What I read in April

"Unfamiliar Fishes" recommended to: lovers of Sarah Vowell, lovers of humorous history, anyone interested in the annexation of Hawaii by the United States.






"The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" Recommended to: the downtrodden, the hopeless, the young at heart, adventurers, lovers of stuffy old rabbits who deserve second chances (and third chances and fourths...)





"A Long Way From Chicago"
recommended to: those who enjoy episodic novels, people who enjoy reading quirky, grumpy, old characters because they know such a person or they hope to become such a person.





"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" recommended to: people who like to read a book before watching the movie and have a desire to watch the movie based on this book. All right, all right, it was pretty good. Be prepared to have ambiguous feelings towards the narrator.





"Nine Coaches Waiting" recommended to: women (sorry guys, I don't think this book is for you) who like to curl up in a nice squashy chair with a holey crocheted blanket wrapped around you holding a book with fingers sticking through the holes and a nice warm drink on a dark night... get the picture?

April Author of the Month: Kevin Henkes

I chose to have Kevin Henkes (pronounced HENK-us, I've been saying it wrong for years) as our author this month because I feel like many of his pictures are full of springtime. Kevin grew up in Racine, WI and now lives in Madison with his wife and two children. He grew up wanting to be an artist. When he was in High school he gained a love of writing as well. His first book was published in 1981 and he is still going strong.

He has been a favorite of my girls since we discovered "Kitten's First Full Moon" at the library and after renewing the max amount of times decided we had to add it to our own library. We have since added many of his other books as well. He has also written novels but we are going to focus on his picture books.

If you would like a glimpse of Kevin Henkes creating his latest book "Little Rabbit" there is a video that is short and sweet!