Our hero and fearless leader, Lisa Morin, who will finally have an office with windows.

The World Ends In April

Juvenile fiction 

     "That's the only new post.  I go back and read what I already know.  The world is ending in the spring when 2010PL7 crashes into our planet."

     Elle, narrator of Stacy McAnulty's The World Ends In April, is no stranger to survivalist thinking.  Her grandfather is always preparing for TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it). He's constantly engaging her and her brothers in worst case scenario drills and stockpiling emergency supplies.

     His mindset takes on a new urgency for Elle when she reads a post written by a Harvard astrophysicist.  A huge meteor is on a collision course with the Earth.  There will be devastating consequences even for the parts of the globe that don't sustain a direct hit.

     The World Ends In April combines an engaging plot with information on how readers can tell the difference between legitimate and not so legitimate websites.

On a purrrsonal note, all of us connected with Black Bear Exchange have something special to be thankful for this year.  Thirteen years ago Lisa set up the first BBE in what formerly was an ice cream stand on campus.  It was nowhere big enough.  Eventually we were able to move to a dorm basement.  Room to spread out but dark and gloomy AF.  A few years ago we moved again to a student apartment in a village of them.  Plenty of light and a fairly comfortable space.  But even better days are ahead.  In the Great Before the University Credit Union had a really big building on Rangely Road on the edge of campus.  The pandemic caused a reconfiguration which ended up with them not needing it.  It's now going to be the new Black Bear Exchange home.  It's a great building with room to expand programs.  Lisa and I and the gang are over the moon.  (Jules)

I guess Jules has to go back to school.  Well she'll come home to me at night. (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the one and only Lisa Morin.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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This is a fancy rock I found on the railroad tracks.

Eugene located the holy grail of Christmas candy--Peeps!!!  This is going to be a sweet Christmas season!!!

The Shape of Thunder

Juvenile fiction 

     "Fourteen is how old Mabel was when she died.

     I am twelve today.  Someday in the future I will be more than twelve plus two.  I will become older than my older sister."

     Cora is an academic achiever and member of her school's quiz bowl team.  She's hoping that her father and grandfather won't notice that she has new and confusing feelings for long time friend Owen.  She's also grieving the loss of both her only sister and her sense of safety to a school shooting.

     "And I mean, I can't look at me and not see what Parker did, so I don't really blame any of them.  Even though I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't feel like sandpaper scratching my skin every time one of them turns away in the hall, pretending like they don't know me."

     Quinn is the sister of Parker, the shooter.  Her chapters start with letters he'll never get because he, too, is dead.  At school she's shunned by her peers.  At home her parents are always fighting.  Her mother blames her father for having guns Parker could get his hands on.  Her father wants to move and start all over.  Her mother is determined to hold on to their home.

     In the usual school shooter narrative the shooter is a remote figure.  But what if he and one of the victims were next door neighbors?  What if their younger sisters had been best friends?  What if each surviving sibling has a secret?

     Jasmine Warga's The Shape of Thunder helps readers see a modern tragedy through a poignant new lens.

On a purrrsonal note, it's back to school tomorrow.  It was a great vacation.  I made my own family turkey dinner with the gobbler Eugene got from work on Friday.  I was actually as far ahead as I could get on homework and as far as I could get on my initiatives.  So I actually had time to take Tobago to zoom church and get back to work on my writing.  Christmas break I think I'll make good writing progress.  And I played with Tobago a lot.  (Jules)

Which was wonderful.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the other students (hopefully rested up) coming back to school for the last few weeks of the semester.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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No, the baby is not Katie's.  He's Maggie's nephew.

Maggie and her baby, Chance.

An inviting spread of appetizers.

Cutest couple prize goes to Katie and Jacob.

Over the river and through the woods--it's Thanksgiving picture time.  Here's Katie and her cousin, Maggie.

Two More Fantastic Sheroes

Juvenile herstory 

"Unrest spreads.

Conflict strains.

Staying focused,

Yusra trains."

