patch on one eye. The rest of her strong little body was a silver-gray. She was an intelligent and spunky dog who loved to run and play.
Loving Will Shakespeare by Carolyn Meyer;
Harcourt Children's Books: New York,
2006; $17
History is a great topic. When you combine that with William Shakespeare, the greatest poet in Europe, you have a story so intriguing it takes only a few days to read, once you get hooked. Loving Will Shakespeare by Carolyn Meyer is a realistic fiction book that takes place during the sixteenth century.
STORIES OF THE UNICORNS
BOOK ONE
When God created the earth, he asked Adam in the Garden of Eden to name the animals. When Adam picked the unicorn to name first, God reached down and touched the unicorn's horn. This is a sign that unicorns are blessed above all other creatures.
We see autumn
As a blaze
Of red leaves, falling leaf-shaped embers
From the branch-lined sky,
A blaze
Of squirrels rushing,
Geese hurrying, of motion,
A blaze
Of jack-o-lanterns.
But around the jack-o-lanterns falls the night,
Advancing slowly through the days,
A black cat stalking the now-mouse-weak sun.
The first time I ever met Erica Stevens was in Miss Moore's first-grade class at Thomas Grant Elementary. Erica had had a big first-grade crush on Tyler Applebaum, who sat across from Erica at their table. Of course, Erica, being the excessive talker that she was and still is today, chatted non-stop to poor Tyler every chance she got, whether it was during Miss Moore's addition lesson or during D.
Does anything exist at this hour,
when my footsteps crash,
and my breathing screams?
When every slight movement I make,
Feels like a leap?
When I'm all alone,
my house is quiet.
Outside the streetlights blur,
and twist themselves into shapes that
spotlight on the patch of gravel,
that's empty
No one is there,
to stand in that spotlight,
and listen to the applause,
of the grass, blowing
in the wind...
A fresh, warm, yeasty smell drifts through the screen door of the panadería and out onto the sidewalk. As if under some magic spell, we find that we must follow the command of the sweet fragrance and allow ourselves to be pulled inside the small brick building. As we enter the bakery we stand, staring in amazement at all the beautiful pastries behind the glass display case doors that surround us.