A Season for Gifts
A season for gifts. Looking for just the right gift for a child? Or for a friend of any age? I want to share several of my most favorite books from this year:
For middle-grade readers and truly, for every age reader, I recommend A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga and then for a literary “cherry on top,” watch the related documentary, “Good Night, Oppy” and take a look at the nonfiction picture book, Curiosity, the Story of a Mars Rover, by Markus Motum. Both books and the movie will touch your heart in many unexpected ways. What a combination of science, heart, and art. In A Rover’s Story, enjoy the excitement, the joy, the sharing between scientist mother, questioning daughter, and created robot. The book follows the stories of two real roving robots, Spirit and Opportunity, essential Mars-roving robots, part of NASA’s space exploration. I was amazed, fascinated, and captivated – heart and mind- as I read the books and then watched the documentary, page turners and full of surprises. One big surprise was the fascinating mix of science, scientists, music, discovery, plus wonderings about life, death, the universe, and love. This book is about space exploration, and it also stirs questions about many “big questions,” including about what does it mean to be “real” or what it means to be fully alive.
One Winter Up North by John Owens is a lovely contrast with the robot rover’s explorations. This wordless picture book tells a different journey, a wintery exploration through the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness of Minnesota (br-r-r-r-r) as a family snowshoes across frozen lakes, over deep-snow dunes, and into the silent forest of “way up North.” Another magical place for a young reader to discover and wonder about, imagine, ask questions, and find within the pages many wintery surprises.
Books. Timeless perfect gifts. Happy merry holidays to all and thank you sincerely for dropping by and saying hello. “God bless us, everyone.” Nancy Bo Flood