The Help by Kathyrn Stockett

This book captured my attention within the first chapter, and as a result, I listened to the audio while driving and getting my library ready for school to start and read at night until I wouldn't stay awake any longer!

Audio+print version=reading over 460 pages in less than a week

The Mississippi maids Aibileen and Minny give a new perspective into Southern life during the Civil Rights movement. Having a maid has always fascinated me...until I read this book! Maids allowed white women of the south to pretend to be good mothers when most of them barely paid attention to their children. If the white author Skeeter hadn't been a main character, then this book would have been biased to the black community by only showing their point-of-view. Skeeter's character formed a nice balance in the book, and I loved how the book ended for her and the other character. Great read!! If you haven't read, watch out it will hook you!

Imagination Library

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program brings me such joy at the mailbox once a month. I can barely contain my excitement as a rip off the plastic and read the new book to Sam for the first time. Sometimes the book can be disappointing, but today I was in love (too bad Sam only wanted to play with the junk mail). Pouch! by David Ezra Stein made me smile and laugh with the baby kangaroo as he explores the new world away from his mommy's pouch. He discovers new animals like a bird and bee, and each is frightening to the young roo who dives back to his mommy's safety. Until the baby finds an animal that looks like himself...another kangaroo! Maybe the world isn't so scary after all. The illustrations match the text beautifully, and I can foresee Sam yelling "Pouch" along with characters sometime soon. This book will pair nicely with Nick Bruel's Boing! Love both kangaroo characters!

A Piece of the Sky

A Piece of the Sky by David Patneaude kept me on the edge of my seat while Sam was napping! Summary: Russell is searching for a meteorite that his great-great grandfather found before the civil war. Simple point line keeps the book short and interesting. Characters are thrown in, but the character development is week. Kids who like action will easy this quick read!

Sam's Choice

Make sure to check out Sam's choice on the side of my blog everyday because these are the books that my 13 month old loves. I wanted Sam to love books, and thankfully, he does! At the moment, he reads board books because he has trouble being careful with paper pages. He loves textures in books and flaps. Just wanted to point out his section!

Eleven

Just finished reading Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff... Super quick read! Action packed chapters make the book's plot move quickly and smoothly. Sam, the main character, is developed strongly, and I wanted him to succeed. Summary: Sam is scared of the number 11, but he doesn't know why. While looking for birthday presents, Sam discovers a newspaper clipping in the attic about someone missing, but since he has difficulty reading, Sam is unable to read the article. In order to solve this mystery, Sam develops a new friendship with Caroline who helps him read the papers in the attic. Is Mack really Sam's grandfather? Why does Sam have memories of being in a dark, cold river? What caused Sam is be scared of elevens?