1202 - 1207 (2024 #20 - #25). June - November 2024

My husband was ill much of June and July, and died on August 2, so not many books were read or reviewed this summer (or autumn when I did a lot of traveling), and much of what I read was short stories or children's picture books, since I had trouble concentrating when reading.  I'm only including the books I reviewed in my title count.

Once Upon a Sari by Zenia Wadhwani, illustrated by Avani Dwivedi

Once Upon a Sari is a lovely story about a little girl who makes a mess of her mother's saris - but instead of getting upset, her mother sits down and tells her daughter the stories behind some of the saris as she folds them up.  Zenia Wadhwani's book is a great addition to multicultural children's books, and I liked how the pronunciation of some (not all) of the fabrics was broken out by syllables, as one might teach a child to pronounce a word.  I think the book would have been enhanced by a brief afterword defining some of the other terms used in the book (such as dadi, kheer, pallu, nani, and ladoo). There's also a reference to the Partition of India that might generate questions from some readers or listeners.  Illustrator Avani Dwivedi created the vibrant illustrations using watercolors, gouache, and colored pencils on hot press watercolor paper.

The Green Baby Swing by Thomas King, illustrated by Yong Ling Kang

I received The Green Baby Swing from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in early July, right about the time my husband became seriously ill.  He died a month later.  We've known each other 45 years and been married the last 18.  I've spent the last few weeks finding things - his Boy Scout hat and belt, for example - that somehow I'd missed finding before.  

So I could relate to this "picture book about loss, intergenerational love and the power of family keepsakes."  I would have liked to see a little more about the other family keepsakes that are only mentioned in the book, and a little less about the green baby swing (which is more like a baby sling, in my opinion).  Still, this would be a good book to share with a young child who's lost a loved one.

Disgusting Critters: A Creepy Crawly Collection by Elise Gravel

This is a cute book in Elise Gravel's "Disgusting Critters" series.  The illustrations are funny and should interest children.  The text (especially the comments by the worms, spiders, and flies this "Creepy Crawly Collection" covers) has some humor for the adults that might be reading the book aloud, yet is simple enough for many early readers to comprehend.  

This would be a good addition to a school or classroom library (or a university library used by future teachers).  It would also be a good gift for one of my great-grandchildren.

Sweet Nothings: Confessions of a Candy Lover by Sarah Perry

I won this advance reader edition in a giveaway.  I don't consider myself a candy aficionado, as I pretty much only eat candy with chocolate in it (and I'm picky about what's with the chocolate), but it was a fun and thought-provoking collection of essays, organized by the predominant color (and texture, in the case of red) of the candy in question.

In some of the essays, the reader learns a little about the history of the candy; in others, about the history of author Sarah Perry in the memories the candy evokes; and sometimes the reader learns both.  In all, Perry's descriptions of the candy help one imagine how it tastes, smells, and looks (the latter more so than the hand-drawn illustrations, in many cases).  

Perry's memories made me next read her memoir, After the Eclipse: A Mother’s Murder, a Daughter’s Search, as there were enough references in this book to that time in her life to intrigue me.

Honk Honk, Beep Beep, Putter Putt! by Rukhsana Khan, illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat

In this colorful multicultural picture book, a little boy and his cat ride along in a motorized rickshaw, sharing the road with other cars, trucks, and busses.  All make various sounds (like those in the title) to indicate where they are going.  The repetition of the sounds, as well as the recurring line "Big and small, short and tall, everyone shares the road," will appeal to young children.  The latter is the point of the story - as is "People drive with their ears as much as their eyes," in the author's note at the end.  

Tractor Dance by Matt Forrest Esenwine, illustrated by Jen Taylor

This vibrant board book tells a story in rhyme about farm equipment having a hoedown.  My great-granddaughter is growing up on a farm, and this cute story will be a perfect gift for her.

