Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C O'Brien

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C O'Brien was published in 1975 and won the Newberry award. I was not excited to read this book; however, once I started reading it, I realized there was a lot more to it than a mouse on the cover and was deserving of the literary prize.

Mrs. Frisby is a single mother with a very sick young mouse. She has to find a way to help her child, and is led to the Rats of Nimh, a group of highly intelligent rodents. I don't want to give things away, but imagine if the mouse from Flowers for Algernon wrote his own book - it would be this book. I found myself wondering if O'Brien was inspired by Daniel Keyes.

Quotes I liked:

Page 129 "By teaching us how to read, they taught us how to escape."

Page 171 ". . . a thief's life is always based on somebody else's work."

I love that this story shows the importance of learning, knowledge, persistence, timing, friendship, and reading. This is a great middle grade chapter book with wonderful illustrations by Zena Bernstein.

Here is a picture of the differences between a preemie's brain and a full term baby's brain. This is why we give books to babies in the NICU. We want them to have every chance possible.

I've been low on books lately, but yesterday, I found 50 brand new Usborne books at one of my local thrift shops. I paid $35 dollars for all of them. If you are cleaning out bookshelves, we are always happy to take your gently used books for use in the NICU. Those we can't use, we send to classrooms or Little Free Libraries.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon was published in 2015. Madeline, the main character, has a medical condition that makes her allergic to everything, so she lives in a plastic bubble. Her plastic bubble is her home that has filtration systems and limited people. She sees her mom, her nurse, and once in a while her teacher.

She is nearly eighteen, and she is tired of living - or not living - her life this way. When a cute boy moves in next door, she wonders if meeting him in person might be worth risking her life.

This novel had an ending that I suspected but it was concealed enough to keep me guessing.

I enjoyed the characters and they way they grew, helped one another, and stood together when needed.

Quotes I liked:

"I was happy before I met him, but I'm alive now, and those are not the same thing" (181).

"You don't exist if no one can see you" (246).

"Olly's math says you can't predict the future. It turns out that you can't predict the past either. Time moves in both directions - forward and backward - and what happens here and now changes them both" (261).

Read to a child today even if that child is you.

Heidi sent a box of books to our book project. Some will go to local little free libraries, and these will head to the NICU to be gifted to the babies. Thank you, Heidi. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock

Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock was published in 2016, and I love the diversity is shows. McClintock's illustrations are absolutely beautiful and she shows ballerinas of all colors. The author was inspired by the amazing Judith Jamison whom she saw dance on stage. 

This story follows Emma, a young red-head who loves to dance, and Julia, an older Black professional ballerina. The story is simple and shows their day. Emma gets to go see Julia in a performance later that night. 

This book includes the magic of going to the theater to see a live performance. If you love dance, you will like this book. I love that the dancers are both male and female as I have a son who loves dance. I also love that all colors of people are included from pasty white, glow in the dark people like me, to people with beautiful dark skin, and all the colors in between. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

The Dark Pond by Joseph Bruchac

I can count one Joseph Bruchac to write stories that combine Native American lore with good writing that keeps me interested.

In The Dark Pond that was published in 2004, Armie senses something strange in the dark pond in the forest. Something is terrorizing the animals and even humans in the area. Armie has a gift with animals; they seem to trust him.

Armie turns to the tales of his ancestors to help him find a way to fight the creature and keep his own life. He learns that he must also rely on others - something hard for him to do.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I finally read Dracula by Bram Stoker. This horror novel was first published in 1897.

At first, I thought the story was a bit disjointed, but all the characters end up coming together. Dracula, is a vampire, and he is all evil. He makes people think he is a wealthy count and is able to convince some to do his bidding by taking control of their minds.

This story gave me the creeps, in a good way, while the characters tried to figure out why loved ones are getting sicker and sicker. The story is told using journal entries and letters. Now I understand references to Renfield in other works. He is an interesting character, and I would have loved to see more of him in the novel.

I liked the science part of the story. The friendship between Mina and Lucy is genuine and helps build the story.

Dracula is a good villain, but I find that I prefer the Creature from Frankenstein more because of the psychological aspects of him. Dracula is bad all the way through, but Frankenstein's creature is more of a puzzle, more of a product of his upbringing.

Dracula is worth reading, and I can see why it's become a classic.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige was published in 2014, and in my mind is Dorothy: the Horror Years.

This book is pretty gruesome and not for the faint of heart. If you thought the Wicked Witch of the West was bad, you haven't seen anything yet. We all know the story of The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum. We know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, but in Dorothy Must Die, everything is turned around. Dorothy is the great and powerful, and as always absolute power, absolutely corrupts.

Amy Gumm, another girl from Kansas, must find a way to remove the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, The Cowardly Lion, and Dorothy from power before they destroy Oz completely. In this version of Oz the wicked witches may be her only allies. The magic of Oz is being stolen and causing everything to crumble.

This book turns OZ on it's head and shows what happens when people allow power to corrupt them.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn and Mark Buehner

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn and Mark Buehner is part of the Snowmen series and was published in 2005. This book is fun to read because it is told in rhyme. In all of the Snowmen picture books, the snowmen go on an adventure but they make sure to get home in time before their creators awake.

"They're all back in their places
When Christmas Day starts,
But these folks made of snow
Have a glow in their hearts.
Their smiles are more tender,
Their eyes softly shine,
As the snowmen dream dreams
of their Christmastime."

One of my grand childrens' favorite things about all of the Caralyn and Mark Buehner books is that Mark includes hidden pictures on every page. This feature makes the books interactive and even more fun.

Michelle brought over a board book for our NICU book project. She's always thinking of our project.

We received another box of Christmas books and board books from Liam Gregory's wish list. Each of these books will include a book plate with Liam's name. Thank you to his friends and family for continuing to support our project in such a big way. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.