Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews: wild fires

Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

What's New on Through the Looking Glass Book Review

These days the skies above my town are full of smoke from the Northern California fires which are still burning to the south of us. The fires remind me that we are truly at the mercy of the weather when it chooses to turn nasty. In this case lightening strikes caused numerous fires to begin and now, many days after the storm, we still have not been able to put the fires out.

In the new issue of Though the Looking Glass Book Review we look at books

that explore the world's weather and the effect that the weather has on our lives. There are books about tornadoes, hurricanes, storms, wind, rain and snow. The titles that have been reviewed are suitable for children of all ages, from children who are very young to those who are in their teenage years. You can find the weather feature on this page on the Through the Looking Glass Book Review website.

Also take a look out the Editor's Choice title for this month. Sand Dollar Summer by Kimberly K. Jones is a marvelous book that explores how a young girl, Lise, adjusts to huge changes in her life. She wants everything to stay just as it is but when her mother gets injured in a car crash Lise's life is turned upside down. She and her family go to spend the summer in a ramshackle house on the Maine coast and Lise hates everything about the place. She dislikes the cold water, the sand drives her crazy, and worst of all her mother is not herself at all. Lise feels very lonely and angry and she wants everything to be the way it was before her mother was injured.

This is a very moving and thought provoking book, and I cannot recommend it highy enough for readers who are twelve and up.