Author #189: Mahogany L. Browne with a book in verse: Chlorine Sky

 

Chlorine Sky, by Mahogany L. Browne, is a book told in verse of the struggles of growing apart from old friends and finding yourself.  Skyy deals with interactions from her old friend, her sister, her sports.  There is so much emotion in the verses which are sometimes a single word.  This is a  moving book with a hope filled ending.  We are all worth space and Sky teaches us that we can like ourselves. 

Sunday Randomness #14 : Closet cat tunnel

Yes, we're the kind of people to cut a connecting tunnel between two closet walls to give our 16 1/2-year-old cat more room.  Jack  has not been too happy with a second dog joining the family, especially one that hovers around 75-80 pounds.  Consequently he's been spending most of his time in the main bedroom which has a small bathroom with his little box under the sink.  I thought of the tunnel, Mego did the construction work and the rebuild-lining the bottom, sides and top so that it is a tunnel between the rooms and not just a hole in the wall between two adjoining closets.   Jack went through on his own and Daisy said he started meowing like he couldn't believe what had just occurred.  How did he happen to find himself in her room?!?!  He has the connection down pat now and goes between the rooms to wherever he thinks he'll get treats or attention or a good napping spot on a bed.  We did check for wiring and studs on both sides before making any holes in the walls.  Safety first!  Glasses and face mask were employed in the demolition phases.  And Mego used simple tools-nothing too drastic.

Jack coming into Daisy's room in  the first video:
 

Jack leaving my room in the second video-you can faintly hear Daisy praising Jack and getting him a treat:

Author #188 : Shanthi Sekaran teaches us some about butterflies and segregation in The Samosa Rebellion

 Muki helps in the rebellion where the newer inhabitants are sent to camps for relocation if their families have not lived on the fictional island for more than three generations.  Muki's grandmother comes to live with the family from India and is one of the first to be put in a camp.  Notes are passed between rebellion members without identification so that they can protect one another from retaliation.  Butterflies are the protected people, crickets the enforcers, and moths the people that are to be relocated or killed.  This is a juvenile fiction book so there is fear and intimidation but not a lot of violence.  Shanthi Sekaran has written a dystopian type novel of segregation that might be good for older ages.  It did seem a bit dark for younger children but not as caught up in teen topics as a teen book. This would be a good match for tweens who are learning about segregation and the beginning thoughts of where the ideology of  genocide (demagoguery) can formulate and grow in the some arenas.  While not totally captivating, it was a good read with vivid descriptions.  Read more about the author at: https://www.shanthisekaran.com/

Author #187: Elizabeth Acevedo cooks up a beautiful tale of finding your strength

 An engagingly written book that brought back some memories of my own days in high school.  The main character, Emoni, loves to cook-it's were she comes alive. Emoni lives with her grandmother (abuela) and her young daughter-she makes hard decisions every day-but she knows she wants to follow her passion and cook while still being there for her daughter.  One of the sections that stood out for me was when she was describing making a crucial decision: "And the only question I kept asking myself was, 'Can I do this?'  And I realized there wasn't going to be a perfect answer, only the right answer for me."   Emoni learns to trust herself and to trust others as she goes through a culinary course newly offered at her school. Her experiences increase her confidence and she ultimately has to decide which future path she wants to take.  Learn more about Elizabeth Acevedo at: http://www.acevedowrites.com/about

Author #186: The Cat Man of Aleppo in part by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha

 

The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha with illustrations by Yuko Shimzu is a picture book about Mohammad Alee Aljaleel who became an ambulance driver to help people when war broke out in Syria.  He realized that many people had to leave their pets and he started to ask for scraps from local butchers to feed all the cats that could not be with their families. From scraps there came a cat sanctuary, playground for children, and help for other animals. There is an interview with Alee from Dec. 9, 2020 from TRT-a Turkish Public Broadcast service. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8yBAZWWUkM&t=136s

A Fleck of Family History: Origin of Lisle's name

(From my Grandmother's (Zina) writings) 

Recorded  September 8, 1963

Dad was named for his Uncle Lisle who died at the age of twelve due to an accident caused by an injury to his spine from wooden box falling on him.  Also his leg was terribly mangled in the wagon wheel.  He had been sent to get something out of the back of the wagon.  He suffered for 3 weeks from the injury before his death.  Grandmother (Genevieve Nielson) vividly remembers Lisle laying on the mattress while the Doctor Harrington(?) amputated the boy's leg two separate times.  The Neilson were staying at ? during the summer. Grandfather was operated on by Dr. Sherman for his appendix and died subsequently.  Died at the age of 52.  Grandmother (Genevieve) had a mid-wife for Enid and Lisle. 

Here's a link to Lisle's obituary: https://www.deseret.com/1993/10/27/19073093/death-lisle-francis-ashton