holes. louis sachar. (181)

i remember learning about holes when the movie came out with shia labeouf.  i didn't see the movie or read the book.  i was in high school when the book came out and in college when the movie came out, so i didn't think much of it.  i wasn't above shia labeouf, i used to love watching even stevens, it just wasn't in my realm of interest at the time.  i also was a bit sexist, a story about boys digging holes at some prison-like camp did not sound interesting to me.  however, fast forward years later when i discovered that louis sachar wrote the book!  i loved sachar's wayside school books, they were my absolute favorite growing up!  i especially loved that one chapter in the sequel that you had to read backwards!  how cool!  based on my love of sachar, i finally decided to give holes a chance.

i decided to make it a winter break read with brother bear.  it started out well but when i left to vegas for new years, he didn't keep up with his reading and when i came back, he had lost interested.  i, in fact, didn't finish then.  i also dropped by copy (it cost me 50 cents) in a puddle when moving so that didn't help with my finishing of it.  then i sat in a line for about 8 hours to see shia labeouf do this art installation (i sadly did not get in) but that motivated me to give holes a read so i could watch the movie on netflix.

so i buckled down and read it in a day and it was amazing.  i was a bit disappointed in myself for being so judge-y before.  i am now trying to get my brother to finish it.  my mom is reading it with him.  it is a great children's novel and deserved the newbery medal (i have also started this mini mission to read all of the newbery award winners).  it is a wonderful book demonstrating the importance of creating your own destiny, how sometimes you have to lend fate a hand to obtain your destiny.

without giving too much away (because you should really read it), holes is the story of a young boy stanley yelnats (a palindrome).  bearing the curse of his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather", stanley was sent to a camp, camp green lake, for "stealing"shoes.  he didn't steal them but they fell from the sky and hit him on the head, an example of that curse in action.  at the camp which is a correctional facility for boys, stanley spent his days digging holes and trying to avoid yellow-spotted lizards.  stanley befriended another boy, zero, who he taught how to read. zero and stanley then go on a random adventure which helped both boys fulfill their destiny.  seriously, the ending was great, everything came full circle.

what i enjoyed most about holes is that it also included the backstories of stanley's great-great-grandfather and town of green lake.  the historian in me enjoyed reading these backstories and seeing how they all came together in the end.  i have always loved books that allowed me to see how point a and b resulted in c.  

stanley's great-great-grandfather's backstory takes the reader to latvia, where the reader discovers the cause of the curse.  stanley's great-great=grandfather was in love with a girl.  he asked his friend, a gypsy, madame zeroni for help.  she helped him but he doesn't hold up his end of the bargain and he and his generations become cursed.

stanley's family is also tied to the backstory of green lake because his great-grandfather was robbed by the bandit, kissin' kate barlow.  camp green lake stands where the town of green lake used to exist.  green lake was not always a desert, it too was cursed.  kate barlow was not always a bandit, in fact, she was the schoolteacher of the town.  she became a bandit, after she fell in love with sam, an african-american onion seller.  since interracial relationships were not accepted at that time, the town turned against kate and sam.  i don't want to spoil the story for those who haven't read it but kate became a bandit and the city dried up.  i also want to add kudos to sachar to promoting interracial relationships in this book!

these backstories are sad, but as i mentioned before it all comes together in the end and leaves you going wow!  it reminds you of how crazy life can be and how it the end if your heart is in the right place and you try your best, it will all work out for you.  

i want to add that holes was listed in a buzzfeed post about books you should read based on your favorite childhood novel.  their suggestion was junot diaz's the brief and wondrous life of oscar wao, which i absolutely loved.  yes, as buzzfeed says 

Both Holes and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao read as modern mythology, featuring two curse-afflicted protagonists who can’t catch a break. They’re tales of misfits and survival, and the cruelty that Oscar faces as an overweight Dominican-American teen obsessed with sci-fi is just as harsh and alienating as that of Stanley Yelnats’ prison camp.

however, i feel a better fit for this book would have been joanthan safran foer's everything is illuminated.  both stories have family myths especially that pertaining to a grandfather's legacy.  both include a story with a gypsy (okay that is kinda of a loose connection.)  but i did i see parallels between stanley and zero's relatinship and alex and jonathan's relationship.  oscar was too much of longer, while stanley learned the importance of friendship.  (though i have to admit, i don't remember too much from the brief wondrous life of oscar wao, so buzzfeed is probably right, i just have to add in my 2 cents.  i mean oscar wao is a wonderful book and should be read, i was just reminded of everything is illuminated as i read.  

but back to holes, read the book!!!

henry's freedom box. ellen levine. kadir nelson.

i purchased henry's freedom box from the beale library book sale.  i bought it because it was a caldecott winner and only 50 cents. in retrospect, i feel that the library should have charged more for it.

i didn't read it immediately and then while coming across it while packing, decided to save it to read for black history month.

it is a beautiful story based on the actual events of henry "box" brown's escape to the north.  i had never heard of brown prior to this book and was impressed yet sadden by the risk he took for freedom.

