Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara & Illus by Esmé Shapiro

It is always interesting to me when society has a renewed interest in someone long dead. Alexander Hamilton hasn't done anything interesting in over 200 years and somehow, he is a person of very current interest and passion.

The power of a musical. 

This book is an interesting look at Alexander Hamilton's wife, an interesting and important player in the Revolutionary/Early Years Era of American history.

 You can see the sway of the musical in the fact that the actress that plays Eliza in the play has graced the book with an afterward; giving her blessing.  

The book itself is written like a letter from an older Elizabeth to her soon to be born great-grandchild. 

While no such letter exists, it is an interesting format to convey a personal touch and a wealth of information. 

Eliza goes all the way back to her birth, sharing details of her parent's life and home north of Albany. 

Eliza like all good heroines was a bit unconventional, loving the outdoors and not being afraid of anything. Unlike her visiting friends who were a little hesitant about the wildness of newly settled area. 

Eliza is true to the era, depicting her family's slaves and a destroying fire that moved through during her childhood. 

Do you remember the discussion a year or two ago about how slaves were depicted in children's books? Sophie Blackall's illustrations in A Fine Dessert and Vanessa Brantley-Newton's illustrations in A Birthday Cake for George Washington were widely criticized because they depicted the slaves as smiling or enjoying their enslavement. Clearly Shapiro learned from that conversation. 

The courtship of the young, passionate, and orphaned Alexander and the well-connected Elizabeth

Their home filled with light, love, and children

The day of Alexander's death

After Alexander's death, Elizabeth devoted herself to making the world more gentle and kind to those destitute and needy. 

Along with several others, Eliza was involved in establishing the Orphan Asylum Society which is still operating under the name of Graham Windham. 

This is a children's book, so it doesn't include all the details about the Alexander's life, including Alexander's affair with Maria Reynolds becoming public, their first son being killed in a duel only two years before Alexander was killed in his own duel, and her oldest daughter who had a mental breakdown after her brother's death and was there after described as being in "an eternal childhood" for the rest of her life. 

But overall, this book has a wealth of knowledge about an interesting woman involved in the founding of America. 

City by Ingela Arrhenius

This is an outrageously big book with limited words, but glorious pictures! 

Ingeela Arrhenius has previously created an Animals book that I loved. Both of these books I reviewed for my library. Of course, at 18 inches tall, neither of these books is actually suited to sending home with kids in their bookbags. But that is okay, because these books are totally worth owning just for look at books in the library. Oversized books, as well as tiny books, are always major draws. Just like tall, skinny books and short, fat books. Kids like funny shaped books. 

I am always slightly tempted to chop these books up and use them to decorate the library. Because how cool are these pictures? 

Ingela Arrhenius is Swedish, which makes her that much cooler. Because I have a love affair with Swedish anything. 

I also have a love affair with bookshops. And look! There is Ingela's other oversize book Animals in the window of the Bookstore!

Throughout the book, we see all the things people do all day in the city.

I want to be the flamingo in the fountain. 

Did you notice quite a few of the shop keepers are older? Is that a thing in Sweden? Only old people own stores? Except for the bookstore. Because everyone knows hip young people always own bookstores. 

The end. 

For some reason, students always like books that say "the end." It is so nice and tidy. 

Terrific endpapers! 

The thing about life and days in June

This past month, since we got back from Sweden, I have not been able to live life with gusto. Throughout my teen/adult life I have struggled mildly with depression. It is mild enough that careful eating, sleeping, and adequate exercise can keep it from overtaking my life. Pretty sure my current lack of joie de vivre is just due to a fabulous, busy month (I adore May and apple blossoms and family and lilacs and impromptu cousin trips!). 

In all that busyness*  I haven't been sleeping, eating, and exercising as I should. It is boring to have to be disciplined and regimented. But I need to be. Because otherwise, in a best case scenario, I just want to curl up in bed with a good book and let my house fall down around my ears. Not an adulting win.

*(that IS a word, it is not misspelled. Just in case you were wondering. The first day of my current job, someone told me I misspelled "business" on a flyer that was dispersed to the entire school. I freaked out and did some googling to find out I was right. However, does it actually matter if you are right if everyone thinks you are wrong? Probably not. But I sat quietly in  the moral high ground while everyone in the school thought the new librarian was a terrible speller AND a terrible proofreader.) 

In the process of wanting to lay in bed reading books, I just couldn't work up any enthusiasm for blogging. So much WORK. I mean, you have to decide what book to take a picture of, choose where to take the pictures, get the lighting vaguely right, decide what pages to take pictures of... THEN, on top of all of that deciding, you need a cord thingy to connect to your camera or phone to the computer and then you have to look at the pictures and edit and decide and... Too much. So I just didn't.  

Yesterday, after combing the library book sale for books to giveaway to students this summer (I got a fantastic haul!! 10 boxes full of books for only $25. Score!) I found this book:

 It seemed inspired.

So I spent a good hour with my current book like this: 

And then felt much refreshed and made this:

It was yummy. 

And then I curled up in bed to finish my book.

I am still not running on full zest, but let me tell you folks, I see a comeback in the near future! 

We all need a wasted day here and there. Take it from me. 

Sophie's Squash Go To School by Pat Zietlow Miller & Illus by Anne Wilsdorf

This is the fun sequel to Sophie's Squash. Remember Sophie who didn't want to cook her best friend Bernice, the squash? 

In this book, Sophie is starting school. She would be nervous, but she has two squash sidekicks to make her brave.  

There are all kinds of ways to sit with squash

If any kid came to school with two squash in her arms, I would adore that child. I mean really! The imagination, the stubbornness of insisting that yes, she WAS going to take her squash to school, and the certainty that that was just what needed to happen without a care in the world for what anyone thought. That, my friends, is a child who is going somewhere. 

I always wanted to be that child. 

Unfortunately, Sophie is also stubbornly certain that she will not make any friends in kindergarten.

Things were not like home. AND her classmates threatened to eat her real, true friends. 

First day--a disaster.

Steven is fully supportive of imaginary friends. 

Sophie accepts this--"Then you don't need me."

Sophie is clearly not accepting applications for new friends. 

When you are in the same class as someone else, it is pretty difficult to ignore them completely. 

Her mother and father have a chat with Sophie about the need for human friends. 

Sophie declines'--"I have all the friends I need."

However, when you are with other kids all day, it is hard not to form friendships.\

When Roshni spilled her milk, Sophie almost shared her napkin.

Progress!

The time comes when Bonnie and Baxter are getting speckled and need to be tucked away for the winter. 

Steven noticed her lack of friends and drew a consoling picture for Sophie.

Sophie was having none of it. 

Poor Steven. Poor Sophie. 

Sophie had a terrible, horrible, no good day. 

Steven tries his best to make friends, offering his frog. 

Steven is amazingly patient, I guess. 

Through all her stubborness and certainty (and Steven's persistence) Sophie begins to understand how beautiful friendship could be.