Other books and short stories that I read (but that I am not reviewing):

The Seamstress of New Orleans by Diane C. McPhail - historical fiction

Three Wishes: A Novel by Liane Moriarty

Lovers at the Museum: A Short Story by Isabel Allende

Natural Selection: A Short Story by Elin Hilderbrand

Cut and Thirst: A Short Story by Margaret Atwood

My Evil Mother: A Short Story by Margaret Atwood

The Bookstore Wedding (The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories) by Alice Hoffman - short story

Same Time Next Year: A Novella by Tessa Bailey - short story

Two Women Walk into a Bar by Cheryl Strayed - short story

The Scenic Route: A Short Story by Christina Baker Kline

A Night at the Tropicana: A Short Story by Chanel Cleeton

How to Accidentally Settle Down [With Your High School Boyfriend] by Katherine Ryan - short story

The Museum of Lost Quilts: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel (The Elm Creek Quilts Series Book 22) by Jennifer Chiaverini - historical fiction

The Women's March: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession by Jennifer Chiaverini - historical fiction

After the Eclipse: A Mother’s Murder, a Daughter’s Search by Sarah Perry - memoir

The Phoenix Crown: A Historical Mystery of Two Women Seeking Justice in Paris and San Francisco, by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang - historical fiction

The Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles - historical fiction

500 (2015 #57). The Gift of the Magi, and Other [Short] Stories

by O. Henry

I had planned to read my personal copy of a collection of O. Henry's short stories for the Hood County Library adult summer reading challenge (the Dover Thrift Edition with the word "Short" added to the title, pictured above right).  It had two of my old familiar favorites in it, the famous "The Gift of the Magi" of the title, and the equally (I thought) famous and funny "The Ransom of Red Chief," plus 14 other tales I hadn't read before.

I've been trying, when possible, to choose books for the challenge that the Hood County Library owns.  They do have a collection of O. Henry's short stories, the one pictured above left.  It had 29 tales, but only five overlapped (and surprisingly, one of those was not "The Ransom of Red Chief."  I decided to read both books, 40 short stories in all.

O. Henry (aka William Sidney Porter) is known for endings with a twist, and these did not disappoint.  Many are funny, but a few are serious.  Most of the stories are set in New York City, where the author spent the last eight years (1902-1910) of his too-short life.  My favorite stories are the ones set in Texas, where he lived from 1882 (when he was 20) to 1897, starting at a sheep ranch in South Texas, and eventually moving to Austin (where he worked as a pharmacist, then as a draftsman for the state's General Land Office, and finally as a bank teller for the First National Bank) and then Houston (where he wrote for the Houston Post newspaper).

The Texas-set stories in these books include "The Enchanted Kiss," set in San Antonio; "The Lonesome Road," which mentions Aransas Pass and the Nueces River in south Texas; and "The Pimienta Pancakes" (in the Dover edition only), which mentions the Frio and Nueces rivers and San Miguel Creek, all of which join up around Choke Canyon Reservoir near Three Rivers in South Texas.

Other stories I particularly enjoyed were "The Third Ingredient,"  "The Furnished Room," and the long but satisfying "The Roads of Destiny," all in the longer book.  However, the Dover edition (besides having "The Ransom of Red Chief") provided the name and date of the collection the story was first published in, which at least gave me a relative idea of when it was written.

© Amanda Pape - 2015

[The longer book was borrowed from and returned to the Hood County Library.  I already owned the shorter Dover Thrift Edition, and plan to keep it.]

Hood County Library 2015 Summer Reading Challenge Book #9 - Collection of Short Stories

The Gift of the Magi, and Other Stories, by O. Henry

I chose this one because I had another O. Henry short story collection at home (albeit a different and shorter one with only 16 stories - this copy, from the Hood County Library, had  29, with only five overlapping).  I also chose it because O. Henry lived for a while in Texas (in Austin and in Houston) in the late 1800s, and some of his short stories are set in Texas.

Review is here.

© Amanda Pape - 2015