the book opened with henry as a child, not knowing his age because he was a slave.  his master died and he was separated from his family.  with his new master, he found a wife and they had children.  then one day, his wife and children were sold.  henry was devastated and decided to escape to freedom in the north.  his plan was to mail himself.  thankfully his plan was successful and he made it to philadelphia.  his first day of freedom then became his birthday.

the afterword explained in that brown mailed himself from richmond, virginia and his journey was twenty-seven hours.  his story was shared in newspapers in europe and america. it amazed me that his plan worked, it seemed too outrageous but then again any risk is worth it if the end result is freedom.

although it ends with henry gaining freedom, i was still sadden by the fact that brown had lost his family.  henry lost not only his wife and children but his mother and siblings as well.  it still saddens and outrages me that  slaveowners could take separate child and parent without an remorse.  it is so cruel and inhumane.

i was appreciative that the book shed light on the dividing of the family unit.  it included many aspects of slavery, even though a children's novel, henry's freedom box gave an honest portrayal of slavery.  it did not shy away from the mention of abusiveness and violence of slaveowners.  and interesting enough, many of the themes presented reminded me of the toni morrison beloved.  in beloved, the division is family is the cause for their escape to freedom.  also henry's admiration of the free bird he saw on the day he left his mother reminded me of the envy of the rooster's freedom from beloved, both demonstrating the low status of slaves.  another theme that the book did not ignore was the willingness of slaves to harm themselves in

hopes of freedom.  henry burning his hand to help him escape, and the act of

running away itself.  slavery diminished the human spirit so individuals did all they could to be free and to feel and be treated as human.  

i all got all this from it and though i did not go into as deep a conversation with my brother when we read this, we did discuss some of the themes.  he enjoyed the book because it a a great story.  but it also brought up some questions about slavery on his end, which we discussed. and this is why henry's freedom box is a great story, it is an engaging story but provokes kids to think about slavery in a different way than just something they learn about in school.

oh and as mentioned before, this is a caldecott medal winner, here are my favorite illustrations:  

delano library's summer reading program.

reading is delicious!!  

before i go on this picture reminded me of book it! i really wish that pizza hut would bring this program back!  when i was a kid, the highlight of my week was eating my personal pan pizza thanks to book it!  pizza is a great motivational tool for reading, i mean maybe it's why i am a bookworm now.  lol

today i took brother bear to join the summer reading program at the delano library.  just like my grandma took me as a kid and my mom when she was a kid.  keeping the tradition alive!  oh and it's a full family tradition, found out today my cousin bria also signed up for summer reading!

the program requires kids to read 10 books and at the end of the summer they get a paperback book at the ice cream social.  however, in addition to this i have challenged my brother to read more books than me!  if he does, he gets a 

lego.  if i read more, he buys me a pizza! (this deal was made before i saw the picture of the summer reading log, lol). but i think he's excited for that challenge because he read two books today! hopefully he keeps it up. i am excited for him because i have great memories of the summer reading program.  i mean this blog is proof of that!

oh and if you are reading this and have kids, so sign them up!!

the chanukkah guest. eric a. kimmel. (79)

due to the holiday season, i have added two christmas books to my reading list. however, this morning i realized that hanukkah started today and decided to check out what books the delano library had. i found two online but only found one at the library. i found "the chanukkah guest" by eric a. kimmel. (note: you can spell hanukkah with or without the c, not sure why that is. however, i prefer the non-c.)

i read "the chanukkah guest" with brother bear at sunset (when hanukkah officially starts) and taught him about the cultural hanukkah things like dridels and latkes. also informed him that jesus was a jew and also nephi from the book of mormon.

the story was adorable and of course includes a great grandmother, bubba brayna. bubba brayna made the best latkes and always hosted the first night of hanukkah. however, this time she had a surprise. old bear came out of hibernation and the first thing he smelled were latkes. following the smell, he ended up knocking on bubba brayna's door. since she didn't see or hear that well, she let the bear in, thinking he was the rabbi. they had a lovely evening, they lit the menorah (the bear "said" the prayer, so i guess growling sounds like hebrew?), they played dreidel and the bear ate all of the latkes with jam. (brother bear and i agreed we would eat our latkes with sour cream). bubba brayna even gave old bear a scarf as a gift and the bear licked her face which she mistook for a kiss.

after old bear left, everyone showed up. bubba brayna explained that the rabbi ate all the latkes but her grandchildren discovered the paw prints and that it was a bear not the rabbi! but as sweet as bubba brayna is, she just laughed and said "that was a very clever bear . . . or a foolish bubba brayna". then everyone pitched in and made latkes and a wonderful hanukkah!

it was a very cute story and had brother bear and i laughing. it also made me extremely hungry for latkes. but being in delano, not sure where i will find them. when i told my friend larry that i might just eat hash browns and applesauce, he suggested mcdonald's hash browns. i was impressed by his innovation because micky d's hash browns are very latkes-esque. so hopefully will get my fill over these next few days of hanukkah!