     Yusra Martini, protagonist of Julie Abery's Yusra Swims, was training for the Olympics when her country, Syria, was torn apart by civil war.  Her family could only afford to give her and her older sister a chance of reaching a safe place.  The engine fails on the crowded rubber raft they're crammed into.  Yusra is one of the adults who jump into the ocean to keep the raft moving.

     After an experience like that you'd think that the last thing she'd want to do is swim.

     And you'd be wrong.

     Sally Deng's illustrations really help to bring the carefully chosen words to life.  You can't read the book and not respect an amazing woman athlete.

     While courage sometimes involves battling the elements, often it's all about pushing back against customs and prejudice.  That was the battle described in Teresa Robeson's Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom.

     Wu was born in China in 1912.  Back then for many parents the birth of a girl child was not exactly cause for celebration.  Most wouldn't bother sending girls to school.  But Wu's parents bucked the trend.  They gave her a name which translates to courageous hero.  Even before she was born they had opened a school for girls.

     When Wu had learned all she could learn from her parents she had to go further and further to continue her education.  During those politically turbulent years she became a student protest leader in addition to excelling academically.

     Her study of physics took her all the way to the United States where she specialized in beta decay.  Three times she helped famous male scientists overcome snags and go on to win Nobel Prizes while she never did.  But she stayed with her beloved physics.

     Her narrative can be quite inspiring for STEM loving girls.

On a purrrsonal note, I was not a happy camper when Eugene woke me up at the butt crack of predawn to go to the in-laws for Thanksgiving.  I just had time to change and put coffee in my travel mug.  Forget breakfast.  Luckily I'd packed the night before so I had books to read before the kids arrived.  I had fun reading.  Then when the kids came the party really started.  We shared a great meal and hung out and talked.  It was lots of fun.  I was especially happy to spend time with Adam, Katie, and Jacob.  We all missed Amber and Brian.  Maybe next year.  (Jules)

And then they came home to me.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the family.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Numb To This

YA nonfiction graphic novel 

     Kindra Neely was no stranger to guns and gun violence.  Lots of people carried in her childhood Texas town.  Her school had police, police dogs, and metal detectors.  A drive by shooting went down a few houses over from her home.

     That was the last straw for Kindra's mom who moved the two of them to the Oregon town she grew up in.  After high school graduation Kindra chose a local community college.  Her life was going beautifully until in a place where she felt safe, where she had no expectations of violence...

     ...the unthinkable happened.  A shooter opened fire.  Chaos ensued.  What was happening?  Where could she go?  Should she call someone?  

     After the terror came the intrusion of outsiders.  Seeing her picture in newspapers made Kindra feel violated.  "The nation was watching us while we were most vulnerable, but it felt like we were entertainment."

     Kindra's journey toward healing took years.  In Numb To This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting she shares her experiences candidly with readers.  The graphic novel format gives her narrative the vividness and immediacy a word alone format couldn't have captured.  

     This book is very much needed in these days when active shooter violence has become all too common and more and more survivors struggle to make sense of their experiences and a world in which they could happen.  It's a must acquire for high school libraries and YA sections of public libraries.  

Jules Hathaway 

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Parker Looks Up

Picture book 

     Parker Curry is a real little girl.  A lovely epiphany she experienced at an art museum inspired her mother, Jessica, to write Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment.

     Jessica takes Parker and her little sister, Ava, to a museum where they meet up with Parker's best friend, Gia.  The children check out the paintings.  They make silly faces in a playroom.  A ballerina picture gets them dancing.

     Then Parker looks up at a painting of Michelle Obama.  Seeing someone who looks like her inspires her to dream.

     Amy Sherald, who painted the official portrait of the former first lady reminds us of the importance of representing all kinds of people in art.  

     "Culture determines who counts in society and reflects the society itself.  What Parker observed while looking at the portrait of the First Lady was her own greatness."

On a purrrsonal note, older people are some of the most overlooked and disrespected people in America.  Few believe that unless we're already rich or famous we have anything left to achieve.  When I get my masters at the age of 73 I hope it will inspire at least a few older people to look at me and see their potential. (Jules)

Oh, yeah, for sure.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to people in marginalized populations who inspire hope in those who identify with them.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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This is my painted rock.  

