Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Greetings to my legions of devoted fans–have you missed me?

Seriously, though, I spent some lovely time in Idaho visiting my parents and my brother and his family, and now I’m trying to get my house back together, think about routines for the summer, and review the books I’ve finished in the last couple of weeks. (Although to be fair, I only finished a couple; I did, however, skim several more before giving them to my oldest, their primary audience!)  I’m starting with an easy one, because there are still unpacking and laundry and THINGS waiting for me to do…

I have to admit, I was wondering about Nathan Hale’s third Hazardous Tale–few people choose to write children’s books about the Donner Party, and it was clear from the title that he wasn’t going to shy away from the more gruesome parts of its history. Then again, as my friend Andrea pointed out, what better way to appeal to reluctant readers?  In any case, Donner Dinner Party is a worthy addition to the series.  I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen to paint James Reed as such a caricature, but Hale addresses that at the end; ultimately, I thought he did a pretty good job with the story.  There’s a lot of facepalming involved for adult readers, but that would be true of even a bare recitation of the facts, really.  I’m looking forward to seeing what my oldest thinks of it, because how would it be to read it not knowing how it’s going to turn out?

I’m expecting an interesting reaction to this one.