Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Here’s my rule of thumb for the day, folks–any book that contains a poncho of invisibility (not quite as good as a cloak of invisibility, but cheaper and easier to sew) is pretty much guaranteed to be a good time.  Case in point?  Ursula Vernon’s Hamster Princess:  Of Mice and Magic.  This second chronicle of Harriet Hamsterbone’s adventures with her trusty riding quail, Mumfrey, is a good time through and through.  In it, Harriet is recruited to break the curse on the 12 dancing mouse princesses, with entertaining (and eventually earth-shattering!) results.  If you’re a Wilbur fan, you’ll be glad to know that he shows up to lend a hand.  If you haven’t met Harriet yet, go get the first book and jump on in.  I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a book one of my children brought to my attention this much.

First things first–I know I no-showed over the weekend, but I had family in town.  AND there were extenuating circumstances!  Tonight, however, I am beyond thrilled to be reviewing R.J. Palacio’s Wonder, which I finally got around to listening to and thoroughly loved.  Honestly, it was the perfect antidote to Admissions, which is really kind of a downer; Wonder is a beautifully written book bursting with heart.  It’s taken me a long time to get to it, so I’m assuming most of you are familiar with the premise, right?  Auggie Pullman, a boy with the kind of facial abnormalities that send some kids running away from him, enters the 5th grade after having been previously home-schooled (partly due to the ongoing surgeries caused by his difficulties).  How he copes, how he makes friends, and how it turns out make for a beautiful journey of a book.  If, like me,  you’ve been slow and haven’t picked this one up, then it’s time to repent, people.  Hurry up!  Go read it!

You’ll be very glad you did.