Pretty cool sweater, wouldn't you say?

The Damage

Adult mystery 

     "Tony watched his little brother.  They may have misunderstood him.  This wasn't someone who'd been sexually assaulted."

     Many of us, hearing sexual assault or rape, automatically assume that the perpetrator is male and the victim female or a child.  The idea of a man as the victim in this type of violence goes against the stereotyped expectations society too often holds for males and men are too often told to internalize.  In The Damage Caitlin Wahrer creates a narrative centered around what too many of us would consider unthinkable, a narrative where the suspense centers around the unfolding personalities of the central characters.

     Nick is a gay college student with a crush on a self centered jerk.  One night when Chris has stood him up he's at the dive where he'd been waiting for him.  A good looking guy talks him into going to a motel with him.

     " I feel I will never know why this damaged young man has done this to me.  My only hope is that the truth will come out in time, but my introduction to our system has left me with little faith."

     Ray is the alleged assailant.  He's claiming that the sex and the "rough play" were consensual.  He goes on a media offensive starting with a published letter to the editor in which he details his perspective.

     Tony is Nick's older half-brother.  He's been more of a parent to Nick than his alcoholic, self-centered parents.  He's also a problem solver.  It tears him apart to see Nick suffering, especially where the judicial process promises to really drag out.

     Julia, Tony's wife and the mother of their two children, has a sense of how far Nick will go to fix bad situations.  As she gains a renewed grasp of the responsibility he feels for Nick, she begins to worry.  

     Detective Rice, a man close to retiring from a long career, has been assigned to the case.  Could he be getting close enough to the victim to be losing his perspective?

     By telling the story through the voices of the main characters, Wahrer brings them to life as complex individuals.  The Damage reminds me of Stephen King's more character centered works in which the evil lies not in vampires or plagues, but in the human heart.

On a purrrsonal note, well it was a short school week.  Monday I met with my internship professor to find out what I have to do for academic showcase.  People were painting mirrors.  But glass breaks.  So I painted a rock I'd found on the railroad tracks.  I made a Goodwill run and found a Christmas cat sweater.  Today I worked dish room.  But it was super easy because most of the students who eat at Hilltop had gone home.  Now I have five days off.  Eugene and I are going to the in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner.  I just did a rapid test to make sure I'm safe to be around my medically fragile mother-in-law. (Jules)

All the other days she'll be home with her best little friend in the world namely me.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers.  We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots to be thankful for.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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And here is my favorite laptop.

Can you find her now?

Some of the merchandise.  Can you find my unicorn?

We packed the place out.

My friend Joey with their grandmother and brother.

Here are some pictures from the event.

Full Disclosure

YA fiction 

     "But that doesn't mean I can't want sex. Lately, it keeps creeping into the back of my mind.  I'm not sitting around, looking for people to have sex with, but I want it.  I want to be able to look at someone and love them the way other people are able to."

     By other people, Simone, narrator of Camryn Garrett's Full Disclosure, means people who aren't HIV positive.  She was born that way.  Her fathers have been teaching her that abstinence is the only way to totally prevent transmitting the virus.  But Simone is seventeen.  Abstinence as a lifestyle is looking a lot less appealing...

     ...especially since gorgeous Miles starts showing an interest in her.  He seems to share her passion for musical theater.  His actions and words stir her in a new way.  But as they become a pair she knows that eventually kisses and holding hands won't be enough.  She knows she'll have to disclose her status...

     ...Only there's more at stake than his rejection which, in itself, would be devastating.  At Simone's old school she told someone she trusted, someone who clued her friends in on social media.  Suddenly her peers were shunning her and their parents were calling for her expulsion.

     Simone is happy in her current school.  She has friends.  She's student director for the school musical.  She doesn't want to have to change schools again.

     But she begins to find notes warning her that if she doesn't break up with Miles by Thanksgiving the whole school will learn her secret.  

