Augusta Scattergood's Blog, page 59

I love my job!

Or, I guess I should say my career. My avocation. My reason to fall out of bed and into my chair every day.
What am I doing on this hot summer day?
Reading a book to review that's so much fun, so quirky and odd and delicious, I can't stop filling it with stickie notes. 



 Next up, Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead.  Does it get any better than this?

And the winner is!

And now. For the drawing of the terrific DOG'S WAY HOME, I spoke to my cute neighbor about helping me draw names.



ME: Hey, Mia. Wanna draw a name out of your kibble bowl? Choose a winner for a dog book giveaway?

MIA:I'm sitting here like a good doggie. I love a good dog story. Where's my treat?




ME: Well, how about this as a treat? See that blue notepad over there? Write down these names and tear them off and put them in your kibble bowl and dive right in.

MIA: Huh?



ME: Oh, all right. I'll do it. But you have to pick the winner so dive right in.

MIA: Diving!



Me and Mia, together, now- 1-2-3:

AND THE WINNER ISBobbi Miller.
Come on down, Bobbi.  Claim your prize!

Librarians...

In honor of the American Library Association annual conference winding down today, I share this quote:
"You honor your reservations; you go to your meetings so we can clean the rooms; you're relatively quiet; and you drink more than the American Legion."
Anonymous hotel official, on why he liked the ALA annual conference
(Quoted by Patricia Wilson Berger in Chicago Tribune article, 29 June 1990, Tempo section, p. 1)

Look What Today's Mail Brought

A package from my former colleague and a great teacher, my friend Sally!


But why is she sending me MY book? And what's with the edges?



I think this book has been read before.


What do you think?








Yes! Not only read, but well-read. I love it when a book has traveled in bookbags, to soccer games and ballet and ball practice. And shared. Especially shared.


Her sixth graders inscribed the book with things they wanted me to know and sent me their copy.  So touched! Love those readers. Thanks, Sally.

A Dog's Way Home, and a Giveaway

I'm a sucker for dogs. And I guess that goes for dog books also. But I've just finished Bobbie Pyron's A DOG'S WAY HOME, and I'm here to tell you, you don't have to love a dog to love this book.

I marked way too many passages to quote here, but this is a small sample:





"He could not know the many miles and vast wilderness that lay between him and his home with the girl. A dog does not measure distance in miles or even days. A dog only knows that every footfall, every heartbeat, brings him closer to his heart's desire. Anyone seeing Tam trotting with his easy gait along the side of the road would see a dog going home."

Except that he's not. Not yet.

Tam, the Shetland sheepdog, is about to have the biggest adventure of his young life. The middle-grade novel is told in alternating chapters, Tam and his owner, Abby.  Abby's a great character, too. Without giving away too much-- because this book is filled with heart-stopping worries about both the dog and his girl, here's a bit about Abby. She's in a bus station, all alone, drinking a Coke, which her Mama would never let her have because they eat the enamel off your teeth. But then, of course, her mother appears to bring her home:

"My heart beat in my throat. Sweat popped out on my arms... I was in for it now. I braced myself for the kind of tongue-lashing only Mama could give. Instead, she sat down next to me and took my hand... I looked away. I guess I wasn't such a good liar."

Kathi Appelt, another writer who knows a little about dogs and their stories, says it's a "Triumphant story about faith and hope and never giving up, especially on the ones you love."

And guess what. Today's somebody's lucky day. Just leave me a comment and you could be reading this great novel in no time flat. I'm giving away an AUTOGRAPHED copy of the paperback! I'll keep the giveaway open for a week.

Just what you need to jumpstart your summer reading. Read aloud with your 9 to 12-year-old. Read to share with your classroom next fall.

Read because it's just a terrific dog book. No, just a really good book.

This one will keep you up, turning pages fast. On the beach, in the mountains, on the front porch swing. Dog lovers and all others.

Click here for Bobbie Pyron's website.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Or better yet, just leave me a quick comment and you could be reading it all! The whole book!
Go ahead, you have until Wednesday, June 27th, when I'll get the cute pup across the street to draw the lucky reader out of her dog bowl.

Hello, Nancy.

My era (and Glory's!) Nancy Drew books. Okay, maybe these are a tad before 1964, but can you believe we loved these stories? Don't you love how she's pointedly pointing to the mantel...

Quote of the Day

LOVE this.

 

Listen.  Robins are Braiding the Wind into Nests.  (on the bench in front of music class..)

Nice Blog

and not just because they liked my book! Though I really appreciate that, of course.

What I like about it is that when books are reviewed,  a favorite quote and the first line are included.
A good way to get a sense of the writing style and the novel's voice.

CLICK HERE for the review of Glory Be.

Here's a fun review of a middle-grade novel for summer, PIE.
(I also liked that one.)

Plenty more suggestions for good books where those came from. Have fun!

Moms and Daughters, Reading Together.

Mother Daughter Book Clubs- what a terrific idea!

I'm especially delighted when I discover they're reading GLORY BE.

Just look at these adorable, smart girls.


Scholastic came up with some great discussion questions. Check out this link.

Also a recipe! There's a link on the site to a recipe for "Easy Lemon Cookies."

(Though I understand my friends in the picture ate Peach Cobbler. Yum!)

Book Clubs are near to my heart. And a great idea for summer reading. Kick back, make a pitcher of Bug Juice, Emma's Lemon Cookies or maybe Peach Cobbler, and read with your kids.

Happy Almost Summer! Thanks for reading, girls and moms. Thanks for sharing, Amy and Katie.


Here's a recipe for Emma's Lemon Cookies.

Iced Lemonade Wafers
½ C. (l stick) butter 1 T. grated lemon rind ¼ t. almond extract 1 C. flour ½ C. confectioners’ sugar 1 T. cornstarch ¼ t. salt
Icing  2/3 C. confectioners’ sugar 2 – 2 ½ T. fresh lemon juice
Cream butter and beat in lemon rind and almond extract.
Sift together the flour, confect. sugar,cornstarch and salt.  Add to creamed mix and combine thoroughly. 
Divide into two parts and shape into two rolls about 1 ½ in diameter – flatten the ends, wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least an hour or up to a week. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees – slice the rolls into about 15 slices each.  Bake on a lightly greased or ungreased non-stick sheetMake the icing by mixing the sugar and lemon juice and ice the cooled cookies.


(I borrowed the image from a gorgeous food blog. This is exactly what the cookies look like, but sadly I didn't take a picture at my Glory Party where they were last served. Now excuse me while I hotfoot it down to the kitchen to make a few...)

I love letters.

And emails, too.
Finding this in my inbox, from a reader in North Carolina, makes me know all the hard work, all that revising, the research, the sweating over details--It's all worthwhile.
I just finished reading Glory Be - and burst into tears - you captured my childhood, right down to the charm bracelet! (which I still have)  I grew up with parents who were color blind and I had no idea what was going on in the world of the sixties, because for me, there was no prejudice in my home...later, I realized the schools were segregated, the churches were segregated - but in my world, the woman who cared for me and her family were welcome at events in our home and we were welcome in theirs. My siblings and I are now neighbors and friends with the third generation of this family - I am grateful for my childhood and grateful for your book showing me what was happening outside our own little world- and by the way, I did swim in the city pool with children both black and white and had no idea that was rare! 
Thank you, and I hope to share this book with others who may not realize what was going on...it personalizes that era beautifully. 
I am a retired teacher and currently a middle school librarian. I bought your book at our Scholastic Book Fair and just now had time to read it!