Confession

I have a confession: I haven't gotten past the fourth or so page of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Granted, work has gotten busy again and schoolwork has really picked up and I'm in the midst of applying to every potential job in the state of Virginia (and then following up on all of those applications and hounding principals that I'm interested in working for...) and so I honestly don't have much time to be reading, but I miss it. I miss wanting to make time for reading and Roll of Thunder sadly isn't doing it for me. I'm not very far into it, and I know I'll love it some day when I pick it up again - it's one of those that I've owned for probably ten years but never read - but for now I think I'm going to need something with more immeditate grabbing capabilities.

Page [1]: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Here's the first page [basically] of the book I'm reading, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, written by Mildred Taylor:

"'Little Man, would you come on? You keep it up and you're gonna make us late.' My youngest brother paid no attention to me. Grasping more firmly his newspaper-wrapped notebook and his tin-can lunch of cornbread and oil sausages, he continued to concentrate on the dusty road. He lagged several feed behind my other brothers, Stacey and Christopher-John, and me, attempting to keep the rusty Mississippi dust from swelling with each step and drifting back upon his shiny black shoes and the cuffs of his corduroy pants by lifting each foot high before setting it gently down again. Always meticulously neat, six-year-old Little Man never allowed dirt or tears or stains to mar anything he owned. Today was no exception."

Stay tuned for my thoughts after I finish!

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

How could you possibly go wrong with a Pigeon book? You can't.

We've already seen Pigeon declare his love for public transportation in Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, but in this one he's moved on to puppies. Just as persuasive as you would expect, Pigeon tries his best to convince you that he will be a responsible ("I'll water it every day!") and loving ("I'm a puppy-lovin' pigeon!") parent. When logical reasons such as those don't seem to work, he resorts to a sudden and hilarious rant ("I WANT A PUPPY!"). He really pulls out all the stops on this one, showing the full range of persuasive techniques. His arguments have improved slightly but he still hasn't learned much in the ways of successful persuasive angles and effective techniques. He doesn't get a puppy just like he doesn't get to drive the bus, but you might be surprised with why he doesn't get the puppy. This one's just as hilarious/entertaining/voice-filled/persuasion-filled as any of his others. The Pigeon doesn't disappoint. How could he?

Movement

I decided that because I've done so many picture book reviews lately and am adding new ones all the time, "Picture Books" deserves its own page. All picture book reviews have been moved from "YA Lit" to "Picture Books," where they make much more sense anyway.