     Although Garrett learned some stuff about AIDS in high school, her real education began when she encountered the blogs of parents with HIV positive kids.  That's when Simone began to take shape in her mind.  Her author's note includes an abundance of resources for readers who want to learn more.

On a purrrsonal note, the high point of my weekend was the fundraising bean supper and silent auction my church put on to raise money for Wilson Center.  I volunteered.  The food was excellent.  It was built around beans, rice, kale, and other wholesome ingredients.  Dessert was apple crisp.  Joey gave me a ride over.  I got to hang out with them and meet their mom, grandmother, and brother.  Such an awesome family.  I bid on a darling Beanie Boo unicorn.  Nobody bid against me so I took Fantasia home for only $6.  The event raised $3021!  And channel 5 news ran a great story about the event.  (Jules)

She has a thing for Beanie Boos.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out to all who made the event a great success.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Good Girl, Bad Blood

YA fiction 

     "Last time I almost lost everything. I ended up in the hospital, got my dog killed, put my family in danger, destroyed my best friend's life.  I...I can't do it anymore."

     We met Pip in Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide To Murder.  She reopened a five-year-old case that had been written off by law enforcement as a murder-suicide along with the brother of the alleged killer.  They learned some of their town's secrets and aggravated some dangerous people.  Bad things had happened.

     In Jackson's sequel, Good Girl, Bad Blood, Pip is presented with a dilemma.  Jamie, the older brother of her friend, Connor, goes missing.  Since Jamie is legally an adult the police are basically doing nothing.  Connor is afraid that if Pip, who he trusts more than he does that local police, doesn't do something his family will never see Jamie alive again.

     Pip is still remorseful for the unintended consequences of her previous investigation.  She's especially grieving the loss of her beloved dog.  She knows how her parents will react if she takes on another case...

     ...but when she tries to get the police to take action and they don't she feels like she has no other choice.

     So how does this sequel stack up to the original? I think it's even better.  The plot is more twisty and nuanced.  The character of Pip is more complex and believable.

     My advice to YA and adult adult thriller affecionados: read the two books in order, just not on a starless home alone night.

On a purrrsonal note, Good Jules, Very Good Grades!!!  I finally located my grades on my laptop.  Other than the C I got when we went online because of COVID and I didn't have adequate computer skills I have all A's.  (Jules)

Celebrate good grades! (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to...

You, star student!  (Tobago)

And you and precious Joey.  I couldn't have done it without a lot of help from feline friends.  (Jules)

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Chef Roy Choi and The Street Food Remix

     Recently the restaurant adjacent to the trailer park was run by a man who wanted to help Mainers discover the real Korean food he grew up on.  It was a labor of love.  He also held down a day job.

     I knew shamefully little about Korean food other than that it's probably much more wholesome than most of what we eat in America.  Only I couldn't check it out.  Where grad school is prohibitively expensive the only restaurant food in my life was what Eugene would pay for which tends to be America.

     I was thrilled when discovered Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Jo Lee's Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix.  

"Roy calls himself a 'street cook.'

He wants outsiders, low-riders,

Kids, teens, shufflers, and skateboarders

To have food cooked with care, with love

With sohn-maash."

     Roy Choi moved from Korea to Los Angeles with his family when he was two.  He loved the food his parents sold, first from their truck and later at their restaurant.  He felt lost when his parents switched to selling jewelry and his family moved to the suburbs.

     Roy went to culinary school, became a chef, and was highly successful until he couldn't keep up with all his commitments.  Then a friend gave him a suggestion that he couldn't resist.  How about a truck serving a Korean-Mexican fusion?  Instead of catering to the elite, he could feed less affluent people with wholesome food made from fresh ingredients.

     "He wants every boy and girl, hipster and hip-hopper, halmoni and abuela  to have access to good food made with care and real flavors.  And by remixing flavors, Roy is working hard to reconnect with each other in homes, streets, and neighborhoods."

     I suspect you're going to find this book to be in very good taste.

