I just finished listening to Nation by Sir Terry Pratchett on audiobook. What a wonderful story! This book was nominated for the Carnegie Medal this year, which is the highest honor a children's book can be awarded in England, like the Newbery Medal here, but was beaten out by the wonderful Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. (That guy wins all the awards!) Anyway, we don't have Nation in our library at Marshall Lane ... yet! I plan to rectify that immediately. The story takes place in a parallel universe version of Earth on a tiny island that is part of a group of islands called the Mothering Sunday Islands, so named by a colonial empire much like the 19th century british. A boy named Mau is sent to The Boy's Island as part of a ritual to mark his passage into manhood but on his way back to his home island, a tsunami washes through the chain of tiny islands and washes away his entire village, known as the Nation. The same wave shipwrecks the daughter of the colonial Governor of the Mothering Sunday Islands. Together, the two young people rebuild the Nation with the help of the survivors from the surrounding islands. In the process, Mau challenges the wisdom of his people's gods for allowing such a disaster to occur. A very thoughtful and thought provoking novel. I would say this book is good for grades 5 and up.
So have you checked out Doctor Who yet? I finished my Dalek. And look! It's sneaking up on my poodle! Roxy! Look out! If you haven't seen Doctor Who yet, I know this cuddly little monster (and I don't mean my poodle!) is making you curious.
I've also been knitting iPhone cozies..
And baking blueberry pies. I'm ready to go back to school!
In the mean time, here is a terrific story about a kid who wanted to help his local library.
Also, books are being delivered to the library during the summer so next blog, I will tell you what new books you can expect to find when the library opens in the fall. Isn't that exciting? Yes, yes it is.
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