July Reading Spotlight

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I really enjoyed this book; I like books that entertain while also teaching me something I didn’t know about history or another part of the world.  This book does all of that, while being completely charming.

Bookmarks Magazine review:“Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naïve” (San Francisco Chronicle), this epistolary novel, based on Mary Ann Shaffer’s painstaking, lifelong research, is a homage to booklovers and a nostalgic portrayal of an era. As her quirky, loveable characters cite the works of Shakespeare, Austen, and the Brontës, Shaffer subtly weaves those writers’ themes into her own narrative. However, it is the tragic stories of life under Nazi occupation that animate the novel and give it its urgency; furthermore, the novel explores the darker side of human nature without becoming maudlin. The Rocky Mountain News criticized the novel’s lighthearted tone and characterizations, but most critics agreed that, with its humor and optimism, Guernsey“affirms the power of books to nourish people during hard times” (Washington Post).
 
(Order the Kindle version on Amazon here.)

Kid book: On Market Street 
by Arnold Lobel and Anita Lobel

This is an oldie but a goodie.  It’s a Caldecott Honor book, and the illustrations are fantastic.  It is technically an ABC book, but so much more than that, and good for kids a bit older than your usual ABC audience.  A youngster goes shopping on Market Street and buys one thing that starts with each letter of the alphabet.  Each merchant appears essentially made out of the item they sell.  Hard to describe, but it’s very cool, and my son loves to name all the items.
 
About the AuthorKatie Edwards lives in Needham with her wife and two children, ages 13 and 3.   She has a Master’s Degree in Library Science, but has been a stay at home mom for many years, so she is happy to have an outlet to share good books with others.  She loves to read [obviously], travel, try new restaurants, and gab with her friends.  Luckily she is in a book group where she can simultaneously eat and talk to friends about books.


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