On a purrrsonal note, the University of Maine has been the only campus in the Maine university system to have an independent dining system.  Word has just been passed down from on high that we're about to become another Sodexo franchise.  As you can imagine opinions on whether this is good or bad are as thick as ticks on a moose.  I just want us to still be an operation that honors its mission and values, understands that student workers are first and foremost students, provides good jobs for non student workers, and helps ameliorate the problem of campus food insecurity by helping supply Black Bear Exchange no matter who we answer to.  There is going to be an informational meeting Tuesday afternoon.  As in right before Thanksgiving break.  I'm going to ask to leave work early so I can attend it and try to get on any committee they let student workers on. (Jules)

They'd better let her on.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all who are striving to make sense of what's going on.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Bronx Masquerade

YA fiction 

     Each of the eighteen high school student narrators of Nikki Grimes' has secrets and anxieties.

     Chankara has a sister involved in an abusive relationship.  She's determined not to follow in her footsteps.

     Diandra disappoints her father by not being a boy and not being a ball player.

     Devon, an avid reader, is tired of being stereotyped as a dumb jock.

     Gloria is struggling to balance school with single parenting her baby boy.

     At first they're all in their own groups and spaces.  But something magical happens when their English teacher starts giving them time to share original poems.

     Read the book and experience the magic!

On a purrrsonal note, well the operation to remove my kidney stone has been postponed again.  The third time.  Now we're looking at February.  If they go through with it I'll have carried Rocky around at least the length of a full term pregnancy.  But that is no secret.  If I'm grouchy or lethargic or moving slowly at work it helps that people realize that it's not them; it's my not feeling great. (Jules)

Another postponement!  (Tobago)

A great big shout goes out to our friends for understanding.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Wilma's Way Home

Juvenile herstory 

     "My own story has only meaning as long as it is a part of the overall story of my people.  For above all else, I am a Cherokee woman."

     During the years I've been writing this blog I've learned about some pretty amazing sheroes.  Wilma Mankiller is one of my favorites.  So when I discovered Doreen Rappaport's Wilma's Way Home I was over the moon.  The text includes many well placed actual quotes.  Illustrations are dynamic and engaging.

     Mankiller was born into a rural family of eleven in Oklahoma.

"It was a hard life.

We were really poor--

'dirt poor' is how they say it in Oklahoma.'

But the Cherokees had an asset poor whites didn't: Gadugi, a community system of helping one another and maintaining tribal identity.

     In 1956 when Mankiller was ten her community was ordered by the government to move to California.  She found the transition from open land to grim city to be heartbreaking.

"One day I was here, and the next day I was trying to deal with the mysteries of television, indoor plumbing, neon lights, and elevators."

     Nothing made her feel comfortable in the new, cold environment.

"It robbed us of our vitality 

and sense of place."

     Children and parents alike will be by her long, determined journey home and by what she was able to achieve when she arrived.

On a purrrsonal note,  my first ever lunch and learn, centered around ageism, catered beautifully by Harvest Moon, was a total success.  I wasn't at all anxious.  In fact I was totally rocking that Jules magic.  People were enthusiastically and actively engaged, learning from each other, and having a great time.  The food was delish.  And even the predicted precip petered out.  Instead of a sleety, slushy soup we had gentle flakes in the morning and a drizzly damp afternoon.  Now I can work on the holiday event I'm planning for December 7.(Jules)

Of course she was purrrfect.  But maybe a little heavy on the alliteration? (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in my first lunch and learn.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Sit-In

Juvenile nonfiction 

"David, Joseph, Franklin, and Ezell 

sat while everyone else got served.

At first they were treated like 

the hole in a doughnut--invisible.

Others tried to ignore them.

The waitress watched and refused them.

This was a sign of the times:

WHITES ONLY."

     Andrea Davis Pinkney's Sit-In can really help younger readers grasp one of the evils of Jim Crow America.  Despite the pandemic most have a script for restaurant dining.  All know what it's like to be hungry.  They can imagine how they'd feel if at a place where they weren't served because of their skin color.

     February 1, 1960 four Black college students sat down at a Woolworth's lunch counter.  Each tried to order a doughnut and coffee.  But none were served that day or the next or the next...

     The segregationists were determined to hold the line.  Some became physically abusive.  Police started carting some of the growing number of protesters off to jail.

