This is my fourth year of compiling a book list for my birthday. Every year I can’t believe that the books I read in January were part of this year; that feels so long ago! My very top favorites for this year are probably Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, A Gentleman in Moscow, Baby Catcher,…
Author: Amy Rogers Hays
Newbery Review #47 (From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Konigsburg, 1968)
Now this is the book I have been waiting for! I mean literally this particular book. I know that my husband (and Jim from the Office in episode 2.18) loved this book. But also just that I was hoping, when I dove into this Newbery project, that all the books would be these…
A Gift Guide for Toddlers (or My Somewhat Organic & Minimalist List of Favorite Registry Things Toddler Edition)
I loved putting together my somewhat organic & minimalist list of favorite baby registry things, and as Jackson grew into a little toddler, I thought I should put together the toddler version. As with the baby registry, I love the idea of everything organic and minimalist, but the realities of budgets or gifts (or…
Homecoming
One of the wonderful bits of living in Milwaukee is that we can jet down to our alma mater Wheaton in less than two hours if traffic cooperates. This Fall has been unusually full, but we carved out a great day to go down for homecoming. Last fall we went down for Evan’s 10-year…
Newbery Review # 46 (Up A Road Slowly, Hunt, 1967)
The 1967 Newbery, Up A Road Slowly by Irene Hunt is a portrait of seven-year-old Julie who, upon her mother’s death, goes to live with her Aunt Cordelia in the country. The novel traces Julie’s childhood from wild grief and disdain for her proper schoolmarm Aunt to the threshold of adulthood at age…
Traveling with Babies: Tips, Tricks & Packing Lists
Over the last year and a half we’ve been so blessed to be able to take our baby to both coasts to meet great-grandparents and enjoy the ocean. We first took 4-month-old Jackson to Southern California for Spring Break last year and then this summer for our 10th anniversary we took the then 18-month-old…
Newbery Review # 45 (I, Juan de Pareja , Borton de Treviño, 1966)
Elizabeth Borton de Treviño’s 1966 Newbery Award Winning book, I, Juan de Pareja, de Treviño creates a beautiful story of the real life slave of seventeenth-century Spanish artist Diego Velázquez. Using the few written records available (those relating to Velázquez inheriting the young slave from relatives and giving the old slave his freedom) and a…
Wine Country: An Anniversary Trip
To kick off summer break and celebrate our ten-year anniversary, Evan and Jackson and I headed west to gorgeous Sonoma County in Northern California. And now we know where—if someone were to drop a few million dollars in our laps—we’d move: the Russian River Valley where ocean and redwoods, wine and mountains meet….
Newbery Review # 44 (Shadow of a Bull, Wojciechowska, 1965)
In 44th Newbery, Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska, Manolo Olivar, age 11, is the son of a famous matador who died in a bull fight when Manolo was 3. Since then, Manolo has grown up in the shadow of his famous father and the townspeople of Arcangel, Spain who are convinced…
The Road to Emmaus: A Sermon for Eastertide
This week I was invited to preach! I was super honored and touched that our pastor invited me to be part of the regular cycle of lay people with whom he shares his pulpit. On Sunday, people were so encouraging and kind after the service. We have a pretty tight-knit little community, so it…
Newbery Review #43 (It’s Like This–Cat, Neville, 1964)
Emily Neville’s 1963 Newbery winning coming of age tale, It’s Like this, Cat, follows 14-year-old Davy as he navigates New York City and his family in the 60s. I found the depiction of New York City life in the 60s so great. Davy as a 14 year old has so much freedom to…
Travel the World Together: Family Trips and Memories
My parents met while traveling, and I think that has always made travel a part of our family. The summer before their last year of college, my parents spent the summer semester traveling through the Holy Lands taking Bible and archaeology classes and sharing a first kiss over the old city of Jerusalem just…
Newbery Review #42 (Wrinkle in Time, L’Engle, 1963)
I finally have arrived at the chance to re-read one of my all-time favorite books: the 1963 Newbery A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. (I’ve written about it before when I wrote about all the unties, and it’s on my list of favorite children’s fantasy series) It has always been the light ahead…
15 Months into Motherhood
I know that 12 months is the big mile stone for most parents, but for me 15 months is the one I keep thinking about. I started full time nannying my little godson at 15 months, and I’ve been counting the weeks until my own son is that old. Five years ago, I left…
Taking Babies on Winter Walks: Tips, Tricks and Gear
The toughest thing about Wisconsin life for me is icy winter days that keep me indoors. We’ve had, on the whole a pretty mild winter, and last week February seemed to forget that it was winter all together and we hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit–an all time record! But we’ve gone back to our regularly…