Milk and bread?

Not exactly but great rainy day surprises. 

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A Sea of Lemon Trees (juvenile historical fiction in verse)

     I had a big old to do list that I was planning to accomplish. But you know what they say about those best laid plans often biting the dust. Once I opened Maria Dolores Aguila's A Sea of Lemon Trees I couldn't put it down. The plot is engaging on both the cognitive and emotional levels. The characters are well developed and highly relatable,  especially the narrator. The plot is in free verse, always a plus in my mind. And young readers are introduced to yet another dark chapter in this country's history that those in high places want them to remain in the dark about. 

     Roberto is the youngest of four siblings. He resents being the only one treated like a baby, not let in on grown people's business. He has no clue that he'll soon be thrust into a frighteningly mature role. 

     He is also the only one of the siblings born on American soil, his parents' dream. This is both a blessing and a burden. 

     Before Roberto returns to school from Christmas vacation he is warned that he and the other Mexican will be sent to another building--one in which farm animals have been housed--for their education. His father tells him to come home instead. He does so and many of his peers do the same.

     "My daddy says we should just go to the 

          Olive Street School, says a girl with dark 

          brown trenzas. 

Her sister

hugs her rag doll a little closer. 

     They will call emigracion, says Pancho. 

     My mother says we are not going back to la 

          Caballeriza, no matter what, says David,

crossing his arms."

     As the children talk their parents are in a meeting discussing how to react to the sudden separate and far from equal direction their beloved children's education is going in. Imagine being in their situation where advocating for loved ones could come at an unbearable price. 

     The parents who won't give in organize a committee--communicating with the Mexican Consulate and raising funds for legal services. 

     The school officials retaliate. 

     The committee succeeds in taking them to court. Roberto is chosen as lead plaintiff, representing all the children. 

"It was okay when 

I was only my family's futuro 

but to be the hope

of so many other students' futuros

is frightening."

     Aguila provides readers with an illuminating history of the real life Lemon Grove Incident. 

     I highly recommend A Sea of Lemon Trees for public and school libraries although it will probably draw the hate of banners and censors. It can help younger readers understand not only the evils of the recent past, but stuff that's still going on today. As Aguila reminds us, "Never forget that knowledge is power, and every single one of us has the power to change the world."

On a purrrsonal note, this weekend has been nonstop cold drizzle and 🌧. Yesterday Eugene and I went on a drive and managed to find two Goodwills. Today Eugene went to the store to get milk and 🍞. He managed to fill a shopping cart. 

A great big shout out goes out to Aguila for creating a most excellent narrative and Eugene for not sticking to his shopping list. 

Jules Hathaway 

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More treasures

These and a set of different colored gel pens were the other treasures Eugene bought for me. 

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Thrifting find

Tobago at first did not know what to think of the new Squishmallow Eugene bought for me. We acquired it on a drizzly road trip today. 

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Sunshine 🌞

This picture just makes me 😃 😊. The day I took this picture was grey and 🌧. But this room was an oasis of sunshine and not just from the lighting fixtures. 

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Monsters in the Archives (adult nonfiction)

     I'd just picked up an inter library loan, Caroline Bicks's Monster in the Archives: My Year Of Fear With Stephen King, at Orono Public Library and was waiting for the bus back to campus. A guy I was sharing a bench with asked me what I like best about Stephen King's writing. 

     It's that, although there are gruesome scenes in his books, the horror doesn't come from special effects, nonhuman monsters, gratuitous gore, or over the top violence, but from King's intimate knowledge of human cognition and emotions. He has his finger on the hopes, fears, ambitions, loves, and hatreds that motivate people. He realizes that underneath the personas we present we are complex and contradictory. His protagonists are far from perfect and his villains, even in their most monstrous incarnations, show flashes of humanity. 

     That's why I took to Monsters in the Archives like Tobago to Fancy Feast entrees and good quality nip. Bicks gets it.

     Caroline Bicks is the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine. When she was about to start a sabbatical year she had an inspiration: to research how King's horror stories evolved from first draft to publication to gain insights into his creative process. For a year she had access to the Holy Grail of Stephen King primary sources: an archive attached to his famous Bangor home. She was the first person besides his family and Foundation to have access to those materials. 

     In the book Bicks focuses on five of King's early works: Pet Sematary, The Shining, Night Shift, 'Salem's Lot, and Carrie. By studying the evolution of plots and characters through these primary sources she gives readers insights into the Horrormeister's creative process. In Carrie, for instance, a number of revisions make Carrie less monstrous and more vulnerable, capturing her fading humanity. 

     The contextualization of Night Shift is particularly fascinating. Nearly all the short stories in this anthology were originally written when he was a University of Maine undergraduate. Bicks helps readers understand the influences of his growth and life challenges during what he's called "the most crucial and formative period of my life" and the politically turbulent era in which it took place. 

     Just like my Amber, Bicks started reading Stephen King's books at a very early age. She was only twelve when she read her first, Night Shift, and was terrified by one of the stories: The Boogeyman. 

     "In my imagination, the only thing worse than having my home ripped from its foundation and thrown into the wilderness was having it invaded by a monster that comes out when your parents are away."

     Throughout the book she shares her reactions to his narratives. This openness and vulnerability make up a very fascinating strand, sure to resonate with readers who have had similar experiences. 

     Monsters in the Archives is a must read for the real Stephen King affecianado who wants to know the back story behind some of his most iconic works. I see it as a reference work one can return to profitably as opposed to a one time read. It would be an excellent birthday or Christmas gift. 

On a purrrsonal note, although I had read King's earlier works as an undergrad, the Horrormeister didn't take up residence in my household until the winter of '97 when my 6-year-old Amber wanted to watch the TV version of The Shining. I videotaped it and watched it with her. At the end she announced that when she grew up she would be a horror story writer like Stephen King. She kept her siblings and friends entertained (and scared) with her stories. For awhile a nearby vacant lot became an animal Sematary. Fortunately the wildlife buried there never became reanimated. The girls and I had a special tradition that lasted well into their teen years of horror read alouds. Amber made good on her ambition. Her first horror novel, Little White Flowers, dropped last summer and her second, Hallowed Deadly Seeds, will be out in June. I think a tour of (fictional) Evanston, Maine might give even the Horrormeister the shivers.

A great big shout out goes out to Stephen King for creating such masterful narratives, to Caroline Bicks for sharing her insightful research, and to Amber Hathaway for not giving up on her childhood ambition.

Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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Oreo

This handsome and intelligent tuxedo cat is a one feline neighborhood watch. Last spring when I'd hurt my ankle Tobago got out of the trailer and disappeared. I instructed him to find Tobago and bring her home. He did in less than 10 minutes. In the fall he herded a kitten around the park until he found her people. If I am outside and a stranger appears he'll put himself between me and the stranger. And as you can see he'll stop by for a visit. I call him Romeo because often when Tobago is in her favorite window he'll recreate the famous balcony scene. 

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