     But the writing was on the wall with sit-ins springing up in other cities and network TV bringing the conflict into homes across the nation.

     This is a good book with which to introduce children to a defining moment in our nation's history.

On a purrrsonal note, I am more than a little nervous.  I'll be doing my first ever lunch and learn Wednesday: a discussion of ageism in everyday life in the multicultural room.  And it's more than just can I pull this off jitters.  According to the TV meteorologist and my smartphone we're supposed to get the first snow of the year.  Not gentle little flakes.  Oh, no!  A snow/freezing rain slushy mess.  (Jules)

She'll do just fine.  Unless they cancel school.  (Tobago)

Nooooooo!  (Jules)

A great big shout out goes out to the people who will show up and pay rapt attention.  Unless school is canceled.

Tobago Hathaway 

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Things started to get eerie as darkness fell.  

OK those are the last Halloween pictures...

...until next year.  Just 11 1/2 months away.

Do you ever get the feeling that Halloween is going to the dogs?

Here I am cosplaying as the cat in the hat.

Here's quite a hot dog.

My best friend of 13 years, Lisa Morin, dressed as a bee for Halloween.  When she got ready for work she probably paraphrased Shakespeare: to bee or not to bee; that is the question.

Ara the Star Engineer

Picture book

    Komal Singh was stunned by her then four-year-old daughter's pronouncement that "Engineers are boys."  What made this statement especially jarring was that she's a techie who loves her work.  It made her realize that more representation was needed to combat media and societal biases.  Ara the Star Engineer is the result of her epiphany.  

     Ara, a lover of big numbers, wants to program her computer, DeeDee, to count all the stars in the sky.  They set off for Innovation Plex where DeeDee had been invented.  Four tech people with various areas of expertise (including a trouble shooter) help her figure out how to achieve her goal.  

     Singh's goals for her narrative are elegant and inspiring.  

     " I hope you will use this book as a tool to relevel STEM playing fields.  To inspire beautiful minds of all genders young and old.  To meet women engineer trailblazers of diverse color and background who are solving some of the biggest problems in computing today!"

     Way to go!

On a purrrsonal note, I spent my three day weekend editing my biggest paper and transferring it from 3" x 5" cards to my laptop.  I was in the driven mode my advisor doesn't like.  Lucky for her Tobago was on the job.  Whenever she felt that I needed a break she convinced me to cuddle her or play with her.  And just when I thought she couldn't be more adorable she's discovered the joys of sitting on my lap.  I did get the work I wanted to do done.  But I had plenty of chill and relax time.  (Jules)

That's what a cat is for?  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the best little cat in the world. (Jules)

And the best family in the world (Tobago)

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And the staff was not immune to the total yummyness.

Here are two of the students we serve about to enjoy a rich, hot treat.

This is a really special treat Hilltop had on Thursday: a hot chocolate bar.  There were so many things we could add to something already yummy.  You'd better believe it was a big hit.

My burned fingers all doctored up.

What Can You Do With a Paleta?

Bilingual picture book

    I read Carmen Tafolla's What Can You Do With a Paleta? on an unseasonably warm day.  It brought back refreshing memories of buying frozen treats from people pushing carts in Mexico as a child and teen.  Nothing sold by ice cream truck vendors in the United States could compete.

     Tafolla's jubilant narrator first sets the stage:

"where the big velvet roses bloom red and pink and fuschia,

where the accordion plays sassy and sweet, 

where the smell of crispy tacos 

or buttery tortillas 

or juicy fruta 

floats out of every window."

     Then she hears a bell and runs out to select a sweet treat.  As she makes her choice she's wondering what you can do with a paleta.  Her ideas range from silly and whimsical to thoughtful.  

     I think this is a great book to read aloud to the little ones in your life.  Just don't be surprised if they (or you) start craving a sweet, cool treat.  Even if it's winter.

