The Dog-Eared Book on My Shelf
As a bookseller, I respect a customer's hunt for pristine, unopened, un-smudged books. As a reader and writer, I retain the right to dog-ear, highlight, and generally abuse (with affection) the books in my library. My previously-owned copy of Ida B (by Katherine Hannigan) did not survive my reading unscathed; I began folding corners almost immediately. Hannigan's masterful passages are not only honest and heartfelt, but she also pulls from the world we all know--and wraps it up in ways I could never have imagined. For example:
"Here's the bad thing about being a snake in the spring: sometimes you find what you think is the best place in the world to sunbathe. It's the biggest rock ever, so long you can't see where it ends. And this perfect, so-good-you-almost-can't-believe-it's-true rock is smooth and dark and toasty warm. [. . .] But, being a snake, you're so low to the ground you can't see that this piece of rock paradise you're lying on is really a road." (Hannigan, page 63 in my copy)
You can imagine where this passage leads. And she's not writing about snakes.
Ida B's plot revolves around homeschooled, free-spirited Ida B, who is pushed outside of her comfortable world of trees and imagination when her mother becomes ill. Universal themes (friendship, change, forgiveness, kindness, bravery) become fresh and touching through Hannigan's brilliant writing. In her hands, this "growing up" story is also a beautiful work of art--one that will survive my occasional bookshelf-purging.
(recommended age: 7-12ish)
"Here's the bad thing about being a snake in the spring: sometimes you find what you think is the best place in the world to sunbathe. It's the biggest rock ever, so long you can't see where it ends. And this perfect, so-good-you-almost-can't-believe-it's-true rock is smooth and dark and toasty warm. [. . .] But, being a snake, you're so low to the ground you can't see that this piece of rock paradise you're lying on is really a road." (Hannigan, page 63 in my copy)
You can imagine where this passage leads. And she's not writing about snakes.
Ida B's plot revolves around homeschooled, free-spirited Ida B, who is pushed outside of her comfortable world of trees and imagination when her mother becomes ill. Universal themes (friendship, change, forgiveness, kindness, bravery) become fresh and touching through Hannigan's brilliant writing. In her hands, this "growing up" story is also a beautiful work of art--one that will survive my occasional bookshelf-purging.
(recommended age: 7-12ish)
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