Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

My wonderful Uncle Shane–who prefers not be to addressed as “Uncle”–came this morning, which means that we are now wired for a dishwasher AND a garbage disposal. Hooray! That’s one more step in our ongoing sink saga.

In other news, we tried “Mr. Beast Burger” for dinner tonight–decent burgers, but the fries were too spicy for at least four of us. Afterwards, when the younger kiddos were showered and our 6-year-old was tucked into bed, I finished reading The Impossible Journey to my 11-year-old. Funny story about that book–I had it checked out for my oldest, who read another Gloria Whelan book in school and then read Angel on the Square because she wanted another book by her. It sat on my shelf first, because I wanted to read it, dang it!, until long after she’d lost interest*; my 11-year-old’s teacher, however, read Angel on the Square aloud to her class this year, and I jumped at the chance to read its sequel together.

The Impossible Journey focuses on Katya and Misha’s children. When their parents are arrested by the Soviet government, Marya and Georgi stay with a neighbor at first; ultimately, however, they set out to find their parents in Siberia and join them there. It is a long journey, and while they are lucky and it turns out to be successful, Whelan shows us enough of life in Russia at the time that it’s not all smiles. My sensitive girlie wanted to quit after our first session; I had to peek ahead and assure her that they found her parents to get her over that first impression. It didn’t take terribly long to sweep her into the story, however, and she was plenty insistent on reading as much as possible each time! Whelan’s writing is not the stuff of legends, exactly, but there’s a need for accessible historical fiction for the average reader, and she definitely helps fill that need. This is worth reading, especially since stories for children about Russia’s difficulties aren’t exactly legion. My girlie is solidly committed to the next book in the quartet, so stay tuned…