On a purrrsonal note, last week was pretty good.  Mostly I worked my job and worked and consulted about my initiatives.  There was one low point and one high point.  The low point was burning my right hand on a very hot pan at work.  It really hurt. Ointment and bandages healed my hand up just fine.  The high point was Eugene coming safely back from his vacation days at camp.  He can't keep in touch with me because he has no wifi out there.  So I worry that if he has something like a chainsaw accident he won't be able to get help.  So I was quite relieved when he walked through the door.  (Jules)

So was I.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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That cat left pawprints on a lot of people's hearts.

This is a portrait of precious Joey.  Katie had it made from a photograph the year he died.

Will We Always Hold Hands

Picture book 

"'Bear,' said Rat.  'I've been wondering.

     Will we always hold hands like this,

          even when we are old and wrinkly..."

     Bear and Rat are the best of chums.  One day they embark on a walk and a discussion on friendship, ascertaining that they'll hold each other's hands in all circumstances: reading scary stories, being sleepy (even if one snores), and crossing a river.  Even if one of them does something really bad they'll hold hands moving on.  Whether they travel or stay they'll stay together.  Holding hands.  

"'Bear, said Rat.  'What if I have to leave and go somewhere you can't come?"

     Young children often worry about losing special best friends and family members.  Christopher Cheng and Stephen Michael King's Will We Always Hold Hands? is a special lyrical tribute to the ability of love to overlook tribulations small and large.  And it reassures youngsters that there are ways to hold loved ones close even when they go somewhere you can't.  It's a good gift for a child who is about to lose or has lost a friend or family member or animal companion, a counselor who works with grieving children, or a public or school library.

On a purrrsonal note, for sixteen years I was the human companion of a beautiful, loving, smart tuxedo cat named Joseph Jacob Hathaway, Joey for short.  When he was three and needed an operation to save his life, the first of several, we learned that he was medically fragile and needing special care.  It wasn't always easy for either of us.  But the larger picture was all the joy we shared playing on the floor, reuniting when I'd come back home, rocking and singing, snacking, and snuggling.  He was the greatest lap cat, jumping on me when I sat down with a book.  Even when he got cancer medicine gave us several good months.  But one day he had to go where I couldn't.  I cherish him and carry his precious memory in my heart.

A great big shout out goes to my precious Joey who brought joy and unconditional love and loyalty into my life for sixteen beautiful years.

Jules Hathaway 

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Like that table has got to go.  I've already got an ironing board and iron promised.  When we get the junk out and the racks in I will personally sort the clothes and iron any that need it.  And use my computer to keep track of inventory.  Kate at the Career Center says I have an excellent plan and she wouldn't lie about something like that.

And a lot of random stuff.  But I measured the walls where we can put rolling racks.  At least three.  After the room is cleared out.

And a tiny little case for skirts, shorts, and accessories.

That's what we have for folded stuff.

When we get the new clothes I've got to get to work on transforming the room itself.  That pathetically small closet is all we have for hanging clothes.  I took the before pictures so when the room is made over we can see the contrast.

Little Bit Comes To America

Picture Book

    In Little Bit Comes To America, a true story by the way, author/illustrator Star Sherman introduces children to a very different kind of immigrant than they might see in the news.  Little Bit is a starving street dog.  One day a woman tends to her and builds up her strength for a journey...

     ...all the way from Turkey to Maine.  Children will love the happy ending where she becomes a farm dog with a fire to snooze in front of on cold nights and lots of space to chase butterflies.

On a purrrsonal note, we're just a little over two weeks away from Thanksgiving break.  I'm looking forward to seeing a couple of my kids on turkey day although not getting up early and waiting 11 hours.  But I'm even more excited about right before break when the sorority that's collecting clothes for the Upward Bound clothes room delivers.  I can't wait to see what they're contributing.  (Jules)

I'm looking forward to Jules being home over vaca.  She'll be away Turkey Day.  But the other days she's mine.  No way is she going to hang out in crowded stores with legions of unmasked potentially COVID contagious people on Black Friday.  (Tobago)

You got that right, Babe.  I'm working too hard on this degree to let long COVID slow me down.  (Jules)

A great big shout out goes out to the sorority members who are collecting clothes for the clothes room.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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