Book Report July 2013

Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

This was from the children’s section. Written in 1936, it was a little unusual in the way it brought reality into a child’s world. Kid’s lit in those days didn’t include the deaths of friends. This was a semi-autobiographical account of Ruth’s life one year in New York in the 1890s. The main character, Lucinda, had unusual freedom while staying with elderly sisters while her parents were in Europe. She could roam freely through New York City with absolutely no fears. Totally unheard of now, of course. A truly enjoyable look at life in a time long past. And even though it included the sad deaths of an elderly friend and a little girl, stuff like that happens.

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The Witches by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl wrote some really odd children’s books. Some are not ones I would read to a small child. This is one of them. An enjoyable book, well written. Definitely for an older child. I saw the movie based on this book years ago. It had a happy ending. The book didn’t. Be warned.

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How to Write Yuki Teikei Haiku by Edward A. Thompson

When Sarah was in high school, a local writer asked the art teachers at both high schools for illustrations for some of the poems in his book about traditional haiku. She submitted some drawings and had two of them used in the book. Each student that had his/her work used received a free paperback of this book. Sarah had zero interest in Haiku (still doesn’t) and let me keep the book. I had looked through it and read the poetry and of course made note of Sarah’s art. I recently read the whole thing. The philosophy behind this style of poetry was interesting. I did learn a few things about one of my favorite forms of poetry. I’ve always loved haiku. I skimmed through it and then read the poems again. I think my haiku are fully as good, and in some instances better, than what this guy wrote.