I was really blessed to come from a family that loved books. My mother, my aunt and mostly my nana really instilled my love for books into me. Nana could tell the best stories, whether she was telling me about my ancestors or she was reading a story from a book or she was telling me about the latest book she was reading. I know it was Nana that encouraged my love for words, quotes and writing. Who inspired you?
This month my wife and I chose different books. We didn’t pick cute stories but stores about real events that happened in the world. Hopefully these stories will inspire as well.
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Covered in Color: Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Fabrics of Freedom by Eliza Boxer
Covered in Color: Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Fabrics of Freedom by Elisa Boxer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cristo lived in Bulgaria as a boy during World War II. The Nazis came and burned all his colorful books that inspired him. After the war he enrolled in art school, but his communist country still controlled even his creativity and only encouraged propaganda art that made their government look good. When Cristo was 21 years old, he hid in a boxcar so he could travel to France, where he could be honest with his art.
While in France he made money painting portraits of people and practicing his art on his free time. Soon he met Jeanne-Claude with flame-colored hair and they fell in love. Then they decided to start their new life in the United States, in Manhattan, where they continued to try out new mediums.
Eventually they were able to talk some officials in Switzerland to allow them to wrap the museum Hamberger Kunsthalle in 26 thousand square feet of fabric and 2 miles of rope. They have wrapped buildings in Chicago, Berlin, the shoreline in Australia, 11 islands east of Miami, they placed 3,000 yellow and blue umbrellas in California and Japan, and 23 miles of orange flags in Central Park in New York. Their art was not the kind of art that lasts long but it made a huge impact while it was there and that is why it was so important to Cristo and Jeanne-Claude.
Covered in Color: Cristo and Jeanne-Claude’s Fabrics of Freedom by Eliza Boxer is a beautiful book to look at while it shares a real story in history. The honest writing style is easy to understand and the colorful illustrations by Susanna Chapman are engaging, yet not intimidating, even with some difficult topics. I really enjoyed this book.
I got this book from the Longview Public Library. You can get your own copy of Covered in Color: Cristo and Jeanne-Claude’s Fabrics of Freedom by Eliza Boxer on Amazon.
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Ashley Bryan’s Puppets by Ashley Bryan
Ashley Bryan’s Puppets: Making Something from Everything by Ashley Bryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ashley Bryan began making puppets out of things found lying around when he was only 9 years old. His puppets are not conventional but more like works of art and he uses poetry to convey their personalities which are rich in culture and vision. The artistry is outstanding and beautiful but this is not a story you would read before bed, but may be a good book you would use to have a conversation. I imagine an older child looking for inspiration would enjoy this book. The photos by Ken Hannon and edited by Rich Entel are stunning.
I got this book from the Longview Public Library. You can get your own copy of Ashley Bryan’s Puppets by Ashley Bryan on Amazon.
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The Adventure of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am so torn. I am sitting here with a warm feeling inside and a smile on my face after reading The Adventure of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat, but I want more. I am glad that Beekle and Alice found each other. I love the illustrations that almost tell more than the story, but I feel like just as the story was getting good, it just ended.
I can tell that it must get checked out a lot because it has more wear and tear than the other books I checked out and it boasts The Caldecott Medallion on it’s cover, but I still want more. I guess I don’t always get what I want.
I got this book from the Longview Public Library. You can get your own copy of The Adventure of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat on Amazon.
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Standing in the Need of Prayer A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual by Carole Boston Weatherford
Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual by Carole Boston Weatherford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I just read an important book. I plan to add Standing in the Need of Prayer by Carole Boston Weatherford to my personal collection. Not only is it poetic and true but it honestly shares important parts of the history of the United States of America as we have chosen to more fair Civil Rights for Black Americans.
The Illustrations by Frank Morrison are beautiful and I look forward to sharing them with the children that come to my home. I also appreciate the resources in the back of the book. I highly recommend this book to families.
I got this book from the Longview Public Library. You can get your own copy of In Standing in the Need of Prayer by Carole Boston Weatherford on Amazon.
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Zonia’s Rain Forest by Juana Martinez-Neal
Zonia’s Rain Forest by Juana Martinez-Neal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Zonia lives in Peru, in the rain forest. Every day she visits all her friends that live in the rain forest. One day as Zonia is heading home, she sees a large area of trees that has been cut down. She runs to her mother in fear. Zonia agrees with her mother that she must answer the call of the rain forest for help!
Zonia’s Rain First by Juana Martinez-Neal is a story about a very real problem that Indigenous people and wildlife in the Peruvian Amazon are facing. This book is a good way to educate and hopefully inspire change. There are helpful resources in the back of the book. I hope you read this book.
I got this book from the Longview Public Library. You can get your own copy of Is Zonia’s Rain First by Juana Martinez-Neal on Amazon.
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I was talking with a friend about the books she read this month. She said for Black History Month she had read some pretty heavy books. She described a book about the last slave ship in South Carolina. I wasn’t surprised about what she had learned. I have been reading about Black culture for over 30 years. We had a quiet moment to acknowledge our pain of this knowledge. Then I told her that we don’t celebrate Black History Month in our house. She asked me why and I told her that Black history happens every day and we don’t need to only celebrate it one time a year; it is just our philosophy, however we do sometimes watch a movie that doesn’t make it on TV frequently. It took her a moment and then she smiled. Then I bombarded her with the list of books I bought about mainly Black folks that I hadn’t read about before that I had just ordered and added that maybe that was my way of celebrating.
I hope you have your ways of celebrating people all the time and not just one time a year because people are amazing!
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Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven. For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Christian, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information. If you are interested in becoming a Christian…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
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