Children's Lit

I know I have mentioned my love of children's literature on this blog many times before, but I am going to mention it again! I come by this love naturally. My mom not only read to me often, but was an elementary school librarian for her career. She took over a sad, run-down library and over time turned it into a huge success. I used to volunteer in her library and always loved being amongst all the books. Even today a library is one of my favorite places to be.

I hope to pass on a love of reading to my own kids. They all enjoy being read to, and recently Leah has started picking up books to read on her own. Oh how that thrills this book-loving heart of mine!

With them feeling sick this week, we have done a lot of reading together. It seems our favorite books, the tried and true go-to stories we love, keep surfacing to the top of the pile. So I thought I would share a few of our favorite children's authors and books for you to look for on your next trip to the library.

The Corduroy books by Don Freeman
Mouse Soup & Fables by Arnold Lobel
Lyle the Crocodile books by Bernard Waber
Any book by Keven Henkes, especially Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
Any Shel Silverstein book
Frances the Badger books by Russell Hoban

Let me know some of your favorites as well!

Escape

After I finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I went to a completely 

different kind of book.  Escape, by Carolyn Jessop tells the true 

story of the author's escape from the religious extremism of the 

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 

(FLDS) and the oppression of living in an abusive polygamous 

marriage.  This was a look into a world that I could not have 

even imagined.  It was so bizarre and so unbelievable that I 

would audibly gasp!  I think Mike got tired of me constantly 

saying, "Oh my gosh, you won't believe this...."  

It was that kind of emotion that kept me up until one o'clock 

in the morning several mornings in a row because I just 

couldn't stop reading.  The book begins by Carolyn Jessop 

going back in time, retelling her family history and her own 

upbringing in the FLDS compound in Colorado City, Arizona.  

When Carolyn was eighteen, she was forced into becoming 

the fourth wife of a fifty year old leader in the community named 

Merril Jessop.  Even though she was deeply upset about 

marrying a man so much older, she was powerless to do anything 

about it.  She stayed in the marriage for many years, giving birth 

to eight of Merril's fifty-three children.  Her descriptions of living 

in an extremely unhealthy and abusive marriage were 

heart-wrenching.  Eventually Carolyn planned and executed 

a successful escape and managed to become the first FLDS 

woman to win custody of her own children.  

It was a difficult and unbelievable road for her to travel, and it 

made for a fascinating read!