This is for you, Brittany Adkins!  Once you get these done, I will share a new list!

For the rest of you, this is our current list of "Rosie" books.  I invite you to read as many as you'd like.  The blog post for December 26th reviews a few of these books. Happy reading!

The Name of the Star: The Shades of London, Book 1 by Maureen Johnson

Who isn't interested in the story of Jack the Ripper?  All of London was terrified during the time period between August and November 1888.  Five, possibly six, women were brutally murdered near the Whitechapel area in London, and not one person noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Rory Deveaux has decided to study at a school in London called Wexford.  Her parents have been transferred to Bristol. She and her parents are originally from New Orleans, and life in London is quite a change for Rory.  She hasn't been at her new school for very long before a murder occurs.  This murder is almost exactly like the one that happened on the very spot in 1888 - and the victim has the same surname as the first "Ripper" victim.  Even though there are cameras every where near the murder site, why can't the murderer be seen?

All of London now knows the dates and the times that the next murders will occur.  Who will be next?  How can the Ripper be stopped?

Rory notices a strange man around her school's campus.  Why can't other people see him?  What is the strange power that Rory realizes she has? Will this power put her life in danger?

This is the first Rosie book that I have read from the 2015-2016 list.  I can already tell it will be a favorite.  This book will keep you on the edge of your couch -so much so that I believe we had better get the other two in the set ordered.

Go Set the Watchman: A Novel - by Harper Lee

Pre-ordered

Release day delivery: Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Well, I did it.  I just pre-ordered my ebook edition of Harper Lee's upcoming novel Go Set the Watchman."  Why?  You may ask why I would pre-order a book that hasn't been reviewed yet.  Will this book even come close to my favorite book of all time?  (Harry Potter is a close second.)  Why has this manuscript not surfaced before now? There are still many questions surrounding this recently located manuscript.

I preordered this book because of the impact that To Kill A Mockingbird has had on my life. My students and I read this book in countless freshman English classes, and they STILL remember it.  Some have even traveled to Monroeville, Alabama to see where Harper Lee grew up.  They also wanted to compare the fictional Maycomb with this small Alabama town and see the similarities and differences.

We had a lot of class discussions on Boo Radley, his parents, Atticus, Tom, Mayella, Bob, Miss Maudie, Scout, Jem, and the list goes on.  One of the things that I kept telling my students is that we don't know what goes on beyond the walls of our friends' homes. We may think we know some of the things our friends are dealing with, but we certainly can't relate totally until we live it. My students realized that Boo's life, and even Mayella's life, were more difficult that we could sometimes comprehend. We also knew that in that classroom of thirty-two people, there were those who were living their own nightmares.  Atticus says, "First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (3.85-87)  Wise words to live by, I think.

So, I preordered. I am taking a chance on an author who changed my life.  There are few who will ever fit into my "preorder" category, but Harper Lee, you always will.  

Happy Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Today, February 7, 2015, marks the 148th birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  As most people know, Laura Ingalls Wilder was a writer of a series of children's books that chronicled pioneer life in the 1870s - 1880s.

Wilder was born in Pepin, Wisconsin on February 7, 1867.  She is best known as the author of the Little House books.  There are eight original Little House books with The Little House in the Big Woods as the first book in the series.  Little House in the Big Woods starts with four year old Laura's perspective of living in the big woods with her ma, her pa, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and her brindle bulldog, Jack.

There is much to learn about pioneer life within these pages.  You would either grow or kill what you ate.  The threat of wolves, a panther, or becoming lost in a blizzard was always a threat, but these threats teach the reader about the hardships of pioneer life.  Nevertheless, their evenings were filled with warmth from the fireplace and Pa's stories.  After Pa told stories, he would pull out his fiddle and entertain the family until bedtime.

As a child, I was introduced to the Little House books by my second grade teacher, Mrs. Franke.  Every day, she would read a chapter or two during reading time.  I was learning more words as I became a book lover, and I soon started reading the books on my own.  I was entranced by Laura and her family, and as she grew older in her books, I was growing up as well.

I would become incensed at Nellie Olsen and her mean pranks.  I also wanted to know more about those Wilder boys and why they had come to the area.  I wondered what it would be like to live in a sod house.  Why did Mary become blind?  Did Laura really love Almanzo?  How did their real lives compare with the stories of the author?

The books were my friends, and I wanted to be friends with their author.  Sadly, Laura Ingalls Wilder died before I was born.  I have traveled to DeSmet, South Dakota to see where Laura spent part of her life, and I have also been to Mansfield, Missouri.  Someday, I will make a stop near Pepin, Wisconsin to see where it all began.  There have been many books that have made a significant impact on my life, but the Little House books were the start of a lifelong love of reading.

Happy 148th birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder.  You've changed my life.