a handful of stars by Cynthia Lord

Warning:  You will crave anything blueberry, especially a big, overflowing bowlful of fresh, tiny, sweet Maine blueberries.

Unfortunately for me, I did not read Cynthia Lord's a handful of stars when it was released this spring when blueberries were closer in season than they are now so since it is late November, my mouth is just watering.

I have been a fan of Lord's since I first listened to the audio book of Rules.  I still remember cleaning the kitchen floor so that it would "shine like the top of the Chrysler building" so I didn't have to turn off the CD player.  From then on, I'm always excited when Lord writes another book and this last one did not disappoint.  It's as sweet as those blueberries I'm craving.

The blueberry puns won't be lost here either as I say that the lessons learned are packed in this story as the blueberries in a pie.  When Lily's blind dog, Lucky, runs off into the blueberry barrens, Salma, a migrant worker from Florida, saves him from going off into the unfamiliar forest by giving him her lunch.  The next day Lily goes to the camp where Salma is living to bring her family a pork pie to thank her and they almost instantly become friends.  Lucky, too.  In fact, when Lucky jumps into Salma's lap, Lily explains that "...maybe he just heard the friendship in her voice." The first clue that Salma, Lily and Lucky are going to be friends.

Lily's painting and selling bee boxes to raise money  for an operation that might get Lucky to see again. To do that, Salma starts helping her. Salma uses her imagination and paints more creatively than Lily.  That's ok since as Dr. Katz, the veterinarian says,  Different can be good...It makes you pay attention."

On top of that, Salma has decided to enter the local Blueberry Queen pageant, the one that Lily's friend, Hannah won last year.  Hannah offers Salma to wear her dress from last year and Lily is torn between her friend she is drifting away from and her new found friend.  Lily is protective of her bond with Salma and is weary of including Hannah, "Some things are magic between two people, but they fizzle when anyone else gets involved."

Ahhh...and the reference to Robert McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal is lovely.  I really enjoyed revisiting a favorite picture book.

I would never have imagined that my heart would be pounding and that this book would be a page turner, but it was.  I really wanted Salma to win the crown, stay in Maine and the money to be raised for Lucky.  "Real truth is never easy" says Lily, however with this book it just works.

So,  before you begin, jump ahead to page 77, find the ingredients, whip up a blueberry enchilada, and seek out your comfie chair for this star-filled novel by an author we love.

For the love of audio books

I wanted to write a post about my favorite audio books.  You know, the ones that stick with you way after you have listened to them.  The ones that you can still remember exactly what you were doing while you were listening.  When you pull into the driveway and can't turn it off.  Or you take the long way home just so you can keep listening. Those ones.

First, Rules by Cynthia Lord.  I remember my kitchen floor was never that clean before I had the CD rolling and has never been that clean since. This was back before we redid our kitchen when we had one of those hangover CD players under our cabinets.  It was many years ago but I still remember hugging the mop with tears streaming down my face.  I hated when that book ended.*

And then there was An Abundance of Katherines.  I was taking a YA literature course and just getting introduced to John Green.  This was way before TFIOS.  That time my driveway never got shoveled as perfectly as it did that afternoon.  I was grateful for the snowstorm, plugged in my iPod (before iPhones) and happily shoveled the driveway.

I cannot forget Revolution by Deborah Wiles.  Hours and hours but worth every second.  This is a performance and reading all wrapped together. Listen to the Beatles.  Imagine the poems.  The actors bring 1964 to life through the fiction and nonfiction text.  I found myself driving extra slow so my time for turning off the audio would be lengthened.

Do you like spooky?  Try listening to The Thickety by JA White, especially on a long and winding DARK road.  And then plan to have a deer run in front of your car.  My heart was pounding.  Read by a woman with an Irish accent, this fantasy story feels even more real than ever.

My newest addition to the list is Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan.  You can read my review of the book in my previous post.  The audio is just perfect.  With all the musical references, the book was meant to be an audio book.  From Brahams Lullaby, to Tchaikovsky, to Rodgers and Hammerstein, it is completely lovely and soothing.

And of course, there is Harry Potter.  Every. Single. One.  Don't tell him, but I have a huge crush on Jim Dale.  How many different voices has he had to do for all seven books?  I could listen to him read for days on end.

*I just saw that Jessica Almasy, the reader of Rules, also is the reader for Under the Egg, by Laura Marx Fitzgerald.  I loved that book.  Now I need to listen to the audio!