Juana Medina delves into her own childhood in Colombia for her first book Juana and Lucas, winner of the 2017 Pura Belpre Award, and this sequel, Juana and Lucas Big Problemas.

Brian Floca, brought to mind a bit of family lore that came during the period when electricity made its way to the Appalachian foothills and my ancestors in his address to the recent Fay B. Kaigler Book Festival.

As a longtime Anna Quindlen fan, I was excited to see that she had a new book out that addressed a common interest. the book is Nanaville, based on her new personal title, earned when her son had a child named Arthur. 

An interesting statistic on a morning TV show triggered my thinking. I won’t be held accountable for its validity but the quote was, “Only 14% of American families play a significant role in the upbringing of their grandchildren.”

Reading Harry’s Trees came about because of a list of “must-reads” from my daughter who causes part of the mountain of “gonna-get-to-it-any-day-now” books in my life. 

Arbor Day falls on April 26 this year. I protest some labels applied to me, but I am quick to admit that the label of “Tree Hugger” fits. 

Many reasons brought me to Moo, the choice for today’s book review.

Right smack dab in the middle of April’s Poetry Month is Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 18, so you have time to get ready. 

Evan Thomas has written a biography of Sandra Day O’Connor that is well worth reading for many reasons. The title hints at the importance of her role as the first female Supreme Court Justice

This post may qualify as the “not much ‘rithmetic” that I’ve promised in my blog. Social media, like much of life, has its positives and its negatives. Enough people give warnings about the negatives, so I’m going to stick to positives. 

As I promised on Monday, I am reviewing the delightful new picture book, The Wind Plays Tricks,hot off the press from author Virginia Howard. 

A small ongoing confusion bubbled up into a comedy of errors at the recent JambaLAya conference in New Orleans. 

Judith Viorst tells us in free verse what it is like to be Nearing Ninety to be published on April 2 with her wicked sense of humor intact. You don’t have to be anywhere near that age to enjoy the book.

Now and again, I hear or read a quote that says exactly what I mean that I wish I had thought of first. When I have my act together, I write them down with the proper attrition to come back to for reflection

Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, brings a new novel in Varinathat feels more like a biography. 

Pie ranks right up there as a favorite dessert so the excuse afforded every year to make one on March 14, (p), Pi(e) Day seems valid to me. As I struggled with my crust which wasn’t cooperating this year, I thought about another pie in the Butler family stories. 

Some good well-written books appeal to select audiences, and Dreaming in Code: Ada Byron Lovelace, Computer Pioneerby Emily Arnold McCully is one of these. 

Since my blogging day falls on what would have been his 103rdbirthday, an Ezra Jack Keats story seems to be a must. For much of his life the possibility that he would become a starving artist as his father feared seemed to have been about fifty/fifty.

As I have done in the past, I am alerting my blog readers ahead of time so they don’t miss a celebration. March 14 is National Napping Day. To say I have always been fond of naps would be a lie, and I won’t tell it.

I diluted the drudgery of dusting by adding a dose of history. Reminders of the past crept into my head as I stroked the woodgrain in the oak table with faint tokens here and there of small accidents.